Half a month later, at the Blazing Fire City Grand Soul Arena.
"You don't seem surprised at all that I'm still alive?"
Wang Qi sipped his tea, watching Lin Yan still sitting at his desk working.
"Nothing to be surprised about. I would have been surprised if you had died at the Mountain Fire Intermediate Soul Master Academy."
"This is high-quality whale gel collected over the past year as you instructed. Take a look."
The secret of how whale gel enhances a soul master's physical attributes, allowing them to absorb soul rings beyond their current age, is not something Lin Yan can keep, nor can the Grand Soul Arena and the five families behind it.
To gain benefits while protecting oneself, this secret needs to be shared, profiting from the information gap.
Lin Yan cannot buy whale gel on a large scale, but he can use the Grand Soul Arena's name to cooperate with auction houses and purchase high-age whale gel.
Wang Qi looked at the thirteen palm-sized wooden boxes that Lin Yan took out from his soul tool and examined them one by one.
There were eight pieces of millennium-old whale glue, two of which were extremely close to ten thousand years old, making them the finest of the fine.
Of the five ten-thousand-year-old whale glue pieces, four were less than twenty thousand years old. Wang Qi had thought the last piece would be at most thirty thousand years old, but Lin Yan gave him a big surprise.
Eighty-thousand-year-old whale glue—if he could digest and absorb it, his body's ability to withstand the lifespan of a soul ring would increase by at least five thousand years.
It was a good thing, but unfortunately, Wang Qi couldn't digest it yet.
"I really don't know whether to say you're lucky or unlucky. With the little money we have, we actually managed to get eighty-thousand-year-old whale glue."
Wang Qi played with the whale glue in his hand, storing the two pieces that were close to ten thousand years old, the three pieces that were close to twenty thousand years old, and the eighty-thousand-year-old whale glue into his soul tool.
After Lin Yan put the remaining pieces of whale glue into his soul tool, he put down his pen and looked into Wang Qi's eyes, saying,
"Wang Qi, are you sure whale glue can increase the lifespan of a soul ring?"
"Of course!"
A person's physical strength is related to the lifespan of a soul ring, but there's no absolute relationship. The true carrier of soul ring energy is the meridians.
Whale glue can strengthen the physical body while attaching a layer of energy to the surface of the meridians, thus increasing the lifespan of the soul ring during absorption.
The lifespan of a soul ring strengthened by consuming whale glue has an upper limit; it cannot be increased indefinitely.
However, Wang Qi didn't mention this. A complete theoretical system must follow a certain principle and be traceable; Wang Qi wouldn't create unnecessary trouble for himself.
After asking Lin Yan for a rest room, Wang Qi began preparing to consume the whale glue.
Consuming whale glue requires roasting it with a high-temperature flame to soften it. Then, by finely adjusting the temperature, impurities on the surface of the whale glue are removed, revealing its most essential properties.
Currently, the soul tool culture in Douluo Continent is declining, so roasting whale glue is best done by a fire-attribute soul master.
Inside the lounge, Wang Qi sat on the sofa, holding two pieces of brown, nearly ten-thousand-year-old whale glue in each hand. His soul imprint between his brows flickered slightly, and instantly, his hands were enveloped in flames.
The whale glue in his hands softened rapidly, its brown surface gradually turning pitch black, and a pungent, fishy stench filled the entire lounge.
As Wang Qi continuously released his soul power to maintain the high temperature of the flames, the brown outer layer gradually dissipated until it finally vanished completely, at which point a rich fragrance dispelled the stench.
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Holding the jelly-like whale gel in both hands, Wang Qi glanced at Lin Yan, who immediately understood and left the rest room.
He swallowed it in sequence, the rich, fragrant liquid swirling in his mouth like ABCD. At the same time, a warm current suddenly surged through his abdomen, flowing into his limbs and bones.
Wang Qi didn't continue sitting cross-legged; instead, he began practicing his boxing in the rest room. After completing a set of techniques, while the sweat was still on his
brow, he planted his feet firmly in a stance on the floor. His breathing became even and unified, Wang Qi's skin gradually reddened, and his body temperature began to rise. He maintained this state for an hour until he exhaled deeply, his pores opening wide, instantly enveloping him in a thin layer of moisture. With a
long, drawn-out breath, a sword of energy shot towards the nearby flowers. The petals fell, the leaves withered, and Wang Qi felt as refreshed as if he had drunk an ice-cold soda on a sweltering summer day.
"With my current physical condition and meridian strength, I can withstand at least a 2,300-year-old soul beast."
"It's damn frustrating. Without strength, I have to share the opportunity just to enjoy it myself. If I had a Limit Douluo elder protecting me, I could buy whale glue at rock-bottom prices and make hundreds of millions of gold soul coins; otherwise, I'd be doing justice to my transmigrator status."
"But it's alright this way. At least even if my fourth soul ring exceeds ten thousand years, I can still attribute the credit to the whale glue."
Wang Qi sighed inwardly. Revealing the effects of whale glue had its pros and cons; he couldn't just ignore an opportunity without using a cheat code.
With that, Wang Qi released his second spirit, the Alchemy Furnace, and placed it in his palm.
Originally, Wang Qi thought the Alchemy Furnace spirit would be fully repaired and usable after he reached level twenty.
But reality was different; he knew that what he lacked was acquiring his second spirit ring.
The difference between someone who hasn't acquired a Soul Ring at level 20 and someone who has acquired one is that one is a near-Great Soul Master, and the other is a Great Soul Master.
No matter how close a near-Great Soul Master gets to a Great Soul Master, they will never be one; they're always a little short.
"I hope your abilities won't disappoint me. I've been eyeing Yu Xiaogang's Golden Sacred Dragon bloodline for a long time."
"Brother, do you think Wang Qi is alright? I heard that many people died at the Mountain Fire Intermediate Soul Master Academy, and the academy's dean, Li Pingyuan, is still missing."
Huo Wu, who had just finished a Soul Battle match, sat on the rest platform, watching the match with a troubled expression.
"They should be fine. The main battlefield that day was at the crater, and the Mountain Fire Academy was built on the mountainside. With the Wang brothers' alertness and combat talent, they should have left as soon as they sensed the danger."
"I heard that the Mountain Fire Academy was destroyed by a 100,000-year-old soul beast, so classes will be suspended for quite some time."
"I also heard that at the foot of the mountain where the old Mountain Fire Academy campus was located, the academy teachers are preparing to process graduation applications, applications for advanced academies, and applications for the Royal Guard and Royal Knights for students whose soul power reaches level 20."
"Fire Dance, don't you remember the twin brothers with the Fire Crane Martial Soul that we met in Blazing Fire City two years ago? I saw them in Blazing Fire City yesterday. If they join Blazing Fire Academy, the next class... Fire Dance, what are you looking at?"
Huo Wushuang chattered on about the information he had obtained from the Huo Yun and Huo Yu brothers, and when he noticed that Huo Dance seemed to have seen something extraordinary, he immediately turned to look.
"Huo Wushuang, Huo Wu, long time no see!"
Wang Qi, dressed in a black casual robe, stood not far away and greeted the Huo siblings.
(End of Chapter)