Complete Refinement

The next evening, Ning Buhui arrived at the side hall on time.

The hall doors were shut as usual, and not a soul could be seen outside the windows. Bibi Dong was already seated there. There were no files on the table, only a pot of hot tea and two cups. When Ning Buhui entered, she was pouring tea into a cup. Steam curled upward, softening some of the chill severity she wore during the day.

After paying his respects, he went straight to the open space from yesterday and sat down, taking the wrapped Whale Rubber from his robes. When he unwrapped it, he could still catch its faint, rich fragrance. After a night, the scent seemed deeper.

"Did you have any reaction after you went back last night?" Bibi Dong asked.

"My bones felt swollen, but it wasn't uncomfortable. I slept, and when I got up this morning, I felt like I had strength to spare," Ning Buhui said. "My appetite got bigger, though. I ate two extra bowls of rice at noon."

Bibi Dong gave a soft hum, as if she had expected it. She pushed the freshly poured tea toward him. "Have something hot to drink before you start."

Ning Buhui paused, then took the cup and drank in small sips. The tea was slightly bitter, with a clean, cool sweetness afterward, and it warmed him through. Without saying much, he set down the cup, clamped the Whale Rubber between thin pieces of iron, and held it over the Soul Power lamp to roast it again. Overnight, the Whale Rubber had turned hard as stone once more.

This time he was much more practiced than yesterday. He kept the heat steady and turned it evenly, and the dark gold seeped out faster than before. Once the whole piece had softened without falling apart, he summoned his Martial Soul in advance, then tore off a second piece, slightly larger than yesterday's. Since this was his second time and his body had already weathered one shock, he reckoned he could handle a little more.

The Whale Rubber went into his mouth, and heat rolled down his throat. With the Nine Hell Soul-Suppressing Pagoda floating above his head, he closed his eyes and meditated, sinking his Soul Power into his abdomen. With last night's experience behind him, he had already laid out its circulation route before the medicinal power took effect. As soon as the hot current rushed toward his limbs, his Soul Power caught it, like a herd of wild horses checked by their reins, and guided it bit by bit into the gaps between his bones.

The sensations were clearer than last night. He could tell which bone and which meridian the medicinal power passed through. His shoulder blades ached as though being stretched, tiny bubbles seemed to burst inside his knee joints, and waves of numbness spread through the soles of his feet. Beads of sweat streamed down his temples, but he couldn't quite call it pain. It was an ache, like the ache of growing taller, swelling outward from the deepest parts of him.

When he opened his eyes again, the lamplight in the hall had not changed. He let out a long breath and looked down at his hands. His palms were bright red, and his knuckles cracked when he clenched them, as if something in his sinews and bones had truly been fed its fill.

"That went more smoothly than last night," he said.

Bibi Dong hummed, then suddenly rose from behind the table and walked over to him. Before Ning Buhui could react, an icy fingertip had touched the back of his neck. His whole body stiffened, but he fought the urge to dodge.

Bibi Dong probed him with the lightest touch of Soul Power, withdrawing it as soon as it made contact, as though weighing him on a scale.

"Your sinews and bones have grown a little stronger." She returned to her seat behind the table. "At this rate, tomorrow's third dose should bring your present body to its limit. Any more would be a waste."

Ning Buhui acknowledged her and wrapped the Whale Rubber back up. He hesitated, then asked anyway, "Teacher, with my current physique, what age of Soul Ring would be suitable for me to absorb?"

Bibi Dong did not answer immediately. She picked up her cup and took a slow sip before raising her eyes. "How many years do you want?"

"The older, the better," Ning Buhui said.

"The limit of your current physique is a Soul Ring around a thousand years old," Bibi Dong said. "Once you've fully refined the Whale Rubber, you should be able to absorb one between 1,800 and 2,200 years old."

"In other words, around 2,000 years at most," Ning Buhui said.

"That also depends on the Soul Beast," Bibi Dong added. "If its attributes are too fierce and its temperament too savage, you might lose half your life before you finish absorbing the Soul Ring. If you truly want to make the most of that physique, between 1,800 and 2,000 years would be safest."

Ning Buhui said nothing, calculating rapidly. Two thousand years was about enough. It was already far, far higher than what other Soul Masters could manage. Before the appearance of Whale Rubber, no Soul Master had dared imagine absorbing a thousand-year Soul Ring as their first; even pushing themselves to the limit, they could only manage one around five or six hundred years old. The Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue truly lived up to its name, raising a Soul Master's upper limit by as much as 1,500 years. Of course, his result also included the strengthening his own Martial Soul had given his body, but there was no need to tell Bibi Dong about that in detail.

The stone weighing on his heart finally dropped, and it also confirmed something indirectly: this place was extremely similar to the world described in the book. With his thorough knowledge of the original, he would have plenty of room to maneuver in the future. Out loud, however, he said little more than, "After I finish taking it all tomorrow, I'll ask you to help me choose, Teacher. You're far more knowledgeable and experienced than I am; that's much better than my rummaging through books myself."

"Enough flattery." Bibi Dong put down her cup. "Don't be late tomorrow."

