"It's good that you weren't hurt..."
Shui Bing'er bit her lower lip, and a shy blush spread all the way to her long, swanlike neck.
Just as the atmosphere in the hall was growing warmer, with an air of ambiguity thickening around them...
A sudden chuckle came from the empty space beside them.
Ice Empress appeared without warning, leaning lazily against a nearby pillar.
She folded her arms and eyed the crimson-faced Shui Bing'er with amusement.
"Little Bing'er, dressed so lightly in the middle of the night while waiting for our Tian Yu—were you harboring some rather improper thoughts?"
Ice Empress's teasing voice echoed through the quiet hall.
Like a startled rabbit, Shui Bing'er finally pulled her hand from Xue Tianyu's palm.
"I-Ice Empress!"
She twisted the hem of Xue Tianyu's coat between her hands, wishing she could find a crack in the floor to hide in.
"I was just... just waiting for our captain to come back safely. I didn't have any other thoughts."
The more she explained, the guiltier she sounded. Shui Bing'er's head was nearly buried in her collar.
Shui Bing'er hurriedly tried to sit up, but Xue Tianyu caught her slender waist with one hand.
Warmth seeped through the thin fabric.
Shui Bing'er felt her whole body go weak, her heartbeat racing as though it might leap out of her throat.
"What are you hiding for?"
Xue Tianyu's tone was calm.
"Didn't you say you were going to wipe me down?"
Shui Bing'er bit her lower lip, the blush on her cheeks spreading all the way to her ears.
She drew a deep breath, forced down her racing heartbeat, and picked up the warm towel again.
Kneeling halfway beside the bed, she leaned forward slightly and pressed the towel against Xue Tianyu's firm chest.
The steam mingled with his faint masculine scent, battering at her composure.
At first, her movements were clumsy and trembling, but gradually she grew focused.
She carefully wiped away the bloodstains caught between the contours of his muscles.
Xue Tianyu said nothing, only quietly watching the shy girl before him, her every movement tender.
A damp strand of Shui Bing'er's hair slid down her cheek and brushed against his arm.
It brought a faint, ticklish sensation.
Only after she had thoroughly wiped down his upper body did Shui Bing'er finally let out a breath of relief.
She picked up the basin and hurriedly took two steps back.
"Captain, get some rest. I'll be going now."
Not daring to look at Xue Tianyu again, she hurriedly turned and fled the room like a frightened fawn.
Xue Tianyu watched her retreating figure, a glimmer passing through his eyes.
He casually pulled the covers over himself, closed his eyes, and entered a meditative state.
Night had fallen deep, and the cold wind howled freely through the streets of Heaven Dou City.
On the other side of the city.
The inn where Shrek Academy was staying blazed with light, but the atmosphere in its hall was oppressive.
Tang San sat cross-legged on a cushion in the middle of the hall.
His eyes were tightly shut, veins bulging on his forehead as beads of sweat rolled down his cheeks.
The Mysterious Heaven Skill within him was running beyond its limits.
The day's events replayed in his mind again and again, like a nightmare that refused to fade.
The Blue Silver Grass he prided himself on had been torn apart with ease.
His poison-coated Hidden Weapons had all been knocked back.
He had even been forced to kneel in the street and kowtow to get the poison removed.
Such humiliation felt like a thousand ants gnawing at Tang San's heart.
"Pfft!"
A mouthful of black blood burst from his lips, splattering across the flagstones before him.
Yu Xiaogang, who had been keeping watch nearby, turned pale and hurried over.
"Little San!"
Yu Xiaogang reached out to steady Tang San, who was swaying on the verge of collapse. His voice was full of worry and concern.
"Your state of mind is completely unsettled!"
"If you keep forcing your cultivation like this, you'll lose control of your energy and damage your foundations!"
Tang San raised the back of his hand and savagely wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
He snapped his eyes open. His once clear black-and-white eyes were now filled with bloodshot veins.
"Teacher, I can't swallow this!"
Tang San clenched both fists so tightly that his nails dug into his palms. Blood dripped from between his fingers.
"Xue Tianyu has gone too far!"
"I, Tang San, will repay today's humiliation a hundredfold!"
Yu Xiaogang sighed deeply and patted Tang San firmly on the shoulder.
"Your teacher understands how you feel."
"But that Xue Tianyu's strength is incredibly strange. You're no match for him right now."
As he spoke, Yu Xiaogang's expression darkened.
"But don't worry. Flender has already sent Zhao Wuji to ambush him outside Sunset Forest."
"Zhao Wuji is a level seventy-six Soul Saint, and his Vajra Bear Martial Soul has astonishing defenses."
"No matter how talented that kid is, he won't survive a Soul Saint."
