Determining the Timeline

Wang Dong had been able to obtain a thousand-year second ring in Unrivaled Tang Sect largely because she had consumed quite a bit of Whale Rubber while growing up in the Clear Sky Sect.

During the first Douluo era, this stuff might have been used as an aphrodisiac. Its true effects were not discovered until this age, and ever since they were, it had remained in short supply.

Its price had been driven ever higher. A piece of well-preserved Whale Rubber with even a slightly higher age was already so expensive that ordinary wealthy families could never afford it.

The two pieces of Whale Rubber Jiang Yue had just taken from the bracelet were golden and translucent, their texture resembling golden crystal. One could tell at a glance that they were high quality. Unless Jiang Yue sold himself, he could never afford them.

As he examined the two pieces of Whale Rubber, Jiang Yue's emotions visibly shifted. He truly had not expected the old man to leave him two pieces of Whale Rubber, and such high-quality ones at that.

If he consumed both pieces, Jiang Yue was certain that his physical fitness would improve tremendously. Successfully absorbing a thousand-year second ring like Wang Dong would no longer be impossible.

After absorbing the Purple Spirit Jackal's Soul Ring, the Soul Power Jiang Yue had accumulated over the month following his martial soul awakening finally showed itself. According to the old man, his Soul Power Level had reached level twelve and would soon reach level thirteen.

There was still a long way to go before he could hunt for his second Soul Ring.

During that time, Jiang Yue needed to improve his physical fitness as much as possible so he could absorb a Soul Ring with a higher age. Only by making his second ring a thousand-year Soul Ring and his fourth ring a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring could he greatly reduce the pressure of absorbing a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring as his seventh ring in the future.

If his second ring was a thousand-year one, that meant his third ring would have to be at least four thousand years old, equivalent to the age of an ordinary Soul Master's fourth Soul Ring. That would naturally lessen the burden of absorbing a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring as his fourth ring.

After all, Soul Rings of different ages strengthened the body in completely different ways.

Jiang Yue was not worried about his spiritual power. Both of his martial souls were tool martial souls, so they did not enhance his physical fitness as much as beast martial souls did. However, their enhancement of spiritual power far surpassed that of other martial souls.

After absorbing the Purple Spirit Jackal's Soul Ring, Jiang Yue had felt his spiritual power increase substantially. His senses had become sharper, and the Soul Rings his Passionate Sword martial soul absorbed in the future would also possess the Mental Attribute. Before adulthood, his spiritual power would continue to grow along with his age.

Thus, for Jiang Yue, what determined whether he could absorb a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring as his fourth ring was not his spiritual power, but his physical fitness.

These two pieces of Whale Rubber had arrived at precisely the right time.

There was also a note beside the Whale Rubber, detailing the age of the two pieces and the whale-type soul beasts they had come from. The larger piece was relatively younger.

Other than that, it instructed Jiang Yue not to consume too much Whale Rubber at once, but to eat it in small quantities over multiple sessions.

Even if the old man had not left that note to warn him, Jiang Yue would never have swallowed so much Whale Rubber in one go.

Whale Rubber's aphrodisiac side effect was still extremely potent. He was only a six-year-old child; neither his body nor spiritual power had fully developed, so there was no way he could withstand it.

Taking small amounts multiple times was the safest approach.

Aside from the two large pieces of Whale Rubber, the bracelet also contained several prepared herbal packets. He only needed to toss them into hot water according to the note's instructions to take a medicinal bath.

Knock—knock—knock—

The crisp knocking interrupted Jiang Yue's thoughts. After putting away the bracelet, he immediately opened the door. Standing outside was the principal of this junior academy.

Seeing that Jiang Yue had already finished putting his things away, the principal immediately gave him a kindly smile.

"Student Jiang Yue, how do you find the dormitory? Are you getting used to it?"

"It's very good. Don't worry, Principal, I can adapt."

"Mm, that's good. The academy also has a few simple mimicry cultivation grounds. They certainly cannot compare to the mimicry cultivation grounds of advanced Soul Master Academies, but they can still speed up your cultivation."

"As long as you are willing, the academy will make any of its facilities available to you, whether it is the mimicry cultivation grounds or anything else. So long as your request is reasonable, you may use them whenever you want."

