Taking Whale Rubber

Xia Shi opened the lid of the box, revealing more than a dozen fist-sized yellow gelatinous lumps arranged neatly inside.

These were everything he had gained today.

Xia Yang leaned closer, picked up a piece of Whale Rubber, and examined it carefully.

It felt much harder than it looked. Even when he squeezed it with force, he could only barely make a small dent in the gel.

"How are we supposed to take this?"

Huo Yang also picked up a piece and inspected it curiously.

"Just heat it with your Fire Attribute Soul Power."

Xia Shi explained, "After heating, the Whale Rubber will change from a solid into a flowing gel, and then Yang'er can swallow it directly."

"Oh? You know quite a lot!"

Huo Yang gave her husband a meaningful look and said, "Looks like you usually..."

"Cough cough..."

Xia Shi hurriedly cut her off, a faint blush rising to his face. "The kid is right here. Don't talk nonsense."

"So there won't be any problem heating it up for our son to take now, right?"

Huo Yang returned to the subject and asked.

"After taking Whale Rubber, the body will heat up. Normally, we should prepare Ice Water to cool him down."

"But with an Ice Attribute Soul Master like me here, there's no need to go through all that trouble."

"After Yang'er takes it, I can directly use a Soul Skill to cool him down."

Huo Yang nodded. Then, she placed all the Whale Rubber into a clean White Porcelain Bowl.

She circulated her Soul Power, and a fiery red glow rose from her body.

The surrounding air immediately grew several degrees hotter, making Xia Yang involuntarily take a few steps back.

Under the heat of her Soul Power, the Whale Rubber in the bowl slowly melted, eventually merging into a large bowl of yellowish-white gel.

"Just drink it directly?" Huo Yang confirmed.

"Drink it directly."

Xia Shi nodded firmly.

Huo Yang handed the bowl to her son. "Yang'er, drink up."

Xia Yang took the White Porcelain Bowl, which was still somewhat hot to the touch, and lowered his head to sniff it. A fishy stench rushed into his nose.

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, held his breath, and began gulping it down mouthful after mouthful.

"Gulp, gulp..."

Before long, he had drained the entire bowl of Whale Rubber.

"Blegh—"

Xia Yang set the bowl back on the table, bent over, and began dry heaving uncontrollably.

The taste of the Whale Rubber was truly nauseating. He fought back the urge to vomit, rubbing his chest with one hand as he tried to make himself feel better.

"How do you feel?" Huo Yang stepped forward worriedly.

"I'm fine. I just feel a little hot all over."

Xia Yang closed his eyes and sensed the changes within his body.

At first, only warmth spread from his abdomen, like drinking a bowl of steaming hot mutton soup in winter.

But soon, sweat began to pour from his entire body, and his temperature continued to rise.

In the end, Xia Yang only felt unbearably overheated all over.

Then he reached up to touch his cheeks. Both sides of his face were frighteningly hot.

"Old Xia?"

Seeing her son's face flush bright red, Huo Yang hurriedly urged her husband.

"Fourth Soul Skill: Northern Darkness Spirit Spring."

Xia Shi extended his right hand, blue Soul Power circulating all over his body.

Following that, an ice-blue water ball radiating biting cold air condensed in his palm.

Xia Shi gave it a gentle push, and the water ball floated toward Xia Yang.

The instant it touched Xia Yang's body, it expanded into a human-sized bubble.

Afterward, the bubble completely enveloped Xia Yang.

In an instant, Xia Yang felt as though he had tasted a cool Ice Cream on a scorching summer day, and his whole body felt wonderfully refreshed.

"Ahh, that's good."

He could not help but moan.

Xia Shi continuously supplied Soul Power to maintain his soul skill, while Xia Yang quietly absorbed the energy of the whale rubber.

Without realizing it, his physical condition steadily improved.

Though it was difficult to quantify exactly how much he had improved, his physique now far surpassed that of others his age.

About half an hour later, Xia Yang's body temperature gradually returned to normal. Only then did Xia Shi withdraw his Soul Power and deactivate the soul skill.

"Phew—"

Xia Yang let out a long breath and lowered his head to carefully sense the changes in his body.

"How do you feel, son?" Xia Shi asked eagerly.

"I feel like my whole body is full of strength. All the fatigue from today's training is gone."

Xia Yang answered excitedly.

"That's wonderful."

The couple exchanged smiles, their faces brimming with joy.

"Dad, can we get more whale rubber?"

Xia Yang looked expectantly at his father.

Xia Shi patted his chest and promised, "Don't worry. We'll definitely be able to get more."

"However, to avoid drawing attention, we'll need to plan this carefully."

"After this, I'll have people slowly purchase whale rubber through the major merchant associations."

"In any case, before you need to obtain a Spirit Ring, we'll definitely prepare enough whale rubber for you."

Huo Yang added, "Old Xia, it's not enough to ensure the quantity. The quality is crucial too."

"We should try to get some Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Rubber."

"If we truly can't buy any, we can consider heading out to sea and hunting Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Soul Beasts."

"I'll do everything I can to figure something out."

Xia Shi made the promise solemnly.

After chatting for a little while longer, the family of three returned to their rooms to rest.

Late at night, with all quiet around him, Xia Yang lay in bed and recalled the events of the day.

The gloom in his heart had finally dispersed, replaced by anticipation for the future.

"Everything will only get better."

Xia Yang murmured softly, a confident curve rising at the corner of his lips.

After confirming the effects of whale rubber that day, Xia Yang's life settled into a regular and fulfilling routine.

Every day of his was clearly planned out.

His mornings were devoted unfailingly to meditation—condensing Soul Power and sensing its circulation and growth within his body.

His afternoons were spent tempering his physique, training his body in various ways.

Between the two, Xia Yang would sometimes carve out bits of spare time to diligently study in the library of the Martial Soul Hall Branch, learning about soul skill characteristics, Spirit Ring selection, soul beast knowledge, continental history, and similar subjects.

Xia Yang understood well that on Douluo Continent, strength was supreme. Yet the goal of possessing great power often required equally profound knowledge to achieve.

Therefore, for Xia Yang, neither strength nor knowledge could be lacking on the road ahead.

Time flowed by like water, quietly passing.

And so, Xia Yang continued cultivating in silence according to his plans.

However, the world around him was far from unchanging.

Not long after the broken engagement that day, the Xia Family began having conflicts with another major force in Xiling Harbor—the Zhao Family.

Using all of Xiling Harbor and its surrounding sea area as their battleground, the two sides began an open and covert struggle against one another.

For a time, Xiling Harbor was filled with an air of drawn swords and strung bows.

Moreover, as both sides continued making moves, the conflict between the two families gradually came into the open.

Today, perhaps a cargo ship belonging to the Xia Family would mysteriously catch fire in the harbor.

Tomorrow, perhaps a trade route the Zhao Family had operated for many years would be disrupted by an unknown force and forced to shut down.

At first, both sides were only testing each other on a small scale.

But as time passed, the moves made by both families grew increasingly larger.

After a year of mutual probing, the conflict between the two families even showed clear signs of escalating.

At once, the entire city of Xiling Harbor was enveloped in the tense atmosphere of an approaching storm.