The Grandmaster's Name Was Earned, Three Years Later

"So this is Whale Rubber? Doesn't look like anything special."

Staring at the irregular black lump on the table, Su Yuntao seriously suspected that his father had been swindled. Whale Rubber was supposed to improve a Soul Master's physique, so why did it look so unimpressive?

"There's only one way to find out, right?"

Tang Shan grinned mischievously and looked at Su Haichao, who stood nearby.

"Dad, break off a small piece and heat it. Once it turns golden and starts smelling good, give it to Big Brother."

The corner of Su Haichao's mouth twitched as he looked at the Whale Rubber.

To be honest, if he hadn't taken a small piece and tried it himself after buying it, and felt a very slight improvement in his physique, he never would have believed that this potent aphrodisiac could also strengthen a Soul Master's body.

The effects after taking it, though, might not be so pleasant.

"Shanzi, you're sure we shouldn't find someone for your big brother?"

Tang Shan shook his head without hesitation.

"Dad, the medicine can only do so much. If you find someone for him, Big Brother will spend all its effects on her. What good would that do? He has to tough it out to get the most from it."

"Good luck, Yuntao."

Su Haichao patted Su Yuntao's shoulder, cut off roughly a tenth of the Whale Rubber, and headed into the kitchen to prepare it.

Su Yuntao didn't know what expression to make. He was about to take a powerful aphrodisiac without being allowed to use it for its intended purpose. If that wasn't miserable, what was?

"Relax, Big Brother. It's not actually that intense. Just bear with it and it'll pass. If you don't believe me, at least believe in the willpower you've built through all that hard training."

Tang Shan gave his big brother's thigh a reassuring pat, urging him to stay calm.

Hearing his little brother's reassurance, the somewhat nervous Su Yuntao relaxed.

After all his training, he felt his greatest gain wasn't the gradual improvement in his physique. It was the unshakable resolve he'd forged by enduring wave after wave of aches and pains.

"Right. It's just Whale Rubber. What's there to be afraid of?"

Seeing his big brother regain his confidence, Tang Shan couldn't help smiling.

A strong will was all well and good, but this was Whale Rubber.

To use a rather poor comparison, Lu Bu stood at the peak of martial prowess in Romance of the Three Kingdoms. His tolerance for pain was surely among the best, and he had a firm will. But no matter how much pain he could endure, that hadn't stopped Diao Chan from influencing him and driving a wedge between him and his adoptive father.

About half an hour later, Su Haichao came out carrying a white plate. On it sat a golden lump of jelly that gave off a rich aroma.

Tang Shan leaned in for a closer look and promptly called out.

"Big Brother, come eat it while it's hot! Don't let it cool and waste the effects."

Once Su Yuntao had steeled himself, he showed no fear. He speared the entire piece of Whale Rubber with a fork and swallowed it.

"What does it taste like, Big Brother?"

Tang Shan was genuinely curious. If he weren't waiting until after his Martial Soul Awakening to take Whale Rubber and get the most out of it, he would have asked Su Haichao to heat up a piece for him too.

"Not much flavor besides the aroma."

Su Yuntao smacked his lips, wishing there were more.

It really did smell good.

"All right, Big Brother, head outside. It should start working soon. Exercising now ought to do you a lot of good."

Seeing Su Yuntao still sitting there savoring the taste, Tang Shan gave his thigh an exasperated pat.

"All right, all right. I'll do what you say. Feels like I'm the little brother."

Su Yuntao grumbled, but he didn't waste a moment before striding outside.

Su Haichao watched the two brothers head out, teasing each other, and smiled without a word.

As far as he was concerned, Su Yuntao really did seem more like the younger brother. Three-year-old Tang Shan was the one who acted like an elder brother, guiding Su Yuntao's growth and planning his future.

"Little brother, this is what you meant by... just bear with it... and it'll pass? Hah!"

Su Yuntao's entire body had turned red. His legs were pressed together, with Tang Shan sitting on his feet, while he did sit-ups with his hands behind his head and a brick wedged between them.

Tang Shan showed no awareness that he had talked Su Yuntao into this. In fact, he was thoroughly enjoying the show.

"Don't worry, Big Brother. It'll wear off soon. You only took a tenth of it, so it won't last long."

As he swung his legs, he carefully watched the changes in Su Yuntao after taking the Whale Rubber.

The medicinal materials of Douluo Continent really were remarkable. The Whale Rubber had already reached Su Yuntao's stomach, yet it had taken effect so quickly.

And the short-term boost to his physique was astonishing. Before, his big brother could do around a hundred and ninety sit-ups in one go without stopping or slowing down. Now he had reached three hundred.

As for why Su Yuntao wasn't doing push-ups or squats, Tang Shan wanted his big brother to get stronger, not end the Su family line or make him burst from holding everything in.

