Hearing this, Qian Xunji couldn't help looking surprised. She said:
"It seems he's very confident about this sparring match. Has another little genius emerged in the current generation?"
Qian Daoliu nodded.
"But the information has been kept tightly under wraps."
"Even his name hasn't gotten out."
Qian Xunji was astonished. She said:
"No wonder they dared to come to our door and challenge us."
"Now it seems they clearly want to test Spirit Hall's foundations and our plans for the future."
As Pope, she had to be cautious.
But the younger generation really did lack outstanding disciples. In a sparring match against Tang Hao and Tang Chen, they would inevitably be at a disadvantage.
They might have to rely on Lin Chuan and Bibi Dong to win back their pride.
Qian Daoliu was clearly thinking the same thing.
A smile appeared on his face.
"Speaking of which, that boy Lin Chuan is also my disciple's disciple."
"So I ought to give him some guidance, lest he lose his nerve in actual combat when the time comes."
"Doesn't he happen to have a Soul Bone Skill? I'll teach him how to use it."
Hearing this, Qian Xunji was a little pleased, but she also looked distinctly wary. She said:
"You'd better not have any other ideas."
As she saw it, her father, Qian Daoliu, was quite likely to fight her for Lin Chuan as a disciple.
After all, with angel Twin Martial Souls involved, her father was capable of anything.
Still, she was indeed far behind her father in swordsmanship, so she could only grit her teeth and take him back to the courtyard residence.
Along the way, she kept talking about Lin Chuan's many virtues, including his love of studying theory, the way he fetched her meals, and his love-hate relationship with Bibi Dong...
The more Qian Xunji talked, the prouder she became.
In her eyes, this disciple of hers was practically flawless.
And hearing all this only made Qian Daoliu more curious.
It would have been one thing if he were merely gifted in cultivation.
But from what Qian Xunji said, the boy Lin Chuan was clearly an all-around genius.
That made him even more interested.
On their way back to the courtyard residence, they happened to run into Bibi Dong.
Seeing the excited look on Bibi Dong's face, Qian Xunji couldn't help asking:
"What's the matter, Dong'er? Why are you so happy?"
Seeing her teacher and the Great Enshrined together, Bibi Dong's eyes lit up.
Excellent! Now she could finally clear her name.
She said slyly:
"Teacher, you have no idea."
"Junior brother ran straight to the kitchen to roast Whale Rubber as soon as he got back."
"He was obviously led astray by a girl outside."
"I bet it was Liu Erlong."
"Junior brother only just met Liu Erlong. He played the hero and saved the beauty, then came back and started roasting Whale Rubber. She must have influenced him."
"I said back then that we shouldn't let Liu Erlong come to Spirit Hall for an exchange."
"But you even scolded me."
Hearing this, Qian Xunji's eyes widened.
What did she mean, her disciple was roasting Whale Rubber?
Was Whale Rubber something a child could even touch?
Even for many adults, Whale Rubber was excessively nourishing.
Using Whale Rubber over a long period could very well harm the body, let alone the still-young Lin Chuan.
But one thing left her utterly puzzled: Lin Chuan was only six. What did he want with Whale Rubber at such a young age? Even if he used it, it wouldn't have any effect, would it?
Her mind was full of doubts.
She had just been boasting to her father about how proud her disciple Lin Chuan made her and how little she had to worry about him.
And now Lin Chuan had gone and done something big.
She didn't need to look to know what kind of expression her father, Qian Daoliu, would be wearing.
Qian Daoliu was also quite astonished.
He offered her some reassurance:
"A child this young probably doesn't know what Whale Rubber is really used for. Let's hurry over."
Qian Xunji promptly scooped Bibi Dong up, and the two adults raced back to the courtyard residence.
As soon as they entered, before the many guards and maids could even pay their respects,
the three of them arrived at the kitchen door.
They had barely looked inside.
Qian Xunji wanted to go straight into the kitchen, worried that something might happen to her disciple.
But Qian Daoliu stopped her. He had taken a careful look and noticed something.
He sent her a voice transmission:
"Look at that Whale Rubber. It's clearly different from ordinary Whale Rubber."
"That shows my good disciple's disciple has put some thought into this."
"If you go out there now, you might cause all his previous efforts to go to waste."
Watching Lin Chuan work on the Whale Rubber, Qian Daoliu could plainly see that he was almost finished. He couldn't help wondering what Lin Chuan was doing.
Qian Xunji had simply been thrown into a panic by her concern. She calmed down, completely failing to notice the way he had called Lin Chuan his good disciple's disciple.
Meanwhile, Bibi Dong was nearly frantic as she watched her teacher and the Great Enshrined stand there without going in.
She didn't know why her teacher wouldn't go in and give that bad junior brother a proper scolding.
Wouldn't it be all over if he ate that Whale Rubber in a moment?
A little while later,
only after Lin Chuan had heated the piece of Whale Rubber until it was amber-gold did he take out a warm jade plate and set it on top.
Only then did Qian Daoliu, Qian Xunji, and Bibi Dong show themselves.
Lin Chuan was a little surprised.
He hadn't expected even Qian Daoliu to come.
How could he have failed to notice Bibi Dong peeking at him earlier?
But he had let her be. Ideally, Bibi Dong would bring their teacher over.
The key was that seeing was believing with something like this.
If he deliberately told them about it, it wouldn't be as convincing as having them witness it with their own eyes.
After all, Whale Rubber itself had a poor reputation.
And Qian Daoliu's arrival was an unexpected bonus.
Bibi Dong was the first to jump out. Pointing at Lin Chuan, she said:
"Aha, bad junior brother! You've been caught red-handed. Your Whale Rubber roasting has been exposed!"
Lin Chuan ignored her outright.
