"Great Angel God above, under the witness of the divine, from this day forward, you shall become a family."
Ma Xiunuo's voice rang out solemnly as he looked at Su Yuntao first."Groom, are you willing to take Miss Sisi as your wife? Whether your future is rich or poor, in health or in sickness, are you willing to remain devoted to her?"
"I do."Su Yuntao responded without hesitation, gazing at Sisi with deep affection.
"Bride, are you willing to marry Mr. Su Yuntao? Whether he is strong or weak, brave or fearful, are you willing to remain loyal to him?" Ma Xiunuo turned to Sisi.
"I do."
Without waiting for Ma Xiunuo to announce the next part, the two of them leaned in and kissed each other on the spot.
Ma Xiunuo: "…Young people these days are really something else."
After exchanging rings, the newlyweds were promptly "kicked out" of the Spirit Hall by Ma Xiunuo.After all, the Spirit Hall was sacred ground—hosting a wedding was one thing, but spending the wedding night there would certainly be crossing a line.
If they wanted to hold a banquet, they could do that at home.
Most of the nobles from Nuoding City offered their congratulations and left shortly afterward. They weren't close to Su Yuntao and came more out of obligation.A smaller group of them followed to Su Yuntao's home for drinks and networking. The remaining guests were mostly relatives and friends of the couple.
After several rounds of drinking, Su Yuntao became a little tipsy. He sent Sisi to rest in her room and then found Tang San, pulling him into the courtyard for a private conversation.
"Thank you, Tang San. If it weren't for you, I never would've won Sisi's heart."
"You don't need to thank me, Taoge," Tang San smiled."I didn't help you chase her. You were the one who attracted her in the first place."
As he spoke, Tang San retrieved a delicate little box from his storage wrist guard and handed it to Su Yuntao."This is my wedding gift to you."
"I told you, there's no need to give me anything," Su Yuntao said with a chuckle, but he still opened the box. Inside was a small, glossy black chunk of whale glue.
"Uhh… My ability in that area is fine, you know."Seeing the contents, Su Yuntao sobered up a little. His eyelid twitched. He wondered if Tang San had heard some nonsense from Wang Sheng—he knew that kid couldn't keep secrets, so maybe he'd overheard something inappropriate...
"This is thousand-year whale glue, mixed with a bit of ten-thousand-year whale glue."
"…That kind of makes it feel even more suspicious."Su Yuntao knew about the aphrodisiac reputation of whale glue—and just how rare ten-thousand-year whale glue was. Did Tang San think he looked tired lately? Was he giving off "kidney deficiency" vibes from being overworked and stressed about wedding prep?
"Whale glue has more than just that effect," Tang San explained seriously."When you and Sister Sisi soften it with soul power and take it together, it'll strengthen your physical constitutions. After just one night, I estimate your physical fitness will rise close to the level of a Soul Ancestor."
"The physical fitness of a Soul Ancestor?" Su Yuntao blinked."Seriously?"
"I can't guarantee the exact level, but it should be comparable to Grandpa Ma Xiunuo," Tang San replied."Oh, and a word of advice—buy more thousand-year whale glue as soon as possible. It's going to become priceless very soon."
Su Yuntao's expression turned earnest."Xiao San, I'll listen to you from now on. Whatever you ask, I'll do my best."
"There's no need to be so serious. We're friends." Tang San smiled."Besides, I'm also curious to see if the effects of whale glue are enhanced when a couple takes it together... and engages in a certain kind of activity."
Su Yuntao burst out laughing."So you're using me as an experiment!"
"There's definitely no harm in it," Tang San replied honestly."I've already tested the effects myself. Whale glue can significantly boost physical fitness. But considering its aphrodisiac qualities, I'm curious if there's a synergy effect when taken during... dual cultivation. Even if it doesn't work that way, you'll still get the benefits."
"All right, I get it." Su Yuntao smirked."But why don't you test it yourself?"
"I'm seven years old," Tang San replied calmly."When I'm grown, how could it possibly be your turn?"
"Fair enough." Su Yuntao chuckled again."Well, even if it doesn't have some grand cultivation effect, at worst it'll spice things up between me and Sisi."
He and Tang San chatted for a while longer about the future before he finally couldn't wait any longer and went inside to enjoy the gift—with Sisi.
Tang San didn't stick around. He grabbed Xiao Wu—who had eaten and drunk her fill—and quietly returned to the Spirit Hall's backyard.
Xiao Wu usually stayed with Tang San, living in the Spirit Hall except when she went to Nuoding Academy to monitor the students.Her role there was to ensure that noble students didn't bully the working students.
However, in return, she also had to help clean the Spirit Hall and assist with various chores.
This arrangement had been Tang San's idea.He didn't want her to be treated as Old Jack's adopted granddaughter and enjoy benefits as his "sister" just because of her connection to him.Self-reliance was essential.
The next day.
Su Yuntao and Sisi visited Tang San to thank him personally.Their physical strength had indeed increased, and the improvement was remarkable.
Even Ma Xiunuo noticed.
To test it, he arm-wrestled Su Yuntao without using soul power—and lost.His strength was three points lower than Su Yuntao's.
And he was a Soul Ancestor.
Despite his age, Ma Xiunuo's body had long been enhanced by decades of soul power. His physique should have surpassed an ordinary Soul Elder. Yet now, he was physically weaker than Su Yuntao—a mere Great Soul Master.
"Xiao San, what's going on?" Ma Xiunuo asked, bewildered.
"This is how I was able to withstand a thousand-year soul ring for my second ring," Tang San replied calmly.
Ma Xiunuo's eyes widened."This is a huge discovery! Are you planning to include this in your upcoming theory?"
"Of course," Tang San nodded."My second ring being a thousand-year ring is too eye-catching. If I don't explain it soon, I'll have to wait until I become truly powerful to justify using my second skill openly."
Tang San took out a thick sheaf of papers from his white jade belt—a full theoretical essay discussing the ancient and modern evolution of optimal soul ring combinations and what determined the maximum ring age a soul master could withstand.
He also handed Ma Xiunuo a thumb-sized piece of ten-thousand-year whale glue.
"Grandpa Ma Xiunuo, here's my research paper. This is the last bit of ten-thousand-year whale glue I have. Please send both to Spirit City, so the Spirit Hall researchers can begin conducting controlled tests."
Ma Xiunuo sighed, holding the box and manuscript."If this paper gets published, you're going to single-handedly raise the price of whale glue. The nobles will curse your name."
Su Yuntao and Sisi exchanged a glance and quickly asked Ma Xiunuo for a one-month leave, saying they were going on a honeymoon.
But both Ma Xiunuo and Tang San could see right through them.
They clearly intended to take advantage of the time delay before Tang San's theory reached Spirit City—and sweep the nearby markets for thousand-year whale glue.
They had time. Even if Ma Xiunuo sent the letter that day, it would take at least a month or two for the package to reach Spirit City. And even after arrival, the clerks wouldn't read it immediately.
That left Su Yuntao and Sisi with a lucrative window of opportunity.