Tonic Whale Glue, One Year of Training

Early the next morning.

The news of Han Yu's injury reached Ning Rongrong's ears.

Ning Rongrong turned the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's big three upside down, crying until her eyes were red. She even refused to let Ning Fengzhi take her to visit Han Yu, insisting on taking her anger out on the man in black from the night before.

Fortunately, apart from Ning Fengzhi and the other two, no one knew the identity of the man in black.

In the end, Ning Fengzhi had to bring out a pile of sacred healing medicines and use every persuasive tactic he had to finally coax Ning Rongrong away.

"Rongrong, are you still angry with Grandpa? That was all that Old Bone's idea. Poor me, I'm being blamed at my age," Gu Rong said, his upper body emerging from a black hole as he followed behind Ning Rongrong, his tone sounding extremely aggrieved.

"Hmph, I'm not a little kid anymore. Old Bone is a big liar." Ning Rongrong turned her head away, lifted her chin, and walked faster with her hands on her hips.

"Hey, Rongrong, don't run. Old Bone is here to help you. Don't you want Han Yu to be moved by you? Just sending medicine won't cut it, you know." Gu Rong's figure flickered and reappeared beside Ning Rongrong, his voice carrying a mischievous smirk.

Sure enough, Ning Rongrong's footsteps faltered, and she stole a glance at Gu Rong.

"Hmph, big liar. I don't believe you, unless you tell me first." Ning Rongrong slowed her pace, pretending she was about to leave while casting expectant looks at Gu Rong from time to time.

A chrysanthemum-like smile bloomed on Gu Rong's aged face. He stepped out of the black hole, walked side-by-side with Ning Rongrong, and shared his idea.

Everyone had healing medicine, and anyone could send it, so how could she make hers stand out? Gu Rong's answer was for Ning Rongrong to brew it herself. It would show her care for Han Yu while demonstrating the results of her studies—killing two birds with one stone.

Upon hearing this, joy finally appeared on Ning Rongrong's small face. Her eyes brightened, and her steps became much lighter.

"Thank you, Old Bone. You're the one who loves me the most, hee hee." Ning Rongrong raised her small hands, gave Gu Rong a quick hug, and then bolted toward the pharmacy.

"Hey! I haven't told you the prescription yet!" Gu Rong was still basking in the praise when he realized she had already run far away. "Oh well, at least Rongrong has read those ancient texts; she shouldn't end up making poison."

Pharmacy.

The warehouse steward bowed and scraped as he let Ning Rongrong into the herb storage room.

He followed behind her, respectfully holding a jade tray.

Ning Rongrong was full of joy as she excitedly picked through the shelves. Looking at the dazzling array of herbs, her head immediately began to throb. She pouted, trying hard to recall the contents of the ancient texts.

Hmm...

Her mind went blank. Ning Rongrong gave up and simply asked the steward where the herbs for physical recovery were kept.

Her large eyes scanned back and forth. She picked and chose based entirely on her own preferences, stuffing them into her soul tool. Feeling satisfied, she lifted her arms, which had been hanging at her sides, and skipped away, tilting her head from side to side.

Seeing the young mistress leave, the steward breathed a sigh of relief and returned to the shelves to record the missing herbs as instructed by the Sect Master.

"Hiss... What is this? Oh no!" The steward's face turned pale with shock. His legs went weak, and he rushed out of the warehouse like a madman.

But Ning Rongrong was long gone. She had already rushed home, holding a book and tossing herbs into a pot with a look of professional seriousness. She added a splash of water and brewed it over a high flame.

Han Yu sat up on his bed and stretched vigorously; the pain from the night before had eased.

Just as he was about to pick up an ancient text on martial soul knowledge, his left and right eyelids suddenly began to twitch wildly.

The next second.

"Han Yu, are you home? Open the door quickly, I have something for you!" Ning Rongrong's playful voice rang out, followed by a rapid knocking on Han Yu's door.

Han Yu took a deep breath, straightened his clothes, and opened the door.

"Here, this is the sacred healing medicine I brewed myself! Try it quickly!" Ning Rongrong held up a medicine box wrapped in a handkerchief with both hands, still warm from her body heat.

Han Yu was somewhat moved. He cast a grateful look at her, took the box, and opened it. When he saw what was inside, his vision went dark.

A bizarrely shaped, pitch-black pill—a real-life version of a "Leg-Stretching Eye-Popping Pill"—sat quietly in the box.

He was about to speak, but he saw Ning Rongrong leaning forward, tilting her head, and looking at him with expectant, wide eyes.

"I shouldn't die from this..." Han Yu swallowed hard, pinched his nose, closed his eyes, and tossed it into his mouth. It hit the target perfectly, and he swallowed it whole.

A ball of intense heat rose from his abdomen. His meridians felt as if they had been doused in hot oil, burning with a searing sensation. Han Yu let out a muffled groan, stumbled as he sat cross-legged on the floor, his brows furrowed, his face flushed red, and sweat began to pour from his body.

The pill transformed into a mass of extremely concentrated soul power, rapidly spreading throughout Han Yu's body. It began to enhance his physical strength at an astonishing rate, cleansing his marrow and remolding his bones.

Seeing this, Ning Rongrong was so worried that tears were about to fall. Afraid that something had happened to Han Yu, she stood to the side, not daring to leave or touch him. She clutched the handkerchief tightly in her small hands and whispered, "Han Yu, I'm sorry. Please, I beg you, don't let anything happen to you."

"Old Bone, they are still young! If they cause a disaster because of that Whale Glue, you can spend the rest of your life regretting it!" Chen Xin's angry roar came from outside.

Immediately after, three figures appeared beside Ning Rongrong.

Ning Fengzhi rushed forward, grabbed Ning Rongrong's shoulders, and looked her over. Seeing that she was unharmed, he let out a long sigh of relief.

Chen Xin also relaxed upon seeing this, though he glared fiercely at Gu Rong.

However, he saw Gu Rong looking completely bewildered, staring intently at the red-faced Han Yu. "How could Whale Glue increase soul power?" Gu Rong asked in surprise.

After questioning, the three realized this was the result of Ning Rongrong's chaotic stew.

Relying on his experience, Gu Rong ruled out the other herbs and concluded that the high-quality Whale Glue had undergone a chemical change due to the high heat, triggering some kind of hidden medicinal property.

Half an hour later, a refreshed Han Yu woke up, nearly fainting from the foul stench filling the room.

After he finished washing up, Gu Rong couldn't wait to ask about his experience and recorded it in a book. Upon hearing that the Whale Glue also strengthened the body, Gu Rong was ecstatic. Strengthening the body meant the potential to absorb higher-year soul rings—he never expected such a cheap item to have such a heaven-defying effect.

Han Yu responded to Gu Rong with a simple smile, feeling a wave of emotion inside. He had originally planned to wait until he reached level 20 to "accidentally" discover it, but he hadn't expected Ning Rongrong to feed it to him early. His soul power had jumped straight to level 14.

In the following days, Ning Fengzhi found another piece of high-quality thousand-year Whale Glue and had Ning Rongrong take it. She reached level 10 soul power in one go, and thanks to her enhanced physical fitness, she successfully absorbed a 550-year soul ring.

After this incident, Ning Rongrong realized the consequences of neglecting her studies. She changed her ways, began seriously studying various ancient texts alongside Han Yu, and the two started a year-long training plan, supplementing their efforts with the Spirit Gathering Array within the Mimicry Cultivation Environment.

Their soul power levels rose rapidly.