The swan in front of him stared fixedly at Zhou Qiubai. Food that had practically been in its grasp had been snatched away by Zhou Qiubai.
No one would have been in a good mood about that, but it soon caught a familiar scent from Zhou Qiubai—the lingering scent of those herbs.
"Quack!"
An excited cry rang out. The herbs' allure to a Spirit Beast had clearly surpassed its anger.
The swan beat its wings, and a gale carrying ice chips swept forth once more. Its massive body charged straight at Zhou Qiubai.
Zhou Qiubai merely chuckled.
Just as the swan was about to slam into him, Zhou Qiubai tapped the ground with his toes and drifted three zhang to the left like a falling leaf. The longsword in his hand instinctively traced an arc through the air.
"Rip!"
The longsword precisely sliced across the swan's right wing, sending a string of blood droplets flying.
"Quaaack!"
At the sight of blood, the Ice Feather Swan fell completely into a frenzy.
Bloodshot veins spread through its crystalline blue eyes, and the chill around its body surged. Dozens of arm-thick ice spikes condensed around it before hurtling toward Zhou Qiubai.
Zhou Qiubai neither dodged nor retreated. He simply wielded his longsword, forming a curtain of blades before him.
"Clang, clang, clang, clang—!"
A barrage of impacts rang out. The instant the ice spikes touched the sword net, they were shredded to pieces.
Seeing that ranged attacks were ineffective, the Ice Feather Swan repeated its old tactic, thrusting its long beak toward Zhou Qiubai.
But Zhou Qiubai was no Shui Bing'er. He immediately gripped his sword with both hands and slashed head-on at that crystalline beak!
"Clang!!!"
The deafening crash of metal striking metal echoed through the forest. A visible shockwave burst from where the blade met the long beak.
"Crack."
A crisp snapping sound rang out.
The longsword in Zhou Qiubai's hand broke cleanly in two!
"Tsk."
Zhou Qiubai frowned and immediately retreated.
At the same time, Shui Bing'er's voice sounded beside him. "Second Soul Skill, Ice Ring Armor!"
A ring of ice element radiated out from her, first wrapping around her body before expanding outward.
In an instant, it froze the swan's lower body in place.
"Quack!"
The swan struggled with all its strength, and cracks immediately spread across the ice.
Yet Zhou Qiubai was in no hurry.
He made a grasping motion with his right hand, and a longsword condensed from Soul Power slowly took shape in his grasp.
This was Zhou Qiubai's true Martial Soul. To conserve Soul Power, he usually fought with physical longswords. Now that one had broken, there was no need to hide his abilities any longer.
"It should end now."
Zhou Qiubai muttered as his blood and vitality surged within him.
The Ice Feather Swan seemed to sense the threat of death and struggled desperately to break free of the Ice Seal.
But Zhou Qiubai gave it no chance, handing the small knife to Shui Bing'er.
Shui Bing'er nodded.
The knife flashed through the air in a graceful arc.
The swan's movements abruptly froze, and a thin red line appeared across its neck.
Its enormous body crashed to the ground, while a purple Soul Ring slowly rose from its corpse.
Zhou Qiubai dispersed the Soul Power sword in his hand and turned to Shui Bing'er. "Absorb the Soul Ring here. I'll stand guard for you."
Shui Bing'er snapped out of her shock and hurriedly nodded. "Thank you."
Shui Bing'er did not stand on ceremony. She sat down on the ground and began absorbing the Soul Ring.
This Ice Feather Swan was roughly eighteen hundred to two thousand years old, exactly the limit a level-thirty Soul Master could bear. It was also ice-attributed, making it perfectly suited as her third Soul Ring.
As for some master's supposedly precise limit of one thousand seven hundred and sixty years?
Trust him, or send me fifty?
Seeing that Shui Bing'er had entered her absorption state, Zhou Qiubai finally began handling his own affairs.
