Was Your Master Ever the Showy Type?

Shrek City.

The group of four arrived outside Shrek City.

Chen Dong was wholly absorbed in admiring this legendary holy land of the continent. Unfortunately, perhaps due to the ideas instilled in him by the Body Sect, aside from the initial shock of seeing Shrek City, he found nothing particularly remarkable about it.

It was merely enormous and ancient.

Long Aotian looked at his teacher expectantly.

Unfortunately, Du Busi did not make the grand entrance Long Aotian had imagined.

Du Busi had a flamboyant personality. Under normal circumstances, he would naturally be as arrogant as could be, but now he had restrained his Soul Power, appearing no different from an ordinary old man.

"You brat, what are you thinking?"

Du Busi slapped Long Aotian on the head and said irritably, "Am I the sort of person who loves showing off? I merely took on two outstanding disciples. This old man isn't so eager to let the whole world know."

"Isn't that exactly what you are?" Long Aotian muttered under his breath, clutching his head.

Du Busi naturally heard his disciple's grumbling. He snorted but did not hit him again.

If it weren't for you two, would this old man need to sneak around like this?

"Remember, don't reveal your identities. We only came here to buy a few things."

Buy what?

Long Aotian was just about to ask when Du Busi's gaze shut him down.

Chen Ming immediately understood.

What else could they be buying? Whale Rubber, of course.

Long Aotian would need Whale Rubber for his next Soul Ring anyway. As for Chen Ming, his situation was even more exaggerated. If he did not use it now, he would soon no longer care about the slight enhancement Whale Rubber could provide.

Whale Rubber was a special substance produced in the brains of whale-type soul beasts. It was an extremely potent, pure yang tonic. Consuming it could strengthen a Soul Master's physique, allowing them to Absorb Soul Rings beyond one's level.

However, such an extremely potent, pure yang tonic also had another drawback—or rather, another "main" effect: it was an aphrodisiac.

Chen Ming and Long Aotian's bodies had not fully developed, so Du Busi had not prepared any for them before. He had thought there was no rush.

But now, he was changing his plans and preparing some for the two of them in advance.

Long Aotian would likely not reach Rank 30 for another two or three years. By then, he would be eleven or twelve, which was more or less appropriate. Chen Ming, meanwhile, had been baptized by the Crimson Phoenix Nirvana Golden Lotus. Even if he were filled with the medicinal power of something so potent and pure yang, he would not be over-nourished. On the contrary, if he did not take it early and failed to benefit from Whale Rubber before obtaining his second Soul Ring, it would become useless afterward.

His first Soul Ring was already two thousand years. Wouldn't his second need to start at five thousand years?

After absorbing his second ring, his third would begin approaching ten thousand years. At that point, the key would no longer be physical fitness, but whether his spirit could withstand the soul shock of a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring.

Even Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Rubber would only improve the body's tolerance by a little over a thousand years.

Shrek City itself carried immense prestige. Nearly every Soul Master wanted to come here and witness the grandeur of Shrek Academy. Anyone who finished hunting soul beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest would come visit nearby Shrek.

Moreover, its geographical location was superb. It could be said that treasures from across the Douluo Continent gathered here.

If they wanted Whale Rubber, coming to Shrek City was the most direct way to obtain it.

"If we can't find it in Shrek City, your master will personally go find some for you."

That word "find" was quite telling.

Long Aotian silently mocked him.

Whale Rubber.

Chen Ming recalled that, in the original story, Huo Yuhao had found a bargain piece of Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Rubber at the Treasure Appraisal Pavilion. He wondered whether that piece had already reached Shrek's Treasure Appraisal Pavilion.

It had to be said that the nature of an organization determined its attitude toward treasures.

In the Body Sect, resources meant for nurturing disciples like this would never be kept around. Once acquired, they would basically be consumed by the sect's pack of beasts. Shrek Academy, on the other hand, had accumulated many treasures without using them immediately.

This was actually why the various powers across the continent tacitly allowed Shrek to establish this Treasure Appraisal Pavilion. They simply treated Shrek as a fairly trustworthy bank.

Although they handed their treasures over to Shrek, from another perspective, having all treasures gathered here also made them easier to find.

"The Treasure Appraisal Pavilion. This is it."

Du Busi looked at the towering pavilion, radiant and extravagant, and curled his lip.

"So many people. Is Shrek holding another treasure appraisal event?"

A so-called treasure appraisal event was nothing more than periodically showing the Treasure Appraisal Pavilion's treasures to Shrek's core new students and giving them the chance to choose treasures on credit.

In its publicity, the treasure appraisal event had three formats. Two were specifically for academy students: one for inner court disciples and one for core disciples of the outer court.

It seemed as though the treasures were all meant for their own students, but in truth, these were originally goods for sale. After the treasure appraisal event, the Treasure Appraisal Pavilion remained open for business. Most treasures could still be bought by anyone who could afford the Gold Soul Coins.

After restraining his Soul Power fluctuations, Du Busi led Chen Ming and the other two into the pavilion before them.

They were not stopped in any way.

They entered without obstruction.

It was as if someone had already given the order.

Inside a private room on the top floor of the Treasure Appraisal Pavilion.

An elderly woman with crane-white hair and a youthful face frowned.

"Why has that old bastard come to Shrek?" She spat and said, "Since he's willing to keep himself restrained, stabilize him for now."

Clearly, even with his Soul Power fluctuations concealed, his presence was still unusual.

"Give that old bastard a twenty percent discount. Hopefully, he won't cause any trouble."

Paying money to avert disaster.

That was Lin Huiqun's idea. Right now, she only wanted to send Du Busi away as quickly as possible.

Within the academy, aside from Mu En, who could not make a move, only Xuan Zi could face Du Busi head-on. If they could avoid a conflict, then avoiding one was naturally best.

"But these two little ones... could they be that old fellow's disciples?"

From where Lin Huiqun stood, she could vaguely observe the overall situation in the Treasure Appraisal Pavilion through the curtains. Looking at Chen Ming and Long Aotian, she felt even more reassured.

Since he had brought juniors with him, a conflict was unlikely.

"Twenty percent off everything?"

Du Busi did not seem surprised at all.

His gaze swept around the room as he moved from display stand to display stand. He seemed interested in every treasure, even lingering before two soul bones and repeatedly asking about their prices.

Unfortunately, even at twenty percent off, the prices of those two soul bones were outrageously high. Du Busi had never intended to buy them anyway; he was severely short on Gold Soul Coins.

"Crooks!"

Du Busi cursed under his breath and turned to leave.

Doing business really did make money.

At that moment, he resented the fact that none of his disciples had any talent for business.

Still, he would not force sect disciples into commerce. He was only feeling temporarily pained by the expense.

In truth, he had not taken a fancy to those soul bones or insisted on bringing them back.

The sect's pack of beasts would divide up and quickly consume other resources, but strategic resources like soul bones were something the Body Sect had plenty of. Each was also exceptionally suited for Soul Masters with Body Martial Souls, so he was not particularly eager for soul bones.

After browsing several more exhibits and buying a large number of body-tempering medicines, he finally stopped before a display stand containing a piece of Whale Rubber.

Chen Ming's eyes flickered.

The Whale Rubber within the display stand was black, as if it had spoiled. It was precisely the piece of Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Rubber Huo Yuhao had obtained in the original story.

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