The day Bai Yunfei arrived at the Tang was the same day Shen Pojun and the other elders of the school discussed some important matters with the Tang. Shortly after that, it was the Tang’s turn to play the part as guests. After calling Bai Yunfei back, Shen Pojun and the others had the elders of the Tang head into the Core World so they could enjoy being the visitors of the school.
And so, Bai Yunfei and the group stayed with the Tang after that.
There were no objections to his marriage to Tang Xinyun. The marriage date was quickly sorted out after Li Chengfeng was more than happy to divine an auspicious day for a wedding.
It would happen in ten days.
Life for both the Tang and the Crafting School ramped up after the marriage was settled. With Mt. Crimson and the Crafting School technically being ‘within’ Tang Manor, everyone decided to have the wedding take place in Tang Manor. The Tang had plenty of hands and were quick to start the preparations. In no time at all, the entire manor was lively and busy, and news of the wedding was similarly quick to spread out.
It was tradition on the continent for the bride and groom to be separated prior to the wedding. In accordance to those traditions, Tang Xinyun was temporarily ‘taken’ away from Bai Yunfei and stayed with her mother.
As such, Bai Yunfei found himself with an extraordinary amount of idle time. If he wasn’t strolling the city with his friends, then he was back in the Crafting School with soul armaments as his companions.
This was also due to him being able to upgrade soul armaments to +12 now. Everyone in the Crafting School naturally wanted their soul armaments to be upgraded, and everyone from the Soul King level and up gave their soul armaments to him so they could be powered up. The changes were shocking to those who were lucky enough to have their soul armaments upgraded first, like night and day.
One or two days wasn’t even nearly enough time for Bai Yunfei to upgrade them all, but again, he had plenty of time on his hands. He had no problem taking it slow to upgrade them.
He had, of course, already upgraded the soul armaments of those closest to him, such as Xiao Qi, Tang Xinyun, and Li Chengfeng. In the case of Li Chengfeng, the Heart Compass had yet to be upgraded, due to it being only able to be ‘withdrawn’ when it was at the Fate School. Bai Yunfei decided then that after the wedding was over and the Crafting School was back in its proper location in the Great Plain Province, he’d head over with Li Chengfeng to the Fate School. It was nearly time for Li Chengfeng’s child in any case, and Bai Yunfei was more than ready to have a celebratory toast with Li Chengfeng for the child’s health.
Bai Yunfei didn’t neglect his training. Every day, he’d spend a few hours above the Ninth Heaven to train with chaotic energy. This wasn’t something the Peak Late-stage Soul Emperor Tang Xuan was able to replicate, meaning he had to train alone. But with the Luck Pendant he had, Bai Yunfei was able to train even faster than before and narrow the already tiny gap to becoming a Late-stage Soul Emperor.
And so the days trickled by with life in Tang Manor being the liveliest it had ever been.
……
The day of the wedding came at last. The entire manor was bustling with activity as platters of food and drink were carried by the servants everywhere where there was a table.
Number-wise, there weren’t as many students in the Crafting School as compared to a school like the Wind Lightning School. A thousand students was still a high number, but Tang Manor was well equipped for such a number and so all the students were able to come out and partake.
The ceremony went off without a hitch, with everyone toasting the new bride and groom before they swore their oaths to the heavens, their families, and then to each other.
Afterward, Bai Yunfei and Tang Xinyun returned to the halls of Tang Manor to greet and drink with a few of their honored guests.
Dressed in bright-red robes, Bai Yunfei looked unprecedently handsome while Tang Xinyun was said by many to be as beautiful as a fairy.
As they made their rounds, Bai Yunfei suddenly noted that there were far more people here than they anticipated. Those close to the Tang were also in attendance, such as the lord-mayor of Mo City, a representative of the Loyalist faction of the Tianhun School, and even a few members of several prominent houses and schools.
“Announcing the arrival of the honorable guests from the Water School and the house of Zheng from the Capital!!”
A loud cry erupted from the entrance of Tang Manor, catching the attention of Bai Yunfei at once.
He watched with a smile on his face as the headmaster of the Water School, Murong Xiao, came walking in with several elders and students. Kou Tingting was among those students along with a richly-dressed noble, Zheng Kai.
