Douluo Dalu: This Soul Master is to Weird

It is often said that wealth is just an external possession, and this saying holds some truth.

But for Blazing Fire Academy, gold soul coins are absolutely indispensable. Maintenance of the mimetic cultivation field, teachers' salaries, the wear and tear of the spirit battle training grounds—there isn't a soul master academy whose dean would complain about having too much funding for education.

Moreover, if Blazing Fire Academy holds a large amount of whale glue while other academies have little, using whale glue as a reward for outstanding students will undoubtedly attract more talented soul masters to enroll in Blazing Fire Academy, thereby enhancing the academy's overall strength.

Indeed, a dean who doesn't aspire to lead the strongest academy on the continent is not a good dean.

"This treasure is whale glue," Huo Lie revealed without further concealment.

"Whale glue?"

At these words, Yan Ruhuo, Chi Chengyan, and Yan Zhenming widened their eyes in disbelief.

All three were experienced and knowledgeable individuals, well aware of what whale glue was.

But wasn't whale glue merely an aphrodisiac? How could its value rival that of ordinary soul bones?

"At first, I didn't believe it either. You've all met my nephew Mu Yang. The boy always looks frail, so Xiyue and I decided to buy him some whale glue to nourish his body.

Unexpectedly, after taking it for about ten days, he told us his physical constitution had improved.

Skeptical, I had Wushuang and Xiao Wu try it for a few days, and the results were the same—their physical fitness improved significantly.

For high-level soul masters, the enhancement may not seem too noticeable, but for low-level soul masters, it's quite substantial.

Imagine if the outside world learned that whale glue could enable a soul master to attach a first soul ring with 500 or 600 years, a second soul ring with 1,000 years, a third soul ring with 3,000 to 4,000 years, or even a fourth soul ring with 8,000 to 9,000 years—how sought-after would it become among soul masters? And how much would its price soar?

Even without considering buying low and selling high for massive profits, keeping whale glue for the academy's use or as a reward for outstanding students would make Blazing Fire Academy the top choice for talented soul masters on the continent when selecting an academy."

When Huo Lie confirmed the effects of whale glue, even as the knowledgeable dean of Blazing Fire Academy, he was stunned.

For individuals, aside from lacking a soul bone skill, the benefits of whale glue were nearly comparable to ordinary soul bones.

As for the price of soul bones—well, anyone in the know would understand. Even the most useless hundred-year soul bone far surpassed whale glue in price.

Granted, most soul masters who are lucky enough to obtain a soul bone rarely sell it for money. But few soul masters would actually buy soul bones unless they were immensely wealthy and had an excess of gold soul coins.

"Brother Lie, whale glue can only be made from the bodies of whale-type sea soul beasts. Its market availability is scarce and highly favored by nobles. If we plan to purchase it on a large scale, we might not achieve significant results. Instead, why not adopt a two-pronged approach?"

After digesting the revelation of whale glue's effects on enhancing soul masters' physical fitness, Yan Ruhuo regained her composure and addressed Huo Lie.

"Ruhuo, are you suggesting that we send our academy's experts to the sea to hunt whale-type sea soul beasts?" Chi Chengyan asked, stroking his chin.

Before Yan Ruhuo could respond, Yan Zhenming shook his head. "That's unwise. Our academy consists of fire-element soul masters, and going to the sea to hunt would severely handicap our abilities. Moreover, sea soul beasts have the advantage of their natural habitat. A six-ring fire-element soul emperor would likely struggle against even a newly advanced ten-thousand-year sea soul beast.

Additionally, most whale-type sea soul beasts are notoriously difficult to deal with. Acting alone would not only be inefficient but also highly risky."

At this moment, a gleam of excitement flashed in Yan Ruhuo's eyes as she suggested, "I never said we should act alone. Let's collaborate with Sky water Academy! Water- and ice-element soul masters are far better suited for hunting in the sea than us fire-element soul masters.

Moreover, with Spirit Hall growing increasingly powerful in recent years, even the Clear Sky Sect has been forced into seclusion. I believe the continent will inevitably descend into chaos.

Xiyue, your nephew is a born full soul power genius with twin martial souls. He's destined to become one of the rare top-tier powerhouses on the continent. I say we annex Sky Water Academy!

If the two academies merge, and the continent truly falls into chaos, we would become a force to be reckoned with, deterring anyone from acting rashly. I even have a name in mind: Icefire Academy!"

Huo Lie and the others: "…"

What an appetite this woman has!

Huo Lie was nearly floored by Yan Ruhuo's bold idea.

His perspective was indeed too small!

Compared to Yan Ruhuo, as the academy's dean, his ambitions seemed laughably limited.

While he had only considered stockpiling whale glue or profiting from it, Yan Ruhuo was already envisioning the merger of two elemental academies.

Still, Huo Lie admitted he was tempted.

After all, a dean who doesn't dream of leading the strongest academy isn't a good dean.

"Ahem… Let's set aside the matter of this Icefire Academy for now and revisit it later.

As for whale glue, we'll take a dual approach. First, we'll discreetly purchase whale glue from the market. Second, we'll post bounties in coastal cities to acquire the bodies of whale-type sea soul beasts through hired sea soul masters.

The sea is dangerous, and any mishaps would be undesirable for all involved."

Clearing his throat, Huo Lie set the plan in motion.

Gold soul coins were external possessions; if gold soul coins could solve the problem, Huo Lie would not risk his academy's experts' lives.

After all, Blazing Fire Academy's objective was simply to obtain whale glue. The method of acquisition was irrelevant.

Moreover, as a fire-element soul master, Huo Lie admitted he harbored an innate fear of the sea.

This fear was justified by countless lessons from history, warning soul masters of the perilous nature of the vast ocean—especially for fire-element soul masters who lacked flight capabilities.

Take himself, an eight-ring soul Douluo. Against an ordinary land-based soul beast under 80,000 years, he could confidently emerge victorious alone.

But against a sea soul beast in the ocean, even a 50,000-year beast would be a questionable match for him.

This imbalance in strength, coupled with the oceanic advantage of sea soul beasts, explained why the many hundred-thousand-year sea soul beasts remained unchallenged by the continent's quasi-Title Douluo of rank 90.

Without the power of a rank-97 Title Douluo or higher, challenging a hundred-thousand-year sea soul beast would only amount to offering oneself as a sacrifice.