Seven Treasures Pavilion.
Following the maid up to the second floor, Fang Lin saw Ning Yuanzhi, dressed in flowing white robes.
"Young man, long time no see, you're still as dashing as ever," Ning Yuanzhi said with a beaming smile.
"I just came to see you last month..." Fang Lin thought to himself, but then directly stated his purpose.
"Manager Ning, I'd like to ask Seven Treasures Pavilion to help me acquire Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue, but I don't know the price."
"Young man, the Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue is priceless and hard to find. Acquiring it won't be easy..." Ning Tianze's smile faded slightly, and his tone became serious.
After seemingly pondering the difficulty, Ning Tianze continued speaking.
"I will have the branch in Vast Sea City do its best to handle it, but I can't guarantee that we'll get it. As for the price, I can't say for sure right now. If we acquire it from Sea Soul Beast, that's fine, but if it ends up at an auction, you know, the price depends entirely on the mood of those nobles."
"I can accept anything below 40,000 Gold Soul Coin." Fang Lin pondered for a moment before stating his bottom line.
"Forty thousand Gold Soul Coin?" Ning Tianze's voice jumped, and a smile appeared on his face. "Since you've said so, as long as the Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue appears, our shop will definitely get it for you."
Forty thousand Gold Soul Coin would be more than enough to snatch a piece of Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue from those nobles.
Ning Tianze felt a surge of curiosity. Just six months Fang Lin had been scraping together five thousand Gold Soul Coin Gold Soul Coin, but now he didn't even bat an eye at forty thousand.
"Thank you for your help, shopkeeper," Fang Lin said, bowing slightly.
"Don't worry, young brother. Among the two great empires, apart from the royal family, only our Seven Treasures Pavilion can accomplish this the fastest." Ning Yuanzhi was full of confidence, and this was no boast. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's wealth was unparalleled on the continent; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it was richer than a country.
Fang Lin nodded and then asked about the deposit, but Ning Yuanzhi waved his hand and refused.
"I'll waive the deposit this time, consider it making friends. May I ask your name, young man?"
Fang Lin of the Heaven Dou Academy.
In the Seven Treasures Pavilion, transactions are conducted without inquiring about the customer's name or background; Ning Yuanzhi did not know Fang Lin's name beforehand.
Fang Lin thought about it and realized it wasn't really a secret. There were only a few students at the Heaven Dou Grade in the Heaven Dou Academy, so if the other party really wanted to find out, they might not be unable to.
Having settled the matter of the Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue, Fang Lin for a moment and then revealed another purpose.
"Does your store have any low-aged Whale Rubber? We have both thousand-year-old and hundred-year-old varieties."
Based on my own experience absorbing Whale Rubber, it is best to absorb it in stages, with the older the Whale Rubber, the greater the burden on the body during refining.
At the Soul Elder level, a thousand years should be about right.
Whale Rubber that is a little over a thousand years old is relatively not that rare. Seven Treasures Pavilion happened to have some in stock, Fang Lin spent 1,400 Gold Soul Coin to buy one that was a little over a thousand years old and one that was six hundred years old.
Going to Begonia Studio might be cheaper, but Fang Lin currently carries over 40,000 Gold Soul Coin, and the savings would only be one of them.
After Fang Lin left, Ning Yuanzhi went up to the third floor.
Unlike the second floor, this place is decorated more luxuriously, and the lighting uses Soul Tool instead of luminous crystals. Various treasures and rare stones are displayed in counters, creating a dazzling array.
Ning Yuanzhi found the supervisor in charge of the third floor, a middle-aged man with gray hair.
" Shuihe, you know someone at the Heaven Dou Academy, right? Help me find out information about a student named Fang Lin. Be careful not to alert him."
The man, dressed in the same pale gold-trimmed white robe as Ning Yuanzhi, frowned slightly. "Is this person a guest of the Seven Treasures Pavilion? Investigating guest information is against the Seven Treasures Pavilion's rules."
