Whale Rubber

After beating Lin Beiya to a pulp, Qian Renxue successfully vented the frustration she had been harboring lately, and the smile on her pretty face grew much more frequent.

"Beiya, Grandpa is giving me a day off tomorrow, so I don't need to practice swordsmanship."

"How about you accompany me to stroll around Martial Soul City after you finish school?"

Rubbing his red and swollen cheeks, Lin Beiya complained inwardly. She just finished playing dirty and now she wants to order this young master around to carry her bags? Impossible, absolutely impossible!

"Fine, then we'll meet at the Central Garden after my morning classes."

Meeting the little angel's unquestionable gaze, Lin Beiya swallowed his refusal with great reluctance, forcing a smile through the pain in the corners of his mouth.

Seeing this, Qian Renxue nodded with satisfaction, waved at Lin Beiya, and skipped away from the training ground.

Getting up and dusting off his clothes, Lin Beiya also limped toward his living quarters.

The injuries left behind by the spirit battle allowed him to discover a new use for the Gold Cloth during his nightly meditation; wearing the Gold Cloth not only accelerated his cultivation speed but also sped up the recovery of his injuries.

After just one night of cultivation, the swelling on Lin Beiya's face had vanished without a trace, and the melancholic little boy was back.

In the morning, after finishing breakfast, Lin Beiya arrived at the Spirit Academy on time. After a month of diligent cultivation, the little fatty Shi Nuo had also raised his spirit power to level 9. He estimated that in another month or so, he would successfully reach level 10 and be able to obtain his very first spirit ring.

In the first-year Elite Class, aside from Lin Beiya, who could be considered the absolute top tier, only a handful of people could compare to this level of cultivation.

The minimum threshold for the Elite Class was innate spirit power of level 7, so this class had the fewest students. Including the transfer students sent from remote areas, the entire class had only about 20 people.

Because Shi Nuo had spread the word about the previous spirit battle, some people recognized Feng De's identity as a fourth-year senior who also grew up in the orphanage and attended the Spirit Academy.

Through the fatty's description, the entire class understood Lin Beiya's terrifying nature. The way his classmates looked at him was now tinged with awe, and the idle gossip from when he first arrived had vanished without a trace.

The strong are respected everywhere, unless your name is Tang San.

The teaching in the Elite Class was different from that of ordinary classes. Since many students were approaching the level 10 threshold, the teachers began to specifically discuss some excellent century-old spirit beasts as references, allowing students to understand the characteristics of spirit beasts and the potential spirit skills they might obtain after absorbing their rings.

The Black Stone Giant Bull that the fatty had mentioned to him was also on the list, which made Shi Nuo incredibly excited, further confirming that his choice had been the right one.

Of course, all of this had little to do with Lin Beiya, who already possessed his first spirit ring. It was still too early for him to consider a second spirit ring.

After finishing his morning classes, Lin Beiya ate lunch and hurried toward the Central Garden of the Douluo Hall. He didn't dare to stand the little angel up; otherwise, who knew how she would torment him for the next few days?

Meeting the little angel on time made the little girl very satisfied with Lin Beiya's punctuality.

"Not bad, you weren't late today."

"Look at you, I am a person who keeps time and promises."

"Hmph."

The little angel gave Lin Beiya a look of disdain. Her expression, which clearly said she didn't believe a word he said, made Lin Beiya scratch his head in embarrassment. It wasn't like he had overslept that many times, right?

Without further bickering, Lin Beiya followed Qian Renxue out of the Martial Soul Hall.

As for safety, Lin Beiya wasn't worried at all; he trusted that Qian Daoliu would have people secretly protecting the little angel.

Along the way, Qian Renxue skipped and hopped, appearing extremely lively, and the irrepressible smile on her face spoke of the joy in her heart.

Martial Soul City was huge. Having lived here since childhood, Lin Beiya had only ever wandered around the northern part of the city where the orphanage was located, and he knew nothing about the affairs of the central district.

Qian Renxue took on the role of a tour guide quite well, introducing various buildings and facilities within Martial Soul City to Lin Beiya from time to time.

"That is the Ten Thousand Soul Inn, the largest restaurant in Martial Soul City. The food inside is quite delicious. When we're tired of walking later, I'll treat you to a taste."

"Alright."

"And that is Shou Xilai, the largest shopping mall in Martial Soul City. Let's go there first."

"Sure."

In his past life, Lin Beiya had heard that accompanying a woman shopping was a very painful experience, and even though the person beside him now was just a little yellow-haired girl, he deeply agreed with that sentiment.

The two left the gates of the Martial Soul Hall at noon, and it wasn't until the sun set that Qian Renxue, still feeling unsatisfied, pulled Lin Beiya along to enjoy a meal.

Feeling his leaden legs, Lin Beiya let out a sigh of relief, silently vowing to find a way to refuse shopping services in the future.

Entering the restaurant, a variety of dishes were served on the table. Seeing Lin Beiya devouring the food like a whirlwind, Qian Renxue once again showed an expression of disdain.

"Slow down, no one is going to snatch it from you!"

"Can't help it, I'm starving."

"Hey, after we finish eating, let's go check out the Martial Soul City Auction House."

"Hmm? What are we going there for?"

The little angel rolled her eyes at Lin Beiya while elegantly picking up some food.

"They often have novel things there. Since we finally have a day off, we don't have to go back so early, right?"

"Fine, whatever you say."

Just as the little girl said, since they were already out, he might as well let her have her fun.

After the meal, the two headed toward the auction house. Whether it was because the people secretly protecting the little angel had given notice in advance, someone came to receive them as soon as the two little ones arrived at the entrance, and without asking a single question, they were led to the largest private box in the house.

"Not bad, not bad, it's still here."

After sitting on the soft couch in the box and looking around, the little angel nodded with satisfaction and beckoned for Lin Beiya to sit beside her.

After the waiter served fruit and tea, he handed a booklet to Qian Renxue.

Qian Renxue skillfully took the booklet and waved at the attendant, who nodded and retreated respectfully to the corner of the private box.

Lin Beiya, having taken everything in, raised an eyebrow.

"It seems you come here often!"

"That's right. I used to come here frequently with the older sister from Third Granduncle's family, but she has been in seclusion lately to cultivate her family's soul skills."

As Qian Renxue flipped open the booklet on her lap, Lin Beiya leaned his head in, the two small heads huddled together in a display of harmony.

"It's a list. Are these the items that will be auctioned off later?"

"Yes. Everyone looks through the booklet first to choose the items they want to bid on, so they don't run out of funds for the things they really want later."

"I see."

Experiencing this method of trade for the first time, Lin Beiya found it quite novel. After scanning the booklet, his gaze settled on the third column of auction items.

"Whale Rubber!"

Lin Beiya exclaimed inwardly, though he didn't show it on his face. The fact that Whale Rubber could strengthen the physique would only become widely known in the later era of Huo the Hanging; as of now, this thing only had one use...

Lost in thought about how to persuade the little angel to help him bid for the Whale Rubber, Lin Beiya could no longer muster any interest in the subsequent auction items.

It wasn't until Qian Renxue called out to him several times that his train of thought was interrupted.

"Beiya... Beiya!"

"Ah? What is it?"

"You're distracted. What are you thinking about? Come quickly and see, how is this necklace?"