94: The Eight Months

The eight months between the public announcement and the formal wedding passed by the small careful preceding small private hour of the kingdom of Beicang's preceding standing rhythm.

Su Yan continued, by his preceding preference, the careful preceding small private daily inside-night cultivation work on the foundation platform. By the close of the third month, his undisplayed cultivation reached *Sovereign Origin Stage One* — the careful preceding small private second realm tier, by the kingdom of Beicang's standing classification, the careful preceding small private boundary at which a cultivator first earned the title *Senior of the Way*.

He held, by his preceding preference, his outside display at *Foundation Establishment Late*.

The kingdom's preceding small private public read, by the careful preceding small private hour of fifteen months of post-Tournament observation, *did not press*. A Heaven Spirit Root cultivator at *Foundation Establishment Late* eighteen months after the Tournament was — by the kingdom's preceding standing record — *honestly expected*. The kingdom did not, by its preceding small private public-read calibration, *expect* him to advance further until at least the formal wedding.

He let the kingdom keep its expectation.

By the close of the sixth month, his cultivation reached *Sovereign Origin Stage Three*. By the close of the eighth, *Sovereign Domain Early*.

He held the display at Foundation Establishment Late.

The careful preceding small private undisplayed cultivation — by his careful preceding small private private bookkeeping at the careful preceding small private hour of eight months — was *six full sub-stages above* the careful preceding small private displayed level. The careful preceding small private kingdom would, in the careful preceding small private hour of any preceding small private public test, register a careful preceding small private *cheat-tier* read. The careful preceding small private cheat-tier read would — by Su Yan's preceding small private private preference — *not* be permitted to occur.

Lin Wanyue continued the careful preceding small private deeper teaching. By the careful preceding small private hour of the eighth month, she had, by her preceding preference, taught Su Yan the careful preceding small private *full seven-book cellar curriculum* of substrate calibration, plus the careful preceding small private *additional eight chapters of preceding small private private teaching* she had reserved for the careful preceding small private hour of one substrate-cultivator's preceding small private direct presence, plus the careful preceding small private *first half of the eleven-thousand-four-hundred-page Aleph-encoded notebook's preceding small private decoded contents*, by the careful preceding small private hour of one inside-night decoding session per day.

By the careful preceding small private hour of the eighth month, Su Yan had — by his careful preceding small private private bookkeeping — *absorbed*, in inside-time, perhaps *forty inside-years of substrate-scholarship*.

He was, by his mother's careful preceding small private private read at the close of the eighth month, *prepared* for the careful preceding small private hour of the next several years of his preceding small private rise.

The Voiceless Inheritance expanded by Cousin Su Lin's preceding standing arrangement to *seventy-three members*. The combat branch — under Hua Lin's continued training — reached *twenty-two operatives*, with three of the careful preceding small private Northern Iron secondment graduating to *Sovereign Origin Stage Three*. The intelligence branch — under Cousin Su Lin's preceding work — fielded *forty-one operatives* across the kingdom of Beicang, the kingdom of Eastern Yan (by Han Yifeng's quiet courtesy), the kingdom of the Northern Iron Cult (by Princess Wu Lingyao's standing arrangement), and the Frost Lotus Sect (by Senior Elder Mu Bingyu's quiet acknowledgment).

By the careful preceding small private hour of the eighth month, the *Voiceless Inheritance* was — by every careful preceding small private bookkeeping — *the careful preceding small private most operationally sophisticated private organization the kingdoms of the Azure Cloud Continent's mortal tier had registered in the careful preceding small private hour of two centuries*.

It remained, by Cousin Su Lin's preceding small private bookkeeping, *not visible* to any kingdom's preceding small private standing intelligence-line.

Cousin Su Wenfu, by his preceding preference, conducted the careful preceding small private hour of the southern operations through the careful preceding small private hour of two further months and returned, at the careful preceding small private hour of the close of the eighth month, by his preceding preference, to attend the careful preceding small private formal wedding as the careful preceding small private senior representative of the southern branch.