Since Jiang Yue was already a Soul Master at six years old, the principal naturally understood that Jiang Yue's Innate Soul Power was most likely level nine, perhaps even the legendary Innate Full Soul Power.

Whether it was Innate Full Soul Power or Innate Soul Power at level nine, both gave him a great chance of reaching the level of Titled Douluo. No matter the era or the location, let alone Titled Douluos, even Soul Douluos possessed extremely high status.

Even Maple Leaf City, which bordered the Sun Moon Empire, had a city lord who was merely a Soul Sage. There was no need to mention Titled Douluos; even a Soul Douluo would be a major figure in Maple Leaf City.

A future major figure stood right before him, and he could earn some goodwill without paying much of a price. Who would pass up such a deal?

The principal patted Jiang Yue's head affectionately, then gave him a few more reminders about matters requiring attention within the academy. After telling Jiang Yue to come to him whenever he needed anything, he left.

After dealing with the principal, Jiang Yue silently let out a breath. At last, he could resume planning what he needed to do in the future.

If there were any opportunities during the Unrivaled Tang Sect era that could affect the entire timeline, there were only two: Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and Electrolux.

Electrolux had to be lured from the dimensional passage by using the energy fluctuations created when Sky Dream Ice Silkworm fused as bait, and it had to happen at exactly the right moment.

For Jiang Yue, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was an opportunity he absolutely could not let slip away. It was a million-year Mental Attribute soul beast, capable of increasing the total age of ten Soul Rings by a million years. Many opportunities from the original story also required Sky Dream Ice Silkworm as a stepping stone.

If Jiang Yue's martial soul had another attribute, perhaps he would not risk drawing the attention of that person in the heavens to fight for Sky Dream Ice Silkworm. But unfortunately, there were no ifs.

Jiang Yue's martial soul was of the Mental Attribute. One could even say that he was the Mental Attribute Soul Master with the greatest potential in the current Soul Master world.

As a Mental Attribute Soul Master, if he did not want to fight for an opportunity like Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, then there was something seriously wrong with his head.

As for being discovered by that shameless God King in the heavens?

So what if he was discovered? What could Tang God King do? Kill Jiang Yue? So what?

Jiang Yue himself was a transmigrator. His only attachment to this world had been his parents and relatives, and not long ago, they had all been killed by Evil Soul Masters.

Now Jiang Yue had nothing, nor was there anyone left alive in this world whom he cared about. To put it bluntly, even if the entire Douluo Plane were about to be destroyed right now, Jiang Yue would have nothing to fear. He had no ties left behind.

Compared to the destruction of the world, he was merely trying to seize Sky Dream Ice Silkworm. If he failed, at worst he would die!

The bold prospered while the timid starved! Take a gamble and turn a bicycle into a motorcycle; win, and he would lay the foundation for godhood, lose, and he would only pay with one worthless life! At worst, he could reincarnate and start over!

If he came to this world and did not fight for a chance to become a god, what would be the point?

Knowing there was an opportunity perfectly suited to him, was he supposed to just watch it slip past him? He might as well draw his sword and slit his throat right now!

Since he had decided to obtain Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, Jiang Yue needed to make a detailed plan.

No one knew which corner of the Star Dou Forest Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was currently hiding in. Perhaps it had just stuffed a quasi-Titled Douluo to death.

The Star Dou Forest was so vast that, with Jiang Yue's current age and cultivation, it was impossible for him to turn the entire forest upside down. Therefore, there was only one point in time when Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was guaranteed to appear. At any other time, encountering it would depend entirely on luck.

What Jiang Yue needed to do now was clear: determine the exact timeline, figure out roughly how many years separated him from Huo Yuhao in age, and then plan everything that followed.

The method was simple. He only needed to cultivate diligently for now. Once he reached level twenty, he could make a trip to Shrek Academy and ask around about Xu Sanshi and Bei Bei.

In the original story, Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi were known in Shrek Academy's Outer Court as the number one assault-type and defense-type students, respectively. They had some fame. As long as they had already made names for themselves in the Outer Court by then, Jiang Yue could deduce Huo Yuhao's age from theirs and determine the precise point in time.

Other characters from the original story whose exact ages were known could also work.

But that was something for after Jiang Yue reached level twenty, when he would have a legitimate reason to leave Maple Leaf City. Otherwise, judging by how attentive the principal was now, he definitely would not allow a treasure like Jiang Yue to wander about carelessly. His safety had to be ensured.

