Shui Yuerong's Principles

After the four of them returned to Skywater Academy.

Xue Furong watched the backs of Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er as they led Li Jiuxuan by the hand toward the cafeteria, then headed alone to the dean's office.

Pushing open the door, Shui Yuerong was sitting quietly by the window, her fingertips lightly twisting an ice-crystal jade pendant. Seeing Xue Furong enter, she raised her eyes and offered a faint smile, her expression peaceful and unruffled.

"Furong."

Shui Yuerong spoke first, her tone relaxed and casual, devoid of any sternness or sharpness.

Xue Furong closed the door, her face expressionless, and walked up to her. "I have come to apologize to you."

Shui Yuerong was taken aback for a moment, then laughed. "Is it because you took that boy to the Frozen Forest to obtain his soul ring?"

Every move made by everyone in Skywater Academy was within her sight; how could she not know?

Xue Furong shook her head. "That is not all."

"Then what is it for?"

"The Blue Lightning Overlord Dragon Clan knows that Li Jiuxuan is at our Skywater Academy," Xue Furong said.

"Mm."

Shui Yuerong did not seem surprised.

In truth, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect would have found out sooner or later, unless the boy hid inside Skywater Academy for three years without ever stepping out.

As long as he cultivated, all factions would inevitably learn that there was a special male student within Skywater Academy.

"The most important thing is that Thunder Academy came to demand him today, and I refused," Xue Furong continued.

"You were forcibly dragged out by Bing'er and Yue'er. Since I didn't give my consent, they had no choice but to find you, so this is not your fault," Shui Yuerong said, shaking her head.

"That is not all; I also beat up those three from Thunder Academy, including Yu Tianhong."

"..."

Shui Yuerong fell silent.

The four elemental academies were ostensibly friendly, avoiding any direct, actual conflict.

If people were beaten up... regardless of the reason, an actual fight had occurred, which was an act of slapping the faces of the other academies.

Generally speaking, if another academy bullied the female disciples of the Water Academy, Shui Yuerong would even go to the other academy to demand an explanation.

However, Li Jiuxuan was different...

He was not a female student, and he was even a highly coveted prize that countless factions drooled over...

Therefore, the negative impact would be magnified infinitely.

In the end, Shui Yuerong waved her hand. "It is fine. If you beat them, you beat them. If Thunder Academy wants to come and demand an explanation, let them come to me, Shui Yuerong."

Shui Yuerong understood Xue Furong's temperament; she already had a significant history with Thunder Academy, so how could she blame her?

"Then Li Jiuxuan..."

"The same as before: inside the academy, his safety is guaranteed; outside the academy, he is on his own."

Xue Furong nodded, understanding.

Shui Yuerong wanted to protect Li Jiuxuan...

Ever since Li Jiuxuan obtained his first soul ring, he had been cultivating frantically for this past month.

He had reached the point of almost neither eating nor drinking.

When thirsty, he would take a sip of water from Calm Heart Lake; when hungry, he would slaughter a small fish from the lake to satisfy his hunger.

He had not spent a single one of his thousand Gold Soul Coins.

Sometimes, when Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er truly could not bear to watch any longer, they would forcibly drag him off to eat something; otherwise, his life was almost like that of a savage.

After the interception by the Blue Lightning Overlord Dragon Clan, Li Jiuxuan realized that he must improve his strength as quickly as possible. At the very least, within these three years, he had to step into the realm of a Soul Ancestor!

Shui Yuerong's dean's office was built in the tallest building of Skywater Academy, which happened to overlook Calm Heart Lake, allowing her to see every move Li Jiuxuan made.

At first, she had no fondness for this child because he was a boy.

But after this month, the opinion in her heart had begun to loosen, bit by bit.

She had seen too many young soul masters with outstanding talent; some were arrogant and complacent, some craved comfort, and some became insufferably conceited after achieving the slightest success.

Yet, Li Jiuxuan seemed different.

There was not a shred of youthful restlessness about him, only a composure and ruthlessness that did not match his age.

He was ruthless to others, and even more ruthless to himself.

In the month and a half since he arrived at Skywater Academy, he had done only one thing: cultivate. Judging by his physique, he seemed even thinner than he was a month ago.

However, thin as he was, the soul power within his body had become even more vigorous!

His soul power had increased by at least three to four levels!

"Little Jiuxuan, you're still training!"

Another week passed, and Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er arrived at Calm Heart Lake carrying a pile of pastries.

Li Jiuxuan had been in a near-manic state regarding his training; lately, even when they forcibly dragged him to eat, he had been reluctant to go.

Even when Shui Bing'er personally tried to persuade him, he would often choose to continue his cultivation instead.

At this moment, Li Jiuxuan happened to reach a small milestone in his training. He opened his eyes, saw Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er, and immediately smiled: "Big Sister."

"Come and eat something quickly. If you don't listen today, Big Sister won't pay any attention to you anymore!" Shui Yue'er wrinkled her nose and said in a threatening tone.

Li Jiuxuan realized he had been neglecting his two sisters lately, so he gave a sheepish laugh, stood up, and walked over to Shui Yue'er.

"Open your mouth, ah!" Shui Yue'er opened the box of pastries, picked up a piece with her jade-white thumb and index finger, and fed it to Li Jiuxuan.

Li Jiuxuan was truly hungry by this point, so he obediently opened his mouth.

"Is it good?" Seeing Li Jiuxuan swallow the piece and then begin to wolf down the rest, Shui Yue'er smiled.

"It's delicious!" Li Jiuxuan said truthfully.

Perhaps it was because he hadn't eaten much food from the Douluo Continent, but this box of pastries was currently the best thing he had ever tasted.

"Big Sister made these herself, you know!" Shui Yue'er said, grinning at Shui Bing'er.

Li Jiuxuan blinked. So, Big Sister Shui Bing'er wasn't just beautiful; she was also so skilled!

"Big Sister, this is the best food I've ever eaten," he praised from the bottom of his heart.

Shui Bing'er didn't pay much mind to the flattery; she just sighed softly, touched Li Jiuxuan's face, and said with a hint of heartache, "You've gotten so thin."

She had previously said she wanted to raise Li Jiuxuan to be plump and healthy, but as it turned out, the opposite had happened.

"I'm fine, Big Sister."

Li Jiuxuan didn't mind. Instead, he reached out his hand, a trace of powerful soul power surging in his palm, and said excitedly, "Big Sister, look! I'm already a level 14 Soul Master!"

Before Shui Bing'er could observe closely, Shui Yue'er leaned in toward Li Jiuxuan's palm first. After seeing it, her small mouth formed an 'O' shape: "Little Jiuxuan, you're truly amazing! In just one month, you've increased your soul power by three levels!"

This speed of improvement was truly fast; it was no wonder he had been training like a madman all month.

Shui Yue'er proudly patted Li Jiuxuan on the shoulder and said, "Little Jiuxuan, with talent like yours, you certainly haven't let Master down!"

Li Jiuxuan was a bit confused. Shui Yuerong's expectations?

Shui Bing'er stepped forward, brushed the dust off Li Jiuxuan's backside, and explained, "This month, Thunder Academy came to find Master three times, all wanting her to hand you over, but each time they were sternly rejected by Master."

Li Jiuxuan was momentarily stunned. Given the coldness Shui Yuerong had shown him that day, he had been worried that she might make a deal with Thunder Academy and sell him out directly.

He hadn't expected her to have such principles.