Chapter 10: Solidifying the Name of Grandmaster, Three Years Later
"Is this Whale Glue? It doesn't seem like anything special."
Looking at the lump of pitch-black, irregular substance on the table, Su Yuntao seriously suspected that his old father might have been swindled. How could Whale Glue, which supposedly enhances a Spirit Master's physical constitution, look so unremarkable?
"Won't we know if we just try it?"
Tang Shan smiled mischievously as he looked at Su Haichao standing to the side.
"Dad, break off a small piece and heat it up. Wait until it turns golden yellow and gives off a fragrance before letting Big Brother consume it."
Looking at the Whale Glue on the table, the corners of Su Haichao's mouth couldn't help but twitch slightly.
To be honest, if he hadn't personally tested a small piece after buying it and felt an extremely faint improvement in his physical constitution, he would never have believed that this Whale Glue, typically used as an aphrodisiac tonic, could actually enhance a Spirit Master's physical fitness.
However, the feeling after taking it might not be so pleasant.
"Shan Zi, are you sure we don't need to find someone for your big brother?"
Tang Shan shook his head without hesitation.
"Dad, the medicinal effect is limited after all. If we really find someone, the effect will be entirely vented out by Big Brother. How could there be much effect left? He has to endure it to maximize the benefits."
"Yuntao, good luck to you."
Su Haichao patted Su Yuntao's shoulder, then used a knife to cut off about ten percent of the Whale Glue and walked into the kitchen to prepare it.
At this moment, Su Yuntao didn't know what expression to make. Seeing that he was about to eat a drug that heavily supplemented Yang Qi but couldn't use it for its original purpose, how could the word 'miserable' even begin to describe it?
"Big Brother, relax. Actually, the effect isn't that intense. You can get through it if you just endure. If you don't trust me, don't you trust the willpower you've painstakingly honed through your daily physical training?"
Tang Shan comfortingly patted his big brother's thigh, signaling him to stay calm.
Hearing his little brother's comfort, the nervous Brother Tao also relaxed.
After all these days of training, he felt that his greatest gain was not the gradual increase in physical fitness, but the unshakable and determined willpower that remained firm despite various aches and pains flooding his mind.
"Right, it's just some Whale Glue. What's there to be afraid of?"
Seeing his big brother regain his confidence, the corners of Tang Shan's mouth couldn't help but curl upward.
Determined willpower was certainly not a problem, but this was Whale Glue after all.
To use a somewhat inappropriate analogy, as the ceiling of martial power in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Lu Bu's tolerance for pain was definitely among the best, and his willpower was firm. But no matter how strong his pain tolerance was, it didn't change the fact that he was influenced by Diao Chan and fell out with his foster father.
After heating it for about half an hour, Su Haichao came out carrying a plate. The plate was white, and on it was a golden-yellow, gelatinous substance that emitted a rich fragrance.
Tang Shan leaned in to take a closer look and hurriedly called out.
"Big Brother, come and eat it quickly. Don't let it cool down and waste the medicinal effect."
After steadying his mindset, Su Yuntao showed no fear. He cleanly picked up the entire piece of Whale Glue with a fork and swallowed it in one gulp.
"Big Brother, what's the taste?"
Tang Shan was very curious. If he hadn't planned to wait until his own Spirit Awakening to use Whale Glue to maximize the effect, he would have asked Su Haichao to heat a piece for him to taste long ago.
"Other than being fragrant, there's not much taste."
Su Yuntao smacked his lips, feeling a bit unsatisfied.
He had to admit, it was indeed fragrant.
"Alright, Big Brother, go outside. The medicinal effect should be kicking in soon. Exercising now should yield significant results."
Seeing Su Yuntao still sitting there savoring the taste, Tang Shan gave his thigh an annoyed pat.
"Fine, fine, fine, I'll listen to you. I feel like I'm the younger brother here."
While complaining, Su Yuntao didn't hesitate at all and quickly walked out of the house.
Watching the two brothers run outside playfully, Su Haichao smiled without saying a word.
In his eyes, Su Yuntao indeed seemed more like the younger brother, while the three-year-old Tang Shan seemed more like an elder brother, leading the other's growth and planning his future.
The abandoned baby from the alley three years ago had changed the lives of him and his son. Even if he didn't know what the future held, these past three years had already been unprecedentedly joyful, fulfilling, and exciting.
"Little brother, is this... what you meant by... just enduring... and it'll pass... Huff!"
At this moment, Su Yuntao's entire body had turned beet red. His legs were pressed together with Tang Shan sitting on his feet. His hands were behind his head, holding a brick between them as he performed sit-ups.
Tang Shan didn't feel any guilt for tricking him; it could be said he was thoroughly enjoying the spectacle.
"Big Brother, don't worry, the effect will pass soon. This time you only took a tenth of the dose, it won't last long."
While swinging his legs, he carefully observed the changes in Su Yuntao after swallowing the Whale Glue.
The medicinal materials of Douluo Continent were truly miraculous. Even Whale Glue taken into the stomach took effect so rapidly.
And this short-term physical enhancement was incredible. Previously, his big brother could only do about 190 sit-ups in one go without stopping or slowing down, but now he had already reached 300. It was simply inconceivable.
