Yan's Forced Marriage! Shui Bing'er's Fury!

Thinking of this, the corners of Ning Xiaochun's mouth curled upward involuntarily, his eyes shimmering with anticipation.

He turned his head, just about to say something to Shui Bing'er, but saw that she had already stood up. Her face held a trace of panic and shyness, like a startled fawn, as if she were trying to flee the place that made her heart race.

"That... I... I'll head back first." Shui Bing'er's voice was somewhat flustered, her eyes darting away, not daring to look at him. "In three days... I'll come again..."

As she spoke, she turned to walk out. Her retreating figure looked, by any measure, like she was running away in a panic.

Ning Xiaochun was quick-witted and grabbed her slender wrist.

Shui Bing'er's body stiffened abruptly, but she didn't pull away. She remained with her back to him, her earlobes turning red enough to drip blood.

"Sister Bing'er." Ning Xiaochun's voice carried a hint of a smile, yet it was incredibly earnest. "In three days, I will come to pick you up."

Shui Bing'er's body trembled slightly. She didn't look back, only nodded gently, her voice as soft as a mosquito's hum: "...Mm."

Then, as if gathering all her courage, she spun around suddenly. Before Ning Xiaochun could react, she quickly stood on her tiptoes and pecked him lightly on the forehead.

Like a dragonfly skimming the water, it was a fleeting touch.

After performing this action, Shui Bing'er's face was as red as a ripe apple.

She didn't dare look at Ning Xiaochun again; she turned and vanished out the door like a gust of wind, as if escaping.

Ning Xiaochun stood frozen in place, blankly touching his forehead where she had kissed him, as if a trace of that cool, soft sensation still lingered there.

Then, his mouth slowly, slowly spread into a silly grin.

Six years, and this was the first time Sister Bing'er had kissed him of her own accord!

Although it was only his forehead, this was a massive step forward!

He could already see his future happy, blissful married life beckoning to him.

"Hehehe..." Ning Xiaochun couldn't help but chuckle out loud, taking a long while to snap back to reality. He cleared his throat, trying hard to restore the dignity of a "Young Sect Master," but his eyes, curved into crescent moons, could not hide his current good mood.

He walked to the window and watched Shui Bing'er's receding figure, a flash of tenderness and determination in his eyes.

Six years had passed; he was no longer that six-year-old child who needed to hide behind Sister Bing'er to feel safe.

Today's Seven Treasures Glazed Sect had a Soul Guidance Device research program that was beginning to take shape, the sect's armed forces had been significantly upgraded, Grandpa Sword and Grandpa Bone had both consumed immortal herbs and furthered their strength, plus the external support of his godfather, the Titled Douluo Dugu Bo...

The Seven Treasures Glazed Sect now had the confidence to stand firm on this continent and even make its own voice heard.

And Spirit Hall... that shadow hanging over every sect, it was time to face it head-on.

A sharp light flashed in Ning Xiaochun's eyes.

"Spirit Hall... Heh..." he muttered to himself, a meaningful smile tugging at his lips. "Just wait. The good show has only just begun."

Tianshui Academy, Dean's office.

Leng Ningshuang sat behind her desk, clutching a gold-embossed letter. Her brows were tightly locked, her face filled with sorrow and anxiety. The striking Spirit Hall emblem on the letter shimmered with a glaring light under the afternoon sun.

The content of the letter was simple, yet it weighed on her heart like a giant boulder.

"Spirit Hall's Golden Generation member Yan will arrive at Tianshui Academy in three days, on the day of Miss Shui Bing'er's coming-of-age, to formally set the marriage contract. At that time, the two冕下, Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan and Ghost Douluo Gui Mei, will accompany him to witness the event. We hope Dean Leng will receive them accordingly and discuss this auspicious union."

Discuss an auspicious union? What a high-sounding excuse! This was clearly a forced marriage!

Leng Ningshuang slammed the letter onto the desk, trembling with rage.

Six years ago, she had used the excuse that "Shui Bing'er is not yet of age" to put them off temporarily.

She had thought she could use these six years to break through to Titled Douluo, at which point she would have the confidence to contend with Spirit Hall and protect her disciple.

But... six years had passed, and she was still stuck at the Soul Douluo level, always missing that final step to reach Titled Douluo. How could a Titled Douluo be so easily attained?

She felt a deep sense of powerlessness. Was she really going to watch as her most beloved disciple was forcibly snatched away by Spirit Hall?

Just then, the office door was knocked on gently.

"Master, I'm back."

A cold, clear voice sounded, and Shui Bing'er pushed the door open and entered. She had just returned from the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect, and her face still held a trace of a blush that hadn't fully faded and a faint sweetness.

But when she saw Leng Ningshuang's furrowed brows and the gold-embossed letter on the desk, the smile on her face vanished instantly.

"Master, what happened?" Shui Bing'er walked to the desk, her gaze falling on the letter. When she saw the striking Spirit Hall emblem, her own brows furrowed slightly.

Leng Ningshuang looked at this disciple who had grown increasingly beautiful and possessed an increasingly transcendent temperament, her heart filled with mixed emotions. She knew this matter could no longer be hidden.

She sighed, pushed the letter toward Shui Bing'er, and spoke with a trace of exhaustion and bitterness: "Bing'er, see for yourself."

Shui Bing'er picked up the letter and scanned it quickly. Her expression shifted from initial confusion to coldness, and finally, a tangible frost began to condense in her ice-blue eyes.

"Six years ago..." Shui Bing'er's voice was so cold it felt as if it could freeze the air. "They already came looking for me?"

Leng Ningshuang nodded guiltily: "Yes... you weren't at the academy at the time, and I... I used the excuse that you weren't of age to turn them away. I thought I could break through to Titled Douluo within these six years, and then I would have the confidence to refuse them... but... Master is incompetent..."

She lowered her head, her voice choked with sobs.

Shui Bing'er looked at her master's self-reproachful appearance, and the anger in her heart subsided slightly. She knew her master had done it for her sake, to protect her.

However, Spirit Hall's power was too vast; in front of Spirit Hall, Tianshui Academy was as insignificant as an ant.

Inside the Tianshui Academy dean's office, the atmosphere was as stifling as the silence before a storm.

Shui Bing'er placed the gold-embossed Spirit Hall letter gently onto the desk, her fingertips turning slightly white from the pressure.

She raised her head, her ice-blue eyes surging with uncontrollable fury, yet her voice was as cold as a gale blowing from the Far North:

"Absurd! This is absolutely absurd! What do they take me for? A piece of cargo? An object to be snatched and traded at will?"

She took a deep breath, her chest heaving violently as she struggled to suppress the urge to freeze the letter before her—along with the entire Spirit Hall—into ice:

"Besides, do they not know that I am already betrothed to the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect? Six years ago, when I signed that contract, I became Ning Xiaochun's wife-to-be! Does Spirit Hall intend to openly tear up that marriage agreement and make an enemy of the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect with this move?"