He was suddenly invited to join Skywater Team.
"..."
Su Hui didn't answer right away.
Seeing him fall silent, Shui Furong hurriedly added, "You're just the right age, and your Martial Soul has already reached a very good level of cultivation. You fully meet the requirements for joining the team."
"After joining Skywater Team, you'll receive the highest level of resources available to the academy's team members, and—"
She put extra weight into her words, tossing out her biggest bargaining chip. "In four years, the Continental Advanced Soul Master Elite Tournament will be held."
"You've heard of it, haven't you?"
"It's the highest-level tournament on the entire continent, attended by every advanced Soul Master academy. It's the stage where countless gifted Soul Masters make a name for themselves."
"Skywater Team needs a talented Soul Master like you, and surely you need a platform where you can shine, too?"
Her words were heartfelt. She didn't put on the slightest airs as the dean; instead, she sounded like an elder sincerely discussing the matter.
Su Hui had actually expected Shui Furong to bring this up.
Given his cultivation and age, joining Skywater Team was only natural.
But his concerns lay elsewhere.
"Dean, I have a question."
He spoke slowly, his words bearing the mark of careful thought. "As far as I know, a Soul Master team can field only seven people in a Soul Fighting match."
"Skywater Team already has Xue Wu and the others, making up a full roster of seven."
"If I join, that makes eight. Someone will inevitably be pushed onto the bench because of me."
"I don't want one of the current starters to lose their chance to compete on my account."
"This..."
Shui Furong's expression froze. All the lengthy speech she'd prepared got stuck in her throat.
She hadn't expected Su Hui to consider that.
Another gifted youth would probably have agreed without a second thought at the invitation to the Continental Advanced Soul Master Elite Tournament. Who would worry about someone else's place on the team?
Standing to the side, Shui Bing'er's ice-blue eyes flashed with a strange light.
She felt she understood Su Hui's character a little better now.
She admired that he would think things through this way.
Seeing Shui Furong look troubled, Su Hui realized that the dean really was in a difficult position, so he took the initiative to speak. "Dean, how about this? I'll join Skywater Team, but as a substitute."
"I'll train as usual, and during official matches, we can adjust the lineup depending on our opponents."
"The seven senior students can keep their current lineup. I'll fill in at critical moments."
Shui Furong's eyes lit up.
"A substitute?"
She mulled over the word. The more she thought about it, the better it sounded.
"Great! That's a wonderful plan!"
It preserved Skywater Team's existing chemistry and lineup while giving them greater tactical flexibility.
"Xiao Su, you're being so considerate of the team. I thank you on behalf of those girls."
"You're too kind, Dean."
Su Hui smiled.
This doesn't have much to do with being considerate of the team.
He simply didn't want to be a starter.
It wasn't as if he'd have to compete in every Soul Fighting match, right?
That would be way too much trouble.
With that time, he'd be better off studying Soul Tools.
He'd always been fascinated by powerful Battle Armor.
Shui Bing'er suddenly spoke up. "What about the cultivation resources for substitutes?"
"Of course they'll be the same as the starters'!"
Shui Furong waved a hand grandly. "Not only that, Xiao Su's share will be twenty percent more."
"Xiao Su has willingly taken a step back. We can't shortchange him."
She patted Su Hui on the shoulder, brimming with enthusiasm. "All right, we've finished discussing business. Now let's start the test."
"Xiao Su, show me your full strength."
"As the dean, I need to know just how capable our new member of Skywater Team is!"
Inside the Sea of Consciousness, the Ice Empress lazily rolled over.
"Go on, little one."
"Let these human females see just how capable the person I chose really is."
Before the test began.
Shui Bing'er rolled her wrist, her ice-blue hair swaying gently with the motion.
"Su Hui, don't hold back."
Her tone was far too serious for a test that was supposed to stop short of a real fight.
"I've wanted to see your special Ultimate Ice for a while now."
"Today I finally have the chance. I want to see just how strong you are."
Her eyes burned with pure competitiveness.
They were both at thirty-sixth-level Soul Power.
