At that moment, the people of Skywater Academy were not only thrilled, but also filled with pride and emotion!
In the past, Skywater Academy had enjoyed a certain reputation on the continent, but it still could not truly compare with those top sects.
It had even been bullied, just as it had today, by powers and clans with deeper foundations!
But things were different now. Dean Shui Yuerong had fully entered the Titled Douluo realm!
She would bring about a sweeping leap in Skywater Academy's standing on the continent!
They would no longer be so easily bullied!
The arrival of a Titled Douluo had never meant merely an increase in personal strength!
It gave an entire faction confidence and dignity!
The younger generation of Skywater Academy, led by Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er, gazed up at her in admiration.
The academy's head instructors, led by Han Ningshuang and Xue Furong, wept!
From this day on, their Skywater Academy would no longer have to tiptoe around the great sects and compromise just to get by!
With Shui Yue Douluo guarding the academy,
Skywater Academy would be a sanctuary no one dared to violate!
A sacred place yearned for by every water- and ice-type Soul Master!
"That aura—it's a Titled Douluo!"
"That direction is Four Elements City. Such frigid Soul Power... it must be Skywater Academy..."
"Could that dean of Skywater Academy have broken through to become a Titled Douluo? Unbelievable!"
The astonishing, bone-chilling force Shui Yuerong had unleashed moments earlier, enough to shake the entire continent, had undoubtedly been noticed by many of its most powerful figures.
Some strode out of seclusion, some suddenly opened their eyes while meditating in midair, and others set down whatever they had been examining. Every gaze pierced through miles of clouds and turned toward Four Elements City.
Even the several Great Enshrined of Spirit Hall, who had not emerged for a century, appeared above the great hall and fixed their attention on the Heaven Dou Empire!
Their expressions were grave!
"A Titled Douluo, an ultimate ice attribute, Absolute Zero..."
A handsome powerhouse holding a scepter, with a pagoda floating above his palm, gazed into the distance and murmured softly.
"Skywater Academy is about to soar. If Shui Yuerong wishes, she can found a sect of her own."
To his left, a gaunt Soul Master murmured with his hands behind his back.
"The continent's balance of power is about to change again..."
Another man, with sharp brows, bright eyes, and a full head of white hair, stood with his arms folded, exuding an air of surveying mountains and rivers.
"Perhaps we should befriend them." The middle-aged man with the pagoda turned back with a smile.
The two mighty figures behind him exchanged a glance, considered it for a moment, then nodded one after the other.
At that moment, above Skywater Academy, Shui Yuerong had just drawn the cold aura back into herself. Her gaze was calm, yet still carried an unquestionable authority.
She, too, lifted her eyes to the horizon, as if responding to all the distant gazes fixed upon her.
From this day on, another Titled Douluo had joined the ranks of Douluo Continent!
From this day on, Skywater Academy had officially entered the ranks of the continent's top powers!
"Thank you for all your hard work, Ningshuang, Furong."
After Shui Yuerong had gathered everyone for a meeting and put the academy's affairs in order, only five people remained in the hall.
They were Han Ningshuang and Xue Furong,
Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er, and Li Jiuxuan.
"It was no trouble. It was our duty." Han Ningshuang and Xue Furong bowed, their manner respectful.
"Ningshuang, your Soul Power has fallen by five levels. Take this bottle of Ice Pills; it can help you recover."
Shui Yuerong sat in the seat of honor, now dressed again in her dean's usual attire. With her fair, shapely legs crossed, she summoned a chilling jade bottle from thin air. It drifted slowly into Han Ningshuang's hands.
"Ice Pills?"
Han Ningshuang took it in a daze, bewildered.
She had burned her essence and blood, and the damage to her Soul Power was irreversible. She had even prepared herself to remain at level seventy-three forever. She had never expected there might still be a chance to recover!
"After absorbing the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow, I wanted to bring out most of the remaining liquid marrow. But the moment it left the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Pillar, its energy would leak away and it would quickly melt. It was nearly impossible to store. So, at the time, I put all the Ice Pills I already had into the pillar to temper them. I didn't absorb much of the essence, but they should still have some effect." Shui Yuerong explained calmly.
"Thank you, Dean!"
Han Ningshuang hurriedly bowed in gratitude.
Shui Yuerong took out another bottle of liquid and swept her hand through the air. It flew before Xue Furong. "Furong, this is Cold Spring Liquid, taken from the core spring near the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Cave. Take it with you to cultivate. It may help you break through to Soul Saint."
Soul Saint?
Xue Furong wasn't as formal with Shui Yuerong.
She merely glanced at the bottle of cold liquid, nodded slightly, and accepted it without hesitation.
"Lastly..."
Shui Yuerong's gaze slowly passed over Shui Bing'er, Shui Yue'er, and Li Jiuxuan, before finally settling on Li Jiuxuan.
"..."
Even after reaching the Titled Douluo realm, Shui Yuerong's bearing had grown all the more ethereal and beautiful.
But her naturally cold, proud eyes still made Li Jiuxuan tense up a little.
Had she started disliking him again...?
The next moment, Shui Yuerong raised her palm slightly, and a small ice crystal slowly appeared.
It was a clear, deep blue, neither quite jade nor quite anything else, sealed tight within a fierce layer of icy power.
"This is Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow. It's the largest amount I could preserve after doing everything in my power upon entering the Titled Douluo realm. My chance to become a Titled Douluo came entirely from you, so I'm giving this Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow to you."
She gave a gentle push, and the little ice crystal came to rest steadily before Li Jiuxuan.
The gesture left the other four stunned.
They had thought the Ice Pills and Cold Spring Liquid were already priceless treasures. They hadn't expected her to have Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow as well!
Everyone had witnessed the sacred treasure's heaven-defying effects today. Shui Yuerong's breakthrough to the Titled Douluo realm, her strength, her celestial bearing, and the ease with which she had slain two half-step Titled Douluo were still vivid in their minds.
Han Ningshuang and Xue Furong kept their expressions composed, but could not stop envy from rising in their hearts. Their gazes kept drifting toward the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow.
Li Jiuxuan looked at the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow before him, then at Shui Yuerong. "..."
What could he say? He was a little surprised.
This dean, usually stern and aloof, and not exactly friendly toward him, was actually willing to give him such a sacred treasure?
Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er stood nearby, staring in longing, rooted to the spot.
She hadn't even given it to her two most valued disciples, yet she was giving it to Li Jiuxuan instead.
"Dean, are you sure you want to give this to me?" Li Jiuxuan asked uncertainly.
Shui Yuerong nodded calmly. "You've played no small part in Skywater's success today. I won't be stingy."
"All right. Thank you, Dean."
Li Jiuxuan thanked her and accepted it without hesitation.
But just as everyone thought he was about to put the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow into a storage treasure,
a shocking scene unfolded!
"Whoosh!"
Li Jiuxuan raised his hand, condensed ultimate ice power, and brought his hand down like a blade.
The priceless Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow split in two in an instant!
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