A month passed by in the blink of an eye.
Su Yuntao and Sisi returned from their "honeymoon" with nearly a hundred kilograms of thousand-year whale glue, which they discreetly stored in the basement of their house.
When Ma Xiunuo found out, he purchased some from them at a fair price—for the benefit of his descendants.
When Tang San asked to buy a portion, Su Yuntao insisted on giving it to him for free."If it weren't for you telling us about the effects of whale glue," he said, "we never would've had the chance to capitalize on it."
He even told Tang San that Matthew had already made a profit just from buying a single kilogram and selling a portion.
It was clear that this whale glue stockpile alone would be enough for Su Yuntao and Sisi to live comfortably for years.
But neither of them planned to retire from the Spirit Hall—not yet. They were still young, with goals.
Su Yuntao, in particular, had his sights set on succeeding Ma Xiunuo as Hall Master of the Nuoding City Spirit Hall. For that, he needed to cultivate diligently and accumulate merit, aiming to break through to level thirty before turning thirty.
Because once a person reached thirty, they began to enter middle age, and improving one's physical fitness became significantly harder.After forty, the body would begin to deteriorate, and without some heaven-defying opportunity, those who hadn't broken through level thirty by then might never do so in their lifetime.
So, in his spare time, Su Yuntao often brought Sisi to visit Tang San, participating in his experiments and supporting his research.
And the results were significant.
With Tang San's help, both Su Yuntao and Sisi saw noticeable improvements in their cultivation speed.
Tang San also used their cases to test one of his theories:Did innate soul power represent the level of affinity between a person and their martial soul?
To explore this, he had Su Yuntao raise a large pack of dogs and spend time among them—even cultivating in their presence after they became familiar with him.
Sure enough, Su Yuntao's cultivation speed increased.
But as soon as he left the pack, his speed dropped again.
It appeared that a simulated cultivation environment could indeed enhance a soul master's cultivation—by deepening their connection with their martial soul.However, this enhancement was temporary unless something internal changed.
Tang San mused that it would have been ideal for Su Yuntao to cultivate among wolves, since his martial soul was more wolf-like. But wolves were dangerous, and he wouldn't let Su Yuntao risk his life just for faster cultivation.
What about Sisi?
Tang San first had her cultivate while wrapped in ribbons, and indeed, her cultivation speed increased—but very slightly. The improvement was barely noticeable compared to Su Yuntao's.
Was the difference due to Su Yuntao having a beast martial soul, and Sisi a tool martial soul?
Tang San didn't think so.
While beast and tool martial souls had their distinctions, the gap in this case seemed too large to be explained by type alone.
So, he had Sisi purchase a loom and begin learning how to weave ribbons—encouraging her to better understand the object tied to her martial soul.
Half a month later, Sisi meditated in a ribbon-free environment, and surprisingly, her cultivation speed increased—matching Su Yuntao's pace when he was among the dogs.
Even more impressively, her improvement was permanent.
Although still somewhat affected by the surrounding environment, the breakthrough indicated a genuine, internalized bond with her martial soul.
Sisi said that something had changed in her understanding of her martial soul. She couldn't explain it clearly, but she felt more connected to it through weaving.
Unfortunately, after a certain point, her progress stalled again.No matter how much she continued to weave, she couldn't further improve her cultivation rate.
Tang San couldn't help much—after all, his martial soul wasn't ribbon-related.But he offered a suggestion: instead of just weaving ribbons, why not try using them to make handkerchiefs, clothing, or other objects?
From this, Tang San realized something profound.
The simulated environments improved soul master cultivation not just because of their abundance of relevant energies, but because they helped deepen the soul master's understanding of their martial soul.
Yet most soul masters never tried to "communicate" with their martial souls. They assumed that the cultivation boost came purely from the environment—not from any deepening bond with their soul.
From this insight, Tang San made another deduction:
Some soul masters with innate soul power below level nine still managed to reach Titled Douluo. Why? Because they had an extraordinary ability to understand and resonate with their martial souls.
"Now I can confirm my theory," Tang San thought excitedly."Different types of martial souls have different base qualities, and these affect innate soul power. But among martial souls of the same type, the quality should be similar due to shared bloodlines. So why the disparity?It's likely the affinity between the soul master and their martial soul that makes the difference."
Martial souls were passed through bloodlines, and people couldn't choose what they awakened—unless there was a mutation, long-term evolution, or...
Tang San's thoughts turned to Mu Tian, the time traveler whose martial soul was the Nine-Headed Chimera—a being referred to as the God of Heavenly Retribution.
That kind of martial soul wasn't inherited—it was bestowed.
Which meant martial souls could be granted by divine-level beings or forces, in addition to being inherited.
But this theory would need far more validation. Even if proven true, Tang San knew he couldn't publish it widely—not until he was powerful enough to protect it.For now, he would only share it with those he trusted.
Another month passed.
As the end of the term at Nuoding Academy approached, Tang San took Xiao Wu back to Holy Spirit Village early.He brought many gifts for Old Jack, and helped around the village with summer cultivation work.
Afterward, Tang San decided to accompany Su Yuntao on his yearly martial soul awakening visits to the surrounding villages.
Of course, his real goal was to study a wide variety of martial souls—and, if possible, start recruiting talented children from a young age to form his own cultivation team.
Compared to highborn geniuses, Tang San placed more faith in civilians—those who shared his humble roots.
Though half his bloodline came from the powerful Haotian lineage, Tang San saw social class as the real divide between nobles and commoners—not blood.
That said, in this world, those with powerful bloodlines were much more likely to become nobles.
"Xiao San, are you really coming with me to awaken martial souls in the nearby villages?" Su Yuntao asked."It's a tiring job."
"Of course I am," Tang San nodded."Reading ten thousand books isn't as good as traveling ten thousand miles. I realized I don't even know the villages around Nuoding City. That's a problem. I need to start with the basics."
He added, "Besides, Taoge, I've already reached level twenty-four."
"You little monster..." Su Yuntao laughed."My soul power is only level twenty-six, and you're already catching up. One day you'll be a Titled Douluo, and I'll tell my kid, 'See that guy? Even he calls me Taoge.'"
Tang San grinned.O(∩_∩)O haha~
They packed up and set out.But this time, Su Yuntao wasn't just bringing his tools and scrolls—he was also leading fifteen puppies.
Ever since discovering that cultivating among dogs improved his soul power speed, Su Yuntao took his furry companions with him everywhere.
Well—Everywhere except the bathroom, the bathhouse, and the bedroom with his wife.
"What about your little girlfriend?" Su Yuntao asked with a teasing smirk."Isn't she always with you?"
"What little girlfriend? She's not."Tang San denied it immediately."She's already reached level twenty and has gone to hunt for a spirit ring. I just hope she listens to my advice."