Soul Emperor Awakening

Lin Xuan felt his words had been rather tactless. ’How can I judge others by my own standards, being so used to seeing incredible things?’ He hadn’t expected to make such a blunder, but the little boy didn’t seem to mind at all, as if he were already used to it.

"Big Brother, what was that ball of fire you were riding? It looked so powerful, it could even fly through the air! But you were badly hurt. It took all my strength to carry you back here," the little boy went on, seemingly having an endless stream of questions.

’So he really did carry me back. This boy is truly my savior. I never thought I’d be rescued by a child.’ If he’d been left drifting out there, he might have been swallowed by the surging Demon Sea or spotted by a Guard. That would have been a real disaster.

"That was a very beautiful bird. I’ll take you for a ride on it in the future," Lin Xuan said with a faint smile.

"It was a bird? Are there really birds that beautiful?" The little boy grew even more excited, eager to hear more from Lin Xuan.

Lin Xuan then learned a bit about the situation here. Qing Liuyun’s memories contained nothing about this place. The Demon Cloud Sea was so vast; how could Qing Liuyun possibly know all of it? Knowing even a fraction was impressive enough. Besides, this was hardly a safe place—who would dare to explore it recklessly?

The little boy before him was named Tuo Yunhai. Some years ago, while traveling by boat, he had been captured by Pirates. All the males were then sold here as forced laborers. The women, of course, were all taken by the Pirates. They would never leave a single woman behind.

Besides, males were the obvious choice for forced labor; women couldn’t handle such grueling work, especially in these mines. Aside from this, Tuo Yunhai didn’t know much else. He had been imprisoned here the entire time, only knowing that this was a mine with many powerful guardians. He wasn’t qualified to know anything more. All he knew was how to mine.

"Damn it, Pirates again!" Lin Xuan seethed with anger. Although not all Pirates were evil, the vast majority were. They knew only how to burn, kill, and plunder, stopping at no evil!

In a region like the Demon Cloud Sea, resources were abundant, and plundering was undoubtedly the fastest way to obtain them. What others had painstakingly collected in these dangerous waters could be stolen in an instant. One can only imagine the anguish!

It was true that this world was about survival of the fittest, but this completely violated basic humanity, and it made Lin Xuan furious. If he had the power, he would absolutely eradicate all these Pirates!

"Yeah... it was those Pirates. They took my companions and..." As he recounted the painful memory, tears streamed down his face, though his expression remained stiff. He quickly wiped them away. "I can’t cry. If the Guards see me, they’ll beat me again."

Lin Xuan froze, his heart aching. ’If I hadn’t lost my strength, I would kill every single one of the Guards outside right now!’ He couldn’t believe they weren’t even allowed to cry. But of course, the Guards wouldn’t let them. If you were crying, you didn’t have the energy to work.

RUMBLE...

Suddenly, Tuo Yunhai’s stomach rumbled, a clear sign of hunger. He seemed to remember something and pulled two buns from inside his shirt. But they didn’t look like buns at all; they were more like two pitch-black, very hard rocks.

"Brother Lin, you eat one too. Your injuries are really bad, and I don’t know how to treat them. I could only put some of our usual healing ointment on you." He pressed one of the buns into Lin Xuan’s hand, then took a small bite of his own. It was a tiny nibble, which he chewed slowly and thoroughly before taking another.

Only by chewing slowly could he make himself feel full. If he took big bites, two buns wouldn’t be nearly enough.

"I’m already much better..." Lin Xuan said, gripping the bun in his hand. It was cold to the touch, without a hint of softness. It was exactly like holding a rock.

"Then eat it! Your wounds will heal faster if you eat!" Tuo Yunhai insisted.

With Tuo Yunhai staring at him, Lin Xuan had no choice but to lift it to his lips and take a small bite. A bitter taste immediately spread across his tongue. It was awful. Absolutely awful. He had never eaten such a disgusting bun in his life—bitter and hard, it was really like chewing on a rock. And yet, this was the only food they had to eat.

"By the way, when you carried me back here, did you see anything else?" Lin Xuan asked.

’As long as my belongings are still there, everything will be much easier once I find my Healing Elixirs. Or, if I have those statues, I just need to summon them. It wouldn’t be hard to take control of this place, or at least escape.’

"No. When you fell, you landed deep in the sand on the beach. They must have fallen off there," Tuo Yunhai said after a moment’s thought, shaking his head.

Lin Xuan frowned. ’This is going to be trouble.’ He would have to rely on his own body to recuperate. But with his current injuries, that would be incredibly difficult. A slow recovery would take at least one or two months.

And that was just a preliminary estimate; it might even take longer. What’s more, that was just to recover enough to move freely, with his strength restored to roughly the Spirit Refining Stage Level.

’Several months... can I really stay hidden here safely for that long?’ He couldn’t be sure. He definitely wouldn’t be able to keep this up for long.

"Do you have any of those Primordial Stones?" Lin Xuan suddenly thought of the stones they were mining. They could also help him recover by boosting the regeneration of his Elemental Power. That would allow him to heal much faster, definitely a lot quicker than recuperating on his own.

"I do, but not many. I only dare to sneak back a tiny amount at a time. We use them for Cultivation, but it’s a huge luxury, so we don’t dare take much. Can these help with your injuries?" Tuo Yunhai knew what the stones were for, but his own Cultivation was still quite low—around the First or Second Layer of the Body Refining Stage. He had at least cultivated before; if his Level was any higher, he would have drawn attention long ago.

In fact, most of the people outside were at this Cultivation level, with some being slightly higher. The higher one’s Cultivation, the more grueling the labor they were assigned.

"They’ll help," Lin Xuan said, his eyes lighting up.

Tuo Yunhai stealthily lifted a stone slab in the corner and pulled out a few half-fist-sized Primordial Stones from a hollow underneath. Lin Xuan shook his head when he saw them. It was far too little; he would absorb them in an instant.

"This is all I have. If it’s not enough, I’ll try to sneak a little more during work. But I can’t take too much, or I’ll be discovered," Tuo Yunhai whispered.

Looking at Tuo Yunhai, who was doing so much to help him, Lin Xuan knew he owed the boy an immense debt. ’Once I recover,’ he vowed, ’I will absolutely get him out of here and show him the outside world!’

With Tuo Yunhai’s help, his recovery time would be shortened dramatically. This was a true lifeline in a hopeless situation.