Eight Hundred Years of Whale Glue! Peak Rank Fourteen! Taking the Second Mission!

Li Long wore a mask as he pushed the door open. Old Zhou was bent over the counter, using a small scale to weigh medicinal powder. When he looked up and saw Li Long, he grinned. "Welcome."

Li Long did not bother with pleasantries and asked directly, "Same as before. Is that eight-hundred-year whale glue I asked about last time still available?"

"So it's you."

Old Zhou came to his senses, set down the scale, and pulled a palm-sized wooden box from beneath the counter. Opening the lid, he revealed a dark brown gelatinous substance lying inside. Fine patterns covered its surface, and it gave off a faint fishy, salty smell.

It was roughly the size of a fist and felt satisfyingly heavy.

"It's here. You got lucky. This stuff isn't easy to get, mainly because not many people buy it."

"This piece was brought back from the Eastern Sea by those seafolk last time." Old Zhou held up a hand to indicate the price. "Forty-five gold. No bargaining."

Li Long nodded.

He had gone over his savings last night.

He had previously saved a little over sixty gold, and after registering, he had received that month's twelve gold. He had more than seventy gold in cash on hand.

Spending some of it on body-tempering resources was worth it.

"I'll take it."

He pulled out his money pouch, counted out forty-five gold soul coins, and lined them up on the counter.

Old Zhou checked their quality, nodded, and accepted them before pushing the wooden box toward him.

Li Long put the box away, tucked it into his robes, and turned to leave.

That afternoon, he accepted an escort mission.

A cartload of medicinal herbs was being transported to Soto City, and he was the only accompanying guard.

The carriage driver was a quiet middle-aged man who barely spoke along the way, saving Li Long the trouble of making conversation.

The two-day journey was uneventful. They encountered neither bandits nor soul beasts, the handover went smoothly, and on the return trip, he had an additional mission completion confirmation slip in his robes, along with proof that 10 points had been credited.

By the time he returned to Notting City, it was already the evening of the third day.

That night, Li Long locked the doors and windows before taking the eight-hundred-year whale glue from its box.

Under the lamplight, the dark brown gel faintly transmitted light. It was thicker and harder than any piece he had used before.

After melting it into liquid with high heat, he drank it.

He sat cross-legged and closed his eyes.

The instant the medicinal power spread, a scorching current erupted from his stomach and raced through his blood vessels toward every limb and bone.

Pain even more intense than when he had first absorbed the five-hundred-year soul ring flooded his entire body.

His muscles felt as though they were being torn apart and rebuilt. Soft cracking sounds came from deep within his bones, while his meridians swelled painfully under the forceful medicinal power.

He clenched his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead as beads of sweat dripped from his chin onto his knees.

This stuff really packed a punch.

Amazing!

Time flew by.

The night passed.

When daylight filtered through the crack in the window, Li Long slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air.

He was drenched from head to toe, and his sweat had soaked a human-shaped outline into the bedsheets. Yet he had never felt such fullness within his body.

He rolled his shoulders, and his joints popped crisply. Then he casually clenched his fist, only to be slightly startled by the solid strength surging through his palm.

Physical strength approaching that of a three-ring Soul Elder.

He stood up and jumped in place. His knees landed steadily without the slightest tremor.

The toughness of this body had already far surpassed that of his peers.

More importantly, his soul power had advanced as well.

He closed his eyes and examined himself internally. The soul power flowing through his meridians had grown by nearly half again, dense and vigorous.

The barrier at rank thirteen had long since been broken through. He now stood firmly at the threshold of rank fourteen, with even a faint tendency to reach rank fifteen.

"Peak rank fourteen." Li Long opened his eyes, and a faint smile finally appeared on his lips.

He got up, took a bath, and changed into clean, dry clothes.

Once everything was taken care of, he sat at the table. The mission handbook lay open before him, with a blank sheet of stationery beside it.

He picked up a pen and began writing a long letter to Fanolan.

He had prepared the contents of the letter in advance. It explained that he might be away from Notting City for an extended period in the future and would need Fanolan to handle the registration procedures for those under the branch hall.

Although he had not left yet, he knew clearly that after the grand competition half a year from now, no matter the outcome, he would not be able to return to this small city and live a peaceful life again.

After finishing the letter.

Li Long set down his pen and stretched lazily.

Then, he left the house to accept his second mission.

For his second mission, Li Long chose to clear out a roaming pack of ten-year soul beasts in the western outskirts of Notting City.

The mission description was simple: Recently, farmers had reported that a pack of ten-year Gale Wolves had appeared at the edge of the western suburban woodland. There were approximately seven or eight of them, and they frequently harassed the village at night. They had already carried off two sheep. D-rank, 10 points.

Li Long accepted the mission and set off that very afternoon.

The western suburban woodland was about two hours on foot from Notting City. He carried his iron staff and jogged the entire way, treating it as a warm-up.

His body was light and steady after tempering. His footsteps were nearly soundless as he ran, and his breathing remained even. Even when he reached the target area, he was not out of breath.

He found a patch of high ground by the forest's edge, crouched down, and carefully observed the terrain.

Gale Wolves were pack-dwelling soul beasts. Ten-year ones were not especially powerful, but they were fast and coordinated. If someone were surrounded by seven or eight of them, even a one-ring Soul Master would find it troublesome.

"The troublesome part is fighting at night."

Li Long checked the fire starter and small torch he had brought, then gathered some dry resinous pine branches from the forest and tied them into several bundles for later use.

After night fell, he lay in wait on a low slope outside the village.

Around the hour of the boar, rustling sounds indeed came from the woods.

Seven pairs of faintly glowing green eyes emerged from the darkness, arranged in a loose fan shape as they crept toward the sheep pen at the village's edge.

The wolf pack was well coordinated. Three approached from the front while four moved around from both sides. Clearly, they were repeat offenders.

Li Long summoned the iron staff into his hand. The staff expanded, covered in golden light.

But he did not use his first soul skill.

There was no need. His normal combat strength alone was more than enough to deal with a few ten-year soul beasts.

Then he leaped out of the shadows and landed directly in front of the wolf pack.

The wolves were startled, but they reacted quickly. The alpha let out a short howl, and the three wolves in front pounced at the same time, their claws glinting coldly.

Li Long twisted aside to evade the first wolf's leap, then swept his iron staff horizontally and smashed it viciously into the second wolf's waist and belly.

With a muffled bang, the ten-year Gale Wolf was sent flying. It crashed into a tree trunk, let out a pained howl, and went still.

The remaining two wolves immediately adjusted their direction after missing and attacked again. They were far more vicious than ordinary hunting dogs raised by people.

Rather than retreating, Li Long advanced. He flicked the iron staff upward from below, striking the third wolf squarely beneath the jaw. Its entire head snapped back, and it staggered to the ground.

Too slow.

The thought flashed through his mind.

These exchanges made it especially clear to him. The wolves really were fast, but to his eyes, they were no longer as difficult to track as before.

Body tempering had brought him not only strength, but simultaneous improvements in his vision and reaction speed.

The four wolves flanking him had already pounced close by. One of them lunged straight at his throat from behind.

Li Long did not turn around.

He suddenly crouched, letting the wolf sail over his head. At the same time, he thrust his iron staff straight upward, accurately driving it into the wolf's belly and using the momentum to send it flying.