The Douluo Continent was rife with undercurrents.
All of it stemmed from Tang San's two published theories—and the public revelation of whale glue's strengthening effects.
Shrek Academy.
Yu Xiaogang sat alone, frowning deeply as he reread Tang San's two published theses.
Bitterness rose in his chest.
Both papers were rigorously detailed, complete with source citations. Anyone could verify the data by visiting the public library branches operated by the Spirit Hall.
In contrast, Yu Xiaogang's own theories—those that had earned him the title of Grandmaster—suddenly appeared clumsy and unrefined. Especially his theory on the "best soul ring age combination," which Tang San's paper openly critiqued. That theory, it turned out, merely recorded the highest soul ring years successfully absorbed by historical soul masters at various ranks.
That data was publicly accessible and clearly documented in Spirit Hall's archives.
Now, the community mocked him.
They said he'd never researched anything himself—that all he'd done was list maximum recorded absorption limits without considering individual factors like physique, martial soul compatibility, or attribute alignment.
Though he had at least considered physical fitness in his calculations, the depth and comprehensiveness of Tang San's analysis eclipsed his work entirely.
Yet Yu Xiaogang still hadn't made the connection between the author of the papers and the Tang San from Nuoding City.
"Xiaogang, what do you think of whale glue?" Flender approached him.
"Even though we don't have much money, it can improve the kids' physique. Should we try to get some? I have a connection at a pharmacy in Soto City. He might be able to set aside a bit of thousand-year whale glue."
"No."
Yu Xiaogang shook his head. "While medicinal assistance has its place in soul master cultivation, it should be limited to medicated baths. I don't support ingestion."
"The kids carry heavy stones and run around Soto City. That builds both their strength and willpower. Isn't that better than relying on some external substance like whale glue?"
"And as for physical training, I'm already using the Blue Lightning Tyrant Clan's medicated bath formula. Haven't you seen the results? The students have grown significantly stronger this past month."
"The effect may not be as immediate as whale glue, but it's far more stable in the long term."
"And more importantly," he added, "even if your pharmacist friend sets some aside, do you think he'll give it to you for free? Even with a discount, we can't afford it."
That final point struck Flender hard.
Shrek Academy was always short on funds. Yu Xiaogang already had to stretch their resources to buy ingredients for the medicated baths. Even if they scraped together enough money, they could only afford maybe ten grams of thousand-year whale glue.
What good would ten grams do?
"Xiaogang, we really don't have much left. The academy needs to expand. Do you have any ideas?" Flender sighed. "In another year or two, we might not even be able to afford medicated bath ingredients."
"Let me think," Yu Xiaogang replied. "Flender, try to recruit more outstanding students. As long as we can hold out until the kids win the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Dueling Tournament, Shrek Academy will have a chance to rise."
"I'd love to—but we don't even qualify for the tournament," Flender said grimly.
Becoming famous was one of the main reasons for running an academy. Participation in the soul master tournaments was the fastest path to fame.
But their teachers had all offended Spirit Hall in one way or another. None of them wanted to be tied to any force. As a result, they hadn't even applied for official teaching credentials.
In truth, Shrek Academy was less of an actual academy and more of a "premium cram school" operated in partnership with local rural villages.
"I'll find a solution," Yu Xiaogang said quietly.
What he didn't say out loud was that he was already planning to convince Flender to abandon the name Shrek and join another official academy. That way, they could access better resources and infrastructure—and perhaps implement his vision through a stronger institution.
With the strength of Flender, Zhao Wuji, and the others, they could still have independent teaching rights. They'd just need to accept a new banner.
While various powers across the continent made moves in response to Tang San's theories, and while Shrek clung to survival, none of it had anything to do with Tang San himself.
At that moment, Tang San was returning to the pharmacy in Nuoding City to purchase some medicinal ingredients. The old shopkeeper's expression looked as if he had swallowed a mouthful of bitter bile.
Who told him to sell that massive piece of ten-thousand-year whale glue?
That was a bargain sale—the kind of loss that made people cry.
Even if there were impurities, the usable part alone was enough to form two fist-sized chunks.
That was ten-thousand-year whale glue.
Now? A single gram sold for 10,000 gold soul coins—if you could even find any for sale at all.
He had made the worst business decision of his life.
"Boss, do you have any more whale glue?" Tang San asked casually.
The shopkeeper grimaced like he'd eaten raw lemons.
"No. After Master Tang San's paper was published, I've regretted it every day. Even the ordinary whale glue's all gone. I don't know where to source more now."
"This stuff used to just sit on shelves. No one bought it. Who would've thought it'd turn into a supply crisis?"
"No—it's worse. There's no supply at all. If you want whale glue now, you'll have to go to coastal cities and hope some sea soul masters are willing to risk hunting whale beasts. Otherwise, it's impossible."
"I see. In that case, give me some dried black fungus," Tang San said.
"Oh, we've got plenty of that. How much do you want?"
"One catty."
"Alright," the shopkeeper said. He weighed a catty, poured it into a paper bag, and pushed it over the counter. "It's five copper soul coins per catty. Takes a while to dry properly."
Tang San paid and left with the black fungus.
He wasn't planning to eat it himself.
Back at the Spirit Hall residence, Tang San explained the real reason.
Guangling had trouble swallowing whale glue. The taste was just too awful.
Even Xiao Wu could only tolerate it after adding sugar. Guangling liked sugar—and she could just barely accept whale glue—but combining them?
Disastrous.
The moment she tried the mix, her face twisted so hard it looked like she was being tortured. She did swallow it in the end… but her expression would have made any stranger think Tang San was bullying a child.
So he came up with a new method.
After soaking and cleaning the black fungus, he softened a piece of whale glue, wrapped it in a layer of black fungus, and shaped it to the size of a fingernail.
Then he handed it to Guangling.
"Try this. If the taste's still bad, just swallow it directly. The black fungus is smooth—it should go down easily."
It was the same principle as capsule drugs from his past life. Some medicines couldn't be tolerated by the tongue and had to be wrapped in a dissolvable shell to be swallowed directly.
Tang San didn't know how to make a starch capsule—but black fungus made a good natural substitute.
Guangling took the small package and swallowed it in one go.
"Brother, this is much better," she said. "But it doesn't taste like anything."
"That's fine." Tang San nodded.
Soon, the black fungus broke down in her stomach, and the thousand-year whale glue began to take effect.
Guangling's skin flushed red briefly, then returned to normal.
After all, it was only a fingernail-sized dose, so the effect wasn't overwhelming.
At six years old, Guangling was still small and thin—skinnier than Tang San had been at her age.
A slow approach was best.
This kind of tonic had to be taken gradually. Too much at once wouldn't nourish the body—it might harm it instead.