Was Brother Training in a Place Like This?

"Brother, where are we going?"

High in the air, Shui Bing'er looked curiously at the scenery below.

Shui Wuchen stood with his hands behind his back and replied without turning around, "We're going to find a suitable place to cultivate."

"A suitable place to cultivate?"

A trace of confusion flashed through Shui Bing'er's eyes. "Are we going back to Skywater Academy to cultivate?"

In Shui Bing'er's view, if one wanted to cultivate, there was probably nowhere better than Skywater Academy's Simulated Training Ground.

After all, Skywater Academy's Simulated Training Ground was among the very best, capable of increasing cultivation speed by a full fifty percent.

Yet, to Shui Bing'er's surprise, Shui Wuchen shook his head after hearing her words.

"Skywater Academy's Simulated Training Ground is good, but its cultivation efficiency still isn't the very best."

At those words, Shui Bing'er hurried forward, grabbed Shui Wuchen by the shoulders, and asked, "Then, Brother, what is the very best?"

After learning that her brother had already broken through to Soul Emperor, Shui Bing'er had begun to feel a sense of urgency.

And now, upon hearing that her brother knew of a cultivation site even better than a top-tier Simulated Training Ground, how could she not be excited?

"No matter how good a Simulated Training Ground within an academy is, it is ultimately man-made. Limited by its creator's abilities, funding, and available space, its upper limit is already predetermined.

"But nature has none of those limitations. Therefore, the finest Simulated Training Grounds in the world are not artificial environments within Soul Master Academies, but naturally formed secret realms."

As he spoke, Shui Wuchen gave Shui Bing'er an example.

"For instance, Godwind Academy was built atop a top-tier Wind Attribute natural secret realm—Hurricane Canyon. That is why its students are generally at higher levels than those from other academies.

"Feng Xiaotian's breakthrough to Soul Emperor also owed much to Hurricane Canyon."

After hearing Shui Wuchen's explanation, Shui Bing'er's eyes lit up. A secret realm formed by heaven and earth truly did sound far superior to an artificial Simulated Training Ground.

"Then, Brother, did you also cultivate in a place like this before?" Shui Bing'er blinked and asked.

Shui Wuchen did not deny it, merely nodding. "That's right."

Seeing Shui Wuchen admit it, Shui Bing'er suddenly understood. No wonder her brother had broken through to Soul Emperor so quickly—it turned out this was the reason.

In truth, there were many reasons why Shui Wuchen had reached Soul Emperor at sixteen. The boost from natural secret realms was merely one of them.

The most important reason was the unique nature of the Articuno, which allowed him to absorb soul rings beyond the limits of ordinary people.

Each time he absorbed a soul ring beyond his limits, the Soul Power fed back to him raised him by more than a level. After six soul rings, this had undoubtedly saved Shui Wuchen an enormous amount of cultivation time.

Otherwise, even with Shui Wuchen's talent, he would have needed at least another three or four years to break through to Soul Emperor. It would have been impossible for him to reach Level 63 at sixteen.

At that moment, Shui Bing'er came back to her senses and asked in confusion, "But Brother, if natural secret realms have so many benefits, why didn't you bring me along to cultivate earlier?"

Shui Bing'er did not doubt her brother's intentions. They had depended on each other since childhood, and there was no question of how well Shui Wuchen treated her.

She was merely puzzled as to why her brother had not told her about this sooner. Had he done so, her level would certainly be higher now, and she could have helped Shui Wuchen more.

"I didn't tell you before because your level was too low."

Without any hesitation, Shui Wuchen said, "Natural secret realms are not safe places. They are often accompanied by danger, and at your previous level, it would have been difficult for you to endure them. Besides, cultivating in such places is very harsh. Are you truly willing?"

Shui Wuchen had been able to cultivate atop Tianxue Peak long ago because his level was high enough, and because of the characteristics of his Articuno Martial Soul, which allowed him to ignore the extreme cold outside.

But what he could do was not necessarily something Shui Bing'er could do.

Although the Ice Phoenix Martial Soul could be called one of the finest beast martial souls, in Shui Wuchen's eyes, it was still lacking by a little and had not reached the ultimate level.

It had resistance to cold, but it was far inferior to Shui Wuchen after he gained the Articuno Martial Soul.

Moreover, Tianxue Peak's summit was not a safe place either. Even setting aside the extreme cold that could freeze a person to death, the occasional avalanches were deadly dangers in themselves.

The reason Shui Wuchen could, and dared to, undergo long periods of Secluded Cultivation was mainly because he had the Articuno's Guard. Even if something unexpected happened outside, it could protect him and ensure his safety.

As for choosing a slightly weaker place, it might not even be better than Skywater Academy's Simulated Training Ground!

And once she chose Shui Wuchen's method of cultivation, it meant living like an ascetic and becoming disconnected from her friends at Skywater Academy. That might not necessarily be a good thing.

Taken together, these were the reasons Shui Wuchen had not told Shui Bing'er about this cultivation method.

"I'm not afraid of hardship! I want to cultivate with you, Brother."

Hearing this, Shui Bing'er chose to cultivate the same way as Shui Wuchen without the slightest hesitation.

She had already had enough of being left far behind by her brother, of being completely unable to help whenever anything happened to him.

Seeing the determination in his sister's eyes, Shui Wuchen smiled and pinched Shui Bing'er's cheek. "Good. As expected of my sister. Since I brought this up now, I've already decided to cultivate with you. Just don't cry later in the days ahead."

"Hmph! I'm not a Little Girl anymore. I won't cry!"

After hearing Shui Wuchen's words, Shui Bing'er gave a soft huff, unhappily slapped his hand away, and turned her head aside.

But after turning away, a smile curled across Shui Bing'er's lips. She knew that her brother had acknowledged her, and that she could finally move forward together with him.

After flying for most of the day, the Articuno finally carried Shui Wuchen and Shui Bing'er to their destination: Tianxue Peak!

"This is Tianxue Peak? Brother, this is where you used to cultivate?"

When she saw that the Articuno was descending toward Tianxue Peak, Shui Bing'er's eyes widened in shock as she abruptly turned to Shui Wuchen.

Shui Wuchen nodded slightly, then leaped into the biting wind and landed on the cliffside where he had been before.

The next moment, Shui Bing'er also jumped down from the Articuno. Looking around at the surroundings and feeling the howling wind that seemed capable of freezing her body solid, her heart immediately ached.

Her brother had actually cultivated in a place like this before—so humble, so grueling.

No wonder she sometimes could not find Shui Wuchen when she went looking for him. How could she possibly have found him in a place like this?

At that moment, Shui Wuchen pointed to a spot beside him and said, "Bing'er, for the next twenty days, cultivate beside me. If you can't hold on, tell me. Don't force yourself."