Eating to Get Strong, Whale Gum!

"Big bro, I think I know what my martial soul can do?"

Qin Qi looked up at Qin Ming. After some thought, he decided to tell him about his martial soul's ability.

He trusted his big brother, and he also trusted Qin Ming's character.

"That's a good thing. Once you know your martial soul's traits, you'll be able to choose soul rings that suit it better in the future."

Qin Ming looked at the little bug on Qin Qi's shoulder and spoke.

Having grown used to being a teacher, he instinctively began imparting knowledge.

"What ability does your martial soul have?"

Qin Ming asked.

"It seems like I can grow stronger by eating."

Qin Qi was not entirely certain either. He tentatively took some food and offered it to the Strength-Eating Immortal Gu.

However, the Strength-Eating Immortal Gu seemed to have entered a dormant state and had no intention of eating anything else.

"But I'm not sure. Maybe it was just my imagination."

Qin Qi said.

"Mm. If that's true, then your martial soul is extremely powerful."

"How about this? I'll test your soul power and physical condition now, then we'll see what the results say."

Qin Ming fell silent for a moment, then pushed up his glasses and spoke.

"That's all we can do."

Qin Qi said.

Over the following period, Qin Ming temporarily postponed the plan to obtain a soul ring and conducted physical tests on Qin Qi.

Then, over the next several days, the Strength-Eating Immortal Gu ate once a day. Each time it finished eating, Qin Qi felt a warm current surge through his body.

"According to the test data, your physical condition has indeed been continuously improving."

"This is the data from the morning, and this is the data from the evening. Based on these results..."

"After your martial soul consumes food, it continuously converts that energy directly into improvements to your physical condition."

"It can only eat once a day, which is probably related to your martial soul's current efficiency in converting food."

After rigorous testing, Qin Ming reached his conclusion. Qin Qi's martial soul really did grow stronger by eating.

"Big bro, does that mean I can just lie back and take it easy from now on?"

Qin Qi looked at the Strength-Eating Immortal Gu on his shoulder and joked.

Thump.

"You wish. Your physical condition may have improved, but if you want to make use of that advantage..."

"Then you need to practice close-quarters combat. If you don't know how, no matter how strong your body is, you won't be able to bring it out."

Qin Ming knocked Qin Qi on the head as he spoke.

"Ah, the Strength Path is still too limited. If this were some other Gu insect, wouldn't I already be soaring?"

Qin Qi sighed helplessly. The Strength Path was just too rigid—its mechanics were built for one-on-one fights, it had no ranged options, and close combat required practice.

"Big bro, can I go obtain my first soul ring now?"

Qin Qi asked.

"Mm. I roughly understand your martial soul's traits now, and I've found several soul beasts that suit it."

"But based on your martial soul's characteristics, I have two options."

"The first is to absorb a soul ring normally. Most likely, it would be a yellow hundred-year soul ring."

"The age should be safely kept between three hundred and four hundred years."

Qin Ming pushed up his glasses. He had not made that estimate casually; he had calculated it from Qin Qi's physical condition over the past few days.

Three to four hundred years was the limit Qin Qi's current physical condition could safely withstand.

"Big bro, the second option wouldn't be to hold off on obtaining a soul ring for now, use my martial soul's traits..."

"And continuously improve my physical condition before obtaining a higher-age soul ring, right?"

Qin Qi looked at Qin Ming. He knew how important the first soul ring was; in essence, it determined how far one could go in the future.

"Mm, that's what I'm thinking."

"You're still young. Your innate full soul power has already put you ahead of many others from birth."

"You have enough time to build up your foundation and lay the groundwork for your future."

Qin Ming had graduated from Shrek Academy, and one of the teachers there had a white first soul ring.

He had learned about that teacher's past experiences from the teacher himself, and he knew just how important the first soul ring was to a soul master's future.

"Of course, this would definitely leave you with less cultivation time than others. Overall, both options have their pros and cons."

"You can choose freely."

Qin Ming did not force his own ideas onto Qin Qi. He left the final decision to Qin Qi.

"Then I choose... the second option."

"You only live once. You have to take a gamble, and like you said, big bro, I'm still young."

"My innate full soul power gives me plenty of room for trial and error."

Qin Qi thought for a long time before finally making his decision. He would choose the second option and gamble on his future.

"Alright. Next, I'll create a training plan tailored specifically for you and raise your physical fitness as quickly as possible."

Qin Ming nodded, then tossed Qin Qi a notebook packed full of training plans.

"Wait, we're starting now?"

Looking at the completely packed schedule, Qin Qi felt a little dizzy.

"Yes. The time of youth must not be taken lightly. Waste one second, and you waste one second of your life!"

"Start running now! Do a few laps around the academy!"

Qin Ming immediately became serious and shouted.

"Yes."

Qin Qi replied helplessly.

For the time that followed, Qin Qi trained every day. His meals were all high-energy foods.

Every morning, noon, and night, he also had to soak in medicinal baths, spending a huge amount of money each day.

But Qin Ming was never stingy. For his younger brother's future, he would not hesitate even to empty his family's savings!

During this time, Qin Qi thought of whale glue. It could improve physical fitness, and after hesitating for a while, he told Qin Ming about it.

"Whale glue? Isn't that something nobles use as an aphrodisiac? It can improve physical fitness?"

Qin Ming was somewhat puzzled. It was not that he doubted Qin Qi, but that he doubted why such a thing could have the effect of improving physical fitness.

"Big bro, you know me. I know a few friends too, and they recommended I try it."

"And then Little Strength-Eating got greedy and took a bite. That bite made me realize that it was much better than meat for strengthening the body."

Qin Qi had indeed let the Strength-Eating Immortal Gu taste it, but the Strength-Eating Immortal Gu had spat it out, which had puzzled him at the time.

But after some research, he understood. It was not that the Strength-Eating Immortal Gu could not eat it.

Rather, the Strength-Eating Immortal Gu's appetite was not large enough yet. Whale glue contained too much energy, and it could not digest it.

"That doesn't prove it can strengthen the body. It might only work on you."

"Mm, let's test it."

Over the following days, Qin Ming conducted rigorous tests and concluded that whale glue could indeed improve physical fitness.

"Big bro, are you going to tell the three instructors about this?"

Qin Qi looked at Qin Ming and asked.

"If I had discovered this, then I definitely would have told the three instructors."

"But you discovered it. You decide what to do."

Qin Ming was a loyal man, and the three instructors had treated him very well. If he had discovered the benefits of whale glue—

He would certainly have told the three instructors and contributed to Heaven Dou Royal Academy's efforts to train its students.

But unfortunately, Qin Qi was the one who had discovered it. Qin Ming chose to respect Qin Qi's wishes.

"Let's wait a little longer. We can tell them later."

Qin Qi thought for a moment before speaking.

"Mm."

Qin Ming nodded and agreed. In the time that followed, he kept the matter completely secret.

In the blink of an eye, a year passed. Qin Qi was seven years old, and his physical fitness was no weaker than that of a level-twenty Soul Master.

Qin Ming was also preparing to let Qin Qi obtain a soul ring. He recommended one between seven hundred and eight hundred years old.

That was the safest range Qin Qi's current physical condition could absorb.

"Big bro, I spent a whole year and suffered so much. I didn't do it for a mere hundred-year soul ring."

After hearing Qin Ming's words, Qin Qi smiled and spoke.

"Then what are you planning to do?"

Qin Ming frowned and asked.

"My goal is a thousand-year soul ring for my first ring!"

Qin Qi declared. He had stayed at level ten for a year, not just to go from four hundred years to eight hundred years.

What he wanted was a thousand-year soul ring!