Xue Ke watched anxiously, unable to hold back her anger.
"Shameless!"
"Two against one, and they're even using a Martial Soul Fusion Skill!"
"I'm going to help Sister Yue'er!"
She was about to summon her Martial Soul and rush out.
A cool hand pressed down on her shoulder.
Shui Bing'er remained calm and gently shook her head.
"Don't rush."
"Yue'er needs this battle to stabilize her level."
"And besides..."
Shui Bing'er looked up at the Golden Ranking List in the sky.
"The rewards from the Sky Screen haven't arrived yet."
Before she could finish speaking,
the Golden Ranking List, which had already dimmed, erupted once more with dazzling divine light.
A majestic voice descended like a divine decree.
[Since the ranked candidate Shui Yue'er is currently engaged in battle, the Golden Ranking List rewards are being issued now.]
[Reward 1: 50,000-year Ice Jade Scorpion External Soul Bone · Wings of the Ice Phoenix!]
[Reward 2: Divine Artifact · Sky Ice Cloud Blade!]
[Reward 3: Soul Power Level increased by one level!]
Three beams of light pierced straight through the Hell White Tiger's aura lock and enveloped Shui Yue'er.
Shui Yue'er's somewhat unsteady aura surged in an instant.
Level 97... Level 98!
Immediately afterward,
"Crack—crack—"
The grating sound of bones growing rang out.
The clothes on Shui Yue'er's back burst apart, and a pair of enormous, crystal-clear bone wings unfurled, as if carved from blue gemstones.
They weren't ordinary wings.
Every feather was like a razor-sharp blade, its edge shimmering with a chilling light.
This External Soul Bone directly raised her speed and affinity for ice to a whole new level.
But what shocked everyone most was the long blade slowly descending into her hand.
Its slender body was formed entirely from ten-thousand-year-old black ice, and a beating blue heart was embedded in its hilt.
The Sky Ice Cloud Blade.
It was said to contain the inherited divine will of an ancient Ice God.
The moment Shui Yue'er gripped the blade, her bearing changed.
Before, she had been a young woman whose sharpness showed plainly. Now, she was an icy goddess who wielded the power of judgment.
Beneath this divine radiance, the enormous Hell White Tiger looked clumsy.
Everyone at Jialing Pass, from the Heaven Dou Empire to Spirit Hall, stared in shock.
How were they supposed to fight her now?
She had leveled up right in the middle of the fight?
And gotten new equipment?
Was this how the Golden Ranking List treated its champions?
Skywater City, City Lord Mansion.
Watching Shui Yue'er lay waste to her opponents through the Sky Screen broadcast, Furina happily rolled across the chaise longue.
Her long, slender legs, wrapped in white stockings, swung in the air, exuding a languid allure.
"Yay!"
"Neuvillette, look! Yue'er is so impressive!"
"That giant tiger or whatever looks like a little kitten made of paper."
"Now the whole continent will know how powerful our Skywater City is."
Neuvillette sat beside her, still holding his cup of water.
As he watched Shui Yue'er wielding the Sky Ice Cloud Blade, his brow furrowed slightly.
He let out a soft sigh, his voice carrying undisguised disdain.
"Ordinary."
"This so-called Ice God's inheritance barely reaches the level of a third-tier god."
"Is this the limit of this world?"
Furina leaned over, practically draping herself across Neuvillette.
She blinked her big eyes and poked his solid chest with a finger, teasing him.
"Oh, my dear Judge."
"Don't set your standards so high."
"To the people of this world, that's a divine artifact—a divine artifact!"
"Do you think everyone can just conjure up a Gnosis like you?"
Neuvillette caught her wandering finger, looking serious.
"Since she's my student, she deserves the best."
"When this matter is settled, I'll personally establish new divine positions for her and Bing'er."
"How could a dragon's kin inherit a divine position like that?"
"..."
Furina smiled sweetly. "Whatever you say, Neuvillette."
Di Tian, seated across from them, was completely dumbfounded.
He rested his hands on his knees, sitting as stiffly as a child on his first day of school.
What had he just heard?
A lowly divine position?
Establishing new divine positions?
And for human Soul Masters, no less?
Di Tian felt as if his entire worldview were collapsing.
For humans, becoming gods was unimaginably difficult.
So how could this man speak of divine positions as if they were cabbages—something you could pick and choose, or even "conjure up" yourself?
Even more shocked than Di Tian was Bi Ji, seated nearby.
As an Emerald Swan, she was exceptionally sensitive to the differences between life forms.
She looked at Neuvillette.
Though the man released no aura, to Bi Ji's senses, he sat there like the center of the entire universe.
The nobility that came from deep within his bloodline made her want to bow down in worship.
It wasn't ordinary dragon might.
It was an "ancestral" aura, purer and more ancient than even the Dragon God's.
Just looking at him made the Soul Power within Bi Ji's body rejoice and surge.
"Lord Neuvillette, we..."
Bi Ji's beautiful eyes sparkled with absolute admiration for the powerful, and her voice turned nervous.
"Allow me."
Di Tian drew a deep breath, forcing down the turmoil within him.
He stood and bowed respectfully once more.
"Lord Neuvillette, City Lord."
"To speak frankly, I've come on behalf of my master, the Silver Dragon King Gu Yuena."
"My master sensed an unusual aura in Skywater City and sent us to pay you a visit."
"If possible, my master hopes to meet with you."
"..."
Neuvillette nodded slightly and set down his cup.
"The Silver Dragon King."
"Since she has come, she is our guest."
"There's no need to rush the meeting."
"..."
He waved a hand, and a servant immediately brought over several plates of exquisite fruit and two jugs of wine.
The fruit didn't come from Douluo Continent.
Some were shaped like the setting sun and glowed with a warm light; others were a vibrant purple, tingling with the crackle of lightning.
They were Teyvat's Sunsettias and Wolfhooks.
Furina cheerfully stood up, picked up the jug, and personally poured a bowl for Di Tian and Bi Ji.
The wine was pale pink and gave off a refreshing floral fragrance.
"Come on, don't be shy."
"Give this a try."
"This is Silk Flower Wine I brought especially for you. It tastes wonderful."
"Back home, it's a treat reserved for festivals."
Di Tian and Bi Ji exchanged a glance. Though they were puzzled, they didn't dare refuse.
"Thank you."
Di Tian lifted the bowl and drank it all in one go.
The wine went down without the sharpness he'd expected, instead carrying a gentle, lingering sweetness.
However,
the next second,
Boom!
An unimaginably vast surge of pure energy erupted in his abdomen.
It swept through him like a raging torrent!
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