He left the side hall, and the night wind rushed against his face, its coolness giving him a jolt of vigor. The moon had climbed high into the sky, casting a pale light over the stone path like a thin layer of frost.

Back in the quiet room, Ning Buhui did not start cultivating immediately. He closed the door, sat cross-legged, and carefully reviewed the changes in his body after his two doses of Whale Rubber. From the density of his bones to the openness of his meridians and the flow of his Qi and blood, everything had improved by more than a little. The changes did not show on the surface and were not easily noticed, like quietly replacing a house's foundation with stone.

A Soul Master of the same rank might go down after one punch, but he could now take two more hits. Two hits sounded like little, but combined with cultivation inside the pagoda and his future Soul Ring skills, they would mean the difference between life and death.

The next day, he woke earlier than usual. Outside the window, a figure rose and fell on the training ground, moving with great speed. Ning Buhui pushed the window open and glanced out. It was Xie Yue. The boy was quiet and unobtrusive, but he trained fiercely. The pair of crescent-shaped Moon Blades in his hands whirled with a whistle of cold wind, as if they might whip up the curtains of Ning Buhui's quiet room.

Ning Buhui watched for a few moments, then closed the window and looked no longer. Everyone had their own path. What he needed to do now was take the third dose of Whale Rubber without mishap.

The day passed quickly. He leafed through several volumes on dual-attribute Soul Beasts in the library and carefully reread the entry on the Netherlight Butterfly. The illustration on that page was old, but the patterns on its wings and their light and dark markings were still clear. A line of small writing beside it read: "Usually dwells in shaded flower valleys; rests by day and emerges at night; lives in groups. Leaves luminous powder in flight; contact causes Soul Power to stagnate slightly." Ning Buhui committed those lines firmly to memory. He casually looked through some other entries, and only closed the book after confirming there was nothing more suitable.

After nightfall, Ning Buhui arrived at the side hall on time, as he had the previous two days.

For his third dose, he was even calmer than he had been for the first two. A little under half the Whale Rubber remained, a larger portion than either of the first two. After softening it with heat, he summoned his Martial Soul, then tipped his head back and swallowed it with scarcely a moment's hesitation. This time, the medicinal power was at its fiercest. It felt as though a thin, red-hot iron rod were sliding slowly down his throat into his stomach, then suddenly breaking apart and charging wildly through his limbs and bones.

Even with the Nine Hell Soul-Suppressing Pagoda balancing it, Ning Buhui was still in enough pain to clench his teeth. He did his best to steady his mind, drawing the power inward with his Soul Power, net after net. Veins stood out on his forehead. His body was only six years old, after all, and however much he could endure, the color drained badly from his face. Yet he stubbornly made no sound. Sweat ran down his cheeks from the top of his head and fell onto his shoulders, spreading into a small damp patch on his clothes.

Bibi Dong never made a sound. The hall was so quiet that only his heavy breathing remained.

By the time the medicinal effect was finally suppressed, Ning Buhui looked as if he had been hauled out of water. He slowly uncrossed his legs, braced his hands against the floor, and took several deep breaths. When he raised his head again, his eyes were full of light.

"It's done." His voice was hoarse. "The Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue has been completely refined."

Bibi Dong looked at him, a rare hint of faint approval in her eyes. "Good."

Ning Buhui stood up, seeming a little taller than before. He took a few unsteady steps, his legs still somewhat weak, then worked his joints and turned to bow to Bibi Dong.

"Thank you for making this possible, Teacher."

"It was your own hard work," Bibi Dong said. "Come here. I'll test your constitution after the strengthening."

Ning Buhui stepped forward, full of anticipation.

Bibi Dong extended a finger, fair and lustrous as jade, and pressed it to his forehead. She released her Soul Power and examined the condition of Ning Buhui's strengthened body. "It's much as I expected," she said. "Your limit is a little higher, at 2,300 years, but to be safe, it would be better to absorb one that's 2,000 years old."

Excitement showed on Ning Buhui's face as well. "I'll leave the decision entirely to you, Teacher."

A trace of a smile appeared on Bibi Dong's face too. Clearly, the discovery of Whale Rubber was also very important to her, and Spirit Hall would grow even stronger in the future.

"Go back and rest for two days first, and stabilize your foundation. When the time comes, I'll personally take you to hunt for your First Soul Ring."

"Thank you, Teacher." After thanking her, Ning Buhui turned and left.

When he came out of the side hall, his steps grew faster and faster until he was almost running. The wind swept past his ears, making his clothes snap and flutter. He stopped at a corner at the end of the corridor and raised his face to look at the astonishingly bright moon in the sky.

Six years old, Innate Full Soul Power, the Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue completely refined, his bones and blood made anew. With a foundation like that, plus the assistance of the Nine Hell Soul-Suppressing Pagoda, his future would be bright.

He composed himself and turned back toward his room. Although his foundation had been laid, he still needed to build on it with hard work; he could not slack off. Behind him, the moonlight shone bright and clear, like a white road stretching all the way from the heavens to his feet.