Little Bing'er, I Choose You

Before Shui Bing'er was even a year old, her mother had accidentally died during a soul beast hunting expedition.

To care for her, her aunt married her father and gave birth to her younger sister, Shui Yue'er. [Following the manga and anime setting here, Shui Yue'er is the younger sister, which is more reasonable.]

She often heard her grandfather and father mention that her mother had been a beautiful Ice Phoenix.

Ever since awakening her martial soul, she had often dreamed of the Ice Phoenix.

But this time was completely different from all her previous dreams.

This Ice Phoenix felt incredibly real, making her unable to stop herself from thinking of her mother.

But the voice from just now instantly shattered her fantasy.

The voice was gentle and clear, echoing in the depths of her soul.

Shui Bing'er looked at the Ice Phoenix before her.

She was a little frightened, but also curious.

The voice carried a hint of masculine energy; it clearly belonged to a man.

It sounded neither deep nor heavy, like that of a young man in his twenties.

From the voice alone, Shui Bing'er could tell that the Ice Phoenix bore her no ill will.

"Y-You... who are you?"

"I am the Ice Phoenix you see before you."

Xu Feng's voice rang out in Shui Bing'er's mind once more.

"Am... am I still dreaming?"

Shui Bing'er blinked, her azure eyes filled with confusion.

She muttered softly, yet could not help asking again.

"You just said... you could protect me like my mother did? Could it be... you knew my mother?"

The Ice Phoenix's enormous head gently shook.

"I did not know your mother, but I do indeed have the ability to protect you. Our bloodlines share the same origin, and your Ice Phoenix martial soul makes me feel close to you."

"But... we have never met before. Why are you willing to protect a stranger like me?"

A trace of approval flashed through Xu Feng's icy blue eyes.

Though Shui Bing'er was young, her awareness of scams was quite strong.

"Of course, I have conditions for doing this. I need you to join me in carrying out a plan."

"A plan? What plan?"

Shui Bing'er grew even more curious.

"A plan to create a god."

"Create a god?"

Shui Bing'er froze.

The term was far too unfamiliar to her.

Xu Feng continued:

"The Douluo Planet we are on now is merely a drop in the ocean. Above our heads exists a higher realm—the God Realm. Gods live there. They stand above the rules and are immortal. This world is controlled by those gods."

Shui Bing'er listened in a daze.

Gods?

Immortality?

To a girl of twelve or thirteen like her, such concepts were far too vast and ethereal.

Xu Feng continued:

"I am an Ice Phoenix who has just broken through to one hundred thousand years of cultivation.

There are two paths before me. The first is to trigger a heavenly tribulation and resist heavenly lightning in the body of a soul beast. If I survive, I can continue cultivating upward. But each tribulation is stronger than the last, and survival is nearly impossible.

The second is to choose to take human form and begin cultivating again from scratch. Though the potential is greater and the speed faster, the initial stage after taking human form is incredibly fragile. If I am discovered and hunted by a powerful human, it would still mean certain doom.

No matter which path I choose, neither can lead to the God Realm. Because the God Realm has rules that do not permit soul beasts to become gods."

Shui Bing'er listened, utterly absorbed.

Though she did not fully understand the dangers involved, she could feel the deep helplessness and unwillingness in the Ice Phoenix's heart.

She asked instinctively:

"You said your plan needs me, so... what can I do for you?"

Xu Feng smiled faintly.

"You came here to hunt soul beasts and obtain your third soul ring, didn't you?"

Shui Bing'er nodded.

"Then I choose the third path: to sacrifice myself to you and become your third soul ring."

"Ah?!"

Shui Bing'er cried out in alarm, her little face filled with disbelief.

Xu Feng explained:

"When a soul beast voluntarily sacrifices itself, it can ignore the soul master's current rank.

I can merge all my energy and origin power into your body in the most perfect and gentle manner, without bringing you any danger.

After sacrificing myself to you, my soul consciousness can also remain closely connected to you through the soul ring, becoming a 'soul spirit' that exists attached to you.

With my hundred-thousand-year soul ring, Soul Power origin, and the experience and wisdom of my hundred thousand years of cultivation, your potential will be elevated beyond imagination.

Combined with your already exceptional Ice Phoenix martial soul, you may have a chance to gain the favor of a god and qualify to inherit a divine position.

Even if you fail to gain a god's favor, you may still have hope of breaking through level one hundred and creating a new divine position.

When you ascend to the Divine Realm and become a true god, I will transcend alongside you and share the eternity of the Divine Realm!

This is my 'God-Creation Plan.' Do you understand now?"

Shui Bing'er was completely dumbfounded.

Sacrifice?

Soul spirit?

Inheritance of a divine position?

Creating her own divine position?

Becoming a god alongside her?

It all sounded like pure fantasy, stranger than any fairy tale she had ever heard.

She pinched her arm hard, yet she could not feel the slightest pain.

That only made her more certain that she was having a bizarre dream.

Only in a dream could something so unimaginable happen, right?

At that thought, the tense string in Shui Bing'er's heart loosened somewhat instead.

Since it was a dream, she might as well be bolder.

She slowly walked to within a few meters of Xu Feng and met the phoenix's icy blue eyes.

Then she tilted her head, a playful smile appearing at the corner of her lips. With a hint of probing curiosity, she said:

"Even if you really want to sacrifice yourself to me... I'm only a two-ring Soul Grandmaster right now. I haven't even obtained my third soul ring yet. Wouldn't the energy of a hundred-thousand-year soul ring burst me apart instantly?"

Xu Feng was inwardly amused by Shui Bing'er's now-relaxed demeanor and clear-headed question.

This girl was quite rational.

"I already said that a voluntary sacrifice is different. Its greatest characteristic is that it can perfectly regulate the energy output, ensuring that the recipient absorbs it in absolute safety. Forget a Soul Grandmaster—even if you were merely a six-year-old child who had just awakened their martial soul, as long as I wished it, you could still bear it. This is my choice, and also a special authority granted by a soul beast's sacrifice."

Shui Bing'er nodded as though she understood, then suddenly thought of another question.

"But... my grandfather's martial soul is also an Ice Phoenix, and he's an eighty-seventh-level Soul Douluo. He's far stronger than I am. If you sacrificed yourself to him, wouldn't he immediately become incredibly powerful? Wouldn't he have a greater chance of becoming a god? Why choose me?"

That question struck at the heart of the matter.

Xu Feng silently praised her, though he explained calmly on the surface:

"Your grandfather is indeed powerful, but precisely because of that, his path has basically already been fixed.

Eight soul rings mean that the nature of his Soul Power, the direction of his development, and even the potential of his soul have all been confined within a framework.

He is already nearing the point where his potential is exhausted. His future limit may stop at the level of a Titled Douluo, making it difficult for him to touch the threshold of godhood.

But you are like a pristine sheet of white paper, possessing limitless possibilities.

Your Ice Phoenix martial soul has yet to be fully developed, and your soul is brimming with vitality and malleability.

Investing in the future yields far richer returns than investing in the present.

You are the one more likely to create a miracle.

That is why I chose you."