Lingling and Rongrong

As Shui Xinhan and Su Yuntao talked, white light began to appear across Skywater Academy.

Shui Xinhan glanced at the sky and said helplessly, "Yuntao, get some rest first. This afternoon, I'll take Bing'er and the others to meet someone. You can come along and meet her too."

Su Yuntao agreed. "All right, Dean. I'll head back and rest."

While Su Yuntao sat in meditation to rest, Shui Xinhan continued overseeing the Skywater Team's training.

Her Ice Dragon spread its wings and flew over the sea. Shui Bing'er, Xue Wu, and several other ice-attribute Soul Masters sat on its back. As Shui Yue'er and the others were water-attribute Soul Masters, other water-attribute teachers naturally led their training.

"Three hundred meters!" Several Skywater students jumped down.

"Five hundred meters!" Xue Wu jumped down.

Only when they were a thousand meters from the shore did Shui Bing'er jump from the Ice Dragon's back.

Facing the vast, boundless sea, Shui Bing'er showed no sign of panic as she fell from the sky. Just before she hit the water, she suddenly rolled several times. To everyone's amazement, several patches of ice appeared on the sea.

Using these patches of ice, Shui Bing'er successfully absorbed the impact of her high-altitude landing. Then, like a nimble little kitten, she raced toward the shore.

Ice blocks appeared in just the right places ahead of her. Before long, Shui Bing'er had reached the shore.

Xue Wu said happily, "Bing'er, your talent is truly incredible."

"Not at all, Sister Xue Wu. I was just lucky."

"Very good." Shui Xinhan nodded with satisfaction. "Bing'er, you've reached an exceptionally high level of control over your Martial Soul, Soul Power, body, and elemental abilities. But if you want to become a true powerhouse, you still have a long road ahead of you."

Shui Bing'er replied, "Teacher, don't worry! I'll keep working hard."

Shui Xinhan affectionately ruffled Shui Bing'er's hair. "I'm sorry you have to bear this burden, Bing'er. We're all women of Skywater, and there are responsibilities we must shoulder. This morning, you'll lead everyone through the rest of their training. This afternoon, I'll take you to see Aunt Ye."

Shui Bing'er, Xue Wu, and the others immediately cheered. Even as excitement swept over them, though, they felt uncomfortable all over.

That afternoon, several carriages left Shuiyun City and headed due east.

Su Yuntao leaned against the first carriage, leisurely watching the scenery pass by.

To his surprise, although the carriages were plain, they were pulled by nothing but thousand-year Soul Beasts—the Horned Scale Horses, a breed reserved for the imperial family. Skywater Academy had managed to get its hands on them.

This showed, on the one hand, that Skywater Academy was wealthy. On the other, it showed that the Heaven Dou Imperial Family held little standing in Shui Xinhan's eyes. That was easy to understand. The women of Skywater Academy naturally despised the nobles of the Heaven Dou Empire. How could they possibly have a favorable view of the imperial family?

After all, the Heaven Dou Imperial Family was the biggest hand behind the empire's slave trade. Although the royal family had nominally issued a decree banning the sale of people, its own Heaven Dou Auction House brazenly auctioned all manner of rare young women. It went without saying who profited most from the entire slave trade.

"Yuntao, do you know why we're making this trip?" Shui Xinhan's voice came from inside the carriage.

"Dean, I don't." Su Yuntao stretched lazily, then held the Golden Horse Whip and stared listlessly ahead. Horned Scale Horses were gentle and highly intelligent Soul Beasts, so having them pull the carriage made for a dull ride.

"Yuntao, the truth is, I'm taking everyone for a full-body treatment."

"A full-body treatment?" Su Yuntao asked curiously. "Why, Dean? Aren't there specialized treatment clinics in Shuiyun City?"

Shui Xinhan smiled. "Yuntao, this isn't an ordinary treatment. It's to clear the hidden injuries from their bodies."

"Bing'er and the others train extremely hard, and they're all very young. It's easy for them to pull a muscle if they aren't careful. In serious cases, their physical development could even be affected. So every three months, I take them for treatment. A Soul Douluo with a healing ability gives them a full-body treatment, so they can train without worrying about lingering injuries."

A Soul Douluo with an auxiliary ability was providing treatment? Su Yuntao sucked in a sharp breath. "Dean, Skywater Academy must be incredibly rich! How much will this cost?"

In a sense, an auxiliary Soul Douluo could be worth even more than some Titled Douluos. To hire a Soul Master of that caliber—and once every three months, no less—Shui Xinhan's wealth was truly rivaled by few.

"Heh." Shui Xinhan chuckled. "It won't cost a single coin."

Su Yuntao smiled. "Is this auxiliary Soul Douluo a friend of yours, Dean?"

Shui Xinhan shook her head. "Not a friend."

"If she isn't a friend, why would she treat our Skywater students for free?"

"She's family."

"Heh!" Su Yuntao coughed a few times, caught between laughter and disbelief. "Dean, you certainly have a lot of sisters."

Shui Xinhan shook her head. "I have only two younger sisters in all. One is Er Long, and the other is the person we're going to meet."

"Her name is Ye Lingrong, and she's the inheritor of a powerful healing Martial Soul."

"Ye Lingrong?" Su Yuntao furrowed his brows and thought for a moment. "Dean, Senior Ye Lingrong's surname is Ye. Is she the owner of the Nine-Heart Begonia Martial Soul?"

Shui Xinhan looked slightly surprised. "Su Yuntao, I didn't expect you to be so well-informed. That's right, my younger sister is the current head of the Nine-Heart Begonia family. I'm sure you know about the Nine-Heart Begonia Martial Soul."

"This Martial Soul is extraordinarily powerful. You could even say it's the strongest auxiliary Martial Soul in the world today, surpassing even the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda."

"However, because the Nine-Heart Begonia is too powerful, it was cursed. Only one Soul Master in each generation can possess the Nine-Heart Begonia Martial Soul, and there can only ever be two living Nine-Heart Begonia Soul Masters at once."

"Only after one of them dies can her descendants inherit the Nine-Heart Begonia again. There are only two Nine-Heart Begonia Soul Masters in the world today: my younger sister, Ye Lingrong, and my niece, Ye Lingling."

Su Yuntao's expression began to stiffen. He couldn't shake the feeling that something didn't quite add up.

"Ye Lingrong? Ye Lingling? Lingling? Ling Rong? Lingling Rongrong? Ye Lingling, Ning Rongrong?"

In an instant, Su Yuntao nearly jumped to his feet.

"Yuntao, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." Su Yuntao thought to himself, Looks like I've uncovered Ning Fengzhi's dirty little secret. Lingling and Rongrong—what a clever pair of names. No wonder I always felt there was some kind of connection between the names Ye Lingling and Ning Rongrong.