Skywater City lay north of Four Elements City, sprawling across a vast expanse.
Li Jiuxuan followed Shui Bing'er through the bustling streets, taking in the streams of carriages and horses and the magnificent buildings.
Compared to the little mountain village, Skywater City was prosperous and orderly, peaceful and secure—a vision of a flourishing age.
At last, he and Shui Bing'er arrived at Skywater Academy, in the very heart of Skywater City.
Looking up, he saw that the entire academy had been built against the mountains and beside the water. Its halls rose in tier upon tier, surrounded by spirit arrays; even breathing here felt refreshing.
Shui Bing'er took Li Jiuxuan straight to the principal's office, where Shui Yuerong handled official business.
Along the way, many beautiful female students caught sight of Li Jiuxuan and stared at the boy in astonishment!
"Oh my heavens, it's a man!"
From the principal to every last student, there wasn't a single boy in their academy!
Everyone knew the school rules: the entire academy had to be made up of beautiful girls with Water-type Martial Souls. There was no way they would admit male students!
Still, it was no wonder they were so surprised to see Li Jiuxuan.
Apart from going out to the Frozen Forest every few years to hunt Soul Beasts and obtain Soul Rings, the students never saw so much as a shadow of a man.
And now a living member of the opposite sex had suddenly appeared in the academy!
"Master, it's Bing'er."
When they reached the principal's office, Shui Bing'er politely knocked on the door first.
A moment later, a clear, stern voice came from inside. "Come in."
Shui Bing'er took Li Jiuxuan by the hand and pushed open the door.
Seated behind the broad desk at the front of the room, Shui Yuerong was sorting through some documents. Knowing her most beloved disciple had arrived, a smile unconsciously touched her face.
But when she looked up and saw two people, she froze for a moment. Then her brows immediately drew together. "A man?"
"Master, his name is Li Jiuxuan. He's a child from a little mountain village outside Skywater City..."
Shui Bing'er had learned about Li Jiuxuan on the way, including his background and family situation...
She felt that the little boy was both pitiful and strong-willed. Before setting out for Skywater Academy, the little fellow had even asked her if he could return to his village to bury the villagers who had died.
"Bing'er, Skywater Academy has strict rules, and we've made it clear that no man is allowed to set foot here. Are you deliberately flouting the rules right in front of me?"
Shui Yuerong's expression turned utterly stern. She was clearly averse to Li Jiuxuan.
She was already the kind of principal whose sternness kept people at a distance. Now, with her arms crossed over her very curvaceous chest, she looked even more imposing.
There was something in the way she looked at people that carried a hint of...
Disdain.
"Master, hear me out..."
Seeing Shui Yuerong grow angry, Shui Bing'er hurriedly explained, telling her everything Li Jiuxuan had just been through.
"So what? Skywater Academy still doesn't welcome men. And you went and brought him straight into my office."
Shui Yuerong turned her gaze to Li Jiuxuan, clearly still unwilling to accept the boy. There were countless miserable, suffering children in the world. Did that mean Skywater Academy had to take in every one of them?
"Bing'er, I don't mean to criticize you, but you're far too softhearted. That's going to be a problem in your cultivation..."
"Master, but he has a top-grade Beast Martial Soul and Innate Full Soul Power..."
Shui Bing'er pressed her lips together. She didn't think she was wrong to save him. Li Jiuxuan was now homeless, with no one to rely on. Leaving a child like him to wander alone in the icy wilderness would be no different from sending him to his death.
Especially since his unusual circumstances made him likely to attract unwanted attention.
"He has a top-grade Beast Martial Soul and Innate Full Soul Power?"
Shui Yuerong froze, looking at Li Jiuxuan in shock.
Even Shui Bing'er had only been born with ninth-grade Soul Power!
Her own disciple, whom she had every reason to be proud of, was already a peerless genius rarely seen in a century. How many top academies were eager to snatch her up?
The Upper Three Sects were no exception!
As for Shui Yuerong herself, with her seventh-grade innate Soul Power, she had now reached rank 86, a high-level Soul Douluo!
Among the young geniuses she knew of, perhaps only Spirit Hall had anyone with Innate Full Soul Power!
"That's right, Principal. Like Sister Shui Bing'er, he has an Ice attribute..."
Li Jiuxuan nodded. He could sense Shui Yuerong's wariness toward men. This pretty, busty aunt seemed to have a story of her own...
"Summon your Martial Soul. Let me see it." Still doubtful, Shui Yuerong stared at Li Jiuxuan.
Li Jiuxuan instinctively glanced back at Shui Bing'er.
Shui Bing'er smiled and nodded.
"All right."
Then Li Jiuxuan released Shui Bing'er's hand, closed his eyes, and held his breath as he focused.
In an instant, before his Martial Soul had even appeared, the temperature in the vast office began to plummet.
A dense surge of icy Soul Power poured out from Li Jiuxuan, surging so fiercely that the entire towering academy building trembled.
Shui Yuerong watched Li Jiuxuan without blinking, wanting to see how much his body would change.
With a top-grade Beast Martial Soul and Innate Full Soul Power, he should display an especially high degree of Dragon Transformation when he summoned his Martial Soul.
But after a while, Shui Yuerong frowned. Li Jiuxuan showed no signs of Dragon Transformation.
Just as she was about to voice her doubts—
"Rumble!" A roar shook the heavens!
Li Jiuxuan indeed showed no signs of Dragon Transformation.
But behind him, a blue true dragon slowly emerged, bringing with it a storm of icy winds!
The instant it roared, the principal's office became an ice cellar, and everything froze solid.
From outside, some students saw the middle floors of the towering teaching building freeze over, a bone-chilling aura radiating from within. Even a hundred meters away, they felt the cold bite into them.
"Is that... a real dragon?!"
Even Shui Yuerong, usually so stern and aloof, looked astonished.
The Dragon King was enormous, nearly filling the entire office. With each breath from its nostrils and mouth, it unleashed a freezing current that could instantly solidify everything it touched!
"This is the Ice Dragon King Martial Soul!"
Beside them, Shui Bing'er instinctively circulated her Soul Power to ward off the cold.
Her lips parted slightly in disbelief. She had only heard Xiao Jiuxuan talk about it on the way; she had never seen it with her own eyes. Now that the Martial Soul had appeared, she could only stare in shock!
If not for the limits of the location and the protective array around the teaching building, this Absolute Zero would have swept in every direction!
And this was only the might unleashed by summoning his Martial Soul!
"All right, put it away!"
Shui Yuerong was, after all, a principal who had witnessed plenty of grand spectacles. The astonishment quickly faded from her eyes.
Li Jiuxuan obediently withdrew his Martial Soul. The Ice Dragon King seemed like an independent being as it slipped back into his body and fell dormant once more.
"I-I'm sorry, Principal. I couldn't control it just now..."
Li Jiuxuan looked guiltily at the aloof aunt, whose gaze still held a trace of disdain for him.
His Martial Soul had vanished, but the office remained unchanged, completely frozen over. Who knew how long it would take to thaw?
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