Three years later!
Nuoding City, Li Family Pharmacy.
“Oh, isn’t this little Qi?
Back for some whale rubber again?” The middle-aged shopkeeper, who was in his forties, looked at the boy before him and smiled.
From his familiar tone, it was obvious that this wasn’t the first time the boy had come here.
Qi Dao smiled and replied, “That’s right.
A friend of mine needs it.”
The middle-aged shopkeeper teased him, “Don’t tell me your father needs it, so he sent you here to buy it?”
Everyone knew what whale rubber was used for.
Qi Dao was still a child and probably hadn’t even held a girl’s hand before.
There was no way he was taking it himself.
That meant it could only be for Qi Dao’s father.
“Shopkeeper, stop guessing.
I never said anything like that.”
“Just let me see the new whale rubber you got in.”
“All right!”
The shopkeeper agreed readily before taking three wooden boxes down from a row of shelves.
He opened them one by one, revealing three pieces of pale-yellow, amber-like whale rubber.
Although the uses of whale rubber had yet to be fully developed during the era of Douluo I, it was still something ordinary people couldn’t afford.
A piece of ordinary 100-year whale rubber could be worth dozens of gold soul coins.
Higher-quality 100-year whale glue could cost several hundred gold soul coins.
The shopkeeper introduced the products to Qi Dao.
“Of these three pieces, these two lighter-colored ones are around 300 years old.
They’re only 100 gold soul coins each.”
“This one is slightly darker and has reached 600 years.
If you want it, I’ll give it to you for 300 gold soul coins.”
Qi Dao’s gaze swept across the three pieces of whale rubber before he spoke.
“I’ll take all three.”
The shopkeeper’s eyes immediately lit up.
Selling three pieces of whale rubber in one go, now that was a big deal!
…
After leaving the shop, Qi Dao headed straight home.
His family owned a villa with a courtyard in Nuoding City.
When he returned home, his parents saw the three wooden boxes in his arms.
“You bought whale rubber again?”
“Yeah.
It cost just under 500 gold soul coins.”
His parents didn’t feel the slightest bit of pain at the price.
The Qi family’s financial situation was quite good now.
Especially three years ago, after Qi Dao had gotten 500 gold soul coins from Xiao Haijie, he had used the money to start a small business with Xiao Chenyu.
As everyone knew, when you had the right connections, you might not make a fortune doing business, but making some decent money wasn’t difficult.
And as luck would have it, Xiao Chenyu had a father who was the city lord!
With that foundation, their business wasn’t exactly booming, but it was steadily growing.
Because they had found a way to make money, Qi Dao could occasionally afford medicinal baths or buy a piece or two of whale rubber.
On top of that, Qi Dao’s father, Qi Mingyuan, had broken through to become a Soul Elder level two years ago.
After becoming a Soul Elder, he could collect a monthly subsidy of 100 gold soul coins from Spirit Hall.
That amounted to more than 1,000 gold soul coins a year, which was definitely a considerable sum.
“Five hundred is five hundred.
Money is a small matter. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
As long as it helps you, that’s what matters.”
Qi Mingyuan smiled without a care before turning to his wife.
“Wife, help Ah Dao roast the whale rubber until it melts.
I’ll practice with this kid for a while.”
Wang Rou replied gently, “All right.
You two can practice, but don’t ruin the flowers and plants I planted like last time.
Otherwise, you father and son can both wait to be punished.”
“That was so long ago.
Why are you still holding a grudge?”
“Hm?”
Wang Rou’s voice rose slightly.
Qi Mingyuan immediately waved his hands.
“All right, all right.
We’ll be careful.”
With that, he led Qi Dao into the spacious courtyard outside the villa.
Then he raised a hand, and a simple, ancient-looking iron sword appeared in his grasp.
“Come on.
Let me see whether your swordsmanship has improved during this time.”
Qi Dao slowly drew Wushuang and smiled.
“Just what I wanted.
I’ve been itching to practice lately.”
In truth, whether it was his understanding of the Sword Dao or his swordsmanship itself, Qi Dao had already far surpassed his father.
