"Where's Yan Zheng!"
Murong Ci called out to the young man who had just watched Huo Wu's fight.
A tall figure stepped out from the crowd.
Murong Ci hadn't noticed just how tall he was. He had to tilt his head back to look at him.
"Captain!"
Yan Zheng cupped his hands and bowed, his manner sincere.
Someone like this...
Murong Ci abandoned the idea of putting him through his paces. He returned the bow.
"Good brother, give us a quick introduction."
"My name is Yan Zheng. I'm seventeen this year. My Martial Soul is the Flame Scale Rock Lizard, a dual fire-and-earth Power Attack System type. I'm a level 42 Soul Ancestor, with two yellow and two purple Soul Rings."
Yan Zheng's voice was deep and weighty. He spoke tersely and wasn't one for many words.
He raised a hand and tensed his arm slightly. Fine, dark-red rock scales faintly surfaced beneath his skin.
"I'm responsible for taking hits at the front and breaking through the enemy line. Captain, you just focus on attacking."
He lowered his hand and stood at attention, his body ramrod straight.
Murong Ci felt a jumble of emotions.
"Actually... you don't have to be so formal..."
Just then, Teacher Yan Yan came over and handed Murong Ci a cup of water.
"Thank you, Teacher."
"Don't mention it, Xiao Ci. My son's always been reserved. You'll find your own way of getting along."
Murong Ci gave a slight nod, but in his heart, he'd already settled on a different way to put Yan Zheng through his paces...
"Come on, let's get something to eat first, then we'll go train!"
Murong Ci called out and headed for the cafeteria.
"Yay!"
At Skywater Academy, by the Cold Ice Spirit Spring.
"Ah!"
The blue-haired girl let out a sharp cry.
She was sent flying.
"That's your 121st failure. Why are you still fighting?"
The green-haired girl snorted. Ignoring her, she plunged back into the Cold Ice Spirit Spring.
"I... refuse to accept this!"
The blue-haired girl gritted her teeth, her face full of indignation and resentment.
Both girls were breathtakingly beautiful, each possessing beauty enough to topple kingdoms.
The blue-haired girl had a mature charm, with a tall, straight figure.
The green-haired girl was more petite and doll-like, delicate and adorable, but her strength was completely at odds with her appearance.
The blue-haired girl was Shui Bing'er. Her Martial Soul was the Ice Phoenix, and she was halfway to Ultimate Ice.
She was now a level 38 Power Attack System Soul Elder, among the strongest at Skywater Academy.
But... she'd run into Bing Bi'er.
At first, she'd thought the name was strange and paid it no mind.
When they fought again, she discovered that Bing Bi'er was a level 43 Power Attack System Battle Soul Ancestor. They were around the same age, yet Bing Bi'er was already a Soul Ancestor...
And now, Bing Bi'er had humiliated her so thoroughly that she'd suppressed her Soul Power to the Soul Elder level to fight her.
But Shui Bing'er still couldn't beat her...
Bing Bi'er's Martial Soul was the rare Ice Jade Scorpion. No one on the continent had ever heard of it. They'd only gained some understanding of the Martial Soul from Bing Bi'er's own explanation.
Skywater Academy now defined the Ice Jade Scorpion Martial Soul as...
A top-grade ice-attribute Beast Martial Soul!
Its quality was even higher than Shui Bing'er's Ice Phoenix!
Whenever Shui Bing'er faced Bing Bi'er, she felt powerless, unable to bring out her Martial Soul's full strength.
"I'm asking you, don't you ever get tired of this? You can't beat me, yet you keep interrupting my cultivation. I'm not interested in you."
Bing Bi'er spoke coldly, her voice carrying more than a hint of impatience and disdain.
"So what! I'll chase after you on trembling legs, and challenge you with a heart full of reverence. I must strive harder!"
Bing Bi'er paused, intrigued by the words.
"Then... what do you think of the exchange tournament in a week?"
Shui Bing'er shakily got to her feet. She clearly hadn't recovered from the impact and spoke with a quaver.
