Time passed like that, and several months went by.
Every morning, they practiced using Soul Tools.
Every afternoon, they trained to improve their teamwork.
Everyone grew more skilled with their Soul Tools.
Their coordination grew more seamless, too.
One morning, the Elemental Team gathered at the training ground again.
Huo Wushuang stretched and said with a smile,
"Captain."
"What are we practicing today?"
"The Soul Guidance Pistols or the Soul Guidance Flight Devices?"
Feng Xiaoyuan shook his head lightly.
"We're not training today."
Everyone froze.
"Not training?"
Feng Xiaoyuan offered no explanation. He raised his right hand and took a box from his Storage Soul Guidance Device.
Then he set it on the ground.
Huo Wushuang's interest was immediately piqued.
"Captain."
"What's this?"
Feng Xiaoyuan slowly opened the wooden box.
A fishy smell, like the scent of the seaside, drifted out.
Inside lay several pieces of a jellylike substance.
They varied in color, from pale yellow to deep yellow.
Huo Wushuang paused.
"Is that..."
"Whale Rubber?"
The others recognized it too.
Feng Xiaoyuan nodded.
"That's right."
"It's Whale Rubber."
Huo Wushuang looked puzzled.
"Captain."
"Why did you bring out Whale Rubber?"
Feng Xiaoyuan chuckled.
"I didn't bring it out just to stare at it. We're going to eat it, of course."
Huo Wushuang said awkwardly,
"Captain."
"Isn't Whale Rubber that kind of tonic?"
"Why would we eat it?"
The other girls blushed at Feng Xiaoyuan's words.
Feng Xiaoyuan shook his head with a soft laugh.
"What are you thinking?"
"I discovered a special use for Whale Rubber. That's why I brought it out."
Everyone paused.
A special use?
Feng Xiaoyuan explained,
"Most people on the continent treat Whale Rubber as an aphrodisiac tonic."
"But if you prepare it in a particular way, its true effect emerges."
"Melt it at a high temperature, then let it cool before swallowing it."
"Whale Rubber will strengthen your body and improve a Soul Master's physical constitution."
"It can also raise the age limit of the Spirit Rings you can absorb."
The training ground fell silent.
Huo Wushuang stared at him in shock.
"Seriously?"
Huo Wu's eyes widened.
"It can do that?"
Just then, Dugu Yan remembered something.
"No wonder the Feng Clan was buying up Whale Rubber like mad."
"You weren't trying to make money."
"You knew what Whale Rubber could really do."
Huo Wu caught on as well.
"I remember now."
"Quite a few factions across the continent were investigating why the Feng Clan was buying Whale Rubber."
"So that was the real reason."
Feng Xiaoyuan smiled without denying it.
Then he turned to Ning Rongrong.
"Rongrong."
Ning Rongrong hurried over to him.
"I'm here."
Feng Xiaoyuan smiled.
"Now do you know why I told you not to rush into absorbing your Second Soul Ring?"
Ning Rongrong nodded.
"Mm."
"I do."
"You want me to absorb the Whale Rubber before I absorb a Spirit Ring."
Feng Xiaoyuan smiled.
"Exactly."
"Once you've absorbed the Whale Rubber, your body will grow stronger."
"Add in all the training you've done lately."
"Your Second Soul Ring might even be a purple Thousand-Year Soul Ring."
Ning Rongrong's eyes lit up.
"Really?"
"Of course," Feng Xiaoyuan said.
"I've seen how hard you've trained these past few months."
"After you absorb the Whale Rubber, you'll be more than capable of absorbing a Thousand-Year Soul Ring."
Feng Xiaoyuan took the Whale Rubber out of the box.
"These pieces of Whale Rubber are all different ages."
"Your bodies aren't equally strong, so you can't all absorb pieces of the same age."
He spoke as he handed them out.
"Rongrong."
"This nine-hundred-year piece is best for you."
Ning Rongrong nodded obediently.
"Okay."
"Ye Lingling."
"One thousand years."
"Shui Yue'er."
"Fifteen hundred years."
"Shui Bing'er."
"Twenty-five hundred years."
"Huo Wu."
"Twenty-five hundred years."
"Huo Wushuang."
"Three thousand years."
"Lei Jie."
"Three thousand years."
"Dugu Yan."
"Four thousand years."
Each of them took their piece of Whale Rubber.
They were just about to sit cross-legged when Feng Xiaoyuan looked at Shui Bing'er, Shui Yue'er, and Ye Lingling. His expression turned serious.
"Wait."
"Whale Rubber has a serious side effect."
"After you absorb it, an intense heat will build up inside you."
"One careless moment could send your blood and qi surging and damage your meridians."
"Bing'er, Yue'er, Lingling, don't start absorbing yours yet."
"Bing'er, Yue'er, use your ice-attribute Soul Power to help cool us down."
"Lingling, keep an eye on all of us. If anyone can't bear it, heal them immediately."
All three nodded.
"All right."
Feng Xiaoyuan nodded with a smile and addressed the others.
"Absorbing Whale Rubber won't take long."
"But its effects are fierce. If you can't endure them, you must stop."
"If you force yourself to continue and damage your meridians, it won't be worth it."
"All right. Start absorbing it."
As soon as he finished speaking, the others sat cross-legged.
Following Feng Xiaoyuan's instructions, they melted the Whale Rubber into a liquid.
Then they swallowed it.
The moment the Whale Rubber entered their mouths, it turned into a warm current that surged through every limb and bone.
The next instant, all their bodies shuddered.
Dense Soul Power kept pouring out of them.
Huo Wu's cheeks flushed, as though a flame had ignited inside her.
Fire-attribute Soul Power washed through every meridian in her body.
She could clearly feel herself growing stronger.
Nearby, flames sprang up around Huo Wushuang as well, and his muscles kept swelling.
Lei Jie's entire body had turned red.
Yet crisp cracking sounds still rang out from his bones.
Dugu Yan was absorbing a four-thousand-year piece of Whale Rubber.
But she could bear it without trouble.
Its power steadily strengthened her meridians.
Ning Rongrong looked the most at ease.
After all, she was absorbing only a nine-hundred-year piece.
Her body still burned with heat, but it was well within what she could endure.
Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er weren't idle, either.
They kept channeling ice-attribute Soul Power to cool everyone down.
Ye Lingling watched everyone closely from the side.
Seeing that they had all settled into the process, Feng Xiaoyuan relaxed.
He took a piece of dark red Whale Rubber from his Storage Soul Guidance Device.
It was thirty-thousand-year Whale Rubber.
Before you continue