However, his father was still a Soul Elder.
Even without using soul power or soul skills, his powerful physical strength was enough to suppress Qi Dao in a fight.
Yet Qi Dao thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of competing with his father under that kind of pressure.
Especially when he managed to make his father struggle through pure swordsmanship, it could put him in a good mood for the entire day.
“Good boy.
Take this!”
Qi Mingyuan held his sword and slowly shifted his footing before suddenly attacking with a thrust.
Fast, accurate, and ruthless!
The iron sword tore through the air, creating an immense sense of pressure the moment it was unleashed.
This wasn’t pressure from swordsmanship.
It came from the overwhelming difference in strength and speed.
Hearing the sharp sound of the iron sword ripping through the air, Qi Dao swung his sword to block.
He turned his body and pressed his sword against the incoming blade, dispersing its force while simultaneously borrowing his father’s momentum to leap backward and widen the distance between them.
Seeing this, Qi Mingyuan smiled faintly and continued pressing forward.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
The sound of metal striking metal echoed throughout the courtyard.
The two figures exchanged blows, their blades repeatedly colliding as sparks flew in every direction.
Qi Dao relied mostly on his agile footwork to evade attacks, or used the opponent’s own strength against him to redirect the force.
Although he had never formally studied any particularly sophisticated techniques for generating force, actual combat was the best teacher.
After exchanging dozens of moves, a sharp glint flashed through Qi Dao’s eyes.
His wrist suddenly flicked.
In the next instant, his sword clearly hadn’t touched his father, yet an invisible sword qi shot from the blade and swept across his father’s arm with lightning speed.
Clang!
Their swords collided again.
Qi Dao staggered backward several steps before coming to a stop, a faint smile curling at the corner of his lips.
A slash had already torn through the sleeve covering his right arm.
He looked at Qi Dao in disbelief.
“What is that…?”
Qi Dao smiled.
“Sword qi!”
“I’m a sword soul master.
Isn’t it perfectly normal for me to be able to release sword qi?”
Qi Mingyuan’s mouth twitched.
If a sword soul master could release sword qi, could they still be called close-combat soul masters?
And since when had releasing sword qi been a skill every sword soul master knew?
If so, why couldn’t he do it?
Qi Mingyuan asked, “How did you learn to release sword qi?”
Qi Dao shook his head.
“I just kept practicing, and eventually I figured it out.”
Qi Mingyuan was speechless.
He knew it.
Asking had been pointless!
Over the years, he had already grown accustomed to being shocked by Qi Dao.
At that moment, Wang Rou’s voice came from inside the villa.
“Ah Dao, the whale rubber is ready to eat.”
“Got it!”
Qi Dao answered before looking at his father.
“I’ll go eat the whale rubber first.
We can continue afterward!”
With that, he walked into the villa.
Qi Mingyuan followed behind him.
Whale Rubber had a certain aphrodisiac effect, but the effect of a 100-year whale rubber wasn’t particularly strong.
Qi Dao only needed to visualize Wushuang while taking it, using the pain in his soul to suppress the restlessness it caused.
After Qi Dao finished consuming the whale rubber and began refining its medicinal effects, his parents discussed the matter between themselves.
“Ah Dao broke through to rank 10 a few days ago.
Let’s take him to the Soul Hunting Forest tomorrow to hunt for a soul ring.”
“That works.
Does Ah Dao have any requirements for his first soul ring?”
“I’m not sure.
But his requirements for the age of his first soul ring are quite high.
He wants it to be at least 500 years old.”
Wang Rou immediately changed her expression.
“500 years!”
“Isn’t that age a little too high?”
Even the second soul rings of the two of them hadn’t exceeded 500 years.
Qi Mingyuan glanced at Qi Dao, who was still refining the medicinal effects, and shook his head.
“Ah Dao is different from us.
We can’t force our own experience onto him.”
“He’s had a mind of his own since he was young.
Let’s trust him!”
“This isn’t the first miracle he’s created, after all!”
After all, he had never heard of a soul master with only half a rank of innate soul power breaking through to rank 10 in just three years.