Cheng Yao's Misunderstanding

In the days before school began, Huangfu Ji had barely left the Soul Master Academy. During that time, those still loyal to the Huangfu Family had all come to see them, but they made no plans. Their visits were all conducted openly.

Cheng Yao and the others understood the current situation very clearly. They had no need to plot anything; they only needed to wait quietly for Huangfu Ji to grow stronger.

As long as a genius with Innate Full Soul Power matured, killing Yuan Hao and reclaiming power would not be difficult.

Before that, however, they also had to steadily strengthen themselves. Yuan Hao had already seized power, and if they could not contend with him, they might not live to see that day arrive.

Although he had yet to obtain his First Soul Ring, Huangfu Ji had not stopped cultivating.

While Huangfu Ji could not fully agree with Yu Xiaogang's theories, some of them were still useful—for instance, cultivating before obtaining a soul ring.

There were not many Work-Study Students at the academy. Even in Qingyang City, commoners rarely produced Soul Masters. This was not merely a saying, but a real issue. Spirit Hall deacons could visit ten villages without necessarily discovering a single Soul Master.

The Junior Soul Master Academy in all of Qingyang City had six grades, yet there were only fifteen Work-Study Students in total, not including this year's new students. The academy itself had as many as three hundred students.

Among those three hundred students, only a few dozen had obtained their First Soul Ring, and most of them were fifth- and sixth-year students. Some of them had already graduated.

Huangfu Ji set a goal for himself: to break through to Soul Elder within six years, reach Soul Emperor rank before the age of twenty, and become a Titled Douluo before forty.

In this era, that goal was almost impossible to achieve. Tang San and the others were exceptions—after all, they were the protagonists' group. They became gods in their twenties, and some of them could even participate in the Soul Master Tournament.

But if he voiced this goal now, he would undoubtedly be mocked.

Becoming a Titled Douluo before forty was, in outsiders' eyes, simply wishful thinking.

Not even Innate Full Soul Power could make that possible.

The Titled Douluo on the continent today had mostly broken through in their sixties or seventies. Qian Xunji was already fifty when he reached the Titled Douluo realm, and that was considered extraordinary talent.

Tang Hao became a Titled Douluo at forty-four and was hailed as the youngest Titled Douluo—at least publicly.

Chen Xin, known as the number one in attack power, had been nearly seventy when he broke through to Titled Douluo.

Inside the dormitory, Huangfu Ji scribbled and drew on a sheet of paper.

"Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well."

This was not the first time he had thought of that place. It was somewhere he absolutely had to visit in the future, but the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well alone would not be enough.

"Whale rubber."

This was good stuff, extremely useful to him. He possessed a dragon-type martial soul, and his physique had strengthened somewhat after awakening it. However, this substance could only be produced by Whale-Type Soul Beasts, so he would have to search for it in the sea.

In this era, people already used whale rubber, though it was exceedingly rare. It was not used to strengthen the body, however, but as an aphrodisiac and virility enhancer, and none of it was particularly high-grade.

Put plainly, people nowadays used whale rubber as an aphrodisiac.

If he could consume whale rubber, he would be able to absorb soul rings of a higher age.

"How am I supposed to get whale rubber?"

Huangfu Ji felt somewhat troubled. It was not that he needed to consume it right away; he merely wanted to prepare for the future.

There had once been a piece of Thousand-Year Whale Rubber in the Qingyang Treasury, but Yuan Hao had already looted it.

After thinking it over, he decided to find Cheng Yao and ask him to come up with a solution.

When he arrived at the Dean's Office, Huangfu Ji stated that he needed whale rubber.

"Whale rubber?"

Cheng Yao was completely dumbfounded. He looked Huangfu Ji, who was only six years old, up and down with a strange expression.

Did six-year-old children already understand such things?

This would not do. He had to find out who had led Huangfu Ji astray. He absolutely could not let that person off lightly for encouraging a six-year-old child to take an aphrodisiac.

Huangfu Ji nodded.

"Uncle Cheng, can you get whale rubber? It needs to be at least a thousand years old. Ten-thousand-year would be even better."

Cheng Yao's eyes widened.

"You want thousand-year and ten-thousand-year whale rubber? Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

In his eyes, six-year-old Huangfu Ji was already showing signs of becoming a debauched ruler. Thinking about such things at six—he was practically a lust-crazed fiend.

No, he had to correct him.

"Who told you about these things?" Cheng Yao asked tentatively.

Huangfu Ji shook his head. "No one told me. I just need it myself."

Cheng Yao looked utterly unconvinced.

"Really?"

Huangfu Ji nodded seriously. "Of course."

"Grand Duke, what you need to do now is cultivate diligently, not concern yourself with other things. Some matters are simply too early for you. You're too young for this."

"At the very least, wait until you're in your teens."

"Besides, whale rubber's medicinal effects are far too potent, and there is nothing wrong with your body."

"So..."

Cheng Yao earnestly tried to persuade Huangfu Ji, hoping he would abandon the idea. He truly could not accept a six-year-old child taking an aphrodisiac. Whether as a subject or as Huangfu Yunhe's friend, he did not want this.

Huangfu Ji was Huangfu Yunhe's only bloodline, the future hope of the Duchy. He could not be ruined.

"Hm?" Huangfu Ji stared at Cheng Yao in confusion.

Then he realized that the other man had misunderstood him.

"What? Uncle Cheng, you misunderstood."

"I don't want Whale Rubber for the reason you think."

Cheng Yao did not believe him. If he wanted Whale Rubber, what other reason could there be? How could a normal child possibly need an aphrodisiac?

Seeing that he was unconvinced, Huangfu Ji did not know how to explain it.

After thinking it over, he decided to tell Cheng Yao the truth.

Cheng Yao was immediately startled when he heard it.

"Where did you see that?"

He simply could not connect Whale Rubber with soul master cultivation. Taking that stuff could improve one's physique and increase the age limit of Soul Rings a soul master could absorb? It was not as though he had never seen Whale Rubber, nor had he never taken it. Why had he never felt anything?

"Uh..."

For a moment, Huangfu Ji did not know how to explain it. He could not exactly say that he had been reborn.

After some thought, he came up with an excuse.

"I read it in an ancient book."

"You know that there was nothing much for me to do at the Duke's Mansion. All I could do was practice swordsmanship and read, so I happened to come across it."

The suspicion in Cheng Yao's eyes gradually faded. The Duke's Mansion possessed a vast collection of books, likely including many rare and even unique copies. It was not strange for such records to exist. Perhaps a soul master had once taken it and proven it effective.

"Whale Rubber is precious. Ten-year and hundred-year varieties can still be obtained, but thousand-year and ten-thousand-year ones are not so easy to find."

"After all, hunting a thousand-year or ten-thousand-year Whale-Type Soul Beast in the vast ocean is no easy task."

Huangfu Ji said, "I don't need it right away. It would be better if we can get it, but if we can't, I won't force the issue."

In his view, Whale Rubber was excellent, but it was not absolutely necessary. If he truly could not find any, he would not insist. The herbs from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well would be enough.