Tang Tianyu introduced them. "Elder Tang, let me introduce my father. Dad, this is Elder Tang Qinghe. You might think he looks young, but he's the most powerful elder at Jedi Academy. Even those little girls who were born with full Spirit Power aren't his match."
"Lord of Jedi City." Tang Qinghe gave a slight bow.
"Little Tang, there's no need to be so formal. Call me Uncle Tang. We're not at Jedi City Academy... If you don't mind, that is."
Tang Tianyu's eyes lit up. From the first time he'd met Tang Qinghe, he'd realized the man had a powerful background. Tang Qinghe's gaze was especially sharp. With one look, he could tell Tang Qinghe was different from the usual spoiled young masters. He didn't mind putting up with a little attitude from him.
Tang Qinghe bowed. "Uncle Tang."
The other man was about twenty years older than him, but there was nothing wrong with calling him Uncle.
"Elder Tang, what brings you here? And this is your first time at Jedi Academy, isn't it?" Tang Tianyu was very enthusiastic about Tang Qinghe, but unless he became a Spirit Emperor, he couldn't join a hundred-year-old academy. So Tang Tianyu hadn't given much thought to that possibility.
"I came to make a name for myself."
"Make a name for yourself? Elder Tang, you've become a Spirit Emperor?" Tang Tianyu's face filled with shock.
Tang Qinghe smiled. A martial soul appeared in his palm, while a golden Spirit Ring rose from beneath his feet.
"A hundred-year Spirit Ring!" Tang Tianyu gasped.
Tang Zhi, standing beside him, was also stunned. He hadn't expected this young man, who had seemed so unremarkable at first, to become a Spirit Emperor at such a young age. He'd truly become an extraordinary figure. Those geniuses at Jedi Academy who'd been born with full Spirit Power weren't even Tang Qinghe's match. His future achievements would be immeasurable.
Thinking of this, he smiled at Tang Qinghe. "Since you're also here to make a name for yourself at Jedi Academy, why don't you stay with me? Then you won't need to find somewhere else to live."
Tang Tianyu replied, "Elder Tang, my father is the dean of Jedi Academy. He's also a respected elder at the academy. You can stay with us."
"Since that's the case, I'll have to trouble you." Tang Qinghe wasn't someone who insisted on making things difficult for himself. Since they were offering to help, he naturally accepted.
And since the Lord of Jedi City was willing to make things convenient for him, he wasn't going to turn down the offer. He also wanted to tell Jade Little Sister about the Spirit Power cultivation method he'd come up with for her. That would help Tang Tianyu, too.
His method combined ideas from the Martial Soul Hall and the ancient Dragon Sect's top Spirit Body cultivation techniques. It could provide Tang Tianyu with a great deal of help. Besides, it wasn't as though he'd be losing anything.
And so, Tang Qinghe settled into Jedi Academy with Tang Tianyu's help.
Each morning, he did a hundred push-ups, a hundred deep squats, a hundred sit-ups, and ran ten kilometers.
He attended his regular classes in the morning.
At noon, he took some time to practice martial arts.
In the afternoon, he studied the academy's specialized courses, including the beast taming and plant cultivation classes.
At night, he practiced the Heavenly Breathing Technique to improve his Spirit Power.
His routine wasn't much different from his time at Jedi Academy. It was just that he had more free time.
All the dormitories at Jedi Academy were single rooms.
With Tang Tianyu's help, Tang Qinghe and Tang Tianyu quickly became close friends.
With Tang Qinghe's influence—and the Spirit Power cultivation method he taught him—Tang Tianyu found training much easier.
Every day, he practiced with Tang Qinghe in the daytime. At night, he replaced sleep with meditation.
At first, he found it hard to keep up.
But as time passed, he gradually persevered.
Tang Qinghe felt grateful to him and even taught Tang Tianyu a set of boxing techniques. They were only the most basic moves, but according to the Heavenly Breathing Technique, even the most ordinary things could be improved into something extraordinary. They were enough to benefit Tang Tianyu for the rest of his life.
This made Tang Tianyu all the more grateful to Tang Qinghe.
In the blink of an eye, eight years passed.
Perhaps because the Battle Tiger martial soul in him was gradually evolving, Tang Qinghe had grown taller and older-looking. He'd also become more mature, no longer looking like such a handsome young man. His skin was no longer as pale, and he no longer looked as delicate. Still, he wasn't exactly a pretty boy, but his features were upright, his eyes were bright and dark, and his thin lips gave him a refined, handsome appearance. He could now be considered a bit of a heartthrob.
His Spirit Power had also risen steadily.
In the final eight months before the summer break ended, his Spirit Power increased by twenty ranks.
He also absorbed a thousand-year Spirit Essence, increasing his Spirit Essence's age by fifteen hundred years.
By now, he was a twenty-second-rank Spirit Emperor.
He was currently working on the third layer of the Heavenly Breathing Technique Tang Qinghe had taught him.
"Elder Tang, I've taken care of everything you asked me to do."
In the dormitory, Tang Tianyu told his father about the arrangements he'd made with Tang Qinghe, then went over to talk with him.
Two years had passed. Tang Tianyu had gone home twice, but Tang Qinghe hadn't returned. He trained silently every day. Whenever Tang Tianyu went home, he'd ask him to bring various spirit beast bones and rice wine for the elderly woman in Spirit Essence Village.
Tang Tianyu's Spirit Power had now risen by sixteen ranks.
When he'd first joined Jedi Academy, he'd only been at rank twelve.
At the Spirit Emperor level, the average increase was one rank every eight years.
For Tang Tianyu, that was an enormous difference.
Sometimes he wondered if Tang Qinghe's rapid progress came from having almost no downtime between training sessions.
For instance, he'd only spent a short while in the bath. After washing himself and his clothes, he sat cross-legged on the bed and began meditating.
"Thanks. How much did you spend on all this?" Tang Qinghe asked, looking up.
"Ah, Elder Tang, there's no need. We don't need to keep track of something so clear-cut. Your cultivation method sped up my training a lot. You helped me improve, so it's only right that I do these little things for you."
Tang Tianyu chuckled. Whenever he returned home, his father would notice that his Spirit Power had increased by another few ranks. He'd say that Tang Qinghe had been good to him.
Tang Qinghe had also helped him a lot with his "work."
He'd stolen away and bragged to people outside, saying, "My father has the blessing of the Spirit Emperor."
Tang Qinghe listened without comment, then looked at Tang Tianyu with an expression that was almost a smile.
Tang Tianyu knew that Tang Qinghe was a man who clearly distinguished between public and private matters and never took advantage of anyone. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Then let me give you thirty Spirit Stones."
Perhaps worried that Tang Qinghe would refuse, he hurriedly added, "Besides bringing the things you asked for to the elderly woman in Spirit Essence Village, my father also found a few villagers there to take care of her daily needs. They'll help wash her clothes and bring her meals."
"Then I'll accept the thousand gold Spirit Stones. Keep the extra for the elderly woman's living expenses." Tang Qinghe casually tossed him a small gold Spirit Stone, then stopped trying to refuse.
He'd already broken through the rank-twenty bottleneck. While Tang Tianyu was on break, he'd found a tavern outside the academy, rented a room, and absorbed his second Spirit Ring. He'd become a twenty-second-rank Spirit Emperor.
Now that he had the third layer of the Heavenly Breathing Technique, he was sure he'd soon improve further.
After that, he could go to the Spirit Soul Tower and test his own ability.
"P.S. The female lead is about to make her entrance in the next chapter. Please forgive the delay; the author had a cold and missed a few days. That means the first major arc with the female lead is finally beginning. It wasn't easy!"
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