Oxen and Horses Must Start Young

Lu Lin silently withdrew his Necromancer's Heavy Eyes martial soul, rose, and bowed toward Si Yuan Ye's position. "Many thanks, Teacher."

Si Yuan Ye had spared no effort in his cultivation of him.

Needless to say, the Ten Thousand Year Whale Rubber alone was priceless and unavailable on the open market, let alone the fact that using the secret method once required a considerable amount of rare heavenly treasures—no small expense even for the Body Sect.

On the continent, aside from the Body Sect, no other place could replicate this secret method.

Si Yuan Ye helped Lu Lin up. "I've told you several times—you are my disciple; there's no need for such formalities."

"Now, just focus on taking the Whale Rubber."

Lu Lin nodded lightly. Before entering the Bronze Gate, that piece of Ten Thousand Year Whale Rubber had already been brought in with him.

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Following his instructions, Lu Lin took out the Whale Rubber and handed it to Si Yuan Ye.

Then he closed his eyes, sat cross-legged, and activated the Flawless Body Casting Art to restore his condition, preparing for the upcoming consumption of the Ten Thousand Year Whale Rubber.

Because Whale Rubber was extremely hard in texture and couldn't be eaten directly, it needed to be refined before consumption.

This was naturally no challenge for Si Yuan Ye.

The dark yellow Ten Thousand Year Whale Rubber floated above Si Yuan Ye's palm.

As he infused it with his soul power, a warm golden luster gradually spread across the Rubber's surface. The stone-hard substance began to soften, emitting a faint, sweet, fishy scent.

While refining the Whale Rubber with his soul power, Si Yuan Ye's gaze fell on the small, cross-legged figure before him, and a trace of a smile flickered in his eyes.

He had to admit, Ji Ming had given him a huge surprise.

What Si Yuan Ye hadn't told Lu Lin was that the Body Sect's secret method was essentially meant for the sect's disciples to undergo a second awakening of their Body Martial Soul.

Thus, Body Sect disciples wouldn't use this secret method so early—at the very least, not until after the third ring.

A soul master stimulated by the secret method would not only undergo a second martial soul awakening but also have their soul rings, influenced by the method, bond more closely with the soul master, producing a positive transformation.

This was the root of the Body Sect soul masters' strength.

To some extent, Body Sect soul masters could even rival the abnormal cultivation speed of Evil Soul Masters.

In his initial plan, Si Yuan Ye had only intended to use the secret method to trigger Ji Ming's potential, forcibly enhance his physical constitution, and later, after he reached the third ring, perform the second martial soul awakening for him.

Simply put, he had planned to split the entire process into two parts.

But Si Yuan Ye hadn't expected Ji Ming to grit his teeth and endure it all the way through.

To think—the pain of the Body Sect's secret method was something even an adult might not be able to withstand.

And this disciple of his was still just a six-year-old child.

In Si Yuan Ye's eyes, Ji Ming's mental fortitude was even more important than his talent of Twin Martial Souls and Innate Full Soul Power.

It was precisely because of this that Si Yuan Ye changed his mind and decided to use the complete secret method to temper his disciple.

And Ji Ming didn't disappoint him. Not only did he endure the full secret method tempering at the age of six, but he also achieved a Silver-level awakening of his martial soul—something unprecedented in the history of the Body Sect.

The more Si Yuan Ye looked at Ji Ming, the more satisfied he felt.

Mo Yin had truly brought back a fine seedling this time.

After an unknown amount of time, the Ten Thousand Year Whale Rubber had been completely refined by Si Yuan Ye, transforming into a ball of amber liquid floating above his palm.

"Ji Ming, open your mouth!"

Si Yuan Ye gave a low shout.

Lu Lin opened his eyes and parted his lips. The next moment, a strand of the amber Whale Rubber liquid separated from above Si Yuan Ye's palm and flew into Lu Lin's mouth.

The effects of the Whale Rubber were too overbearing, and since Lu Lin was only at Soul Power Level 10, the process of consuming the Whale Rubber couldn't be rushed—it had to be taken slowly.

Nine thousand years ago, during the era of the Martial Soul Hall, Whale Rubber was discovered to be usable for enhancing a soul master's physique without any hidden drawbacks.

After over nine thousand years of development, soul masters across the continent now had a systematic and established method for using Whale Rubber.

For example, Thousand Year Whale Rubber could be used as a dietary supplement, subtly transforming a soul master's physique.

However, only true top-tier sects or imperial royal families could afford to use Thousand Year Whale Rubber so lavishly; ordinary soul masters wouldn't even dare to dream of it.

