Chapter 38: Whale Rubber? I'm Still Young; I Can't Use That Kind of Stuff! | I Want to Verify the Token!
The plan to switch identities ultimately failed.
With just one sentence, "Please present your Soul Master handbook," the staff completely shut down Zhu Zhuqing's attempt to exploit a loophole.
The girl could only brush it off with a perfunctory "I lost it" before leaving the Grand Soul Arena.
"What are you planning to do next?"
Bai Lu asked while studying her martial soul and soul rings.
"Find a suitable place to cultivate."
Zhu Zhuqing strolled along the street, her gaze drifting between pedestrians and street vendors.
"That boring?"
Bai Lu chuckled. "It's rare to have some free time. Aren't you going to do something you enjoy to relax a little?"
"Aren't I already?"
Confusion filled Zhu Zhuqing's cool, composed face.
Isn't cultivating and becoming stronger itself something that brings both physical and mental satisfaction—a deep sense of achievement?
So this is the legendary top student who relaxes by solving a couple of extra problem sets?
Bai Lu clicked his tongue in amazement and directly instructed, "Take a stroll down the street. See if any of the shops sell whale rubber."
"Whale Rubber? What kind of good stuff is that?"
Zhu Zhuqing asked inwardly as she headed toward a nearby shop.
"It's definitely good stuff," Bai Lu replied bluntly. "An aphrodisiac."
"Oh, an aphrodisiac… hm?"
Zhu Zhuqing nodded, then suddenly froze mid-step. Her entire body tensed in alarm.
'I'm trying to cultivate and grow stronger, and you're telling me to buy an aphrodisiac?'
'Wait. Is that even reasonable?'
"Who cares whether it's reasonable? As long as it makes you stronger, isn't that enough?"
Bai Lu found her reaction strange.
"Who wants to get stronger like that!"
Zhu Zhuqing clenched her fists, the tips of her ears faintly flushing red.
She… she was still this young. How could she use something like that?
Not appropriate. Absolutely not appropriate!
"You're not that young. Really, you're not."
Bai Lu glanced at her figure and said seriously. "Now is fine. If you wait until you're older, then it truly wouldn't be appropriate."
"How is this appropriate at all!"
Zhu Zhuqing was mortified and furious. She could not help but ask, "You're a hundred-thousand-year-old tiger who already sacrificed himself and became a spirit body. Even if you're that desperate, there should be a limit, right? How can you think about that kind of thing every single day?"
"What kind of thing?"
"I just want you to use whale rubber to temper your body and lay the foundation for obtaining a high-level fourth soul ring."
Bai Lu felt deeply wronged.
Who understands this kind of suffering?
Trying to help someone grow stronger, only to be misunderstood!
"Whale Rubber… for body tempering?"
Zhu Zhuqing's eyes instantly cleared. "Oh. So it's for body tempering."
"What else would it be?"
Bai Lu folded his arms calmly. "Tell me, what kind of thing were you thinking about?"
"Body tempering… yes! Body tempering!"
Zhu Zhuqing nodded emphatically.
Since she was so eager to improve, of course, she intended to use whale rubber for body tempering.
Yes. That was definitely it!
"Oh? I believe you."
Bai Lu deliberately prolonged his tone, sounding amused. "Little kitty really does have a pure heart, focused only on becoming stronger."
"You...it's good that you know!"
Zhu Zhuqing forced her expression back into a cold mask.
She felt like Bai Lu was teasing her, but she had no proof.
Still, there was one thing she could not figure out.
"How do you even know whale rubber can be used for body tempering?"
She pondered it. Bai Lu was not a soul beast from the coastal regions.
"I happened to read it in an ancient text," Bai Lu said casually.
"Ancient text?"
She looked puzzled. "Aren't you a soul beast? You've read ancient texts?"
"Why are you making such a fuss? I wanted to transform into human form. Being studious is part of that. Is that not allowed?"
"Fine then!"
What else could Zhu Zhuqing say? Buy it.
Not only buy it, but buy the best. The strongest. The most potent!
