Uncle Yue Guan, I Want Whale Rubber!

They reached the cafeteria.

It was packed.

Students from every class were lining up for food.

Qian Renchuan was about to join the line when Zhang Meng stepped forward and stopped him.

"Class monitor, you take it easy!"

"How could we let you do something like this yourself?"

Zhang Meng turned and called to one of his lackeys.

"Go get the class monitor's food. Pick the best meat dishes!"

The lackey nodded repeatedly, grabbed a tray, and plunged into the crowd.

Qian Renchuan stared at him, baffled. "???"

Well, if someone wanted to wait on him, he wasn't going to complain.

He walked over to an empty table, sat down, and waited.

Zhang Meng and the other lackeys didn't dare sit with him. They all sat properly at the next table.

Students from the other classes stared, their eyes wide.

"Isn't that Zhang Meng from the Second-Year Class?"

"Why are they treating a six-year-old newcomer with so much respect?"

"You don't know? That's the Pope's eldest son!"

"But didn't the Pope tell people to give him a hard time? How did he become the school bully?"

The students whispered among themselves, looking at Qian Renchuan with awe.

Just then,

a commotion broke out at the cafeteria entrance.

Qian Renchuan turned and looked, then froze in surprise.

The newcomer was Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan.

He didn't know why Yue Guan had come, but he could guess Yue Guan was looking for him. Smiling, he waved.

"Uncle Yue Guan, over here!"

Am I finally getting out of here?

Are they letting me go back to the Riverside Courtyard?

At the cafeteria entrance, Yue Guan heard Qian Renchuan and walked over.

But the sight around Qian Renchuan left him dumbstruck.

Qian Renchuan sat sprawled at one table, while a dozen bruised and battered students sat obediently at the next.

Another student carried over a tray piled high with meat dishes and set it respectfully before Qian Renchuan.

"Class monitor, here's your food."

Yue Guan was utterly stunned.

What the hell?

Why is this nothing like I expected?

Weren't these brats supposed to give Qian Renchuan a hard time, on His Holiness the Pope's orders?

How did they all become his lackeys?

Was it because of last night?

One beating, and they've completely submitted?

Yue Guan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He walked up to Qian Renchuan and cleared his throat to hide his embarrassment.

"Eldest Young Master, you seem to be living quite comfortably."

Qian Renchuan picked up his chopsticks and replied casually,

"Not bad. Uncle Yue Guan, what brings you here?"

"Did your Pope Qian Xunji come to his senses and decide to let me go back?"

Hearing him call the Pope by name, Yue Guan hurriedly glanced around and lowered his voice.

"Eldest Young Master, please be careful what you say."

"His Holiness the Pope was pleased with how you performed last night."

"He sent me to ask what you'd like as a reward."

So he wasn't here to take me back to the Riverside Courtyard after all.

Qian Renchuan was disappointed.

But on second thought, he wasn't about to turn down a free reward.

If Qian Xunji wanted to reward him, he might as well ask for something useful.

Then he remembered the plan he'd made a couple of days ago.

Whale Rubber.

Qian Renchuan immediately set down his chopsticks.

"Uncle Yue Guan, I want Whale Rubber."

"Whale Rubber?"

Yue Guan blinked in confusion.

"Eldest Young Master, what's Whale Rubber?"

It wasn't surprising that Yue Guan had no idea.

In this era, the Soul Masters of the Douluo Continent knew nothing about Whale Rubber's true use.

As far as most people knew, it was just an inferior material found by the sea. It stank of fish, and no one wanted to touch it.

It probably wasn't even called Whale Rubber yet.

So Qian Renchuan described it in detail.

"It comes from a Sea Soul Beast."

"It's yellowish or blackish and looks like a big lump of hardened jelly."

"It has a strong fishy smell."

"It softens when heated, and you can eat it."

Yue Guan frowned deeply as he searched his memory of the treasures stored in Spirit Hall's vault.

After a long while, he slapped his thigh in realization.

"Oh!"

"I remember now!"

"So that's what you mean!"

Now that he knew what it was, Yue Guan was even more puzzled.

"Eldest Young Master, what do you want that stuff for?"

"It reeks, and nobody ever wants it. We do have some piled up in Spirit Hall's storeroom, but it's nearly gone moldy."

Qian Renchuan couldn't exactly say he wanted to feed it to his younger siblings and collect a tenfold return.

He waved a hand and brushed off the question.

"Don't worry about that. I have a use for it."

"If it's in the storeroom, bring me all of it."

Since Qian Renchuan didn't want to explain, Yue Guan didn't press him.

His Holiness the Pope had ordered him to give the Eldest Young Master a reward. If all he wanted was this worthless junk, Yue Guan would oblige.

"All right."

"We do have some in storage. I'll go back now and bring it over shortly."

Yue Guan nodded and turned to leave.

Delighted, Qian Renchuan quickly thanked him.

"Thanks, Uncle Yue Guan."

Just then, the lackey who had fetched his food brought over a bowl of hot soup and placed it respectfully by Qian Renchuan's hand.

Qian Renchuan picked up his chopsticks again and turned to Zhang Meng at the next table.

"Zhang Meng, see our guest out."

Zhang Meng immediately perked up.

"Yes, class monitor!"

He and the dozen or so lackeys at his table sprang to their feet.

They moved as one, making quite an imposing display.

Together, they bowed to Yue Guan and shouted,

"Take care, Elder Yue Guan!"

"This way, Elder Yue Guan!"

Yue Guan had just turned away when their shout made him jump.

He stared at them, baffled. "???"

What the hell?

These little brats.

They really are treating the Eldest Young Master like a gang boss!

Even His Holiness the Pope doesn't get a send-off this coordinated!

Yue Guan looked at the bruised students and their solemn faces, the corners of his mouth twitching uncontrollably.

He had to admit defeat.

The Eldest Young Master's ability to adapt was simply unmatched.

He'd been thrown into a Second-Year Class full of troublemakers, and in less than a few days, they'd all become his devoted lackeys.

At the Pope's Palace.

Yue Guan returned and reported everything he had seen and heard that day, including the reward Qian Renchuan wanted. Qian Xunji stared at him in disbelief.

"What does he want that stuff for?"

"It's good for nothing except stinking to high heaven. We usually leave it in a corner to gather dust."

"Your subordinate doesn't know why the Eldest Young Master wants it either."

Qian Xunji frowned in thought.

But no matter how he considered it, he couldn't figure it out.

He understood that unfilial son of his less and less.

With valuable resources there for the taking, the boy insisted on asking for a pile of junk nobody wanted.

Still, Qian Renchuan had asked for it himself.

He might as well give it to him.

After all, the boy had made him proud last night.

Taking down more than a dozen Soul Grandmasters single-handedly—with talent and a record like that, he was one of a kind in Spirit Hall's history.

"Never mind."

Qian Xunji waved a hand and gave his order.

"If he wants it, give it to him."

"Go to the vault yourself, take out all that Whale Rubber, and deliver it to him."

"Meet his request as best you can."

Yue Guan accepted the order.

"As you command."