It's come to this, let's soak in the cold spring first.

"Uncle Sky Crocodile, please help me break this off." Qian Xunqian carried a piece of Ice God Crystal about the same size as her own body over to Sky Crocodile.

"Just break off about this much; any larger and Sister Shui Xiaoer won't be able to handle it."

Qian Xunqian used her fingers to gesture, indicating a piece about an inch long.

Sky Crocodile, ever doting on the children, broke it off as requested and handed the small piece to Shui Xiaoer.

"Wait! Absorb this Thousand-Year Ice Marrow first to solidify your foundation, then fuse the Ice God Crystal. Paired with the Cold Pole Spirit Spring, it will be enough to elevate your martial soul to the level of Ultimate Ice!"

Tears streamed down Shui Xiaoer's face in gratitude as she said, "Thank you."

While Shui Xiaoer was in the process of absorbing the Thousand-Year Ice Marrow, Gui Mei snuck over to Qian Xunqian's side and whispered, "Second Young Lady, are you really just giving away the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow and the Ice God Crystal so easily? You must know that one cannot be too careful! I fear that she..."

Qian Xunqian waved her hand and said magnanimously, "Force can never truly win people over; only by combining kindness with authority can you capture their hearts. Our Spirit Hall doesn't need that much Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow for our own ice-type soul masters, and for me, it's merely a way to acquire forging materials.

"To the Heavenly Water Academy and the Water Element Family, however, these are rare treasures. The more sincere I am and the more I help Shui Xiaoer without calculating the gains and losses, the more restless and conscience-stricken the Heavenly Water Academy will feel.

"Furthermore, our Spirit Hall is strong enough. Sister Bi and I are both geniuses. As the saying goes, the virtue of a gentleman is like the wind, and the virtue of a petty man is like grass; when the wind blows over the grass, it must bend! As long as we gentlemen maintain our strength and virtue, how could we not attract guests from all over the world?

"Besides, Elder Gui, do you really think Sister Bi and I would be afraid of a mere Titled Douluo with the attribute of Ultimate Ice?"

Gui Mei was completely won over by the Second Young Lady's breadth of mind. Having served by the Pope's side, he naturally understood Qian Xunji's character and was aware of his recent intentions to hunt down the geniuses of the two great empires.

The Pope's temperament and vision were still too narrow. While hunting down geniuses might weaken the two empires in the short term, in the long run, it would only offend all the forces that could have been won over.

Moreover, once exposed, the image of Spirit Hall would be ruined, leaving them surrounded by enemies. Sacrificing great principles for petty gains was truly ill-advised!

"Alright, stop looking at me with such worshipful eyes, or I'll get arrogant. As they say, an arrogant army is bound to fail, and I don't want to fail. Get ready, we're going to soak in the Cold Spring soon!"

Chrysanthemum Douluo and Golden Crocodile Douluo diligently stood guard for Shui Xiaoer. Watching everyone busy at work and seeing the playful Bibi Dong, Qian Xunqian decided to take out a grinder to process some ten-year and hundred-year ice marrow.

Although these ice marrows were not as good as the thousand-year ones, they still contained a fair amount of energy—certainly much more soul power than the snow outside.

Furthermore, their growth cycle was extremely fast, so taking a few wouldn't easily damage the growth of the ice marrow here.

Since hundred-year wild ice silkworms were so hard to find, we won't look for them anymore! We'll just cultivate them ourselves!

Two hours later, Shui Xiaoer finally finished absorbing the Thousand-Year Ice Marrow, and her martial soul evolved from its original high-grade Ice Luan to a top-tier Ice Phoenix.

"Coo-coo-gaga." Qian Xunqian walked toward the Extreme Cold Spirit Spring with Shui Xiaoer in her left hand and Bibi Dong in her right, her stride full of unbothered confidence.

"Sister Bi, this Cold Spring can permanently increase a soul master's mental strength limit. Although you aren't a mental-type soul master, one can never have too much mental strength!"

