After hitching a ride back to the academy in Dugu Yan's carriage, Fang Lin headed straight to the academic affairs office to cash out his wages for the companion study assignment. With five months of subsidies from the Imperial Fighting Team, the Soul Elder allowance from Spirit Hall, and his winnings from the Soul Fighting Arena, he had just enough: five thousand Gold Soul Coins.
When he received the golden-yellow piece of Whale Gelatin, Fang Lin could not help feeling rueful, as if he had emptied out his entire fortune.
On the second floor of the Seven Treasures Pavilion, Ning Yuanzhi showed no displeasure at Fang Lin's three-month delay. Before Fang Lin left, he even offered a helpful reminder.
"Little brother, the older the Whale Gelatin, the harder it is to melt. It's best to have a fire-attribute Soul Master burn it with flames."
As for fire attributes, apart from the Yang Spring at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Fang Lin knew only Qin Ming, but neither was a good choice.
Fang Lin stopped and turned around. "Shopkeeper Ye, might your shop have a fire-attribute Soul Master?"
Businesses in the Soul Master trade often had powerful Soul Masters holding down the fort, in addition to people skilled in management. Especially when dealing with high-level Soul Masters, relying solely on imperial guards to keep the peace would be far too much of a joke.
"We do, but..." A hint of difficulty appeared on Ning Yuanzhi's face. "I'm afraid it wouldn't be convenient for one to go with you."
Once melted, Whale Gelatin would only remain so for a quarter of an hour. He would not make it back in time to consume it, but if he took it now, the journey would be rather awkward.
Fang Lin immediately understood. "Shopkeeper Ye, I only need someone to melt it here in the shop. I've arranged lodging nearby."
"You really are in a hurry, little brother." Ning Yuanzhi smiled knowingly, took the Whale Gelatin, and went up to the third floor. Before long, he came back down carrying a copper basin covered with a cloth. A rich, warm fragrance lingered beneath it.
If Fang Lin carried that scent outside, every head would turn.
Fortunately, Shopkeeper Ning brought out a copper pot as well. Fang Lin carefully took the basin, poured the golden-yellow liquid into the pot, and put it into his ring. The space inside a Storage Soul Tool had no gravity and could not hold liquids, so liquid foods had to be kept in sealed containers.
"Many thanks, Shopkeeper Ning." Fang Lin gave Ning Yuanzhi a thumbs-up for his thoughtfulness.
After leaving the Seven Treasures Pavilion, Fang Lin headed straight for a nearby inn.
Prices in the inner city were noticeably higher than outside. Even the most ordinary room cost ten Gold Soul Coins.
He poured out the Whale Gelatin from the copper pot. Golden and transparent, it still gave off a warm scent that lingered within a meter of it.
"A night of endless pleasure isn't what I want. Hopefully there'll be some other surprise."
Fang Lin lifted it and swallowed it in small mouthfuls. Its fishy smell was stronger than before, and the instant it reached his stomach, a warm current surged forth. Rolling heat flowed along the pathways of his body to his limbs and bones.
Fang Lin closed his eyes and focused on circulating his Soul Power. The warmth abruptly turned scorching, and a familiar heat burst forth three inches below his navel. As before, his skin reddened and his breathing grew heavy.
"This time it's a little different..." Fang Lin let out a muffled groan.
He opened his eyes and saw sweat constantly seeping from the pores around his lower abdomen. It had a faint yellowish-brown tint, and the clothes over his chest had been stained dark.
"Could I have overdone the tonic?"
Fang Lin was startled. Besides strengthening the body, Whale Gelatin also had a heating, aphrodisiac effect. He was not worried that the hardware could not take it; he was only afraid the software could not keep up.
As the strange phenomenon spread from his lower abdomen across his whole body, Fang Lin instead felt reassured.
As long as it wasn't targeting that one spot.
Fang Lin held his mind steady and let the heat wash over his bones and meridians until a sensation of something shattering with a crash came over him. The strange signs on his body gradually vanished, and the scorching heat in his meridians slowly cooled.
Fang Lin opened his eyes and immediately sensed the change in his body. "My Soul Power actually went up a level?"
