The next day, in the council hall.
Yu Tianqing stood in the center of the hall, solemnly reporting his new discovery regarding Whale Rubber to Yu Yuanzhen.
Yu Yuanzhen had already been troubled by Yu Xiaogang's slow progress in cultivation. Hearing this, he furrowed his brows.
"Tianqing, this is no matter for jokes." Yu Yuanzhen's voice was imposing. "Whale Rubber has circulated across the continent for so long and has always served that purpose. How could it strengthen the body in your hands?"
Yu Tianqing had long expected the Clan Head to be skeptical. Without changing expression, he took out a refined fifty-year Whale Rubber from his Soul Tool and handed it over.
"Clan Head, seeing is believing."
"You may summon any clan disciple and have them take it on the spot. You'll know after testing it."
Yu Yuanzhen pondered for a moment before nodding.
Fifty-year Whale Rubber did have medicinal effects, but it was not enough to make someone lose their reason to lust. At most, it would cause heat and swelling.
Before long, a direct descendant of the clan was summoned into the hall.
Under Yu Yuanzhen's watchful gaze, the disciple consumed the refined Whale Rubber and began absorbing it.
A short while later, the disciple's face was bright red, and sweat drenched his entire body. Once the medicine's effects had passed—
Yu Yuanzhen examined him. With the senses of a Title Douluo, he naturally noticed sharply that the disciple's physique had indeed improved, and even the hardness of his bones had risen faintly.
Though it was only a trace, that was because the Whale Rubber's age was too low, and this was only after taking it once.
"Hahaha! Good! Excellent!"
Yu Yuanzhen could not help bursting into laughter, his previously gloomy mood swept away.
"Tianqing, you have rendered a great service to the clan this time!"
"If this Whale Rubber is put to good use, our clan will surely produce a new Title Douluo within a few decades!"
Though the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul was the continent's number one Beast Martial Soul, over all these years, aside from his father, only Yu Yuanzhen himself had attained the title: a level ninety-two Title Douluo, titled Thunder.
His younger brother, Yu Luomian, was still only a Soul Saint. If he were allowed to consume Whale Rubber of a somewhat higher age, it could at least increase the age limit of the Eighth Soul Ring he absorbed.
The higher a Soul Ring's age, the greater its benefits for a Soul Master's later breakthroughs.
Yu Luomian had Innate Soul Power at level seven and would later become the clan's second-in-command, but barring the unexpected, his chances of advancing to a title were extremely low.
After advancing to Soul Saint, his cultivation speed had slowed considerably. Now, with this Whale Rubber improving his physique, perhaps it might increase his chances of advancing to a title.
The effect would be even greater on the clan's younger generation. Even those with lower Innate Soul Power, only level seven, might have a chance of breaking through to a title in the future with the help of this Whale Rubber!
"Tell me, what reward do you want?"
Yu Tianqing was an honest man and did not claim all the credit for himself.
He cupped his hands and said, "Reporting to the Clan Head, this matter was actually discovered by my son Changge by chance."
Afterward, Yu Tianqing vividly recounted the events of "Xiao Huang accidentally eating Whale Rubber."
After hearing the highly dramatic account, even Yu Yuanzhen's facial muscles could not help twitching.
Then Yu Yuanzhen thought of his own Yu Xiaogang. Both had Piglet Martial Souls, so why was the difference so great?
Sure enough... other people's children were still better...
With that comparison, Yu Yuanzhen, as a father, immediately felt unbalanced.
He sighed, suppressed the frustration in his heart, and looked at Yu Tianqing.
"Then, is there any particular reward your family wants? As long as the clan can provide it, we will not refuse."
Yu Yuanzhen's expression turned serious, his tone solemn. "Furthermore, the Whale Rubber Refinement Method is of great importance and must never be leaked."
"Starting today, I will dispatch secret personnel to discreetly purchase Whale Rubber across the entire continent."
"The first batch of Whale Rubber we acquire will be supplied to your family as a priority. Other than that, do you have any further requests?"
Yu Tianqing thought of his son.
"Clan Head, I hope to secure some rarer cultivation resources for Changge, resources suited to an External Beast Martial Soul like his."
Hearing this, Yu Yuanzhen immediately understood Yu Tianqing's painstaking intentions.
He sighed softly and said with emotion, "I have heard about that child of yours. He is even diligently studying theory and physical arts at the same time."
"Fine, I approve your request!"
"From today onward, the level of resources Yu Changge enjoys within the clan will be equal to Xiaogang's!"
Yu Tianqing was overjoyed upon hearing this.
"Thank you, Clan Head!"
Yu Tianqing bowed deeply, his face brimming with unconcealable excitement.
Yu Yuanzhen stood with his hands behind his back, silently watching Yu Tianqing's retreating figure. He could not help letting out a long sigh.
In his view, Yu Tianqing's report that Whale Rubber could improve one's physique was an exceedingly rare and tremendous contribution.
It could raise the potential ceiling of the clan's entire younger generation.
If used properly, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's overall strength in the future would certainly rise to another great height.
Yu Tianqing had used such an enormous contribution merely to exchange for cultivation resources for Yu Changge, who possessed a useless Martial Soul with only half a level of Innate Soul Power?
To Yu Yuanzhen, that was far too little. It could even be called a loss.
After all, even raising Yu Changge's treatment to exactly the same level as Yu Xiaogang's was still nowhere near enough to offset that contribution.
"Perhaps I can use this as an excuse to grant Yu Tianqing and Yu Shuyao some additional cultivation resources as well."
After all, both Yu Tianqing and Yu Shuyao were already Soul Saint powerhouses above level seventy.
Reaching the Soul Saint realm at their age meant that their talent, foundation, and potential were absolutely not to be underestimated.
So long as the husband and wife proceeded steadily and did not die prematurely, advancing to the Soul Douluo realm would be a certainty.
And under the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's rules, anyone whose cultivation reached the Soul Douluo level would be qualified to become a clan elder and enter the Council of Elders.
That was the clan's highest decision-making circle, its true upper echelon and backbone.
Yu Changge's thoughts finally slowly returned to reality from his earlier memories.
He lowered his head and looked at the seventy-year Whale Rubber in his hand. No matter how he considered it, something felt off.
After carefully thinking over his cultivation progress during the past half year, he discovered a "blind spot."
In his recollection, Yu Xiaogang was famously useless, with only half a level of Innate Soul Power.
Yet despite the fact that their openly available cultivation resources were currently more or less the same, and Yu Xiaogang even spent more time meditating than he did—
Even if he did not count the rewards from the Hextech System, his own basic Soul Power growth rate was actually a little faster than Yu Xiaogang's!
That was a huge problem!
They had both started with half a level of Innate Soul Power, possessed the same Martial Soul, and should have cultivated at roughly the same pace.
Why was he studying theory and practicing physical arts every day, yet still cultivating faster than Yu Xiaogang?
Yu Changge was a clever person. He absolutely did not believe in talent that appeared out of nowhere. Slowly, he turned his head and fixed his gaze on Xiao Huang.
"Could the Sub-Dragon meat I fed Xiao Huang before have somehow fed back to me as well?"
Before you continue