You couldn't fight someone if you didn't know how to fight. First, there was Tang Ritian. Even without Tang Ritian around, Tang Qinghe still couldn't be sure he could beat Han San.
To be honest, his martial arts weren't even on par with Tang San's, and his Spirit Power was only at the Fourth Ring. His earlier spar with Xiao Wu had gone as well as it did mainly because Xiao Wu had underestimated him; the element of surprise had worked in his favor.
If he'd genuinely gone all out, with his half-baked skills and inferior Spirit Power, he probably wouldn't have been a match for Xiao Wu, let alone Tang San.
That was all the more reason to be wary of Tang San, who had just been kicked flying by Tang Qinghe.
Tang San wondered, Since things have come to this, should I just follow the plot and take you down? Thinking it over, he looked at Tang Qinghe and abandoned the idea.
Where was I?
What was I thinking about again?
After a brief pause, Tang San felt a nameless frustration welling up inside him. With that kid acting so unpredictably, even someone like him—who was supposed to be the "protagonist"—couldn't afford to make a move against him.
[Tang San's resentment +18888]
Tang San took a deep breath. "Fine. For Grandpa Flender's sake, I'll let this go. But don't think I'll keep putting up with you. You've insulted my teacher three or four times already. I'll call it even for the kindness Grandpa Flender showed me. If you dare do it again, don't blame me for being rude."
"Rude? In your eyes, Grandpa Flender took you in when you were desperate, gave you food and shelter, and saved your whole family's lives. And I only helped you because I respected him. I did it out of kindness, to remind you not to go around calling people 'old dogs.' Yet you've repaid that kindness by slandering Grandpa Flender. One good deed, one grudge—that's how it goes, Tang San. I've seen what you're like now. From now on, we're strangers. Let's go our separate ways."
After he finished speaking, Tang Qinghe walked out of the students' dormitory with a look of utter disdain, as if Tang San's ungratefulness were exactly what he'd expected.
He'd been patient for long enough. If he kept letting this little brat have his way, he'd end up dead at his hands.
After he left the dormitory, the curtain finally came down.
[Tang San's resentment +18888]
[Tang San's resentment +28888]
"Hahaha, it's working! It's working!"
Tang Qinghe was overjoyed.
Tang San, on the other hand, looked awful. He lowered his head, his face shrouded in shadow. No one knew what he was thinking.
Being called a "rice-begging ghost" was something he could accept. But being called an ingrate was another matter entirely.
Tang San kept the incident buried deep in his heart.
"Tang San, are you all right?" Xiao Wu wasn't too comfortable with the tension between Tang San and Tang Qinghe. She quickly took him away, trying to reassure him.
Tang San shook his head. "I'm fine. But you got kicked flying by Tang Qinghe earlier. Are you badly hurt? Did he break any bones?"
At the mention of Tang Qinghe, Xiao Wu's face filled with anger. "Hmph! It was my own carelessness. Next time, I'll make sure to beat him until he's spitting blood!"
Tang San smiled faintly. His anger had subsided a little.
So had his.
After all, this was an academy. To secure a place where he could cultivate in peace, he'd let it slide—as long as Tang Qinghe stopped picking on him. Otherwise...
According to the third rule of the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record, if your opponent was an enemy and you had a chance to kill them, you must show no mercy. Any hesitation could bring trouble upon yourself.
Elsewhere, Tang Qinghe had already arrived at the cafeteria.
After grabbing some food, he sat down and took stock of his gains. Just from this one encounter, Tang San and Xiao Wu had provided him with seventy or eighty thousand resentment points.
By his calculations, he'd already accumulated over three hundred thousand resentment points.
That was enough to buy the Million Year Spirit Stone.
It was just a pity that he couldn't absorb it.
Still, he wasn't in a rush. Resentment points were hard to come by, and spending them to exchange for a Divine King's position would take a ridiculous amount. What was the point of rushing?
Besides, he couldn't be too greedy. Now wasn't the time to tear down the bridge after crossing it.
His priority was to increase his Spirit Power.
He could use the three chances he'd been given to draw from Xiao Wu's side.
After all, as long as he didn't claim the rewards, no one would know.
For now, things were going well. Tang Qinghe had just started plotting again, and a reward popped up.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host, you have obtained a Million Year Spirit Stone ×100.]
Since it was a hundred Platinum Spirit Stones, Tang Qinghe didn't feel too disappointed. He thought to himself, That's still better than nothing. System, draw again.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host, you have obtained a One-Time Spirit Ring Replacement Card (choose any one Spirit Ring and replace it with another Spirit Ring).]
"That's not bad. With a Spirit Ring Replacement Card, I can use a hundred-year Spirit Ring for my first Spirit Ring for now, then replace it with a ten-thousand-year Spirit Ring later."
"System, draw again."
[Ding! Congratulations, Host, you have obtained the secret art, Handy Tiger Pounce.]
"Handy Tiger Pounce? That's pretty good. I never thought that aside from the Spirit Ring Replacement Card, I'd draw something else useful. It'll work perfectly with my second martial spirit..."
Tang Qinghe took a look at the Handy Tiger Pounce in the system's shop. It was a bare-bones technique, much like the basic boxing methods and footwork taught by Li Yuanzhe. It only cost fifty thousand resentment points.
After some thought, he decided not to redeem it. He'd already bought up all the food.
When he returned to the dormitory, he had a set of bedding and a pillow in his hands. He'd bought them on the way back from Jedi City.
Even if he could cultivate instead of sleeping every day, he couldn't just sit on a hard bed all the time.
By now, it was completely dark. Aside from Tang San, who was sitting cross-legged on his bed and cultivating, everyone else had already climbed into bed and fallen asleep.
"Tang Qinghe, once my butt feels better, I'm going to get you back for that kick!" Xiao Wu stuck her head out from under the covers, showing a small, round face as she gnashed her teeth at him.
"Suit yourself." Tang Qinghe replied coolly, then arranged his bedding.
He sat down on his bed and began cultivating the Mysterious Heaven Skill.
"Xiao Wu, wait for me." Tang San had already stretched out his arms and was about to hug her from under the covers.
Sleep early, wake early.
The next day, dawn broke bright and clear.
While the other students at Nuoding Academy were still asleep, Tang Qinghe had already opened his eyes. He ended his cultivation, got up, and went running to improve his physique.
For him, cultivating the Mysterious Heaven Skill naturally improved his Spirit Power.
But it also improved his physique.
And his method of building his physique was very simple: a hundred push-ups, a hundred sit-ups, a hundred squats, and a ten-kilometer run.
Tang San, who had walked out of the dormitory at the same time, had planned to go with Jade Little Sister to the Spirit Beast Forest today to hunt for his first Spirit Ring.
Jade Little Sister watched Tang Qinghe, who was watering the vegetables in the garden, then turned to Tang San with a serious expression.
"Xiao San, Tang Qinghe's innate Spirit Power is only three ranks, and his innate full Spirit Power is worlds apart from yours. No matter how hard he trains, he'll never catch up to you. You shouldn't keep competing with him. It'll distract you from your cultivation, and you'll have more important things to do."
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