I Crossed into Douluo and Split into Five People

An Lan suddenly shouted.

"I remember now!"

Half a year ago, when he had tried to improve the quality of his Soul Power through compression in order to strengthen his Martial Soul Possession form, he had vaguely thought of something. Now he remembered: it was a Soul Core.

However, Soul Cores apparently could not improve the quality of Soul Power. They merely increased the speed of Soul Power recovery.

He briefly described his thoughts from back then to the other four.

The group continued discussing Whale Rubber.

"Even if I buy Whale Rubber, none of you can use it."

Ning Yulin spread his hands.

The other four—Tang Yin and Yu Tianrui in particular—were all within their sects and could not get out.

"They can't use it, but I can. Have the Seven Treasure Shop here in Moon Sea City stock some Whale Rubber. Make the price a little cheaper."

Zhou Xuefeng spoke up. An Lan nodded.

"If possible, arrange some in Spirit City as well. My teacher treats me well, so I can borrow some money from him. A few dozen Gold Soul Coins should be enough."

Ning Yulin nodded, tapping the table with his index finger as he pondered something.

"Do you think I should tell anyone about the Whale Rubber?"

"You mean Ning Fengzhi?" An Lan hesitated. "He's your father. Even if your relationship may not be especially close, he at least probably wouldn't harm you. If you tell him... if you're confident you can control the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect in the future, then it seems like it makes no difference whether you tell him or not."

Departure

"We can't use it at the moment, so it's fine for you to use it first. Improve your physique and raise the age limit of your first Spirit Ring a little. Once you gain your Spirit Ring, we can share abilities again. Your high-age Spirit Ring can directly overwrite ours."

An Lan offered his suggestion.

For various reasons, the others could not use Whale Rubber in advance. Ning Yulin could. If he used it and obtained a high-age first Spirit Ring, then shared again, the other people's Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Souls would naturally gain a high-age Spirit Ring as well.

Zhou Xuefeng tapped the table.

"He's right. I also think you can explain the Whale Rubber matter to Ning Fengzhi. I'll set out immediately for the Soul Hunting Forest and help you test possible targets for your first Spirit Ring."

Within the Star Luo Empire, the closest Soul Hunting Forest to Zhou Xuefeng still required him to pass Moon Sea City, head north-northeast, and cross two more cities. It was over a hundred kilometers away.

At his current pace, walking alone would take more than a month. If he rented a low-grade carriage, he could arrive within a month.

Tang Yin and Yu Tianrui thought it over carefully and felt that An Lan and Zhou Xuefeng were right. They both nodded.

All in all, Ning Yulin had the highest level of safety among the five. Revealing a little information would benefit their development.

"Then... fine. I'll find an opportunity to talk to him."

The meeting ended, and everyone dispersed.

Zhou Xuefeng turned back to look at the small wooden house where he had lived for over half a year. He had no intention of tearing it down; perhaps someone fated would live here in the future. He hoisted his luggage onto his back, brought along the Azure Emperor Divine Tablet he had repaired several times, and set out for the Soul Hunting Forest.

The others silently cultivated their Soul Power.

Ning Yulin calculated things over in his room for a long time. He could not directly approach Ning Fengzhi about this. Simply saying that Whale Rubber could improve one's physique would not be convincing.

"There should be people in the sect who have used Whale Rubber."

He needed to investigate and ask around.

If I go myself, I'm probably too young. No one will be willing to pay attention to me.

"Big Brother, I need your help with something small."

After hearing Ning Yulin's request, the eldest brother wore an indescribable expression, his face full of conflict.

"Why are you asking about this?"

Seeing his expression, Ning Yulin blinked.

"You've used it? Tell me all the sensations and physical changes you experienced from the time the Whale Rubber entered your mouth until you finished."

"Bullshit!" His reaction was intense. "I'm only twenty-four! I'm in the prime of my life! Why would I need that stuff? Don't slander people without evidence! This is defamation! I'll sue you for defamation!"

Ning Yulin: "..." (_)

"Yes, yes, Big Brother isn't old enough to use Whale Rubber yet. Then take me to visit those sect disciples who have used Whale Rubber."

Seeing that he did not press the matter, Ning Da sighed in relief. He immediately brought Ning Yulin to visit people who looked like they needed or had used Whale Rubber. Most reacted just like Ning Da, caring greatly about this "slander." However, due to Ning Yulin's identity as the Sect Master's son, they honestly described their experiences.

More than twenty days passed.

