Lou Gao suddenly raised his hand, cutting Lin Xia off mid-sentence. The relaxed ease on his face vanished instantly, replaced by an expression of sheer disbelief and shock.
His gaze burned like fire as it locked onto Lin Xia. His voice rose sharply from the intensity of his astonishment, carrying an urgency that bordered on interrogation.
"Xia! What did you just say? This 'Dig'—it was an ability Larvitar comprehended on its own? Just yesterday? And under the premise that it hasn't obtained a single soul ring?!"
Startled by his teacher's sudden severity and intense stare, Lin Xia felt his heart tighten for a moment. But he quickly realized what key point Lou Gao had seized upon.
After a brief moment of thought, Lin Xia nodded calmly. Pokémon moves were indeed similar to soul skills in manifestation—at their core, both were applications of energy.
"Yes, Teacher. This is not a soul skill granted by a soul ring. Larvitar is… somewhat different."
"As it consumes minerals, accumulates energy, and continues to grow, certain dormant aspects within it—these can be understood as innate abilities, or instinctive traits of its Soul—naturally awaken on their own."
"Dig is one such ability. It was not bestowed by any external force, but originates from the growth of its own bloodline and core essence."
Lin Xia did his best to explain it using concepts this world could understand.
"Instinctive Soul abilities? Innate powers?"
Lou Gao murmured the words under his breath, the shock in his eyes surging like a violent storm.
He suddenly sucked in a sharp breath, as if trying to inhale all the air in the courtyard at once. His voice trembled slightly, filled with disbelief.
"You're saying… your Martial Soul, Larvitar—it… it is born with soul skills?! And without any soul rings?!"
His breathing grew heavy.
This completely overturned everything he knew about Martial Souls!
A Soul Master only gained soul skills after acquiring soul rings—unless they were exceptionally gifted individuals capable of creating their own soul skills!
But even so, Lou Gao had never heard of a Martial Soul that possessed abilities resembling soul skills before obtaining a single soul ring!
And even more absurdly—
They were acquired simply by eating?!
Seeing how shaken his teacher was, Lin Xia understood the magnitude of the impact. He decided to explain things more clearly, both to reassure Lou Gao and to prevent further doubts.
"Yes, Teacher. And… Dig is not the only one."
Lin Xia paused briefly, then continued under Lou Gao's nearly frozen gaze.
"To the best of this disciple's knowledge, Larvitar currently possesses eight moves."
"Ei—eight?!"
Lou Gao's voice shot up by several octaves, hoarse and distorted, like a blunt piece of iron struck to its limit by a heavy hammer.
It was as if lightning had struck him. He sprang up from the stone bench, the legs scraping harshly against the stone floor with a piercing screech.
He was a dignified Soul Saint, a Level 71 powerhouse!
He had endured untold hardships and life-threatening dangers, hunting soul beasts again and again just to obtain his seven soul skills!
And yet—
This six-year-old child's Martial Soul… hadn't even acquired its first soul ring, and it already had eight abilities!
Eight innate skills!
A surge of indescribable bitterness mixed with overwhelming absurdity and even a faint trace of envy—flooded Lou Gao's heart in an instant.
His worldview seemed to buzz violently, as though the ground beneath his feet were trembling.
Having lived so long and believing himself well-informed, he suddenly felt like a clueless child stepping into a blacksmith's shop for the first time, staring at a divine artifact beyond comprehension.
He looked at Lin Xia's youthful yet utterly serious face, then at Larvitar on the ground—hugging its Starfrost Iron with an innocent, bewildered expression, clearly unaware that it had just dropped a massive mental bomb.
Lou Gao's lips twitched uncontrollably.
"Eight… eight innate skills… heh… good… very good…"
His voice drifted, hollow, carrying the lightheadedness of someone forcibly regaining composure after a tremendous shock.
He raised his hand and vigorously wiped his face, his rough palm scraping against his beard with a rasping sound, trying to suppress the suffocating feeling in his chest.
He took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled, as if expelling all the shock and bitterness from his lungs.
The resilience and broad-mindedness of a divine blacksmith quickly regained the upper hand.
"Damn it… comparing people really is enough to make one die of envy, and comparing goods just makes you want to throw yours away!"
Lou Gao suddenly cursed aloud, yet a self-mocking, relieved smile appeared on his face.
"I've slaved away for most of my life just to scrape together seven tools to make a living, and you little monster haven't even gone out to hunt a soul beast yet, but you're already hoarding eight treasures at home! Hahaha!"
He gave Lin Xia a heavy slap on the shoulder, the force making Lin Xia sway slightly. Yet his tone was bold and hearty, filled with laughter and reassurance.
"But! Of my seven soul skills, six were chosen purely for forging! Being able to hammer out divine weapons—that's my true craft!"
"Your path, kid, is completely different from mine! It's an entirely new world! Good! Very good! This proves my judgment was right—I took in a disciple who's truly an unparalleled freak of nature!"
Lou Gao's gaze grew firm and bright once more. That fleeting sense of bitterness was completely swept away, replaced by pride in his disciple's talent and a burning curiosity for unexplored territory. He looked at Lin Xia and said solemnly.
"Xia, I understand your idea now! You want to make use of Larvitar's talent and this 'Dig' ability to investigate underground mineral deposits. This line of thinking… bold! Novel! Completely unprecedented! From the perspective of efficiency and possibility alone, it's practically a genius idea!"
Suddenly, Lou Gao's tone turned extremely severe, carrying unquestionable authority.
"But! Prospecting? Absolutely not!"
"Huh?"
Lin Xia had expected his teacher to be cautious, but he hadn't anticipated such an outright refusal.
"Do you think the underground is some kind of playground?"
Lou Gao's voice rose sharply, ringing with force.
"It's a forbidden zone even more dangerous than certain regions of the Star Dou Forest! High-temperature magma currents, toxic miasma, complex and fragile geological layers, terrifying collapses that can happen at any moment, and even unknown, powerful soul beasts lurking deep beneath the earth!"
"Not to mention naturally formed energy traps and labyrinthine illusion zones!"
"No matter how miraculous your 'Dig' ability is, it's still something newly awakened!"
"Your understanding of the underground is practically zero! No matter how well Larvitar can sense minerals, can it instantly tell whether what lies ahead is a rich ore vein—or deadly magma infused with fire poison?"
"Can it know which rock layers are critical load-bearing structures, where breaking through would trigger a collapse spanning thousands of meters?"
"Can it protect you when poisonous gas suddenly floods in, or when underground currents surge?"
"And most importantly—there isn't enough oxygen underground for you to breathe."
Lou Gao stared at Lin Xia with blazing eyes, each question like a bucket of cold water poured over Lin Xia's overheated enthusiasm.
"Prospecting is a field that demands extremely specialized knowledge, extensive experience, powerful strength, and thorough preparation!"
"For you to attempt it now would be no different from walking a tightrope blindfolded over a bottomless abyss! Even saying nine deaths out of ten would be putting it lightly!"
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