"Bing'er, come out. I found you!"
Hearing this, Shui Bing'er dejectedly stepped out from behind a large tree and came before Shui Wuchen.
Shui Wuchen looked at her in confusion. "Bing'er, why aren't you going back to the inn? Why have you been following me?"
"I... I wanted to see why you were leaving the city. You've been going out often lately."
Shui Bing'er lowered her head and twisted her fingers together, speaking softly like a child caught doing something wrong by an elder.
Shui Wuchen immediately smiled at that. So that was what this was about.
"Then how about I take you with me today?"
Shui Bing'er's eyes immediately lit up when she heard Shui Wuchen's words. "Can I?"
"It's no big deal!"
As he spoke, blue light flashed before Shui Wuchen, and a beautiful large bird appeared in front of him. It had three dark-blue diamond-shaped crests atop its head, translucent blue feathers, and blue ribbon-like tail plumes.
After Articuno appeared, Shui Wuchen said to it, "Articuno, same as usual!"
"Woo~~"
The next moment, Articuno's body grew larger once more. Shui Wuchen then took Shui Bing'er by the hand, and the two climbed onto Articuno's back.
Articuno spread its wings, and amid the howling wind, they rapidly ascended.
Soon, as the temperature around them gradually dropped, Articuno brought the siblings to the place where Shui Wuchen usually trained.
Shui Wuchen pointed around them and said to Shui Bing'er, "This is where I usually come. Cultivating in the city is too slow; it's a little faster here."
Shui Bing'er looked down, and her legs immediately went weak. Shocked and somewhat anxious, she said, "Brother, you usually meditate and cultivate in a place like this? It's too dangerous. If you fell..."
Shui Bing'er did not finish the rest of her sentence. Even though Soul Masters possessed physical strength far beyond ordinary people, the place where Shui Wuchen trained was simply too high. One careless mistake could genuinely lead to death from the fall.
"Woo~~ Oooh~"
However, before Shui Wuchen could speak, Articuno let out several dissatisfied cries at Shui Bing'er.
What did she mean by Shui Wuchen falling? Was she questioning her flying skills?
Could one of the mighty Three Sacred Birds fall to her death? That was simply too insulting!
Facing Shui Bing'er's anxiety, Shui Wuchen patted her head and comforted her. "Don't worry, that won't happen. Trust your brother. Don't forget, I can fly."
In truth, Shui Bing'er was simply overly worried. Shui Wuchen was not one of those Soul Masters who could not fly. Even if Articuno really did make a mistake, he could use Ice Wings to correct himself.
Moreover, Articuno was exceptionally steady in this regard. She had never made any mistakes, and there was rarely even the slightest instability during flight.
Only after hearing Shui Wuchen's reassurance did Shui Bing'er gradually relax.
Indeed, given her brother's personality, he would never do anything without confidence. Though this altitude of several thousand meters looked terrifying, as long as his Soul Power was not depleted and he did not lose consciousness, accidents were basically impossible.
At that moment, Shui Wuchen suddenly said, "Since you're here, little sister, don't go back. Cultivate here with me!"
The reason Shui Wuchen had not brought Shui Bing'er along before was because he thought it would be better for her to spend time with girls like Xuewu and Shui Yuer. After all, for ordinary students, the Elite Tournament was basically a once-in-a-lifetime experience and might become a beautiful memory they would cherish in the future.
As for cultivating a little slower, so be it. His method of cultivation was not suitable for everyone.
The most typical example was that when he was only in his teens, he could already cultivate continuously through the night for twenty-four hours without interruption. Yet other Soul Masters, even someone with talent close to Innate Full Soul Power like Shui Bing'er, could cultivate for at most ten hours a day at that level.
Perhaps it was because he was a transmigrator, so his spiritual power had been naturally stronger.
However, after reaching the Soul Elder rank, as their spiritual power increased, ordinary Soul Masters could also cultivate for twenty-four hours a day despite some strain. Shui Wuchen's advantage in this regard was no longer so obvious.
"Alright!"
Shui Bing'er nodded, then sat cross-legged beside Shui Wuchen and began cultivating.
There was no sense of time in cultivation, and in the blink of an eye, the sun had already set.
At that moment, Shui Wuchen opened his eyes and said to Shui Bing'er before him, "Bing'er, it's time for us to go back. Tomorrow is Skywater Academy's first battle. We need to rest well tonight and conserve our energy."
"Mhm! I'll listen to you, Brother."
Shui Bing'er opened her eyes and nodded.
Afterward, Articuno carried the two of them swiftly downward and landed in the forest from before.
Many cities on the Douluo Continent enforced curfews, but Heaven Dou City, as the capital of the Heaven Dou Empire and its most prosperous commercial center, naturally had no such rule.
After all, nightlife was an important source of consumer spending.
Shui Wuchen took Shui Bing'er around to experience the prosperity of Heaven Dou City before the siblings finally returned to the inn.
Seeing Shui Wuchen and Shui Bing'er return carrying several things, Shui Yueruo breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at Shui Bing'er. "Did you have a pleasant time together today?"
"Very pleasant!"
The corners of Shui Bing'er's lips curled upward. Today might have been the happiest day she had experienced in quite some time.
Immediately afterward, Shui Yueruo continued, "Then do you have any thoughts about tomorrow's battle?"
"Against an ordinary team like this, there's no need for any tactics. We only need to use the least effort possible and crush them head-on!"
Shui Bing'er smiled faintly, her tone brimming with confidence.
North Academy was a below-average academy among the advanced Soul Master Academies. According to the intelligence they had gathered, its team was even slightly inferior to the Heaven Dou Royal Academy reserve team they had seen today.
How could a team from such an academy possibly compare with a long-established powerhouse like Skywater Academy unless it had somehow recruited several peerless geniuses in a row?
The next day, Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena.
When Skywater Academy's team, led by Shui Bing'er, revealed their Soul Rings on the Soul Battle stage—all of them Soul Ancestors—the atmosphere in the venue instantly froze.
Then, cheers erupted from the stands like an overwhelming tidal wave.
"Skywater Academy!!!!"
"Skywater Academy!!!!"
"Skywater Academy!!!!"
Meanwhile, the members of North Academy standing opposite Skywater Academy looked ashen-faced, their hearts turning cold.
If their opponents had only one Soul Ancestor, they could still barely try to fight, because perhaps that person might make a mistake.
But now every opponent was a Soul Ancestor, while their average level was only level thirty-five. How were they supposed to fight this battle?
One had to know that a difference of two or three levels between Soul Masters already represented a considerable gap in strength. Now they were behind by an average of seven levels, with even a Soul Ring separating them. This was an insurmountable chasm!
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