"Let's work together. Skywater's honor must not... must not be violated! With you on our side, we'll have a better chance of winning!"
Bing Bi'er considered it for a moment. For the first time, she felt a flicker of interest in Shui Bing'er, someone inferior to her.
"In that case, come along. You want to train with me?"
Shui Bing'er nodded, making her meaning clear.
At Blazing Fire Academy, Yan Zheng lay on the ground, gasping for breath and drenched in sweat.
On his arms, covered in flame patterns, ice crystals had gathered, not yet fully melted.
Murong Ci withdrew his hand and walked over with a cheeky grin.
"You call that being able to take a hit? You need more training. Do you give in?"
"I... give in, Captain... you're awesome!"
Yan Zheng gave a thumbs-up.
But that "you're awesome" finally broke everyone's composure. They all burst out laughing.
After all, it had taken Murong Ci three hours of "training" to get Yan Zheng to say those words.
At last, the stiff atmosphere had broken.
Yan Yan, standing off to the side, couldn't help looking a little troubled. The corner of his mouth twitched, but he didn't feel comfortable saying anything...
A week later, the exchange tournament began as scheduled.
Murong Ci and the others had set out for Skywater Academy three days earlier.
Their supervising teacher was Yan Yan, who joked cheerfully along the way. Every so often, though, he'd glance at Yan Zheng, his fingers curling and uncurling.
Heaven Dou City was one of the most prosperous cities on the Douluo Continent.
Heaven Dou Royal Academy sat in the center, ruling over the surrounding area.
The Four Elements Academies were located in the four directions of Heaven Dou City, forming a pincer-shaped encirclement.
The earth-attribute academy among them, Elephant Armor Academy, was centered around the Elephant Armor Sect, setting it apart from the other Element Academies.
Blazing Fire was in the south, where the sun blazed like fire; since the north belonged to water, Skywater Academy was in the north.
But for Murong Ci and the others...
It was practically a journey across the entire Heaven Dou City...
Fortunately, they arrived with time to spare. The tournament wouldn't start until the next day, so they had plenty of time to rest.
That evening, Shui Canglan, the dean of Skywater Academy, personally arranged their accommodations.
All the best rooms at Skywater Academy were fully booked.
However, the students were allowed to stay at hotels, giving couples a chance to spend time alone together.
"A Ci, the exchange tournament has two purposes. First, it's for sparring and learning, and for arranging the exchange students afterward. Second, it's to help the boys and girls get closer. After all, they can work together in matches, so they'll have more chances to interact."
Huo Wu naturally collapsed into Murong Ci's arms. The system had already put up a barrier to block them off, so no one outside could hear anything from within—not their discussion of tactics, nor their talk about romance.
Murong Ci tightened his arms around her, and a mischievous idea suddenly came to him.
"Oh? So it's basically a matchmaking event?"
"More or less. What, are you thinking of finding someone else? Murong Ci, I'm telling you, we're in the honeymoon phase right now. Don't you—"
Before she could finish, Murong Ci covered her lips with his, silencing her completely.
After a long while, Huo Wu stared at him, her face red as a ripe apple.
"That answer of yours... speaks louder than words. But if you really want to go on a matchmaking date, I can help you."
"Hey, hey, don't. Seriously, don't. I don't trust your terrible ideas. I can handle this myself."
"Oh, one of my best friends at Skywater is Shui Bing'er. We're really close. Haven't you seen the letters we wrote to each other? If you really want to..."
The two of them bickered back and forth.
Outside the door, Shui Bing'er was pressed against the doorframe, listening to the sounds from inside.
Bing Bi'er had assigned her this task. She said the Blazing Fire Academy captain had caught her interest, so Shui Bing'er should go and sound him out.
But...
Shui Bing'er couldn't hear a thing.
"Strange. What on earth are those two talking about?"
Shui Bing'er muttered under her breath. No one answered her.
Night fell, and the lights went out.
But inside, the two were still in the midst of a lively argument.