So the next thing Jiang Yue needed to do was raise his Soul Power to level twenty as soon as possible.

As for suppressing his Soul Power Level for Sky Dream Ice Silkworm? That was impossible. Leaving aside the fact that after absorbing Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, it could raise all his other Soul Rings to Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring levels so long as his body could withstand it—

Even based solely on Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's million-year age, it was best suited to become the Martial Soul Avatar of his seventh Soul Ring. The strength of a Martial Soul Avatar depended only on its age. A seventh Soul Ring formed from a Million-Year Soul Ring would bring about an unprecedentedly powerful Martial Soul Avatar.

It would not matter in the slightest even if Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was a useless waste with no offensive power.

As for those four soul skills of Mental Detection? Anyone with sufficiently powerful spiritual power could accomplish them.

During the first Douluo era, when Tang San underwent the Sea God's Nine Trials and hunted the Evil Spirit Orca pod, he had used Mental Detection Sharing. How could Jiang Yue, who possessed the Passionate Sword martial soul, have weaker spiritual power than Tang San? Mastering those skills was merely a matter of time.

There was absolutely no need to waste a Soul Ring slot on several skills he would eventually master anyway.

Having settled his short-term plans for the future, Jiang Yue took out a piece of Whale Rubber. After knocking on its hard shell, he summoned the Unfeeling Sword.

The Unfeeling Sword: its blade was dark blue, thin as a cicada's wing, incomparably sharp, and able to ignore all defenses!

With a flick of his wrist, a streak of blue sword light flashed across the Whale Rubber. Jiang Yue withdrew the Unfeeling Sword and lightly touched the large piece of Whale Rubber with his hand. Without needing any force at all, a small piece of the hard Whale Rubber came away in his grasp.

Examining the nail-sized piece of Whale Rubber in his hand, Jiang Yue felt that this was the perfect amount for his first dose.

Whale Rubber needed to be roasted over fire until it melted before it could be consumed. There was obviously no fire in the dormitory, so Jiang Yue pushed open the door and headed for the junior academy's logistics department.

Holding the Whale Rubber in his hand, Jiang Yue was filled with boundless anticipation for his future.

Time flowed away like water. In the blink of an eye, more than a year had passed. Jiang Yue, originally at level twelve, successfully reached level twenty after cultivating throughout that period.

Jiang Yue had gradually consumed one whole piece of the two pieces of Whale Rubber the old man had left behind. Although the fishy-smelling Whale Rubber made his body burn uncomfortably like a little fire man every time he ate it, he did not consume much at once. With spiritual power far beyond that of his peers, he could naturally endure it.

In the end, after consuming an entire piece of Whale Rubber and maintaining steady exercise and cultivation, Jiang Yue's physical fitness had improved enough to bear an additional seven hundred years beyond what a normal Soul Master at his level could endure.

He could fully absorb a second Soul Ring no older than fourteen hundred years.

This conclusion had been reached after Maple Leaf City's Soul Sage city lord used his own Soul Power to simulate the impact that came from absorbing a Soul Ring. When the result was obtained, the eyes of both the city lord and the principal practically shone like bright light bulbs.

The looks in their eyes made it seem as though they could not wait to take Jiang Yue hunting for a Soul Ring and witness the miracle of a thousand-year second ring with their own eyes.

Fortunately, Jiang Yue stopped them in the end. His reason was perfectly legitimate: hunting soul beasts required time to make all sorts of preparations, and he also wanted to use this opportunity to visit Shrek Academy and ask whether there were any figures from the original story he recognized, so he could determine the current point in time.

The timeline concerned how Jiang Yue would use his advantage of foreknowledge in the future, so he had to determine it quickly.

As for how to make Maple Leaf City's city lord agree? Simple. Jiang Yue only needed to tell him that he wanted to visit Shrek Academy in advance and admire the continent's number one academy.

Upon hearing that Jiang Yue wanted to visit Shrek Academy, Maple Leaf City's city lord readily agreed. Shrek City was located near the Star Dou Forest anyway, and searching for a Mental Attribute soul beast for Jiang Yue would take some time. Taking him there for a look was no problem at all.

Moreover, whenever Maple Leaf City's city lord spoke of Shrek Academy, his face was filled with longing. He looked as though he were discussing some heavenly realm.