Ning Yuanzhi smiled and shook his head, " Shuihe, you forgot, there's another rule above that: exceptions for talents we want to recruit with all our might. When I first met Fang Lin, Elder Chen, who was in charge, said he was only level 33. When I saw him again a month ago, he had already reached level 36. He advanced three levels to become Soul Elder in just over half a year. With that kind of cultivation speed, his Innate Soul Power is at least level 8. If we can recruit him into the sect and train him properly, it's not impossible for him to become a sect-protecting elder."
"The sect's guardian elder?" the man exclaimed in surprise.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect has two sect elders with the highest combat power, both at the Titled Douluo level, followed by the sect guardian elders, who are at least at the Soul Douluo level.
"Should we inform the sect about this?" A hint of seriousness flashed in Ning Shuihe's eyes.
"Let's assess his situation first. Most of the students at the Heaven Dou Academy are from noble families. If he's connected to the royal family, it's difficult for us to recruit him. But if he has an ordinary background, then we shouldn't miss the opportunity. We'll report him to the sect together then," Ning Yuanzhi suggested, offering a more prudent approach.
After leaving the Seven Treasures Pavilion.
A wide, bluestone-paved street stretched across the view, lined with shops on both sides. Nobles and Soul Master came and went, and jewel-encrusted carriages passed by from time to time.
It is bustling, but compared to the outer city, the absence of street vendors hawking their wares makes it less noisy and lively.
After passing through the inner city passage, Fang Lin arrived at the Brocade Workshop. He glanced around and saw only Dugu Yan standing at the counter, her slender white fingers twirling the ends of her green hair, looking utterly bored.
"What are you doing standing here? Let's go home after we're done shopping," Fang Lin said, offering a ride-sharing option.
"What's the rush?" Dugu Yan tossed her long hair behind her back, pouted towards the front, and smiled. " Lingling is changing inside. Don't you want to see the style I picked out for her?"
Directly in front was a beaded curtain, behind which was a veil, completely opaque, allowing only a vague sense of movement behind it.
"I've got nothing better to do," Fang Lin coughed, found a stool, and sat down casually.
Before long, the curtain was drawn back, and the beaded curtain rustled as it was lifted.
First, a pair of slender legs encased in white stockings appeared, the ankles almost blindingly white. Above the white stockings was a beige skirt, the overall look resembling an evening gown.
This gray and white color scheme, combined with Ye Lingling's cool and aloof temperament, makes her look ethereal.
Ye Lingling subconsciously lifted her leg to make sure her skirt wouldn't get in the way before stepping out.
"I feel a little uncomfortable." The blue-haired girl looked uneasy.
"Is there anything you're not used to?" Dugu Yan stepped forward, grabbed Ye Lingling's shoulders, and made her turn around in front of the mirror. "You look quite pretty. Don't believe me? Ask Fang Lin."
Ye Lingling's lips were pursed into a thin slit as Dugu Yan put her arm around her shoulder, and they stood side by side in front of Fang Lin.
" Dugu Yan is right."
Fang Lin, sitting on the small stool, nodded vigorously.
One is a glamorous older sister, the other a charming Lolita fashion enthusiast; both have their own unique appeal.
The clothing styles in this world are truly diverse, ranging from clean and neat attire like Chinese robes and fitted outfits to luxurious and elegant court dresses.
After leaving the Brocade Workshop, Dugu Yan selected several more outfits, each a different color, from the one Ye Lingling had just worn.
Ye Lingling waved her hand to decline, but Dugu Yan interrupted her with a pout, "Why keep so many Gold Soul Coin if you're not going to spend them? They won't cost much anyway."
The three of them returned to the Heaven Dou Academy.
Back in his dorm, Fang Lin took out the piece of Thousand-Year Whale Rubber and placed it on the table.
The palm-sized piece of amber, irregularly elliptical in shape, gleams with a beeswax-like oily luster under sunlight.
How should he give it to Ye Lingling...? Fang Lin was at a loss.