Taking Whale Rubber, Reuniting with Huo Wushuang and Huo Wu

Half a month later, Great Soul Arena, Blazing Fire City.

"You don't seem surprised at all that I'm still alive?"

Wang Qi sipped his tea and looked at Lin Yan, who was still seated at his desk handling work.

"There's nothing to be surprised about. I would have been surprised if you'd actually died at Mountain Fire Intermediate Soul Master Academy."

"These are the high-quality Whale Rubber specimens collected over the past year according to your instructions. Take a look."

The secret that Whale Rubber could improve a Soul Master's physical constitution and allow them to absorb Soul Rings beyond their usual limits was not something Lin Yan could keep hidden. Even the Great Soul Arena and the five families behind it could not safeguard such a secret.

If they wanted to profit from it while protecting themselves, they had to share the secret and exploit the information gap for gain.

Lin Yan could not buy up Whale Rubber in bulk, but he could cooperate with auction houses in the name of the Great Soul Arena to purchase high-age Whale Rubber.

Wang Qi looked at the thirteen palm-sized wooden boxes Lin Yan took from his Soul Tool and inspected them one by one.

Eight of them contained Thousand-Year Whale Rubber. Two of those were extremely close to ten thousand years old, the finest of the finest.

Of the five pieces of Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Rubber, four were under twenty thousand years old. Wang Qi had assumed the final piece would be no more than thirty thousand years old, but Lin Yan gave him an enormous surprise.

Eighty-Thousand-Year Whale Rubber. If he could digest and absorb it, the Soul Ring Age his physical constitution could withstand would increase by at least five thousand years.

It was certainly good stuff, but unfortunately, Wang Qi could not digest it yet.

"I really don't know whether to call you lucky or unlucky. With the little money we have between us, we actually managed to get Eighty-Thousand-Year Whale Rubber."

Wang Qi played with the Whale Rubber in his hand before storing the two pieces close to ten thousand years old, the three pieces close to twenty thousand years old, and the eighty-thousand-year piece in his Soul Tool.

After Lin Yan put away the remaining pieces of Whale Rubber, he set down his pen and looked Wang Qi in the eyes.

"Wang Qi, are you sure Whale Rubber can increase the Soul Ring Age one can absorb?"

"Of course!"

A person's physical constitution was related to the Soul Ring Age they could absorb, but it was not an absolute relationship. What truly carried a Soul Ring's energy were the meridians.

While strengthening the body, Whale Rubber could also attach a layer of energy to the surface of the meridians, thereby increasing the Soul Ring Age one could withstand while absorbing a Soul Ring.

There was a limit to how much Whale Rubber could increase the Soul Ring Age; it could not grow without end.

However, Wang Qi did not mention that. A complete theoretical framework needed to leave traces that could be followed. He was not about to create trouble for himself for no reason.

After asking Lin Yan for a lounge, Wang Qi began preparing to consume the Whale Rubber.

Consuming Whale Rubber required roasting it with high-temperature flames, softening it with heat, then making minute temperature adjustments to remove the impurities on its surface and reveal its most essential properties.

At this stage, Soul Tool culture on Douluo Continent had declined, so it was best to have a fire-attribute Soul Master roast the Whale Rubber.

Inside the lounge, Wang Qi sat on the sofa, holding two brown pieces of Whale Rubber that were close to ten thousand years old, one in each hand. The Soul Mark between his brows flickered slightly, and flames instantly enveloped both his hands.

The Whale Rubber in his hands rapidly softened. Its brown surface gradually turned black, and a foul, fishy stench instantly filled the entire lounge.

As Wang Qi continuously released Soul Power to maintain the flames' high temperature, the brown outer layer gradually dissipated. The instant it vanished completely, a rich fragrance washed away the foul odor.

Holding the jelly-like Whale Rubber in both hands, Wang Qi glanced at Lin Yan. Lin Yan immediately understood and walked out of the lounge.

