Whale Rubber

Time passed slowly, and before they knew it, a week had gone by.

Because of Lu Yi's words, the work-study students of the Seventh Dormitory had kept a low profile these past few days, immersing themselves in the thrill of cultivation. Xiong Kui especially had been cultivating like mad, as if he had suddenly wised up.

As for those work-study students who were not wholly absorbed in cultivation, whenever they encountered noble students outside, they avoided them if they could. If they could not, they fought back.

During that time, Lu Yi had stood up for them several times. Wielding a one-meter-long Magikarp made entirely of bones and using the shared skill Tackle, he beat his opponents until they fled with their heads in their hands.

Gradually, those who took pleasure in bullying work-study students stopped coming to cause trouble. After all, these work-study students had become like rabid dogs—once bullied, they would fight to the death.

After being bullied, they would even go to Lu Yi and ask him to stand up for them. Lu Yi was a strange one himself. Not only did he go around beating people with a fish in hand, he would even gather a group of people in the middle of the night, throw sacks over their victims' heads, and gang up on them.

And there was that kid with the axe. Whenever he fought, he acted like he did not care about his life, swinging that axe around and hacking wildly.

After being sack-covered and taught a few painful lessons, those bullies finally learned their lesson and stopped picking on the work-study students so much.

That evening, beside a small pond on the back mountain of Nuoding Academy, Lu Yi slowly emerged from meditation.

The Magikarp in the pond also gradually came out of its meditative state, moving about to loosen the body that had grown somewhat stiff from remaining still for so long.

Lu Yi had gradually discovered this after awakening his Martial Soul: Magikarp could cultivate as well. And perhaps because it came with its own Meditation Method, Magikarp cultivated even faster than he did.

How could Lu Yi possibly let that pass? He immediately copied it and began using it himself.

As for the Meditation Method Su Yuntao had given him? Sorry, they were not close enough!

And surprisingly, this copied Meditation Method could resonate with Magikarp during cultivation, producing an effect greater than one plus one.

On top of that, the village's water canals provided an excellent simulated cultivation environment for Lu Yi and Magikarp.

Combined with the fact that he might possess Innate Level 2.2 Soul Power, he had managed to raise his Soul Power to Level 3 in just three short months.

"Damn, at this rate, it'll probably take another five months to reach Level 4 Soul Power!"

Lu Yi sensed the pitiful increase in Soul Power within his body, smacked his lips, and looked at Magikarp, which had now grown to a meter long. With a pained expression, he said, "Damn, at this rate, it'll probably take another five months to reach Level 4 Soul Power!"

An innate Soul Power talent of Level 2 was simply too terrible. He had to find something to shorten his early development period.

Otherwise, if he relied solely on arduous cultivation to reach Level 20 and waited for Magikarp to evolve, who knew how long that would take?

"What in Douluo could speed up cultivation?"

Looking at Magikarp's dead fish eyes, Lu Yi could not help but think carefully. Immortal Herbs were too high-end; he could not get them right now. Besides, he could only remember the more famous ones from the original story, such as the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and the Infernal Delicate Apricot.

But he did not know what to use to pick those two. He could only wait until Tang San enrolled two years later and see if he could fish some information out of him.

Other than Immortal Herbs, soul bones in the original story seemed capable of changing one's talent and increasing cultivation speed. But those things were called Blood River Treasures. It was not certain that Lu Yi could obtain one in the first place, and even if he did get one—even a hundred-year-old piece—if anyone discovered it, his corpse would probably be chopped into several pieces.

He did know about the hundred-thousand-year-old leg bone Tang San's mother had left behind, but as long as Tang Hao remained there, he did not dare take it.

Other than Immortal Herbs and soul bones, the only things in the original story that seemed capable of improving one's talent were Mysterious Water Pills and Whale Rubber.

Mysterious Water Pills were products from ten thousand years in the future. He could not wait that long.

