The Unlucky Underachiever Senior Sister

"Wuwuwu... Why was I the only one caught? And I have to copy the third volume of the Soul Beast Compendium tonight!"

Spirit Hall's teaching district.

Bibi Dong walked ahead dejectedly, muttering nonstop under her breath.

During the afternoon theory class, Elder Jiang had been explaining the relationship between soul beast age and soul ring color.

Just as he reached the crucial part, he turned around and saw Bibi Dong slumped over her desk, a glistening thread of drool hanging from the corner of her mouth.

Elder Jiang's face darkened on the spot, and he called on her to stand and answer the question.

Bibi Dong stood up in a daze, unable to remember even what had just been discussed.

Elder Jiang did not waste words. He slammed the desk. "Volume Three. Copy the whole thing. Hand it in tomorrow morning."

Qian Renxue walked beside her, barely able to suppress the curve of her lips, her shoulders shaking.

Ye Guyi was not much better. She turned her head aside, raised a hand over her mouth, and laughed aloud.

"You're still laughing!" Bibi Dong turned and glared at them indignantly. "You two just stood by and watched me die!"

"Who told you to sleep at a time like that?" Qian Renxue finally burst out laughing. "Elder Jiang was explaining the formula for soul ring age limits, and there you were, nodding off in your sleep."

"I was sleepy..." Bibi Dong mumbled, her face reddening slightly.

"Senior Sister, this is not the first time you've slept in class." Ye Guyi rarely spoke up, her tone gentle, though the curve of her lips gave her away.

"Ye Guyi! You're not even taking my side!"

The three of them started roughhousing. Bibi Dong reached for Qian Renxue, who laughed and dodged to the side.

Ye Guyi took two steps back, ending up right beside Luo Jiuyou.

Luo Jiuyou carried that blood-red greatsword on his back as he followed along at an unhurried pace.

The sword was over two meters long, blood-red from hilt to tip. Dark golden demonic patterns flowed along its blade, its immense weight pressing down on his slender shoulders.

Compared to his small frame, the sword was as huge as a door panel, nearly dragging along the ground. It looked utterly disproportionate.

After fooling around for a while, Bibi Dong's gaze landed on Luo Jiuyou, and she immediately redirected her attention. "Junior Brother, Junior Brother, why are you still carrying that sword? We're back already. Put it down. It looks so heavy."

Luo Jiuyou glanced sideways at the Asura Demon Sword on his back and answered casually, "Training with it."

"Training with it? Training what?" Bibi Dong leaned closer curiously.

"This sword suppresses Soul Power. Carrying it slows the circulation of Soul Power. Over time, it makes Soul Power more condensed and strengthens the body too."

Luo Jiuyou tilted his head and looked at her. "You can try it too if you want. Find something heavy to carry."

It was simply an ordinary method of exercising and strengthening the body.

And this was Douluo Continent. Even if it was considered the bottom rung of fantasy worlds, it was still connected to fantasy.

There was no need to worry about children training early and having their development slowed by compressed bones and muscles. Besides, children in Douluo Continent absorbed soul rings.

That would make their bodies develop again.

It was perfectly normal for twelve-year-olds to be 1.7 or 1.8 meters tall and look like they were in their twenties.

Bibi Dong blinked, while Qian Renxue and Ye Guyi gathered around as well.

Qian Renxue was somewhat surprised. "Your martial soul can actually do that? I've never heard of martial souls being used that way."

"Perhaps it's because Junior Brother's martial soul is rather special." Ye Guyi guessed, "After all, it weighed three thousand jin from the moment it awakened. That's terrifying enough."

"Tch, isn't it just because God-Level Martial Souls are so amazing?"

Bibi Dong planted her hands on her hips, wearing an expression that said, I knew it.

"It must be because ours aren't God-Level Martial Souls! How could ordinary people's martial souls have abilities like that?"

Several black lines instantly appeared across Qian Renxue's forehead.

She raised a hand and knocked Bibi Dong on the head. "You call the Six-Winged Angel ordinary?"

Bibi Dong froze before finally realizing that Qian Renxue's martial soul was a God-Level Martial Soul too.

She gave two dry coughs, then circled Qian Renxue and inspected her up and down several times, making Qian Renxue feel a little uncomfortable.

"W-What are you looking at?"

"I'm wondering whether your Six-Winged Angel martial soul can train like this too."

Bibi Dong tilted her head, looking thoughtful. "But... you're already an angel. Why do you still need to strengthen your body?"

Qian Renxue paused. "Why can't I strengthen my body?"

