Body tempering

Tang San continued down the street, stopping again when he passed a smithy.

Clanging came from inside the smithy, and sparks flew in every direction. Tang San thought for a moment, then stepped inside.

He bought an iron bowl, a small stove, and some fire-starting supplies, as well as a short sword and a basic bow and arrows. It all cost him two Gold Soul Coins.

Tang San tucked the short sword into his belt and slung the bow and arrows over his shoulder. He wrapped the stove and iron bowl in cloth and stuffed them into his bundle.

The Vajra Hammer was a blunt weapon, so the short sword supplemented it as a blade, while the bow and arrows could attack from a distance.

If he ran into a Soul Beast in the Soul Hunting Forest, one more weapon gave him one more chance of staying alive. If that still wasn't enough, he could only use the Clear Sky Hammer.

That was especially true when he was hunting souls with that piece of trash Yu Xiaogang, whose Soul Skill was nothing but farting. If they really ran into danger, Tang San would be better off counting on himself than on Yu Xiaogang.

If the original Tang San hadn't had Hidden Weapons, he would most likely have ended up in the jaws of that four-hundred-year-old Mandala Snake.

Tang San didn't want the beginning to be the end.

After buying the ironware, Tang San found another shop on the street and spent five Copper Soul Coins on a set of bedding and more than a dozen masks.

Why buy masks? Those who knew, knew.

Tang San followed the road back, and by the time he returned to the academy, the sun was already slanting west, casting the dormitory building's shadow long across the ground.

Tang San pushed open the door to Dorm Seven. The room was in an uproar.

When Xiao Wu saw Tang San enter, she opened her mouth. "Tang San, where did you go?"

"Out to buy a few things." Tang San smiled and put everything away.

Wang Sheng came over, clicking his tongue in amazement. "Tang San, are you going to war? You've got a sword and a bow."

As Tang San made his bed, he replied, "I'm going to the Soul Hunting Forest in a few days, so I prepared a few things to protect myself."

"The Soul Hunting Forest?" Wang Sheng's eyes widened, and his voice was full of envy. "Tang San, are you going to hunt for a Soul Ring? Isn't your Martial Soul Blue Silver Grass?"

"Yes. My Martial Soul may be pretty useless, but I have Innate Full Soul Power," Tang San said with a smile.

The other work-study students also looked over in shock.

Late at night, when all was quiet, Tang San lay on his bed with his eyes wide open. Only after everyone was fast asleep and he had confirmed that no one was awake did he gently lift the covers and carefully get up.

He felt under the bed for the things he had prepared beforehand: the iron bowl, the small stove, the fire-starting supplies, and the wooden box containing the Whale Rubber.

Once everything was in order, Tang San slipped silently out of Dorm Seven and plunged into the night.

Tang San followed a path up the back mountain for about a quarter of an hour and came to a hollow where there was a small lake.

After looking around and making sure no one was nearby, Tang San crouched down, set up the small stove, and started a fire.

He placed the iron bowl on the stove, then took the piece of Whale Rubber out of the wooden box and put it in the bowl.

The flames quickly heated the iron bowl, and the Whale Rubber began to soften in the heat. The pitch-black lump gradually melted into a pool of thick liquid, its color changing from black to dark brown, like melted syrup.

An even stronger fishy smell rose with the heat. Tang San stared at the liquid in the bowl, his Adam's apple bobbing.

Taking a deep breath, Tang San picked up the iron bowl. Without caring whether it was hot, he tipped his head back and poured the entire bowl of thick Whale Rubber liquid into his mouth in one go.

It didn't taste good.

The first thing he tasted was fishiness. Tang San fought back the urge to gag, his throat tightening and relaxing as he forced down the entire bowlful of liquid. It slid down his throat, leaving a burning sensation in its wake.

An indescribable wave of heat burst forth, rapidly spreading through his limbs and bones.

Tang San's skin reddened at a speed visible to the naked eye, the color spreading from his neck all the way to his toes until he looked like a boiled shrimp.

Sweat poured from every pore almost instantly, soaking his clothes and dripping from his chin and fingertips.

Tang San felt as though his body had been set over a fire to roast. The blood in his vessels seemed to have turned into scorching magma, rampaging through him.

His muscles began to tremble uncontrollably, and veins bulged beneath his skin, writhing like earthworms.

"Hiss!"

Tang San sucked in a sharp breath and frantically tugged off his clothes, then plunged headfirst into the lake.

Splash!

Water flew in every direction as the icy lake swallowed Tang San whole.

The lake was bitingly cold at night, but to Tang San, whose entire body was burning hot, the chill was like charcoal delivered in a snowstorm. The shock of hot and cold made his muscles clench, and his teeth chattered.

The cold of the lake and the heat inside Tang San's body clashed fiercely at the surface of his skin.

Time passed, second by second.

Tang San soaked in the lake with only his head above water, his eyes closed.

Waves of heat followed one after another. Tang San's muscles alternated between tightening like iron and relaxing like cotton, over and over.

Tang San knew the Whale Rubber's medicinal power was taking effect, tempering his sinews, bones, muscles, and meridians inch by inch.

Two hours were neither long nor short.

When the burning sensation finally began to fade, Tang San felt a lightness he had never known before.

Tang San opened his eyes and looked down at his hand. In the moonlight, his arm was covered in a sticky layer of gray-black, oily substance.

During the process of tempering his body, the Whale Rubber had expelled the impurities inside him through his pores.

Tang San looked at his chest and abdomen. His muscles, already quite firm from years of exercise, were now even more clearly defined.

Tang San could feel abundant strength flowing through his body. His physique was at least twenty percent stronger than before.

He gave himself a quick wash in the lake, scrubbing away all the grime on his body, then climbed ashore.

"Not bad," Tang San murmured to himself, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

Tang San put his clothes back on. They seemed looser, not because they had changed, but because his body had become more compact, with a little less of that bulky look.

As Tang San packed up, he made some calculations in his head.

Before taking the Whale Rubber, given his current physical strength, absorbing a Soul Ring of around five hundred years should already have been his limit.

After all, Tang San was only six. Though he had trained for years and had a much stronger foundation than others his age, his age was an undeniable fact, and his body's development was limited.

But now...

Tang San rolled his shoulders, feeling the abundant strength in his muscles, and silently recalculated.

"A six-hundred-year Soul Ring should be no problem now."

Whale Rubber improved the physique in every respect, not just strength, but also the endurance of the sinews, bones, meridians, and internal organs.

When absorbing a Soul Ring, the energy of the Soul Ring would have a tremendous impact on the body. The stronger one's endurance, the greater the age of the Soul Ring one could absorb.

Most ordinary Soul Masters' First Soul Rings were around four hundred years old. At six hundred years, a First Soul Ring was already fifty percent above the normal age.

Tang San gathered his tools, made sure he had left no trace, and followed the road back.

When he reached the dormitory building, Tang San made sure there was no movement, then slipped inside on tiptoe and climbed into his bed.

In the next bed, Xiao Wu turned over, muttered something, and fell sound asleep again.

This rabbit really didn't have a care in the world!

Tang San shook his head. Rather than going to sleep immediately, he sat cross-legged and began his meditation cultivation for the day.