Passing Along the Credit

There were some things they weren't unaware of; they simply had never thought to look at them from this angle.

With a little guidance, they could understand the principle behind them.

"Old Ghost!"

Seeing Bibi Dong's eyes grow brighter and brighter, Yue Guan couldn't help raising his voice.

With Bibi Dong's talent, as long as nothing went wrong along the way, she was destined to become a Titled Douluo.

The look in her eyes made it clear she was tempted and wanted to experiment.

If anything happened to Bibi Dong, neither he nor Gui Mei would escape blame.

"Thank you, Uncle Gui Mei. I have something to do, so I'll be going now."

Bibi Dong didn't linger, nor did she bring up the Whale Rubber right away. She needed to let two or three days pass, then find some supporting evidence so everything would seem more natural.

"Old Ghost, you shouldn't have said those things just now!"

After Bibi Dong left, Yue Guan couldn't help speaking up, a trace of reproach in his voice.

"Yue Guan, you really can't see clearly when you're in the thick of things!"

"Do you think this little fellow truly didn't know that?"

"She's clever—clever enough to use one thing to corroborate another, think from the side, and arrive at the conclusion she wants."

"I can say with certainty that she reached this conclusion long ago. She only brought it up because she wanted to use us to voice it for her."

As he spoke, Gui Mei looked in the direction Bibi Dong had gone, a bright glint appearing in his eyes.

"This..."

"Old Ghost, are you really so certain?"

"Is Xiao Dong really that clever?"

Yue Guan was dumbfounded by Gui Mei's words.

He knew Bibi Dong was clever, but he'd never imagined she was this clever.

Yue Guan trusted his old partner's insight and judgment. If Gui Mei was so certain, he had his reasons.

"But why would she do this?"

Yue Guan didn't understand.

Given Bibi Dong's status, she had no need to say such things. She could simply show off her talents as much as she wanted.

"Being young and talented, yet too conspicuous, isn't a good thing."

When Gui Mei mentioned this, a complicated look appeared in his eyes.

Back then, he had been too conspicuous, and that was why he had died young, with even his family dragged into the consequences.

"Perhaps you're right!"

Yue Guan noticed Gui Mei's mood had shifted, so he stopped bringing up the subject.

Over the next few days, Bibi Dong cultivated at night and spent her days in Spirit Hall's library, poring over all kinds of books as if she were searching for something.

And, sure enough, she found some information that could corroborate Whale Rubber's ability to strengthen the body.

The information came from several different books, and only by putting them together could one reach that conclusion. Without already knowing what to look for, it would have been impossible to find.

So Bibi Dong eagerly took the books to Yue Guan and Gui Mei.

"Uncle Yue Guan, Uncle Gui Mei, after your guidance, I think I've found something that can strengthen the body. I just don't know if it really works."

Bibi Dong eagerly placed the books in front of Yue Guan for him to examine one by one.

"It's actually Whale Rubber. Is this really reliable?"

Looking at the contents of the books, Yue Guan was full of doubt.

He just couldn't quite believe something like this.

"Why not try it and see?"

"Wait a moment!"

As soon as Gui Mei finished speaking, his figure vanished from the spot.

Before leaving, he gave Bibi Dong a meaningful glance.

This little fellow had clearly come to them with the answer again, asking them to find the process.

With Gui Mei's speed, he returned very quickly, then handed Yue Guan a piece of thousand-year Whale Rubber.

"Follow the method in the books—and Xiao Dong's guidance—to soften it, then take it and see whether it really strengthens the body."

The reason Gui Mei didn't try it himself was that his body was special.

As a living corpse, he couldn't sense this kind of improvement.

"This stuff..."

Although Yue Guan looked disgusted, he still followed Bibi Dong's instructions, softened the Whale Rubber, and took it.

He slowly closed his eyes and felt the changes in his body. After a long while, he suddenly opened them.

"It...it really can strengthen the body! Not only that, it can also widen the meridians and replenish what's lacking."

Yue Guan was utterly shocked.

The improvement was negligible for him, but he was a Soul Douluo, and this was only a piece of thousand-year Whale Rubber. What about Whale Rubber that was older—eight thousand, nine thousand, or even ten thousand years?

What Yue Guan found most unbelievable was that using Whale Rubber to strengthen the body had no side effects and wouldn't harm one's foundation.

"Xiao Dong, remember: you mustn't tell anyone else that you discovered Whale Rubber can strengthen the body."

Then Yue Guan thought of something, and his expression immediately turned solemn.

This was a great achievement. Just how great remained to be seen; he would need to find older Whale Rubber to verify it.

Before he reported it, they absolutely couldn't let it leak. They couldn't let anyone else steal Xiao Dong's credit.

"Uncle Yue Guan, wasn't it you who discovered what Whale Rubber can do?"

"How did it become something I discovered?"

Bibi Dong acted as if she were naive and innocent, blinking her bright eyes at Yue Guan.

"I..."

Yue Guan had just started to speak when Gui Mei stopped him with a look.

He immediately understood: Xiao Dong didn't want too much attention. That meant the credit would go to him.

Yue Guan was deeply moved.

"Let's verify just how great this achievement is!"

Just then, Gui Mei took another item out of his Storage Soul Tool and tossed it to Yue Guan.

It was a piece of ten-thousand-year Whale Rubber.

When Bibi Dong brought the books verifying Whale Rubber's effects, Gui Mei had already become certain of his guess. When he went to buy Whale Rubber, besides picking up some thousand-year pieces, he had also purchased the shop's ten-thousand-year Whale Rubber in Yue Guan's name. It had been the shop's treasured showpiece, though it was also just a display item.

According to the shopkeeper, this piece of Whale Rubber was a full fifty thousand years old. A Soul Douluo had brought it back after hunting a beast for his Eighth Soul Ring.

"Old Ghost, you..."

Seeing the ten-thousand-year Whale Rubber, Yue Guan was startled, then immediately realized just how highly Gui Mei regarded Xiao Dong.

Even more highly than he did.

Then Yue Guan used his Soul Power to soften the fifty-thousand-year Whale Rubber, took it, and began to feel the changes in his body.

When he opened his eyes again, his Soul Power had risen from the peak of level 83 to level 84.

Even Yue Guan hadn't expected the Whale Rubber to have such an effect.

By his estimate, going from level 83 to level 84 would have taken at least another six months of steady cultivation.

He hadn't expected that a single piece of ten-thousand-year Whale Rubber would save him more than half a year of effort.