Chapter 2: Whale Rubber!
"I was originally planning to return directly to Badong City and look for Village Chief Lei Li."
"But with a thousand gold soul coins in hand… my plans have changed."
Standing outside the gates of Suotuo City, Ao Luo lifted his head, eyes flickering with intent.
Buzz—!
The dense yellow mist above his head suddenly trembled, shrinking sharply, reduced by nearly one-tenth.
In exchange, faint wisps of the same yellow smoke seeped out from his body, drifting gently around him.
"...As expected, it works."
It felt as if he had taken a philanthropic drug potion—an indescribable sense of ease washed over him. His lips curved into a relaxed, confident smile as he strode toward the city gates.
No destination, no plan, no direction.
He simply wandered wherever his feet led him—turning left or right, heading east or west as whim decided.
Before long, Ao Luo stopped. He now stood in the heart of Suotuo City's bustling commercial district, where people crowded the streets and lanterns burned bright against the night.
Raising his eyes, he found himself before a lavish, towering building.
Seven Treasures Pavilion.
When he stepped out from the Seven Treasures Pavilion, the black card in his bundle contained nothing but a lonely single digit.
He had exchanged it for the heavy clink of gold soul coins.
Afterward, he casually picked out a cheap inn.
Once inside, after locking the door securely, Ao Luo unpacked his bundle onto the small wooden table.
Six faintly yellow blocks of solid resin, each of differing size, lay before him.
Whale Rubber.
"Before its body-strengthening properties were discovered, it really was dirt cheap."
"One thousand gold soul coins… and all I could get were these hundred-year ones."
Pushing open the inn's window, he glanced outside.
Across the street, a smithy stood lit even at this hour, its signboard painted with the image of a hammer, the forge still burning.
"A blacksmith shop, furnace fire. That's why I ended up choosing this inn."
Ao Luo's smile deepened.
Everything about tonight felt guided, almost as if fate itself had nudged his steps.
But he knew the truth—the reason was the thin tendrils of yellow mist drifting off his panel, leading him forward.
In the game, Luck's smoke had countless uses.
The two most basic were danger sense and guidance of luck.
What he was using now was the latter—guidance of luck. The cost in luck was steep, but it would last him a little over three days.
Without it, a six-year-old carrying a thousand gold soul coins, shopping openly for whale rubber? He would have been robbed or worse before the night was over.
And it wasn't impossible that Shrek's teachers were still secretly watching him.
Better safe than sorry.
Picking up one block of whale rubber, Ao Luo left the inn.
---
A short while later, he returned with the resin melted down.
Stripping off his clothes, he slipped into a cold water basin and swallowed the warm, viscous substance in one gulp.
It was slick on the tongue, faintly fishy.
Almost immediately, a gentle heat spread from his stomach to every corner of his body.
Time passed unnoticed.
By the time he climbed out of the basin, night had grown deep. His face glowed faintly red, his breath steady and strong.
Clenching his fist, he felt it clearly—the inborn weakness of his body had lessened. His frame had grown tougher, sturdier.
"It really works… five left."
On the table lay the remaining five blocks, two large, three small.
As for the supposed side effects of whale rubber, its "excess yang energy"…
He was only six. His body was far from mature. With a natural constitution of zero, his body was a bottomless pit, devouring every drop of energy without the slightest overflow. And with yellow-grade luck backing him, the so-called side effects didn't exist at all.
At least, that was how it felt.
Ao Luo's gaze lingered on the bundle atop the table.
"...Not bad. Shall I continue?"
---
Two days later, as dawn broke, a carriage rolled westward.
Ao Luo sat within, heading slowly toward Badong City.
Just outside lay Xiahe Village, the place he and Oscar had once drifted to and settled in for a time—before Flender discovered them there.
This time, however, Ao Luo's condition was worlds apart from before.
His complexion was paler and fairer, his frame taller by several centimeters. His body radiated vitality and strength.
Even compared to Oscar after obtaining his first hundred-year-old soul ring, Ao Luo's physique now stood superior.
Those six hundred-year whale rubber blocks… to him, they had melted like spring snow, absorbed without resistance.
Could it be that having zero innate constitution actually comes with a hidden trait—like enhanced absorption efficiency?
Ao Luo couldn't shake off the feeling that his body was never truly satisfied.
