"Young master, please spare the beast!"
Yu Shuangbai's hand paused. He turned his head slightly and looked toward the voice.
Several graceful figures were hurrying over from not far away.
At their lead was a beautiful, middle-aged woman dressed in palace robes.
She looked to be in her thirties, with crow's-feet at the corners of her eyes, etched there by the years.
Yet they did nothing to diminish her charm. If anything, they added a hint of timeworn grace.
Two girls followed behind her.
Both were a little older than Yu Shuangbai.
One was elegant and quiet in manner.
She also carried a maturity beyond her years.
The other, by comparison, seemed far more lively.
Her beautiful eyes kept roaming over Yu Shuangbai, sparkling with infatuation.
We made it!
Seeing Yu Shuangbai stop, the middle-aged beauty let out a quiet sigh of relief.
She lifted her eyes and looked at the two of them.
Snow Empress, dressed in a pure white gown with her arms folded over her chest, had first hit her with a devastating blast of beauty.
Then she made the middle-aged woman grow wary.
She couldn't see through Snow Empress's strength.
But her instincts told her that this peerlessly beautiful woman was extremely dangerous.
When her gaze shifted to Yu Shuangbai, a few more traces of astonishment appeared in her eyes.
As she hurried over, she had seen the entire battle between Yu Shuangbai and the White Lurking Fish-Wolf.
This boy, who looked no more than twelve, had displayed strength and combat prowess that were truly astounding!
Even the undisputed top genius of their academy, standing behind her, couldn't compare.
The middle-aged woman had already reached a conclusion in her heart.
These two must have come from some great power.
"Thank you for sparing it, young master."
The middle-aged woman thanked him first, then introduced herself.
"I'm Shui Rou'er, vice dean of Skywater Academy. I've brought my students here to hunt for a third Soul Ring."
"This White Lurking Fish-Wolf's attributes are an excellent match for my student. It seems you don't need its Soul Ring, either. Would you be willing to part with it?"
"Skywater Academy is willing to offer a reward in exchange."
Shui Rou'er spoke softly.
She was sure Yu Shuangbai didn't need the White Lurking Fish-Wolf's Soul Ring.
The icy-blue Soul Rings appearing around him were unheard of, to be sure.
But they were probably just an unusual manifestation of Soul Rings.
At the three-ring level, if Yu Shuangbai had already reached level forty, he would certainly have no interest in this White Lurking Fish-Wolf.
After all, though it was a fine beast, it was only a little over a thousand years old.
Most four-ring Soul Ancestors wanted their fourth Soul Ring to be at least five thousand years old.
Someone like Yu Shuangbai, who so clearly came from an extraordinary power, would surely have even stricter requirements for his Soul Rings.
That was why Shui Rou'er had urgently called for Yu Shuangbai to stop and made this offer, hoping to trade for the White Lurking Fish-Wolf.
A White Lurking Fish-Wolf just over a thousand years old was the perfect choice for her student Shui Yue'er's third Soul Ring.
Behind Shui Rou'er, sisters Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er were also watching Yu Shuangbai with what they thought were discreet glances.
Shui Yue'er was simply infatuated with Yu Shuangbai's exceptional looks.
Shui Bing'er, on the other hand, was shocked by the strength and combat prowess the boy had displayed.
As Skywater Academy's number-one genius, Shui Bing'er was still young, yet she had settled comfortably into her undisputed position as captain of the Skywater Team.
She had never let it make her conceited, but she still had a certain pride in herself.
Even when it came to the leading geniuses of the other Four Elements Academies, Shui Bing'er had never thought herself inferior.
Yet this boy before her, who looked about her age, had just displayed strength and combat prowess that seemed to surpass hers.
Shui Bing'er asked herself honestly.
If it had been her, she might have been able to deal with this White Lurking Fish-Wolf, a little over a thousand years old, but she certainly couldn't have handled it as effortlessly as Yu Shuangbai had.
Coming to terms with this fact left Shui Bing'er somewhat shaken.
At the same time, it sparked a measure of curiosity about Yu Shuangbai.
"Trade for this fellow..."
At Shui Rou'er's words, Yu Shuangbai rubbed his chin and thought it over.
Snow Empress remained silent beside him.
This was for Xiao Shuangbai to decide for himself.
Snow Empress's responsibilities were simple.
First, stay by Xiao Shuangbai's side.
Second, deal with anyone who threatened him.
As for anything else, she had no interest in getting involved.
After a moment,
Yu Shuangbai nodded. "All right."
The White Lurking Fish-Wolf was worthless to him.
"How about twenty thousand Gold Soul Coins?"
Yu Shuangbai didn't ask for anything else.
To be honest, there was nothing at Skywater Academy that appealed to him.
He only wanted some Gold Soul Coins to make life in the human world easier later on.
The Far North had no need for Gold Soul Coins, but the human world was different.
Trading a White Lurking Fish-Wolf that was useless to him for some Gold Soul Coins was, frankly, a deal that couldn't lose.
"Twenty thousand Gold Soul Coins?"
Shui Rou'er froze for a moment.
Not because twenty thousand Gold Soul Coins was too much.
On the contrary, she thought it was a little too little.
To ordinary people, twenty thousand Gold Soul Coins was an astronomical sum, something they could only dream of.
But for high-level Soul Masters like them, it was hardly a fortune.
Shui Rou'er had assumed that Yu Shuangbai, coming from a mysterious power, would ask for something unusual.
She hadn't expected his request to be so simple.
She couldn't help taking another look at Yu Shuangbai.
He certainly didn't look like someone short on money.
If she wasn't mistaken, that white outfit he wore was made from Millennium Ice Silkworm Silk, wasn't it?
The outfit alone was worth far more than twenty thousand Gold Soul Coins.
What she didn't know was that Yu Shuangbai's white robe really was made from Millennium Ice Silkworm Silk.
But he hadn't spent a single Gold Soul Coin on it.
Snow Empress had made it by hand.
As for the Millennium Ice Silkworm Silk used to make the robe, it might have been a priceless treasure in the human world.
But in the Far North, in the hands of Snow Empress, the King of the Far North, it was nothing rare.
"Mm, twenty thousand Gold Soul Coins."
"Is there a problem?"
Yu Shuangbai frowned slightly.
He hadn't lived in the Far North all his life.
He had spent nearly eight years living in the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.
He still had some idea of prices in the human world.
Though he hadn't left the Far North and returned to the human world in five years, nothing major had changed there.
Prices should be much the same as before he entered the Far North.
If Shui Rou'er wasn't willing to offer even twenty thousand Gold Soul Coins for the trade, then there was no need for him to agree.
Even though killing this White Lurking Fish-Wolf would be worthless, Yu Shuangbai wasn't about to let anyone treat him like a fool and fleece him.
"No, no."
Seeing that Yu Shuangbai seemed to have misunderstood, Shui Rou'er hurriedly waved her hands.
"Twenty thousand Gold Soul Coins is no problem."
Before you continue