Six Years Later, The Growing Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School!

Shui Bing'er looked at his confident expression, and she could not help but feel a little infected by it.

Although she still felt that this goal was somewhat distant, looking at Ning Xiaochun's bright, sparkling eyes, she inexplicably felt... perhaps, he could really do it?

"There is one more goal." Ning Xiaochun suddenly changed the subject, his voice becoming somewhat mischievous.

"What goal?" Shui Bing'er asked subconsciously.

Ning Xiaochun turned his head, his burning gaze fixed on Shui Bing'er. In those large eyes, there was a hint of unmasked, youthful fervor and anticipation: "To grow up quickly!"

Shui Bing'er was stunned for a moment, then met his eyes, which seemed to speak, and instantly understood the meaning behind his words.

Her cheeks flushed a deep red, and even her neck was stained with a layer of pink. She jerked her head away, not daring to look at those eyes that seemed capable of seeing right through her, her heart pounding like a drum.

Grow up quickly... and then what?

She dared not think any further.

Ning Xiaochun watched her shy, overwhelmed appearance and chuckled inwardly. He did not tease her further, simply saying to himself: "When I grow up, Sister Bing'er, you will have just reached adulthood. By then..."

"Shut up!" Shui Bing'er finally could not help but interrupt him in shy annoyance, her voice trembling slightly. "Don't say another word!"

Seeing that she was truly annoyed, Ning Xiaochun quickly raised his hands in surrender: "Alright, alright, I won't say it! I didn't say anything!"

However, his eyes, curved into crescents, betrayed his triumphant mood.

Shui Bing'er was both shy and angry, yet she could do nothing about him. She could only glare at him fiercely before turning away, pretending to watch the sunset that was about to vanish outside the window, though the tips of her ears, red enough to bleed, exposed her inner turmoil.

Six years later... she would be eighteen. According to their original agreement, she would have to marry this little brat who was five years her junior, both cowardly and wicked, yet always able to pluck at her heartstrings when she least expected it.

Six years...

For some reason, a hint of... anticipation had quietly risen in her heart.

As soon as this thought emerged, Shui Bing'er was startled and quickly suppressed it, but that inexplicable flutter refused to subside for a long time.

The sunset finally sank completely below the horizon, leaving only a faint orange-red glow in the sky.

Inside the research institute, the two stood in silence, neither speaking, yet a silent understanding and a faint sweetness seemed to flow through the air.

Time passed like a fleeting shadow.

Six years, like sand slipping through fingers, vanished in an instant.

During these six years, the landscape of the entire Douluo Continent underwent many subtle and profound changes.

The most significant change came from Spirit Hall.

Under the iron-fisted rule of Pope Bibi Dong, the influence of Spirit Hall expanded like a snowball, growing at an unprecedented speed.

More and more spirit masters chose to join Spirit Hall, and more and more kingdoms and duchies were infiltrated and controlled by its influence. The banner of Spirit Hall was planted in almost every corner of the continent.

The two great empires—the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire—deeply felt the threat posed by Spirit Hall.

They attempted to unite other forces to curb the expansion of Spirit Hall, but with little success. The power of Spirit Hall had become like a towering tree, deep-rooted and difficult to shake.

On the continent, the only forces potentially capable of contending with Spirit Hall were perhaps the seven great sects.

However, the once-greatest sect in the world, the Clear Sky Sect, had announced its withdrawal years ago, sealing its mountains and refusing to involve itself in worldly affairs.

The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family, for various reasons, also acted with increasing low profile, rarely moving about the continent.

The Seven Treasures Glazed Sect, the world's premier support-type sect, had been exceptionally... low-profile over these six years.

So low-profile that it seemed to have vanished from the continent's sight.

Aside from normal business operations and necessary social interactions, the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect had almost no eye-catching movements.

They did not expand their territory, did not clash with other forces, and even the frequency of their disciples traveling outside had decreased significantly.

