Hu Liena instinctively hurried forward to greet them.
But when her gaze fell on Shui Bing'er beside Huang Yan, she abruptly stopped, and the smile on her lips stiffened.
"This is...?"
With undisguised hostility and scrutiny in her eyes, Hu Liena sized Shui Bing'er up from head to toe.
Shui Bing'er felt somewhat uncomfortable under Hu Liena's sharp gaze, but she still nodded politely.
Huang Yan naturally noticed Hu Liena's hostility. Without drawing attention to it, he took half a step forward, subtly shielding Shui Bing'er at his side.
Then he introduced her with a smile:
"Nana, Xie Yue, long time no see.
This is Shui Bing'er, formerly a student of Skywater Academy.
I brought her back to the city this time specifically to handle her enrollment at Spirit Hall Academy.
From now on, we'll all be classmates."
Seeing Huang Yan instinctively protect her like that,
Hu Liena immediately felt an indescribable bitterness well up inside her. Even her eyes reddened slightly.
"You... You just returned to Spirit City, and instead of going to Pope Palace, you came to enroll her?"
"Huang Yan!"
Yan, who stood nearby, could no longer endure it as he watched the woman he loved suffer such grievance.
Burning with rage, he rushed forward and pointed at Huang Yan as he shouted:
"What kind of man are you?!
Nana waited for you to return every single day, yet you just brought some random woman back from outside and shoved her into the academy!
What do you take Nana for?!"
The moment those words were spoken, the surrounding air seemed to freeze.
Shui Bing'er frowned slightly, a trace of coldness flashing through her eyes.
The smile on Huang Yan's face instantly vanished as well, replaced by a bone-chilling frostiness.
"Yan, aren't you meddling too much?"
Huang Yan narrowed his eyes slightly.
The pressure of a level fifty-two Soul King, mixed with Phoenix fire that neared the ultimate extreme, bore down upon Yan without restraint.
"Who I bring back, what I do—since when is it your place to point fingers?
If you're dissatisfied, you can go wait for me at the Soul Fighting Arena right now."
Forced back two steps by that pressure, Yan's face turned deathly pale.
Again!
Yan roared inwardly.
Although their martial souls were the Evil Fire Phoenix and the Flame Lord, respectively,
their quality should, in theory, have been equal.
Huang Yan's Evil Fire Phoenix martial soul even had a flaw.
Yet for some reason, his Flame Lord had always been suppressed by Huang Yan's Evil Fire Phoenix!
But for the sake of his pride, Yan still gritted his teeth and forced himself to say:
"You think I'm afraid of you?!
You're only relying on..."
"Yan!
Shut your mouth!"
Hu Liena suddenly turned around, her eyes red as she shouted furiously at Yan.
Then she turned back toward Huang Yan, biting her red lips tightly, her voice filled with stubbornness and grievance.
"Huang Yan, you've only just broken through to Soul King. I won't disturb you.
But you know the academy's rules. Not just anyone can enter whenever they please.
I'd like to see what she's capable of that makes her worthy of staying at Spirit Hall Academy!"
After saying that, Hu Liena gave Shui Bing'er a deep look, then turned and ran away while wiping her tears.
"Nana!"
Yan shot Huang Yan a vicious glare before hurriedly chasing after her.
Xie Yue remained where he was, watching the farce before him. He sighed helplessly, then nodded at Huang Yan.
"Congratulations on breaking through to Soul King, Huang Yan.
Nana just cares about you too much. Don't take it to heart.
I'll go check on her first. We'll catch up later."
After Xie Yue left, Shui Bing'er finally turned to Huang Yan and spoke softly.
"It seems you're very popular in Spirit Hall.
That Saintess really likes you."
Huang Yan withdrew the pressure of his Soul Power and smiled indifferently.
"Don't mind them. Come on, I'll take you to the academic office to register your name first."
The two arrived at the academic office.
When they pushed open the door, the Dean of Academic Affairs, who was in charge of registration, saw Huang Yan and immediately came forward to greet him warmly.