Yet the results of the visits left Ning Yulin deeply disappointed. These people all treated Whale Rubber as an aphrodisiac, taking it mixed with seasoning to mask the smell. After it entered their stomachs, they used Soul Power to digest it, and then they directly... ahem.

Not one of them had noticed any effect that strengthened their physique.

If he remembered correctly, Whale Rubber needed to be softened with high-temperature flames first, stripping away its weathered outer shell and causing some kind of change under intense heat. Only after consuming it then would it strengthen the physique.

Going to Ning Fengzhi like this would have no persuasive power at all. Worse, Ning Fengzhi might think that his sixth son was already obsessed with women at such a young age and wanted to prepare Whale Rubber in advance in case he became willing but unable in the future.

"Big Brother, lend me eight or ten thousand Gold Soul Coins."

Ning Da did not ask what Ning Yulin needed it for and readily gave him the money. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was so rich that money was all it had left. In his view, it was better for his sixth brother to go out and enjoy himself than become a bookworm.

After handing over the money, he hurriedly left. Ning Yulin had kept following him around and talking about Whale Rubber lately, so he needed to dispose of everything he had prepared. Otherwise, if Little Sixth found out later and came to tease him, his dignity as the eldest brother would be gone.

Ning Yulin found a sect steward and had him purchase some Whale Rubber. He did not explain much, merely using research as an excuse.

"I understand, I understand. Sixth Young Master, please wait a few days."

The older young masters must have been too embarrassed, so they had used Sixth Young Master as an excuse to come forward. Or perhaps even the Sect Master...

Taking the money, the steward wore an expression that said he had understood everything and declared that he would certainly complete the task.

"What did that guy imagine?"

That look in his eyes had been far too subtle.

Ning Yulin shook his head and could not be bothered to argue.

Next, he only needed to wait for the Whale Rubber to be bought back, put on a show of experimenting with it, and then hand it over to Ning Fengzhi. Then everything would be settled.

The journey took even longer than expected. Nearly two months passed before Zhou Xuefeng reached the nearest Soul Hunting Forest.

Town North City, North Maple Kingdom, a subordinate kingdom of the Star Luo Empire.

He entered the city, asked for the location of the Spirit Hall branch, tested his Soul Power, and obtained a Soul Hunting Warrant. Otherwise, he could only go to the Star Dou Great Forest, which was too far away and too dangerous.

The building covered a considerable area, and the flag above its entrance bore the emblem of Spirit Hall.

The background of the emblem was a pair of indistinct Angel wings, while the foreground displayed several famous titled Martial Soul totems from the continent: a sword, a hammer, a small blue dragon, a chrysanthemum, and a black ghostly shadow. All of them seemed faintly wrapped within those wings.

Before entering the hall, Zhou Xuefeng found a place to wash up, avoiding the trouble caused by certain people who looked down on others. His clothes looked somewhat worn but neat, his spirits were high, and his bronzed, slightly reddish skin gave him a somewhat weathered appearance.

He entered through the main doors without any obstruction.

There were not many people coming and going in the hall. It was rather quiet.

After looking around, he spotted a man in his thirties not far away, standing against the wall with his arms folded and his eyes seemingly closed. He wore a simple white Soul Master robe and a steward's badge.

"Hello, Sir Steward. I would like to apply for a Soul Hunting Warrant."

The man opened his eyes and looked down. At a glance, he confirmed that this was a commoner child. After inspecting him for a moment, he raised a hand and pointed to the side.

"Follow the corridor inward, turn left at the end, and the last room is the Awakening Room. There's someone inside. Test your Soul Power, then come back and find me."

Zhou Xuefeng bowed politely, then jogged away and disappeared down the corridor.

More than ten minutes later, he left Spirit Hall. The entire process had gone very smoothly, and he had not spent a single coin.

"It's getting late. I'll go tomorrow. First, I need to find a place to rest."

He went to a brothel—not because he was lonely, of course, but because rooms there were far cheaper than at other inns.

For now, he had yet to receive Ning Yulin's financial support, so he needed to carefully budget every expense.

Before the owner could speak, Zhou Xuefeng spoke first.

"Just a room, hot water, no meals."

A Terrifying Thought

Just a room? The owner immediately lost interest. He waved over a servile attendant.

Zhou Xuefeng looked far too young, clearly at an age where he had the desire but not the ability. Since he had not brought it up himself, the owner could not be bothered to promote his girls. If he encountered some dwarf with perverse tastes, not only would he fail to make money, but the girls could easily get hurt.

"A room. Take him to the guest rooms in the back."

