During the Douluo Second Era, soul master theory had become far more advanced. The maximum absorption age of a soul ring was no longer fixed; it now depended on physical strength and spiritual power.
Before the ten-thousand-year soul ring level, as long as one's body was strong enough, even a millennium soul ring could be absorbed as a first ring.
That's why, after learning the effects of whale rubber, Xu Yang began scrimping and saving, using his spare time to earn money to buy some. Since the story was still set in the Douluo First Era, the true value of whale rubber hadn't yet been discovered, so the price wasn't as sky-high as it would be in the Second Era—though a thousand-year-old whale rubber still cost over a thousand gold soul coins.
Even so, it wasn't cheap for him. High-quality whale rubber still cost dozens or even hundreds of gold soul coins.
The piece he managed to buy was weathered and of lower appearance quality. Because it didn't look good, other buyers overlooked it, allowing him to pick it up at a bargain. Still, it cost him 30 gold soul coins—and he even had to borrow 20 of those from the orphanage director.
He wasn't exactly sure of the specific age of the resin, but the seller claimed it was over a thousand years old.
Though uncertain, he still bought it—because he vaguely remembered that whale rubber could only be produced by whale-type soul beasts that were at least a thousand years old, so there was no such thing as a "young" or fake version.
Confirming that the whale rubber was still there, he closed the box, picked it up, and walked out of the dormitory.
At this moment, inside the orphanage—
"Fengzhi, that kid you just took in—he's got impure thoughts. I suspect he's a little pervert. Once we return to the sect, better keep the female disciples away from him."
"Uncle Jian, what makes you say that?"
Ning Fengzhi frowned, puzzled as he looked at Chenxin.
"I used my spiritual sense to scan the orphanage, to see if there were any spies from other factions. I happened to sense that boy fetching his belongings—it turned out to be two chunks of weathered whale rubber. For someone that young to be thinking about things like that… What kind of adult will he grow into?" Chenxin explained.
He truly hadn't meant to investigate Xu Yang specifically. As a Supreme Elder of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, any time he traveled, he was shadowed by scouts from rival factions. He merely wanted to detect and delay those scouts from realizing the sect had found a new prodigy.
But realizing how seriously Xu Yang valued whale rubber made him uncomfortable—he deeply detested those who were lecherous or took advantage of women. So he told Ning Fengzhi.
Sure enough, after hearing this, Ning Fengzhi's face darkened, and Madam Ning's face twisted in disgust. As a woman, she loathed such indecent types even more than men did.
Only Gu Rong remained expressionless. No one could guess what he was thinking.
"Fengzhi, you must discipline this child properly," Madam Ning said coldly.
"I understand. He's still young—maybe with guidance, we can straighten out his corrupted thoughts…"
Ning Fengzhi looked grim. The last thing he wanted was for the soul master world to whisper that his disciple was a delinquent who, at such a tender age, was already using whale rubber to play around with women. How humiliating would that be for the sect?
Just then, Xu Yang walked out holding a wooden box, a bag slung over his back.
As soon as he stepped out, he saw the sour expressions on Ning Fengzhi and Madam Ning's faces—and he was completely baffled.
Did they just eat something awful?
They were so happy a moment ago—how could their expressions change so quickly in just a few minutes?
In just a few seconds, a thousand possibilities flew through Xu Yang's mind. He even suspected the Spirit Hall might've taken sudden action—but never imagined it was because he had gone to retrieve the whale rubber, triggering a huge misunderstanding.
Ning Fengzhi and Madam Ning's eyes were locked onto the box in his arms. As Soul Saints, a mere wooden box couldn't block their spiritual sense—they only needed a glance to know what was inside.
"As expected, it's whale rubber!"
With the confirmation, all doubts in their hearts vanished.
"Xu Yang, what's in that box? Can you tell your teacher?" Ning Fengzhi asked, his tone stiff. The once affectionate "Yang'er" had now turned into the more distant "Xu Yang."
"Whale rubber" Xu Yang replied instinctively—only to see his teacher and teacher's wife glaring at him with burning fury. At that moment, realization dawned: they must have sensed the whale rubber earlier and completely misunderstood his intentions!
"Teacher, you're mistaken! I have another use for this whale rubber—it's not for… that kind of thing!"
But the more he tried to explain, the angrier they became. In their eyes, this only confirmed that Xu Yang knew exactly what the resin was usually used for—thus, he must have bought it for that very reason.
Especially Madam Ning—if Xu Yang weren't a genius, she would've slapped him into the dirt right there and then.
In their minds, whale rubber had only one purpose—and it wasn't something pure. Xu Yang's explanation just made it sound like he knew too much, making them believe he was definitely up to no good.
Seeing this, Xu Yang gave a helpless smile. He was clearly being misunderstood.
Then again, he could understand why—after all, thanks to soul power, children in the Douluo world matured quickly. Doing that kind of thing at a young age… wasn't entirely implausible.
No, he had to defend his pure and noble image.
"Teacher, Teacher's wife, you've definitely misunderstood!" Xu Yang quickly pulled out a notebook from his bag and handed it to Ning Fengzhi. "While studying medicinal theory, I learned that the aphrodisiac effect is just a side effect. The real purpose of whale rubber is to improve a soul master's physical strength and extend the maximum soul ring absorption age.
I originally planned to refine it after my martial soul awakens, using soul power to boost my physical condition.
If you don't believe me, you can watch me refine it and observe the results."
Ning Fengzhi, half skeptical, opened the notebook—and quickly found himself absorbed by its contents. The notes were detailed and logically explained, and the conclusions seemed very plausible.
"Thank goodness I actually studied medicine to figure out how best to use whale rubber!" Xu Yang thought with relief. The entire notebook focused purely on whale rubber—no distractions.
There weren't many pages, but enough—over a dozen—to show just how seriously Xu Yang had researched the material. The only drawback was the lack of real-world testing; all the conclusions were based on theoretical deduction from medicinal principles.
"…Alright. I'll believe you for now. Once we return to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, you'll refine the whale rubber and show us the results of this notebook firsthand."
Though the theories sounded solid, Ning Fengzhi wasn't fully convinced. Still, he felt a rush of excitement—if Xu Yang's research was correct, the sect's strength might reach unprecedented heights in the years to come.