He walked over to the swan's corpse and skillfully began dissecting it.
Then Zhou Qiubai took an iron pot, fresh water, and a few simple seasonings from his ring. After washing the swan legs and wings, he tossed them into the pot, added enough water to cover them, then sprinkled in a handful of salt and several fragrant leaves he had picked along the way.
He lit a fire, set up the pot, and began stewing.
Before long, an enticing aroma of meat drifted out with the steam.
Zhou Qiubai sat beside the pot with his eyes closed, regulating his breathing.
It was a habit he had developed over many years. Martial training required enormous amounts of blood and vitality replenishment, and the Spirit Beasts he hunted often made the best ingredients. There was no reason not to eat them.
About half an hour later, Zhou Qiubai lifted the lid.
The swan meat in the pot had stewed until tender, while the broth had turned milky white and fragrant.
Unbothered by the heat, Zhou Qiubai reached in and pulled out a plump leg. After blowing on it, he began gnawing on it in large bites.
Zhou Qiubai was eating with relish when he suddenly heard a distinct swallow from behind him.
When he turned around, he saw that Shui Bing'er had somehow finished absorbing the Soul Ring. She was staring eagerly at the meat in the pot, her cheeks slightly flushed.
"Um..." Shui Bing'er said somewhat embarrassedly, "Could I have some? I can pay for it."
Zhou Qiubai casually shaved two nearby branches into chopsticks and handed them to Shui Bing'er. "No need to pay. Everyone who sees it gets a share."
They were both Soul Masters, and their appetites far surpassed those of ordinary people. The pot of meat was soon wiped clean.
As Zhou Qiubai packed up the cookware, he looked up at the sky. "The sun will be setting soon. If we head back to the city now, we'll probably have to travel at night. How about we find somewhere safe near the edge of the forest to rest and return tomorrow morning?"
Shui Bing'er nodded in agreement.
The two quickly extinguished the fire, buried the remaining swan carcass, and hurried toward the forest's outskirts.
The next morning, outside the city gates at the edge of Star Dou Forest.
The moment the two emerged from the forest, a blue figure rushed toward them.
"Big Sister!" Shui Yue'er threw herself into Shui Bing'er's arms, her eyes red. "You're finally back! I was worried sick!"
Shui Bing'er gently patted her younger sister's back. "Aren't I perfectly fine? Besides, Mr. Zhou was with me."
"Perfectly fine, my foot!" Shui Yue'er lifted her head from her sister's embrace and shot Zhou Qiubai a vicious glare. "I'm even more worried because he was with you! Big Sister, this guy didn't do anything to you, did he?"
Shui Bing'er explained, "Absorbing the Soul Ring took some time yesterday. It wasn't safe to travel after dark, so Mr. Zhou suggested that we camp near the edge of the forest."
Shui Yue'er looked her sister up and down. Only after confirming that she was truly unharmed did she mutter, "That's good... If he dares do anything to you, every student of Skywater Academy will never let him off!"
"Alright, stop making a fuss." Shui Bing'er rubbed her younger sister's hair, then turned and solemnly bowed to Zhou Qiubai. "Mr. Zhou, thank you for your help this time. If you ever need anything in the future, you may come to Skywater Academy and find me. So long as it is within my power, Bing'er will not refuse."
Zhou Qiubai waved a hand. "It was only a transaction. We each got what we needed."
As he watched the girls of Skywater Academy depart, the casual expression on Zhou Qiubai's face gradually faded.
Zhou Qiubai remained where he stood and spoke faintly. "Stop hiding. Come out."
The bushes nearby rustled, and Huang Tianzong crawled out, his face bruised and swollen. With a fawning smile, he said, "My lord truly has sharp eyes. We found the information you asked us to investigate that night."
"Oh?" Zhou Qiubai raised a brow. "Really?"
"Absolutely true!" Huang Tianzong hurriedly nodded and bowed. "How would this little one dare deceive you now?"