As for why Su Yuntao wasn't doing push-ups or squats, Tang Shan expressed that he wanted to increase his big brother's physical fitness, not end the Su family line or let his big brother literally burst.
Given Su Yuntao's state after taking Whale Glue, if he really did push-ups, Tang Shan really didn't know if that 'leg' of his big brother's could handle such work;
As for squats, Tang Shan also knew that squats also had an aphrodisiac effect. Doing squats now would be no different from adding fuel to the fire... And so, the days passed one by one, with Tang Shan's life being very fulfilling every day.
He did simple daily exercises, making himself a circle sturdier than children his age. When he had nothing to do, he would stroll to the Nuoding City Spirit Hall to read books, and then he would focus on Su Yuntao's Cultivation and training.
To provide a perfect cover for the millennium second spirit ring, Su Yuntao's physical training over the past few years had mostly been within Nuoding City. Consequently, everyone gradually came to know that the son of the Nuoding City Spirit Hall Master was training like a madman to verify the Grandmaster's theoretical research.
It was worth mentioning that after the first time he took Whale Glue, Su Yuntao's spirit power broke through to Rank 14. One must know that he had just returned from a Spirit hunt and his spirit power had only reached Rank 13. Even if he had accumulated more than half, he shouldn't have had such a massive rate of progress.
Later, Tang Shan studied it for a long time and discovered the reason. When Su Yuntao took the Whale Glue, his blood and Qi boiled, which seemed to also promote the circulation of his spirit power.
However, once the medicinal effect of the Whale Glue passed, this rapid progress effect dissipated.
The biggest influencing factor here was the boiling of blood and Qi, or rather, the rapid circulation of blood and Qi.
Blood and Qi drove the accelerated circulation of spirit power, and spirit power promoted physical strengthening, thereby creating even more vigorous blood and Qi.
This was similar to the ancient Chinese theory that essence and Qi share the same source. But studying blood and Qi was not easy. This was the douluo one era, not the douluo two era, and there was no Body Sect, so how could he study blood and Qi?
Left with no choice, Tang Shan simply churned out another article and sent it to the Spirit Hall.
Not long after the Spirit Hall's gold coins arrived, the Spirit Hall's newspaper published his 'three treatises on martial souls'. This article caused a huge sensation in the Spirit Master's world. Since the theories were published anonymously, the Spirit Masters simply referred to the author of the 'three treatises on martial souls' as the Grandmaster. Because of this, the Spirit Hall even specifically gave Su Haichao a 'Grandmaster's Medal', claiming it was for a talent who had made outstanding contributions in the field of Spirit research, and since the person was unwilling to reveal their identity, they asked Su Haichao to deliver it.
Initially, not many people in the Spirit Master's world recognized the title of Grandmaster. It wasn't that there was anything wrong with Tang Shan's theories, but rather they felt that simply proposing the 'three treatises on martial souls' was not enough to be honored as a Grandmaster.
Some Spirit Masters disagreed. They believed that while the 'three treatises on martial souls' didn't change the landscape of Spirit Master Cultivation, it provided another path for Spirit Masters with low Innate Soul Power. It might not be a bright future, but it was definitely a new possibility worthy of the title Grandmaster.
Because of this, many low-level Spirit Masters came to blows.
However, all the arguments mostly disappeared after Tang Shan released the 'fourth treatise on martial souls' at the age of four. As for why they didn't disappear completely, Tang Shan said that after all, he wasn't a gold coin and couldn't be liked by everyone.
In the 'fourth treatise on martial souls', Tang Shan mainly discussed the matching between the absorbed spirit ring and the Spirit Master's own Spirit.
The main point was: except for Object Spirits, whether it was a plant Spirit or a Beast Spirit, one should try to find a Spirit Beast whose essence matches their own Spirit for hunting and absorbing the spirit ring to Breakthrough. Unless a Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Beast voluntarily sacrifices itself, one should try not to absorb a spirit ring that does not match their Spirit's essence.
In this theory, he provided a brand new way of thinking for all Spirit Masters. If Spirits were categorized according to the trend of absorbing spirit rings, plant Spirits and Beast Spirits could actually be grouped together, as it wasn't difficult to find Spirit Beasts in reality with similar essences to these two types. In contrast, utensil-type Spirits within the Tool Spirit category should be classified separately, as there were currently no utensils in the Douluo Continent that had gained sentience and become Spirit Beasts.
After this, the name of Grandmaster was thoroughly solidified, and the Spirit Hall later sent another ten thousand gold coins.
When Tang Shan was five years old, the 'fifth treatise on martial souls' he published discussed the relationship between blood, Qi, and spirit power. The simple discourse, setting aside the impact it had on the Douluo Continent for now, brought in another ten thousand gold coins.
A theory that seemed not very useful actually had extraordinary significance.
Tang Shan didn't consider himself a Genius; he just had some creative ideas and had read enough novels. To truly produce results in Spirit research, relying solely on his own strength was definitely not enough. What he could do was only to help the people of Douluo Continent break through their cognitive barriers and guide them in which direction to work.
In the blink of an eye, three years had passed. Tang Shan was now six years old and about to undergo Spirit Awakening.
In this year, Heaven Dou City saw a new Crown Prince;
In this year, the Haotian Twin Stars shone across the continent;
In this year, an ordinary-looking, decadent-faced middle-aged man entered Nuoding Academy.