A Fateful Encounter

Before him stood a little... little girl of about six, with ice-blue hair braided into twin plaits that hung before her shoulders. Her fair, childish face held a pair of shimmering ice-blue eyes, and she wore a sky-blue Lolita Princess Dress.

She blinked those large ice-blue eyes, her gaze carrying a hint of scrutiny as she stared fixedly at him.

Startled by the sight, Liu Yanyang stammered a little.

"W-Where is this? And you are?"

"This is the Shui Family in Skywater City. My name is Shui Bing'er." After studying him for a while, the little girl slowly spoke.

The Shui Family... Shui Bing'er, the future captain of Skywater Academy with the Ice Phoenix Martial Soul? I came to seek Dean Shui's help, yet somehow I ran into her daughter first.

Seeing the little boy's expression turn startled upon hearing her name before quickly returning to normal, the scrutiny in her eyes grew stronger.

"You know me?"

"I heard my elders mention you before. So, you were the one who saved me?" Meeting Shui Bing'er's scrutinizing gaze, Liu Yanyang hurriedly explained.

The original work described Shui Bing'er as calm and intelligent, and it truly did not lie! She was only six, yet her thoughts were already so meticulous. She had guessed what he was thinking just from his subtle expression.

"Yes!" Shui Bing'er answered warily.

"Then thank you, little sister." Liu Yanyang smiled, then began to think.

Shui Bing'er was only six now, which meant Tang San was only four this year, still suffering under his Stepfather's exploitation in Holy Soul Village. (P.S. This used the manga setting—he was sixteen and level 43 when he first appeared.)

Qian Renxue was thirteen and currently the First Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire. Bibi Dong was still in control of Spirit Hall. All he needed to do was lie low and develop steadily.

"Little sister?" Shui Bing'er looked incredulously at Liu Yanyang, who was about her age. Anger flashed through her eyes as she said unhappily,

"Who are you calling little sister? How old are you, anyway??"

His thoughts interrupted, Liu Yanyang frowned slightly. But when he saw Shui Bing'er's adorably fierce expression, he awkwardly said, "Sorry. I just woke up, and my head is still a little foggy."

Sure enough, he had been muddled from sleep and had yet to adjust to being a six-year-old child. He had been twenty-two when he died in his previous life, so his mental age should have been twenty-eight already. He was practically pushing thirty.

After seeing Liu Yanyang apologize, Shui Bing'er merely snorted, crossed her arms over her chest, and turned her head away, unwilling to pay attention to this rude fellow.

"Um... where is your mother, Dean Shui?" Liu Yanyang asked somewhat guiltily.

"She went to Extreme North City," Shui Bing'er replied without even turning her head.

She went to Extreme North City? It looks like she learned something happened to my family and went to investigate the cause!

From Skywater City to Extreme North City, even with a Soul Sage's strength, Dean Shui would need at least a full day for a round trip.

Liu Yanyang furrowed his brow. He knew he could not delay any longer. Salis had probably already learned of those three people's deaths and would surely be furious and ashamed. After all, he had failed to obtain the Ten-Thousand-Year Dragon Ganoderma and had even lost three capable subordinates for nothing, so he would definitely send more people to search for Liu Yanyang.

He got out of bed, put on his shoes, and stood beside the bed. Hearing the movement behind her, Shui Bing'er turned her head.

Seeing Liu Yanyang already standing, her voice trembled slightly. "Y-You... what are you doing!"

Liu Yanyang could not help but find it funny. Had she not been acting a little proud just now? Why was she suddenly afraid? It's not like I'm going to eat you.

He immediately cupped his fists. "Miss Shui Bing'er, I will remember your life-saving kindness. Great kindness needs no words of thanks; I will surely repay it generously in the future."

With that, he ignored the stunned Shui Bing'er and headed straight for the door.

Shui Bing'er stood frozen in place. It took her quite a while to come back to her senses, and she immediately ran outside. Seeing Liu Yanyang already in her family's courtyard, she hurriedly shouted, "Wait!"

Hearing her call, Liu Yanyang stopped and turned to look at Shui Bing'er running toward him, somewhat puzzled.

Seeing the confusion on his face, Shui Bing'er stopped before him, slightly out of breath. "My mother told you to rest here properly. Don't run around."

Hearing that, Liu Yanyang's heart warmed. He smiled gently and said, "When Aunt Shui returns, please thank her for me. But I have my own path to walk, so I won't trouble Aunt Shui any further."

After saying that, he smiled at the somewhat dazed little girl and turned toward the main gate.

Suddenly, he recalled hearing his parents mention that Shui Bing'er's Ice Phoenix Martial Soul seemed to have an uncontrollable problem.

He turned back to Shui Bing'er, his eyes flickering. "Can you let me take a look at your Martial Soul?"

Faced with Liu Yanyang's resolute yet curious gaze, Shui Bing'er nodded involuntarily.

"Ice Phoenix, possess!"

As soon as the words fell, Shui Bing'er's entire body was enveloped in a hazy blue glow. A dazzling ring of blue light, accompanied by a few gorgeous phantom images, floated behind her.

Seeing the bird-like phantom behind Shui Bing'er, it was difficult to imagine that it was an Ice Phoenix Martial Soul.

If not for the phenomenon during her Martial Soul awakening, probably no one would have recognized it. Most importantly, there was not the slightest change to Shui Bing'er's body.

When a Beast Martial Soul possessed someone, beast-like traits would appear. The traits varied according to the Martial Soul and the individual, but one with no visible traits at all was basically unheard of.

The Shui Family's inherited Martial Soul was the Condensing Water Flying Luan. Shui Bing'er's Ice Phoenix Martial Soul had mutated from the Condensing Water Flying Luan. It was certainly a Benign Mutation; otherwise, her Innate Soul Power could not possibly have reached rank nine.

Then the reason she displayed no beast-like traits was most likely tied to that Martial Soul mutation.

In his previous life, he had only read the Douluo Continent manga and knew even less about the original novel. Figuring it out clearly would probably be difficult.

At that moment, Shui Bing'er watched Liu Yanyang stare intently at her Martial Soul, and her ears could not help turning slightly red. Other than her relatives, no one had ever observed her Martial Soul from such a close distance. It gave her an indescribable feeling.

Lost in thought, Liu Yanyang was destined not to notice Shui Bing'er's change. Then, all of a sudden, he remembered someone—the standard answer to this problem.