The Coming of Age Pact!

She took a deep breath, suppressing the displeasure in her heart. She maintained a smile on her face, but her tone carried a hint of detachment:

"I see. I appreciate Young Master Yan's high regard. It is Bing'er's good fortune to be favored by you. However... it is truly unfortunate, but Bing'er is not currently at the academy."

The smile on Yan's face stiffened. "Not here? Then where has she gone?"

Leng Ningshuang lied without changing her expression: "Bing'er had some insights during her cultivation a few days ago and needed to travel to seek an opportunity for a breakthrough. As her master, I am not entirely sure of her specific destination or when she will return. Young people, after all, always have their own ideas."

Yan's brows furrowed. He had not expected to come up empty-handed. However, he did not give up; instead, he became even more determined to find Shui Bing'er.

He paused, changed his tone, and spoke with a measure of sincerity and gravity:

"Dean Leng, to be honest, I fell in love with Miss Bing'er at first sight and have admired her for a long time. My visit today, besides wanting to see her, is also to express the sincerity of our Spirit Hall to your academy. Miss Bing'er possesses peerless talent, and her future achievements will be limitless. If she could be nurtured by the full strength of our Spirit Hall, she would surely reach even greater heights. Furthermore, given my status in Spirit Hall, I would never treat her poorly."

His meaning was clear. He was proposing an "alliance" with Tianshui Academy, or rather, a marriage. He brought up the prestigious brand of Spirit Hall, his words carrying a confidence that brooked no refusal.

Chrysanthemum Douluo also spoke at the opportune moment, his voice tinged with a hint of seduction:

"Dean Leng, young Yan is a standout of our Spirit Hall's Golden Generation, and the Pope holds high expectations for him. If Tianshui Academy can forge this bond of goodwill with our Spirit Hall, you will receive strong support from us in terms of faculty, resources, and student advancement in the future. This is an opportunity many academies would beg for."

Although his words were polite, combined with his status as a Title Douluo and the silent pressure from Ghost Douluo beside him, it clearly carried a hint of a veiled threat—agree, and there are many benefits; refuse, and bear the consequences.

A surge of uncontrollable anger rose in Leng Ningshuang's heart. This Spirit Hall was even more overbearing than the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect!

The Seven Treasures Glazed Sect at least used money; it was a transaction that gave her room to refuse and offered generous compensation. But Spirit Hall? This was clearly bullying others by relying on their power, a forced purchase and sale!

Yet, what could she do? Spirit Hall was at the height of its power, and Pope Bibi Dong was the strongest person on the continent. Before Spirit Hall, Tianshui Academy was as insignificant as an ant.

If she refused on the spot and angered these two Title Douluos, Tianshui Academy might mysteriously disappear by tomorrow.

She felt a deep sense of sorrow and helplessness. Was this the fate of the weak? To be unable to even protect one's own disciple?

She remained silent for a moment, her thoughts racing, until she finally hit upon a roundabout strategy. A look of difficulty appeared on her face as she sighed and said:

"Chrysanthemum Douluo, Young Master Yan, it is not that I do not know what is good for me. It is just that... Bing'er is a cold and proud child who pours her heart into cultivation and currently has no thoughts regarding matters of the heart. Moreover, she is not yet eighteen. According to the rules of Tianshui Academy, we do not encourage students to involve themselves in marriage or romance during their studies, so as not to affect their cultivation."

She paused, looked at Yan's somewhat disappointed expression, and added:

"Of course, I have felt Young Master Yan's sincerity. How about this: let us shelve this matter for now, and once Bing'er comes of age, we shall let her make her own decision. If she is willing then, Tianshui Academy will naturally not stand in her way. Since Young Master Yan truly likes Bing'er, surely you would not wish to force her and cause her to harbor resentment, would you?"

Her words were reasonable and fair; she did not directly refuse Spirit Hall, bought time for Shui Bing'er, and cleverly used the word "sincerity" to corner Yan.

Upon hearing this, Yan hesitated. He wanted to retort, but Leng Ningshuang's words struck his weak point—he wanted Shui Bing'er to submit willingly, not to harbor hatred born of coercion.

