Lin Mo naturally had his reasons for wanting to get his hands on Whale Rubber.
In Lin Mo's eyes, the aphrodisiac effect that came with Whale Rubber was merely a side effect.
Just like Viagra had originally been invented to treat heart disease.
Whale Rubber was the same.
If one could take Whale Rubber in large quantities, it would greatly nourish a Soul Master's body.
Whale Rubber could strengthen the body, increase the strength of muscles, bones, and meridians, and improve a Soul Master's physical endurance.
The most obvious benefit was in the age limit of Soul Rings one could absorb. With Whale Rubber, absorbing a Soul Ring beyond the usual limit would become possible.
Although he hadn't found any, Lin Mo wasn't too bothered.
For him, a thousand-year first Soul Ring would be quite a challenge, but a thousand-year second Soul Ring would be practically within reach.
Lin Mo had great confidence in his physical constitution.
Even without Whale Rubber, he was sure he could absorb a thousand-year Soul Ring as his second Soul Ring!
A thousand-year second Soul Ring might sound like a pipe dream to an ordinary Soul Master, but for him, it was a goal he could achieve with almost one hundred percent certainty.
After confirming that he couldn't get his hands on Whale Rubber in Notting City, Lin Mo stopped asking around everywhere.
Instead, he took Xiao Wu to visit all the places in Notting City where they could have fun.
Xiao Wu had a wonderful time.
She had lived in the Star Dou Great Forest ever since she was little, and she was full of curiosity about human society.
Notting City was small, but for her at this stage, it was more than enough to satisfy her curiosity.
The holiday soon came to an end, and Lin Mo and Xiao Wu returned to Notting Academy, ready for the new school year.
But when the two of them hurried back to the dormitory, dusty from the road, they found that everyone else was already there.
Even Tang San, who had gone back to Holy Soul Village, had already returned.
When he saw them, Tang San instinctively lowered his eyes and looked them over.
But this time, Tang San seemed especially downcast.
Clearly, his trip back to Holy Soul Village hadn't been a pleasant one.
Remembering his teacher's instructions, Tang San looked up at Lin Mo.
"Lin Mo, the teacher wants to see you about something. He told you to go find him."
"Grandmaster wants to see me?" Lin Mo was rather surprised.
He and Yu Xiaogang were fairly familiar with each other, but this was the first time Yu Xiaogang had called him over so impatiently the moment he returned.
"Mm."
Tang San nodded. "I'm not sure what it's about, though. You'll have to ask the teacher."
"All right, then I'll trouble you to show me the way, Tang San."
Soon, with Tang San leading the way, Lin Mo arrived at a dormitory in a corner of the top floor.
This was where Yu Xiaogang lived. The room wasn't very large, but it was extremely tidy.
Aside from a small, clean bed, nearly every bit of space in the dormitory was packed with books of all kinds.
After entering the room, the first thing to catch Lin Mo's attention wasn't the books, but the few scales lying on the table.
Scales from a Datura Snake?
Lin Mo's gaze instinctively fell on them.
Yu Xiaogang noticed Lin Mo's reaction and gave a self-mocking smile. "You've already seen them, so I won't hide it from you."
"Even after using the Datura Snake's corpse to make medicine, the potion still couldn't stimulate my body enough to help me break through."
"Despite all my efforts during this time, I still haven't managed to cross the threshold of level twenty-nine." Yu Xiaogang's voice was very calm.
Lin Mo listened quietly from the side without saying anything.
After a moment of silence, Yu Xiaogang looked at Lin Mo again and asked the question he truly cared about.
"Starting tomorrow, Notting Academy will begin a new school year. The main reason I asked Little San to bring you here was to ask about your plans."
"Please go ahead, Grandmaster," Lin Mo said.
"There's no need to be so tense."
Yu Xiaogang waved his hand and tidied the table.
"I called you here mainly to ask about your plans for the future."
After clearing the table, Yu Xiaogang turned and sat down on the edge of the bed.
At Yu Xiaogang's gesture, Lin Mo sat down in the chair in front of the table.
"Notting Academy's only graduation requirement is to become a One-Ring Soul Master. Once you meet it, you can apply to graduate."
At this, Yu Xiaogang paused. "Take Wang Sheng from your dormitory, for example...
"At the end of last school year, he passed the final examination and reached Soul Power Level ten. He joined the academy's Soul Hunting team in the Soul Hunting Forest and obtained a Ten-Year Soul Ring suited to him.
"He's already graduated. Like Xiao Chenyu, that senior student, he apparently went with him to a mid-level Soul Master Academy.
"I just don't know whether the two of them will have a chance to move up to the advanced Soul Master Academy directly affiliated with it—the Beast Academy..."
Lin Mo continued listening in silence without interrupting. He already knew that Wang Sheng and Xiao Chenyu had graduated.
"Your cultivation had reached the same level as Little San's long ago—level sixteen. In terms of cultivation speed alone, you were even a little faster than him.
"Why didn't you apply to graduate last year like Wang Sheng?"
The room fell quiet for a moment.
Only then did Lin Mo speak. "I think I'll stay at Notting Academy for another year. Once this school year ends, I'll probably apply to graduate."
"The reason I didn't rush to apply for graduation is that I want to skip mid-level Soul Master Academy and take the entrance examination for an advanced Soul Master Academy directly, to see whether my talent is good enough for special admission..."
A mid-level academy was practically useless to Lin Mo. He had never planned to enroll in one.
After all, as he saw it, a mid-level academy was only a stepping stone, its sole purpose to get him into an advanced Soul Master Academy.
He might as well go straight to an advanced Soul Master Academy.
That was the plan he had settled on long ago.
If nothing unexpected happened, once the school year ended, he would apply to graduate and then see whether an advanced academy would grant him special admission.
After hearing Lin Mo out, Yu Xiaogang fell silent for a moment, then said slowly, "You've certainly given your future plans a lot of thought."
"Skipping a mid-level Soul Master Academy and applying directly to an advanced academy isn't unheard of, but few have succeeded."
At this, Yu Xiaogang paused, a clear smile appearing at the corners of his mouth. "But with your cultivation speed, you have a very good chance."
Judging by Lin Mo's cultivation speed, it wasn't impossible.
Lin Mo nodded. "That's what I think, too."
"Since you've already made up your mind, I won't say any more." Yu Xiaogang sat back down on the edge of the bed.
It was true that the entrance requirement for an advanced Soul Master Academy was to be a Soul Grandmaster, but surely an eight-year-old on the verge of becoming one would be acceptable, too!
As for his Second Soul Ring, Lin Mo still planned to wait until after enrolling, then have a teacher from the advanced Soul Master Academy take him to obtain it.
That would be the safest option.