"These four are all disciples of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect. They've been consuming Whale Rubber for the past two years. Whether Whale Rubber is effective or not—you're about to see for yourselves!"
As he spoke, the auction host gestured toward the four disciples.
The four of them nodded and immediately took two steps forward. In an instant, their Martial Souls activated and possessed their bodies. Their soul ring configurations—yellow, yellow-purple, yellow-purple, and yellow-yellow-purple—were fully revealed before the crowd, with waves of soul power rippling outward.
"Please take note, everyone. These four come from different combat types—support-type, control-type, agility-type, and power-type Soul Masters. Each of them has consumed a significant amount of Thousand-Year Whale Rubber. Their first soul rings have reached as high as 680 years, and their second rings up to 1,300 years. As for the third rings, I think you can sense the intensity of their soul power for yourselves, so I won't elaborate further!"
"However," the host added with a smile, "I must remind everyone not to blindly pursue ten-thousand-year fourth rings just because you've consumed Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Rubber. If your mental resilience hasn't reached the necessary level, I suggest going no higher than a 9,000-year fourth ring."
The host offered this cheerful warning, but no one in the audience was listening anymore. All eyes were fixed intently on the two youths with thousand-year second rings, their minds in utter turmoil.
What the host said… was real. Whale Rubber could actually raise the year-limit for soul ring absorption!
As for whether the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect was lying—that thought barely flickered before being dismissed. If it had been just a rumor, they might have doubted it. But this was an official auction. The Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect had its reputation on the line—it would never risk lying.
"Since everyone now understands the value of Whale Rubber, we'll start the bidding for this Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Rubber at 10,000 gold soul coins. Each raise must be at least 1,000 gold soul coins…" the host announced with a smile.
"20,000 gold soul coins!"
"25,000 gold soul coins!"
"Stop fighting me! 30,000 gold soul coins!"
"…"
The furious bidding frenzy was simple to explain—because the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect had already swept up nearly all the Whale Rubber on the market. You might still find bits of the hundred- and thousand-year varieties, but the ten-thousand-year ones were completely gone. Miss this one, and who knew when the next would appear?
In the end, this particular piece of Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Rubber at the Heaven Dou City auction was won by Salas, Bishop of Spirit Hall, for 300,000 gold soul coins.
At the same time, the piece at the Star Luo City auction was claimed by the Star Luo royal family for 320,000 gold soul coins.
These two pieces of Whale Rubber were like sparks tossed into dry tinder—they instantly ignited a continent-wide wildfire of interest. Soul Master factions of all sizes went into a frenzy, rushing to collect Whale Rubber, research it, and even dispatched water-attribute Soul Masters to Vast Sea City, preparing to go to sea in search of whale-type soul beasts.
—
Spirit Hall, the Pope's Palace.
Bibi Dong stared at the Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Rubber in her hand, her expression full of shock. But it wasn't the effect of the Whale Rubber that surprised her—it was that Ning Fengzhi had chosen to proactively reveal its benefits.
"How clever, Ning Fengzhi. As time passed and the sect's Soul Masters began to show abnormalities, Whale Rubber's effects would've eventually been discovered. By choosing to reveal it early, he not only earns the goodwill of the entire Soul Master community—a massive benefit for any support-type sect—but he also protects his sect's most talented disciples. Otherwise, the abnormal age limits of their soul rings would surely attract unwanted attention from rival forces. This is a move that secures many advantages at once."
There was one major point Bibi Dong didn't mention aloud—namely, that almost all the Whale Rubber on the continent had already been bought up by the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect. For other forces, unless they went out to sea to hunt whale-type soul beasts, their only option would be to curry favor with the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect. This would allow the sect to maintain control over the resource.
"Then, Your Holiness, should we intensify our surveillance of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect? Or perhaps… arrange the assassination of some of their talented disciples?" Salas suggested.
"No need," Bibi Dong replied, massaging her brow as she spoke in a low voice. "Spirit Hall isn't so petty that it can't tolerate other sects' geniuses. Besides, I've only just assumed the position of Pope—I don't have firm control over Spirit Hall yet. It's not the time to provoke unnecessary enemies."
"Instead, send out orders across the continent to collect Whale Rubber. And dispatch water-attribute Soul Masters to hunt whale-type soul beasts at sea. Spirit Hall must not fall behind the other factions—we must take the lead!"
"As you command, Your Holiness!"
Salas accepted the order and quietly left Spirit Hall to make the necessary arrangements.
—
Notting City, Notting Elementary Soul Master Academy.
Yu Xiaogang stared at the copy of the Martial Soul Report in his hand, his face full of disbelief. He mumbled again and again:
"Impossible… My theory can't be wrong… This must be fake… The maximum limit for a first soul ring should be 432 years… A second ring reaching a thousand years? That's impossible…"
It took him quite a while to calm down. Then, regaining a sliver of composure, he looked back at the article.
"If Whale Rubber can improve physical condition… then maybe it can help me break through the bottleneck at rank thirty. I have to get some—if a thousand-year version isn't enough, I'll get ten-thousand-year! I can do it!"
As he spoke, he began packing his things. He was planning to find his old friend Flender. He knew this friend was greedy for money and often collected rare and valuable treasures—surely he'd have some Whale Rubber stored away.
—
Inside the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect.
Xuyang also stared at a copy of the Martial Soul Report, his heart filled with emotion. He knew that part of the reason Ning Fengzhi had chosen to expose Whale Rubber's effects was because of him. Otherwise, they could've delayed the revelation by a few more years.
Because Xuyang would soon be enrolling at the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy. He would inevitably have to use his Martial Soul during his time there—and once he did, his absurd soul ring configuration would be exposed. That would bring him under the scrutiny of various powerful forces, possibly even placing his life in danger.
But now, by proactively revealing Whale Rubber's effect, the attention he would've drawn to himself would instead be redirected toward the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect. In doing so, the sect was shielding him with its own reputation and power.
Moreover, Ning Fengzhi had chosen the perfect time to reveal the secret. Spirit Hall was currently in a period of internal power transition and had no capacity to interfere. As for the other forces, aside from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, Ning Fengzhi wasn't concerned about them at all.
And on the surface, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan was still their ally—so they couldn't act against the sect openly. As for underhanded tricks, the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect was more than capable of dealing with them.
"Sigh… This favor just keeps getting harder and harder to repay…"
With a quiet sigh, Xuyang closed his eyes and resumed his cultivation. Having obtained his second soul ring, and thanks to the deliberate efforts he'd made in refining his soul power, nearly one-third of the solar soul force in his body had already been converted—and the purity of his power had increased dramatically.
This stage would be his period of fastest improvement, and he didn't want to waste a second.
The sun-shaped Martial Soul appeared behind his head. He activated his second soul skill—and instantly, eight miniature suns split off from the main body. They continuously drew in the power of the sun, guiding it into his body for refinement, converting it into strands of pure soul power that tempered his body and nourished every cell.