The Misunderstanding Caused by Whale Rubber

During the Douluo II era, Spirit Master theory had become far more refined. The maximum absorption age of Soul Rings was no longer fixed, but depended on one's physical strength and Spiritual Power.

Before reaching Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings, as long as one's body was strong enough, even a Thousand-Year first Soul Ring could be absorbed directly.

Therefore, after learning about the effects of Whale Rubber, Xu Yang had constantly lived frugally and used his spare time to earn money to buy it. It was still the Douluo I era, and Whale Rubber's true effects had yet to be discovered, so it was not as expensive as it would become in the Douluo II era. Thousand-Year Whale Rubber cost over a thousand Gold Soul Coins.

Even so, it was far from cheap for him. High-quality Whale Rubber still cost dozens, even over a hundred Gold Soul Coins.

He had only managed to buy this piece because its quality had declined from weathering and it looked unappealing. No customers wanted it, allowing him to pick up a bargain. Even then, it had cost him thirty Gold Soul Coins, and he had even borrowed twenty Gold Soul Coins from the orphanage director.

He did not know its exact age, but the merchant had claimed it was a thousand years old.

Although he did not know for certain, he had still bought it, because he vaguely remembered that only whale Spirit Beasts over a thousand years old could produce this thing. There was no such thing as getting cheated by a false age.

After confirming that the Whale Rubber was still there, he closed the box, picked it up, and left the dormitory.

At this moment, inside the orphanage courtyard.

"Feng Zhi, there's something wrong with the intentions of that boy you just took in. He's probably a little pervert... Once we return to the sect, it would be best to keep the female disciples away from him!"

"Uncle Sword, why do you say that?!"

Ning Fengzhi frowned in confusion as he looked at Chen Xin.

"I just scanned the orphanage with my Spiritual Power to see whether there were spies from other factions here. But I accidentally swept over that boy who went to retrieve his belongings. The things he claimed he needed to pack were actually two pieces of weathered Whale Rubber. At such a young age, he was already thinking about that kind of thing. What will become of him when he grows up?" Chen Xin explained.

He had truly not intended to investigate Xu Yang. As the supreme Elder of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, every one of his outings drew the attention of spies from all major factions. He had merely wanted to identify those spies and delay the time before other factions learned that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had acquired a genius.

But seeing Xu Yang care so much about Whale Rubber displeased him. He hated most those who were debauched and promiscuous, who harassed respectable women. That was why he had informed Ning Fengzhi.

Sure enough, after hearing Chen Xin's words, displeasure appeared on Ning Fengzhi's face. Madam Ning, standing beside him, looked even more disgusted. As a woman, she loathed lustful and wicked people far more than men did.

Only Gu Rong remained expressionless. No one knew what he was thinking.

"Feng Zhi, you must discipline this child properly!"

"I understand. He is still young. His filthy thoughts can still be changed through proper education..."

Ning Fengzhi's expression was ugly. He did not want word to spread through the Spirit Master world that his disciple, Ning Fengzhi's disciple, had gone astray from childhood and was already using Whale Rubber to play with women at such a young age. Where would that leave the dignity of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?

Just then, Xu Yang walked out carrying a box in his arms and a bag on his back.

The moment he emerged, he saw Ning Fengzhi's grim expression and Madam Ning's disgusted face, leaving him completely baffled.

Had these two eaten Aaligei?!

They had been so happy just moments ago. How had their expressions turned so awful after only a few minutes?

Within a few breaths, all sorts of possibilities flashed through Xu Yang's mind. He even considered that Spirit Hall might have suddenly taken action, yet he never connected it to his retrieving the Whale Rubber and causing the four of them to misunderstand.

Ning Fengzhi and Madam Ning stared fixedly at the box in Xu Yang's arms. Both were Soul Saints, and a tiny wooden box could not block their perception. A simple sweep of Spiritual Power was enough to tell them what was inside.

"It really is Whale Rubber!"

Once they confirmed what was inside, all hesitation in their hearts vanished.

"Xu Yang, what is in your box? Can you tell your teacher?!"

Ning Fengzhi's face was grim, and his tone was stiff. The intimate "Yang Er" had been replaced with the distant use of Xu Yang's full name.

"Whale Rubber," Xu Yang answered instinctively. Then he saw the fury in his teacher's and mistress's eyes and instantly realized what had happened. They must have sensed him taking the Whale Rubber and gotten the wrong idea. He hurriedly explained, "Teacher, you may be thinking too much. I have another use for this Whale Rubber. I'm not using it for that kind of thing!"

His explanation only made the anger in their eyes grow fiercer. They became even more convinced that the boy's thoughts were impure and that he was rotten by nature.

Madam Ning in particular would have loved to slap him into a pile of meat if not for the fact that Xu Yang was a genius.

In their minds, Whale Rubber had no use other than that sort of thing. Xu Yang's words, especially, showed that he knew quite a bit about such matters. Naturally, they believed he intended to use it for those lewd purposes.

Seeing this, Xu Yang could only smile bitterly. He had been misunderstood.

But after thinking about it, he understood why. Because of Soul Power, children in the Douluo World developed quickly. Doing that sort of thing did not seem impossible.

No, for the sake of his pure, noble, heroic image, he had to explain himself.

"Teacher, Mistress, you may have misunderstood!" Xu Yang hurriedly took his notebook from the bag on his back and swiftly handed it to Ning Fengzhi. "While studying medicine, this disciple discovered that its aphrodisiac and virility-enhancing effects are merely secondary. Its true function is to improve a Spirit Master's physique and increase the age limit for Soul Ring absorption.

"This disciple had originally planned to refine the Whale Rubber with Soul Power after Martial Soul Awakening and improve my physical constitution.

"If Teacher does not believe me, you can watch me refine the Whale Rubber and see the results for yourself!"

Ning Fengzhi accepted the notebook with mixed belief and doubt. As he flipped through it, he was soon drawn in by its contents. The notebook's explanation of Whale Rubber's effects was logical and well-supported. It looked genuine...

Fortunately, I studied medical knowledge properly before so I could research how to consume Whale Rubber, and thoroughly figured it out!

Xu Yang felt immensely relieved. The notebook he had given Ning Fengzhi contained nothing but research specifically focused on Whale Rubber.

There was not much written inside, but it still filled more than a dozen pages. This showed how much Xu Yang had studied Whale Rubber. Unfortunately, there was no actual data to support it all; everything had been deduced by Xu Yang based on medical principles.

"Fine. Your teacher will believe you for now. Once we return to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, you will consume the Whale Rubber and let me see whether what is written in this notebook is true!"

Although Ning Fengzhi felt that the notebook's contents were logical, he did not fully believe them. After all, they were entirely speculative, without even a shred of actual data to support them. At the same time, his heart was filled with excitement. If what the notebook said was true, then in the years to come, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect would reach unprecedented heights.