She possessed the top-tier Ice Phoenix Martial Soul.
Among ice-attribute Soul Masters of the same level, she had never encountered a true opponent.
But Su Hui was different.
Through a fortuitous encounter, he'd obtained Ultimate Ice—a power so formidable that even her mother had never seen its like.
Su Hui gave a noncommittal nod. "Don't worry. I'll use my third Soul Skill."
"Hm?"
Shui Bing'er was slightly taken aback.
She hadn't expected Su Hui to agree so readily.
Deep in the Sea of Consciousness, the Ice Empress lazily rolled over. "Little one, you're not really planning to bully a young girl with Extreme Ice Differentiation, are you?"
"Using a fifty-thousand-year Soul Skill against someone your own level? Aren't you worried people will say you won unfairly?" Her tone was full of anticipation.
Su Hui inwardly twitched the corner of his mouth.
"It's only a test, not a fight to the death."
"It's a good chance to test my third Soul Skill. I'll control my strength. I won't really hurt her."
"Tsk, and you say you're not bullying her."
"With Xiao Bing here, hitting a Soul Master of your own level is like bringing a hammer down on tofu."
The Ice Empress said no more.
But judging from the fluctuations coming from the Sea of Consciousness, she was clearly looking forward to the spectacle about to unfold.
Shui Furong retreated to the edge of the Soul Fighting Arena.
Once in position, she took a deep breath and raised her hand, making a chopping motion.
"Begin!"
The instant her words rang out, a dazzling ice-blue light suddenly blazed around Shui Bing'er.
Two yellow Soul Rings and one purple Soul Ring rose in a spiral from beneath her feet.
Then, with a clear, lingering ring, a phoenix cry resounded throughout the training ground.
A pair of translucent Ice Crystal Wings unfurled behind her.
Each feather was formed from pure ice elements, refracting rainbow-colored glimmers in the sunlight.
The Ice Phoenix Martial Soul possessed her.
Shui Bing'er's pupils turned ice blue.
Faint crystalline patterns surfaced across her skin.
The temperature around her plummeted.
Moisture on the ground visibly condensed into frost flowers that spread outward.
"Su Hui, release your Martial Soul!"
Her voice took on a metallic chill as the Martial Soul possessed her.
Su Hui didn't keep her waiting.
Silver light flashed.
An ice-attribute aura, purer and more domineering than Shui Bing'er's, surged from his body.
His hair rapidly turned silver-white from the roots.
Silver light gleamed in his pupils, while the markings that appeared on his skin weren't icy patterns but fine silver dragon scales.
Shui Furong's brow twitched sharply.
"The Silver Dragon King Martial Soul... Every time I see it, it feels unbelievable."
Then she saw Su Hui's Soul Rings.
Purple, black, black!
Two Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings revolved beneath Su Hui's feet.
The corner of Shui Furong's eye twitched even harder.
"It's still shocking to see it again. What a Little Monster."
Su Hui raised his right hand. The power of Ultimate Ice gathered wildly in his palm, and the air around him crackled as it froze.
His lips parted as he uttered four words. "Extreme Ice Differentiation."
His third Soul Ring blazed.
Dense ice mist erupted from his body.
The aura of Ultimate Ice spread outward like a tangible force.
Under the stunned gazes of the two women, the mist rapidly contracted and coalesced, sketching out a complete human silhouette in front of Su Hui.
The figure quickly solidified.
Silver-white hair, skin covered in silver scales, and features identical to Su Hui's.
A clone formed from Ultimate Ice stood on the training ground, radiating a chilling aura that made the heart tremble.
The Ice Man didn't breathe and had no body heat.
Yet as it stood there, Shui Bing'er felt as if she were facing a lurking human-shaped Ferocious Beast.
"So this is the Soul Skill granted by a fifty-thousand-year Soul Ring?"
She clenched her fists. Her shock transformed into an even more intense fighting spirit.
"Good, very good. Now this is a test worth having!"
Her fighting spirit had been thoroughly ignited.
Before you continue