Fang Lin was certain that Whale Gelatin did not increase Soul Power. When he had taken it before, his Soul Power had not risen in the slightest. He had cultivated for three months at Xue Beng's princely residence, and although he had been only a short distance from level thirty-five, it was certainly not a barrier he could have broken through with a few hours of meditation.
"This is a bit like what happened when Tang San unblocked his meridians..."
Fang Lin had first heard about meridians from his father, Fang Yuanqiao.
The body was easy to train; the meridians were hard to shape.
In a Soul Master's life, apart from growth and development, only an increase in Soul Power Level would improve the toughness and width of the meridians, allowing them to carry more powerful Soul Power.
The previous few times Fang Lin had taken Whale Gelatin, he had only felt his meridians grow tougher and sturdier. This time, however, he felt as though they had been unblocked...
Fang Lin manifested his Martial Soul. The first Soul Ring beneath his feet lit up, and a dark, shadowy light rapidly spread from the blade to cover his entire body.
"My Soul Power circulation efficiency has increased by more than ten percent. That affects more than just the release of Soul Skills; meditation and Soul Power cultivation should improve too... Not bad, those Gold Soul Coins weren't wasted."
Fang Lin dispersed his Soul Power and grinned. The original book had said that unblocking the meridians brought enormous benefits. It seemed the foremost was cultivation efficiency.
The only pity was that as his basic physique grew stronger, the boost from Whale Gelatin was shrinking. Fang Lin felt that this five-thousand-year-old piece had improved his physique by less than twenty percent.
When Fang Lin first heard Dugu Yan mention the Dugu Clan's ancestral grounds, he had imagined something like the Clear Sky Sect or the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon: encircled by mountains, with valleys and peaks crisscrossing the landscape. Only that would befit the power of a Titled Douluo.
Or perhaps, like the Nine Heart Begonia, they lived within Heaven Dou City.
No matter how he had imagined it, he would never have expected the village before him, enclosed by bluestone walls, with green vines covering the low walls and farmland and streams around it.
"There's nothing strange about it. The Dugu Clan's Soul Master bloodline has dwindled, and most of those who survived are ordinary people. They make a living by farming or growing medicinal herbs, and over time they settled together in a village around here." Dugu Yan offered an explanation. "My grandfather rarely comes back either, except when there are children of the right age in the clan who awaken Soul Power."
"Then this village should be called Douluo Village." Fang Lin grinned.
"What Douluo Village? That sounds awful." Dugu Yan frowned in displeasure. "What you're seeing now is the outskirts of the ancestral grounds. The people living here are all ordinary people without Soul Power. The real ancestral grounds are in the valley ahead."
"I see." Understanding dawned on Fang Lin.
As they passed through the village, they encountered a few scattered people, some carrying medicinal herb hoes and others with bamboo baskets on their backs. Most glanced at Fang Lin and Dugu Yan from a distance before stepping aside.
At the far end was a valley. Inside, the low houses gave way to buildings arranged in an orderly, varied pattern. Mountain walls enclosed the valley on all sides, and buildings had also been hewn from stone along the slopes, but there were even fewer people about.
When Dugu Yan said the bloodline had dwindled, she didn't mean it was just her and Dugu Bo, did she...?
While Fang Lin was privately wondering, the two walked on for a while and finally spotted Dugu Bo beneath a tree at the far end.
Behind him stood a black courtyard wall two zhang high. Two heavy black stone gates were tightly shut, with snake heads carved in relief on them.
As soon as they met, Dugu Bo's Soul Power passed over Fang Lin, and his expression grew somewhat meaningful.
"Boy, you're cultivating pretty fast, aren't you? It seems those two herbs benefited you even more than I imagined. If I'm not mistaken, you came looking for me this time because you've set your sights on this old man's herb garden again, haven't you?"
Back at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Dugu Bo had already suspected that Fang Lin knew the effects of other herbs, but Fang Lin had said nothing right up until he left, causing Dugu Bo to dismiss the suspicion.
Now that Fang Lin had come looking for him of his own accord, Dugu Bo naturally thought of one possibility.