The thought had barely arisen when, in the next second, new questions surged into Nan Zhuliu's mind like a barrage of cannon fire, one linked to the next.
In what form had he appeared in the God-Forsaken Land?
Since the Golden Dragon King could awaken his bloodline, could he also kill him?
And could he use this to absorb the Heaven and Earth origin energy and immortal spiritual energy of the Douluo Divine Realm to improve himself?
Before Nan Zhuliu could think any further, he caught himself and realized that his thoughts were far too scattered.
Rather than waste time agonizing over questions he could not answer anytime soon, which was hardly worthwhile, improving himself came first.
Nan Zhuliu sat cross-legged on the bed again, then involuntarily paused.
He had only just left the God-Forsaken Land. Surely he would not inexplicably enter it again?
With his heart in his throat, Nan Zhuliu tried meditating again. This time, he entered a meditative state without any mishaps.
On his very first cultivation session, Nan Zhuliu cultivated all the way from morning until night.
Nourished by Soul Power, he felt wonderfully refreshed and clearheaded.
During dinner, his parents' stares left Nan Zhuliu feeling as though he were sitting on pins and needles. Unable to bear it any longer, he asked, "Dad, Mom, is there something on my face? Why are you both looking at me like that?"
His mother, Jiang Jingyan, hesitated before saying, "Zhuliu, don't you feel anything different about yourself?"
She put it tactfully, but Nan Zhou was much more direct. "Haven't you looked in a mirror? We haven't seen you for just half a day, and you're already like a different person. If your looks hadn't stayed the same, I'd have thought someone had switched you out."
If Nan Zhuliu had previously been like a hunter who knew how to endure and lie low, striving to kill with a single strike, then now he was a ferocious beast whose presence alone could frighten a hundred beasts out of their wits simply by standing there.
They had only gone from morning until night without seeing him, yet Nan Zhuliu had undergone such an earth-shattering change that calling him a different person would hardly be strange. When they first saw him, had they not spotted his dragon horns at a glance, they would have thought someone else's child had run into their home.
Hearing his parents say this, Nan Zhuliu froze for a moment, then immediately realized that it was probably because his Golden Dragon King bloodline had awakened.
Nan Zhuliu smiled. "I did gain some insights while cultivating today, but surely it's not as exaggerated as you're making it sound, Mom, Dad? Even switching people out? Anyone could get switched out, but surely not me."
Nan Zhou chuckled. "Of course. Anyone but my son."
After the family finished dinner in cheerful harmony, the silver ring on Nan Zhou's right hand flashed with silver light, and a gleaming golden lump of gelatinous substance appeared in his hand.
The moment it appeared, Nan Zhuliu sensed a faint, fresh fragrance spreading through the air. "That smells so good. What is it?"
"This is thousand-year whale glue. When your Uncle Lan heard that you'd awakened your Martial Soul and had innate full Soul Power, he specially picked it out as a gift for you."
The Uncle Lan Nan Zhou mentioned was the chairman of the merchant association where he and Jiang Jingyan worked.
Nan Zhou smiled. "Your Uncle Lan told me that a piece of thousand-year whale glue this large could increase a normal Soul Master's physical tolerance by at least three hundred years."
Capable of increasing a Soul Master's physical tolerance by at least three hundred years, this piece of thousand-year whale glue was worth at least thirty thousand gold soul coins, fully equivalent to half a year's savings for Nan Zhou and his wife.
Although its price was not particularly high, the benefits of thousand-year whale glue to Nan Zhuliu at present could not be measured in money.
Nan Zhuliu felt grateful. "Uncle Lan really put a lot of thought into this."
Nan Zhou himself was a fire-attribute Soul Master. Under the heat of his beast flames, the solidified thousand-year whale glue soon softened, and the fresh fragrance in the air gradually grew richer.
Nan Zhuliu took the thousand-year whale glue Nan Zhou handed him, which had cooled to a suitable temperature, and ate it bite by bite.
It required no chewing at all. The thousand-year whale glue melted in his mouth, and a strong fishy taste instantly spread across his tongue, making Nan Zhuliu frown involuntarily.
The whale glue soon turned into a warm current that rushed into his lower abdomen before swiftly flowing through his limbs and bones. His entire body felt warm, as though he were soaking in a hot spring.
Likewise, the whale glue's side effects soon manifested.
Although Nan Zhuliu was still young and his body had barely developed, he was nevertheless affected somewhat. His steady breathing grew a little rapid, and a faint flush appeared beneath his skin.
With Nan Zhou and Jiang Jingyan standing guard, Nan Zhuliu gradually absorbed every last bit of the thousand-year whale glue's medicinal potency.
So refreshing!
That was Nan Zhuliu's first sensation upon waking.
He stretched, distinctly feeling that his body had become much more flexible and his coordination had improved as well.
Seeing this, Jiang Jingyan smiled. "It looks like this thousand-year whale glue worked quite well."
Nan Zhou looked eager to try. "An ordinary Soul Master can withstand a Soul Ring of around four hundred years at most for their first ring, but Zhuliu's physique is naturally much stronger than an ordinary Soul Master's."
"Now that he's been tempered with whale glue too, absorbing a Soul Ring of around nine hundred years for his first Soul Ring should be no problem. If we got a few more pieces of thousand-year whale glue, wouldn't he be able to absorb a thousand-year soul ring as his first ring?"
Jiang Jingyan rolled her eyes at him in exasperation. "Do you think thousand-year whale glue is cabbage by the roadside? Besides, is a thousand-year soul ring really that easy to absorb?"
"If it were as easy as you say, the geniuses those major powers pour their hearts and souls into nurturing would all have thousand-year soul rings as their first Soul Rings already."
Coming to his senses, Nan Zhou chuckled sheepishly.
"I think absorbing a thousand-year soul ring as my first Soul Ring is feasible."
Nan Zhuliu suddenly spoke, drawing Nan Zhou's and Jiang Jingyan's attention.
Jiang Jingyan frowned slightly. "Zhuliu, a thousand-year soul ring isn't that easy to absorb. Under normal circumstances, only Soul Masters whose cultivation has reached rank thirty can successfully absorb one without any strain."
"Your physique is naturally stronger than most people's, but absorbing a thousand-year soul ring would still place a considerable burden on you."
Nan Zhou hurriedly nodded repeatedly. "Dad was only joking just now. I wasn't really telling you to absorb a thousand-year soul ring."
Nan Zhuliu said solemnly, "I'm serious."
"While I was cultivating today, a strange power inexplicably surged out inside me, raising the quality of my Martial Soul and every aspect of my physical attributes again. Combined with the effects of the thousand-year whale glue, I'm definitely more than capable of absorbing a thousand-year soul ring as my first Soul Ring."
Nan Zhuliu made his account sound convincing, even unleashing Dragon Transformation to lend false proof that everything he said was true. "Look, this is the new ability that appeared after my Martial Soul's quality improved: Dragon Transformation."
Jiang Jingyan looked at Nan Zhou, only to see him examining the dragon claws Nan Zhuliu had manifested through Dragon Transformation, his face full of astonishment.
Clearly, even Nan Zhou, who had performed Nan Zhuliu's Martial Soul awakening ceremony, had known nothing of this, which also proved that what he said was true.
Jiang Jingyan looked thoughtful. "Honey, do you think that power could have been the medicinal effects of the spirit fruit I ate back then, absorbed by Zhuliu? Since he couldn't refine it himself, could it have kept accumulating until now, only erupting once he could cultivate on his own?"
Nan Zhou pondered for a moment. "That's certainly possible."