Furthermore, he had absolute confidence in himself, believing that given his conditions, once Shui Bing'er truly knew him, she would certainly choose him.

"Fine!" Yan finally nodded, a confident smile returning to his face.

"Then I shall wait until Miss Bing'er comes of age! I believe she will make the most correct choice then! Dean Leng, please convey to Miss Bing'er that Yan of Spirit Hall will be waiting for her!"

Having said that, he cupped his hands toward Leng Ningshuang and nodded to the two Douluos: "Elder Chrysanthemum, Elder Ghost, let us go."

Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo exchanged a glance, said nothing more, and followed Yan out of the dean's office.

Not until the presence of the three had completely vanished from the grounds of Tianshui Academy did Leng Ningshuang collapse into her chair as if drained, her face showing deep exhaustion and worry.

"Spirit Hall... Seven Treasures Glazed Sect... Bing'er, oh Bing'er, are you a blessing or a curse..." she muttered to herself, feeling overwhelmed.

She knew the matter was far from over. Since Spirit Hall had set its sights on Shui Bing'er, they would never give up easily. When the day of her coming-of-age arrived, there would likely be an even greater storm.

Meanwhile, far away in a secret estate of the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect, Ning Xiaochun was enthusiastically guiding craftsmen in debugging a prototype of a new "Soul Power Baby Bottle."

He was enjoying the cooling and setting process provided by Shui Bing'er's Ultimate Ice, completely unaware of the turmoil that had just occurred at Tianshui Academy.

He was happily calculating that once this "Soul Power Baby Bottle" went into mass production, he would first equip Sister Bing'er with eight or ten of them so she would never have to fear running out of soul power during a fight again...

He was entirely oblivious to the fact that another trouble had quietly set its sights on his "meal ticket."

Seven Treasures Glazed Sect, Soul Tool Research Institute in the back mountain.

The clanging of hammers and the humming of soul power circulation intertwined, and the air was filled with the unique scent of metal mixed with machine oil.

Under a spacious work shed, Ning Xiaochun stood before a massive workbench, his small face taut. With intense focus, he used a specialized soul tool carving knife to etch intricate patterns onto a palm-sized, pale blue metallic plate.

His movements were slow and steady, each stroke incredibly precise. Fine beads of sweat seeped from his forehead; clearly, this work demanded a high level of mental energy and soul power control.

Beside him, Shui Bing'er stood quietly, her hands hovering over the metal plate, her fingertips wreathed in a faint, ice-blue chill.

Whenever Ning Xiaochun finished a section of the pattern, she would precisely release a wisp of Ultimate Ice, instantly drawing away the high heat generated by the friction of the carving knife while helping to stabilize and solidify the newly etched soul power patterns.

The two worked with perfect tacit understanding, as if they had practiced it a thousand times.

On a nearby table sat several soul tool samples that had already taken initial shape: a metal sphere the size of a fist with an extremely complex internal structure; a silver-white metal tube about 1.5 meters long, engraved with spiral patterns; and a piece of armor that looked like a heart protector, with six brilliant soul crystals embedded along its edges.

Progress was much smoother than Ning Xiaochun had anticipated. The craftsmanship of the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect's artisans was exquisite, their financial resources were vast, and with the assistance of Shui Bing'er's unique Ultimate Ice, many technical difficulties that he had originally thought would be thorny were overcome one by one in practice.

"Phew..." Ning Xiaochun finished the final stroke and let out a long breath, putting down the carving knife and flexing his somewhat stiff fingers.

"The substrate for this 'Frost Energy-Gathering Core' is finally complete! Now, as long as we embed the soul crystals and perform the final activation and debugging, it should be ready to use!"

Shui Bing'er also withdrew her hands, looking at the metal plate that radiated a faint chill with its smooth patterns, a look of satisfaction flashing in her eyes.

She discovered that in the process of helping Ning Xiaochun with these delicate soul tool creations, her ability to micro-manage her own ice-attribute soul power had also significantly improved.

Previously, she had focused more on the burst and total volume of her soul power, but now, her fine control over it had reached a new height. This could be considered an unexpected gain.