An Opportunity Revealed, Ning Fengzhi Stunned!

"Oh?"

"What sort of discovery?"

Ning Fengzhi had never intended to delve into the matter. With little apparent interest, he asked Mo An to explain the opportunity he had found.

Mo An did not mention the Whale Rubber straightaway. He looked at Ning Fengzhi, then glanced toward Ning Haitian. His meaning was clear.

"It's fine. Everyone here is one of us. Go ahead."

In Ning Fengzhi's eyes, Mo An was a young Soul Master who had only awakened his Martial Soul this year. Even if he had found some opportunity, it could hardly be a major discovery.

Sitting nearby, Ning Haitian heard the sect master's words and was moved once again by his generosity.

Mo An understood at once that Ning Fengzhi was underestimating him. Still, Ning Haitian was a staunch supporter of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. It would not matter if he learned about the great opportunity Whale Rubber presented.

Mo An gathered his thoughts, then said, "Sect Master Ning, I'm sure you know that absorbing a Soul Ring depends mainly on three things: Martial Soul quality, physical strength, and mental strength. For Soul Rings under ten thousand years old, mental strength isn't as important. What matters is Martial Soul quality and physical strength. Is that right?"

"Absolutely. Your knowledge is quite impressive, young friend."

Ning Fengzhi's praise was sincere. Most Soul Masters on the Douluo Continent did not focus on studying theory, and few people Mo An's age could lay it out so completely.

"Martial Soul quality is determined at birth and can't be changed. Apart from a few exceptionally gifted Soul Masters, everyone has to build physical strength through training."

Just as Mo An was about to reveal the opportunity he had found in Whale Rubber, Ning Fengzhi interrupted him.

"Exactly. Every major faction has its own training methods and secret medicinal-bath formulas to strengthen the body quickly, allowing its members to absorb older Soul Rings. You've lacked that support, Mo An. Once you reach the sect headquarters, I'll arrange for you to improve your physical strength as soon as possible."

Children of the great sects trained their bodies from an early age and tempered them with gentle medicinal baths. When the time came to absorb Soul Rings, they could naturally handle rings older than ordinary Soul Masters could.

Yu Xiaogang was a classic example. His Martial Soul had mutated for the worse, leaving him with only rank 0.5 innate Soul Power. Without the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's wholehearted support, he could never have become a full-fledged Soul Master, much less absorbed a Hundred-Year Soul Ring.

"Sect Master Ning, the opportunity I'm talking about can strengthen the body quickly without side effects. It also helps somewhat with Soul Power cultivation."

Seeing that Ning Fengzhi wanted to continue, Mo An cut him off. His words made Ning Fengzhi frown.

"Something that can strengthen the body quickly without side effects?"

Ning Fengzhi gave Mo An a strange look. He was beginning to suspect the boy had strayed onto some crooked path. If so, he needed to set him straight at once.

A talent like this could not be ruined by a shortcut that promised quick gains.

Bone Douluo and Ning Haitian thought the same.

On the Douluo Continent, a way to strengthen the body quickly without side effects sounded as believable as finding a job on Blue Star that paid a million a month to eat, drink, and have fun. It was plainly too good to be true.

"That's right." Noticing the looks everyone was giving him, Mo An continued, "It's Whale Rubber. I read in an ancient text that if you can endure its aphrodisiac effects, the immense medicinal power within it rapidly strengthens your body and also helps with Soul Power cultivation. That's how I reached rank thirteen so quickly."

"Whale Rubber? That can strengthen the body?"

Ning Haitian was the first to voice his doubts. He had used Whale Rubber himself, but he had never felt it strengthen his body.

"It can. Since my Martial Soul Awakening, I've taken one piece every month. My physical strength is now more than four times what it was when I first awakened."

Mo An offered his own experience as proof that Whale Rubber worked.

"I can vouch for him. This little fellow's physical strength is no worse than that of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's core members, who have been trained since childhood."

As a rank ninety-five Titled Douluo, Bone Douluo had noticed the moment Mo An entered that his physical strength was unusually high for a commoner. He had assumed Mo An had been born with a powerful body. Now it seemed that was not the case at all.

Ning Fengzhi had been weighing whether Mo An's claim was true. When Bone Douluo spoke up for him, Ning Fengzhi trusted that he would not lie about such a matter. He believed Mo An—but only halfway.

He would still have to test Whale Rubber himself to see whether it truly had such an effect.

"Haitian, could I trouble you to fetch some Whale Rubber?"

Suspecting Mo An had more to say, Ning Fengzhi turned to Ning Haitian with a smile and gave him a perfectly reasonable reason to leave for a while.

Ning Haitian understood that he should not remain. He hurried out, found somewhere to sit, and drank tea. He already had Whale Rubber in his Storage Soul Tool; he simply could not produce it on the spot.

After watching Ning Haitian leave, Ning Fengzhi smiled at Mo An. "Go on."

"I've been wondering: if someone takes enough Whale Rubber to strengthen their body, could they absorb a Soul Ring beyond the current recorded limit? Say, a seven-hundred-, eight-hundred-, or nine-hundred-year First Soul Ring—or even one infinitely close to a thousand years?"

Mo An did not suggest a thousand-year First Soul Ring. Even Wang Dong'er, the daughter of a God King in Douluo II and a prodigy who had eaten Whale Rubber until she was sick of it, had not obtained one. He probably could not do it either.

The moment Mo An finished speaking, Ning Fengzhi and Bone Douluo fell silent. Neither knew how to respond to such a radical idea.

Bone Douluo was no Grandmaster of Soul Master theory. He simply found the idea far too bold. Many of Yu Xiaogang's theories were flawed, but the maximum ages he had published for Soul Rings were correct—because he had copied them.

After all, how else could he have arrived at a figure as precise as four hundred and twenty-three years?

As a Grandmaster of Soul Master theory, Ning Fengzhi considered the feasibility of Mo An's bold proposal.

Absorbing a Soul Ring under ten thousand years old came down to Martial Soul quality and physical strength. If both were high enough, what Mo An suggested might not be impossible.

The only question left, it seemed, was whether Whale Rubber truly had such a miraculous effect.

At that thought, Ning Fengzhi drew in a sharp breath.