"You helped us complete the Martial Soul Fusion Skill just so you could fight us?"
Shui Bing'er looked at Ying Chengfeng in confusion.
"What else? What did you think it was?" Ying Chengfeng raised his eyelids and looked at Shui Bing'er.
He noticed Shui Bing'er quickly turn her head away. He couldn't tell whether her reddened ears were caused by the cold weather.
But they should be used to this kind of weather by now.
So was it because her blood was running too hot?
Just then, Shui Bing'er noticed that Ying Chengfeng seemed to be looking at her ears.
She reached up and touched one. It was a little hot.
"I... um... actually..." Shui Bing'er stumbled over her words, biting her lip in bewilderment.
Seeing her like this, Ying Chengfeng narrowed his eyes slightly and thought for a moment before saying, "That's pretty good."
"Huh?" Shui Bing'er was stunned.
What kind of line was that? How was it pretty good? What was he talking about?
Shui Bing'er started letting her imagination run wild again.
Ying Chengfeng, meanwhile, said, "People living in extremely cold places should find ways to get their blood circulating more, so they can keep both body and mind in good shape."
"???" Shui Bing'er looked at Ying Chengfeng even more bewilderedly. There also seemed to be a hint of anticipation in her eyes.
Then she heard Ying Chengfeng say, "So fighting is also a way to get your blood circulating."
At that, Shui Bing'er's expression instantly fell.
Fighting? This guy...
Shui Bing'er took a deep breath and said, "Fine. You want to fight, right? As you wish."
With that, Shui Bing'er led Xuewu over to an open patch of ground nearby, then glared at Ying Chengfeng. "You arrogant jerk. I'll make you pay for that today!"
Looking at Shui Bing'er, who had suddenly flown into a rage, Ying Chengfeng couldn't help smiling.
It was rare to see someone as even-tempered as Shui Bing'er put on such a furious display.
Still, Ying Chengfeng had to ask, "Before we fight, should we settle the terms?"
"Then you'd better think about what you'll do when you lose," Shui Bing'er snorted.
Ying Chengfeng shrugged. "Anything's fine."
"Good." In the heat of the moment, Shui Bing'er said, "Anything's fine with me too."
At that moment, Xuewu, who had been "left out," finally got a word in. "What about me? If I lose, do I have to agree to a condition too?"
"How could we possibly lose?!" Shui Bing'er answered at once.
Ying Chengfeng, however, said, "The two of you only have to fulfill one condition."
Xuewu fell into thought. "But the more I think about it, the less I can come up with that I'd be willing to lose to you."
Seeing that Xuewu was already thinking about losing before the fight had even begun, Shui Bing'er gave her a look of exasperation. "Why are you afraid of him? He's only a Soul Elder."
Since even Shui Bing'er had put it that way, Xuewu stopped hesitating. "Fine. If we lose, I'll make it up to him myself."
"Exactly! That's..." Shui Bing'er didn't finish saying, "That's right." She looked at Xuewu in confusion.
"What is it?" Xuewu asked.
"Nothing."
On the other side, Ying Chengfeng looked at the two of them and asked, "Are you ready? I'll let you make the first move."
"Hmph. You'll pay for your arrogance," Shui Bing'er said angrily.
Then an ice-blue phoenix appeared behind Shui Bing'er.
The phoenix circled through the air, leaving drifting snowflakes in its wake.
Amid the snow, Xuewu's Martial Soul appeared as well.
It was an almost transparent, ultrathin, ice-blue Snow Ribbon.
Every time Xuewu danced, more snowflakes filled the air.
Before long, an extremely frigid field had formed.
Under the Ice Phoenix's command, the snowflakes turned into a blizzard of ice arrows and shot toward Ying Chengfeng.
Unlike the area attack Shui Bing'er had unleashed three years ago, these ice arrows were not only more numerous and faster, but their lack of power had also been made up for.
Their attacks had faintly reached the Soul King level.