"Strengthening your body... Say, if an angel like you ended up covered in muscles—"

Bibi Dong suddenly planted her hands on her hips, puffed out her chest, flexed her arms, and made an expression like she was exerting far too much force.

"If you flew into the sky looking like this, that image..."

She struck several exaggerated bodybuilding poses, waving her arms and twisting about like a complete clown.

Qian Renxue's face instantly turned red. "Damn it!"

She reached out and grabbed Bibi Dong's cheeks, pulling them outward from both sides.

Bibi Dong's cheeks puffed up from the squeezing as she cried out indistinctly, "Let go, let go!" while reaching out to fight back.

The two little girls twisted into a ball, pushing and shoving each other in the corridor as they made an enormous fuss.

Ye Guyi stood to one side, thoroughly enjoying the show, the corners of her lips slightly raised without the slightest intention of breaking them up.

Watching the scene, Luo Jiuyou could not help laughing.

Bibi Dong's clownish behavior was far too infectious. Even if he wanted to keep a straight face, he could not.

He never could have imagined that the mother and daughter who had been irreconcilable enemies in the original story—

Would become like two ordinary little girls, pinching each other's cheeks and tumbling around in this life.

Still, this was not bad either.

This silly, lively, adorable Senior Sister was far more lovable than the bitter and hatred-filled Pope from the original story.

"Alright, alright. Stop fooling around."

A deep, resonant voice came from nearby.

The group looked up and saw that Qian Xunji had somehow appeared at the end of the corridor, standing with his hands behind his back as he watched the noisy children with both irritation and amusement.

Only then did Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue let go and stand properly.

However, the red marks on their faces and their messy hair still revealed the intensity of the battle just now.

Qian Xunji shook his head helplessly, then turned his gaze toward Luo Jiuyou. "Jiuyou, come with me."

Carrying the Asura Demon Sword, Luo Jiuyou followed Qian Xunji over. Bibi Dong, Qian Renxue, and Ye Guyi exchanged looks and followed too.

"Teacher, where are we going?" Bibi Dong sidled up beside Qian Xunji, curiously craning her neck.

"The Medicine Hall." Qian Xunji spoke as he walked. "Jiuyou's body needs more strengthening before he can absorb his first soul ring. I had the Medicine Hall prepare a medicinal bath for him."

Bibi Dong's expression changed instantly.

She shrank her neck back, her eyes filled with terror. "A medicinal bath? The kind with a huge iron pot full of black medicine, where you have to soak your entire body in it?"

"What else would it be?" Qian Xunji glanced at her.

Bibi Dong shook her head fiercely, as though recalling an unbearable memory. "Teacher, that medicinal bath is scorching hot! Your whole body turns red after you get out!"

"And?" Qian Xunji remained unmoved. "Isn't absorbing soul rings much easier for you now?"

Bibi Dong opened her mouth, wanting to argue, but she had no choice but to admit that her teacher was right. She really had been thrown into that giant pot and boiled several times. Every time she climbed out, she felt like a peeled red shrimp, but her body had indeed grown much stronger.

"Junior Brother..." Bibi Dong leaned close to Luo Jiuyou and lowered her voice, her face full of sympathy. "Remember not to cry later. Crying won't help either. Teacher won't go easy on you."

Luo Jiuyou glanced at her but said nothing.

Medicine Hall.

A massive iron pot had been set up in the center of the courtyard, flames blazing beneath it.

The medicinal broth inside roiled and boiled. Black liquid steamed, and the thick, pungent scent of herbs hit them head-on.

The moment Bibi Dong saw that pot, she looked utterly miserable. Shrinking her neck, she took two steps back. "Teacher... Isn't this pot... a little too big?"

Qian Xunji ignored her and motioned for Luo Jiuyou to remove his outer clothes and sit inside.

Luo Jiuyou obediently did so, the boiling medicinal broth rising past his chest.

Scorching heat rushed at him from every direction, and his brows furrowed.

The corner of his mouth twitched, but he still endured without making a sound.

As long as it could temper his body, that was enough.

Bibi Dong leaned over the edge of the pot and poked her head forward curiously. "Junior Brother, does it hurt?"

"What do you think?" Luo Jiuyou shot her an annoyed glance. "It's hot as hell."

"Then why aren't you screaming?"

"Would screaming help?"

Bibi Dong froze for a moment, then burst out laughing.

"Haha, you're exactly like I was the first time I soaked in it!

"I thought Teacher would soften if I cried out too, but Teacher stood there watching me without even batting an eye."

Qian Renxue coolly added from the side, "That was because you were too weak."

"Who are you calling weak?"

