Five Element Academy Exchange

Seeing Ye Wen made Shui Bing'er quietly happy, but she didn't let it show. She found an excuse to ask, "Ye Wen, Evil Tiger, how's your stage routine coming along? You've had two and a half months off to practice."

She wasn't really asking about that. Talented students like Ye Wen wouldn't get scolded even if they failed the dance assessment.

She just didn't know why, but she really wanted to see him.

"Uh..." Ye Wen and Evil Tiger glanced at each other, looking a little awkward. Dancing?

Like hell they'd practiced! They'd forgotten all about it ages ago.

"Get to it. School starts again in three days, and there'll be a group assessment," Shui Bing'er said.

"Got it, got it."

"Oh, there's one more thing I need to tell you."

"What is it?"

Shui Bing'er's expression finally turned serious. "In five months, it'll be time for the Five Element Academy Exchange. You're all among the best students in your year, so you'll definitely be competing."

"The Five Great Elements Exchange Meeting? What's that?" Ye Wen asked, puzzled.

"It's a friendly competition between the students of the five elemental academies: Skywater, Godwind, Blazing Fire, Thunder, and Elephant Armor. It's held every two years." Shui Bing'er explained, then continued, "This year, the other four academies are coming to our Skywater Academy. We're hosting."

"The rules are simple. Each grade from First to Sixth Year, along with the Advanced Class, sends three students to compete against students from the same grade at the other four academies."

"Once school starts, you'll be Second Year students, so you'll represent your grade in the competition."

"I see. No wonder."

There were plenty of talented students at the Five Element Academies, and Ye Wen knew quite a few of them, like Feng Xiaotian from Godwind Academy; Huo Wu and Huo Wushuang from Blazing Fire Academy; Hu Yanli from Elephant Armor Academy; and Yu Tianxin from Thunder Academy.

They were all fairly prominent characters, and future standouts and core members of the Soul Master Tournament.

As Ye Wen remembered it, Feng Xiaotian from Godwind Academy liked Huo Wu from Blazing Fire Academy. He was especially devoted to her.

So they'd known each other for a long time. Was it because of this Five Great Elements Exchange Meeting? Or were their families already acquainted?

"What's the point of the Five Element Academy Exchange? And are there any rewards?" Ye Wen asked.

"The reward is prize money. Each academy contributes two thousand Gold Soul Coins every month, for a total of ten thousand. The academy with the highest final score gets all the prize money, which is then divided among the participating students," Shui Bing'er explained.

"As for the point of it, there isn't much to it, really. For the students, it's probably just a chance to spar with talented students from other academies. The other reason is that the five academies are secretly competing with one another. They all want to prove they're the strongest and come out looking better."

"Only ten thousand Gold Soul Coins? Hah." Ye Wen laughed.

Ten thousand Gold Soul Coins was a fortune to ordinary people, but the prize had to be split among three students from each of six grades, plus the Advanced Class: twenty-one people in total.

Each person would get 476 Gold Soul Coins. Sure, that was still a fortune to ordinary people.

But to Ye Wen, it was pocket change. He had no interest in this kind of competition and waved a hand. "Got it. I'm not interested in the Exchange Meeting. Let someone else represent Second Year."

"No way! You're the strongest student in Second Year. You have to help Skywater Academy. We don't want to lose to the other four academies. It's a matter of our academy's reputation!" Shui Bing'er said, hands on her hips and lips pursed.

"All right, all right. I'll compete. We've still got half a year, anyway." Ye Wen shrugged helplessly, then asked, "Anything else?"

"No, that's all."

"Then why are you still standing here? Want to come sit in the boys' dormitory?"

"I..." Shui Bing'er hesitated, but then swallowed the rest of her words. "Well, I'll be going."

With that, Shui Bing'er turned and left.

Evil Tiger had already seen right through it. He thought to himself, Boss, you really haven't noticed, have you? Shui Bing'er just wants to talk to you a little longer.

As they say, those involved are blind to it, while bystanders see clearly. Evil Tiger had a feeling Shui Bing'er was interested in Ye Wen, but he didn't point it out.

Three days later, Skywater Academy started the new term.

Ye Wen, Evil Tiger, and Xiao Bai all successfully advanced to Second Year and became students in Skywater Academy's Second Year.

As expected, Ye Wen and Evil Tiger's dancing at the opening assessment was so awful that the teachers and students couldn't bear to watch.

Dance was a distinctive feature of Skywater Academy and a required subject. Its main purpose was to help the female students develop an interest and hobby during their Soul Master training, using dance to relieve the pressure of cultivation.

Although Ye Wen and Evil Tiger were boys, they had joined Skywater Academy, so they had to accept its fine traditions.

The Dean couldn't bear to watch Ye Wen and Evil Tiger dance, so he had Shui Bing'er coach them regularly.

Three days later.

In the dance studio, Ye Wen and Evil Tiger stared at Shui Bing'er, who was teaching them to dance, with utter despair on their faces.

"Watch carefully. Place your left hand lightly against the side of your hip, then bend your knees a little and stick out your buttocks. Let your palm follow your hip as you bend down, then gently slide it down your thigh, little by little, and on to your calf."

Shui Bing'er broke down the movements and patiently demonstrated them for Ye Wen and Evil Tiger.

She danced beautifully, but Ye Wen couldn't take it anymore. He stared at her, speechless. "Wait, wait! Come on, Shui Bing'er!"

"Take a look at yourself! Is this really a dance for boys?"

"And sticking out our butts? Isn't it embarrassing for a guy to dance like that?"

"But this is our academy," Shui Bing'er said. She also felt it wasn't quite suitable, but she couldn't help it. The academy had this tradition.

"How about this? Ask the academy to come up with a dance for boys. If you make us do more of this butt-sticking stuff, I'm dropping out," Ye Wen said helplessly.

"Okay, okay. I'll ask the Dean."

Shui Bing'er immediately reported the situation to the Dean. When he heard, he decided it was more important to keep a talented student, and understood that boys might feel the same way. So, as Ye Wen had requested, he arranged a similar dance routine specifically for boys.

And so, Ye Wen continued his life at the academy. Every day, besides attending class and cultivating, he also learned to dance from Shui Bing'er.

Four months passed in the blink of an eye.

After spending so much time together over those four months, Ye Wen and Shui Bing'er grew increasingly familiar with each other. They went from strangers to classmates at the same school, and by now had built a good friendship.