Skywater Academy

They'd been discovered!

Lin Ming's heart sank. He and Little Lei Yi were both in an extremely weakened state. If whoever was coming had bad intentions...

He quickly scanned his surroundings. Dragging his exhausted body, he managed to move behind a dense thicket and recalled Little Lei Yi into his body.

Neither fleeing nor fighting was an option. He could only hide for now and assess the situation.

Almost as soon as he had hidden, seven figures passed through the trees and appeared in the clearing where the battle had taken place.

They were seven girls in matching light-blue dresses, ranging in age from seven to thirteen.

Snowflakes and flowing water were embroidered on their cuffs—the emblem of Skywater Academy.

At their head was a short-haired blue-haired girl who looked about thirteen. She had a composed air, and her sharp gaze swept across the battle-scarred clearing.

Broken trees, scorched marks, the fallen Lightning Leopard, and the yellow Hundred-Year Soul Ring floating above it.

She raised a hand, signaling for the others to stop.

"Sister Xue Wu, the disturbance came from here, right? That was a powerful lightning-element fluctuation!"

A blue-haired girl who looked about eleven poked her head out from behind Xue Wu and peered around curiously.

She was Shui Yue'er.

"Mm. The battle's already over. Judging by the traces... it was brief, but incredibly powerful."

Xue Wu crouched to examine the Lightning Leopard's wounds, a flicker of surprise in her eyes.

"This Lightning Leopard had at least four hundred years of cultivation. To kill it in one strike... That doesn't seem like something an ordinary Soul Grandmaster could manage."

"Wow! Four hundred years? Whoever did it must be a Soul Elder, at least. Where are they? Did they run off?"

Shui Yue'er blinked and exclaimed.

"The Soul Ring is still here. They can't have gone far, or else..."

Xue Wu rose to her feet and warily scanned their surroundings, ready to use Martial Soul Possession at any moment.

"Xue Wu, over here."

A cool voice, tinged with a hint of childishness, rang out.

The speaker was a girl standing a little farther back. She looked no older than eight or nine and had smooth, flowing water-blue hair, delicate features, and skin so pale it seemed almost translucent.

Her most striking feature was her eyes: ice-blue, clear, and calm.

At that moment, her brows were slightly furrowed as she studied the traces on the ground.

"Bing'er, did you find something?"

Xue Wu clearly treated Shui Bing'er with respect and immediately walked over.

Shui Bing'er was the most gifted student of this generation at Skywater Academy. Though still young, she had already been chosen as the future core of their team.

Shui Bing'er pointed to the barely discernible traces on the ground, then toward the thicket where Lin Ming was hiding. Her voice was calm but certain.

"The fighter was injured or badly drained. They can't move easily and may still be nearby."

At her words, the older students immediately spread out in tacit agreement, loosely forming a perimeter as their Soul Power stirred.

Behind the thicket, Lin Ming smiled wryly. He hadn't expected such a young girl to be so observant.

"Hey! Whoever's hiding over there, come out! We mean you no harm!"

Shui Yue'er called toward the thicket. Her tone wasn't exactly fierce; if anything, it carried a note of curiosity.

"We're students from Skywater Academy. We're just passing through. Did you kill that Lightning Leopard all by yourself? That's impressive!"

Lin Ming knew he couldn't stay hidden. And judging by their words and actions, they didn't seem intent on attacking him.

He took a deep breath to calm his churning blood, did his best to look composed, then pushed aside the branches and stepped out.

When his somewhat disheveled figure appeared before the Skywater Academy students, several of the girls froze.

"A... a kid?" one of them exclaimed.

"No way. He's the one who killed a four-hundred-year Lightning Leopard?"

Another student looked utterly unconvinced.

"Look at him. His Soul Power is barely registering, and his clothes are all torn up."

Shui Yue'er's eyes widened as she stepped closer and looked Lin Ming up and down.

"How old are you? Are you even eight?"

Lin Ming's mouth twitched. He didn't answer the question, only said calmly, "I got lucky. I killed this Soul Beast, and I need the Soul Ring. If you have nothing else to discuss, please go on your way."

He deliberately made his tone cold, hoping to discourage them from getting involved.

But the emptiness of his Soul Power and his exhaustion made his voice sound faintly weak.

Xue Wu's gaze shifted between Lin Ming's pale face, his torn clothes, and the Hundred-Year Soul Ring. Her brow furrowed.

A child so young and apparently so weak, killing a four-hundred-year Soul Beast alone on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest?

It made no sense.

"Did you come alone?" Shui Bing'er asked, her voice still cool. Her question went straight to the heart of the matter.

"Where are your family or your elders?"

Lin Ming's heart tightened. He knew that question wouldn't be easy to answer.

"Training," he said briefly, trying to dodge the question.

"My teacher... is waiting for me nearby."

Besides the seven girls in front of him, there was another fluctuation of Soul Power hidden in the shadows.

That presence was stronger than any of the seven girls before him.

He didn't know whether his lie would fool that powerful presence, but he had to try.

"How could a child this young come to the Star Dou Great Forest alone for training? It's so dangerous."

Shui Yue'er was blunt.

"Hey, little guy, did you sneak out, or did you get separated from your group? Tell us the truth. Maybe us older sisters can help."

"Yue'er."

Shui Bing'er gently stopped her from pressing further. She stepped closer and looked Lin Ming in the eye, studying him seriously.

"You're injured, and your Soul Power is almost completely depleted. Absorbing a four-hundred-year Soul Ring carries risks even when you're in peak condition. In your current state, the chance of failure is over seventy percent. You could suffer a ruptured body or mental damage."

Shui Bing'er spoke evenly and clearly, her reasoning orderly and precise. She sounded nothing like an eight- or nine-year-old child.

"The Lightning Leopard's Soul Ring contains violent energy and has a lightning attribute. It's good that it matches your Martial Soul, but your body and mind still need to be relatively stable."

Lin Ming fell silent.

He knew Shui Bing'er was telling the truth.

Using the Martial Soul Fusion Skill had put an enormous strain on him and Little Lei Yi. This really wasn't a good time to absorb the Soul Ring.

But Soul Rings wouldn't wait. The longer he delayed, the more could go wrong.

Seeing Lin Ming fall silent, Shui Bing'er continued, "We can keep watch for you while you recover a little. After that, you'll need to tell us the truth."

Her offer made Xue Wu's brow lift slightly.

"Bing'er, isn't that a little too hasty? We still don't know who he is."

"Sister Xue Wu."

Shui Bing'er turned to her, her tone serious.

"He's even younger than I am, alone out here and badly injured. The academy teaches us that Soul Masters aren't enemies by nature, and that we should help one another when we can."

"If he really did kill that Soul Beast all by himself... he might be worth getting to know."

She spoke the last sentence very softly, but Xue Wu and the other students understood.

"Aw, our little team captain Bing'er is just so kindhearted. She wants to help, but she has to make it sound all proper and formal."