"Sister Xiao, this Cold Spring increases the cultivation speed of ice-attribute soul masters tenfold. The first time is always the best. Plus, soaking in this spring will help you better absorb the Ice God Crystal and push your martial soul to the level of Ultimate Ice!"

"That's enough talk; let's get into the Cold Spring!"

The three of them circulated their meridians in the cold spring and began to cultivate.

Bibi Dong was the first to come out. Since she was neither an ice-type nor a mental-type soul master, the spring didn't have much effect on her, other than doubling her mental strength.

Qian Xunqian was the second to emerge. The spring's effects increased her mental strength limit several times over, and as her soul power level increased in the future, her mental strength limit would continue to grow until she reached the level of a Titled Douluo.

"Let Sister see! How much have you grown?" Bibi Dong teased with a wicked smile, trotting over.

Qian Xunqian was terrified; she hurriedly wiped her body and scrambled to put on her clothes, managing to preserve her "chastity" just as Bibi Dong arrived.

Two and a half hours later, accompanied by a crisp phoenix cry, it was done!

Shui Xiaoer was now radiating an extreme chill, causing both Bibi Dong and Qian Xunqian, who were watching from a distance, to sneeze.

After dressing, Shui Xiaoer went straight to Qian Xunqian and knelt on one knee without a moment's hesitation.

"From this day forward, Shui Xiaoer pledges her full loyalty to Spirit Hall and to the Second Young Lady, Qian Xunqian. Should I break this oath, may my martial soul shatter and my cultivation never advance another inch!"

Qian Xunqian: You all have really made things difficult for me! How am I supposed to explain this to my eldest cousin!

"Tell me, what is the quality of your martial soul now?"

Shui Xiaoer replied excitedly, "My martial soul is now called the Ice Crystal Phoenix. It evolved from the Ice Phoenix; it is a super beast martial soul with the attribute of Ultimate Ice! Furthermore, my mental strength, physical body, and ice-attribute attack power have all more than doubled!"

"Second Young Lady, Saintess, His Excellency Golden Crocodile, Elder Chrysanthemum, Elder Ghost, I will never forget this grace of rebirth!"

Ning Fengzhi: What about me?

Sky Crocodile laughed heartily, "Each generation produces its own talents, and each leads the way for hundreds of years! It seems that my future position as the Second Elder is yours to take!"

Ghost Douluo remained the most composed, saying, "Alright, the young lady has accumulated too much soul power now; she needs to obtain a soul ring immediately. Besides, I estimate that once she becomes a Soul King, she won't be far from becoming a Soul Emperor!"

Qian Xunqian smiled and said, "What's the rush? The gentlemen haven't soaked yet! Since we're here, let's get that done first!"

Chrysanthemum Douluo cast a look of disdain at his old brother, Ghost Douluo. They shared a tacit understanding; coincidentally, Ghost Douluo was also looking at Yue Guan with deep contempt at that very moment.

In the end, Elder Sky Crocodile patted each of them on the shoulder and sent them to the edge of the Cold Spring.

Of the four, Ning Fengzhi benefited the most. Chrysanthemum Douluo and Golden Crocodile Douluo were power-attack types, and Ghost Douluo was an agility-attack type; for them, the increase in mental strength only made them a bit "wiser."

After soaking, Ning Fengzhi managed to break through his family's secret technique, Distraction Control, reaching the Five-Aperture Scattered Heart.

Following this, he expressed his gratitude to the members of Spirit Hall.

Bibi Dong whispered a complaint to Qian Xunqian:

"What is this! Shouldn't he be like Xiao'er, shedding tears of gratitude and then announcing that the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect is officially joining Spirit Hall!?"

Qian Xunqian shook her head, her smile as gentle as a spring breeze:

"After all, they are one of the Upper Three Sects; they have their own pride, but..."