Meanwhile, at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
Lin Changgeng and Wang Qiu'er stood facing each other.
"First soul skill, Golden Edge Across the Sky!"
A keen, golden streak slashed straight toward Wang Qiu'er.
Wang Qiu'er neither dodged nor retreated. She raised her right hand, gathering golden soul power in her palm, and caught the golden streak outright.
"Impressive momentum, but a little lacking in strength." As Wang Qiu'er spoke, she squeezed hard, and the light condensed from metal instantly shattered.
Lin Changgeng said nothing and unleashed his first soul skill again, only for Wang Qiu'er to flicker out of his sight.
"Not good!" Lin Changgeng's pupils contracted when Wang Qiu'er vanished, and he scanned his surroundings, trying to locate her.
Yet the next instant, Wang Qiu'er appeared beside Lin Changgeng and kicked him in the waist.
Thud!
Lin Changgeng went flying and rolled twice across the ground.
"Hiss..." He climbed to his feet and rubbed his waist. "Qiu'er, you're not fighting fair!"
"Fair? What's fair? Will an enemy fight fair in battle? Will a soul beast fight fair when you're hunting it?" Wang Qiu'er rolled her eyes at Lin Changgeng.
Thinking it over, Lin Changgeng realized she was right. In a real battle, his opponent wouldn't fight fair, unless it was a soul fighting match.
As for why Lin Changgeng was taking a beating, that went back to when he finished making the Soul Tool Pistol. Wang Qiu'er had said that becoming a qualified soul master meant neglecting no aspect of his training. Combat came first, and to learn how to fight, he first had to learn how to take a beating.
And so, Wang Qiu'er became Lin Changgeng's training partner.
"Fine." Lin Changgeng took a deep breath and released his domain.
Golden mist instantly spread, suppressing the circulation of Wang Qiu'er's soul power by twenty percent and slowing her movements a fraction.
But even with that twenty-percent suppression, Wang Qiu'er's combat experience was beyond anything Lin Changgeng could match.
The moment Lin Changgeng released his domain, Wang Qiu'er charged inside and engaged him at close quarters.
Even with her cultivation suppressed, Wang Qiu'er's body was still at the Titled Douluo level. Lin Changgeng, meanwhile, had only two soul skills: one for attacking and one for enhancement. His attacks were useless against Wang Qiu'er, and his second soul skill was an enhancement-was he supposed to use it just to endure more of a beating?
Faced with Wang Qiu'er's attacks, Lin Changgeng could only take the blows. She controlled the entire tempo.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
A few punches and kicks later, Lin Changgeng went flying again.
"I'm done, I'm done." Lin Changgeng lay sprawled on the ground. "Qiu'er, could you go a little easier? My face is swollen!"
Wang Qiu'er walked over and looked down at him, her arms folded across her chest.
"If you want to learn how to fight, you first have to learn how to take a beating," she said evenly. "If I ease up on you now and pull my punches, sure, you'll feel better. But when you face a powerful enemy later, will they go easy on you?"
"They'd love nothing more than to kill you with a single punch."
"The harder I hit you now, the more firmly you'll remember it, and the better your chances of surviving when something really happens."
"Besides..." Wang Qiu'er paused. "True gold doesn't fear the furnace. If you can't endure even this, give up cultivating. Being a soul master isn't for you."
At her words, Lin Changgeng grew somewhat dazed and began reflecting on why he wanted to cultivate.
Was it for status?
To become a Titled Douluo, standing high above everyone, with people bowing wherever I went and looking up to me?
That didn't seem right.
He had little interest in such hollow trappings.
Was it for power?
To control a faction, command thousands upon thousands, and hold other people's lives in a single thought?
That didn't seem right either.
He had no interest in deciding whether other people lived or died.
Was it for money?
Glory and riches, fine clothes and lavish meals, mountains of gold and silver I couldn't spend in a lifetime?
Definitely not.
Then what was it for?
Lin Changgeng closed his eyes, and countless scenes flashed through his mind.
Back at the orphanage in Nuoding City, Lin Changgeng had been content just to have enough to eat each day. When awakening his martial soul, all he wanted was to possess soul power; its level didn't matter. He only wanted to live a peaceful, stable life and at least have a family after the war of the gods. Then his journey to Douluo wouldn't have been in vain.
But then the one-time system appeared and let him choose three out of nine options. He chose Behemoth, Wang Qiu'er, and the gengjin origin spirit, which gave him the ambition to contend for supremacy over the continent.
But was it really that simple? Clearly not. His path had changed ever since the system awakened. With Wang Qiu'er backing him and his newfound talent, he had begun to lose himself in his success. In this world, the strong devoured the weak, and strength reigned supreme.
Without strength, you were meat on the chopping block, left for others to carve up.
Ning Fengzhi was a prime example. Why did Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo always stay by his side to keep him safe? Wasn't it because he lacked the strength to protect himself? The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was wealthy, but without powerful protectors, how was it any different from someone else's granary? Everything had gone so smoothly for Lin Changgeng that he had forgotten his own age. Without a guardian protecting his path, would his life still have been such smooth sailing?
He didn't want that.
He didn't want to be manipulated, or to end up like those supporting characters in the original story, dying at a moment's notice without even raising a splash.
He wanted to control his own destiny.
He wanted to protect the people around him, whether Wang Qiu'er, Dugu Bo, and Dugu Yan now, or others in the future.
He wanted to live freely, without having to watch anyone's expression or fear anyone's threats.
To do whatever he wanted and go wherever he pleased.
That was why he cultivated.
Not for status, not for power, and not for money.
It was to survive, to be free, and to never be bullied by anyone.
Once he understood that, Lin Changgeng opened his eyes, and his gaze had changed.
Before, he had mostly gone with the flow in his cultivation. He felt that, with his talent, growing stronger was simply a matter of course, and he had lacked any sense of urgency.
But now he understood.
Cultivation wasn't for anyone else. It was for himself.
Then let me take a beating. At least someone on my side knows where to draw the line. An outsider wouldn't give me this chance.
At that thought, Lin Changgeng's gaze became resolute, and his entire bearing grew sharper.
Lin Changgeng wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and climbed to his feet. "Let's continue."
"That's more like it." Sensing the change in Lin Changgeng's bearing and gaze, Wang Qiu'er nodded. It seemed he understood why he cultivated.
She paused, then continued, "Every move has its weakness. What you need to do is find that weakness, then use your own advantages to break through it. That's why you need to stay calm in battle instead of panicking. If you panic, you'll never grow."
"Stay calm?" Lin Changgeng nodded thoughtfully.
Then Lin Changgeng took a deep breath and released his domain again.
Golden mist spread, covering a larger area than before and becoming more substantial.
But Wang Qiu'er paid it no mind. Her figure flickered, and she closed in again.
Once again, she engaged him at close quarters.
This time, he was prepared, so Lin Changgeng wasn't as nervous as before.
I have to use my own advantages. Recalling Wang Qiu'er's words, Lin Changgeng closed his eyes and began sensing the flow of metal around him.
P.S. Future updates will be at ten in the evening.
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