"Ah, right, right, right." Cao Xin suddenly remembered something.
He took out a small Storage Soul Tool and tossed it to Lin Yuan, then stored the Whale Rubber Lin Yuan was holding inside it.
"This Soul Tool is a gift for you, too. Ten cubic meters of space should last you a long time."
Lin Yuan put away the Soul Tool and cupped his hands toward Cao Xin again. "Thank you, Master."
"All right, Lin Yuan. Go get some rest. I have important matters to discuss with these two." Ning Zhiyuan waved him off.
"Yes." Lin Yuan left the room.
As he stepped out the door, Lin Yuan suddenly realized he'd forgotten to ask where he was sleeping tonight.
Just as Lin Yuan was wondering whether to go back and ask, Ning Tian and Wu Feng came around the corner.
"Lin Yuan, come with me. Father's already arranged a place for you to stay. I'll take you there now," Ning Tian said naturally.
"Then thanks." As Lin Yuan thanked Ning Tian, his stomach chose that moment to growl.
Scratching the back of his head, Lin Yuan gave the two girls an awkward smile.
From the inheritance of the God of Destruction, Lin Yuan had learned that forcibly raising his Innate Soul Power had left his body depleted.
For a while, as his body recovered, he would get hungry very easily.
Seeing Lin Yuan in such an embarrassing state, Ning Tian covered her mouth and narrowed her eyes with amusement.
Wu Feng seized the chance, too. With her hands on her hips, she scolded Lin Yuan indignantly. "You really have no shame. How could you embarrass yourself in front of Ning Tian like that? Just look at me—"
Grr—
A loud, churning rumble came from Wu Feng's stomach.
Lin Yuan eyed Wu Feng, whose face had grown even more awkward. You're like this too, and you still have the nerve to lecture me?
"Haha, you two are hilarious." Ning Tian laughed until tears welled in her eyes.
"Come on, let's go eat at the sect cafeteria. It's just about time for a late-night snack."
Ignoring their reactions, Ning Tian took them both by the hand and led them toward the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect's cafeteria.
Watching Ning Tian lead the way, Lin Yuan felt a little relieved that he wasn't dealing with the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect during the Douluo I era.
Ning Rongrong really didn't seem like she'd come from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Everyone Lin Yuan had met in the sect, young and old alike, had been quite easygoing.
There wasn't a trace of the Little Demoness from the original story.
That only went to show that Ning Rongrong's genes hadn't been passed down. Lin Yuan couldn't imagine how outrageous the sect would be if everyone had Ning Rongrong's personality.
No.
In that case, the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect would never have survived. It probably would have declined just a few years after Tang San ascended.
Lin Yuan's expression turned utterly helpless as Wu Feng, fiercely guarding her food, kept glaring at him.
The next day, Lin Yuan barely had any time to adjust before he and Ning Tian began training with Cao Xin.
As for hunting Soul Rings, Ning Zhiyuan said there was no need to rush.
He wanted to give Lin Yuan time to train and build up his foundation, so he would be in better shape to absorb a Soul Ring with a higher age.
They also needed to gather information on suitable Soul Beasts. After all, with a super Martial Soul, choosing a Soul Beast was not something they could take lightly.
Based on Lin Yuan's own sense of his Martial Soul, Ning Zhiyuan was currently gathering information on two kinds of Soul Beasts: pure-blooded dragons and those suited for offense.
If they managed to gather enough information on pure-blooded dragons, Lin Yuan would focus on the Destruction Demon Dragon. Otherwise, he would choose the Jade Dragon-Slayer.
"Phew—"
After a morning of training, Lin Yuan let out a long breath and plopped down on the grass beneath the shade of a tree.
Cao Xin tossed him a gourd of water. Lin Yuan unscrewed the cap and gulped it down.
"Ha!" Lin Yuan looked up to see Ning Tian practicing her sword in the distance.
For their first day of training, Cao Xin had them start by swinging wooden swords and getting used to the weapons.
Swordsmanship wasn't Ning Tian's main focus, but after the same amount of training, she had already taken five breaks.
Lin Yuan was only taking his first break, and their Soul Power differed by just half a level.
Before her Martial Soul Awakening, Ning Tian's body had been nourished by rare treasures for years, so her physical fitness was better than Lin Yuan's.
Lin Yuan found himself staring at the girl's back as she swung her sword. He even caught a pleasant fragrance on the air.
"Do you like her?" Cao Xin asked with a shameless grin as he sat down beside him.
"Ahem." Embarrassed, Lin Yuan cupped his hands and cleared his throat, his old face turning red.
Given the education he'd received in his previous life, he just couldn't bring himself to say those words.
I do. But that was the old him from his previous life. Now, he was a six-year-old child, physically speaking.
"Oh, you like her? That's good, then." Cao Xin chuckled.
"Throughout history, there have been plenty of Sect-Protecting Douluos who married female sect masters. Keep at it, young man."
Ning Tian still had her usual composed expression, but the tips of her ears had turned bright red.
She silently complained that the two of them could at least avoid saying such things in front of her, the person they were talking about.
Lin Yuan could see it now. Cao Xin might have no descendants, but he was certainly a shameless old flirt.
"But, Master, you really don't plan on teaching us any sword moves today?" Lin Yuan picked up his wooden sword and idly swung it around.
"Kid, you don't even have the basics down, and you're already trying to fly? You haven't even learned to walk yet." Cao Xin smiled and stroked his beard.
"Besides, aren't you already training? You're cultivating the intent of my Affectionate Sword."
"What do you mean?" Lin Yuan looked at Cao Xin in confusion.
"Look." Cao Xin pointed at Ning Tian.
"This weather, this sunlight, this breeze, and of course, this lovely girl."
Even Ning Tian, who was usually so good-natured, was so embarrassed and indignant at Cao Xin's teasing that she stopped what she was doing and stomped her foot as she turned to face them.
Cao Xin ignored the girl's bashfulness and went on explaining to Lin Yuan. "That's the true essence of my Affectionate Sword. You have to use your heart to feel all the emotions and beauty in this world."
"Then you fuse the skills you've spent your whole life cultivating with your very bones and blood. That's the highest realm our path seeks to attain."
Lin Yuan fell into thought, then spoke hesitantly. "Like... a kind of artistic conception?"
Cao Xin stared blankly when he heard the term.
Then he slapped his thigh and laughed. "Exactly! That's it! Our school has never been able to find a word for this realm. What you just said, artistic conception, is pretty much right!"
Cao Xin was more and more pleased with Lin Yuan as his disciple. The boy had resolved a quandary that had troubled their school for years.
Lin Yuan couldn't help pondering.
If the ultimate secret of the Affectionate Sword was to feel the emotions between heaven and earth and forge a sword from emotion, then he had plenty of work ahead of him. He was a transmigrator from Blue Star who had studied the Three Hundred Tang Poems and Song Lyrics by heart.
Perhaps, once he grew stronger, he could merge the poetry of Blue Star with the intent of the Affectionate Sword.
What emotion in this world could rival the artistic conception of poetry?
The legacy of his homeland was a treasure trove that would keep supplying him with inspiration on the path of sword cultivation.
He only had to figure out how to put this treasure trove to use...