Another three years, preparing to return!

Three years passed in the blink of an eye.

This year, Ying Chengfeng was 13, Qian Renxue was 12, and Yu Feiyan was 12.

Their levels were 40, 40, and 30, respectively. None of them had obtained their next soul rings.

This time, it was truly difficult for Ying Chengfeng to find a suitable soul ring in the Far North.

The main issue was that his fourth soul ring required a wind-attribute soul beast with at least 40,000 years of cultivation.

There might be something in the depths of the Far North that met his needs.

But they couldn't beat it.

The depths of the Far North were far too dangerous, and combined with the environmental hazards, it was simply beyond what a Soul Douluo like Ji Qingyi could handle.

That day, Ying Chengfeng and his group prepared to leave, intending to head toward the Sunset Forest or the Star Dou Forest to obtain their soul rings.

It was noon.

The group entered a massive city that looked like a fortress of ice and snow.

Skywater City.

The largest human city in the Far North.

Looking down from above, the visual impression was that of an ice city with an icy-blue color palette.

To outsiders, this city was incredibly dreamy and spectacular.

As soon as they entered Skywater City, Yu Feiyan couldn't help but look around.

She didn't show the expression of someone who had never seen the world; she was extremely restrained.

At the same time, many pedestrians were sizing up Ying Chengfeng's group.

Qian Renxue was still wearing her cloak, which had become her signature attire over the years.

However, the other three had no need for such concealment.

Most of the gazes were fixed on the three of them.

Ying Chengfeng had fully matured, with broad shoulders, long legs, and a lean, athletic build, his hair white as snow.

His expression was always lazy and unrestrained, but if one looked closely, they would detect an extremely sharp edge.

Overall, he gave off the impression of a cold, noble young master.

Twelve-year-old Yu Feiyan was no longer as thin and petite as she had been six years ago.

She had grown into a woman with the infinite charm of a mature beauty.

From a distance, she was very attractive, but up close, one realized she was a rose with thorns.

Dangerous and enchanting!

At this moment, Yu Feiyan had withdrawn her wandering gaze.

"This Skywater City is quite monotonous," Yu Feiyan remarked.

Ying Chengfeng replied languidly, "It snows here all year round, and there is very little trade, so it is naturally monotonous."

Just then, Ying Chengfeng noticed a large crowd heading in the same direction.

Ying Chengfeng stopped a passerby to ask, "What is happening?"

The passerby he stopped was not annoyed; he looked at the faces of Ying Chengfeng and his companions.

"You must be from out of town. Today is the day the Skywater Advanced Soul Master Academy is holding the Soul Master Challenge."

Hearing this, Ying Chengfeng became slightly interested. "Could you tell me more about this Soul Master Challenge?"

The passerby began to explain.

"The Skywater Academy Team is holding this challenge to prepare for the Continental Advanced Soul Master Elite Tournament, which is over a year away."

"The announcement was posted a month ago. Members of the participating teams cannot be over 30 years old."

"As long as a team can defeat the Skywater Academy Team, they will receive two soul bones."

Lowering his voice, the passerby added, "It is said that they are ten-thousand-year-level left and right arm bones, but they don't seem to be anything special; they are items that have been in the Skywater Academy's inventory for a long time."

"I see. Thank you." Ying Chengfeng pressed a handful of Gold Soul Coin into the passerby's hand.

"You're too kind." The passerby accepted the Gold Soul Coin, his eyes becoming much friendlier.

However, Ying Chengfeng had nothing left to ask.

He intended to go and join the fun.

Ten-thousand-year-level soul bones, sitting in storage for a long time.

That was interesting.

The Soul Master Challenge hosted by the Skywater Academy was taking place in the largest plaza in the city.

By now, the plaza was already packed with people.

There were at least ten thousand people inside and out.

Ying Chengfeng had barely approached when he heard countless voices buzzing with discussion.

"Skywater Academy truly lives up to its reputation; every single student is beautiful and possesses top-tier talent!"

"Are those exceptionally beautiful girls on the stage the members of the Skywater Academy Team?"

"It is said that over half of their members have already reached the Soul Ancestor level."

Most of these people were here just to watch the spectacle.

Only a very small minority had come for the sake of the rewards.

At this moment, a representative from the Soul Master Challenge organizers stepped onto the stage holding a box.

She opened the box to display its contents.

They were two pieces of soul bone.

"These two soul bones come from a Weavile Beast that exceeded the ten-thousand-year level."

"They will be the reward for the winners of this challenge."

"Now, I shall announce the rules of the Soul Master Challenge."

"Those under the age of thirty may first participate in a grand melee."

"The final ten people remaining will form a team."

"As for those who already have a team, they will participate in the team competition."

"Finally, the first-place team from the team competition will face off against the group of ten from the melee."

"The winner will then compete in the final round against our Skywater Academy Team."

Once the rules were announced, the surrounding crowd began to chatter again.

No one seemed to have much of an opinion on the competition rules.

Everyone was discussing the soul bones instead.

"So they are soul bones from a Weavile Beast; no wonder they have been kept for so many years."

"For Skywater Academy to bring out such things as a reward, it's a bit... ahem."

A middle-aged man stopped mid-sentence, immediately clamping his mouth shut.

He did not want to invite disaster upon himself with his words.

However, at this moment, Yu Feiyan, who was standing next to Ying Chengfeng, began to act strangely.

"What is wrong with you?" Ying Chengfeng noticed and leaned in to ask.

The surrounding noise was so loud that Ying Chengfeng had to speak almost directly into Yu Feiyan's ear.

Yu Feiyan's body stiffened slightly, but she quickly relaxed and leaned in to whisper into Ying Chengfeng's ear:

"I feel a very strange attraction coming from those two soul bones."

Hearing this, Ying Chengfeng was slightly stunned. "An attraction?"

"Yes, it is very strange." Yu Feiyan could not understand what was happening either.

But if there was anything different about Yu Feiyan, there was plenty.

First, her Martial Soul had mutated and evolved, a feat partly credited to immortal herbs.

Second, she possessed a very special External Soul Bone.

If those two soul bones from Skywater Academy held an attraction for Yu Feiyan, it was possible that a connection had been formed through the immortal herbs or the External Soul Bone.

Ying Chengfeng sized up the middle-aged man who had spoken earlier.

He immediately walked over and tapped the man on the shoulder.

The middle-aged man turned around to see a youth who was incomparably handsome and radiated an imposing, noble aura.

"Young man, do you need something?" The middle-aged man looked at Ying Chengfeng with a puzzled expression.

Ying Chengfeng asked, "I heard you mention the Weavile Beast soul bones earlier; are you referring to the two pieces Skywater Academy is giving as a reward to the winners?"

"Is there something special about this Weavile Beast? What does it look like?"

Hearing that Ying Chengfeng was only asking these questions, the middle-aged man breathed a sigh of relief.

He had thought someone was looking for trouble.

The middle-aged man then replied, "It is an extremely bellicose soul beast that looks quite bizarre."

"It walks upright, has a light red crystal on its forehead, very sharp claws, and a tail formed from condensed ice elements."

Upon hearing this, Ying Chengfeng immediately thought of the mysterious soul beast he had encountered in Snow Valley six years ago.