Wang Qi swallowed them one after another. A rich fragrance spread through his mouth, while a warm current suddenly rose in his abdomen and flowed into his limbs and bones.

Wang Qi did not sit down to meditate. Instead, he began practicing his fists in the lounge. After completing a set of punches, before his sweat had dried, he directly planted himself on the floor in the Yin-Yang Stake stance.

His breath was even, his body and spirit united as one. Wang Qi's skin gradually reddened, and his body temperature began to rise. He maintained that state until, an hour later, he let out a long breath. Every pore on his body opened wide, and a faint layer of mist instantly wrapped around him.

His breath was long and steady. A sword-like stream of air shot toward the flowers at the side. The blossoms fell, the branches and leaves withered, and Wang Qi felt as refreshed as if he had drunk a bottle of iced soda on the hottest days of summer.

"With my current physical constitution and meridian strength, I can withstand a Soul Beast of at least two thousand three hundred years."

"This is fucking ridiculous. Without strength, I have to share the opportunity with others just to enjoy it myself. If I had an elder who was a Limit Douluo protecting me, I'd definitely buy up a batch of Whale Rubber at the bottom. If I didn't make at least a hundred million Gold Soul Coins from flipping it, I'd be letting down my identity as a transmigrator."

"But this is fine too. At least when the age of my fourth Soul Ring exceeds ten thousand years in the future, I can credit the Whale Rubber."

Wang Qi sighed inwardly. Revealing the effects of Whale Rubber had its pros and cons, but he could not possibly refuse to use his advantage or pass up an opportunity.

With that, Wang Qi released his Second Martial Soul, the Medicine Refining Furnace, and held it in his palm.

Originally, Wang Qi had thought that once he reached level twenty, the Medicine Refining Furnace Martial Soul would be fully restored and usable as normal.

Yet reality was that it was still lacking something. Wang Qi also knew exactly what that missing piece was: obtaining his Second Soul Ring.

The difference between reaching level twenty without obtaining a Soul Ring and reaching level twenty after obtaining one was that one was a prospective Soul Grandmaster, while the other was a Soul Grandmaster.

No matter how close a prospective Soul Grandmaster was to becoming a Soul Grandmaster, they were still not a Soul Grandmaster. A little short was still short.

"I hope your ability won't disappoint me. I've been coveting Yu Xiaogang's Golden Sacred Dragon bloodline for a long time."

"Brother, do you think that guy Wang Qi is all right? I heard a lot of people died at Mountain Fire Intermediate Soul Master Academy, and Mountain Fire Academy's Dean, Li Pingyuan, is still missing."

Having just finished a Soul Fighting match, Huo Wu sat in the resting area, anxiously watching the Soul Fighting matches in the arena.

"He should be fine. The main battlefield that day was at the volcano's crater. Mountain Fire Academy was built halfway up the mountain. With Brother Wang Qi's alertness and combat talent, he should have left the moment he sensed danger."

"I heard Mountain Fire Academy was destroyed by a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast this time. Classes will probably be suspended for quite a while."

"I heard that at the foot of the mountain near Mountain Fire Academy's former campus, the teachers are preparing to handle graduation applications, advanced academy applications, and applications for the Royal Guards and Royal Knights for students whose Soul Power has reached level twenty."

"Huo Wu, do you remember those twin brothers with Fire Crane Martial Souls whom we met in Blazing Fire City two years ago? I saw them in Blazing Fire City yesterday. As long as they join Blazing Fire Academy, then in the next class... Huo Wu, what are you looking at?"

Huo Wushuang had been chattering on about the information he had learned from the Huo Yun and Huo Yu brothers when he noticed that Huo Wu seemed to have seen something incredible. He immediately turned to look.

"Huo Wushuang, Huo Wu, long time no see!"

Wang Qi, dressed in a casual black robe, stood not far away and greeted the Huo siblings.