Just as the battle was about to begin, a dazzling stream of light descended from the sky, landing in the center of the arena like a blood-red meteor.
At the same time, a thick, powerful voice suddenly rang out from all directions. "Dean Fox, would you mind letting this old man participate in your academy's opening ceremony?"
Everyone's attention shifted, including Spirit Emperor's number-one subordinate, Dean Friedrich. Even he looked over, while several more people appeared in the arena.
The newcomer was an old man dressed in a blood-red robe and armor, with a blood-red crown on his head. Everything about him was crimson. He held a young girl with an exceptionally beautiful appearance in his left hand. The girl looked about fourteen or fifteen. After landing, she immediately began looking left and right, as if searching for someone.
Seeing the old man's appearance, Dean Friedrich, who was sitting at the head of the academy's senior officials, immediately stiffened. Although the old man held a respected position in the academy, he was also a troublesome person whom no one dared offend.
Tang Qinghe's lips curled into a faint, inscrutable smile.
Spirit Essence flashed toward the arena.
"So it was you who poisoned my disciple. The poisonous demonic soul you left behind was actually enough to let you enter the academy's opening ceremony. You even made us wait here like fools."
Friedrich had no idea what the old man was talking about, but he was already completely flustered. The old man had hurried over just in time for the academy's opening ceremony, yet he had immediately started making a scene.
The old man also seemed to be declaring his authority. He merely waved his hand indifferently, then stood beside the young girl. His expression was actually rather gentle, as though he were treating a close relative.
A moment later, Tang Qinghe arrived. Just as he appeared, the young girl's eyes suddenly lit up. She leaned beside the old man and whispered a few words. The old man's expression darkened, and he began sizing Tang Qinghe up.
Friedrich and the other academy officials became extremely tense. After all, Tang Qinghe had recently caught the poisonous demonic soul left behind by the old man.
However, Tang Qinghe noticed that the old man and the young girl's gazes were exactly the same.
Without wasting any time, the academy's dean gave a speech praising him.
Dean Friedrich was afraid that something might happen. After hurriedly offering a few words of encouragement, he ended the opening ceremony and allowed everyone to leave.
The old man did not have the slightest intention of stopping the ceremony.
Tang Qinghe glanced at the young girl. Seeing the dark look in her eyes, he was about to say, "Old man," when the young girl suddenly stopped him. "Wait."
Tang Qinghe channeled his spirit essence, and a dazzling golden light flashed as he arrived beside the old man. Before he could speak, Dean Friedrich hurriedly stepped in front of him and said, "Young master, please calm down. Is there some misunderstanding? Qinghe is a good child. He only knows how to work hard at cultivation and has never committed any offense. Why are you suddenly looking for him?"
"Rest assured. He knows his place. Even if he really offended me, I wouldn't stoop to personally deal with a child. I have something else to discuss with him. Right now, I'm merely looking for a way to detoxify the poison in that old man's body. The old man and this young friend Tang have something to discuss."
The young girl looked somewhat puzzled.
Tang Qinghe also spoke up at the academy entrance. "Dean, please rest assured. Earlier, I had already spoken with the girl. She came looking for me because of the old man's matter."
Hearing that he had not come looking for trouble, Dean Friedrich could not help sighing in relief. He immediately led him into the academy's reception hall. Then he left, leaving the three of them behind.
"Girl, more than half the poison in your body has already been removed. Now that I know that, I can rest easy."
Tang Qinghe held the young girl's wrist. The black color that had previously covered it had already faded considerably, and a faint smile appeared on his face.
The girl was still beautiful, but she was now somewhat embarrassed. "The poison... I was poisoned?"
"Of course. The strange illness you had before was a sign that you'd been poisoned. Moreover, the poison inside you was actually poison from your own martial soul. When I saw you being tormented by the poison, I treated the three soul bones attached to your body. All of them were poisonous. If you had possessed a weapon-type martial soul, that would have been fine. But you possess a beast-type martial soul. Under the effect of your martial soul's attachment, the poison entered your body without you noticing. It then spread through every part of your body, causing all sorts of symptoms. You were fortunate that the symptoms manifested early. Otherwise, if you had absorbed the poison from all three soul bones, you would truly have been in danger."
Tang Qinghe stared blankly at her, looking exactly like an innocent younger brother.
The old man kept observing Tang Qinghe. After hearing his explanation, his expression changed slightly. He also looked toward the academy entrance. "Young friend, you were poisoned too?"
"I possess a demonic soul, but I encountered it many years ago. I know how to remove poison. If you're willing, you may treat me as a doctor."
Tang Qinghe's expression remained calm and indifferent.
"A doctor?" The girl suddenly turned to look at the old man.
The old man gave a faint smile. He could tell that Tang Qinghe possessed a mysterious power he could not see through. "Very well. I'll trouble you. It seems my granddaughter has been poisoned. Please find a way to detoxify her."
Tang Qinghe nodded. "There are two methods for detoxification."
"Which two?" The old man immediately sat up straighter.
The girl had already confirmed that she really was poisoned. Hearing that the old man was even willing to let Tang Qinghe detoxify her, she grabbed his sleeve and whispered, "Grandfather..."
But the girl's distressed expression did not affect the old man at all. He said domineeringly, "Don't interrupt."
Tang Qinghe's expression turned solemn. "The first method is to use a demonic soul. Ideally, it should be a mature Outer Demonic Body. You only need to inject the poison into the demonic soul's bones, and it will be done. This method can permanently resolve the poison in your granddaughter's body. If you don't have an Outer Demonic Body, an ordinary soul bone will also work. However, you must not casually find some random soul bone. Ordinary soul bones have a limit to how much poison they can contain. Once that limit is exceeded, they may suddenly backlash against the user. If you can find a high-quality demonic soul bone, then every six months or so, you can use the poison refined from my secret method to cultivate it. It would be enough to help your granddaughter cultivate to Spirit Emperor."
"So that's how it is. So the original method was like this... Why didn't I think of it before?"
The girl's eyes flickered. She did not stop looking at Tang Qinghe, and soon her gaze became moist.
Even the old man, who was a renowned expert, was filled with regret.
If he had known this method earlier, his granddaughter would not have died.
Nor would his disciple have died after being injected with poison because of that incident.
He would not have left the poison behind to harm his own granddaughter.
"Grandfather..." The girl called out when she saw the old man's expression. She could not help but pull at his sleeve.
"Grandfather's fine." The old man smiled bitterly. At that moment, he also set aside his wariness toward Tang Qinghe. He turned to Tang Qinghe and asked, "Young friend, what is the second method?"
Tang Qinghe answered, "The second method is to use the first soul essence of the girl's martial soul, the Green Jade Snake, isn't it?"
"That's right." The old man nodded heavily. Since he could not find a method to detoxify her, he could only place his hopes on occasionally finding a way to let his granddaughter's body withstand the poison of the Green Jade Snake, allowing her martial soul to evolve.
The way to speed up her cultivation was naturally to absorb a demonic soul bone with the same origin as her martial soul.
That was why, long ago, he had refined a three-hundred-year-old Green Jade Snake into the first soul essence.
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