At this, some of the bloodlust faded from Tang San's eyes.
He gritted his teeth and sneered.
"Then I hope they capture him alive."
"I'll personally sever the tendons in his hands and feet and make him taste a fate worse than death!"
Just as the teacher and student were plotting their revenge...
A loud crash rang out!
The heavy wooden door to the hall was violently smashed open from outside.
The hinges snapped, and splinters flew everywhere.
Dai Mubai stumbled inside.
His face was as pale as paper, and his whole body was shaking uncontrollably.
The usual arrogance of the Evil-Eyed White Tiger had vanished without a trace.
He gasped for breath, his chest heaving violently, unable to get out a complete sentence.
"Boss Dai!"
Oscar immediately hurried over from the corner and reached out to steady Dai Mubai, who looked ready to collapse at any moment.
"What happened? Why are you in such a state?"
Dai Mubai shoved Oscar aside, his gaze fixed straight on Tang San in the middle of the hall.
His lips trembled violently, and his voice was shrill with hysteria.
"D-dead... He's dead..."
Yu Xiaogang's brow furrowed, and a terrible premonition welled up inside him.
"Who's dead? Speak clearly!"
Tang San rose from the cushion and stared hard at Dai Mubai.
"Fatty... Fatty's dead!"
Dai Mubai finally managed to shout the words. His anguished voice exploded through the hall.
The entire hall fell into a deathly silence.
Not a sound could be heard.
Even everyone's breathing seemed to stop.
"Boss Dai, don't joke around."
Oscar forced a smile that looked more painful than crying.
"Wasn't Fatty out enjoying himself in Spring Breeze Alley tonight?"
"How could that pest, who was supposed to outlive us all, possibly die?"
Dai Mubai grabbed Oscar by the collar, his eyes bulging as if they were about to split.
"I saw it with my own eyes!"
"I was at the entrance to Spring Breeze Alley. I saw the City Patrol Guard cleaning up the scene!"
"That thing couldn't even be called a corpse!"
"It was a pile of bloody ice shards!"
Boom!
Tang San felt a thunderclap go off in his head, and he staggered backward two steps.
He shoved Oscar aside and seized Dai Mubai by the arm.
"Who did this!"
Tang San's voice had changed completely, like a beast driven into a corner.
Dai Mubai shut his eyes in pain. Remembering the gruesome sight he had seen not long ago made his stomach churn violently.
"It was Xue Tianyu..."
At the name, Tang San and Yu Xiaogang both sucked in a sharp breath.
"The City Patrol Guard said witnesses saw Xue Tianyu stop Fatty in the street."
Dai Mubai's voice trembled more and more, thick with fear.
"Fatty used Phoenix Fire Line, but Xue Tianyu cut it apart with one strike."
"Then... Xue Tianyu summoned the phantom of a gigantic Ice Phoenix."
"That extreme cold froze Fatty into an ice sculpture in an instant."
"He didn't even have time to scream!"
Tang San's eyes widened until they were nearly bulging out of their sockets.
"What happened next?" he roared.
Dai Mubai's legs gave out, and he fell to his knees, clutching his head tightly with both hands.
"Then the Ice Phoenix phantom crushed him underfoot!"
"Fatty's whole body was crushed into fragments of ice!"
"Not a single bone remained intact!"
"He was ground alive into a mess of flesh and ice!"
At the horrific description, Oscar's legs went weak, and he slumped to the floor.
Yu Xiaogang retreated again and again, then collapsed into a grand chair, his face filled with shock.
"How could this happen..."
Yu Xiaogang's lips turned blue as he muttered to himself.
"How dare he kill someone in the street, right here in Heaven Dou City!"
"He's trying to wipe us all out!"
Tang San stood rooted to the spot, his body trembling violently like a sieve.
Unprecedented fury churned in his chest, threatening to burn away every last trace of reason.
Ma Hongjun was his brother, one of the Shrek Seven Devils.
Now Xue Tianyu had slaughtered him with such brutality that not even an intact corpse remained.
"Xue! Tian! Yu!"
Tang San forced the three words through clenched teeth, one by one.
Blood ran from the corner of his mouth, but he didn't notice.
A tangible killing intent surged through the hall.
He flung open his coat, revealing the Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges at his waist.
His hands flashed like phantoms as he swept them over the belt, and more than a dozen poison-coated Hidden Weapons appeared between his fingertips.
"I'm going to kill him!"
"I'll take his head to honor Fatty's spirit in the afterlife!"
Tang San turned and started for the door.
"Stop right there!"
Yu Xiaogang slammed his hand on the table and bellowed.
"What can you do by going there now? Get yourself killed?"
"He killed Ma Hongjun with one move. His strength is definitely far beyond yours!"