Seeing that she was being ignored, Bibi Dong instantly bristled like a cat, itching to hiss at Lin Chuan.
As a mere tool, Haji Dong had fulfilled her mission once she brought the others here.
But Lin Chuan had a more important target in mind now: Qian Daoliu.
After all, although his teacher was the Pope, the person with the greatest authority in Spirit Hall was the Great Enshrined.
He looked at Qian Daoliu and asked curiously, "Teacher, which senior is this?"
Qian Xunji smiled and said, "This is our Spirit Hall's Great Enshrined. He's also my father."
Hearing his teacher's introduction, Lin Chuan respectfully bowed to Qian Daoliu again.
Lin Chuan said, "Greetings, Great Enshrined."
He breathed a sigh of relief inwardly. Good thing Qian Daoliu should still be the same Qian Daoliu. At least he hasn't turned into a woman.
Qian Daoliu waved a hand and asked with great curiosity:
"Chuan'er, I'm your teacher's father, so that makes you my good disciple's disciple."
"From now on, just call me Grandpa."
Hearing this, Lin Chuan sweetly called out, "Hello, Grandpa!"
A smile appeared on Qian Daoliu's face.
On the other side, Bibi Dong puffed out her cheeks when she saw how good Lin Chuan was at handling the situation.
"Great Enshrined, I want to call you Grandpa too."
Qian Daoliu replied, "Of course, of course!"
Only then did a smile appear on Bibi Dong's face.
Qian Xunji, meanwhile, was utterly speechless. As soon as he heard the words "good disciple's disciple,"
I've only just trained this disciple, and you, old man, are already here to pick the peaches. What do you mean by that?
Qian Daoliu wore a kindly expression.
"With your talent and intelligence, Chuan'er, you shouldn't be unaware of Whale Rubber's side effects."
"Since you're heating this Whale Rubber here, you must have a purpose of your own, right?"
Bibi Dong looked surprised as well.
When her junior brother had ignored her just now, she had thought his secret had been exposed and he didn't dare face her.
But now it seemed... Could this Whale Rubber really have some marvelous use?
Lin Chuan couldn't help marveling inwardly. Qian Daoliu really is worthy of being the Great Enshrined. He's so experienced that he saw through it at a glance.
He scratched his head and said:
"Yesterday, I received a gift box at the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. One of the gifts inside was very unusual."
"I only learned it was Whale Rubber after looking through some books."
"I was going to tell you, Teacher, but afterward, I compared Whale Rubber with other herbs used to heighten arousal and discovered that its stimulating effect might simply come from its impurities."
"Its most fundamental effect hasn't been brought out."
"I suspect its main effect is actually to improve physical conditioning."
"Because if physical conditioning doesn't improve, the body wouldn't be able to support Whale Rubber's arousal-enhancing effect either."
"So I couldn't help wondering: if the foul, fishy impurities in the Whale Rubber, the part that triggers stimulation, could be removed, couldn't the remaining essence be used to improve physical conditioning?"
"After looking into it, I chose fir wood to heat it and remove the impurities."
"That way, if it can be successfully verified, Spirit Hall will have gained another medicinal ingredient for body tempering."
"But without testing it, I didn't dare make any rash claims. I only wanted to try it first and then tell you, Teacher."
"I didn't expect senior sister to be discovered by senior sister."
After listening to all this, Bibi Dong's face flushed with embarrassment.
She had thought her bad junior brother had been led astray by a girl outside, but it turned out she was the fool.
Bad junior brother! You're doing something so important, and you didn't even discuss it with me!
On the other side, Qian Xunji couldn't help feeling impressed.
That's Chuan'er for you. He can pick out the tiniest details from the books he reads.
Even if the Whale Rubber refinement didn't succeed, she thoroughly approved of his initiative to learn.
Qian Daoliu also nodded.
He fully approved of Lin Chuan's actions.
But he also felt something was amiss.
"Your approach to refining the Whale Rubber was quite right."
"But you absolutely must not test the medicine on yourself."
"Chuan'er, you're still young. If anything goes wrong, it could be beyond remedy."
"In the future, seek help from adults with things like this. Don't let a moment's carelessness affect your future."
Lin Chuan nodded, taking the lesson to heart.
Indeed, he also felt he had been too rash.
After all, why take the risk when there was a safer way?
Lin Chuan said obediently, "Then sorry to trouble you and Grandmaster for your help, Teacher."
Seeing that Lin Chuan had quickly learned from the experience, Qian Daoliu smiled.
"Since my disciple's disciple has asked, let me try it."
Before anyone else could speak, the piece of Whale Rubber flew into Qian Daoliu's hand.
To everyone's astonishment, Qian Daoliu swallowed it in one gulp.
With his level ninety-nine cultivation, he instantly determined the effects of the Whale Rubber.
For low-level Soul Masters, Whale Rubber should be quite effective.
Moreover, the trace of fishiness that originally stirred a person's lust had been removed, leaving only the effect of improving physical constitution.
He couldn't help being surprised.
He looked at Lin Chuan, even more appreciation in his eyes, and said:
"Not bad. This Whale Rubber does indeed have a certain body-tempering effect."
"Even for me as I am now, it has an almost imperceptible effect."
Hearing this, Qian Xunji could not help but freeze.
If it worked even on her father, didn't that mean it would work on her too?
That was to say nothing of giving it to Dong'er and Chuan'er.
A brilliant light immediately shone in her eyes:
"If it can improve the physique, doesn't that mean it can also help with absorbing Soul Rings to some extent?"
"It seems Whale Rubber is far more useful than I imagined."
"Chuan'er, you've made an immense contribution!"
She immediately scooped Lin Chuan up and planted a heavy kiss on his cheek.