Whale Rubber

Yu Cheng sat cross-legged on the ground, Soul Power surging through his body.

At his dantian, there seemed to be a faint resonance that only he could sense.

Soul Power traveled through his limbs, bones, meridians, and acupoints before converging toward his dantian.

There was no violent impact; everything simply fell into place.

Some invisible barrier silently melted away and dissipated beneath the gentle wash of Soul Power.

The next moment, Yu Cheng opened his eyes.

He felt as though he could see farther and hear the faintest sounds of the wind. Even the subtle scent of earth in the air seemed richer than before.

He had succeeded!

A smile curled across Yu Cheng's lips.

Inside Ma Xiunuo's office at Spirit Hall.

"Good child, you reached Level Ten so quickly? You truly are a little genius!"

Ma Xiunuo said approvingly.

Beside him, Su Yuntao held his head high, his face brimming with smiles.

He had been the one to awaken Yu Cheng's martial soul and invite him to join Spirit Hall.

A sense of pride welled up within Su Yuntao.

"Master Ma, Brother Tao, I came to Spirit Hall this time because I'd like to ask you to help me hunt my First Soul Ring," Yu Cheng said with a smile.

"No problem!"

Ma Xiunuo patted his chest.

"As long as you're a member of Spirit Hall, Spirit Hall is responsible for your First Soul Ring. With talent like yours, we'll definitely help you hunt the most suitable soul beast!"

Su Yuntao stepped forward. "Master Ma, leave Yu Cheng's First Soul Ring to me."

With that, he turned to Yu Cheng and gave him a friendly smile.

With Innate Level Two Soul Power, Yu Cheng had broken through to Level Ten in just two or three years. Su Yuntao could already foresee that Yu Cheng would become a powerful figure in the future.

Su Yuntao had no intention of missing the chance to build a relationship with such a young genius.

"All right..."

Ma Xiunuo was just about to agree when Yu Cheng suddenly interrupted him.

"Master Ma, take a look at this first."

Yu Cheng took half a book from his robes and placed it on the desk.

It could not even be called a book—just several sheets of paper. The pages were yellowed and somewhat tattered, making them look rather old.

Ma Xiunuo picked it up and glanced through it.

"Whale Rubber, produced from the brains of whale-type soul beasts, is extremely firm and yang in nature, a great tonic. After being refined with intense fire, consuming it can strengthen a Soul Master's physique and assist in absorbing Soul Rings."

"What utter nonsense!"

Ma Xiunuo's tone turned stern.

"Xiao Cheng, where did you find this book?"

Yu Cheng explained, "Master, I happened to find it in the library. The inscription at the end says Tianquan Alliance. It should be several hundred years old, shouldn't it?"

"Tianquan Alliance..."

Ma Xiunuo flipped to the last page, his brows tightly furrowed.

The Tianquan Alliance had been a Soul Master alliance. At its peak, it had gathered dozens of Soul Master families and could even contend with the Upper Three Sects, though it had gradually declined afterward.

In truth, Yu Cheng had forged this old book.

He had printed the text using wooden blocks, then soaked the pages in tea to make the new book look old. He had even added quite a few worm-eaten holes.

"No matter what, this theory is far too absurd. There are no records of actual cases and no concrete experimental data. It cannot be used as a reference."

Ma Xiunuo shook his head.

He turned to Yu Cheng and said seriously, "Xiao Cheng, absorbing a Soul Ring is a major matter. You mustn't aim too high."

However, Yu Cheng merely smiled faintly.

"Master, it is precisely because no one has tested it that I came to ask for your help. If necessary, I am willing to be the first person to conduct this experiment."

"No!"

Ma Xiunuo refused firmly. "I can't gamble with your life."

"Then I'll hunt soul beasts on my own. At worst, I'll die in the Soul Hunting Forest."

Yu Cheng spread his hands and said indifferently.

"You brat! Honestly..."

Ma Xiunuo was instantly irritated.

The two glared at each other, and the atmosphere in the office immediately grew tense.

At that moment, Su Yuntao spoke up. "Master Ma, Xiao Cheng, stop arguing."

"Master Ma is right. Absorbing a soul ring must be done cautiously."