Whale Rubber, however, was different. This was the timeline of the first Douluo story, when its effects had yet to be discovered.

"Damn it, I'll go to the apothecary tomorrow and see if I can buy some Whale Rubber. If I can get a piece of Thousand-Year Whale Rubber, wouldn't I fucking take off?"

Having found a solution, Lu Yi slapped his hand hard, thinking excitedly.

"Brother Yi, what are you doing?"

Wang Shu watched Lu Yi suddenly slap his hand with an excited expression and asked in confusion.

"Cough, cough. Wang Shu, are you done cultivating? How do you feel?" Hearing Wang Shu's question, Lu Yi coughed twice, adjusted his bearing, and asked him.

"It doesn't feel as fast as cultivating at home surrounded by farm tools, but it's faster than cultivating in the dormitory!" Wang Shu said, glancing at the three stacks of firewood surrounding him.

"Logically, your Martial Soul would cultivate fastest in a blacksmith's workshop, but conditions are tough right now, so make do with this for the time being! Something is better than nothing, right?" Lu Yi said, waving his hand.

"That's true!" Wang Shu nodded.

"Alright, keep cultivating here. I have something to take care of." Lu Yi stood, put away Magikarp, brushed the dirt off his clothes, spoke to Wang Shu, then ran off into the distance.

He needed to check the current market price of Whale Rubber. If it was cheap, he would buy it right away.

"Brother Yi, do you want me to save you some food in the cafeteria?" Wang Shu hurriedly shouted after Lu Yi's departing back.

Because his Martial Soul was an axe, he was currently splitting firewood in the cafeteria. He could eat early or save food for others.

"No need. If I don't make it back in time, I'll just eat outside!" Lu Yi called back, then quickened his pace toward the academy gates.

"Seriously, he's in such a hurry that he doesn't even care about eating!" Seeing how rushed he was, Wang Shu muttered a complaint. Then he sat cross-legged between the stacks of firewood and resumed cultivating.

His cultivation speed was not as fast as Lu Yi's, so his Soul Power Level was still at Level 2. But he was determined to keep up with Lu Yi, so he absolutely could not let Lu Yi pull too far ahead.

After leaving Nuoding Academy, Lu Yi hurried toward the apothecary Lu Rui had taken him to before.

The sun had already sunk toward the western horizon, and night would soon fall. Lu Yi did not have the leisure to search through apothecaries one by one.

Fortunately, this apothecary was fairly conscientious. Even though the sky had grown dark, it had not closed yet. Seeing this, Lu Yi rushed inside.

"Buying medicine or seeking a consultation?" Sensing Lu Yi hurry into the shop, the apothecary apprentice asked without looking up as he sorted medicinal ingredients behind the counter.

"Do you have Whale Rubber?" Lu Yi looked at the apprentice behind the counter and got straight to the point, asking nervously.

Although Whale Rubber was merely an aphrodisiac in the timeline of the first Douluo story, and it would not be as scarce in coastal cities under Nuoding City's jurisdiction as it was in the second Douluo story, it was currently the only heavenly treasure Lu Yi could use to change his own talent. He could not help being excited.

"Yes. Thousand-Year Whale Rubber costs one silver soul coin per tael. We don't have hundred-year-old stuff—that's for noble lords." The apprentice looked up at Lu Yi's young face and gave him a surprised glance.

Because hundred-year Whale Rubber did not cause the body as much pain after use and was harder to obtain, it was more valuable than Thousand-Year Whale Rubber in this era.

"How much is Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Rubber?" Hearing the apprentice's answer, Lu Yi was delighted. He squeezed the cloth pouch Lu Rui had given him and asked again.

"We don't have any ten-thousand-year stuff. Go outside and see how many people even have ten-thousand-year Soul Rings. Ordinary people can't kill one!" The apprentice rolled his eyes.

Good grief, was this kid impotent from birth? Was he planning to use the medicinal effects of Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Rubber to get himself up?