Jiang Yue had even suspected that his Joy Sword had influenced Maple Leaf City's city lord's emotions, but that was not the case. It was simply because the city lord was also a rabid fan of Shrek Academy.

As for official duties? What official duties? Were they more important than helping Maple Leaf City's genius obtain a thousand-year second ring? This was political achievement! How could a little official business compare?

And so, Jiang Yue followed Maple Leaf City's city lord toward Shrek City.

Shrek Academy and Shrek City were built upon the Lima Plains. They covered an extremely vast area and ranked among the largest cities on the Douluo Continent. Only the capitals of the four great empires could compare with Shrek City in scale.

At the same time, it was also an important commercial city among the original three Douluo kingdoms. Since Shrek Academy became independent after the Holy War four thousand years ago and ceased to belong to any empire, it no longer needed to pay taxes to any nation. It had effectively become a state within a state.

They arrived at Shrek City's eastern gate, which was also the entrance to Shrek Academy. At that moment, the entrance was packed with Shrek students wearing uniforms from various grades.

It happened to be enrollment season, and a long line had already formed at the admissions area.

"How is it? These students are all geniuses from across the continent. Not even mentioning Shrek Academy's Inner Court, as long as they graduate from the Outer Court, they can at least become Soul Emperors in the future."

"Cultivate well and strive to enter this holy land of Soul Masters soon. With your talent, you will certainly make a name for yourself here. When that time comes, you will be the pride of all Maple Leaf City."

"Mm, I'll work hard."

Seeing that Jiang Yue was somewhat distracted, Maple Leaf City's city lord did not say much. He merely assumed that the child was feeling competitive after seeing geniuses around his own age.

Thinking Jiang Yue should be allowed to have some fun on his own, he permitted Jiang Yue to move about freely. However, his attention never left Jiang Yue for even a moment.

Once he saw the city lord leave, Jiang Yue began wandering around like an unbridled horse. When he spotted the admissions area, he walked directly over to the students in charge of testing and simply stood there watching without doing anything.

His age was Jiang Yue's best disguise.

The people waiting in line and those handling admissions saw that Jiang Yue was clearly just a seven- or eight-year-old child. Since he was not cutting in line and was merely standing nearby watching, naturally no one spoke up to drive him away.

Jiang Yue watched quietly. One student responsible for testing Soul Power and checking recommendation letters noticed that Jiang Yue had remained there for a long time without speaking or doing anything, and became a little curious.

After switching shifts with someone beside him, he walked over to Jiang Yue, crouched down, and asked curiously.

"Little friend, what are you doing standing here all this time? Do you also want to join Shrek Academy?"

"Mm, I want to join Shrek Academy. I came to Shrek City with my family because we had something to do today, so I came over to take a look."

"Heh, quite the little grown-up, coming all this way. Don't worry. As long as you have fifteen levels of Soul Power before turning twelve, just bring a city lord's recommendation letter here to enroll."

"I know that. I came to find a goal to chase! I want to see how big the gap is between me and Shrek Academy's senior brothers and sisters."

"Not bad. You're full of drive. But you need to work hard, because there are plenty of geniuses in the academy. Forget anyone else—do you know about the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Fighting Tournament that just ended not long ago?"

"Senior Sister Zhang Lexuan swept through the other academies with overwhelming force and led Shrek Academy to the championship. Work hard. Perhaps once you enter Shrek Academy in the future, you might have a chance to represent the academy in the competition too."

Zhang Lexuan? The Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Fighting Tournament had just ended?

Good. Now Jiang Yue had confirmed the exact point in time.

Since Zhang Lexuan was a main team member from the batch before Dai Yaoheng and Ma Xiaotao, the main team members who would be blown into the sky by Death Messenger in the original story were still members of the Reserve Team. Therefore, the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Fighting Tournament held in the Star Luo Empire five years later would be the one from the original story.

From this, he could conclude that Jiang Yue was the same age as Huo Yuhao and the others. In a few years, if he truly joined Shrek Academy, he might even become Huo Yuhao's classmate.

Since his primary objective had been achieved, Jiang Yue naturally had no plans to remain there any longer. After watching for roughly another half hour and seeing not a single new student at the Soul Elder level, he grew bored and left the admissions area.