"Team coordination, training, and actual combat will all take up a lot of time. As you know, my Innate Soul Power level wasn't particularly high. Only by working tirelessly do I have a chance of reaching the same realm as you."
Fang Lin's tone was sincere, but it left Qin Ming unsure whether to laugh or cry. "Substitutes are there to deal with different opposing lineups, and to conserve our strength and mislead our opponents during the official tournament. If a substitute is stronger than a regular team member, there's no point in having substitutes."
"In other words, you can only become a substitute if you're much weaker than the regulars or fill a role they lack, such as Food System or Auxiliary System."
Qin Ming's tone turned regretful. "If you're unwilling to become a regular team member, I can only look for someone else."
Uh...
Fang Lin frowned deeply. Team training would inevitably take time away from cultivation.
But relying solely on the academy's regular Soul Hunting teams, obtaining a top-tier Soul Ring would be almost impossible.
Even Qin Ming, who had a Shrek background, had only a thousand-year-old ring for his fifth Soul Ring. A top-tier Limit Soul Ring, on the other hand, could basically save him the time it took to cultivate one level of Soul Power.
Seeing the indecision on Fang Lin's face, Qin Ming's lips curved into a faint smile. "You've trained your physical strength to this level at your age... to be honest, it's quite surprising. Plenty of low-level Soul Masters in the imperial army also temper their bodies and use medicinal baths to stimulate their physical potential, but there's almost no precedent for anyone matching a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Soul Master of the same level. That kind of progress beyond ordinary people, however, isn't a good thing."
Fang Lin's heart jumped, and he looked at Qin Ming in confusion.
"Whether you cultivate Soul Power or your body, there's a foundation. The foundation of Soul Power is your Martial Soul. Just as a high-quality Martial Soul can absorb powerful Soul Rings more easily, your physical foundation must be strong enough to withstand extreme tempering. Your Martial Soul is of ordinary quality, which means your physical foundation won't be too strong. The reason you're so strong and progressing so quickly now is that you're young and consuming your body's potential. But you can't go far that way, and it will also damage your foundation."
After saying that, Qin Ming smiled and added another remark.
"I have a way to help you repair the damage you've already suffered. Also, that technique you used in the competition to stimulate your body with Soul Power came from the Heaven Dou army, didn't it? That method also leaves hidden injuries in your body's meridians. Of course, I have a way to deal with that too, but unfortunately..."
Qin Ming deliberately heaved a long sigh and took a step as if to leave.
"Teacher Qin, wait."
Fang Lin raised his left arm toward Qin Ming, his expression solemn and serious. "Teacher Qin, as a student of Heaven Dou Academy, it would be my honor to represent the academy in battle in the future."
Qin Ming raised his eyebrows, a smile playing on his lips. "As a regular team member?"
"Of course." Fang Lin's expression was graver and more resolute than ever, but a moment later, his manner changed completely. He edged closer with a grin. "Teacher Qin, about repairing the damage..."
Qin Ming narrowed his eyes slightly, his mood greatly improved. "There's no hurry. We'll talk about it after you reach level thirty. I still need to ask the education committee for help. This requires a Soul Saint-level Healing System Soul Master to step in, so it really is a little tricky."
Fang Lin stopped in his tracks. So Qin Ming had written him a bad check to trick him into joining first.
People with squinty eyes really are born crafty!
As though sensing Fang Lin's reaction, Qin Ming turned his head and glanced at him. "Didn't you just say it was your honor to represent the academy? If you go back on your word now, I'll be angry."
Qin Ming's tone was mild, but it carried an invisible pressure.
"I won't, I won't." Fang Lin chuckled.
"By the way, Teacher Qin, that damage repair you mentioned-would it work on someone older? Say, a thirty-eight-year-old level twenty-nine Soul Grandmaster?"