Unfortunately, he only had those one thousand gold soul coins.
He speculated that in his current state, if he were to return to Shrek, the dark haze of misfortune above his head might no longer be as pitch-black as before.
But he had no desire to go back.
During these two months, Flender must have been fuming. And as for Ao Luo himself—how could he possibly be as calm as he pretended to be?
Best to go their separate ways.
---
By dusk, a full day had passed.
The sun had not yet set, though the carriage still hadn't reached Badong City. Ao Luo disembarked early, for the familiar Xiahe village had already come into view.
After paying the fare, he was left with seven gold soul coins, six silver soul coins, and eighteen copper soul coins. The coachman then carried the other passengers onward.
Bathed in the golden glow of the setting sun, Ao Luo followed a familiar dirt path until he reached a courtyard. The wooden gate was wide open.
Inside, an old man sat by the wall, leaning on his cane, staring vacantly at the distant horizon.
Ao Luo stepped through the gate.
The elder blinked in surprise, tightened his grip on the cane, and stood up in disbelief.
"Xiao Luo? You… you've come back?"
"Grandpa Lei Li." Ao Luo smiled faintly as he stepped forward to support him. With rare honesty, he admitted, "I got expelled."
Lei Li, the village chief, froze for a moment, clearly unable to believe it.
"Expelled? But… you're innately full of soul power!"
After a long explanation, Lei Li reluctantly accepted the truth. Muttering in discontent, he dragged Ao Luo inside for dinner.
At the wooden table, the old man grumbled endlessly. He was furious that Ao Luo had been expelled, and even angrier that Shrek Academy would let a child travel such a long distance home alone.
"Leaving isn't a bad thing. Oscar wrote before, saying that the place isn't rich at all."
"It's just a village—sometimes they don't even have enough to eat! He has to rely on his own martial soul just to fill his stomach."
"Hmph, I say it's not even as good as an ordinary junior soul master academy in the city."
"Anyway, it's early January now. Badong Academy starts mid-March. This year, none of the nearby villages has children awakening with soul power, so the work-study quota is still open. Rest for two months here, then head to Badong Academy in March."
"Your Uncle Dashan works as a chef at a restaurant in Badong City. He can also look after you a bit."
Lei Dashan was the village chief's youngest son, in his twenties.
Before going to Shrek, Ao Luo had lived in Lei Li's home for two years.
Two years ago, when Oscar was six and Ao Luo only four, Flender passed through Xiahe Village to awaken martial souls for the children. Discovering Oscar's innate full soul power, he immediately took him away.
As for Ao Luo, Lei Li had refused to let him leave with that stranger. He feared that if Ao Luo failed to awaken soul power two years later, Flender might simply abandon him.
From Lei Li's perspective, Flender didn't look like a trustworthy man.
And now? That suspicion seemed more than justified.
Badong Academy… not a bad option.
Ao Luo thought silently, absentmindedly scooping another bowl of rice.
The old chief, watching from the side, felt both pleased and emotional.
Having soul power truly made a difference.
Even at that shabby Shrek place where food was scarce, Ao Luo had still grown taller and sturdier. Now, his appetite had improved as well—three bowls of rice already!
The rice ladle in Lei Li's hand itched to scoop more.
That night, after dinner, Ao Luo lay on his bed, lost in thought.
At least for the foreseeable future, he had no plans to join any great faction.
Innately full of soul power, with a sausage martial soul…
That made him the perfect vassal material for powerful families. If he wasn't careful, he might even end up treated as nothing more than breeding stock.
His luck had also warned him to stay away. Every time he entertained the idea of joining Spirit Hall, the yellow mist above his head trembled violently.
Badong City was small, nowhere near as bustling as Suotuo City. The academy there wouldn't have any excessively strong teachers or noble clans lurking behind the scenes.
And even if there were family influences, in such a small city, Ao Luo was confident he could manage.
Besides, the weaker his surroundings, the easier it was for luck to tilt things in his favor.
The next morning, Ao Luo secretly left behind two gold soul coins for the old chief. Changing into the new clothes from his pack, he boarded a donkey cart toward Badong City.
By the time he finished breakfast with Lei Li, the faint threads of yellow smoke above his head had completely dissipated. His intuition told him—
The sooner he got to Badong Academy, the better.
—
End of Chapter