"Xiao Wu, come here, I have something delicious for you."Tang San beckoned her over with a smile.
Xiao Wu walked over, rolling her eyes."I'm not a child... What is it?"
"Still insisting you're not a child?" Tang San chuckled, then took out a fist-sized piece of thousand-year whale glue and handed it to her."This is thousand-year-level whale glue. Eat it—it can improve your physical fitness."
Xiao Wu pinched the strange-looking object, puzzled."How do you even eat this thing? Do you make soup? It's kind of hard. Or... just lick it?"
"Inject soul power to soften it, then eat it," Tang San explained."The taste might not be great, though, so feel free to add something sweet."
He thoughtfully added, "I've tested it. Brown sugar tastes best, followed by white sugar, and honey last."
Xiao Wu blinked at him, confused by the existence of three flavor strategies.So... which one should she pick?
"Can I add something spicy?" she asked suddenly.
"You can. Do you like spicy food?" Tang San asked.
Xiao Wu shook her head."Not really. It's just... if this thing boosts physical fitness, wouldn't adding spices affect its effect?"
"No need to worry. I've tested that too," Tang San reassured her."Most of the salty condiments sold on the market are mineral salts—they won't interfere. Besides, whale glue is basically whale fat.Whale glue from soul beasts contains a unique kind of energy that changes microstructure under the action of soul power. But at its core, it's still just an unusually structured fat."
Xiao Wu nodded, pulled out a small dish from her white jade belt, and placed the whale glue on it. Following Tang San's instructions, she injected soul power into the piece.
The glue softened almost instantly, changing from a muddy brown to a clear orange-yellow, resembling thick honey.
She dipped a finger into it, tasted it, and instantly scrunched up her face in disgust.
"Bleh! That's awful. No wonder you said to add sugar!"
Rummaging through her belt, she pulled out a jar of brown sugar, sprinkled a generous layer over the glue, and tried again. The fishy taste mellowed slightly, so she added even more brown sugar and swallowed the whole thing.
Almost immediately, she felt a wave of heat rise through her body. She sat cross-legged and entered meditation.
An hour later, she opened her eyes.
"How do you feel?" Tang San asked, pausing his own training. He had been practicing tree climbing on a jujube tree to enhance his fine control over soul power.
Xiao Wu clenched her fists and gave a light punch.A crisp pop echoed. She bounced lightly and smiled."I feel stronger. If I were to reach level twenty now, I think I could handle a soul ring around eight hundred years."
"Eight hundred years? Not bad."Tang San nodded approvingly. He then took out another fist-sized piece of ten-thousand-year whale glue and handed it to her.
"This one's even better, but don't eat it just yet. Wait a few days. If you take too much too quickly, your body won't be able to digest it properly."
Xiao Wu accepted the piece and joined Tang San in tree climbing practice.But now, having strengthened her body, she found that her control had decreased slightly.
Still, she adapted quickly and soon returned to her previous level of proficiency.
Seeing this, Tang San began teaching her the soul power control route for Controlling Crane and Capturing Dragon to help her improve further.
"Really?! You've had something this useful all along and didn't teach me before?"Xiao Wu puffed her cheeks in protest, looking adorably annoyed.
"We weren't that familiar before," Tang San replied naturally."And I had to observe you a bit first. I needed to make sure you'd actually put effort into learning it."
"Hmph! You always have an excuse," Xiao Wu pouted, but didn't press further.She turned away and walked to an open space nearby, beginning to practice Controlling Crane and Capturing Dragon using jujube tree leaves.
Before long, she truly sensed a dramatic improvement in her control over soul power.
If controlling soul power before was like holding a jagged stone—painful, awkward, and exhausting—then learning this technique smoothed the stone into a rounded gem, easy to grasp and almost enjoyable to wield.
Her control grew more refined, nearly matching Tang San's.
This made Tang San recognize something profound:Ten-thousand-year soul beasts that transformed into humans were true prodigies.As long as they were willing to adapt, think, and let go of their beastly instincts, they could become geniuses among geniuses.
Moreover, Tang San now had more evidence supporting his theory:All ten-thousand-year transformed soul beasts were born with full innate soul power, reinforcing the idea that innate soul power correlated directly to the affinity between a martial soul and its host.
Of course, he wasn't going to make sweeping declarations.After all, ten-thousand-year soul beasts had deep cultivation foundations—perhaps they were doing something similar to what the Mysterious Heaven Skill (玄天功) accomplished.
A month passed in the blink of an eye.
Tang San's theory, The Self-Positioning Analysis of Soul Masters, had spread across the continent.Many spirit masters, especially civilians, began reassessing themselves based on their martial soul characteristics and soul skills, finally finding clarity about their future cultivation paths.
Gone were the days when civilian soul masters blindly sought out soul beasts that "looked similar" or "matched attributes" to their martial soul.
For most civilians, the priority wasn't bloodline improvement, but practical enhancement.They had no powerful backers to protect them while cultivating. Every risk was theirs to bear.
Even though Tang San had included in his theory that beast-type martial souls could improve through absorption of same-species soul rings, most civilian soul masters didn't pursue that route—because they couldn't afford to.
In truth, most of them didn't care about bloodlines at all.For them, a useful soul skill was far more valuable than any theoretical bloodline boost.
Tang San didn't mind.Today, he had changed into a fresh outfit and was preparing to take Xiao Wu to attend a wedding—held at the Spirit Hall.
As a loyal and diligent member of the Spirit Hall, Su Yuntao had applied to hold his wedding at the Spirit Hall.Ma Xiunuo had approved and would personally preside over the ceremony.
Tang San and Xiao Wu left from Nuoding College and arrived at the Spirit Hall, where the entrance was already decorated with a floral gate.Inside, everything was festive and warm—flowers everywhere, tables neatly arranged, and snacks prepared for guests.
The attendees included not only Spirit Hall colleagues, but also local nobles of Nuoding City, the dean of Nuoding Academy, Director Su, and teachers like Mo Hen.
Tang San and Xiao Wu greeted their teachers respectfully before finding an empty seat and settling down.
After a while, Ma Xiunuo stepped to the center of the hall in formal attire, coughed lightly, and raised a hand for silence.
"Please welcome the bride and groom!"
Clap clap clap!
Everyone applauded as Su Yuntao and Sisi, hand in hand, walked into the hall together under the soft cheer and flower petals.They arrived at the center, where Ma Xiunuo awaited them with a proud smile.