Whale Rubber
No one needed to teach the basic meditation method. Once a person awakened their Martial Soul, they knew it instinctively.
From the moment each Soul Master awakened their Martial Soul, their Soul Power itself came with a rudimentary method of drawing it in. A Soul Master only had to calm their mind and focus their thoughts on their Martial Soul, and they could naturally draw the Soul Power in the air into their body. It was as though they were born with a beginner's manual.
The method was simply very inefficient. Without knowing how to concentrate, it was easy to get distracted, and absorption was slow. To achieve Deep Meditation, one needed a teacher's guidance.
Ning Buhui stayed in the tower all night.
It was rather different from what he had expected. In the novels he had read in his previous life, whenever the protagonist entered a treasure land to cultivate, they were invariably wracked with agonizing pain or had black sludge seeping from every pore. One way or another, the ordeal wasn't over until it had taken half their life.
But once he settled down on the first floor, he felt the mist-like Soul Power rushing toward him from every direction, each stream vying to be first. It was warm as he absorbed it, as though every limb and bone in his body had been soaked in turn. After a whole night, far from feeling uncomfortable, he had been so comfortable he nearly fell asleep.
When daylight began to brighten outside the tower, his consciousness naturally returned. He opened his eyes to find himself sitting on the bed in the quiet room again. His mind was clear, his body refreshed, and he had strength to spare from head to toe. Even his steps felt a little lighter. He rolled his shoulders and jumped in place a few times, gaining a sense of how efficient cultivation inside the tower was.
Although he had been born with level ten Innate Soul Power and could never break through to level eleven without absorbing his first Soul Ring, cultivation was not a waste of effort. His total Soul Power would continue to accumulate, waiting to burst forth in full once he absorbed his first Soul Ring.
There was no rushing his First Soul Ring; he needed to plan it carefully. With his current physique, he could absorb a Soul Ring of around five hundred years at most, but he was not satisfied with that.
Ning Buhui jumped off the bed and pushed open the window, letting the morning breeze pour in. People were already moving about by the training ground, and he could faintly hear the muffled sounds of fists and feet cutting through the air. He didn't know whether it was Yan or Xie Yue. He stretched his limbs by the window, thinking about the most important thing he needed to do at this stage: take Whale Rubber.
Yes, at this point in time, the Soul Masters of the Douluo Continent still didn't know about Whale Rubber's other use. They regarded it only as an aphrodisiac.
He planned to take a piece of Whale Rubber as old as possible to improve his physique before hunting for his first Soul Ring. Moreover, because of the special nature of his Martial Soul, he still needed to consult some records to determine exactly what kind of Soul Beast to hunt for it. His knowledge of the Soul Beasts of Douluo was limited to the novels he had read in his previous life and was far from comprehensive.
There was no need to hurry. A road had to be traveled one step at a time, and things had to be done one at a time.
He turned, picked up his outer robe and put it on, then touched the piece of jade hidden against his body before pushing the door open and going out.
The rules of the Pope's Hall were strict, but they seemed especially lenient toward him as a new disciple. The few deacons he encountered along the way merely lowered their heads and stepped aside; none asked any questions.
He made his way to the side hall where Bibi Dong usually handled official affairs and happened to meet the young deacon from that day coming out. The deacon started when he saw him, then said quietly, "His Holiness the Pope rose not long ago and is having tea. If you wish to see her, I'll go in and announce you first."
"Sorry for the trouble."
The deacon went inside and returned a moment later, motioning him in.
A very faint incense scented the side hall. He couldn't tell what flowers or wood it came from, only that its fragrance was clean and bitter, refreshing the senses. Bibi Dong sat behind a long desk by the window, holding a white porcelain cup, her gaze lowered to the documents on the desk. She didn't look up when she heard his footsteps.
"What did you come to see me about?" she asked.
Ning Buhui first bowed to Bibi Dong. Only after straightening did he speak. "Teacher, I'd like to ask you to help me find something."
Bibi Dong's hand paused. She raised her eyes. Her gaze was not heavy, yet it seemed almost tangible as it fell on his face. "What is it?"
"Whale Rubber. The older the better, preferably ten-thousand-year quality."
The hall fell silent for a moment. Outside the window, a bird fluttered past beneath the eaves, its shadow sweeping across the desk. Bibi Dong set down her cup and leaned back slightly, looking at him. "Do you know what Whale Rubber is used for?"