Following the attendant around the main hall, Zhou Xuefeng heard the constant sounds of laughter, drinking, and flirtatious women. He subconsciously glanced inside and saw many shabbily dressed people.

Utter horror! It will disrupt my resolve! This won't do!

The guest room was quite crude, only slightly better than a woodshed. Still, he was only staying for one night, so there was no need to be picky.

He hastily finished dinner and began meditating to cultivate.

When he entered the space, no one was there. It seemed that the others had not yet rested. He left a message saying he was about to arrive at the Soul Hunting Forest, then dispersed his spiritual power.

At midnight, after finishing his cultivation of the Qi Regulation Chapter, he secured the door and crawled under the bed to rest. One could never be too careful.

At different times, the other four each appeared in the space once. Unfortunately, none of them met one another. After seeing Zhou Xuefeng's message, they left their own messages and dispersed.

I hope everything goes smoothly.

As dawn broke, Zhou Xuefeng, who had slept lightly, had already packed his things and headed for the Soul Hunting Forest. Perhaps he had lived in the wilderness for too long and grown accustomed to the scent of nature, but he had not slept well at all last night.

Though he had prepared, there was not much to prepare.

Rusty iron nails, iron caltrops, oddly shaped trap weapons forged from defective items bought at the Blacksmith Shop using his Clear Sky Hammer Martial Soul. There were also medicines: laxatives, poisons, animal aphrodisiacs, and the like.

With his current abilities and physique, trying to wrestle animal-type Soul Beasts was simply a fool's dream. Plant-type Soul Beasts were manageable, but to help Ning Yulin experiment and search, he would definitely need one over five hundred years old.

Furthermore, that fellow wanted a Soul Beast with elemental abilities, hoping to see what changes it might bring to the Soul Skill. According to the usual practices of the Seven Treasures Sect, the first two Spirit Rings were generally from strength-type and speed-type Soul Beasts, granting increases in strength and speed.

Would finding a rare Soul Beast bring some subtle change to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul?

The target was unusual and even harder to deal with. Zhou Xuefeng estimated that he would have to remain in this Soul Hunting Forest for quite some time.

After he showed his warrant, the guards let him through directly, utterly unconcerned that a child was hunting Soul Beasts alone.

Several days passed without any gains, though he did find a few Blue Silver Grass plants of decent age.

At night, inside the temporary shelter he had built, Zhou Xuefeng confirmed that the surroundings were safe and began meditating.

His consciousness entered the space.

"This can't go on!"

After exchanging messages earlier, everyone had occasionally gathered in the space to "hold meetings" over the past few days. Zhou Xuefeng stared at Ning Yulin, growing somewhat impatient.

"Even if I find a special Soul Beast with elemental abilities, if you absorb its Spirit Ring with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul, you probably won't get the effect you want. Most likely, it'll just be an increase in elemental damage or Soul Power recovery. If you want Soul Skills different from other Glazed Pagodas, your Martial Soul needs to be fundamentally different from theirs."

In other words, it needed to mutate.

"Over all these years, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect must have had plenty of people try this. Haven't you read any records about it?"

"Of course I have."

Ning Yulin sighed.

"Among the recorded cases, not a single person succeeded. I think our Martial Souls already count as mutated. What family has innate Level Two Soul Power and can cultivate this quickly? Second, I think the formation of Soul Skills might have something to do with one's mental focus. The first two Soul Skills of Soul Master families and sect disciples are mostly the same, but I don't believe identical Soul Beasts can produce completely identical Soul Skills..."

"A Soul Master's thoughts while absorbing a Spirit Ring should have some degree of influence."

He sounded extremely certain, but in truth, Ning Yulin had virtually no confidence in changing his Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul. After reading the research records of his predecessors, he could already rule out the influence of Spirit Ring selection. The Martial Soul's inherent abilities were simply too rigidly restricted, just like the Nine Heart Begonia, which had only one Soul Skill no matter how many Spirit Rings it possessed. It could only produce support effects.

For no reason at all, a vague thought arose in Zhou Xuefeng's mind. He slowly spoke in an uncertain tone.

"Then... what if we shatter the Martial Soul?"

"What the hell?!" x4

"Think about it. Since the Martial Soul's restrictions are so strong, then shatter it! Wouldn't that weaken the restrictions? Absorb a Spirit Ring while it's shattered, then use the Spirit Ring's energy to reassemble the Martial Soul. Maybe that would preserve the Soul Beast's innate abilities to the greatest extent possible?"

"One careless mistake could kill someone, right? Spirit Soul Shattering isn't so easily healed!"