A piece of Thousand-Year Whale Rubber could raise his limit by nearly a hundred years. Chen Yumo was already very satisfied.
Wang Dong had said in Douluo Dalu II that she had eaten so much Whale Rubber at the Clear Sky Sect that she nearly threw up. It had taken great effort just to raise the limit of her second Spirit Ring to the thousand-year level, and she had sworn never to eat it again.
Given the Clear Sky Sect's resources and her status, what she ate might not even have been merely Thousand-Year Whale Rubber.
From her words, it was clear that Whale Rubber helped Spirit Masters absorb Spirit Rings beyond their level, but its effects were not as great as imagined. There was a limit to it.
Even among Thousand-Year Whale Rubber, there was ordinary Whale Rubber that had only just reached a thousand years, and premium Whale Rubber that was close to ten thousand years old. The difference between them was enormous.
The first piece of Whale Rubber he had taken came from a whale-type Spirit Beast that was nearly two thousand years old. It was also the lowest-aged among the six pieces of Thousand-Year Whale Rubber.
Medicinal substances had to be taken gradually as well.
Chen Yumo had originally expected fifty years, but it had ultimately raised his limit by a hundred years.
Even if subsequent doses of Whale Rubber became less effective due to his body's drug resistance, the remaining five pieces would still be more than enough for him to completely absorb the source power of his first Spirit Ring and turn it into a Thousand-Year Spirit Ring.
How could Chen Yumo not be satisfied with such an excellent situation?
The second ring at the thousand-year level was secured too.
His second Metamorphosis would take him beyond the Ice Silkworm's original race. For such a complete transformation, the purer and greater the energy absorbed during Cocooning and Break Cocoon, the more effective it would be.
A Thousand-Year Spirit Ring would undoubtedly greatly increase the chances of a successful Metamorphosis.
Once his first Spirit Ring also reached the thousand-year level, the effects and functions of Cocooning Metamorphosis, his most fundamental soul skill, would rise in tandem.
This was practically like stepping on his own left foot to ascend into the sky.
After resolving a few small problems, Chen Yumo's path ahead immediately became much smoother.
After absorbing the first piece of Whale Rubber, Chen Yumo spent several days exercising properly to fully digest its medicinal effects. His Spirit Ring's age rose by a few more years, until someone from Baicao Hall came to Nuoding Academy to inform him that the Sword Bamboo had arrived.
After retrieving the Sword Bamboo, he returned once more to his previous fulfilling yet relaxed cultivation life.
He fed the Ice Silkworm around the clock without pause. During the day, he slacked off in class while secretly studying the Four-in-One Encyclopedia and outworking everyone else. In the afternoon, he loosened his muscles and bones with scientific exercise methods. At night, he meditated until eleven-thirty, then lay in bed and fell into baby-like sleep.
Even Director Su from the Academic Affairs Office said that his schedule was extremely healthy.
He did not stop taking Whale Rubber either.
After taking Whale Rubber for the first time, he took his second dose only half a month later. The second piece of Whale Rubber gave him nearly another hundred years of tolerance.
Although his body had developed a slight resistance after the first dose of Whale Rubber, the second piece was older and had stronger medicinal effects. The amount of medicine lost to his resistance during absorption was actually smaller.
But starting with the third piece of Whale Rubber, the intervals between doses grew longer and longer.
He took the third piece a month and a half after the second, the fourth two months later, the fifth three months later, and the sixth five months later.
After taking and completely digesting the fourth piece of Whale Rubber, his Spirit Ring tolerance had already reached a thousand years. He had also fully absorbed the source power of his first Spirit Ring, causing its color to turn purple.
The remaining two even more premium pieces of Whale Rubber further increased the capacity his Spirit Ring could withstand.
Combined with his increased Soul Power and physical development, a conservative estimate was that after consuming six pieces of Whale Rubber, his current physical strength and Martial Soul strength would allow him to absorb a Spirit Ring between thirteen hundred and fifteen hundred years for his second Spirit Ring without the slightest problem.
Taking the six pieces of Whale Rubber took him a year. During that year, he had never stopped feeding Sword Bamboo to the Frost Illusion Butterfly.
Over that year, his Soul Power rose four levels at an average rate of one level every three months, reaching level fifteen.
And he was not even ten years old yet.
Less than four years after awakening his Martial Soul, he had risen from Innate Level One to level fifteen.
This was only because the Frost Illusion Butterfly had poor teeth at first and found it extremely difficult to chew Sword Bamboo, so it could not eat much in an entire day. Only later did its eating speed gradually increase, allowing it to digest more Sword Bamboo. Otherwise, Chen Yumo's cultivation speed would have been even faster.
To use the most practical comparison, it had taken him three and a half months to rise to level twelve at first, but he had spent less than three months cultivating from level fourteen to fifteen.
Others found advancement harder the further they went, but he cultivated faster and faster instead.
The medicinal effects of the Whale Rubber might also have played a role. Although Whale Rubber did not raise Soul Power, it was still a powerful tonic. Taking an appropriate amount was extremely beneficial to Spirit Masters.
However, Chen Yumo had no plans to take the remaining two pieces of Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Rubber yet.
Over the past year, he had taken six consecutive pieces of Whale Rubber. When he took the final piece, he could already clearly feel its effects weakening. His body had developed drug resistance.
The best course now was to stop taking Whale Rubber and cultivate naturally to level twenty, using that period to digest and ease the drug resistance in his body. Only after absorbing his second Spirit Ring and developing further would he take them, maximizing the use of those resources.
After all, Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Rubber was not easy to find. Even if its price in this era was not outrageously high, it was something money could not buy.
Not just anyone had the ability to hunt a ten-thousand-year whale-type sea Spirit Beast.
Thus, another year passed.
More than two years had passed since he obtained his first Spirit Ring, and he was only a month away from turning eleven.
After two years of cultivation, he successfully reached the level-twenty bottleneck and once again arrived at the point of obtaining a Spirit Ring.
Over these two years, Chen Yumo's life had not undergone any major changes. According to his philosophy of keeping a low profile, developing steadily, and living peacefully, he would not take the initiative to stir up trouble, so naturally no trouble came looking for him.
The only amusement was probably the time Gangzi returned half a year ago and ended up bedridden for nearly two months.
Who knew where he had taken Tang San.
Tang San might have had protagonist plot armor protecting him, so nothing unexpected happened to him. But Gangzi, who was already useless and still kept jumping around all day, returned that time with a broken leg.
Even after lying in bed for two months, he still limped around for several more months after he got back on his feet.
Gangzi had probably accepted his fate and decided that the opportunity for Martial Soul Evolution had nothing to do with him. After that incident, he stopped going out.
More importantly, over the past two years, he had dragged Tang San around everywhere, greatly cutting into Tang San's cultivation time.
Chen Yumo had raised his Soul Power by ten levels in two years, while Tang San, after running all over the place, was still only at level twenty-five.
Based on his level twenty-one cultivation after breaking through to Soul Grandmaster, he had gained only four levels in two years—an average of one level every half year.
If this continued, Gangzi would drag Tang San to death.
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