"I do," Ning Buhui said. "People along the coast use it as an aphrodisiac. It's rare inland, but when an apothecary has some, it's sold to men for that purpose too."
"Since you know, why do you still want it? I need a reasonable explanation." There was no telling from Bibi Dong's tone whether she was pleased or angry as she waited for his explanation.
Ning Buhui had already gone over his story on the way here. Now he spoke without haste, his tone as ordinary as could be:
"When I was little in Bluestone Town, no one looked after me. Once, when I was starving, I went into the mountains alone to look for food. I was small back then, and the wild grass on the mountain was taller than I was. I got lost as I walked, stepped into empty air, and fell into a cave. It looked like no one had lived there for a long time. There was a stone bed, a pile of ashes left from a fire, and a few scattered scrolls. I could already read then, and I remember one of the scrolls had a picture of Whale Rubber with some writing beside it."
He paused, as though recalling it or checking the details.
"It said Whale Rubber was originally an aphrodisiac, but it had another use. If it was used according to the method he wrote down, it could strengthen a Soul Master's physique and raise the maximum age of the Soul Ring they could absorb. I was too young to understand what it meant, so I just read it like a story and tossed it aside afterward. Later, after I got out of the cave, I tried to find it again, but I couldn't find the place no matter what. It was as if it had never existed."
Bibi Dong said nothing, waiting for him to continue.
After a pause, Ning Buhui went on, "I'd forgotten all about it until last night, when I was thinking about how old a Soul Ring I should absorb for my first one. Then it suddenly came back to me. Whether it works or not, we'll know once we try. Even if it fails, I'm still young, so the side effects I suffer won't be too serious. If it really works, the method will be very useful to Spirit Hall in the future too."
He deliberately softened his tone a little for that last sentence, sounding less than certain, yet showing some of the rashness and eagerness a boy his age ought to have.
Bibi Dong stared at him for several breaths, her gaze deep and unreadable, as though she meant to see through every twist and turn in his mind. Ning Buhui stood there openly, neither lowering his head nor looking away. He knew very well that his explanation was imperfect: a cave, a one-of-a-kind text, a strange tale-truth and falsehood were hard to distinguish.
But the more a story mixed truth with falsehood like this, the easier it was to believe. An overly perfect explanation would hardly sound like something a six-year-old could make up. Besides, his remark just now-"If it works, it'll be very useful to Spirit Hall in the future too"-had struck precisely at what Bibi Dong valued most.
Sure enough, after a moment's silence, Bibi Dong spoke. "Go back and wait. I'll order someone to find it as soon as possible in the next two days."
Ning Buhui hurriedly bowed and thanked her, not forgetting to remind her, "Teacher, ten-thousand-year quality would be best."
"I know," Bibi Dong said calmly. "Anything else?"
Ning Buhui thought for a moment before saying, "I'd like to read some books on Soul Beasts and theory and learn more about them. I'm very interested in those subjects."
Bibi Dong did not answer immediately, as though lost in a memory, or perhaps reminded of someone. After a while, she said, "The jade token I gave you is your credential. You can use it to enter and leave Spirit Hall's library. The books you need are inside."
Then, as though she no longer felt like talking, she waved a hand and said, "If there's nothing else, you may leave."
"Yes, Teacher." Ning Buhui wasted no more time. He bowed and left.
On the way back, Ning Buhui thought about Bibi Dong's expression just now. The only person who could make her look like that was that "Theory Grandmaster."
Ning Buhui had never had a good impression of this "Theory Grandmaster" when he read the books. Weren't the theories he had compiled common knowledge on the continent? Just because no one else had compiled them and he had done so, that didn't make them his own. Take the theory on the age limit for absorbing Soul Rings: with Whale Rubber, that theory would collapse on its own.
It seemed he couldn't tell Bibi Dong all his secrets in the future, either. And for the time being, he still needed to keep raising her favorability and become more important in her eyes. That way, he wouldn't end up being treated as a disposable pawn later on.
It all came down to his own lack of strength. Once the Whale Rubber arrived, he would absorb it as quickly as possible, then immediately hunt for his First Soul Ring.
For the next two days, he would first go to the library and read up on Soul Beasts.
His thoughts returned to the present, and Ning Buhui set off toward Spirit Hall's library.