Su Zhen woke from his bed at noon. He had just tried to turn over when pain flared throughout his body..
"Don't move around. Use the meditation method to regulate your breathing. Pain is normal after your first body-tempering session."
A gentle voice spoke. Qian Daoliu sat in a chair, sipping tea.
Su Zhen circulated the meditation method through his meridians for three cycles, and only then did the pain ease. He got up and sat down in front of Qian Daoliu.
"Now that you've caught your breath, have something to eat. Afterward, I'll teach you some basic knowledge about the Soul Master World."
As soon as Qian Daoliu finished speaking, a maid came in carrying a tray of food. Su Zhen took a look. All four dishes gave off faint fluctuations of Soul Power.
"These are made from the parts of Hundred-Year Soul Beasts richest in Soul Power, and simmered with herbs that have been aged for a hundred years. They're good supplements for Soul Masters below Soul Ancestor. Go on, try them."
Su Zhen picked up a piece of meat and put it in his mouth. A fishy taste hit him, and he couldn't stop himself from retching it out onto his rice.
"It's made from the brain of a Hundred-Year Deep Sea Demon Whale. It can nourish the meridians. Even Spirit Hall doesn't have much of it left."
Qian Daoliu glanced at him and said calmly.
Hearing this, Su Zhen no longer found it disgusting. He swallowed the meat with his rice. It tasted fishy, but as soon as it reached his stomach, a warm current swept through him, dispelling all his fatigue.
Each time Su Zhen picked up a dish, Qian Daoliu would explain it in detail. Every dish would help improve Su Zhen's constitution. The meal took a long time, but half an hour later, the plates were empty. The maid came in and cleared them away.
"Teacher, do you know about Whale Rubber?"
After a moment's inner struggle, Su Zhen decided to tell his teacher what Whale Rubber could do. As he'd eaten the fish, he'd remembered this rare treasure. Of course, he'd also prepared an explanation.
"Oh? Where did you hear about it? Whale Rubber is a gelatinous substance that forms in the brains of deep-sea whale-type Soul Beasts. It contains the essence of their entire being. It circulates among the nobility and is generally used to spice things up in the bedroom."
Though Qian Daoliu was puzzled as to why Su Zhen had brought it up, he still gave him a detailed account of Whale Rubber without the slightest concern that Su Zhen was a child.
"Teacher, since Whale Rubber contains the essence of a Soul Beast's entire being, could it have other uses? Like improving physical fitness?"
"Where did you hear that?"
Qian Daoliu stood and looked down at Su Zhen, hoping to discern something in his eyes.
"Teacher, earlier, on the way to Spirit City, I met a Black-Robed Man. He told me."
Qian Daoliu knew that the Black-Robed Man had spoken with him, but he didn't know what the man had told Su Zhen.
"Can his words be trusted?"
"Why not try it and see? They should sell this in Spirit City. We wouldn't lose much."
At this, Qian Daoliu turned and went out. He returned after the time it took an incense stick to burn, carrying a wooden box.
"Xiao Zhen, did he tell you how to take the Whale Rubber?"
Qian Daoliu asked Su Zhen. He didn't believe that taking it in the ordinary way would work. If it did, this secret wouldn't have stayed a secret for long.
"Heat it over a flame until it melts, then take it as a liquid."
Qian Daoliu followed Su Zhen's instructions. Angel Flame wrapped around the Whale Rubber, and in no time it had roasted it into a thick liquid. He drank it, sat cross-legged, and began to meditate. He wouldn't use Su Zhen as a test subject to improve his physical fitness.
It took less than the time it took an incense stick to burn for Qian Daoliu to absorb it. He opened his eyes and looked at Su Zhen.
"Xiao Zhen, you've done us a great service. Whale Rubber really can improve physical fitness. The Hundred-Year Whale Rubber I just took can raise an ordinary Soul Master's First Soul Ring limit by about a hundred years. This discovery will greatly improve the quality of Soul Masters in Spirit Hall!"
