Northern Heaven Dou Empire, Skywater City.
Unlike the prosperous plains where the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was based, the climate here was colder, and waterways were plentiful.
Skywater Academy stood beside a quiet lake on the outskirts of the city. Its buildings were mostly blue and white, with elegant lines that carried the gentle beauty and coolness of a girls' academy.
The academy was not especially large, but its grounds were peaceful and its Soul Power abundant, making it particularly suitable for water- and ice-type Soul Masters to cultivate.
On this day, as usual, the clear, lilting sounds of young women practicing and sparring echoed through the academy, brimming with youthful vigor.
However, that peace was shattered one afternoon.
Without warning, a vast, unfathomably deep, peerlessly sharp aura descended with a thunderous roar from the sky outside Skywater Academy's main gate. It was like a volcano dormant for ten thousand years suddenly awakening, or an unparalleled divine sword being unsheathed!
The aura held no malice, yet its incomparable authority and presence instantly enveloped the entire academy.
The lake's surface rippled violently despite the windless air. On the training grounds, every student channeling Soul Power—regardless of cultivation level—felt it suddenly seize up. Their chests tightened as if struck by an invisible hammer.
The students sparring staggered backward, the light of their Soul Skills flickering in their hands, seemingly on the verge of collapsing!
"A Titled Douluo?!"
Deep within the academy, several powerful surges of Soul Power flared in response, tinged with shock and uncertainty.
The most concentrated of them—a flash of icy-blue Soul Power—shot skyward from the Dean's Tower at the academy's center, carrying a biting chill as it tried to resist the pressure of that razor-sharp aura. But it was like an ant trying to stop a chariot; it was instantly scattered to the winds.
The gap was simply too great!
The owner of that icy-blue radiance had clearly realized as much, and the light quickly drew back. A moment later, a graceful figure darted from the tower and landed in the square before the academy's main gate.
She was a beautiful woman who looked to be around thirty, dressed in a dean's robe of water-blue trimmed with silver. She stood tall and had fine features, though faint traces of weariness from years of hard work lingered between her brows, alongside the shock and gravity she could no longer hide.
She was Leng Ningshuang, the current dean of Skywater Academy and an eighty-third-level control-type Soul Douluo.
Leng Ningshuang swept her gaze across the square and saw that three people were standing there, quiet as could be, though she had no idea when they had arrived.
At the head was a man in a moon-white robe, with a refined, gentle face. He held a scepter set with a massive gemstone. He was Ning Fengzhi, Sect Master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
To his left stood an old man with a gaunt face and a figure straight as a spear. Even standing there casually, he seemed to twist the very space around him. He was Bone Douluo Gu Rong.
To his right stood a white-haired, white-bearded man with a stern face, holding a sword in his arms. He was like a drawn blade, and that razor-sharp aura that had just turned heaven and earth upside down had come from him—Sword Douluo Chen Xin!
Three powerhouses standing at the pinnacle of the continent had arrived together, and had displayed their auras without the slightest restraint as they came straight to her door... Leng Ningshuang's heart sank.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was the richest in the world. It had no ties to Skywater Academy, nor any history of enmity with it. Why had they come in such force? And from the looks of it, this was no simple friendly visit.
She drew a deep breath, forcibly tamped down her unease, and hurried forward. Bowing slightly, she spoke with just the right mixture of respect and confusion:
"Leng Ningshuang of Skywater Academy pays her respects to Sect Master Ning, Sword Douluo, and Bone Douluo. I'm sorry we weren't here to welcome you, esteemed masters. Please forgive us. May I ask what brings you here today?"
Leng Ningshuang was taking no chances, her thoughts racing. Being dean was no easy job.
Skywater Academy admitted only female students. Though it was one of the Four Elemental Academies in the Heaven Dou Empire and had a fine reputation, obtaining cultivation resources was far more difficult than it was for the other three academies, let alone the great sects.
She spent most of her energy securing funds and trading for cultivation supplies. Her strength had been stuck at level eighty-three for years, and she had yet to break through.
Now, facing three figures whose every step could shake the continent, she had every reason to be nervous.
Ning Fengzhi wore his usual gentle smile and raised a hand to check her bow. "There's no need for formalities, Dean Leng. We were the ones who took the liberty of visiting and disturbed you."
The two exchanged pleasantries for a while.
Ning Fengzhi did not beat around the bush. He went straight to the point, his voice calm yet clear:
"I've heard that your academy has produced a once-in-a-generation genius named Shui Bing'er. She possesses the Ice Phoenix martial soul and, at just eleven years old, has already reached level twenty-five as a Soul Grandmaster. Is that true?"
Leng Ningshuang's heart gave a jump. She nodded.
"That's true. Bing'er has extraordinary talent and a resilient disposition. She's my personal disciple, the core of our team for the next Soul Master Tournament, and the hope of our academy's future."
She made a point of emphasizing how important Shui Bing'er was to her and the academy, a veiled warning.
"Your personal disciple? All the better." Ning Fengzhi's smile did not change. He seemed not to have heard the implication in Leng Ningshuang's words, and continued in the same casual tone one might use to discuss the weather.
"To be frank, I've come to discuss a happy arrangement with you, Dean Leng. My son, Ning Xiaochun, is only six years old, with decent talent. I'd like to ask Miss Shui Bing'er to become engaged to him, join the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, and become Xiaochun's... child bride."
The moment the words "child bride" were spoken, the air across the entire square seemed to freeze.
The respect and caution on Leng Ningshuang's face shattered, replaced by incredulous shock, which swiftly blazed into fury!
She jerked her head up and stared straight at Ning Fengzhi. Even beneath the subtle pressure of two Titled Douluos, the dignity and anger she felt as a teacher and dean briefly made her forget her fear.
"Sect Master Ning!" Leng Ningshuang's voice trembled with emotion, and anger flushed her face.
"Are you joking, or do you think Skywater Academy has no one to stand up for it?! Bing'er is my personal disciple, a genius the likes of whom our academy has not seen in a hundred years. She's destined to stand at the pinnacle of the continent! And you want her to become... the child bride of a six-year-old?! This is absurd! You've gone too far!"
Her chest heaved, and icy-blue Soul Power spilled uncontrollably from her body, betraying the turmoil within.
"Skywater Academy may be a girls' school and may not wield the power of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, but we're no one's doormat! Sect Master Ning, are you relying on your sect's might to force this marriage?!"
Faced with Leng Ningshuang's furious rebuke, Ning Fengzhi's expression did not change in the slightest. He remained composed.
Sword Douluo Chen Xin gave a cold snort. A sharper sword intent flickered into view, instantly freezing the Soul Power spilling from Leng Ningshuang's body.
Bone Douluo Gu Rong merely watched with an amused, knowing smile.
"Dean Leng, please calm down. I haven't finished speaking."
Ning Fengzhi raised a hand and gave a small wave, signaling for Sword Douluo to hold back. His voice remained calm, yet carried an unquestionable authority, as though Leng Ningshuang's fury had been no more than a breeze brushing his face.
"'Child bride' is merely a title. Miss Bing'er will not be imprisoned after joining the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Until she comes of age at eighteen, she'll remain a student of Skywater Academy and your disciple. She'll be free to travel between the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and Skywater Academy, without either interfering with the other.
"The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect will not interfere with any of her decisions, either. The only thing she'll need to do is honor the engagement once she comes of age at eighteen and marry my son, Ning Xiaochun."
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