Li Jin swallowed the still-scalding whale rubber, and it swiftly turned into a hot current that swept through his entire body.
The effects of the ten-thousand-year whale glue were a little too overpowering. Li Jin felt as though he were soaking in boiling water.
From his flesh to his organs, then his muscles and bones, and finally his meridians, everything burned with pain.
Li Jin grimaced in agony.
His consciousness began to blur, and his gaze drifted involuntarily toward Xiao Wu.
In an instant, a bolt of lightning flashed before his eyes.
Li Jin shuddered, and his hazy consciousness quickly cleared.
He sank his mind into his Sea of Consciousness and activated the ice element, the embryonic form of his second martial soul.
Like a freezing wind blowing from the Far North, it swept through his whole body from the inside out.
Li Jin immediately felt comfortable.
The whale rubber's power began to merge into his internal organs and every part of his body, greatly strengthening his muscles, bones, and meridians.
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's shed husk in his dantian had originally only been releasing thin wisps of power for Li Jin to absorb and refine.
Taking advantage of the whale rubber strengthening Li Jin's physique, the power released from the shed husk grew so abundant that it condensed into tangible form.
Streams of white, cloudlike power rushed straight toward his eight extraordinary meridians.
From that point on, Li Jin's absorption of the ten-thousand-year whale glue's power proceeded without another ripple.
Things were much more troublesome on Xiao Wu's side.
The ten-thousand-year whale glue's power burned through Xiao Wu until her entire body was scalding hot. Fragrant sweat poured endlessly from every pore, only to be evaporated into white mist by the waves of heat.
Xiao Wu's consciousness soon grew muddled from the heat.
At that moment, a cool, icy presence emanated from Li Jin.
Acting on instinct, Xiao Wu's body lunged toward Li Jin without the slightest hesitation.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, rubbing her cheek back and forth against his.
"So cool. It feels so cool!"
"Li Jin, cuddles!"
The icy coolness continuously emanating from Li Jin finally allowed Xiao Wu, whose brain had nearly been fried by the heat, to calm down.
As the whale rubber's power continued strengthening her physique, the refinement of her hundred-thousand-year Soft Bone Rabbit origin also accelerated, causing her Soul Power to rise steadily.
Time flew like an arrow, and the sun and moon sped past like a weaver's shuttle!
An hour soon passed!
The ten-thousand-year whale glue's power was exhausted, and Li Jin's physique had risen to a new level.
His muscles and bones were resilient, and his meridians were broad.
Thanks to the power within the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's shed husk, his Soul Power had also increased tremendously, rising from rank 13 to rank 15.
And that was not all.
To his delight, Li Jin discovered that his Ren and Du meridians had opened, and his Soul Power circulation had formed a minor heavenly circuit.
The quality and quantity of his Soul Power, as well as its circulation speed, had all increased by at least thirty percent compared to before.
Li Jin happily opened his eyes and met Xiao Wu's gaze as she opened hers as well.
Xiao Wu was wrapped around Li Jin like an octopus.
Li Jin's hot breath brushed Xiao Wu's face, while Xiao Wu's moist breath washed over his.
Li Jin struck first. "Aha, Xiao Wu! After eating the ten-thousand-year whale glue, you really couldn't control yourself and did something strange to me!"
Xiao Wu was completely unfazed by the pressure. Rather than feeling embarrassed, she hugged Li Jin with utter haughtiness and continued rubbing against him.
"So what!"
"I'm your future wife, and you're my future husband. It's only right and proper for me to cuddle you!"
"What? Got a problem with that?"
Li Jin was out of tricks. She truly lived up to being a hooligan rabbit.
"Then keep holding on. We've finished absorbing the ten-thousand-year whale glue, so it's time to check out and head back to the academy."
Xiao Wu was light to begin with, and Li Jin had just absorbed the ten-thousand-year whale glue. He stood up without hesitation, holding Xiao Wu against him with one arm while pushing open the door with his other hand and walking outside.
Xiao Wu giggled, a smug expression appearing on her little face, then shared her joy with Li Jin.
"Li Jin, this ten-thousand-year whale glue really works! My physique improved, and my Soul Power broke through from rank 11 to rank 13."
Meanwhile, elsewhere!
While Li Jin and Xiao Wu were absorbing the ten-thousand-year whale glue's power.
A despondent Tang San, his stomach growling with hunger, could only return to Nuoding Academy to find his teacher, Yu Xiaogang.
He really had no other options. Having handed over Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges as compensation, he did not even have carrots to eat anymore.
At Yu Xiaogang's residence!
Tang San knocked on the door. No answer. He knocked again, but there was still no answer. Worried that something had happened, he pushed the door open and barged straight in.
"Teacher, Dad, are you all right?"
Tang San saw Yu Xiaogang lying on the bed. There was nothing wrong with his body, but his face was ashen and his eyes were lifeless, leaving him looking utterly withered.
"Teacher... what happened to you?"
Yu Xiaogang abruptly sat up and stared unblinkingly at Tang San, shouting in a shrill voice:
"Little San, what exactly happened when you brought me back yesterday? Why did everyone look at me so strangely when I went to borrow money from the dean? Whenever I asked, they all told me not to be sad, that being liked by someone was a good thing too!"
At the mention of this topic, Tang San's gaze grew somewhat evasive. Only after a long while did he hesitantly say:
"Well... when I brought you and Dad back, a group of students ran into us on the field. Teacher, don't worry. I didn't admit to anything. They must be talking nonsense, making up rumors and spreading them."
Yu Xiaogang covered his face. In the end, he had failed to preserve his lifelong good name.
His eyes were bloodshot, and he panted like an ox.
How could he have the face to stay at Nuoding Academy now?
Tang San's eyes suddenly lit up. "Teacher, you said you went to borrow money from the dean. Did you manage to get any? I'm starving to death. If I don't eat soon, I won't have any strength to cultivate. Without the strength to cultivate, how can I verify your Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul?"
"Teacher, don't worry. Once I become a great Soul Master, I'll definitely help clear your name. Everything you've suffered will be nothing more than a little wind and frost."
Tang San was unbearably hungry too. Just to get something to eat, he began painting grand pies in the sky for Yu Xiaogang.
And sure enough, Yu Xiaogang liked those painted pies.
His body trembled, like a drowning man clutching his last life-saving straw.
His reputation was already ruined, and he had been driven right to the edge of a cliff. If he failed to nurture Tang San into someone accomplished, his name would be nothing but a joke in the future.
"Yes, Little San, I still have you. I'll be counting on you to clear your teacher's name."
"The dean is terribly stingy too. I went to borrow money from him in person, yet he only lent me thirty Gold Soul Coins."
"With such a narrow outlook, it's no wonder that after all these years, he's still just a Soul Ancestor, just the dean of a junior Soul Master Academy."
"I'll remember this slight. With my invincible theories, sooner or later he'll come begging me for help. When that time comes, I'll have to make him dance to my tune."
As he spoke, Yu Xiaogang took a money pouch from beneath his pillow, pulled out a Gold Soul Coin, and handed it to Tang San.
"Little San, hurry and buy some food. Bring a portion each for me and your dad too."
"I'm starving to death as well, but I have no face to go outside. Until I've finished nurturing you into someone accomplished, I won't be going out again."
Tang San took the Gold Soul Coin and clenched it tightly in his palm, so excited that he nearly cried.
"Teacher, I'll go right now."
Thanks to the money Yu Xiaogang had shamelessly borrowed from the dean, Tang San finally got to eat a proper meal that day.