"Phew! That feels better..."
Wisps of coolness swept through his entire body, and Su Mo felt alive again.
"Thanks, Brother Sky Dream."
"Hey, no big deal." The chibi Tian Meng waved a hand with a smug look. "I just didn't expect absorbing that last little piece to trigger a chain reaction."
"Yeah..." Su Mo shuddered at the thought of what might have happened. "Good thing we had a backup."
Although he couldn't use the Ice Gem yet, Tian Meng-the former wielder of ultimate ice-could activate it through his origin power.
"Su Mo, are you feeling any discomfort? Do we need to call a doctor?"
The concern on Director Su's face seemed genuine.
"I'm fine. Actually, I've never felt better." Su Mo moved his body around and discovered that he was several times stronger than before.
Hearing that, Director Su calmed down a little and finally had a chance to look Su Mo over.
The boy was half a head taller than before, now standing over one meter thirty, and his clothes no longer quite fit.
His physique was balanced and upright, lean and powerful like a young tiger. His muscles formed smooth, harmonious lines, his limbs brimmed with strength like green bamboo, and as he stood there, his whole body resembled a resilient bow.
Director Su couldn't help marveling. "Whale rubber really does strengthen the body. I wonder how many years it can add to the age limit of your first soul ring?"
Su Mo estimated, "Probably one or two thousand years. It was ten-thousand-year whale glue, after all..."
"Ten thousand years?"
Director Su exclaimed, "You've got some nerve, absorbing ten-thousand-year whale glue on your very first try!"
Only then did Su Mo realize he'd let it slip. He said sheepishly, "Well, I had you here to back me up, sir. Nothing to worry about."
"Hmph!" Director Su snorted irritably.
You had me backing you up?
More like you had ultimate ice backing you up, which was why you were so fearless.
Still, he didn't say a word about ultimate ice.
In truth, Su Mo had naturally been confident in his chances when he decided to absorb ten-thousand-year whale glue.
Level eighteen soul power, two soul bones, and the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone's soul bone skill, Unending Vitality, which could continuously repair his body-with the Ice Gem as another trump card, what did he have to fear?
Even if he still couldn't endure it in the end, he had Sacrifice the Plum for the Peach.
Having plenty of skills let him throw his weight around like that.
"Director Su, I couldn't have absorbed the ten-thousand-year whale glue without your help today." As he spoke, Su Mo took out two pieces of thousand-year whale rubber and handed them over.
"This..." Director Su froze.
He'd only wanted to witness the effects of whale rubber firsthand; helping had merely been incidental. He hadn't expected Su Mo to prepare a reward for him.
Looking at the two pieces of whale rubber before him, he truly couldn't bring himself to refuse.
"All right, I'll accept your kindness. If anything comes up in the future, you can come to me."
With that polite offer, Director Su accepted the whale rubber.
Su Mo broke into a smile. "Funny you should say that-I actually do have something. My little sister hasn't absorbed any whale rubber yet. Sorry to trouble you with some more work, sir."
Director Su: "..."
Two hours later, Director Su left the dorm room.
"Wow! I've really gotten so much stronger!"
Feeling the changes in her body, Xiao Wu bounced around the dorm room in excitement.
"Go take a shower. We still need to go out and buy bedding."
Su Mo urged her along. He had already showered and changed into a new school uniform.
He was surprised that Xiao Wu had absorbed the ten-thousand-year whale glue so quickly, but remembering that she was a hundred-thousand-year soft bone rabbit who had taken human form, he could understand it.
Neither her physical constitution nor the strength of her soul could remotely be compared to those of human children.
"Okay!"
Xiao Wu happily carried her school uniform into the bathroom.
There was no denying that their two-person room was much better than Dorm Seven. It even had its own bathroom.
Half an hour later, Xiao Wu finished showering and put on her brand-new white school uniform. She stood slender and graceful, like a lotus just beginning to bloom.
"Big Brother, I'm done!"
Su Mo stared for a moment before saying, "Let's go."
When the two left their room, the bright moon was already high overhead.
Moonlight spilled across the corridor, as though draping the floor in a layer of white gauze.
Su Mo and Xiao Wu walked shoulder to shoulder in matching white school uniforms. In the hazy moonlight, they looked like a golden boy and jade maiden.
The bottom three floors of the dormitory building housed the student dorms.
There were seven rooms in total, one for each grade.
Dorm Seven was specifically for work-study students from every grade.
Su Mo and Xiao Wu's two-person room was on the fourth floor.
It had originally been a teachers' room, and ordinarily, neither of them would have qualified to stay there.
But since they both possessed innate full soul power and had shared the Ten Great Laws of Martial Souls, Director Su naturally didn't mind making an exception for them.
Su Mo and Xiao Wu went to Dorm Seven first.
The door was open, and faint sounds of playing drifted out. Su Mo poked his head inside and saw Tang San sitting cross-legged on his bed, meditating.
"Hey, Little San! Your big brother's here to see you!"
His voice was loud enough to wake Tang San from his meditation.
Seeing that someone had come looking for Tang San, the other children in the room turned curiously toward the doorway, where they saw a celestial boy and jade maiden who looked as though they had stepped out of a painting.
The boy was handsome and otherworldly, while the girl was charming and lively.
Standing together, they formed a sight no one could tear their eyes away from.
Tang San opened his eyes. Seeing that the visitors were Su Mo and Xiao Wu, he immediately jumped off his bed and walked toward them, only to freeze when he got close.
Huh? Isn't something off here?
It's only been a few hours. How did you two suddenly get half a head taller than me?
Did you take growth hormones?
"Hehe! Little San, does it feel like 'one day apart is three autumns long'?" Su Mo casually draped an arm around Tang San's shoulders.
"Uh, it really does..."
Suddenly finding himself shorter than his friend made Tang San feel a little awkward.
He even felt a trace of inferiority.
Holding back his laughter, Su Mo leaned toward his ear and whispered, "Remember the whale rubber I mentioned earlier? I got lucky and managed to get a few pieces. After taking it, not only did I grow taller, but my body also became several times stronger."
"Whale rubber really can strengthen the body?" Tang San was stunned.
Could that so-called 'whale rubber body-strengthening theory' actually be true?
"That's right." Su Mo nodded and pulled a piece of whale rubber from inside his clothes. "This is my last piece of ten-thousand-year whale glue. It's yours."
"Brother Mo, this is too valuable." Tang San hurriedly waved his hands in refusal.
But Su Mo firmly stuffed it into his arms. "If I'm giving it to you, just take it!"
"I've watched you grow up since you were little. You're like my own younger brother. What's wrong with a big brother giving his little brother something?"
Tang San: "..."
You're not that much older than me, are you?
Yet with the difference in their heights staring him in the face, those words wouldn't have been remotely convincing.
"Thank you, Brother Mo."
Tang San accepted the whale rubber, fully acknowledging Su Mo as his friend.
"No need to thank me. We're buddies." Su Mo patted Tang San's shoulder. In any case, every gift would be repaid in some other form.
"One more thing. We applied to the academy to go soul hunting tomorrow, with a teacher leading us. We added your name too, so remember to get up early."
"But I've already arranged to go with my teacher..." Tang San looked ashamed.
He felt like giving himself two slaps.
His good friend hadn't forgotten to include him in his soul-hunting trip, yet he had thought only of himself.
I'm such a bastard!
"What's the big deal? We can all go together." Su Mo shrugged.
Tang San: "Huh?"