This abnormal low profile left many interested parties feeling puzzled. But most people believed that since the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect excelled in business and support rather than combat, such a low profile was only natural.

Only a very few knew that behind those quietly closed sect gates, a transformation capable of changing the continent's landscape was brewing in silence.

And at the heart of this transformation, the black-haired boy who was only six years old back then was now twelve.

Seven Treasures Glazed Sect, back mountain.

The once-secluded forest had been replaced by a magnificent complex of buildings.

High walls isolated this area from the outside world, inscribed with complex spirit guidance arrays that flickered with faint light, emitting heart-palpitating energy fluctuations. At the main entrance, a massive stone tablet stood tall, engraved with powerful, vigorous characters:

"Seven Treasures Glazed Sect Spirit Guidance Device Research Institute"

In the bottom right corner of the tablet was a small line of text—"Inscribed by Sect Master Ning Xiaochun."

Yes, the little brat who had been wearing split-crotch pants six years ago and shouting about "steady development" had now been officially named the Young Sect Master of the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect by Ning Fengzhi, with full responsibility for the research and development of spirit guidance devices and the construction of armed forces.

Although he had not yet officially succeeded as Sect Master, within the confines of the research institute, he was the absolute ruler.

Inside the institute, the scene was one of bustling activity.

Under a massive work shed, hundreds of strictly screened craftsmen and spirit masters were working in an orderly fashion.

Some leaned over massive workbenches, using precision engraving knives to carve spirit guidance arrays thinner than a strand of hair onto metal plates, their expressions focused, their hands steady as rock.

Some were operating soul power furnaces, smelting various rare metals into the required alloys, the firelight reflecting red against their dark, soot-stained faces.

Others were assembling and debugging various bizarre soul device components; the clanging of hammers and the humming of circulating soul power wove together, playing a unique industrial symphony.

The air was thick with the acrid scent of scorched metal, the slick smell of machine oil, and the strange, pungent aroma produced by a mixture of various soul power materials.

To a first-time visitor, this smell might have been somewhat pungent, but to everyone here, it was the most familiar and comforting scent—it was the smell of progress, the smell of power.

Compared to six years ago, the production efficiency and technical level here had undergone a heaven-and-earth transformation.

An assembly-line workflow had been initially established, and the standardized production of parts had greatly increased assembly efficiency. Batch after batch of trained junior soul device technicians were growing into the backbone of this emerging industry.

Deep within this scene of bustling activity, however, the atmosphere inside a master bedroom—decorated with extreme comfort and standing in stark contrast to the sweltering heat outside—was completely different.

A black-haired youth lay leisurely on a wide recliner draped with a soft white tiger pelt.

He looked to be about twelve or thirteen years old, but his frame had grown much taller. With sword-like brows, star-bright eyes, a straight nose, and a faint, lingering smile at the corners of his mouth, he exuded an air of lazy confidence.

Six years had passed, and the little brat of yesteryear had grown into a dashing young man.

He was currently closing his eyes contentedly, a straw held between his lips that connected to a glass of iced fruit juice on the low table beside him.

And the place where he rested his head was a pair of round, straight thighs with skin as white and lustrous as jade.

The owner of those thighs was a stunningly beautiful young woman who appeared to be about seventeen or eighteen years old.

She had long, water-blue hair reaching her waist, cascading casually behind her back, with a few strands falling over her fair forehead.

Her ice-blue eyes were clear and translucent, as if they contained ice and snow that had never melted for ten thousand years, but at this moment, those eyes were filled with a soft light as she gazed tenderly at the youth resting on her lap.

The young woman's features were even more exquisite than they had been six years ago, having shed the callowness of youth and gained a touch of the charm and elegance belonging to a mature woman.

She wore a well-tailored ice-blue dress that outlined her graceful, curvaceous figure. Sitting there, she looked like a snow lotus blooming on the peak of a snowy mountain—cold and noble, yet carrying a gentleness that bloomed only for the person before her.

It was none other than the grown-up Shui Bing'er.

In three more days, she would turn eighteen.