Chapter 20: Consuming Whale Glue
On the way back to the academy, Tang San carried his bedding, silently following behind Yu Xiaogang. His steps were somewhat heavy, and his expression was vacant.
Clearly, he was still brooding over his defeat at the hands of Lin Yang.
Yu Xiaogang naturally sensed Tang San's thoughts, gave a light cough, and spoke.
"Do you know where your problem was today?"
Tang San's lips quivered a few times as he said with trepidation,
"I'm sorry, Teacher. I shouldn't have struck from behind."
"That's not what I'm talking about," Yu Xiaogang waved his hand, his tone calm.
"The biggest problem in this battle was that you didn't understand your opponent at all."
Tang San suddenly looked up: "Please guide me, Teacher."
Seeing Tang San's sincere attitude, Yu Xiaogang nodded; he was indeed a teachable student.
"Lin Yang is a year older than you and has cultivated for a year longer. It's normal for his physical fitness to be better than yours, not to mention he has one more Soul Ring than you."
"Furthermore, based on the situation, his Soul Power level is definitely above level fourteen. This... is the reason for your failure."
"Facing an enemy, you weren't prepared at all."
Yu Xiaogang analyzed the situation unhurriedly as he walked.
Tang San's eyes gradually brightened. So that was it; it wasn't that he was too weak, but that Lin Yang was bullying him with seniority.
Pah, how shameless!
Then Tang San couldn't help but ask: "Teacher, can the gap of just one Soul Ring really create such a large difference in strength?"
"Naturally," Yu Xiaogang nodded with absolute certainty.
"With every additional Soul Ring, a Soul Master not only gains a new Soul skills, but their physical fitness and total Soul Power also increase. Combined, their strength naturally moves up a level."
He looked at Tang San, a very strange smile appearing on his stiff face.
"So, Little San, you don't need to be discouraged at all. Right now, the only thing separating you from Lin Yang is a Soul Ring."
"Then when can I obtain a Soul Ring?"
"There's no time to lose. Tomorrow, I will take you to the Soul Hunting Forest. I will definitely find a powerful Soul Ring for you."
Thinking that the theoretical research he had persisted in for many years was finally being put to use, Yu Xiaogang's mood became visibly excited.
"Come to my room tonight. I'll give you a thorough explanation of your future development direction."
"Yes, Teacher."
...On the other side, after Lin Yang left the school, he easily found a house looking for a tenant.
Although the rent was a bit expensive, it offered good privacy and came with a small courtyard.
By the time he finished packing everything, it was getting late. Lin Yang switched to his Demon Blood Martial Soul and began his daily observations.
However, this time, he discovered that Tang Hao was no longer in Holy Soul Village.
Has he already reached Nuoding City?
Lin Yang checked the perspectives of his other informants and finally spotted Tang Hao in front of the cave hiding the Blue Silver Emperor.
He saw Tang Hao muttering something in front of the cave, then the man soared into the sky, flying toward Nuoding City at extreme speed.
He was clearly preparing to spy on Tang San.
As expected, that overbearing father just loves doing these shady, sneaky things.
The father and son really are cut from the same cloth!
A cold smile played on Lin Yang's lips.
The crow's speed definitely couldn't keep up with Tang Hao, so Lin Yang simply had it continue monitoring the cave.
As for losing track of him?
It was no exaggeration to say that as long as he dared to come to Nuoding City, Lin Yang guaranteed that his every move would be within his scope of surveillance.
Afterward, Lin Yang took a set of black robes from his storage ring, shrouded his figure, and silently left the room.
Walking down the street, the people around him were oblivious to his presence.
Blindfold could distort the five senses; in the eyes of others, Lin Yang was just a patch of thin air.
Lin Yang first went to a merchant guild and came out in less than half an hour.
Then he sequentially visited other clinics, pharmacies, and even took a turn around a certain Soul Hunting Group's base.
He stayed in each place for as little as a few minutes or as long as half an hour.
By the time he finished at the last location, Lin Yang's small treasury had decreased by three or four thousand gold coins, replaced by over twenty pieces of whale glue of various sizes.
Most of them were ten-year whale glue, which was of little use to Lin Yang now.
There were four pieces of hundred-year quality, and one piece suspected to be of thousand-year quality.
The reason he said'suspected' was that this piece of whale glue looked extremely mediocre—it was as thick as a finger, very irregular, and looked as if it had been gnawed on by something.
However, the merchant guild insisted on labeling it as thousand-year whale glue.
After some intense haggling, Lin Yang reluctantly purchased it for five hundred gold coins.
But after leaving the merchant guild, Lin Yang's heart was nearly leaping out of his chest, and the joy on his face couldn't be hidden at all.
Simply because this piece of whale glue wasn't thousand-year, but a rare ten-thousand-year whale glue.
He had truly picked up a bargain this time.
Returning to his small courtyard, Lin Yang impatiently took out the ten-thousand-year whale glue.
He then circulated his Breathing Technique, using Soul Power to slowly roast the whale glue.
Whale glue had a tough texture and couldn't be eaten directly; high temperatures had to be used to soften it.
His Soul Power possessed a scorching characteristic; using it to melt the whale glue was slow, but it was safe.
As time passed, the whale glue in Lin Yang's hand gradually began to soften, emitting a strange fragrance.
The fragrance was very rich, thick and lingering.
It enveloped Lin Yang; taking a single breath of it would make one's spirit excited and greatly increase sexual desire.
Lin Yang immediately increased his Soul Power.
The mediocre-looking lump of whale glue began to change color, shifting from its original dusty gray appearance to a strange dark gold.
"As expected, this is ten-thousand-year whale glue."
Lin Yang grinned; his luck today was truly good.
Once the whale glue had completely softened, Lin Yang didn't mind the heat and swallowed it in one gulp, then very practicedly sat in a bath barrel filled with cold water.
The moment he sat down, a scorching aura erupted from his abdomen, and rolling heat waves constantly flowed into his limbs and bones.
Lin Yang's body began to slowly turn red, and the chilly water around him gradually started to boil, sending up plumes of white steam.
An unbearable fire of desire rose from the depths of his heart. Lin Yang guarded his mind, striving to clear his head and enter a meditative state.
The effect of his long-term persistence in meditation played its role at this moment.
Even with external interference, Lin Yang still entered meditation at an extremely fast speed.
His originally somewhat distorted expression began to become peaceful and serene.
Only the constantly evaporating water vapor around him silently witnessed everything... By the time Lin Yang opened his eyes again, it was already bright daylight outside.
He clenched his fists, which produced a series of "crackling" sounds, and a sense of power welled up within him.
Truly worthy of being ten-thousand-year whale glue; just that small piece had improved his constitution by nearly thirty percent.
Now, with his constitution, increasing the limit for his second Soul Ring to three thousand years would probably not be a problem.
After briefly adapting to his body, Lin Yang stood up from the bath barrel, quickly tidied himself up, and then headed to the academy.
The things taught at school were no longer of any use to him, so Lin Yang went directly to the library to find books to read on his own.
On his way there, Lin Yang saw Yu Xiaogang taking Tang San away in a carriage.
Presumably, they were going to obtain a Soul Ring.
He only cast a distant glance and paid no further attention.