Shui Bing'er's cheeks had grown so red they looked ready to burst. She lowered her head, wishing she could dig an ice pit on the spot and bury herself in it.
Lan, however, acted as though nothing had happened.
He casually tossed the fish bones he'd picked clean into the fire. The flames flared up with a soft whoosh.
Then he turned and walked back to the rock from before, sitting down.
He took the system-rewarded short blade from his waist, then pulled a piece of soft animal hide from his robes and began wiping it, paying no mind to anyone around him.
His movements were focused and earnest, as if the short blade were his only friend.
Firelight reflected off his lowered lashes, casting a long shadow across his stern face.
Shui Bing'er stood there in embarrassment for a long while before finally mustering her courage.
She edged over in tiny steps and crouched beside him by the rock.
"Um..."
She racked her brain for something to talk about.
"The snow seems to have stopped tonight."
Lan didn't pause in wiping the blade.
"Mm."
Shui Bing'er's face grew warm again.
"There are... so many stars."
"Oh."
Shui Bing'er deflated, feeling as though she'd thrown a punch at a wad of cotton—no, at a block of Ten-Thousand-Year Black Ice.
Just then, Liu Ruyan walked over.
She first shot her disappointing disciple a disgruntled glare, then plastered on a warm smile and looked at Lan.
"Lan, you're truly a remarkable young man."
Liu Ruyan got straight to the point.
"When I was your age, I was still fretting over obtaining my second Soul Ring. You, on the other hand, are already this formidable."
Lan's movements finally paused. He raised his eyes and quietly watched Liu Ruyan, waiting for her to continue.
Seeing this, Liu Ruyan changed tack and at last revealed the true purpose of her visit.
"Honestly, with your talent, staying here in the Far North would be such a waste."
"So, I'd like to formally invite you to join our Skywater Academy."
She watched Lan closely, afraid of missing even the slightest change in his expression.
"Skywater Academy is a famous elemental-type Soul Master Academy in the Heaven Dou Empire, with abundant resources. If you join us, the academy will give you the best training possible. We have every kind of cultivation resource you could need."
Seeing that Lan remained unmoved, Liu Ruyan could only sweeten the deal, complaining with a mixture of truth and exaggeration:
"Besides, the academy's teachers receive generous rewards for recruiting a genius like you."
"To be honest, I've been stuck at Soul Emperor level sixty-one for a long time. The farther Soul Masters progress, the harder cultivation gets. Every level requires vast resources and the right opportunities. If I miss my chance over the next few years, I'm afraid there'll be even less hope afterward."
She sounded quite sincere.
Lan's gaze returned to the short blade in his hand. His placid face was reflected in its sharp edge.
Go to the human world?
Go to an academy?
His instinct was to refuse.
To him, all of that sounded like too much trouble.
Just as he was about to speak, Shui Bing'er beside him suddenly spoke in a small voice.
Her voice held unmistakable disappointment and a deep, earnest hope.
"It would be wonderful if you could come..."
Lan's gaze turned to her of its own accord.
The girl looked regretful. Her beautiful eyes held hope for the team's strength, but also a trace of girlish longing she herself had yet to notice.
She bit her lower lip, then gathered her courage and said:
"If you joined Skywater Team, we could... we could definitely defeat Spirit Hall's Golden Generation this year and win the championship of the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament!"
Spirit Hall.
Those three words were like an invisible thorn, lightly pricking Lan's heart.
He stopped wiping the blade altogether.
Spirit Hall...
That woman.
If he calculated correctly, she should have firmly secured that supreme position of Pope by now.
To go to her territory and personally defeat the so-called "Golden Generation" she was proudest of, under the gaze of the entire continent...
That might make her very unhappy.
And if she was unhappy, he would feel a little satisfaction.
The corner of Lan's mouth seemed to lift almost imperceptibly, so quickly it might have been an illusion.
He raised his head and looked at the tense Shui Bing'er and Liu Ruyan.
"Fine."
He uttered a single word, his voice calm.
"I'll join."
Liu Ruyan first froze, then her face was overwhelmed by immense joy.
Wonderful!
The academy would definitely give her a generous reward! The resources she needed to break through were as good as secured!
Shui Bing'er, meanwhile, was like a little rabbit that had been startled, then given a treat.
She blinked blankly, making sure she hadn't misheard.
Then she suddenly sprang to her feet, threw both arms high into the air, and cheered.
"Yeah—!"
She jumped too hard and stepped on a slippery patch of ice. Her body tilted, and she cried out as she began to topple backward.
A hand caught her around the waist just in time.
Lan had somehow come to stand behind her, steadying her.
Shui Bing'er's body stiffened at once. She seemed to have been boiled alive, her face and neck turning completely red.
Once he'd steadied her, Lan let go. His tone remained as calm as ever.
"Be careful."
With that, he sheathed the short blade, returned to the rock, and closed his eyes to rest, as if nothing had happened.
That left Shui Bing'er, her heart pounding like a drum, and Liu Ruyan, grinning from ear to ear, beneath the silent starry sky, their hearts beating in entirely different ways.
The night wind swept up tiny shards of ice, making the bonfire crackle and roar.
Liu Ruyan was still immersed in the immense joy of recruiting a genius, while Shui Bing'er remained caught in the bashful fluster and heart-fluttering sensation of their brief contact.
Just then, an indescribable chill descended over the entire camp without warning.
This chill did not come from the Far North's freezing temperatures. It was an absolute suppression that stemmed from a difference in the very level of life itself.
The smile on Liu Ruyan's face froze.
She jerked her head up, shielded Shui Bing'er behind her, and immediately brought her Soul Power to bear, staring up at the night sky as if facing a formidable enemy.
Shui Bing'er felt that suffocating aura too. Her face turned deathly pale, and she nervously clutched her teacher's sleeve.
A breathtaking figure slowly descended beneath the vast, star-filled sky.
She wore a plain white dress of ice silkworm silk and was barefoot, yet not a speck of dust clung to her.
Her snow-white hair fluttered in the wind. Her features were too perfect for a mortal, and her ice-blue eyes seemed to hold the loneliness and pride of ten thousand years of frozen isolation.
She was the sole ruler of this frozen wasteland, the very embodiment of ice and snow.
Liu Ruyan's heart sank to the bottom.
A Titled Douluo!
And without a doubt, the most terrifying Titled Douluo she had ever encountered!
The newcomer didn't spare them a glance, as though they were nothing more than two insignificant specks of dust.
She floated straight down in front of the rock, her gaze settling on Lan, who was resting with his eyes closed.
The moment her cold eyes fell on Lan, they softened somewhat.
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