Normally, Ten Thousand Year Whale Rubber could increase the soul ring limit a soul master could absorb by a thousand years in one go.

And if Ten Thousand Year Whale Rubber was taken with specific heavenly treasures, its effects could be boosted by thirty percent.

When Ji Ming had used the secret method to awaken his martial soul earlier, he had already consumed many heavenly treasures, and the residual energy within his body hadn't been fully absorbed yet.

In Si Yuan Ye's view, there was no need to add more medicinal ingredients to neutralize the Whale Rubber.

As soon as the Whale Rubber liquid entered his mouth, Lu Lin felt a domineering energy surge through his limbs and bones.

Its force was like fire, as if it wanted to ignite his entire internal organs, bringing with it a searing, burning pain.

Lu Lin let out a muffled groan, activated the Flawless Body Casting Art, channeled his soul power, and began digesting this overbearing Whale Rubber liquid.

Si Yuan Ye sat silently on the other side, guarding his disciple.

Frostwind Junior Soul Master Academy.

Body Sect Lu Lin opened his eyes, the corner of his mouth twitching as a trace of helplessness welled up inside him.

Why did it feel like every step of his cultivation was tied to pain?

Splitting his consciousness in two was like this, tempering his body with secret methods for a second awakening of his martial soul was like this, and now absorbing the Ten Thousand Year Whale Rubber was no different.

Fortunately, after a month of torment under the Body Sect's secret arts, the pain rooted in his consciousness from absorbing the whale rubber—though Lu Lin couldn't completely ignore it—had at least reached a point where he could keep his expression unchanged.

At least from the outside, no one could tell that Lu Lin's consciousness was enduring a burning agony.

"Lu Lin, is your weird illness better?"

Seeing that Lu Lin seemed to have finished his cultivation, the chubby kid Yao Yue leaned in curiously.

These past few days, it seemed he hadn't seen Lu Lin suffer another episode of that strange ailment.

"Uh..."

"I shouldn't have those pain-induced blackouts anymore from now on."

Lu Lin rubbed his nose, feeling the ache in his consciousness, his expression a bit strained, though Yao Yue naturally didn't notice anything off.

"Oh, good that it's better."

The chubby kid nodded. After all, they were roommates sharing the same room, and the sight of Lu Lin's agony during his episodes was unsettling even to watch. He had no idea how Lu Lin managed to endure it.

"Don't you need to go to the shop this afternoon?"

Lu Lin smiled.

As a work-study student, Yao Yue was an apprentice at a shop that made everyday soul tools, earning about one Silver Soul Coin a month—a fairly substantial income.

"Yeah, no need to go this afternoon."

"By the way, why don't you find a job outside? The academy's classes are pretty easy anyway."

Start grinding young?

Lu Lin's expression turned a bit odd.

In truth, soul masters were an ultra-rare group; the continent was mostly populated by ordinary people without soul power.

So, even kids like them, as long as they were soul masters, could easily find an apprenticeship.

It just depended on whether they were willing to set aside their pride as "soul masters."

"Nothing that really fits, and I want to cultivate, become a soul master sooner."

Lu Lin explained casually.

He only had the goal of revenge; he had no mind to think about being some apprentice. Besides, the government's monthly subsidy was enough to get by on.

As for the cultivation resources needed at higher levels, that was a problem for later.

"Oh, alright."

Hearing this, the chubby kid nodded thoughtfully, then seemed to have something to do. He said a quick goodbye to Lu Lin and turned to leave.

Lu Lin stayed seated on the rock, continuing to cultivate his soul power.

As Yao Yue had said, the classes at the Elementary Soul Master Academy were incredibly relaxed.

For these six- or seven-year-old students, the academy only taught the basics of soul mastery—things like Elementary Meditation Methods, cultivation techniques, common soul beast attributes, appearances, and so on.

The academic classes were the same.

There was absolutely no pressure from schoolwork.

A little while later, a small boy of about six or seven suddenly ran over.

"Hey... Lu Lin, Teacher Liu is looking for you!"

Hearing this, Lu Lin opened his eyes and saw that it wasn't Yao Yue but another classmate, though they rarely interacted.

After saying that, without waiting for Lu Lin's reply, the kid immediately turned and ran off, clearly not wanting to stick around.

Was I really that hard to approach?

Lu Lin's expression was odd. "Thanks."

He called out a thank you to the boy's retreating back, then jumped down from the rock, brushed the dust off his clothes, and headed toward the teachers' office area.