Whale Rubber

The attendant cried out in surprise, clearly recognizing the fruit in Jiang Che's hand. "That's a Navy Blue Fruit!"

"Little brother, are you looking to sell this Navy Blue Fruit?" The female attendant's smile grew even warmer than before.

Jiang Che did not answer her question, asking instead, "Big sister, does this Navy Blue Fruit have any special effects?"

The attendant pursed her lips in a smile at his question. Without concealing anything, she took out a booklet, opened it to a page, and handed it to Jiang Che.

Jiang Che accepted the booklet, wondering why she had not simply told him what the Navy Blue Fruit did. Once he saw its description, however, everything became clear.

Navy Blue Fruit commonly grew in damp, cold underground hollows. It could replenish vital energy and nourish the blood, but its most remarkable property lay in restoring a man's depleted primal yang energy, clearing the meridians, and nourishing vital essence and blood. It was particularly effective for older men-it could bring spring back to withered trees and restore vigor to aging steeds, rekindling a wellspring of vitality.

[Navy Blue Fruit: Price (150 Gold Soul Coins)]

Good grief, it sells for that much? Jiang Che marveled inwardly.

But upon closer consideration, the price was perfectly reasonable.

With such remarkable effects, Navy Blue Fruit was bound to be in hot demand among the nobility.

This Navy Blue Fruit isn't much use to me anyway. With my current masculine vigor, taking on three at once wouldn't be a problem!

Jiang Che took out another nine Navy Blue Fruits. "Big sister, how much could I sell these ten for?"

The female attendant's eyes shone as she looked at the ten Navy Blue Fruits cradled in Jiang Che's small hands.

Five Navy Blue Fruits totaled 750 Gold Soul Coins. The commission alone would equal a month of her wages.

Jiang Che kept ten Navy Blue Fruits for himself. If they turned out to have the same use as whale rubber, selling them off like this would mean losing more than he gained.

Jiang Che continued asking, "Big sister, do you have any whale rubber here?"

At that, the corners of the female attendant's mouth nearly reached her ears. "Whale rubber? The pavilion recently acquired a piece with quite a few years on it!"

Then she realized that whale rubber was not something someone Jiang Che's age could use, and she gave him a puzzled look.

Seeing her puzzled gaze, Jiang Che naturally knew what she was thinking and explained, "My uncle asked me to buy him a piece of whale rubber. Is there something wrong with it?"

Although the female attendant did not understand why Jiang Che's uncle would buy whale rubber when he already had Navy Blue Fruit-wasn't that redundant?-she did not ask any further questions. (Delete this sentence.)

"Come along. I'll take you to the second floor."

Jiang Che followed the female attendant to the second floor of the Hundred Medicine Pavilion, where he finally saw the whale rubber he had dreamed of obtaining: a yellow, translucent lump.

The female attendant explained, "This piece of whale rubber is about four thousand years old. It's top-grade whale rubber and will definitely work for your uncle, but it's rather expensive: 200 Gold Soul Coins."

Jiang Che picked up the whale rubber, examined it closely, and sniffed it. It had no particular smell. He confirmed that it was indeed the whale rubber from the original story.

The true use of whale rubber had not been revealed. In Douluo I, it was merely used as an aphrodisiac for nobles, so its price was not high.

If its true use were revealed, this piece would never have appeared in Nuoding City, nor would its price have been two hundred Gold Soul Coins. It would have cost at least ten times as much.

Even after deducting the cost of the whale rubber, he had earned a full 450 Gold Soul Coins on this trip.

Jiang Che put the whale rubber into the System Storage and stopped browsing. He said goodbye to the female attendant and left the Hundred Medicine Pavilion under her reluctant gaze.

After leaving the Hundred Medicine Pavilion, Jiang Che headed unhurriedly toward the small single room he rented in the north of the city.

Before long, Jiang Che found a suitable place to light a fire and set his pill furnace over it.

Once the pill furnace was hot enough, Jiang Che took the whale rubber out of the System Storage and placed it inside. Soon, the whale rubber began to soften and release a fragrance.

Once it had softened enough to swallow, Jiang Che quickly picked it up and stuffed it straight into his mouth despite its scalding heat.

The scorching whale rubber made Jiang Che's tongue writhe. He grabbed the waterskin beside him and poured cold water into his mouth to cool it down.

Before long, his body began to react.

His blood felt as though it had been set alight. His skin was shockingly hot, and even his exhalations carried a parching heat. His mouth and tongue were dry.

He gulped down a large mouthful of icy spring water, then forcibly suppressed the surging discomfort, sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, and began practicing his meditation method.

Jiang Che furrowed his brow and steadied his mind. Just as he was putting all his effort into suppressing that agitation, the true medicinal power of the four-thousand-year whale rubber quietly erupted.

Its medicinal power surged through his limbs and bones like a tide, tempering his meridians inch by inch. The meridians through which his Soul Power circulated grew tougher.

The most obvious improvement was to his physical aptitude. The whale rubber's violent medicinal power enhanced his physique in every respect.

The night passed in this prolonged torment and remolding.

Early the next morning, Jiang Che awoke from his arduous cultivation.

His clothes had long since been soaked through with sweat and clung wetly to his back. When the morning breeze blew, a chill pierced his bones, yet his whole body felt indescribably refreshed.

Jiang Che slowly clenched his fists, a gleam flashing through his eyes.

The whale rubber's effects were even better than he had expected.

Although his Soul Power cultivation speed had only increased by roughly ten percent-nothing astonishing-it was already an unexpected delight given his current race against time to cultivate.

The real gain was the improvement in his physique: a full thirty percent.

If he obtained his second Soul Ring now, he could probably break the thousand-year absorption limit.

The next day, Jiang Che learned that Tang San had successfully reached rank twenty. That very morning, Yu Xiaogang and the dean of Nuoding Academy had taken him to obtain his second Soul Ring.

Jiang Che frowned slightly. With Tang San's hidden weapons and the Tang Sect's secret manuals, defeating him was already extremely difficult. Once Tang San returned with his second Soul Ring, what fucking chance would Jiang Che have left?

No, I can't just sit here and wait to die!

With that thought, Jiang Che got up and returned to the academy to request leave.

Although the director did not understand why Jiang Che so frequently took leave from the academy, Jiang Che was one of only three students there whose first Soul Ring was a hundred-year Soul Ring, and his grades in Martial Soul theory were outstanding. The director asked little more and approved his request outright.

The days passed one by one.

The grove of lone bamboo in the Star Dou Great Forest dwindled by the day.

[Ding-!]

[Killed a 12-year-old lone bamboo. Gained 1 Skill Point.]

[Killed a 23-year-old lone bamboo. Gained 1 Skill Point.]

[Killed a 67-year-old Phoenix Ape. Gained 1 Skill Point.]

[Killed...]

[Current Skill Points: 755]

"I'm exhausted."

Jiang Che looked up at the sun sinking in the west. "After all that rushing around, I finally saved up enough Skill Points."

Jiang Che eagerly opened the Today's Shop page.

[Today's Shop]

[377-Year Red Fox Left Arm Bone: (Price: 1,400 Skill Points)]

[Glazed flower: (Price: 888 Skill Points)]

[Random Incomplete Cultivation Technique: (Price: 600 Skill Points)]

['82 Sprite: (Price: 20 Skill Points)]

Jiang Che did not even glance at the other goods. His gaze went straight to [Random Incomplete Cultivation Technique].

The [Random Pills Formula] he had redeemed last time had yielded something good.

An item like this, where he might lose out but would not lose much, naturally held a powerful appeal for Jiang Che and his gambler's mentality.