The moment Su Hui nodded to join Skywater Academy, Shui Furong excitedly pulled him into a hug.
"That's wonderful! Little Su joining our academy is definitely the right choice!"
"?"
Su Hui felt his vision go dark as he was pressed into something soft.
What is this... I can't breathe.
Shui Bing'er's face turned pitch black in an instant; she rushed over in two strides and yanked her mother away.
"Mom! Try to be a little more composed!"
She stood in front of Su Hui.
Her blue ponytail whipped through the air, and her ice-blue eyes locked onto Su Hui.
"And you, don't you dare have any strange thoughts about my mother."
Su Hui coughed twice. "Cough, cough... I don't..."
Dean Shui is certainly enthusiastic, he thought.
Watching her daughter's protective stance, a mischievous smirk tugged at the corners of Shui Furong's mouth.
She suddenly reached out, grabbed Shui Bing'er, and pulled her firmly into her embrace.
"Oh my~ Is Bing'er jealous? Come here, come here, Mommy will hug you too~"
Shui Bing'er was pressed against her mother's chest, her arms and legs flailing.
"Mmph... Mom! Let me go!"
It's over, I've completely embarrassed myself in front of Su Hui.
Su Hui stood to the side, his mouth twitching.
So that's what Shui Furong's personality is like... Shui Bing'er, this ice-cold beauty, can't handle her mother at all.
Shui Yue'er bounced over from the side and grabbed Su Hui's arm, shaking it vigorously.
"Little Boss Su, from now on we're all in the same academy!"
"When the time comes, you'll be a member of our Skywater Team, hehehe..."
As she spoke, a trail of glistening drool leaked from the corner of her mouth.
Xue Wu slapped the back of Shui Yue'er's head.
"Yue'er, stop drooling everywhere. Student Su Hui isn't food."
Shui Yue'er quickly wiped her mouth, her face turning bright red.
"I'm not trying to eat Little Boss Su!"
"It's just... I was just thinking about Little Boss Su's barbecue."
Shui Furong looked over with curiosity.
"Yue'er, ever since you met Little Su, you've been calling him Little Boss Su. What's that about?"
Shui Yue'er immediately perked up, hands on her hips, chest puffed out.
"Hehe, let me give you a grand introduction! The grilled meat Little Boss Su sells at his stall is super-duper delicious! My sister and I met him at his barbecue stand!"
Su Hui smiled.
"I did indeed run a barbecue stall outside Suotuo City, which is where I met students Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er."
Several female students gathered around, chattering excitedly.
"Barbecue? Is it really that good?"
"If a foodie like Yue'er says so, it must be extraordinary."
"I want to try it too."
Yu Hairou looked at Su Hui with curiosity. "To make Yue'er remember it so fondly, just how skilled is your cooking, Student Su Hui?"
Shui Yue'er waved her little fists. "Super skilled! You'll know once you taste it!"
"Perfect, perfect! I'd like to taste Little Su's cooking too. Little Su, why don't you show us what you can do? I have ingredients right here."
Shui Furong pulled large chunks of beast meat and various seasonings from her storage Soul Tool, spreading them all over the ground.
Su Hui looked at the pile of ingredients and rolled up his sleeves.
"Alright, I'll show you what I can do."
He sliced the beast meat into uniform, thin strips and threaded them onto sharpened wooden skewers.
He began to grill them over the campfire.
The seasonings rained down from his hands in a fluid, practiced motion.
Grease dripped into the fire, sizzling loudly.
An alluring, charred aroma began to drift across the icy plains.
Shui Yue'er crouched beside the campfire, sniffing the air, her mouth nearly watering again.
"This is the smell! It's just too fragrant!"
Gulp!
The cold beauty Xue Wu also swallowed hard, subconsciously rubbing her lower abdomen, thinking: I clearly just had dinner, why am I hungry again?
Before long, the roasted meat was finally handed out to everyone.
"Nom!"