"Huang Yan?
You're back from your training!
I heard you've already broken through to Soul King. The young truly surpass the old!"
"Thank you, Director."
Huang Yan nodded slightly, then pointed to Shui Bing'er beside him.
"I came today to handle her enrollment. She'll enter the Elite Class directly."
The Dean of Academic Affairs froze for a moment. His gaze landed on Shui Bing'er, and he rubbed his hands awkwardly.
"Huang Yan, since you brought her here personally, I shouldn't say too much.
But you know the Elite Class rules. Transferring in midway requires a strict aptitude assessment.
After all, the Saintess, Xie Yue, and the others are all in that class..."
"I understand the rules. I won't make things difficult for you."
Huang Yan chuckled and turned to Shui Bing'er.
"Bing'er, release your martial soul for the Director to see."
Shui Bing'er nodded slightly and stepped forward.
The next moment, an incomparably pure icy aura instantly filled the entire academic office.
Accompanied by a clear, proud phoenix cry, a crystalline ice-blue phoenix phantom suddenly appeared behind Shui Bing'er.
At the same time, four soul rings in the optimal configuration—yellow, yellow, purple, purple—rose from beneath her feet and slowly revolved.
"Shui Bing'er, level forty-one control-type Battle Soul Ancestor.
Martial soul: Ice Phoenix."
Shui Bing'er spoke calmly.
The Dean of Academic Affairs' eyes widened abruptly. He sucked in a cold breath, and even his voice trembled.
"A top-tier ice-attribute beast martial soul!
And an extremely rare phoenix-type martial soul at that!
At her age... level forty-one?!"
Although Huang Yan and the others were even more outstanding than Shui Bing'er,
the Dean of Academic Affairs was still deeply shocked.
There were only a few people on the entire continent with such talent.
And she was just going to join Spirit Hall Academy like this?
He excitedly slapped his thigh and nodded repeatedly.
"Enough!
More than enough!
With this kind of talent, even in the Elite Class of our Spirit Hall Academy, she'd be among the very best!
I'll handle the procedures for you right away!"
A short while later, all the registration procedures were quickly completed.
The two walked out of the academic office, and Huang Yan handed Shui Bing'er a tailored uniform representing Spirit Hall Academy's Elite Class.
"Take it. Everything's settled.
Starting tomorrow, you'll attend classes in the Elite Class."
Shui Bing'er accepted the uniform, her fingertips brushing over its exquisite patterns. After hesitating for a moment, she still asked softly:
"You brought me straight to the academic office earlier, and that Saintess seemed very angry.
Will she... target me in the academy?"
Hearing this, Huang Yan smiled unconcernedly.
"Don't worry. Nana isn't bad by nature. She's just been spoiled by the Pope since childhood and has a bit of a temper. She won't do anything excessive."
At that, Huang Yan stopped walking. He looked seriously into Shui Bing'er's eyes, his tone carrying an unquestionable dominance.
"Besides, I said I'd look after you at Spirit Hall Academy from now on.
As long as I'm here, no one in Spirit City will be able to lay a finger on you."
Shui Bing'er's heart trembled slightly. Avoiding Huang Yan's burning gaze, she lowered her eyes and replied softly:
"Mhm, I understand."
The following day, at the Spirit Hall Academy Elite Class training grounds.
Shui Bing'er had just entered the grounds in her brand-new tailored uniform when a tall figure blocked her path.
Hu Liena crossed her arms over her chest and stared at Shui Bing'er with an intensely aggressive gaze.
"Shui Bing'er, right?
Huang Yan protected you yesterday. Today, we'll do things according to the Elite Class rules."
Shui Bing'er's expression remained calm as she met Hu Liena's gaze without yielding.
"How does the Saintess wish to follow the rules?"
"A soul fight."
Hu Liena raised her chin and said coldly:
"If you want to stay in the Elite Class, show me what you're truly capable of.
If you lose, leave Huang Yan of your own accord!"
Before you continue