Stay here and build houses?
The beautiful woman and the group of girls behind her all froze.
They looked at one another, baffled.
In the end, they all turned to the beautiful woman.
She looked at Ji Qingyi and said politely:
"We're teachers and students from Skywater Academy. May I ask who you are, miss?"
"Ji Qingyi," Ji Qingyi replied coolly.
"Miss Ji, we don't have much experience renovating houses," the beautiful woman said. "How about I go find some people to help? What do you think?"
Ji Qingyi didn't answer. She fell silent for a moment, then said, "You just said you're from Skywater Academy. Are you threatening me?"
"No! I absolutely didn't mean it that way." The beautiful woman felt her scalp go numb.
She truly hadn't meant to threaten anyone.
Just then, Ying Chengfeng spoke up. "If you don't want to build houses, that's fine too. We're short a few sparring partners. Stay here and train with us for a while."
The beautiful woman looked at Ying Chengfeng in confusion.
Then she glanced at Qian Renxue and Yu Feiyan.
No matter how she looked at them, none seemed very old.
"I don't know what level you're at. If it's too low, that might not work," the beautiful woman said, choosing her words carefully.
"Don't worry about our level. Just tell me whether you agree," Ying Chengfeng said flatly.
At that moment, a blue-haired girl who looked about eighteen spoke up:
"Kid, we're students at Skywater Advanced Soul Master Academy."
Ying Chengfeng tilted his head at her. "And? Are you trying to intimidate me with your academy? I'm just asking whether it has a Titled Douluo."
The girl's mouth twitched. "You little kid, when did I try to intimidate you? I meant that we're all students at Skywater Academy, and we're genius Soul Masters."
"Oh, geniuses." Ying Chengfeng smiled. "You'd better be a genius, then."
Then he added, "You, then. Fight her."
Ying Chengfeng ruffled Yu Feiyan's hair. She stood up and walked to an open patch of ground.
At the beautiful woman's gesture, the girl stepped out of the group and faced Yu Feiyan.
"My name is Gu Qingbo. My Martial Soul is an Azure Sailfish. I'm a level twenty-nine Agility Attack System Battle Soul Master."
Yu Feiyan paused, then turned to Ying Chengfeng and asked, "What am I?"
"Agility Attack System, I suppose," Ying Chengfeng replied.
"Oh." Yu Feiyan nodded and said to Gu Qingbo, "Level twenty. Agility Attack System."
Gu Qingbo's mouth twitched. The girl across from her seemed to know absolutely nothing.
Was there any point in continuing this spar?
Where had this kid come from? Her Soul Power Level wasn't bad, but why did she seem like she'd never gone to school?
Seeing that Yu Feiyan had only one Soul Ring, Gu Qingbo asked, "You haven't obtained your Second Soul Ring?"
"Not yet. Can we start now?" Yu Feiyan asked.
Gu Qingbo shook her head and sighed. "Come on. I'll try to hold back."
Before she could make a move, Ying Chengfeng's voice rang out. "You don't need to hold back."
Just as Gu Qingbo was about to say something, the pressure around her suddenly increased.
It was real pressure.
She felt an intensely uncomfortable force of gravity pressing down on her, severely restricting her movements.
"What's going on?" Gu Qingbo looked at Yu Feiyan.
Yu Feiyan seemed completely unaffected.
So who was holding her down?
Gu Qingbo's legs trembled as her feet sank heavily into the snow.
It took a long while before she could just barely adjust to the pressure of the gravity.
She could only just barely manage the strength of a level-twenty Soul Master.
Even so, she still had the advantage of an extra Soul Ring over Yu Feiyan.
"Begin," Ying Chengfeng said coolly.
As soon as Yu Feiyan heard him, she sprang into action.
Over the past three years, aside from cultivating her Soul Power, she had also trained in a movement technique under Ji Qingyi.
She was incredibly fast, reaching Gu Qingbo in an instant.
She thrust out a hand, her sharp fingernails slashing toward Gu Qingbo's shoulder.
"So fast!" Gu Qingbo exclaimed in surprise. She immediately circulated her Soul Power and dodged the attack.
Then she counterattacked at once, her Soul Power forming a long, water-blue spear in her hand. She thrust it toward Yu Feiyan's shoulder.
In the next instant, the spear pierced Yu Feiyan's shoulder.
Gu Qingbo was startled. She hadn't expected her attack to land so easily.
She was about to pull back when she realized her attack hadn't harmed Yu Feiyan at all.
Yu Feiyan was already behind her, reaching out again to claw at Gu Qingbo's back.
But in the next instant, Yu Feiyan's movements slowed to a crawl.
Ying Chengfeng's voice rang out again. "Feiyan, stop."
After stopping her attack, Yu Feiyan returned to Ying Chengfeng's side.
Ying Chengfeng looked at Gu Qingbo and said evenly, "A genius?"
Those two doubtful words left Gu Qingbo utterly mortified.
They hadn't even fought five moves before she was soundly defeated.
Still, she found a way to defend herself. "My strength was suppressed by some kind of force just now. Otherwise, I definitely wouldn't have lost."
Then Gu Qingbo said indignantly, "This time, I challenge you."
"Challenge me?" A playful curve appeared at the corner of Ying Chengfeng's mouth.
Gu Qingbo said seriously, "You're probably the strongest one here, right? What system are you?"
Ying Chengfeng turned his attention to the roast meat in front of him. The outside was already cooked.
He tore off two pieces and handed them to Qian Renxue and Yu Feiyan. "It's a little hot. Eat slowly."
Only then did Ying Chengfeng look at Gu Qingbo and reply calmly, "Power Attack System."
"Power Attack System?" Everyone from Skywater Academy was collectively stunned.
They looked at one another, baffled.
"Is there even such a system, sis?"
Everyone turned toward the youngest-looking girl in their group.
The girl had long blue hair with gently curled ends.
She shook her head slightly and said, "The common Soul Master systems are Power Attack, Agility Attack, Control, and Support."
"Other classifications include Defense, Food, Healing, and Reconnaissance."
"As for Power Attack, I've never heard of it."
As she spoke, the girl looked at Ying Chengfeng. "Can you tell me what a Power Attack System is?"
Ying Chengfeng met her gaze. Her features were exceptionally fresh and lovely, the girl-next-door type.
Her delicate, oval face grew more captivating the longer one looked.
Her temperament was also quite distinctive—she seemed like someone whose emotions never wavered.
Ying Chengfeng glanced at her, then looked away.
As he tended to the barbecue in front of him, he said, "Power Attack is a system I came up with myself."
"Oh?" The girl gave him a faint smile and asked, "Then how do you define it?"
"Fast, precise, ruthless, and combined with strong control," Ying Chengfeng said. "That's what Power Attack means to me."
"More specifically?" the girl asked.
Ying Chengfeng glanced up at her. "Simply put, it's Power Attack System plus Agility Attack System plus Control System."
The girl couldn't help laughing. "That does sound pretty Power Attack."
Then she stepped out of the group and said, "You're the strongest here. If I beat you, will you let us leave?"
"You can't beat me," Ying Chengfeng said flatly.
The girl shook her head, her expression serious. "Shui Bing'er. My Martial Soul is an Ice Phoenix. I'm a level thirty-one Power Attack System Battle Soul Elder. Please advise me."
Before you continue