"Whoever answers."

The two started again. Bibi Dong reached out to pinch Qian Renxue's cheeks, but Qian Renxue dodged sideways and smacked Bibi Dong's arm in return. The two made another huge commotion.

Ye Guyi silently took two steps back to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.

Luo Jiuyou sat in the pot, watching them fool around.

Those two enemies from their past lives, now his Senior Sisters, really were... lively.

Qian Xunji watched the scene, his temples throbbing. He simply stopped bothering with them and turned to Luo Jiuyou.

"After this soak, your body will grow stronger. It will benefit you when you absorb soul rings in the future."

At the mention of using medicinal baths to temper the body, another thought suddenly surfaced in Luo Jiuyou's mind.

Whale Rubber.

A powerful tonic of pure yang energy.

No one in this era recognized its value.

It was merely treated by nobles as something to enhance bedroom pleasures.

But if it was softened through high-temperature roasting before being consumed, it could strengthen a Soul Master's physique and raise the age limit of soul rings they could endure.

For ordinary Soul Masters, that already counted as quite a fortunate opportunity.

But Luo Jiuyou knew that in Douluo 2, even Wang Dong had eaten it until she threw up, yet it had only raised her second soul ring to the thousand-year level.

But that led to another problem.

Even someone with cheats could only reach that level. Ordinary Soul Masters had no cheats and no opportunities.

And they did not dare risk their lives on Limit-Breaking Absorption. Why would the gods of the God Realm regard them differently?

Without obtaining a Divine Trial, once their early soul rings were fixed, they were fixed for life. Their bodily potential would already have been drained dry, leaving no room for error.

Unless they encountered the disgrace of soul beasts offering a sacrifice, they could only obediently follow the path of yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black all the way to the end.

To put it bluntly, the path of ordinary Soul Masters was a dead end.

One step behind meant falling behind at every step.

But he was different. Limit-Breaking Absorption could not only grant more Soul Power and expand his body's capacity, but also allow him to adapt to the weight of the Asura Demon Sword more quickly.

The benefits of Limit-Breaking Absorption far outweighed its risks.

The problem was—

How was he supposed to tell his teacher about these things?

After considering his words, Luo Jiuyou asked, "Teacher, I want to ask something. Other than medicinal baths, are there any other ways to temper the body?"

Qian Xunji was taken aback. "The medicinal bath is a Spirit Hall formula developed over many years, specifically for strengthening the body.

"There are other methods, but either their cost is too great or their effects are not as stable as this one. Why? Do you think this is not enough?"

"It's not that it isn't enough." Luo Jiuyou shook his head. "While soaking just now, I suddenly remembered something strange I saw at the orphanage."

"What strange thing?"

"A drunkard held a piece of gelatinous stuff in his hand and swallowed it whole.

"He had barely taken a few steps before he slammed into a wall and passed out.

"When he woke the next day, his steps were no longer unsteady, his complexion had improved, and he could move a stone bench by himself that he had not been able to lift before."

Luo Jiuyou paused, then added,

"Later, I heard from the others that the thing was called Whale Rubber. It was black on the surface, like it had been burned or roasted."

Qian Xunji's brows knitted together before relaxing again.

Naturally, he knew about Whale Rubber, a gelatinous substance condensed within deep-sea whales.

It was rare and expensive, and nobles had always regarded it as an aphrodisiac.

But he had never heard that it could temper the body.

But what if it needed to be processed with fire?

His pupils shrank slightly.

Then it made sense that no one had discovered its true use for so many years.

Who would roast a substance universally recognized as an aphrodisiac before eating it for no reason?

"That is certainly a novel claim." Qian Xunji turned and ordered someone beside him,

"Go. Find some Whale Rubber. Roast it over a fire, then have someone test it and see whether it has any effect."

Bibi Dong leaned closer. "Teacher, you actually believe him?"

"There's no loss in trying. If it works, we've found a treasure. If it doesn't, there's no harm done."

Luo Jiuyou said no more and continued soaking in the medicinal broth.

He had said enough. They could verify the rest themselves.

Qian Xunji looked at the sky, then waved at the three children. "Alright, you should head back first. Jiuyou should rest after he finishes soaking too."

Bibi Dong reluctantly turned around. After taking two steps, she looked back and shouted,

"Junior Brother, get some rest once you're done! I'll come find you tomorrow!"

Luo Jiuyou smiled at her. "Got it, Senior Sister."

The three figures disappeared through the courtyard gate, while Bibi Dong's voice could still be heard shouting, "Tomorrow, I have to make Junior Brother show me that sword!"