Five Element Academy Exchange

Seeing Ye Wen, Shui Bing'er felt a little happy inside, but she didn't show it. She found an excuse and asked, "Ye Wen, Evil Tiger, over these two and a half months of break, how have you two been doing with the stage performance the academy arranged?"

She wasn't really here to ask about that. For genius students like Ye Wen, even if they failed the dance assessment, they wouldn't get scolded.

It was just that, for some reason, she really wanted to see this boy.

"Uh..." Ye Wen and Evil Tiger exchanged a glance, a bit awkward. Dance?

Dance my ass! They'd already tossed that to the back of their minds.

"You'd better hurry up. School starts in three days, and there'll be a group assessment," Shui Bing'er said.

"Got it, got it."

"Oh, and 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 the Five Element Academy Exchange. You two are the elites among the current batch of students, so you'll definitely have to step up and fight in the matches."

"Five Element Exchange? What's that?" Ye Wen asked, puzzled.

"It's a friendly competition between our five elemental academies—Skywater, Godwind, Blazing Fire, Thunder, and Elephant Armor. It happens every two years," Shui Bing'er explained, then elaborated: "This year, it's the other four academies coming to ours. We're the hosts."

"The rules are simple. From first year to sixth year, plus the Advanced Class, each grade sends three students to spar and compete with the same grade from the other academies."

"Once school starts, you'll be second-year students, so you'll represent the second-year class."

"Oh, so that's why..."

There were plenty of geniuses in these five elemental academies, and Ye Wen knew quite a few familiar faces. For example, 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.

These were all characters with some screen time, future mainstays and prodigies in the Soul Master Tournament.

From what Ye Wen remembered, Feng Xiaotian from Godwind Academy had a crush on Huo Wu from Blazing Fire Academy, and he was pretty devoted to her.

So they'd known each other long before. Probably because of this Five Element Exchange, or maybe their academies had connections already.

"So what's the point of this Five Element Exchange? Is there a reward?" Ye Wen pressed on.

Shui Bing'er explained, "The reward is prize money. Each academy puts up two thousand Gold Soul Coins, totaling ten thousand. The academy with the highest final score takes it all, and it gets split among the participating students."

"As for the point... it's not really that deep. For the students, it's a chance to spar with geniuses from other academies. The other meaning is just the five academies quietly competing—everyone wants to prove they're the strongest, and that brings face."

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

To an ordinary person, ten thousand Gold Soul Coins was a fortune. But with three students per grade, six grades plus the Advanced Class making twenty-one people splitting ten thousand...

Each person got 476 Gold Soul Coins. Sure, that was still a lot for common folk.

But to Ye Wen, it was pocket change. He had zero interest in this kind of competition and waved his hand. "I get it. But I'm not interested. Just let the other second-years handle it."

"No way~! You're the strongest in the second year. You have to add strength to our Skywater Academy. We don't want to lose to the other four—it's about our academy's honor!" Shui Bing'er put her hands on her hips and pouted slightly.

"Fine, fine, I'll join. It's still half a year away anyway." Ye Wen shrugged helplessly, then asked, "Anything else?"

"No... nothing."

"Then why are you still standing here? Want to come into the boys' dorm and sit for a bit?"

"I..." Shui Bing'er hesitated, then held back whatever she was about to say. "Mm, I'm leaving."

With that, she turned and walked away.

Evil Tiger, standing nearby, had seen through it all. He muttered to himself, "Boss, boss, you really don't see it! Shui Bing'er just wanted to talk to you a little longer."

As they said, the player is blind, the onlooker sees clear. Evil Tiger had a feeling Shui Bing'er had feelings for Ye Wen, but he didn't call it out.

Three days later, Skywater Academy started its term.

Ye Wen, Evil Tiger, and Xiao Bai successfully advanced to the second year, becoming second-year students of Skywater Academy.

The opening dance assessment was, predictably, a disaster for Ye Wen and Evil Tiger. The entire school faculty and students couldn't bear to watch.

Dance was a specialty of Skywater Academy and a required course. Its main purpose was to help the female students cultivate a hobby and interest during their Soul Master training, using dance to relieve the pressure of cultivation.

Even though Ye Wen and Evil Tiger were boys, since they'd joined Skywater Academy, they had to accept its traditions.

The Dean simply couldn't stomach Ye Wen and Evil Tiger's dance skills, so he assigned Shui Bing'er to give them long-term guidance.

Three days later.

Inside the dance studio, Ye Wen and Evil Tiger wore expressions of utter despair as they stared at Shui Bing'er, who was teaching them to dance.

"Watch carefully. Place your left hand gently on the side of your hip, then squat slightly, stick out your hip, and as you squat, let your hand slide smoothly down your thigh to your calf."

Shui Bing'er broke down the moves step by step, patiently demonstrating for Ye Wen and Evil Tiger.

She looked graceful and beautiful doing it, but Ye Wen had had enough. He rolled his eyes and said, "Hold on! Hold on! Cut it out, Shui Bing'er!"

"Look at this! Is this kind of dance something a guy should be doing?!"

"Sticking out your hip? Isn't that disgusting for a guy?"

"But this is our academy's tradition..." Shui Bing'er actually felt it wasn't quite suitable either, but there was no helping it—this was their school's custom.

"How about this: you ask the academy to arrange a dance for boys. If I have to keep doing this hip-sticking stuff, I'm dropping out." Ye Wen looked utterly resigned.

"Alright... alright, I'll ask the Dean."

Shui Bing'er immediately reported the situation to the Dean. Upon hearing it, the Dean naturally wanted to keep a genius student and understood the boys' perspective. So, following Ye Wen's request, they arranged a similar but male-appropriate dance.

And so, Ye Wen continued his academy life. Every day, besides classes and cultivation, he learned to dance with Shui Bing'er.

Four months passed without notice.

Over these four months of constant interaction, Ye Wen and Shui Bing'er grew increasingly familiar. From strangers to classmates, and now, they had built a solid friendship.