"But as Xiao Cheng said, if the experiment succeeds, it will be an achievement worthy of being recorded in history!"

Su Yuntao praised both of them.

"Shut up!"

Ma Xiunuo cut Su Yuntao off.

"Yuntao, you're already in your twenties. How can you still be so immature?"

For the next half hour, Ma Xiunuo scolded Su Yuntao from head to toe.

He was careless in cultivation.

He slacked off at work.

He had pursued Sisi for two and a half years and had not even held her hand...

Su Yuntao lowered his head more and more, looking like a chastened grandson.

Soul Hunting Forest.

Yu Cheng strode down the path with several Spirit Hall stewards.

In the end, Ma Xiunuo had agreed to Yu Cheng's request.

He had also written to the Fasnuo Martial Soul Main Hall to report the matter.

The Main Hall attached great importance to it. Just as Su Yuntao had said, this was a theory that could affect the entire continent!

Three Assault Type Soul Kings, plus two Healing Type Soul Ancestors. With such a lineup, killing century-old soul beasts would be effortless—even ten-thousand-year soul beasts could be easily taken down.

The reason they had assigned two healing soul masters was that they feared Yu Cheng might fail to absorb a soul ring beyond his level, and they wanted to give him the best possible chance of surviving.

"Xiao Cheng, what soul beast are you planning to use for your First Soul Ring?"

Su Yuntao asked.

As a local soul master, he was serving as their guide.

"Brother Tao, are there any plant-type soul beasts around five or six hundred years old in the Soul Hunting Forest?"

Yu Cheng asked.

He naturally already had a clear target in mind, but he could not make it too obvious.

Su Yuntao unfolded a map and studied it carefully for a while.

"Thirty li east, there's a Lone Bamboo Forest. There should be soul beasts over five hundred years old there..."

"In the valley ten li west, there's a Ghost Vine..."

"Straight ahead..."

The Soul Hunting Forest was a captive soul beast forest, and Spirit Hall regularly sent people to patrol it.

On one hand, they prevented soul masters from poaching.

On the other, they ensured that excessively powerful soul beast groups did not emerge.

Spirit Hall knew the distribution of soul beasts like the back of its hand.

Yu Cheng pretended to think for a moment before saying, "I'll choose that Ghost Vine. Ghost Vine soul skills are generally Binding and Parasitic Seed, which happen to suit my Blue Silver Grass."

Su Yuntao tried to persuade him. "How about choosing one with a lower age? I think the five-hundred-year Lone Bamboo would be good too."

Spirit Hall's records stated that the limit for a First Soul Ring was a little over four hundred and twenty years.

In Su Yuntao's view, a five-hundred-year First Soul Ring would already be enough to prove Yu Cheng's Theory.

Yu Cheng shook his head and said firmly, "An increase of only a few decades wouldn't be convincing. Besides, what I absorbed was a piece of ten-thousand-year Whale Rubber."

The Fasnuo Main Hall fully supported Yu Cheng's Theory.

Originally, he had only intended to absorb a few pieces of thousand-year Whale Rubber, but the Archbishop had made a grand gesture and directly approved a research budget.

Half an hour later, the group stopped before a massive tree.

Yu Cheng looked up. It was not a real tree, but countless thick vines intertwined together.

Ghost Vine, six hundred years old.

"Fall back!"

The leading Red-Haired Soul Master shouted and summoned his martial soul.

His martial soul was a Flame Lion. After Martial Soul Possession, he stood over three meters tall and looked exceptionally burly.

Two yellow and three purple—five Soul Rings released an oppressive pressure.

Yu Cheng even felt the temperature of the surrounding air rise by several degrees.

After a barrage of soul skills, most of the vines had been cleared away, leaving only a single main stalk lying on the ground.

The Red-Haired Soul Master recalled his Martial Soul, took a dagger from his Soul Tool, and handed it to Yu Cheng.

"Stab it at the root, and this Soul Ring will be yours."

Yu Cheng nodded and walked toward the Ghost Vine.

But in the next moment, a voice rang out from afar.

"Stop!"

Yu Cheng turned his head and saw Tang San, Yu Xiaogang, and the Notting Academy Dean rushing over from the distance.