In Su Yuntao's current state, Tang Shan honestly didn't know whether that other "leg" of his could withstand push-ups.

And Tang Shan knew squats had an aphrodisiac effect too. Doing them now would only add fuel to the fire.

And so the days passed. Tang Shan's life was fulfilling every day.

He did light exercise each day, growing sturdier than other children his age. When he had time, he wandered over to Spirit Hall in Notting City to read, while keeping an eye on Su Yuntao's cultivation and training.

To provide a convincing explanation for the Thousand-Year Second Ring, Su Yuntao had spent most of the past few years training within Notting City. Gradually, everyone learned that the son of Notting City's Spirit Hall master was working his body to the limit to verify the Grandmaster's theories.

Notably, after taking Whale Rubber for the first time, Su Yuntao's Soul Power broke through to rank fourteen. He had already reached rank thirteen when he returned from Soul Hunting, but even with more than half the required Soul Power accumulated, he shouldn't have advanced that quickly.

After studying it for some time, Tang Shan found the reason. When Su Yuntao took the Whale Rubber, his Qi and Blood surged, seemingly accelerating the circulation of his Soul Power as well.

But once the Whale Rubber wore off, that rapid progress vanished.

The key factor was the surging of his Qi and Blood, or rather, how quickly they circulated.

Qi and Blood accelerated the circulation of Soul Power. Soul Power strengthened the body, which in turn produced more abundant Qi and Blood.

It resembled the ancient Chinese theory that essence and qi shared a common origin. But studying Qi and Blood was no easy task. This was Douluo I, not Douluo II, and there was no Body Sect. How was he supposed to research it?

With no better option, Tang Shan wrote another article to pad things out and sent it to Spirit Hall.

Not long after Spirit Hall's Gold Soul Coins arrived, its newspaper published his "Three Theories of Martial Souls." The article caused a tremendous stir in the Soul Master World. Because it had been published anonymously, Soul Masters began calling its author the Grandmaster. Spirit Hall even gave Su Haichao a Grandmaster Medal, saying it was meant for someone who had made outstanding contributions to Martial Soul research. Since the author refused to reveal his identity, Su Haichao was asked to pass it along.

At first, not many people in the Soul Master World accepted the title of Grandmaster. It wasn't that Tang Shan's theories were flawed; they simply felt that publishing the "Three Theories of Martial Souls" alone wasn't enough to earn it.

Other Soul Masters disagreed. They argued that while the theories might not transform Soul Master cultivation, they had shown Soul Masters with low Innate Soul Power another path. It might not promise a bright future, but it was a new possibility, and that deserved the title of Grandmaster.

Quite a few lower-ranked Soul Masters even came to blows over it.

But after Tang Shan published the "Martial Soul Fourth Theory" when he was four, almost all the arguments died down. As for why they didn't disappear entirely, Tang Shan's answer was simple: I'm not a Gold Soul Coin. I can't make everyone like me.

In the "Martial Soul Fourth Theory," Tang Shan mainly discussed how a Soul Ring should match the Soul Master absorbing it.

His central argument was this: apart from implement-type Tool Martial Souls, those with plant or Beast Martial Souls should, whenever possible, hunt Soul Beasts whose fundamental nature matched their Martial Souls and absorb their Soul Rings to advance. Unless a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast willingly sacrificed itself, they should avoid Soul Rings that did not match.

The theory gave every Soul Master a new way to think about Martial Souls. If Martial Souls were classified according to the kinds of Soul Rings they should absorb, plant and Beast Martial Souls could be grouped together. Finding Soul Beasts similar in nature to either was not difficult. Implement-type Tool Martial Souls, on the other hand, deserved a category of their own: on the current Douluo Continent, there were no implements that had gained sentience and become Soul Beasts.

After that, the Grandmaster's title was firmly established. Spirit Hall later sent another ten thousand Gold Soul Coins.

When Tang Shan was five, he published the "Martial Soul Fifth Theory" on the relationship between Qi and Blood and Soul Power. Whatever effect his brief discussion had on Douluo Continent, it brought him another ten thousand Gold Soul Coins.

The theory might have seemed of little use, but it held extraordinary significance.

Tang Shan didn't consider himself a genius. He simply had some unconventional ideas and had read enough novels. If he truly wanted to make progress in Martial Soul research, he could never do it alone. All he could do was help the people of Douluo Continent see past the limits of what they knew and point them toward directions worth exploring.

In the blink of an eye, three years had passed. Tang Shan was six and about to undergo his Martial Soul Awakening.

That year, Heaven Dou City gained a new crown prince.

That year, the Clear Sky Twin Stars shone across the continent.

That year, an unremarkable, weary-looking middle-aged man entered Nod Academy.