Wet Nurse

Xue Furong remained still, not having moved an inch, only raising her slender jade finger.

The layer of ice mist around her, restrained to the extreme, transformed into a pervasive, bone-chilling current that enveloped the entire snowfield.

She looked up at Yu Tianhong, who had been sent flying hundreds of meters, and said in a clear, cold voice, "The Blue Lightning Overlord Dragon Clan is one of the Upper Three Sects. I, Xue Furong, am of commoner origin, naturally I cannot compare."

"But the students of my Skywater Academy are not people you can just snatch away."

As her voice fell, the spirit rings around her body suddenly flared up: yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black!

She was clearly a Spirit Emperor.

However, she was level sixty-seven.

This was a full five levels higher than Yu Tianhong.

A trickle of blood seeped from the corner of Yu Tianhong's mouth. Looking at the six spirit rings and Xue Furong's spirit power fluctuations, his pupils contracted, "Level sixty-seven Spirit Emperor? How did you advance so much over the years!"

Xue Furong was only a level fifty-four Spirit King seven or eight years ago, on par with him, but now she had far surpassed him!

"Perhaps you still hold a grudge because I defeated you by one move back then, but for me, winning only one move against you was my disgrace!"

Li Jiuxuan was once again shielded behind Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er. "Aunt Fu..." Shui Yue'er murmured softly, her suspended heart finally settling back into place.

Shui Bing'er staggered to her feet, looking at Xue Furong's seemingly slender yet incredibly upright figure, a newfound respect in her eyes.

Instructor Xue Furong was still so spirited!

Yu Tianhong's face turned ashen. He took a step forward, returning to stand before the four of them, confronting them. "Xue Furong, does your Skywater Academy truly dare to oppose my Blue Lightning Overlord Dragon Clan? You should think carefully about the consequences!"

"Consequences?"

Xue Furong chuckled lightly, her laughter filled with disdain. "In my eyes, Xue Furong, failing to protect students and uphold principles is the greatest consequence. If you still wish to taste hardship, I don't mind dealing with you here in this snowfield today!"

Yu Tianhong, who had unleashed the full power of the Blue Lightning Overlord Dragon martial soul, saw Xue Furong's unyielding stance and gritted his teeth.

Xue Furong's previous strike had nearly shattered his internal meridians. Although he had been somewhat careless, he had still felt the immense power of her spirit energy.

Dealing with Xue Furong now, a level sixty-seven Agile Attack type Battle Spirit Emperor, would undoubtedly be incredibly troublesome.

"Fine, I see you are courting your own destruction. I will truthfully report your Skywater Academy's attitude today to Sect Master Yu Yuanzhen!"

Upon hearing this, Xue Furong merely raised her eyes indifferently. There was not a trace of fear in her ice-blue eyes. "Go ahead and report."

She parted her red lips, her voice clear yet resonant, "Skywater Academy acts in accordance with the rules of the Martial Soul Hall and the major sects, and upholds the dignity of every student under its wing. If Yu Yuanzhen is reasonable, he will judge right from wrong. If he also intends to bully the weak using the prestige of the Blue Lightning Overlord Dragon, then our Skywater Academy will absolutely not tolerate it!"

As her words fell, she tapped the three little ones with her finger. Water-attribute spirit power flowed, forming a thin layer of ice armor to protect them.

Yu Tianhong's chest heaved violently. He watched as cold energy surged around Xue Furong's body and her spirit power mobilized, ready to engage him at any moment. The blue-purple lightning crackled at his fingertips, but he ultimately did not dare to act rashly.

He knew very well that if a real fight broke out now, he might not gain any advantage. Regardless, with a level sixty-seven Spirit Emperor present today, it would be very difficult to take Li Jiuxuan away!

Yu Tianhong stared intently at Xue Furong, his gaze as sinister as poison. "Good, very good! Xue Furong, I, Yu Tianhong, will remember this humiliation today! One day, you will pay the price for your words and actions today!"

With that, he fiercely waved his sleeve. A surge of violent lightning energy exploded outwards, carrying with it a chilling rage, and he vanished into the depths of the snowfield.

Only after Yu Tianhong's presence had completely disappeared did Xue Furong slowly retract her spirit power, her icy expression softening slightly.

She looked at Shui Bing'er and the other two, her tone gentler. "Are you all alright? Were you injured by the residual shockwave just now?"

Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er quickly shook their heads, gratitude in their eyes. "Thank you for your intervention, Aunt Rong! If not for you, Little Jiuxuan would truly have been in grave danger today."

Xue Furong's gaze shifted to Li Jiuxuan, and she fell silent.

Shui Yuerong had once warned all Skywater instructors that the academy could guarantee Li Jiuxuan's safety within its grounds, but once he left the academy, he was considered an outsider, and they were not responsible for him. He was to grow on his own, and if he died, so be it.

But her actions today had clearly crossed the line set by Dean Shui Yuerong.

"Thank you, Instructor." Li Jiuxuan bowed respectfully, expressing his gratitude.

Without Xue Furong, he would truly have been finished today.

"I wasn't doing it for you. The Thunder Academy has quite a few entanglements with Skywater Academy, and besides, I promised Bing'er and Yue'er..." Xue Furong resumed her expressionless demeanor.

Although Xue Furong was a woman, she had a straightforward and vengeful personality. In the past, she and Shui Yuerong had roamed the jianghu, righting countless wrongs.

Now that Yu Tianhong was being so aggressive and even endangering Skywater, she had no reason not to protect her own.

"Aunt Rong is the best!" Shui Yue'er cheered, leaping to Xue Furong's side and hugging her tightly, rubbing her little head against her shoulder.

Xue Furong, unable to resist her embrace, gently tapped Shui Yue'er's forehead. "You're so big now, yet you're still as uninhibited as when you were little."

"I don't care! In front of Aunt Rong, I'll always be a child." Shui Yue'er pouted coquettishly, refusing to let go.

Li Jiuxuan, watching from the side, was filled with curiosity. He quietly leaned closer to Shui Bing'er and whispered, "Sister, you and Sister Yue'er seem particularly close to Instructor Xue Furong?"

Although Shui Yue'er was lively and spirited, such unreserved dependence and intimacy did not seem like the attitude of ordinary students towards an instructor.

Shui Bing'er smiled gently, a warm tenderness appearing in her eyes. She explained softly, "You don't know, Aunt Rong isn't just an ordinary instructor who teaches us. When Yue'er and I were first brought back to Skywater Academy by our master, Shui Yuerong, we were very young and cried incessantly. Master had a cold personality and found us bothersome, so she handed us over to Aunt Rong to take care of."

She paused, her gaze towards Xue Furong filled with filial affection. "Aunt Furong used to be our wet nurse, Yue'er's and mine. From childhood to adulthood, she took care of everything from our food and clothing to our cultivation and daily life. To us, she is like our master Shui Yuerong, she is our family."

Wet nurse?

Li Jiuxuan was stunned. He subconsciously looked at Xue Furong's tall figure, and then...

His cheeks flushed slightly, and he couldn't help but murmur, "That means Instructor Xue Furong used to have a child?"

"Yes."

Shui Bing'er nodded, but her expression quickly turned sorrowful. "However, that was a long time ago. I heard that before Aunt Rong joined Skywater Academy, her own child lost their life during a competition with a young generation member of the Blue Lightning Overlord Dragon Clan..."