"Lin Xia, I'm not trying to lecture you, but if you keep going like this, something bad is bound to happen sooner or later. Look at you—and look at your Spirit. Which one of you is normal?"
"Just acknowledge me as your teacher. I'll guide you down the proper path of cultivation. You'll get twice the results with half the effort. After all, both our Spirits are Detached Beast Spirits. And if you follow me, you won't have to live on ores anymore—you'll be able to eat meat every meal. What do you say?"
Inside a cramped room stacked high with yellowed books at Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy, Yu Xiaogang stood behind a wooden desk cluttered with ancient texts. Dressed in a plain gray robe, he looked at Lin Xia with an expression full of disappointment.
Lin Xia, however, didn't pay him the slightest attention.
Instead, he pulled a fresh chunk of ore from his pocket, tossed it into his mouth, and began chewing. Crunch. Crunch.
The sound echoed clearly in the otherwise silent room.
After finishing the ore, Lin Xia instinctively reached into his pocket again. Only when he realized there was nothing left did he finally turn his gaze to the Spirit crouched beside him—Larvitar.
Larvitar had a rock-like, grayish-green body, with a thick, blunt horn growing from the top of its head. Its eyes were red, its arms short, and each foot had only a single toe. A diamond-shaped red scale covered its abdomen, while four black diamond-shaped holes lined its waist. The center of its tail was conical, surrounded by a plate-like structure.
It looked exactly like a tiny dinosaur—simple-minded, yet undeniably adorable.
Seeing Larvitar clutching a chunk of Iron Ore in its small hands and gnawing on it nonstop, Lin Xia couldn't help swallowing before smiling.
"Larvitar, you probably can't finish all that by yourself, right? Want me to help you?"
The moment he spoke, Larvitar shot him a glance and immediately sped up. In just a few seconds, it swallowed the Iron Ore whole, patted its stomach, and looked up expectantly.
"Yoji?"
Its red eyes blinked at Lin Xia, clearly not understanding a word he'd said.
Lin Xia sighed helplessly. Then he turned back to Yu Xiaogang and spoke in a serious tone.
"Grandmaster, is there anything else? If not, Larvitar and I are heading to the mine. We're a bit hungry."
Seeing Lin Xia brush him off so casually, Yu Xiaogang frowned and continued speaking.
"Lin Xia, perhaps you don't know this, but your teacher here is a Grandmaster renowned across the entire continent. I even published the Theory of the Ten Core Competencies of Spirits!"
"Everything I say is backed by theory and evidence. If you continue like this, you'll destroy both yourself and your Spirit!"
"I'm only advising you so earnestly because you possess Innate Level Eight Spirit Power. That means you have real talent!"
"What you're doing now is wasting that talent—and it may even cause irreversible damage to your physical body!"
"My Luo Sanpao is different. When it releases a Spirit Ability, I only feed it White Radishes, which greatly reduces spirit power consumption…"
If Yu Xiaogang hadn't brought it up, Lin Xia wouldn't have said anything. But hearing this, he genuinely felt sorry for Luo Sanpao.
In Lin Xia's view, Luo Sanpao wasn't a failed mutation at all. Its talent was simply dormant, waiting for rebirth through trial and tempering—destined to become stronger than before.
After all, just feeding it White Radishes reduced spirit power consumption, and later on it would even gain control over the Trinity Spirit Fusion Skill, transforming into the Golden Holy Dragon.
That alone proved its immense potential.
From a Pokémon perspective, Luo Sanpao would be at least a Poison–Dragon-type.
And its evolution method was incredibly simple: release it more often, let it eat properly, and raise its affection level.
After all, what kind of decent person locks their Pokémon inside a Poké Ball every single day without even feeding it?
Being stuck at Level 29 was exactly what he deserved.
The physical body feeds back to the Spirit, and the Spirit feeds back to the physical body—that is the true Dao.
As for Lin Xia himself, when his Larvitar Spirit first awakened, he'd been filled with despair. Anyone from the Pokémon world knew how hard this creature was to raise.
To reach its final evolution and become Tyranitar, it needed to consume at least an entire mountain. Without a wealthy background, raising one was practically impossible.
But later, Lin Xia discovered something incredible.
He could eat the same ores as Larvitar.
His teeth became astonishingly strong, his appetite surged, and every time he ate, his physical body was reinforced as well.
That was when Lin Xia realized—this world of Douluo had changed many of the original rules.
That was why he and Larvitar ate ores together.
Sure, the cost was a little higher, but in exchange came limitless possibilities.
As for Yu Xiaogang—someone who didn't even fully understand his own Spirit—trying to instruct him?
Lin Xia couldn't help but scoff inwardly.
The only thing Yu Xiaogang truly had going for him was his theoretical knowledge of Spirits. But why couldn't Lin Xia study that systematically on his own?
Because of that, Yu Xiaogang really had no standing in Lin Xia's eyes.
Still, considering Yu Xiaogang's background—and Tang San, the guy who loved recognizing fathers everywhere—Lin Xia maintained a surface-level politeness to avoid unnecessary trouble.
"Grandmaster, it's already been more than ten days. You should understand my meaning. I truly don't want to take a teacher. I'm an orphan—I'm used to freedom."
"Your theories are impressive, but they simply don't suit me. Take Spirit Mimicry Theory, for example—a Plant-Type Spirit absorbing a Beast Spirit Ring, or a Beast-Type Spirit absorbing a Plant Spirit Ring. That's something I genuinely can't accept."
After saying that, Lin Xia didn't bother looking at Yu Xiaogang's expression. He turned around, left the room with Larvitar, and headed outside.
Once Lin Xia was gone, Tang San stepped out from the restroom. Looking at Yu Xiaogang's gloomy face, he spoke bluntly.
"Teacher, Lin Xia will regret not acknowledging you. He's short-sighted and doesn't understand how formidable you truly are."
Hearing this, Yu Xiaogang's mood improved slightly. After a sigh, he shook his head.
"Little San, you don't understand Lin Xia's potential. Although he doesn't have Innate Full Spirit Power, I understand his Spirit. After all, I possess a similar Detached Beast Spirit."
"A Spirit like that is equivalent to having an extra Spirit Master."
Tang San instantly grasped what Yu Xiaogang meant, but he still asked for confirmation.
"Teacher… are you saying—?"
Yu Xiaogang nodded and explained further.
"That's right. This kind of… special Spirit can release Spirit Abilities both through the Spirit itself and through the Spirit Master—just by absorbing a single spirit ring."
"It's only slightly inferior to your twin spirits in terms of potential."
A flash of curiosity appeared in Tang San's eyes.
"Teacher, can your Spirit and you both release Spirit Abilities as well?"
Yu Xiaogang's mouth twitched instantly, his expression darkening. Still, to preserve his image in front of Tang San, he reluctantly answered.
"…Mm."
"Then, Teacher, could you demonstrate—"
"No!!!"