Shui Binger, the Theoretical Thinker

Pei An and Ning Rongrong walked ahead, followed by Shui Qianrou and the Shui Sisters.

Shui Binger alternated between looking up at Pei An ahead of her and lowering her head, as though she were hesitating over something.

Gritting her silver teeth as if she had made up her mind, Shui Binger cradled the little trinket she had taken from her Soul Tool and jogged after Pei An.

"Binger!"

Suddenly recalling something, Shui Qianrou was startled when she saw Shui Binger's actions and wanted to stop her, but Shui Binger had already reached Pei An's side.

All Shui Qianrou could do was pray that Binger would not do anything to anger him.

Now that she had time to calm down, Shui Qianrou finally remembered where Pei An's sense of familiarity came from.

Wasn't that the name of Spirit Hall's Pope?

He favored white robes, was young, yet could effortlessly subdue a forty-thousand-year-old Profound Ice Tiger. Every sign showed that this was not merely someone with the same name, but Pope Pei An himself!

The main reason was that in recent years, people outside usually referred to Pei An as the Pope or the Judgement Douluo. As a result, the name Pei An had gradually been buried deep in people's memories.

That was why Shui Qianrou had only found the name Pei An familiar upon hearing it, without immediately making the connection.

There was also a reason Shui Qianrou had been so nervous when she saw Shui Binger approach Pei An.

Although Pei An had just saved the Shui Sisters, his reputation in the Soul Master World was anything but kind.

Over the past six years, Pei An had never ceased his purge of Spirit Hall. Leaving aside those indirectly affected, more than a thousand people had died directly at his hands alone.

Not only within Spirit Hall, but during his rule, Spirit Hall's foreign policies had also grown increasingly forceful.

The number of sects and factions exterminated by order of the Pope had already exceeded what could be counted on two palms.

Among the public's assessments of this Pope was one phrase:

A madman who treated human lives as worthless!

Coupled with the deliberate efforts of the royal families of the Two Great Empires, Pei An's reputation among the common people had become even more closely associated with brutality.

After all, Shui Qianrou had never had direct contact with Pei An. Nearly all of her impressions of the Pope came from what she had heard.

With those rumors influencing her, how could she not be nervous seeing Shui Binger approach him?

"Big Sister, do you need something?"

Ning Rongrong asked curiously when she saw Shui Binger jog over.

Pei An's gaze also fell upon the owner of the Ice Phoenix Martial Soul.

Shui Binger took a deep breath, bent over, and raised both hands to offer the item in her hands to Pei An.

Her lowered little face was flushed red from nervousness, and her childish voice stammered, "Th-thank you for saving Yue'er and me just now, Big Brother. Binger doesn't know how to repay you, so... this is the pendant Mom gave me. Binger wants to give it to Big Brother!"

In Shui Binger's small hands, the sky-blue phoenix pendant gleamed brilliantly beneath the warm sunlight.

The corner of Pei An's mouth twitched slightly. He truly did not need any reward.

But seeing Shui Binger like this, it did not seem right to refuse.

"Thank you." Pei An accepted the pendant and casually hung it around his neck.

It would do nicely as a small decoration.

Seeing Pei An accept her gift and even put it on, Shui Binger's lips curled up slightly in delight.

After giving him the gift, she did not return. Instead, she quietly followed alongside Pei An and Ning Rongrong.

Fortunately, Ning Rongrong was naturally friendly and took the initiative to strike up a conversation with Shui Binger, keeping the atmosphere from becoming too awkward.

Witnessing everything, Shui Qianrou let out a long sigh of relief.

This Pope did not seem as brutal as the rumors claimed.

Perhaps having finally recovered from her earlier fright, Shui Yue'er also followed in her sister's footsteps.

With three little girls gradually growing familiar with one another around him, Pei An seemed rather like an older brother leading three younger sisters.

Before long, Pei An stopped walking.

"Rongrong, your First Soul Ring is here."

With a wave of Pei An's hand, Golden Chains flew out from the forest not far ahead.

Bound tightly within the Golden Chains was a massive soul beast.

It resembled a rhinoceros, and its horn looked as though it had been carved from red agate, possessing a striking beauty.

"A Scarlet Agate Rhinoceros!" Shui Binger recognized the rhinoceros at a glance.

Pei An glanced sideways, slightly surprised.

The Scarlet Agate Rhinoceros was an uncommon soul beast without much of a reputation, considered a niche species among soul beasts.

Ordinary academies did not teach knowledge related to such soul beasts. The fact that Shui Binger could recognize it showed that she must know quite a bit about soul beasts.

If it had been Pei An or Bibi Dong, there would have been nothing surprising about it.

As top talents of Spirit Hall, it was perfectly normal for them to have read a few books.

But how old was Shui Binger now?

She was not Pei An, whose mental age far surpassed his physical age and who spent his spare time buried in the Library Pavilion.

He had not expected this phoenix to possess not only exceptional cultivation talent, but such astonishing ability in theory as well.

At the very least, Ning Rongrong, who studied at his side, did not have that skill.

It was not that he refused to teach her. It was mainly because of Ning Rongrong's personality—she could not settle down to study this sort of theoretical knowledge, so Pei An did not force her.

Other than the necessary common knowledge, he did not compel Ning Rongrong to learn more.

Sensing Pei An's slightly surprised glance, Shui Binger felt pleased with herself.

For the first time, she felt that her hobby of reading books was actually quite wonderful.

The Golden Chains moved the Scarlet Agate Rhinoceros in front of Ning Rongrong.

Pei An's control over his power had become increasingly refined.

These Golden Chains were actually an application of the judgement power of his Sword of the Living Judgement.

It was simply that Pei An could now use the Chains of Rules on a small scale without unfolding the Judgement, Verdict domain.

While they might not be particularly effective against enemies of the same level, they were exceptionally useful for binding opponents vastly weaker than him.

Convenient and simple.

"The Scarlet Agate Rhinoceros is one of the finest strength-type soul beasts. This one is around seven hundred years old, just right for you, Rongrong."

"Big Brother, is Rongrong's constitution special?" Shui Binger could not help asking after hearing Pei An's words, since she knew the Soul Master World's usual soul ring standards.

Of course, she knew that the Soul Master World generally believed the age limit for a First Soul Ring could not exceed 423 years. But Shui Binger had always felt there was a problem with that theory.

Though young, she had an exceptionally quick mind.

Shui Binger had always believed that different soul masters possessed different levels of Mental Power and physical strength, so it was impossible for one specific age limit to suit everyone.

Those with weak bodies might be at risk even when absorbing low-level soul rings.

Those with powerful constitutions and exceptional Mental Power might also be able to absorb soul rings beyond this so-called theoretical limit.

However, everyone around her had always seemed to think there was nothing wrong with it. Shui Binger had brought it up before, but no one had paid it much attention.

Therefore, upon hearing that the soul ring Pei An had arranged for Ning Rongrong was seven hundred years old, Shui Binger's first reaction was not to deny it or warn him, but to ask.