However, things did not go as planned.
"Sorry, the highest-year whale rubber we currently have is only ten years."
The shop owner looked at the girl who had just walked in and immediately asked for thousand-year and ten-thousand-year whale rubber, thinking to himself:
'Are female Soul Masters these days so repressed at such a young age?'
'Most people use a ten-year one. Even a hundred-year one is rare.'
'You're starting straight with thousand-year and ten-thousand-year. Are you really not treating male Soul Masters' lives as lives?'
"Only ten years?"
Zhu Zhuqing frowned slightly and asked inwardly, "Will ten-year whale rubber even be useful?"
"Useful, sure… as an aphrodisiac."
Bai Lu was speechless. "Do you have no understanding of your own physique?"
"Multiple soul bones have modified your body. At the very least, you'll need a hundred-year or thousand-year whale rubber to see any effect."
Zhu Zhuqing directly asked the owner, "May I ask where I can purchase high-year whale rubber?"
"You can try the Seven Treasures Pavilion. They might have some."
The shop owner pointed down the street.
"But if you truly want high-year whale rubber, I suggest going to either a coastal city or a major city."
"Thank you."
Zhu Zhuqing expressed her gratitude and immediately headed toward the Seven Treasures Pavilion.
As the name implied, the Seven Treasures Pavilion was an industry under the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, with branches across many cities on the continent.
"Hello, how may I assist you?"
The shopkeeper, noticing her extraordinary bearing, took the initiative to greet her.
"Do you have high-year whale rubber?"
Zhu Zhuqing asked directly.
"Whale rubber? Of course."
The shopkeeper paused for a moment, then smiled.
"We have a ten-year and a hundred-year in store. I believe there is also one piece of a thousand-year whale rubber. Anything higher than that, unfortunately, we do not. Which would you like?"
Zhu Zhuqing thought for a moment. When it came to cultivation resources, more was always better.
"Hundred-year and thousand-year… I'll take all of it."
"All of it?"
A flicker of surprise appeared in the shopkeeper's eyes, but he quickly replied, "Please wait a moment, honored guest. I will immediately check the inventory and have it brought to you."
Soon, staff members carried over a large basket filled with whale rubber.
"Hello, the total comes to—"
"Charge the card."
Before he could finish, Zhu Zhuqing handed over the token Ning Rongrong had given her, along with a black card.
"Since you are a distinguished guest of the sect, we'll charge you ten thousand gold soul coins."
After verifying the token, the shopkeeper spoke respectfully.
"Alright."
Zhu Zhuqing stored all the whale rubber into her soul tool, retrieved the token and black card, and left.
She found a newly opened hotel with good soundproofing, preparing to begin refining the whale rubber.
That evening, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
"What?!"
"You're saying someone used Rongrong's token to buy a large amount of whale rubber?!"
Upon receiving the news, Ning Fengzhi could no longer remain seated.
As the sect master, striving to strengthen the sect and produce more talented offspring, he was naturally very familiar with whale rubber.
Now someone had bought so much of it. His precious daughter was so delicate. Could she even handle that?
"Sect Master, please rest assured. The one who purchased the whale rubber was not a man, but a woman."
The sect disciple quickly reassured him.
"Phew… good, it's a wom—wait! What did you say?!"
Ning Fengzhi suddenly felt the world collapse around him.
Whether it was his daughter having an unconventional orientation or sharing a man with another woman, both were completely unacceptable to Sect Master Ning.
"Outrageous! Didn't I tell you to protect the young miss properly?"
That night.
"What? The Sect Master is furious? Says we didn't protect the young miss well?"
A Soul Emperor stared blankly at the secret letter in his hand.
"But… isn't the young miss perfectly fine?"
Another Soul Emperor looked up in confusion at Ning Rongrong, who was happily bouncing along the night market while holding Xiao Wu's hand.
The two exchanged glances, their moods instantly plummeting.
This is bad.
Some bastard must have stabbed us in the back!
I want to verify the token!
End of Chapter