"You can do it!" Ning Xiaochun said earnestly. "Bing'er, your Ultimate Ice Soul Power is the best force I've found for precision cooling and shaping Soul Tools!
Many metal components need to be cooled rapidly and evenly after being shaped at high temperatures to ensure their internal stress remains stable and their Soul Power conductivity is maintained. Ordinary cold-water quenching just isn't effective enough, but your ice-attribute Soul Power can bring the temperature down instantly with pinpoint precision!
That will greatly improve our success rate and the quality of our finished products!"
He paused, then added, a sly and hopeful glimmer in his little face. "Besides... there's another reason."
"What reason?" Shui Bing'er asked instinctively.
Ning Xiaochun looked at her, his big eyes shining with clear, honest light. "I missed you. I wanted to see you. But I was afraid you'd think I was keeping you from cultivating, so I came up with a perfectly respectable excuse!"
He said it with complete conviction, as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
Shui Bing'er's face flushed again, beyond her control. She turned away, pretending to look at the blueprint, but her heart began to beat much faster.
This little brat... He was only six, so how did he have such a way with words? And why did he make it so... impossible to get angry with him?
She fell silent for a while, then finally nodded gently. Her voice held a softness she hadn't even noticed herself. "All right. I'll help you."
Ning Xiaochun instantly cheered. "That's wonderful! Thank you, Bing'er! I knew you were the best!"
Watching him beam with delight, Shui Bing'er couldn't help letting the corners of her lips curl up into a faint but genuine smile.
Perhaps... staying here and helping him research these incredible Soul Tools... wouldn't be such a bad choice?
She looked at the enormous blueprint, at the imaginative and inventive designs laid out across it, and felt a flicker of anticipation rise within her.
What kind of miracle would this little rascal, who always managed to surprise her, create this time?
Meanwhile, Ning Xiaochun gazed at Shui Bing'er's focused profile, feeling quite pleased with himself.
He could advance his Soul Tool research and have a perfectly legitimate reason to keep Bing'er by his side and grow closer to her... This was killing two birds with one stone, with no risk of loss!
He could almost see it: in the not-too-distant future, a Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect guard unit equipped with advanced Soul Tools would sweep across the battlefield, while he hid behind Bing'er, leisurely drinking tea and living off her...
Life was looking brighter and brighter!
Inside Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan's residence in Spirit City.
Yan had been pacing back and forth for the better part of an incense stick. His face was a mixture of excitement, nervousness, and impatience.
He clutched a letter in his hand, containing information he'd gone to considerable trouble to obtain through Spirit Hall's intelligence network: Shui Bing'er, a core student of Skywater Academy, wielder of the Ice Phoenix Martial Soul, and the presumptive captain of the Skywater Academy Team.
"Skywater Academy... Skywater Academy..."
Yan repeated the name, his eyes gleaming with determination.
"I knew it! A woman that exceptional couldn't possibly go unnoticed! So she's a genius from Skywater Academy! No wonder she has such an outstanding presence!"
He stopped and turned to Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan, who sat leisurely in a chair, sipping tea. A pleading, ingratiating smile spread across Yan's face.
"Elder Ju! Please come with me to Skywater Academy! With a Titled Douluo like you making the trip in person, the academy will be overwhelmed with honor. It'll also show how sincere Spirit Hall is!"
Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan set down his teacup and spoke slowly in his high, thin voice.
"Yan, when are you going to change that hotheaded temperament of yours? You've taken a liking to a girl, that's all. Is it really worth making this old man go all the way there himself?"
"Of course it is!" Yan hurriedly replied.
"Shui Bing'er isn't just any girl! She's the most outstanding woman I've ever met! And she has ties to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. I'm afraid something could change if we wait too long! With you there, we can keep the situation under control!"
Chrysanthemum Douluo glanced at him. Seeing that Yan was genuinely sincere, unlike his usual frivolous self, he felt a slight stir in his heart.
Yan was a core member of the Golden Generation, valued by His Holiness the Pope, with boundless prospects ahead of him.
It wouldn't hurt to do him a favor. He could also visit Skywater Academy while he was at it. Besides, he was rather curious about the girl Yan couldn't stop thinking about.
"Very well, very well. I'll make the trip with you." Chrysanthemum Douluo stood and straightened his ornate golden robe.
"But understand this: I'm only there to lend you my presence. I won't get involved in your romantic entanglements."
"Thank you, Grandpa Ju! Don't worry! With you there, we'll already be halfway to success!" Yan was overjoyed.
He turned to Ghost Douluo Gui Mei, standing motionless nearby like a ghost. "Elder Ghost, will you come too?"
Gui Mei let out a few hoarse chuckles. "I'm a little curious about that Ice Phoenix girl myself."
And so, two Titled Douluo and a genius from the Golden Generation set off in grand fashion, heading straight for Skywater Academy in the northern part of the Heaven Dou Empire.
The dean's office at Skywater Academy.
Leng Ningshuang looked at the three uninvited guests before her. When she felt the faint but crushing pressure emanating from Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo, as heavy as a mountain, her heart sank and a sense of foreboding rose within her.
People from Spirit Hall? And led by Titled Douluo? What had brought them to Skywater Academy?
She forced herself to remain calm and rose to greet them, wearing a professional smile.
"I didn't know that Your Excellencies Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo, as well as this young friend, would be visiting. Please forgive us for not welcoming you sooner. May I ask what brings you here today?"
Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan smiled faintly, with a hint of reserve and pride.
"Dean Leng, you're too kind. We've come mainly on behalf of my good-for-nothing nephew, Yan." He gestured to Yan beside him.
"A few days ago, while training in Sunset Forest, Yan had the good fortune to meet a talented student from your academy named Shui Bing'er. He greatly admired her talent and bearing, and hasn't been able to stop thinking about her since he returned. So he begged this old man to bring him here for a visit. He hopes to see Miss Shui Bing'er again and get to know her better."
Yan stepped forward at just the right moment and gave Leng Ningshuang a flawless junior's salute from Spirit Hall. He wore what he clearly considered his most dashing, handsome smile.
"Greetings, Dean Leng! I'm Yan, a member of Spirit Hall's Golden Generation and a personal disciple of His Holiness the Pope. I've missed Miss Bing'er ever since we parted ways. I hope you'll forgive my bold visit today. I only want to see her and make friends with her. I mean no harm!"
His words were polished, but the gleam in his eyes and the presence of two Douluo accompanying him spoke volumes. Their unspoken message was clear: "I've taken a fancy to one of your students. Be sensible and hand her over."
Leng Ningshuang's expression instantly darkened. Not again?!
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had only just thrown money at them to take Shui Bing'er away as a child bride, and now Spirit Hall had come asking to "get to know her better"? What was Skywater Academy, some kind of hot commodity now?
Before you continue