Skywater Academy.
It was the only High-Rank Soul Master academy on the entire continent that admitted only female students, all of whom were water- or ice-attribute Soul Masters.
The academy's buildings were mostly blue and white, elegant and distinctive, like a kingdom of ice and snow.
Outside the principal's office, Lan, Shui Bing'er, and Liu Ruyan stood quietly in the hallway, waiting.
A moment later, the office door opened.
Ice Empress emerged, looking refreshed.
She discreetly rubbed her fist, a hint of satisfaction flashing in her ice-blue eyes.
"Done."
Ice Empress gestured to the three of them.
"I convinced the principal. She agreed to let Lan enroll as a specially admitted student and represent Skywater Academy in this year's Continent-wide Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament."
Shui Bing'er let out a sigh of relief, her face breaking into a delighted smile.
"Aunt Bing, how did you convince the principal?"
Liu Ruyan asked curiously as well. After all, Skywater Academy's rule against admitting male students had been in place for more than a hundred years.
Ice Empress's lips curled slightly into a meaningful smile.
"Nothing much."
"I just calmly talked some sense into her."
"The principal is a woman of great understanding. She thought my reasoning... very convincing."
Lan glanced at Ice Empress's wrist, which was still flexing slightly, and said nothing.
He could more or less guess how much weight Aunt Bing's "reasoning" had carried.
As Lan walked through the grounds of Skywater Academy, his figure was like a drop of ink falling into clear water, instantly drawing everyone's attention.
The students passing by were all youthful, lovely girls.
Some walked in groups of three or five, while others strolled alone. All of them carried the fluid grace and gentleness of water.
When they saw Lan, the only male around, almost everyone came to a halt.
"Look, that guy's so handsome!"
"Oh my god, his eyes are blue, like gemstones."
"How did a boy get into our academy? Who is he?"
"No idea, but he's walking with Senior Shui Bing'er..."
The chatter rose and fell as countless curious, dazzled gazes converged on him.
Lan seemed not to hear any of it. He followed behind Ice Empress with steady steps and a calm expression, as if he were simply walking across the frozen plains of the Far North.
Deep inside the academy, beside a rippling lake.
Shui Yue'er was leading Xue Wu and the other reserve members of the Skywater Team through their regular training.
At Xue Wu's call of "Training's over," the girls burst into cheers.
They eagerly took off their outer garments, revealing their lovely figures, damp with sweat, then leaped into the clear lake like a school of mermaids.
"Splash!"
Shui Yue'er was the first to jump in, sending up a great spray of water. She stretched out in comfort and sighed with satisfaction.
"Ah... that feels so good."
The other girls followed suit, and the lake soon filled with laughter and chatter.
After frolicking for a while, Shui Yue'er lay back on the water with her arms behind her head, gazing up at the sky as she sighed.
"Sigh, why hasn't my sister come back yet?"
As soon as she finished speaking, a cool female voice tinged with exasperation came from the shore.
"I knew it. You'd all be slacking off and bathing here again."
Shui Yue'er jolted, then turned in delighted surprise.
"Big Sister!"
She saw Shui Bing'er on the shore and immediately sprang out of the water, sending sparkling droplets flying.
"We weren't slacking off!"
Shui Yue'er stood barefoot on the green stone at the water's edge and protested with conviction.
"This is simulated cultivation! The lake helps us recover and cultivate our Soul Power faster. We really weren't slacking off. If you don't believe me, ask Sister Xue Wu!"
As she spoke, she pointed at Xue Wu, who was still in the water.
Only then did Shui Yue'er suddenly notice.
There were two other people standing beside her sister.
One was Teacher Liu, whom she had met before.
The other was a man.
A man she had never seen before, so handsome that he nearly took her breath away.
He stood tall and straight, his short white hair glimmering in the sunlight. His blue eyes were as still as the deep sea, as if they could draw a person's very soul inside.
Shui Yue'er felt her heartbeat skip. A blush crept onto her cheeks, and she murmured without thinking.
"S-so handsome..."
Shui Bing'er looked at her younger sister's textbook lovestruck expression and helplessly pressed a hand to her forehead.
Crystal-clear droplets slid down Shui Yue'er's fair skin, tracing the graceful curves of her figure and gleaming enticingly in the sunlight.
"Yue'er."
Shui Bing'er sighed.
"Could you... put your clothes on first?"
"Ah!"
Shui Yue'er let out a piercing scream. She looked down at herself, her mind going completely blank.
The next second, moving faster than she ever had in her life, she splashed back into the lake, leaving only her bright-red head above the water. She didn't dare look at the figure on the shore again.
The other girls in the lake were startled, then spotted Lan on the shore as well.
"Ah!"
Another chorus of shrieks rang out.
They hurriedly ducked underwater, leaving only their heads above the surface. Their cheeks flushed as they eyed the man on shore, curious and shy, as if he had stepped out of a painting.
For a moment, the lake, which had been full of laughter, fell quiet except for the gurgling bubbles and the girls' racing heartbeats.
Lan calmly swept his gaze across the lake, as if he were looking not at a group of girls fresh from bathing but at startled snow foxes. Then he looked away without a change in expression and sat down on a clean rock.
Ice Empress watched the scene with great interest, her ice-blue eyes gleaming with the delight of someone who loved to watch the commotion.
"Little Lan, look how popular you are."
She nudged Lan with her elbow.
"Want Aunt Bing to pick one out for you?"
Lan ignored her.
Shui Bing'er sighed helplessly, took several clean robes from her Storage Soul Tool, and tossed them onto the shore.
"Don't just stand there. Get out and put your clothes on."
A short while later, the girls had finally straightened themselves out. With flushed faces and lowered heads, they followed Shui Bing'er, not daring to look directly at Lan.
Ice Empress yawned and stretched.
"This place seems pretty safe."
She stood up and brushed off nonexistent dust.
"Little Lan, you young people chat. Aunt Bing's going into town for a look around. I'll bring you back some tasty treats and fun things."
Without waiting for Lan to reply, she blurred into an ice-blue streak and vanished through the gates of Skywater Academy.
Ice Empress was childlike by nature, and now that Lan was in no danger, she could no longer resist the urge to go have fun in town by herself.
Soon, only Lan and the girls remained beside the lake.
The atmosphere turned awkward.
Shui Bing'er was the first to break the silence. She led her teammates over to sit a short distance from Lan and spoke softly.
"We ran into a bit of trouble on the way back."
Her words immediately drew everyone's attention.
Her younger sister, Shui Yue'er, came closer, her face still showing a trace of lingering fear alongside her curiosity.
"Big Sister, what happened? Where's Teacher Liu?"
"We ran into a Titan Snow Demon."
Shui Bing'er's voice was soft, but her words carried such weight that every girl present drew in a sharp breath.
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