Nine Years Old, Level Ten, Forced Training Gear

Whale Rubber was a miraculous body-tempering medicine unique to Douluo Continent. Ten thousand years ago, it had also been used as a curious little aid for bedroom activities.

This type of miraculous medicine was usually produced by deep-sea soul beasts. In particular, whale-type soul beasts that were over a thousand years old would almost certainly produce it after death.

Its quality could be divided into inferior Whale Rubber obtained through artificial hunting and Top-Grade Whale Blubber salvaged after natural death. Only Top-Grade Whale Blubber could strengthen the body, fortify the bones, and expand the meridians!

At the same time, if a talented Beast Soul Master used Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Blubber to strengthen their body when young, they would not need to worry about their body being unable to withstand soul rings before at least the fifth ring. They could even absorb soul rings beyond their normal age limit without any issue.

Those with exceptional talent could even directly absorb a thousand-year soul ring as their second ring!

Such powerful effects naturally came with a steep price and scarce supply.

Originally, Ning Wuque only knew that he could pick up a bargain piece of Top-Grade Whale Blubber after the Shrek Academy storyline began, but now there was no need for that.

He directly spent 250,000 contribution points to purchase a piece of Ten-Thousand-Year Supreme Whale Oil through the clan's channels!

Although it had only just entered the ten-thousand-year grade, and its effects were among the weakest of that grade, Ning Wuque was still extremely satisfied. Something was better than nothing, wasn't it?

With Zhang Can's help, Ning Wuque spent five hundred clan contribution points to hire a Sixth-Ring Fire-Attribute Soul Emperor to melt the Whale Rubber for him and assist with its consumption. After half a day of digestion and absorption, he felt completely reborn!

"As expected of Whale Rubber. My basic physical fitness has improved by at least more than double, my cultivation speed has become much faster, and I'm overflowing with energy whenever I train!"

In the living room, Ning Wuque slowly rose after refining the Whale Rubber. The joyful sensation coursing through his body made him want to shout, "Awesome!"

But after considering that it might not be very polite, he suppressed his excitement and turned to Grandpa Zhang.

"Grandpa, I think I only need four, maybe even three hours of sleep a day now. I might be able to steadily break through to Level Ten when I'm nine!"

"Ah! That won't do! You're still young and growing. You can't give up that sleep time just for cultivation and training!"

Zhang Can scolded him somewhat angrily, his eyes filled with heartache.

For some time now, Ning Wuque had trained every morning, trained again after dinner, and cultivated for another four hours before bed. He slept less than six hours every day!

Other children his age were still sleeping soundly at eight in the morning, while Ning Wuque had already been up for nearly two hours of morning training.

"Grandpa!"

Ning Wuque's attitude was incomparably resolute. Of course he knew all that. Lack of sleep might even affect his future height!

By then, everyone else would be tall, standing around six feet, while he alone would be a tiny five-foot-three runt.

But... if outward appearance really mattered in this world where strength was supreme... well, in Douluo Continent, a handsome face and good body really could earn someone a comfortable life.

The girls here... how should he put it? Ning Wuque would feel embarrassed even trying to deceive them. There was no challenge at all.

But how could a man of seven feet... Well, he should not speak too absolutely. A real man had to know when to bend and when to stand tall, right?

If he truly had no way to go further in the future, Ning Wuque could lower his moral bottom line a little and throw his pride to the ground to become some woman's obedient puppy.

But not now! He had to strive to become the tougher one in any relationship!

"You... forget it. Do as you please, Wuque. Remember, Grandpa's place will always be your harbor of rest. If you ever feel tired, come have some tea and chat with this old man."

Shaking his head helplessly, Zhang Can could only let Ning Wuque be willful. There was nothing he could do. He could not possibly restrain such an unconventional genius, could he?

Although Ning Wuque did not possess a powerful martial soul or Innate Soul Power, when he handed those two manuscripts to Zhang Can, Zhang Can understood.

Sooner or later, Ning Wuque would become famous throughout this era! As a pure "low-level soul master"!

"Thank you, Grandpa!"

Ning Wuque said gratefully. He did not linger, instead using the energy from having just refined the Whale Rubber to begin even harsher limit training.

And so, the days passed one by one.

Spring turned to autumn, and day and night changed as unpredictably as a girl's moods. In the blink of an eye, two years had passed.

That year, Ning Wuque was eight years and seven months old, and his Soul Power Level had reached Level Ten.

That year, Ning Tian, the Young Clan Head of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, officially became a two-ring Soul Grandmaster.

It was also that year that a certain blue-haired little boy was about to suffer the greatest blow of his life.

"699, 700, 701, 702..."

Within the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan's elementary Soul Master Academy, Ning Wuque supported himself with one hand as he struggled through push-ups.

Though the movement looked simple, it appeared incomparably arduous from afar. He gritted his teeth as sweat fell like raindrops, soaking the ground beneath him.

Even though the blazing sun was vicious today, leaving passersby drenched in sweat.

Even though others cast strange looks his way from afar, he continued training without wavering, until...

"Boom~"

Ning Wuque crashed face-first onto the ground. The earthy stench smeared across his face, and he was completely too exhausted to move.

Yet his heart was filled with excitement, because today he had managed five more push-ups than yesterday!

Ha, wondering why he had been so impressive more than two years ago, yet had made so little "progress" after two years?

That brought them back to his seventh birthday. On the night of that birthday, Zhang Can—Ning Wuque's Grandpa Zhang—gave him an extraordinarily valuable gift.

A complete set of Sixth-Grade Soul Guidance Forced Training Gear!

This was a set of protective gear whose weight could be adjusted at will. Zhang Can had specially hired a Seventh-Grade Soul Engineer from the Sun Moon Empire to custom-build it for Ning Wuque!

It consisted of five components: a breastplate, two arm guards, and two leg guards. The weight of every component could be freely adjusted.

For example, Ning Wuque's breastplate was currently set to the maximum weight that a one-ring high-level strength-type Beast Soul Master could withstand, while the guards on his limbs were set to the normal limit for a two-ring Soul Master.

His total weight, including the gear, had become so great that he could knock out a one-ring Beast Soul Master with an activated martial soul using a single punch!

If he struck a vital point, killing them with one punch would be easy!

It was precisely this set of gear that allowed him to increase its weight and begin another round of limit training every time he reached the standard count of "one thousand" during this period!

"Ring, ring, ring~"

The dismissal bell rang beside Ning Wuque's ears.

Suddenly, he felt a pair of large hands gently lift him up. The newcomer was Zhang Can, who watched over Ning Wuque in secret whenever he had the time.

"Grandpa, you're here."

"Mm. How are the preparations for tomorrow's soul beast hunt?"

"Don't worry. I've already chosen the soul beast whose soul ring I'll absorb. I won't disappoint you!"

"No, you should not disappoint your own efforts, Wuque."

The author dared not use specific numbers to describe it, so they used Douluo Continent's rankings instead.