"In theory, yes." Qin Ming's gaze sharpened slightly and lingered on Fang Lin's face for a moment. "But I can only secure one chance for you. If you want that Soul Saint to help a second time, perhaps the academy can secure another chance for you after you win the Soul Master Elite Competition."
The Soul Master Elite Tournament championship.
Fang Lin scratched his head. That would be much harder than getting his hands on an Immortal Herb.
After parting from Qin Ming, Fang Lin entered the mimicry cultivation room.
Candles burned along the walls, their light reflecting off the edges of the assorted weapons in streaks of gold.
Fang Lin lit the charcoal, set an iron pot over it, and took out a rosewood box. He removed the piece of Whale Gelatin as thick as the mouth of a bowl and tossed it into the pot, where it landed with a clang.
The charcoal spat sparks, and only after a full four hours did the once-hard, bright yellow rubber gradually soften into a pot of bright yellow liquid.
Once the heat had dissipated a little, Fang Lin lifted the pot and gulped it all down.
A familiar heat burst forth from his lower abdomen and first began surging downward. The skin all over Fang Lin's body grew hot and red. He hurriedly circulated his Soul Power, allowing the heat to vent along his meridians.
The heat penetrated his flesh, and a dense, fine aching swell spread over his entire body. It felt as though countless tiny currents were battering his flesh, tearing apart and reshaping every muscle fiber-first his arms, chest, and abdomen, then his waist, back, legs, and the flesh all over his body...
Along with the aching swell and tearing sensation came an intense, restless heat.
Fang Lin's face flushed crimson. He stripped off his clothes until only his underwear remained, exposing the clean, flowing lines of his muscles.
But the heat in his body still showed no sign of subsiding. Fang Lin breathed out a hot breath and sighed through gritted teeth. "I should've listened to my elders..."
As the night deepened, the candles on the walls burned down to their ends. A flame suddenly burst and landed squarely on an upright spear, heating its tip until it glowed red.
After half a night of burning heat, the redness finally faded from Fang Lin's face, replaced by a clear gaze and abundant vigor.
He rose and loosened his limbs, rotating his wrists and ankles in turn. His joints let out a series of crisp pops.
He summoned his long saber Martial Soul and casually practiced a few moves, feeling that his muscles were firm and solid and his whole body was incomparably light.
"In strength and explosive power alone, I'm thirty-five percent stronger than before. Thousand-Year Whale Rubber really is much more effective."
Fang Lin marveled. That was only what he could feel. In truth, the Whale Gelatin had improved his physique in every respect, including his unseen meridians.
"If I fought Yu Tianheng again now, I could probably crush him with strength using just my first Soul Skill. There'd be no need to use the secret technique again. Since it damages my meridians, I should use it as little as possible."
"Besides, my body's defense and recovery have improved too. If I had another piece, I might even be able to try splitting Yu Tianheng's first Soul Skill head-on."
The physical improvement from this piece of Thousand-Year Whale Rubber, translated into Fang Lin's combat strength, was almost equivalent to the boost from a Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Soul Master's Soul Skill. Combined with the strength and speed boost from his first Soul Skill, its effect was comparable to that of a Thousand-Year Soul Ring.
Fang Lin put on his clothes and walked out of the cultivation room, humming a tune.
"So far, I've eaten four pieces of Whale Gelatin. The first time, the hundred-year-old Whale Gelatin improved my physique by about thirty percent. The next piece only improved it by ten percent, and the nine-hundred-year-old piece improved it by another twenty percent. This one improved it by thirty-five percent, but my physical foundation was different each time, so I can't treat them all the same."
"The older the Whale Gelatin, the better its effect must be. But that also means younger pieces and pieces of similar age lose their effect. The best approach is to increase their age gradually, just like absorbing Soul Rings. After I break through to Soul Elder, I'll take another piece between five and six thousand years old, then one that's ten thousand years old, then twenty thousand, increasing the age like that."
"But that's assuming I have enough Gold Soul Coins."