Facing the two Titled Douluo before him, Ning Fengzhi wanted to resist, but the moment he recalled their terrifying strength, that thought vanished in an instant. All he could do was place his hopes on his wife.
He turned his head, looking pitifully at Madam Ning and said with a hint of grievance, "Qinger~"
"Fengzhi, I want to help too... but aside from you as the Sect Master, there's no more suitable candidate in the entire Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Only if something seems wrong with your health can the sect collect large amounts of Whale Rubber without arousing suspicion. No one else is appropriate," Madam Ning said with a smile in her eyes.
Upon hearing this explanation, Ning Fengzhi's expression instantly collapsed. He understood the reasoning perfectly well: if news spread that his body was unwell, then others in the sect could use currying favor with him as an excuse to purchase Whale Rubber, allowing the true effects of the material to remain hidden from other forces for a time.
At that moment, Xu Yang had just finished absorbing the Whale Rubber. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Ning Fengzhi's gloomy face.
"Teacher, what's wrong with you?" Xu Yang asked in confusion.
"It's nothing! How do you feel now?"Upon hearing the question, Ning Fengzhi quickly regained his usual gentle and refined demeanor, asking curiously.
"I feel much stronger! My soul power has gone from level nine and a half to level ten—I can now absorb my first spirit ring!" Xu Yang clenched his fists and smiled, describing the changes after absorbing the Whale Rubber.
"Uncle Jian!"
Sword Douluo nodded slightly upon hearing this and slowly walked over to Xu Yang. He used his soul power and spiritual power to examine the state of his body.
Xu Yang immediately felt a warm current enter his body, circulate once within, and then withdraw.
"Fengzhi, Xu Yang's physical constitution and meridian strength have already reached the level of a Grand Soul Master. Absorbing a 700-year-old spirit ring won't be a problem," Dustheart said after withdrawing his hand and giving a rough assessment.
"Good!" Ning Fengzhi beamed with joy, then looked at Xu Yang and took out a ring from his storage ring, handing it over. "Yang'er, your discovery has the potential to elevate the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to new heights. This storage ring is your reward. I'll arrange for sect disciples to assist you in hunting for your spirit ring in Sunset Forest. Prepare well!"
"Thank you, Teacher!"
Xu Yang took the ring excitedly from Ning Fengzhi's hand. This wasn't the post-God Era when soul tools were widespread. At present, storage-type soul tools were few and far between. Most soul masters—even Soul Saints—might never own one.
Later, led by a maid, Xu Yang was taken to his new residence—located in the rear mountain area of the sect, right next to Ning Fengzhi's quarters. The room was nearly 200 square meters and furnished luxuriously, almost to the point of extravagance.
After dismissing the maid, Xu Yang entered the bathroom to clean up, washing away the impurities that had been expelled from his body during the absorption of Whale Rubber.
Once finished, he moved to the balcony, sat cross-legged on a cushion, activated his Sun Martial Soul, folded his hands, and began meditating. Unlike ordinary soul masters who simply cultivated soul power, he added an extra step: letting his soul power circulate once through his martial soul before guiding it into his dantian.
As time passed, his originally balanced soul power began to change, acquiring traits from the Sun Martial Soul—supremely yang and firm—along with a sensation of heat and a burning effect.
The new soul power felt purer to Xu Yang and slightly easier to control.
Even the connection between him and his Martial Soul seemed to deepen.
As for the burning sensation, he believed it was due to his soul power adapting to the Solar attribute. Once his body adjusted, the discomfort would fade.
"Just as I suspected—the attribute of one's soul power changes depending on the Martial Soul, and also varies based on the attributes of the absorbed spirit rings. Just like how Dugu Bo's soul power fully transformed into a poison attribute after prolonged use of poison-type soul skills and spirit rings."
The influence of Martial Souls on soul power attributes was something Xu Yang had understood not long after transmigrating. A soul master's internal soul power shouldn't contain too many different attributes. If it became too mixed, it would lack purity, making it harder to control.
In cases of conflicting attributes, the soul power could even clash internally, resulting in a fatal explosion.
Thus, top-tier sects always chose one or two specific attribute types when selecting spirit beasts. This ensured the purity of their soul power and guaranteed safety—clearly the optimal choice.
Xu Yang agreed with this perspective. It was knowledge accumulated over tens of thousands of years on the Douluo Continent—far more reliable than his own baseless theories, which lacked empirical support and were largely speculative.
So, unless he was absolutely confident, he preferred to follow the established Douluo system.
Otherwise, wouldn't he just become another Yu Xiaogang?!
Once the internal burning sensation became unbearable, Xu Yang ended his meditation and decided to head to the dining hall.
After asking a maid for directions, he quickly arrived.
The dining hall of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was massive—half the size of a football field—with many soul masters dining inside. Xu Yang walked to the food counter, and upon seeing the variety of dishes, could barely stop himself from drooling.
The sect operated on an à la carte system and had hired many of the continent's top chefs to serve its disciples.
As Ning Fengzhi's disciple, Xu Yang could order freely. Most of the dishes were even made with soul beast meat, which slightly boosted cultivation speed.
After picking several interesting dishes, Xu Yang found them more flavorful than the gourmet food of his past life.
After a satisfying meal, he inquired again and headed to the Scripture Pavilion to read.
Meanwhile, the entire Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect began aggressively purchasing Whale Rubber. Rumors quietly spread within the soul master world that Ning Fengzhi was unwell and urgently needed Whale Rubber for his health.
In less than a week, the news reached Emperor Xue Ye.
Deeply sympathetic to Ning Fengzhi's plight, Emperor Xue Ye even sent two pieces of high-quality ten-thousand-year Whale Rubber as a gift.
To him, Ning Fengzhi's poor health explained why the man—already in his forties—still had no children.
He never imagined that Ning Fengzhi simply wanted to maximize his strength during his prime and had no intention of having children just yet.
The news of Madam Ning's pregnancy hadn't been made public yet, but it would serve as a useful narrative later.
As for Xu Yang, his period of stable living finally came to an end—Ning Fengzhi had already arranged for people to hunt a spirit ring for him.