"Hmm, Granduncle, what do you mean? What's the difference between Qi and Soul Power?"
Qin Qi stopped in the middle of leaving and spent some of his credits to extend the Study Space session.
"Earlier, when I heard you say that you'd used a Qi cultivation technique to directly increase your Soul Power, I thought that Soul Power was simply another name for Qi"
"in the world you're in now."
"But as I learned more and observed you, I realized that Soul Power and Qi aren't the same thing!"
Tang Jiaren's expression turned serious. The concept of Qi was vague, and that was a huge problem.
It could become a major hidden danger that left Qin Qi's foundation unstable. He had to make sure Qin Qi understood the matter clearly.
"I'm listening. Please go on."
Qin Qi sat cross-legged in front of Tang Jiaren, his expression turning serious as well. Then he spoke.
"In our world, we don't talk about how much Qi someone has. We talk about the depth of their cultivation of life and nature."
"Life refers to everything that has form. All visible structures of living things belong to life."
"Everything invisible yet real, such as the soul, Qi, and the will of the mind, belongs to nature."
"And in the sects of our world, what we call practicing Qi is the tempering of one's life and nature!"
"We never talk about how much Qi someone has on its own. We only talk about the depth of their cultivation of life and nature."
"Do you understand what I mean?"
Tang Jiaren looked at Qin Qi and asked.
"Mm... I understand."
"Practicing Qi is, at its core, cultivating life and nature. It's the sum of the body, soul, Qi, and will."
"Whereas Soul Power is simply a name for energy. It doesn't encompass anything else!"
Qin Qi nodded. He was beginning to understand the difference between practicing Qi and Soul Power.
"Exactly. The Qi we cultivate is something formed from the condensation of essence, energy, and spirit."
"But the Soul Power spoken of in this world seems to be pure energy. To put it more plainly, it's just the 'energy' in essence, energy, and spirit."
Worried that Qin Qi might confuse the two, Tang Jiaren wrote the characters for qi and qi in the air.
Qi and QI were two different characters that referred to two different things. QI wasn't the traditional form of Qi.
"I see!"
Qin Qi suddenly understood something. Why had absorbing the five-hundred-year-old Datura Snake been so easy before?
It turned out that practicing Qi had improved both his body and soul at the same time.
With the same amount of Soul Power, his physical strength and mental fortitude far surpassed those of other Spirit Masters!
Qin Qi and Tang Jiaren spent the rest of their time discussing many other things, completely distinguishing Qi from Soul Power.
They also reviewed Qin Qi's strengths and weaknesses and drew up a new cultivation plan.
"Practicing Qi has several advantages over cultivating Soul Power."
"First, your body, soul, and Qi all grow together, so none of them becomes a weak link."
"Second, because your body is strong, you'll be able to absorb Soul Rings with a higher age."
"Third, at the same level, your Qi is far superior to other people's Soul Power in both quality and quantity."
"But there are some downsides. Because you're improving your body, soul, and Qi all at once,"
"cultivating takes you longer than it would if you were only cultivating Soul Power."
As he spoke, Tang Jiaren looked at Qin Qi.
"That's no problem. There's one thing I have plenty of: time. And I've got talent to spare, too."
Qin Qi chuckled. It might take him longer than other people, but he had a cheat on his side!
After stacking Tang Jiaren's various talent attributes, his speed at practicing Qi was twice that of an ordinary person!
With the Study Space, he could make one day count as two or even three. He wasn't short on time at all.
"Mm. Next comes your further cultivation. Spirit Masters don't have techniques specifically for tempering life and nature."
"But our Tang Sect does. I'll pass them on to you later."
"Life and nature don't just need to be nurtured; they need to be tempered, too. Only life and nature that have been properly tempered can be resilient and strong!"
Tang Jiaren spoke.
"Understood. A piece of cotton and a piece of iron of the same size aren't equally strong. And iron isn't as strong as steel that's been forged a thousand times."
Qin Qi nodded. As he understood it, nurturing life and nature was like eating: you had to eat enough to put on muscle.
But if all you did was eat without exercising, you'd only gain fat.
Only by eating well (nurturing life and nature) and training hard (tempering life and nature) could you grow strong in the end!
"Mm. You've studied for quite a while today. Go rest and digest what you've learned."
"Tomorrow, I'll start teaching you the Tang Sect's Instant Strike and Catkin Step."
Tang Jiaren watched Qin Qi study so earnestly and nodded with satisfaction. Then he told Qin Qi to go get some rest.
"Then I'll head out, Granduncle. Bye!"
After saying goodbye, Qin Qi left the Study Space. He needed to properly digest what he'd learned today.
Back in the real world, Qin Qi saw Tang San practicing nearby.
"Ah, having a reliable teacher really matters."
Looking at Tang San, Qin Qi thought of how Grandmaster would later make Tang San and the others run around with rocks on their backs.
The next morning, everyone went to class as usual. At lunchtime, Teacher Zhao found Qin Qi.
"The principal is planning to hold a Spirit Master academy sparring tournament. Do you want to take part?"
Teacher Zhao looked at Qin Qi and asked.
"A Spirit Master academy sparring tournament?"
"What would we even spar over? We're a Junior Spirit Master Academy."
Qin Qi couldn't help laughing. Most of the children at their Junior Spirit Master Academy didn't even have Soul Rings.
What the hell were they supposed to spar over?
"Mm. It's the Junior Spirit Master Academy Tournament. The principal wants to get the academies from a few nearby cities together for some friendly matches."
Teacher Zhao's expression was a little awkward, too. To be honest, she also felt like the principal was joking.
"Wait... could the principal have found out about Xiao Wu and Tang San?"
Qin Qi had just been about to keep complaining, but then something occurred to him. He tentatively asked.
"Mm."
Teacher Zhao nodded awkwardly.
"The principal's such a schemer. That old fox is sly as hell!"
"Making a few Spirit Masters fight Spirit Scholars who don't even have Soul Rings? The principal's a genius!"
Qin Qi couldn't hold back his laughter. They'd basically decided to make dumplings just to have an excuse to brew the vinegar.
"Even if what the principal is doing isn't exactly right, it'll effectively boost the reputation of our Nuoding City academy."
"It'll benefit the academy's development. Mm, the principal is doing this for the school."
As Teacher Zhao spoke, she couldn't help lowering her head, her voice growing quieter. Even she felt embarrassed.
"Right, right. The principal's the principal, after all."
"I'll sign up, but make sure the principal gives us some scholarship money if we win."
"Don't let a few words of praise count as our only reward."
Qin Qi praised the principal's wisdom, then agreed to take part. There was no way he'd lose.
The only question was what kind of reward the principal would give them if they won this tournament.
"Of course there'll be a reward. The principal and the other academies are putting up quite a bit of money this time,"
Teacher Zhao said.
"Brilliant. Truly brilliant!"
Qin Qi gave the principal a thumbs-up. It looked as if several academies were competing for prize money, but the outcome had already been decided.
Qin Qi refused to believe that any of the nearby cities had a six-year-old monster who'd reached level twenty.
The advantage is ours. We're guaranteed to win!