As he spoke, Qian Daoliu gripped Su Zhen's shoulder, his face alight with fervor. He had been a Limit Douluo for a long time, and aside from his granddaughter's Innate Level 20 Soul Power awakening, nothing had made him this happy in ages.
"Xiao Zhen, I have something to discuss with your grandfathers in the Worship Hall. I'll find a grandmaster to teach your theory lesson later. I'm off."
Before Su Zhen could react, Qian Daoliu rushed out the door and flew toward the Worship Hall.
With nothing else to do, Su Zhen sat cross-legged and began cultivating the Lightning Heart Meditation Method.
Qian Daoliu didn't come back all afternoon. Instead, a grandmaster who taught at Spirit Hall's advanced Soul Master Academy gave Su Zhen his theory lesson.
After his medicinal bath that evening, the grandmaster went home. Su Zhen continued sitting in meditation. He hadn't added a Soul Ring yet, but he knew his Soul Power would slowly accumulate all the same. He had to seize every minute and second to grow stronger. He had only a little over twenty years left, and he had to become a god within that time.
The stars wheeled overhead, and dawn broke.
After meditating all night, Su Zhen slowly rose. Once he'd eaten the breakfast the maid had prepared, he went into the Worship Hall.
Qian Daoliu and Azure Luan were in the hall.
"Xiao Zhen, you really are Spirit Hall's great benefactor. Don't worry. When we return from hunting your Soul Ring in a few days, we'll reward you."
Azure Luan looked at Su Zhen with delight. This little fellow really was Spirit Hall's lucky star.
"Let's do your medicinal bath first. We can talk about your reward later."
Qian Daoliu casually tossed Su Zhen into the medicinal cauldron to begin the day's bath.
And so, Su Zhen had a medicinal bath twice a day, morning and evening, and took Whale Rubber afterward. He spent the day in theory lessons. After his final medicinal bath on the third day, he followed Golden Crocodile to the Star Dou Forest to hunt for his First Soul Ring.
"Xiao Zhen, let your second grandfather test you. Why are we coming to the Star Dou Forest to hunt for a Soul Ring?"
"The three great gathering places for Soul Beasts are the Far North, which is far away and whose Soul Beasts' attributes aren't a good match; Sunset Forest, which is closer, but has a poor selection for the price; and the Star Dou Forest, which is closest to Spirit Hall and the largest Soul Beast gathering place on the continent. It has a wide variety of Soul Beasts, so we're most likely to find a suitable Soul Ring there."
"Not bad. You've learned well over the past two days. So what Soul Beast do you think you should hunt for your First Soul Ring?"
"Thunderlight Electric Tiger, Purple Lightning Eagle, or Violent Thunder Bear. These lightning-attribute Soul Beasts all have strong bloodlines, and their attributes suit me."
"Mm, those are all good choices. This area is mainly home to Soul Beasts around eight or nine hundred years old. Let's try our luck in the outer region first. If we can't find anything, we'll head to the mixed region."
Su Zhen and Golden Crocodile walked through the dense forest, quizzing each other as they went, as though they were strolling through an empty land. With Golden Crocodile's strength as a Level 98 Super Douluo, there was no need to be careful about every little thing.
They searched the outer region for a week, but found nothing.
They'd encountered plenty of Soul Beasts along the way, but whenever Su Zhen tried to get closer and examine one, it would flee desperately into the depths of the forest, without any desire to attack.
"Xiao Zhen, I'm afraid something's wrong with this Soul Hunt."
Golden Crocodile watched yet another Soul Beast flee, a trace of concern crossing his face. At first, he'd thought they were fleeing because of the aura of a Super Douluo. But even when he concealed his aura, the Soul Beasts still fled. It was truly strange. If their attributes and age hadn't been unsuitable for Su Zhen, he would have captured one already.
"Second grandfather, let's go to the mixed region. The outer region is mostly full of Hundred-Year Soul Beasts. Maybe your Soul Power is just too overwhelming, and it scared them off. There are more Thousand-Year Soul Beasts in the mixed region. It should be better there."
"Ah, let's go."
The two headed toward the mixed region.
Before you continue