Chapter 4: The Effects of Whale Glue, The Hall of Worship
Behind the The Pope's Palace.
Two adjacent, luxurious palaces stood quietly, shimmering with a warm luster under the afternoon sun.
"Xiao Mo, Dong'er, these two palaces will be your residences from now on." Qian Xunji stood with his hands behind his back, his tone gentle.
At this moment, he lacked the intimidating majesty of the Pope and instead resembled a kind Elder.
"Your teacher will take you to hunt for Soul Rings tomorrow. Familiarize yourselves with the environment today. If you need anything, just tell the maids."
Bibi Dong replied, "Yes, Teacher."
Beside her, Su Mo fell into silence.
Speaking of hunting for Soul Rings, he suddenly remembered Whale Glue—a special substance produced in the brains of whale-type Soul Beasts, a potent tonic of extreme Yang energy.
In this era, this substance was used by nobles in the bedroom and regarded as an aphrodisiac; no one knew its true value.
But Su Mo knew that if Whale Glue was consumed after being softened by high heat, it could strengthen a Soul Master's constitution, allowing them to withstand higher-aged Soul Rings during absorption.
Although the degree of improvement was limited and making the first Soul Ring break through to the thousand-year level remained difficult, reaching the thousand-year level for the second Soul Ring should not be hard.
For him and Bibi Dong, who were about to obtain their first Soul Rings, this could be considered a decent stroke of luck.
The problem was... how to tell his teacher, Qian Xunji?
Su Mo thought rapidly.
He was currently only a six-year-old child; if he directly stated the true effects of Whale Glue, it would be far too abnormal.
He needed a reasonable excuse...
"Teacher." Su Mo suddenly looked up.
"What is it?" Qian Xunji looked down at him.
"Teacher mentioned hunting Soul Rings just now, and I suddenly remembered something. A few years ago, while cleaning the library at the orphanage, I found a yellowed old piece of paper in a corner.
It mentioned a method that claimed to increase the age limit of Soul Rings one can absorb."
"Oh?" Qian Xunji's brow twitched slightly. "What method?"
"It wrote about a substance, I think it's called... Whale Glue. After heating it at high temperatures, one should consume and refine it."
Qian Xunji was stunned upon hearing this.
Whale Glue?
He certainly knew what that was.
But he had never heard that the substance had such a use.
"Is that paper still around?" Qian Xunji asked.
Su Mo shook his head. "It's been too long, I don't know where I put it."
Qian Xunji looked at Su Mo's clear eyes and lowered his gaze in thought.
If an adult had said this, he would certainly have questioned them thoroughly.
But Su Mo was just a child who had just turned six.
It was perfectly normal for a six-year-old to find an old paper in some nook or cranny and forget where it was placed after a few years.
"Very well." Qian Xunji nodded, not pressing further.
"Teacher, is what was written on it true?"
"Teacher doesn't know if it's true or false either," Qian Xunji said slowly. "However, since you brought it up, Xiao Mo, your teacher can find someone to test it."
As the Pope, verifying something was an easy task.
The one thing Spirit Hall did not lack was Soul Masters. Finding a few volunteers to try it was not difficult at all.
If Whale Glue truly had such a miraculous effect, it would be a massive opportunity for the entire Spirit Hall.
Being able to increase the age limit of absorbed Soul Rings meant that for the same level of talent, one could stand at a higher starting point.
Accumulated over generations, the strength of Spirit Hall would surely undergo a qualitative leap.
Qian Xunji thought no more of it and took out two thin booklets from his spirit tool, handing them to Su Mo and Bibi Dong.
"These are high-level meditation cultivation methods of Spirit Hall. Although you haven't absorbed Soul Rings yet, the Soul Power you cultivate can be stored in your bodies and won't go to waste. Go back and cultivate first; the matter of hunting Soul Rings will be delayed by a few days."
"Yes, Teacher."
Su Mo and Bibi Dong took the high-level meditation methods.
"Go on, familiarize yourselves with your residences first." Qian Xunji waved his hand.
Su Mo turned and walked toward his palace.
Bibi Dong had been standing quietly by his side; seeing him turn, she naturally followed him.
The unfamiliar environment and people made Bibi Dong, who had just left the orphanage, instinctively feel uneasy. Her only familiar companion was Su Mo.
Qian Xunji stood in place, watching the backs of the two children as they left side by side.
A moment later, he retracted his smile and turned to walk toward the top of the Spirit Mountain.
He still had to report today's events to his father, Qian Daoliu.
...
Atop the Spirit Mountain, the Hall of Worship stood majestically.
This was an extremely grand building, shimmering with a holy radiance under the sun.
To enter the Hall of Worship and become a Worship Elder, one's Soul Power had to reach Rank 95 or above.
At this time, there were not many Worship Elders in the Hall of Worship: there were Qian Daoliu, Gold Crocodile, Azure Phoenix, and Lion.
As for the other famous Worship Elders from the original story, they were currently still serving as Elders in the Elder Palace, though they were close to reaching Rank 96.
Inside the great hall, directly at the front, a ten-meter-tall statue of a Six-winged Angel stood quietly.
When Qian Xunji stepped into the hall, he immediately saw Qian Daoliu kneeling before the statue of the Angel God.
With his back to the hall doors, he knelt on a prayer mat, motionless like a statue.
"Father."
Qian Xunji called out respectfully, then turned to the other Worships: "Uncles."
The Worships all nodded in acknowledgment.
"Xunji, instead of handling the affairs of the The Pope's Palace, what brings you to the Hall of Worship?" Qian Daoliu remained kneeling before the statue, not turning around.
Qian Xunji took a deep breath and said, "Father, today I went to the orphanage to inspect the Martial Soul Awakening ceremony and discovered two peerless geniuses."
"Oh?"
Qian Daoliu finally moved; he slowly stood up and turned around.
He was over a hundred years old, but he appeared no older than middle-aged, with a handsome face and a transcendent aura.
The other three Worships also stood up and approached Qian Xunji.
Spirit Hall was powerful and had a long history; the geniuses it awakened were not few, but those who could be personally called 'peerless geniuses' by the Pope were rare.
As the Pope, Qian Xunji naturally had extremely high standards.
That he would come to report so solemnly showed that those two geniuses were indeed extraordinary.
"Tell us about them." Qian Daoliu stood with his hands behind his back.
"The first child is a little girl named Bibi Dong. She awakened Twin Martial Souls, the Death Spider Emperor and the Soul Eating Spider Emperor, with Innate Full Soul Power!"
"What?"
The Worships almost cried out in surprise simultaneously.
Even in Qian Daoliu's usually calm eyes, a visible ripple appeared.
Twin Martial Souls were already rare, and combined with Innate Full Soul Power, she was simply a darling favored by heaven.
"Haha, Big Brother, the heavens truly bless Spirit Hall!" Golden Crocodile Douluo clapped his hands and laughed.
"Twin Martial Souls and Innate Full Soul Power, if this little girl is trained properly, Spirit Hall might have another Limit Douluo in the future!"
Qian Daoliu nodded in agreement. "And the second child? Could it be he also has Twin Martial Souls?"