Douluo Continent: Rebirth of Ma Hongjun, Phoenix of Ultimate Light

Chapter 33: Studying in the Library! Whale Glue!

After training in the evening, instead of letting Ma Hongjun and Oscar go for a medicinal bath as usual, Flander called the two of them over.

"Change into clean clothes and come out with me."

Oscar paused for a moment, then asked, "Where to?"

"The inner perimeter of the city."

Ma Hongjun's heart skipped a beat, but he didn't ask any further questions.

The two went back to their room and changed into clean clothes, but to be honest, they were just coarse cloth clothes that had been washed until they were faded.

Shrek Academy is now rich, but they haven't had time to buy new clothes yet.

Flander led the two out of the academy gates and along the country road toward Soto.

The setting sun hung over the western mountains, dyeing the entire sky orange-red. The evening breeze blew through the rice paddies along the roadside, creating waves of gold.

"Teacher, what are we going to do in the city?" Oscar couldn't help but ask.

"Let's go somewhere you've never been before," Flanders said without turning his head.

"Where?"

You'll know when you get there.

Oscar pursed his lips and didn't dare ask any more questions.

Ma Hongjun walked behind, his gaze sweeping over the fields by the roadside and the villages in the distance, and he had a general idea in his mind.

There is a library in Soto.

He knew this in his past life.

Upon entering Soto, Flanders did not head towards the bustling main street, but instead turned into a quiet alley.

The alley is narrow, with old houses with blue bricks and gray tiles on both sides, and the moss in the corners of the walls looks particularly deep in the twilight.

At the end of the alley, there is a vermilion wooden door.

A plaque hangs above the doorway, bearing four large characters—

"Ink Fragrance Pavilion".

Flanders pushed open the door and went inside.

Ma Hongjun and Oscar followed him through the door, where a bright and open space suddenly appeared before them.

It was a small hall, but it was very clean.

The room was surrounded by floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, neatly filled with all kinds of books, and the air was filled with the smell of paper and ink.

In the center of the hall were several long tables and chairs, and a few oil lamps burned quietly on the tables, their flames dancing on the pages of books.

An elderly man with white hair sat behind the counter, engrossed in reading a thick book.

Hearing footsteps, he looked up, glanced at Flander, and then at the two children behind him.

"Flanders? You've arrived?"

The old man's voice was hoarse, tinged with surprise.

"I've come to give my two disciples some extra lessons."

Flander took out three gold soul coins from his pocket and placed them on the counter.

"One month."

The old man didn't accept the money immediately, but instead glanced at Ma Hongjun and Oscar.

"These two children—"

"My students."

Flanders' tone carried a hint of pride.

The old man nodded and put the money into the drawer.

"Feel free to look around, ask if you don't understand."

After he finished speaking, he lowered his head again and continued reading the book in his hand.

Flander led the two to the bookshelf, randomly picked out a book, flipped through a few pages, and then turned to look at Ma Hongjun and Oscar.

"This is the largest public library in Soto City. It has more than 20,000 books, covering topics such as soul beasts, medicinal herbs, martial soul theory, continental history, geography and local customs—basically anything you can think of can be found here."

Oscar stared wide-eyed at the densely packed bookshelves around him, somewhat bewildered.

"Over 20,000 books—are we really going to read them all?"

"Who told you to finish reading it?"

Flanders glared at him.

"You should read with a purpose. Look for what you want to know. It's not about flipping through the book from beginning to end."

He took a few books from the bookshelf and placed them on the table.

"Your knowledge of spirit beasts is too lacking. Last time we went to the Star Dou Great Forest, Hong Jun, it was already quite good that you could recognize the Holy Light Sparrow, but it's far from enough. You need to know the types of spirit beasts, their habits, weaknesses, and the suitable age for their spirit rings—you need to be familiar with all of these."

He then pulled out a few more books.

"And knowledge of medicinal herbs. Your medicinal baths aren't something you can do for a lifetime. When your soul power increases, the formula for the medicinal baths will need to be changed, and you'll need to understand how to combine the herbs. We can't let Shao Xin do all the work alone."

Take out a few more books.

"Martial Soul theory, Soul Ring combinations, combat techniques—I need to learn all of these."

Flander pushed a stack of books in front of the two of them, then took a few more from the bookshelf next to him and placed them beside him.

"I'll explain it first, then you can look at it yourselves. Ask me if you don't understand."

Flanders explained it in great detail.

He started by explaining the classification of soul beasts—flying, beast, insect, plant, light, and dark types—discussing the characteristics of each type, the suitable types of soul masters, and the limits of soul ring age in detail.

Ma Hongjun listened very attentively.

Although he had read the original work in his previous life, the knowledge contained in the original work was not comprehensive.

Many details can only be found in these specialized books.

For example, the rarity of Light-type Soul Beasts is far more exaggerated than he imagined.

On the entire continent, there are no more than thirty known species of Light-type Soul Beasts, most of which live in remote, untouched mountains and forests, and are rarely encountered even once in a century.

Luck played a large part in his ability to obtain two Light-type Soul Rings in a row.

Flanders spoke for most of the hour, until his throat was dry.

"Alright, you can see for yourselves. I'll come pick you up in an hour."

He stood up, walked to the counter, and began to chat quietly with the white-haired old man.

Oscar lay on the table, flipping through the thick encyclopedia of soul beasts, looking at each page one by one.

"Hongjun, look at this—a hydra, a ten-thousand-year-old soul beast, living deep in the swamp, skilled in poison attacks—"

He kept muttering to himself as he looked at it.

"What would this taste like if it were made into a sausage?"

Ma Hongjun ignored him.

His gaze fell on the "Illustrated Guide to Rare Medicinal Herbs" in front of him, and he turned to a page.

The page depicted a piece of amber-colored solid, irregularly shaped and with a glossy surface.

The text next to it is densely packed with small print indicating the place of origin, collection method, and so-called "medicinal value".

Whale glue.

It originates from the bodies of deep-sea whale-like soul beasts; it's not too rare, but it's not common either.

Ma Hongjun stared at those few lines of text, his brows furrowing slightly.

The things written in the book were different from what he knew in his previous life.

This book says that whale glue is used as an aphrodisiac.

To put it simply, it's a tool used to enhance sexual pleasure.

Apart from that, it has no medicinal value.

The price is very low; you can buy a large piece for just a few gold soul coins.

Nobles and wealthy merchants would occasionally buy them for pleasure, but serious Soul Masters would never even glance at them.

This is the general understanding of whale glue among people on the mainland.

A cheap, low-class piece of trash that can only be used for obscene purposes.

But Ma Hongjun knew they were all wrong.

The true value of whale gelatin lies not in its aphrodisiac properties.

Its advantage lies in its ability to assist Soul Masters in improving their physique and increasing the upper limit of Soul Ring absorption!

This secret is known to almost no one on the mainland.

At least in this era, nobody knows.

Ma Hongjun tapped his fingers lightly on the pages of the book.

He'll need whale glue in the future.

The purification of the Evil Fire Phoenix requires a Light-type Soul Ring, but with the assistance of Whale Glue, the effect might be even better, as the physical body can be enhanced and the absorption period can be increased and improved.