“Now Yunfei, how unkind can you get!” Zheng Kai greeted Bai Yunfei with a smile, “Couldn’t you have told us about the marriage earlier? We came rushing the moment we heard the news and still nearly managed to miss it!!”
While Murong Xiao greeted Shen Pojun and Tang Xuan, Zheng Kai strode straight up to Bai Yunfei and slapped him in the shoulder ‘resentfully’, though the smile on his face gave his true feelings away.
He had sent a message to Kou Tingting and the others from the Water School back when he decided to head to Mo City. The distance between the provinces was rather distant, and Bai Yunfei was afraid that they wouldn’t be able to get here on time. Luckily, it seemed that wasn’t the case.
Zheng Kai being here was another happy coincidence. Back when he first left the Water School, Bai Yunfei knew that it’d take some time for Zheng Kai to recover completely, but it seemed that he was back to normal now. And seeing how close he was with Kou Tingting, it seemed that his hard work and long journey to gain Kou Tingting’s affections had finally paid off.
With how many people were here, Bai Yunfei hadn’t the time to talk about the past with Zheng Kai. After a few more words with him, Bai Yunfei excused himself to talk with the other guests.
“Announcing the arrival of the honorable guests from the Wood School!!”
Shortly after Zheng Kai was seated, another announcement was made for a new group of guests.
“Brother You? Yuhe!!” Bai Yunfei realized with glee.
He didn’t recognize the stern-faced elder leading the group, but the people behind him were definitely recognizable. You Qingfeng and Chu Yuhe! Even Qiu Luliu and Mu Wanqing were there.
After the introduction, Bai Yunfei learned that the stern-faced elder was the headmaster of the Wood School. And after another greeting, Bai Yunfei led him to take a seat somewhere.
“Yunfei,” You Qingfeng smiled, “congratulations! May you two live long til old age and have healthy offspring!”
“Thank you, brother You.” Bai Yunfei bowed.
“Brother, sister Tang…” Chu Yuhe bowed gracefully to the two. She was no longer the same shy girl she was before. “May your lives be long and your affection even longer.”
Having acquainted herself with Chu Yuhe during their time in the Soulbeast Forest, Tang Xinyun smiled warmly at her. “Thank you.”
……
“The third young master has returned!!”
Soon, another announcement had heads turning toward the entrance.
“Oh? Third brother!!” Tang Xinyun was one of the first to react. Turning to watch two new figures come through the gates, she let out a cry of joy before rushing to greet them.
They were two handsome figures, though their robes were dirty and ragged from their travels. Their faces were recognizable to everyone at once—Tang Wei and his soulbeast partner, Yan Lin.
As he paced to greet them, Bai Yunfei had his eyebrows raised in surprise. He could tell from their auras that the two of them were Early-stage Soul Emperors. It would appear that what Tang Ming said earlier was true. That the two of them had managed to enter the Tomb of the Emperor Beasts and managed to breakthrough.
“Haha, Xinyun, your wedding came far too abruptly!” Tang Wei roared with laughter, “We wouldn’t have made it back in time if we weren’t already on our way home!”
“Brother Tang.” Bai Yunfei greeted.
“Ah, Yunfei, I’ve heard a lot about you recently. What a legend you are…however, I do have to warn you, I won’t care about those rumors if you ever mistreat my little sister!
Tang Wei slapped him on the shoulder affectionately.
“Ah, that reminds me, I managed to find a few things in the Soulbeast Forest and thought I’d use them as your wedding gift.”
He took off a space ring from his finger and handed it over to Bai Yunfei. Then he walked over to the elders of his family to greet them. His return was surely a happy event for the rest of the family.
Bai Yunfei inspected the ring with his soulsense and was immediately shocked by its contents.
“An upgrade stone!?”
He didn’t take the object out, but his soulsense had told him that all sorts of treasures were hidden within the space ring. The majority of them were materials for crafting, but there was also a pile of upgrade stones!
“Did he find these in the Tomb of the Emperor Beasts? I wonder if there’s any Guaranteed Upgrade Stone in there…”
To say he was pleased was an understatement, but Bai Yunfei couldn’t simply ignore everything else to look at the items. Reluctantly, he put the space ring away and headed back to the waiting guests.
……
The reception was soon over. An entire day of festivities had finally come to an end so that the moon could hang overhead and bring forth the night.
But so drunk was Bai Yunfei in his happiness that he didn’t realize the great change that was drawing close to him…
