Whale Glue! Breakthrough to Level Thirteen!

After roughly the time it took an incense stick to burn, the fist-sized piece of Whale Glue had completely melted into a bowl of murky yellowish liquid. A thin sheen of oil floated on its surface, and it was still giving off faint wisps of steam.

Lan Tian carried out the ceramic bowl, waited until the temperature dropped a little, then took a deep breath, pinched his nose, tipped his head back, and gulped the whole bowl down in one go.

It tasted ten times worse than he had imagined.

Fishy, bitter, and sticky, it was like swallowing a huge mouthful of seawater that had been soaking dead fish. His throat and stomach both protested violently at the same time.

He forced down the urge to retch, clenched his fists, and stubbornly kept that bowl of stuff pressed down in his stomach.

The medicinal effect surged up almost immediately.

A scalding current of heat exploded from his stomach and instantly rushed through his meridians into every limb and bone.

A faint flush spread over the surface of his skin. The muscles all over his body trembled uncontrollably, and waves of aching pressure came from deep within his bones, as if something was prying open his bones and fascia from the inside.

The medicinal power of the Whale Glue was even more tyrannical than he had expected.

Lan Tian did not dare delay. He rushed into the backyard, plunged into the patch of Blue Silver Grass, sat down cross-legged, and closed his eyes, entering a meditative state.

Soul power circulated wildly through his meridians, intertwining with the medicinal power of the Whale Glue.

He could clearly sense that some kind of change was taking place in his body.

His muscle fibers became denser, the density of his bones increased, and his internal organs felt as if they had been wrapped in warm water and tempered anew.

What delighted him even more was that his soul power itself also became abnormally active under the stimulation of the Whale Glue's medicinal power.

Originally, he had still been some distance away from rank thirteen. At a normal pace, it would have taken him at least another month or so of cultivation before he even touched the threshold of a breakthrough.

But at this moment, the medicinal power of the Whale Glue was like a key, directly pushing open a door that should have slowly eased open.

Soul power churned in his dantian, gathering and compressing.

The night wind swept over the courtyard wall, stirring the Blue Silver Grass all across the ground into a rustling chorus.

The Blue Silver Grass leaves around him moved without wind, emitting a faint green glow of life. They echoed the hot current of the Whale Glue, forming a beneficial cycle inside his body.

An unknown amount of time passed.

With a boom!

His mind cleared, and his meridians opened smoothly.

The bottleneck of rank thirteen was broken through without the slightest obstruction under the push of the Whale Glue.

His soul power stabilized, more than a level stronger than before.

Lan Tian slowly opened his eyes, and a sharp gleam flashed across them.

He lowered his head to look at his hands, clenched his fists, and his knuckles let out crisp cracks.

The muscle definition across his body was clearer than before, and beneath his skin, a faint flowing luster could vaguely be seen. It was the natural manifestation of his physical strength improving.

He stood up and moved his limbs. The four one-hundred-jin weighted rings hanging from his hands and feet actually felt a little lighter than before.

It was not that the weighted rings had become lighter. He had become stronger.

"Good stuff... Truly good stuff."

Lan Tian licked his lips. Although the fishy stench in his mouth had not completely dispersed, his mood at that moment could not have been better.

One Gold Soul Coin had bought him a jin of hundred-year Whale Glue and had even pushed him directly from rank twelve to rank thirteen.

With that kind of value, there was no second thing like it on the entire continent.

He practiced another round of boxing in the courtyard.

His fists cut through the air, his kicks lashed out like whips, and every attack was sharper and more powerful than before.

With his soul power complementing the explosive force of his body, his fist slammed into the wooden post. The beast-hide-wrapped post shook violently and let out a dull, heavy boom.

Satisfied, Lan Tian drew back his fist and stood still, then let out a long breath of turbid air.

The horizon was already turning pale like a fish's belly. Just like that, the night had passed.

He washed his face, tidied the kitchen, opened the windows to air out the lingering smell of Whale Glue, then poured himself a cup of cool tea and sat in the courtyard, drinking it slowly.

Sunlight spilled over the rooftops from the east and shone on the leaves of the Blue Silver Grass filling the courtyard. The dew reflected scattered glimmers of light.

There were still many things to do next.

Since Whale Glue was useful, he would have to keep stockpiling it whenever he had the chance in the future.

However, this time, he had only encountered it through good luck. Next time might not be so easy. After all, what appeared on the black market depended entirely on luck; it was impossible for hundred-year Whale Glue to be waiting for him every day.

In addition, now that he had already broken through to rank thirteen, he could not slack off in his subsequent cultivation either.

Although Whale Glue had saved him a month or so, he still had to walk the rest of the road step by step.

He put down his teacup, rose, and walked toward the kitchen.

It was time to prepare to open for consultations today.

Lan Tian had just removed the door panel of the clinic and had not yet had time to set out the signboard at the entrance that read "As long as you're not dead, you can basically be cured," when he saw Louise running toward him from afar, lifting her skirt. The hem of her dress was damp with morning dew, clearly from hurrying all the way over.

"Doctor Lan! Doctor Lan! Good news!"

Louise ran until her cheeks were faintly red. After stopping in the doorway, she bent over and took a couple of breaths, then looked up at him with bright, sparkling eyes.

Lan Tian set the sign in place and straightened. "What good news has you running like this first thing in the morning? Come in and have some water, then tell me slowly."

Louise followed him into the clinic and sat down by the table. She took the cup of water he handed her, gulped down a mouthful, then hurriedly said, "Here's the thing. I have a friend named Grant. He's an old hand in the Nuoding City guard, and he recently put together a soul-hunting team. They're planning to enter the outer edge of Soul Hunting Forest to help a junior hunt down a ten-year spirit ring."

"A soul-hunting team?" Lan Tian raised an eyebrow. "What does that have to do with me?"

"A lot!" Louise slapped the table. "Their team has everything: a main attacker, control, scouting, support. The only thing they're missing is a physician. Grant asked me to help find someone, so I thought of you!"

She counted on her fingers. "Think about it. The outer edge of Soul Hunting Forest isn't that dangerous, but if something unexpected happens and someone gets hurt, they can't just carry them all the way back, can they? That'd delay things way too much. If they have a physician with them, injuries can be treated anytime, anywhere. The efficiency would be much higher."

Lan Tian pondered for a moment. "That friend of yours... how much is he planning to pay?"

Louise held up ten fingers, her smile brilliant. "Ten Gold Soul Coins! Grant said that as long as the physician is willing to come along, they'll only move around the outer edge and absolutely won't go deeper. Once it's done, he'll settle the payment on the spot, not a single coin short."

Ten Gold Soul Coins.

That number made Lan Tian's heart stir slightly.

Although his clinic had been earning decently lately, jobs that paid ten Gold Soul Coins did not come along every day.

Besides, he had been to the outer edge of Soul Hunting Forest twice before. He was fairly familiar with that area, and the danger level really was not high.

Lan Tian asked, "When exactly are they setting out? How long will they stay inside?"

"Tomorrow morning. If everything goes smoothly, they'll be back the same day."

Louise answered, "Grant's junior is called Harry. He's a seventeen-year-old boy. His innate soul power isn't high, but he's steady and hardworking. He finally managed to cultivate to rank ten, and all he lacks is one spirit ring before he can officially become a soul master. Grant said this trip is mainly to let him get familiar with the process. The target is just a ten-year Forest Wood Pig or Stone Horn Deer. They won't go after any troublesome soul beasts."