Chapter 36

A tall, slender man stepped out from the crowd. He had long black hair, an unremarkable face, and wore a fitted purple-blue outfit. His brows were slightly furrowed, his facial muscles stiff, and his expression blank as he spoke in a questioning tone.

Seeing him, Shui Bing'er's delicate brows drew together slightly, her voice icy.

"Yu Tianxin, please address me by my full name!"

Hearing her cold words, Yu Tianxin's facial muscles twitched, faint anger surfacing.

In the end, he took a deep breath and forced the corners of his stiff mouth upward, his tone becoming gentler.

"Bing'er, I was rash just now. I apologize. May I ask which sect or faction this brother belongs to?"

"I don't believe I've seen you at the Five Elements Academy before. I assume this is your first time at Skywater Academy. I can show you around on Bing'er's behalf."

"Yu Tianxin, I'll say this one last time: call me by my full name. And my affairs are none of your concern!"

Fury filled Shui Bing'er's icy blue eyes, and her tone grew even colder.

With that, she grabbed Liu Yanyang and left.

Watching their retreating figures, Yu Tianxin's face twitched violently, his gaze turning frigid.

He turned and left the scene at once. Only after he was gone did the people around them begin whispering among themselves.

"What's gotten into Yu Tianxin? More than a month ago, he began crazily pursuing Shui Bing'er. It feels like he won't give up until he gets what he wants."

"Hmph, if I were Senior Shui Bing'er, I wouldn't agree either. Yu Tianxin is nineteen and level thirty-nine. His talent and strength are both formidable."

"But compared to Senior Shui Bing'er, he falls far short. I heard Senior Shui Bing'er has already broken through to Soul Elder! A twelve-year-old Soul Elder! Who would like someone weaker than themselves?"

The news caused quite a stir as soon as it spread. Everyone knew Shui Bing'er was highly talented, but no one had expected her to break through level thirty at twelve.

After Shui Bing'er pulled him onto a quiet path, she turned to Liu Yanyang and said somewhat flusteredly, "That person just now was Yu Tianxin, from Thunder Academy. He's also one of the Twin Stars of the Blue Electric Tyrant Dragon."

Liu Yanyang gave a hum. "I know." The moment he saw that inherited poker face, he had already known.

Shui Bing'er was a little surprised. How did Liu Yanyang know?

Then she said very seriously, "There is absolutely no relationship between Yu Tianxin and me. We can't even be considered ordinary friends."

"At the Five Elements Social over a month ago, I don't know why he suddenly started pestering me. If not for his status and the power behind him, I would never have tolerated him for so long!"

Her icy blue phoenix eyes were filled with rage, and she practically gritted her teeth.

The corners of Liu Yanyang's mouth curled upward as he thought, This girl is rather cute!

Yet he merely said calmly, "Then why are you explaining all this to me?"

"I... I!" Shui Bing'er stumbled over her words, a faint peachy blush spreading across her pretty face. She did not know why either!

She simply felt an urgent need to make sure Liu Yanyang did not misunderstand.

Liu Yanyang coughed twice, pulling Shui Bing'er back from her thoughts, then gestured with his eyes for her to look down.

Following his gaze, Shui Bing'er saw her fair, delicate little hand tightly holding Liu Yanyang's large hand because of her earlier panic.

Her already slightly flushed face instantly turned crimson. She quickly pulled her hand back, lowered her head, and did not dare look at Liu Yanyang again.

The corners of Liu Yanyang's mouth rose slightly. He coughed softly and stopped teasing Shui Bing'er, saying in a low voice, "Yu Tianxin is pestering you for no reason other than the position of clan leader of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan."

Shui Bing'er's face quickly cooled, the blush gradually fading. She raised her head and considered Liu Yanyang's words.

Already intelligent, she instantly understood that Yu Tianxin wanted to use her to bring Skywater Academy, as well as the three great academies of Godwind and Blazing Fire, onto his side.

Suddenly, Shui Bing'er furrowed her brows and looked at Liu Yanyang in confusion.

"But the power behind me can't compare to His Excellency Poison Douluo!"

Liu Yanyang felt a little awkward, unsure how to explain it to Shui Bing'er. He could hardly tell her outright that he had broken up Yu Tianheng and Dugu Yan.

Out of habit, he scratched the back of his head and said with a straight face, "I heard through unofficial channels that Yu Tianheng and Dugu Yan broke up."

Shui Bing'er's eyes widened in surprise. After all, Yu Tianheng and Dugu Yan had been together for several years.

Seeing Shui Bing'er's astonished expression, Liu Yanyang shook his head helplessly. At the same time, he became more wary of Yu Luo Mian.

From curing Old Poison's poison until now, it had been less than two months at most. In other words, Yu Luo Mian had learned the news the very moment the two broke up.

And he had immediately devised a plan to use Shui Bing'er to win over the water, fire, and wind element academies. Yu Tianxin already had a great reputation at Thunder Academy, which meant he would have the support of the four great element academies.

By then, what could Yu Tianheng use to compete with Yu Tianxin after losing Dugu Bo's support? Yu Yuanzhen could only grit his teeth and accept it.

Even Liu Yanyang had to admire Yu Luo Mian, that turncoat. In the original story, he had betrayed the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.

Looking at Shui Bing'er, he said flatly, "It's fine. In a while, Yu Tianxin will beg me to beat him up."

Shui Bing'er looked at him in confusion. Who would make such an unreasonable request?

Liu Yanyang looked up at the sky and sighed softly.

"Besides, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan doesn't have many years left to live."

Shui Bing'er was completely bewildered. She could not understand what Liu Yanyang meant by that final sentence.

"Didn't you say you were going to show me around Skywater Academy? Let's go!"

With that, Liu Yanyang lifted a leg and started forward. Snapping back to her senses, Shui Bing'er could only extinguish the thoughts in her heart and follow his pace.

They walked side by side, and Skywater Academy's grounds were far more expansive than he had imagined. After all, he had never attended one of these so-called Soul Master Academies.

When they reached the Cambang River, the two stopped at the same time.

Three people appeared ahead. A man and a woman in red walked side by side, while behind the woman stood a gray-haired man in blue, his face covered by a mask.

"Little Sister Huo Wu, I heard the Frostfish in the Cambang River are delicious. Want me to go down and catch one for you?"

"Little Sister Huo Wu, are you thirsty? I prepared some Iced Mung Bean Juice for you—I made it especially for you!"

As he spoke, he took an exquisite drink giving off a chill from his Storage Soul Tool and eagerly offered it to Huo Wu.

"Are you done being annoying, Feng Xiaotian? I told you not to follow me!" Huo Wu shouted.

Beside her, Huo Wushuang shook his head helplessly, looking utterly unable to do anything about it.

Well, well, isn't this Gale Twin-headed Husky—Feng Xiaotian, one of Douluo's two biggest simps? Liu Yanyang inwardly mocked.

Seeing him so pathetically humble, Liu Yanyang slightly shook his head. Simps never died well—a timeless truth.

Huo Wushuang and the other two also noticed Liu Yanyang and Shui Bing'er, stopping in unspoken unison. Only Feng Xiaotian remained immersed in his sorrow, continuing to walk forward.

Huo Wu let out a roar that startled Feng Xiaotian into freezing on the spot. Then she turned to Liu Yanyang and said disdainfully, "So you're the pretty boy Shui Bing'er brought back that everyone's been talking about?"