"Then what's going on with your Soul Power?"
Chen Xin still didn't understand. He had clearly sensed Lin Xing's unusual Soul Power from far away, which was why he had thought to test him. He simply hadn't expected the brat to turn tail and run, with no intention of fighting whatsoever.
"I trained it, obviously."
Lin Xing certainly couldn't tell him the truth.
"Trained?"
"You mean you trained your Soul Power to level forty despite being unable to have Soul Rings attached?"
Now Chen Xin really had his eyes opened.
"Yes."
Chen Xin, who had been somewhat disappointed, suddenly wasn't so disappointed anymore.
"Little fellow, would you be willing to take me as your master?"
Lin Xing visibly froze.
"Please don't joke, Senior. I'm a cripple who can't even have Soul Rings attached. How could I deserve to become your disciple?"
"Don't belittle yourself."
Chen Xin strongly disagreed.
"Although your Martial Soul can't have Soul Rings attached, you relied on perseverance to forcibly break through your own shackles and raise your Soul Power Level to forty. You could absolutely take another path."
"You should know that Soul Skills don't necessarily have to rely on Soul Rings."
"With your talent, why not consider creating your own Soul Skills?"
Lin Xing knew he had overplayed his hand. The lie he had made up on the spot, combined with his current circumstances, had indeed fooled Chen Xin, but he had fallen into the pit along with him.
Well, strictly speaking, it couldn't really be called a pit. The reason he thought of it as one was that he personally didn't want to get involved with any major sects or clans.
That was why he felt it was a pit.
But setting those personal thoughts aside, becoming Chen Xin's disciple really did seem to offer nothing but benefits at present.
His combat awareness was terrible. Chen Xin was the Sword Douluo, and studying under him would absolutely allow him to hone it.
"Since you've put it that way, Senior, how could I let your kindness go to waste?"
Lin Xing finally chose to compromise. He could set the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale aside for now. When he had a chance to go out training alone in the future, he could freely absorb Soul Rings.
Between combat awareness and the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale, the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale had definitely taken priority before Chen Xin appeared. But now that Chen Xin had appeared, he could temporarily reverse that order.
There was nothing wrong with honing his combat awareness first.
Besides, Fufu really couldn't have Soul Rings attached. His fighting method was simply to rely entirely on the Splendor of Tranquil Waters, converting the power within his body into attacks and unleashing them.
After a brief master-disciple ceremony there, Lin Xing could provisionally be considered Chen Xin's first disciple.
"I'll have to trouble you to look after my body now, Master."
"Hmm?"
Before Chen Xin could react, Lin Xing's white hair turned black, and his mismatched, waterdrop-patterned eyes returned to normal.
Much as he had calculated, once the Fufu state ended, Lin Xing's vision went black, and he passed out on the spot.
Chen Xin reacted swiftly, reaching out to scoop Lin Xing into his arms.
"What a strange Martial Soul..."
Chen Xin had clearly still sensed the enormous Soul Power inside Lin Xing just a moment ago. Yet in the blink of an eye, that Soul Power had suddenly vanished, and Lin Xing himself had fainted along with it.
Extremely faint fluctuations of Soul Power rose from Chen Xin's palm. Once his Soul Power entered Lin Xing's body, it was like a clay ox entering the sea.
Chen Xin's brows knitted even tighter. The Soul Power fluctuations over his palm grew slightly stronger, but Lin Xing's body accepted it all just the same.
Something was wrong.
How could Soul Power of his Titled Douluo-level quality be absorbed so easily by a level-forty Soul Master?
Chen Xin couldn't help increasing his Soul Power output again.
Yet the result remained the same. Lin Xing's body was like a black hole, accepting every bit of Soul Power he poured into it.
After consuming two percent of his own Soul Power, Chen Xin finally chose to stop. Lin Xing still showed no sign of being filled, but he didn't dare keep stuffing more in.
Until he understood what was going on with this body, he had better stop for now.
It would be bad if he kept stuffing it in and made him burst.
With the quality of his level-ninety-six Soul Power, putting it into an ordinary level-forty Soul Master would absolutely burst their meridians.
Chen Xin carried the unconscious Lin Xing back to camp.
"Grandpa Sword, you're finally back!"
The girl rushed over and hugged Chen Xin's leg, rubbing her little face against it repeatedly.
Chen Xin's already fairly good mood improved further.
"Rongrong, how has your playing been? If you've had enough, it's about time Grandpa Sword took you to hunt for a Soul Ring."
"Mm..."
"If Rongrong says she still wants to play, will Grandpa Sword keep playing with me?"
"Of course. If Rongrong wants to play, Grandpa Sword will certainly keep you company to the very end."
Chen Xin's face was practically blooming.
"Hehe, Grandpa Sword is the best!"
"But Grandpa Sword, who's that you're holding?"
Ning Rongrong looked at Lin Xing in Chen Xin's arms with some dissatisfaction. With Grandpa Sword holding this person, he couldn't hold her.
"This is the disciple Grandpa Sword just took in."
Chen Xin smiled and handed Lin Xing to a guard standing nearby.
"Get him settled."
"Yes."
The guard answered quietly, then took Lin Xing into his arms and headed toward a tent.
With his hands freed, Chen Xin scooped Ning Rongrong up, placed the little girl on his shoulder, and steadied her with one hand.
"Come on, Grandpa Sword will take Rongrong for a ride farther inside."
As he spoke, the Seven Kill Sword rose, carrying the two of them deeper into the Star Dou Great Forest.
Lin Xing had passed out, but Fufu had it rough. Once Lin Xing lost consciousness, she lost her view of the outside world.
The only piece of news that could count as good news was that after Lin Xing passed out, an unconscious spirit body had also appeared in the Sea of Consciousness.
Furina reached out and poked Lin Xing's cheek.
It was soft and felt quite nice.
"That brat A-Xing is pretty cute as a little kid."
No longer satisfied with poking, Furina laid Lin Xing across her lap and began working his face over with both hands.
Lin Xing had no idea how long he had slept. All he knew was that his face hurt a little when he woke up.
"Hiss..."
He reached up and patted his head, then struggled to sit up, his face burning with pain.
It felt as though something had brutally kneaded it.
Could Chen Xin have failed to catch him when he fainted, causing him to fall flat on his face?
Inside the Sea of Consciousness, Fufu felt too guilty to speak right away.
Lin Xing didn't ask anything either.
After looking around the place he was in, Lin Xing had a rough idea of what had happened. Chen Xin had brought him back, and there were only two possibilities that could have brought Chen Xin here.
Either Ning Fengzhi was here, or Ning Rongrong was here.
Or, more simply, both of them were here.
However, Lin Xing leaned more toward the latter.
Chen Xin had most likely accompanied Ning Rongrong to hunt for a Soul Ring. That meant there was still some time before the plot truly began.
At that thought, Lin Xing relaxed a little. He sat cross-legged where he was and, for the first time, began seriously sensing the power within his body.