The Frost Lotus Sect, by Senior Elder Mu Bingyu's preceding small private private invitation, sent — at the careful preceding small private hour of the formal wedding's preceding standing arrangement — a small careful preceding small private *gift of three small careful preceding jade scholar's seals* in the careful preceding small private courtesy of one sect's preceding small private quiet acknowledgment of the careful preceding small private kingdom's preceding small private new royal alliance.

The Royal Academy of Eastern Yan — by Master Qing's preceding small private private preference, by Han Yifeng's preceding small private quiet courtesy at the kingdom's preceding standing diplomatic exchange — sent a careful preceding small private *senior delegation* of seven cultivators, including Master Qing himself, to attend the wedding ceremony in the careful preceding small private formal small careful preceding small private courtesy of one foreign kingdom's preceding small private public acknowledgment.

The kingdom of the Northern Iron Cult, by Princess Wu Lingyao's preceding small private private courtesy, sent the careful preceding small private *Cult Master himself* — a Sovereign Apex Stage Two cultivator named Wu Tianhe, the princess's preceding small private uncle — in the careful preceding small private formal small careful preceding small private courtesy of one foreign kingdom's senior public acknowledgment.

The Western Verdant Alliance and the Southern Mistspring sent careful preceding small private formal envoys.

By the careful preceding small private hour of the formal wedding's preceding standing arrangement, the careful preceding small private kingdom of Beicang's preceding small private royal palace's central plaza was — by the careful preceding small private hour of one wedding ceremony's preceding standing preparation — *the largest small careful preceding small private public diplomatic gathering the kingdom of Beicang had hosted in two centuries*.

The careful preceding small private wedding — by the careful preceding small private King's preceding pleasure, by the careful preceding small private mutual preference of all preceding parties — was, by the careful preceding small private hour of its preceding small private close, *the kingdom of Beicang's preceding small private public commitment of its preceding small private succession to one substrate-cultivator who had — by the careful preceding small private hour of two and a half years of preceding small private quiet preceding small private patient preceding small private private work — earned the careful preceding small private hour of the kingdom's preceding small private commitment*.

Su Yan, on the morning of the wedding, attended in the careful preceding small private formal *royal son-in-law's preceding small private gold-and-blue robes* the kingdom of Beicang's preceding standing arrangement had — by the careful preceding small private King's preceding standing tailor — prepared.

Cang Xueyi attended in the careful preceding small private formal *winter-blue royal wedding robes* the careful preceding small private kingdom's preceding standing seamstresses had — by her preceding preference, by her preceding small private mother's preceding small private standing preference twenty years earlier — *re-commissioned* in the careful preceding small private precise unhurried preceding pattern of one wedding robe that had not been worn since the careful preceding small private King's preceding small private own preceding small private wedding to her preceding small private mother twenty-two years ago.

The careful preceding small private wedding ceremony took place at the careful preceding small private central plaza on the morning of the third day of the third moon-cycle of the second year after the announcement.

The kingdom of Beicang — by the careful preceding small private hour of one wedding ceremony's preceding small private close — *had its careful preceding small private next king and queen formally established*, in the careful preceding small private precise unhurried preceding hour of the careful preceding small private kingdom's preceding standing arrangement.

By the careful preceding small private hour of the wedding's preceding small private close, by the careful preceding small private hour of one further small careful preceding private hour at the careful preceding small private quiet preceding small private private wedding chamber that the kingdom of Beicang's preceding standing arrangement had calibrated for the careful preceding small private hour of one couple's preceding small private private preference, Su Yan and Cang Xueyi — by their preceding mutual preference, in the careful preceding small private hour of the careful preceding small private *third* small careful preceding small private kiss — *consummated* the careful preceding small private formal wedding.

The careful preceding small private hour was, by every careful preceding small private bookkeeping of two columns having become one over the careful preceding small private hour of two and a half years of preceding small private patient preceding small private preparation, *honored*.

The kingdom of Beicang slept, that careful preceding small private night, in the careful preceding small private precise unhurried preceding hour of one further small careful preceding *peaceful spring evening* the careful preceding small private kingdom's preceding standing record had not, in two centuries, registered with the careful preceding small private hour of *one substrate-cultivator and one princess having, by every careful preceding small private bookkeeping, become one* at the careful preceding small private hour of the small careful preceding private wedding chamber's preceding small private close.