However, Ying Chengfeng activated only fifty percent of his Wind Domain, covering an area with a radius of two hundred meters.
In Ying Chengfeng's eyes, the incoming ice arrows moved incredibly slowly.
Ying Chengfeng summoned his longsword and held it in his left hand.
The sword remained sheathed. Using only its scabbard, he swept aside the incoming ice arrows.
He took one step forward, his figure seeming to teleport as he crossed four or five meters.
Ying Chengfeng continued strolling leisurely, moving through the dense hail of ice arrows as if there were no one around.
"So fast! Such graceful footwork!"
Watching this, Shui Bing'er couldn't help biting her lower lip.
As she watched Ying Chengfeng's otherworldly figure, her heart suddenly grew calm.
She even forgot that she was still in the middle of a battle.
She only felt that the snowy scenery and this man were an exceptionally perfect match.
Shui Bing'er stood rooted to the spot, making no further move as she stared blankly at Ying Chengfeng.
By then, Ying Chengfeng had also realized that Shui Bing'er and Xuewu's Martial Soul Fusion Skill was rather underwhelming.
It didn't pressure him at all.
With a flash, he appeared in front of Shui Bing'er.
Seeing the sudden appearance of his figure, Shui Bing'er finally remembered that she was still fighting.
Even so, Ying Chengfeng's sudden appearance startled her.
In her panic, she stumbled backward.
Her foot slipped, and she started to fall backward.
Ying Chengfeng reacted quickly and caught her slender waist in one sweep of his arm.
His hand felt cool and smooth, yet he sensed a hint of warmth.
But in the next instant, Shui Bing'er struck at Ying Chengfeng's chest with a palm imbued with icy Soul Power.
"Trying to catch me off guard?" Ying Chengfeng grabbed the hand she had thrust toward him.
Shui Bing'er immediately lowered her head. The tips of her ears turned even redder, but she let Ying Chengfeng's hand remain on her waist.
Ying Chengfeng looked straight at her and asked, "What do you have to say for yourself?"
"You... What do you want me to say?" Shui Bing'er said, biting her lip tightly.
On the other side, Xuewu had also stopped moving and was watching them.
Xuewu was speechless.
The fight had barely begun, and Shui Bing'er had already fallen for him, had she?
Now she had reason to suspect that Shui Bing'er had lost on purpose.
She'd even dragged Xuewu into losing with her.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have thought from the start that they would lose this match.
And now it had come true.
How were they supposed to win like this?
Their attacks were weak and feeble, as though they were afraid of hurting him.
"Should I dance for you two to set the mood? Maybe you can get married tonight?" Xuewu said crossly, watching them cling to each other.
"Ahem." Ying Chengfeng quickly let go of Shui Bing'er. He'd gotten caught up in his thoughts and forgotten about that.
After regaining her balance, Shui Bing'er lowered her head and pretended to straighten her ice-blue dress, which wasn't rumpled in the slightest.
"About that condition... Should I tell you now?" Ying Chengfeng brought them back to the topic at hand.
"Go ahead," Shui Bing'er said, still keeping her head lowered and avoiding his gaze.
Ying Chengfeng spoke up. "I want the two Soul Bones you prepared for the Soul Master Challenge. I want them today."
"That's all?" Shui Bing'er abruptly looked up at Ying Chengfeng.
"Is that an easy condition to fulfill?" Ying Chengfeng was a little surprised.
He'd thought the condition he'd proposed would be difficult to grant.
Only then did Shui Bing'er come to her senses. "No. I can't make the decision about those two Soul Bones."
"Then why did you sound like it was no problem? I thought it would be easy," Ying Chengfeng said, at a loss.
Shui Bing'er blurted out in a panic, "I thought you'd ask for something more outrageous."
Ying Chengfeng stared at her in confusion.
Was taking the tournament prizes early really not outrageous enough?
Was his vision too small? Should he have asked for something even more outrageous?
Ying Chengfeng ventured, "Then how about having Skywater Academy join us? Or making me the dean?"
Before you continue