Shui Yue'er was the first to take a bite, her cheeks bulging as she puffed out air from the heat.
"Sss-ha... so hot... but so delicious! As expected of Boss Su! It's so good I could cry!"
"To be able to eat Boss Su's barbecue on the snowy plains, I'm truly tearing up, wuwuwu~"
Su Hui smiled as he handed the roasted skewers to the others.
"Everyone, have a taste."
Gu Qingbo took a cautious bite, and her eyes immediately lit up.
"This is too delicious, isn't it? How did you roast it?"
Shen Xinshui ate three skewers in a row, her mouth stuffed full.
"Mmph mmph... what exactly is the recipe for this sauce..."
Shui Furong took a bite, and the rich, fatty juices exploded in her mouth.
The delicious flavor immediately surprised her. "This taste... no wonder Yue'er was so fixated on it."
"..."
Even Shui Bing'er elegantly picked up a skewer, taking small, dainty bites, though her pace was not slow at all.
The bonfire cast a red glow upon everyone's faces.
The cold wind of the ice plains was blocked out by the firelight, making this small campsite feel like a warm, isolated corner of the world.
After finishing the barbecue, the women slumped onto the animal-hide mats.
Shui Yue'er cradled her round, bulging belly and let out a loud, satisfied burp.
"Burp~ Amazing, just amazing! Being able to eat Boss Su's barbecue in this frozen wasteland is simply the happiest thing in the world!"
Shui Furong wiped the grease from the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief.
"Truly a fine craft. The ratio of seasonings is also very particular; it's a respectable skill."
"Su, you should just open a barbecue stall in the academy; I'd go eat there every day."
In the Sea of Consciousness, the Ice Empress let out a cold snort.
"Hmph, it's just ordinary beast meat roasted over a fire with a bunch of messy things added to it. What's so good about it?"
She was definitely not throwing a tantrum because she couldn't eat any.
Yes, absolutely not!
Su Hui cleaned the grill while responding in his mind.
"I'll roast a portion for you to try once you recover your physical form."
"Who... who cares for that?"
The Ice Empress's voice paused. "However, since you insist on roasting it, it wouldn't be impossible for this Empress to reluctantly give it a try."
The corners of Su Hui's mouth curled up slightly. "Stubborn."
"This Empress is not being stubborn!"
The bonfire crackled, and sparks drifted toward the starry sky.
Shui Bing'er suddenly turned her head, her ice-blue eyes fixed on Su Hui.
"Right, Su Hui, what exactly... is your Martial Soul?"
She paused.
"I've been wondering about this for a long time."
Shui Bing'er recalled the first time she learned Su Hui had become a Spirit Master back at the barbecue stall.
At the time, she hadn't asked, fearing it would hurt his self-esteem.
Now, she could no longer see through Su Hui's strength.
Shui Yue'er leaned in as well.
"Yeah, yeah! Boss Su's first Spirit Skill seems to be fire-elemental, but the scorpion-type Spirit Beast that provided your second and third Spirit Rings seemed to be ice-attributed. How can that be?"
Generally speaking, Martial Souls have specific attributes and characteristics, and the Spirit Rings one absorbs must follow certain rules.
It was extremely rare to see someone like Su Hui, who possessed Spirit Rings of two completely contradictory elements.
The women quieted down, all of them turning their gazes toward Su Hui in unison.
They were equally curious about what Su Hui's martial soul might be.
Su Hui set down the grill in his hands.
It was indeed time to reveal his cards.
The Anywhere Door martial soul could not be known by anyone, but his other martial soul would inevitably have to be released during combat.
He stood up, his internal soul power surging.
"My martial soul is a beast martial soul."
"Ding!"
Silver dragon scales emerged from beneath his skin, and his fingernails transformed into sharp dragon claws.
His short black hair instantly turned into a long silver mane that cascaded down to his waist, two curved silver dragon horns sprouted from his head, and a dragon tail covered in silver scales whipped out from behind him.
"Its name is—Silver Dragon King."