Tang San stopped abruptly and turned to glare at Yu Xiaogang.
His bloodshot eyes burned with an almost deranged obsession.
"Teacher, Fatty is dead!"
"He was killed so completely that not even scraps were left!"
"How can you ask me to endure this?"
Yu Xiaogang's eyes were red, and his voice trembled violently.
"Do you think my heart doesn't ache too!"
"But if you go now, you'll only be throwing your life away!"
"Don't forget, Zhao Wuji is still out there!"
Yu Xiaogang took a deep breath, trying to steady the situation.
"Zhao Wuji went to intercept him. We just need to wait for Zhao Wuji to come back..."
But Yu Xiaogang hadn't finished speaking.
Outside the hall, a sudden series of extremely heavy, dragging footsteps rang out.
It sounded as though something heavy was being hauled laboriously across the ground.
Everyone turned to look.
Flender appeared unsteadily in the doorway.
His hair, usually combed to perfection, was now a complete mess, and half of his gold-rimmed glasses were shattered.
He looked as though he had aged ten years in an instant.
Flender's eyes were vacant and lifeless. He clutched a ragged garment, soaked in dark red blood, tightly against his chest.
"Dean!"
Oscar scrambled over, nearly tumbling, and was just about to ask what had happened.
But his gaze locked onto the garment in Flender's arms.
It was a jacket Zhao Wuji often wore.
Several shattered fragments of the Vajra Bear Martial Soul still clung to it.
Flender's legs gave way, and he dropped to his knees before the threshold with a thud.
He stared blankly at everyone in the hall, and tears instantly spilled from his eyes.
"Old Zhao... Old Zhao isn't coming back."
Flender's voice was as raspy as sandpaper scraping against itself, filled with bottomless grief and despair.
"When I reached the edge of Sunset Forest, all I found was this pile of clothes and fragments."
"The whole area was marked with terrifying traces of Frost Sword Qi."
"Old Zhao was gravely wounded..."
Flender swallowed a mouthful of bloody saliva, his whole body convulsing.
"He was beheaded."
Boom!
The news crashed down on the people of Shrek like a thunderbolt weighing ten thousand jun.
Yu Xiaogang's eyes rolled back. His blood surged in his chest, and he spat out a mouthful of blood before passing out on the spot.
"Grandmaster!"
The hall descended into chaos.
Dai Mubai gritted his teeth, his back pressed hard against the wall, his eyes filled with bone-deep terror.
Even Zhao Wuji, a level-seventy-six Soul Saint famed for his defensive abilities, had been beheaded by Xue Tianyu!
Just what kind of monster was Xue Tianyu?
In front of him, Shrek's students were less than ants.
Tang San stood rooted to the spot, dumbstruck.
The poisoned Hidden Weapon in his hand fell to the ground with a clatter and shattered.
Utter despair and terror clamped around his throat like an invisible hand.
In a single day.
Shrek Academy had lost two of its most powerful fighters.
Both had died without even leaving a whole corpse!
And Xue Tianyu alone was responsible!
Tang San raised his head, staring fixedly into the boundless darkness outside the door.
Violent rage and endless hatred burst wide open in his chest.
He abruptly threw back his head and let out a shrill, hysterical howl.
"Xue Tianyu!"
"I, Tang San, swear to the heavens today!"
"In this life, I will tear out your tendons and bones and pulverize your corpse into a thousand pieces!"
"If I break this oath, may heaven and earth destroy me!"
His shrill roar echoed through the night for a long time, steeped in a blood feud that would end only with one side's death.
Several days had passed since that bloody ambush.
The All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament had opened to great fanfare in Heaven Dou City.
The magnificent Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena had been completely refurbished, and every seat in the stands was filled.
Cheers and surging waves of people set the entire arena ablaze.
The banners of the Five Elemental Academies fluttered above the main venue.
Yet the Skywater Academy's private lounge was unusually quiet.
Xue Tianyu lounged lazily on the soft sofa at the head of the room.
He was tall and slender, his eyes deep, and a faint, bone-chilling aura seemed to coil around him.
Several exceptionally beautiful Skywater students clustered around him.
Shui Bing'er stood quietly at the spot closest to him, her head lowered.
Ever since she had wiped his body for him that night, her heart had raced uncontrollably whenever she came near him.
A faint blush often bloomed across her fair cheeks.
The teacher leading the team hurried in from outside, holding a list booklet embossed in gold.
She respectfully placed it on the tea table in front of Xue Tianyu.
"Captain, the opening ceremony is almost over, and the matchups for the first preliminary round have been announced."
"According to the tournament rules, we need to submit the names of our seven starting players at once."
Before you continue