How High Is the Sky

On the way back, Shui Xinhan suddenly spoke: "Yun Tao, do you truly wish to join the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?"

"Dean, what do you think?"

Shui Xinhan pondered for a moment. "Ning Fengzhi is a man of great charisma, but if he offers you any precious gifts, I hope you will refuse them!"

"Oh?" Su Yun Tao asked deliberately. "Why is that?"

"The reason is simple." Shui Xinhan looked toward the distant scenery. "This world is undergoing a certain transformation; the balance of power on the continent has never been so precarious. One day in the future, the situation across the entire continent may undergo earth-shattering changes."

"In the midst of such a great upheaval, unseen in three thousand years, we currently lack the strength to participate. Since that is the case, neutrality is the best choice!"

"Although I am emotionally inclined toward the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the power of Martial Soul Hall is too immense. Even though I find Bibi Dong's current madness deeply repulsive, I cannot gamble with the future of Skywater, especially when the odds of winning are virtually non-existent!"

Su Yun Tao said calmly: "Dean, actually, my thoughts are the same as yours. If Martial Soul Hall can truly unify the continent in the future, I personally have no objection to that."

Shui Xinhan smiled. "That is good. Knowing you think this way, Yun Tao, I can rest easy."

"Dean, there is one more thing. I have heard that the path of cultivation after level eighty is known as the Path to Heaven, and that a Titled Douluo is the sky itself!"

"That is correct; such a saying does indeed exist in the world of soul masters."

Su Yun Tao said faintly: "Since that is the case, and I have heard that your strength, Dean, is comparable to a Titled Douluo, I would like to know just how high the sky is!"

Looking at the calm and composed man before her, a flash of brilliance crossed Shui Xinhan's eyes.

"Very well, you have ambition. Once we return to the academy, Yun Tao, I shall let you witness my true strength."

Skywater Academy Soul Fighting Arena

Su Yun Tao wore a simple green robe, his eyes bright and spirited, while opposite him, Shui Xinhan watched with a smile.

There were not many people in the arena, only a few Soul Sage teachers and seven students—Shui Bing'er, Shui Yue'er, Xue Wu, Gu Qingbo, Qiu Ruoshui, Shen Liuyu, and Yu Hairou—who had been granted permission to observe.

"Brother Tao, go! Brother Tao, go!" Shui Yue'er shouted at the top of her lungs, doing her best to cheer Su Yun Tao on.

Su Yun Tao turned back and offered a faint smile, which instantly caused the girls of Skywater to blush.

"Yun Tao, let us begin."

"Very well, Dean."

A smile touched the corners of Shui Xinhan's mouth. Following a dragon's roar, a Western giant dragon—over twenty meters long, with wings on its shoulders, horns on its head, and a body covered in blue-gold scales—appeared behind her.

Shui Xinhan gave a sharp cry, and the Ice Dragon soared into the air, spreading its wings to fly freely around the training ground.

The members of the Skywater Team watched the majestic Shui Xinhan, all of them filled with envy.

"Teacher is truly magnificent," Shui Yue'er murmured, mesmerized.

At this moment, Su Yun Tao's pupils contracted sharply. Although Shui Xinhan only possessed level eighty-seven soul power, her Ice Dragon martial soul was uniquely gifted and incredibly powerful; in terms of pressure alone, it already surpassed the Jade Scale Snake Emperor.

"Martial Soul, Two-Headed Wolf!"

"Awoo!" With a wolf's howl, a Gale Two-Headed Wolf appeared, possessing two heads, a body over seven meters long, and lightning crackling across its torso.

"Hah!" Brilliant light erupted from Shui Xinhan's eyes. Channeling her vast level eighty-seven soul power to the limit, a pressure no less than that of a Titled Douluo swept toward Su Yun Tao.

While Shui Xinhan was not a Titled Douluo, there were times when she was even better; possessing numerous advantages, she was capable of true Titled-level combat power.

"The Dean's strength is indeed extraordinary, but to think you can win by pressure alone—that is simply impossible!"

The two yellow, two purple, and one black soul rings beneath Su Yun Tao's feet suddenly lit up, and the pressure on him instantly diminished.

High in the sky, a smile appeared on Shui Xinhan's lips. Her pressure was enough to affect even a Soul King or Soul Emperor; that Su Yun Tao's strength clearly far exceeded his peers was certainly something to be happy about.

Shui Xinhan said nothing more. The massive Ice Dragon dove downward, its giant claws raking toward Su Yun Tao.

With a thunderous boom, a massive crater over three meters in diameter appeared in the granite-paved arena, the surrounding debris a testament to the power of that strike.

Aside from Shui Bing'er, the faces of the Skywater students turned pale. The attack power of a Titled Douluo, even a casual strike, was enough to make one's scalp tingle.

"Brother Tao, be careful!" Shui Bing'er shouted in alarm.

Su Yun Tao smiled slightly. Although the attack had been fierce, Shui Xinhan had held back too much in both power and speed. With his own mobility largely unhindered, dodging was not a difficult task.

When the strike missed, the smile on Shui Xinhan's face deepened. The Ice Dragon flew back into the sky and immediately dove again.

"Second Soul Skill, Demon Wolf Acceleration!"

"Fourth Soul Skill, Twin Wolf Combined Strike!"

Su Yun Tao shouted, his level sixty soul power surging to its limit. His grasp of the battle was actually quite excellent.

In this strike, Shui Xinhan's power had increased significantly, and to overcome the mobility of an Ice Dragon diving from high altitude, Su Yun Tao needed a massive boost in speed. However, his first soul ring was only a hundred-year ring, so he used his fourth soul skill perfectly to create a distraction.

In an instant, two wolf heads were unleashed from Su Yun Tao's palms. One, condensed from soul power, met the attack head-on, while the other traced a beautiful arc.

The Ice Dragon let out a roar, instantly shattering the first wolf head, but a massive explosion then erupted from the center of the arena.

When the smoke cleared, a crater five meters in diameter appeared before the students of Skywater Academy. Such immense power left them dumbfounded, but what shocked them even more was that Su Yun Tao had not only successfully dodged the attack but had also managed to inflict a slight injury on Shui Xinhan.

Just as the Ice Dragon's attack was about to land, the second wolf head had struck it from the side with a lethal blow.

Although the Ice Dragon had relied on its powerful defense to endure the hit, it had still sustained some damage.

Shui Xinhan stood atop the Ice Dragon's back, appearing calm and composed, but in reality, her heart was in turmoil.

This is not the attack of a Soul King, or even a Soul Emperor; this level of power surpasses that of most Soul Sages!

Shui Xinhan had greatly underestimated Su Yun Tao's strength. Although he was only using his fourth soul ring, thanks to the acquisition of his hundred-thousand-year soul ring and soul bone, his fourth ring was stronger than many people's sixth rings.

Despite having only level sixty soul power, Su Yun Tao's physical constitution, reinforced by his hundred-thousand-year soul ring and bone, had long since surpassed that of a Soul Sage. Combined with a thirty-thousand-year attack skill, the power of his strikes far exceeded anything Shui Xinhan had imagined.