A Chance Encounter with Shui Bing'er

Two figures darted out from the direction the Snow Eagle had flown from earlier.

One was old, the other young; one male, one female. The man appeared to be in his sixties or seventies. He had short white hair, a goatee, and wore fine robes, looking full of vigor. His rosy skin was as smooth as a newborn baby's. His blue eyes were fixed on the Snow Eagle beneath Ye Feng's feet.

Beside the old man stood a pretty young girl. She wore a neat fitted outfit that tightly outlined her already developing figure. Her long watery-blue hair flowed down her back, while her fair face was graced with delicate features. At first glance, she did not seem exceptionally stunning, but the longer one looked, the more one discovered her beauty—a hazy, ethereal kind of beauty. Her blue eyes were likewise fixed on the Snow Eagle beneath Ye Feng's feet.

"Is there something you need?" Sword Saint Chen Xin asked blandly, yet his tone seemed capable of cutting into one's heart.

"This old man is Shui Ruohan." The elder introduced himself as seven Soul Rings appeared beneath his feet—two yellow, two purple, and three black. He was clearly a Soul Saint.

A chill gathered behind the elder and formed into an Ice Phoenix. His martial soul was actually the top-tier ice-attribute beast martial soul—the Ice Phoenix.

Sword Saint Chen Xin said nothing. His gaze remained calm as he simply watched the elder.

"Esteemed sir, you cannot let this child obtain this soul beast's Soul Ring!" Shui Ruohan said.

"Why not?" Sword Saint Chen Xin asked.

"Because we discovered this soul beast first," the elder answered.

"You discovered it first?" Ye Feng looked stunned as he regarded the elder in surprise. A scene from the original story surfaced in his mind. Only, things were different now. Instead of encountering Meng Yiran and Snake Granny Chao Tianxiang, he had met this elder who called himself Shui Ruohan.

Ice Phoenix?

Ye Feng's heart tightened as he noticed the elder's exceptional beast martial soul. He then subconsciously looked at the girl. If he was not mistaken, these two were from Skywater Academy. And the girl was Shui Bing'er, the gifted prodigy who had made Tang San repeatedly wonder whether he should begin cultivating the Clear Sky Hammer.

After a pause, Ye Feng asked, "How can you prove that you discovered this soul beast first?"

"Little friend, that is simple. Just look at the Snow Eagle's abdomen. Are there several wounds there? Those are marks left by this old man's Soul Skill. If this Snow Eagle had not been so cautious and cunning, Ice would already have obtained its Soul Ring." Shui Ruohan smiled.

Ye Feng reached out, grabbed the Snow Eagle by its wing, and exposed its abdomen for everyone to see. Sure enough, he found several wounds. They were still bleeding. Sword Saint Chen Xin had not used the Seven Kill Sword just now, so it was obvious these had been inflicted by the elder.

"Even so, my master was the one who intercepted this soul beast and seriously wounded it," Ye Feng argued.

"Little friend, you have a point. Without you, this Snow Eagle might very well have escaped." Shui Ruohan agreed. He sized Ye Feng up before asking, "Little friend, has your Soul Power reached level twenty?"

"More or less," Ye Feng answered casually.

"Just as I thought." A gleam lit up in Shui Ruohan's deep eyes. Stroking his beard, he looked at Ye Feng with admiration, utterly shocked that Ye Feng had already reached level twenty at such a young age. Then Shui Ruohan continued, "I, Shui Ruohan, am not an unreasonable man. We were the ones who found this Snow Eagle, but you were the ones who intercepted it and gravely wounded it. The soul beasts in this Soul Hunting Forest belong to no one. Without us, you would not have found the Snow Eagle. Without you, it likely would have escaped from our hands. How about this? You spar with my granddaughter. Whoever wins gets this soul beast. What do you say?"

"This..." Ye Feng hesitated.

Knowing the plot of Douluo well, Ye Feng knew that Shui Bing'er possessed extraordinary talent. Her First Soul Skill was Ice Seal. At present, aside from Sword and Man as One, which he had yet to master, Ye Feng only had Beast Blood Boiling, a Support System Soul Skill. If he fought Shui Bing'er, he had only a fifty-percent chance of winning.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

Sword Saint Chen Xin's voice suddenly rang out.

The moment he spoke, nine Soul Rings emerged beneath Sword Saint Chen Xin's feet.

Nine Soul Rings meant that Sword Saint Chen Xin was a Titled Douluo.

His Soul Ring configuration was two yellow, two purple, and five black, which showed that Sword Saint Chen Xin was also a Titled Douluo with a standard Soul Ring configuration.

"Seven Kill Sword?"

Shui Ruohan went blank with shock, his eyes wide and his entire body nearly petrified on the spot. A few words escaped his mouth: "You are Sword Saint Chen Xin?"

"Get lost!" Sword Saint Chen Xin barked coldly and domineeringly.

Shui Ruohan stared at Sword Saint Chen Xin. Suppressed by the other's Soul Power of over level ninety, he had no temper left at all. Faced with Sword Saint Chen Xin's cold rebuke, Shui Ruohan showed no displeasure whatsoever.

Instead, Shui Ruohan respectfully bowed slightly to Sword Saint Chen Xin.

"Your Excellency, pardon our disturbance."

Shui Ruohan had a refined, scholarly air and impeccable manners. After bowing to Sword Saint Chen Xin, he called to his granddaughter Shui Bing'er and turned to leave.

"Please wait, you two," Ye Feng suddenly called.

Shui Ruohan turned around, and Shui Bing'er turned with him.

Ye Feng gazed at Shui Bing'er.

Sword Saint Chen Xin had treated Shui Ruohan with such dominance and arrogance. As his granddaughter, Shui Bing'er had clearly had her soul beast "taken" from her, yet she had remained calm as she watched Ye Feng.

Ye Feng could not help viewing Shui Bing'er in a new light. Despite her young age, Shui Bing'er already knew how to restrain herself and not let her emotions override her reason.

No ordinary person!

That was Ye Feng's first impression of Shui Bing'er. With such a temperament, Shui Bing'er was destined to achieve great things.

After Ye Feng spoke, not only Shui Bing'er and Shui Ruohan, but even Sword Saint Chen Xin looked at him in surprise. They did not understand what Ye Feng still wanted when he had already obtained the Snow Eagle.

Ye Feng spoke solemnly, like an adult. "I accept your proposal."

"Are you sure?" Shui Bing'er was still young, and she hurriedly asked Ye Feng.

Shui Bing'er's grandfather, Shui Ruohan, glanced at Ye Feng before shifting his gaze to Sword Saint Chen Xin. For Shui Ruohan, Sword Saint Chen Xin was the only one he feared.

"I am sure," Ye Feng answered.

"Your Excellency, is this truly acceptable?" Shui Ruohan asked Sword Saint Chen Xin.

"Since Ye Feng has agreed, then let them have a match." Sword Saint Chen Xin did not hesitate and effectively gave Shui Ruohan his answer.

Sword Saint Chen Xin was also curious. Without any offensive Soul Skills, how would Ye Feng defeat Shui Bing'er?

Could it be Sword and Man as One?

Sword Saint Chen Xin believed that Ye Feng could only possibly defeat Shui Bing'er by using Sword and Man as One, the technique he had taught him.