Farewell, Shui Bing'er

In the end, Ning Yao still chose not to have Iron Dragon follow him.

For the time being, he did not want too many people to know about his affairs. At least, it was still far too early.

So not long after the caravan entered Heaven Dou City, Ning Yao parted ways with them.

Before he left, the caravan owner even stuffed a sum of money into Ning Yao's hands.

Although it was barely a drop in the bucket to him now, perhaps the owner knew that as well, yet he still insisted on giving it to Ning Yao.

For no other reason than to repay Ning Yao for protecting the cartloads of goods—and their lives.

So Ning Yao did not refuse.

After separating from the caravan, Ning Yao began wandering the streets aimlessly.

It had to be said that Tianshui City truly deserved to be one of the main cities of the Heaven Dou Empire. The gap between it and Soto City was far greater than a mere trifle.

And just like its name suggested, as he walked down the streets, Ning Yao could clearly sense the ever-present water attribute around him.

Most of the Soul Masters in the city possessed martial souls of the water or ice type.

And most of them were women, especially.

Without realizing it, he thought of a minor detail that had only been briefly mentioned in the original work from his previous life.

It was about Tianshui Academy's admission standards. It had to be said that this academy had indeed influenced Tianshui City considerably.

As he walked along the vast streets, the dazzling array of goods on both sides left his eyes spinning. Even Ning Yao spotted quite a few interesting little things he had never seen before, things that had not even been mentioned in the original work.

Naturally, he bought them all.

But as he passed a clothing store, he suddenly stopped.

For some reason, the figure before him, carrying several large bags as she walked out of the shop, came to a stop in front of him.

"Are you... the young man who sold pills in the Star Dou Great Forest?"

The blue-haired girl seemed extremely surprised. She hurriedly stuffed everything in her hands into her soul tool, then looked up at Ning Yao in astonishment.

Those words reminded Ning Yao who she was.

She was the girl who had given him a map at the inn beside the Star Dou Great Forest some time ago.

If he remembered correctly, she should be Shui Bing'er, right?

But he did not particularly like being called the young man who sold pills...

"My name is Ning Yao. May I ask what you need?"

Shaking his head lightly, Ning Yao spoke slowly.

It seemed she had a deep impression of him. Because of that pill, perhaps?

"That pill should have helped you quite a bit, right?"

Ning Yao smiled. Shui Bing'er hurriedly nodded, but quickly shook her head again.

"No, no, Ning Yao. Sorry, I only just learned your name."

"Although we did not take your pill, my teacher delivered it to our dean. Our dean immediately recognized its benefits."

"She even said that it must have come from the hands of a powerful Titled Douluo. We even went back to the inn specifically to look for you afterward, but unfortunately, you were already gone."

As she spoke, an unconcealable trace of delight appeared on Shui Bing'er's face.

Their dean had personally instructed them that if they ever saw Ning Yao again, they absolutely could not let him leave. They had to ask where the pill had come from.

Though her cultivation was too low for her to discern what was special about the pill, there had to be a reason for the dean to act this way.

So she had never expected that she would happen to run into the young man again in Tianshui City while out today. This time, she absolutely could not let Ning Yao get away.

Seeing Shui Bing'er's reaction, Ning Yao was somewhat puzzled.

Tianshui Academy's dean should be a Soul Douluo, right?

Did she want to ask where the pill came from?

He sighed and shook his head.

"I'm sorry, miss, but I only had one of those pills. Even if you take me before your dean, I cannot provide you with any more."

Shui Bing'er was stunned by his words, but she quickly came to her senses.

Then she found herself at a loss for words and could only wave her hands.

"No, no, don't misunderstand, Ning Yao. We only want to ask where you got that pill. We have no intention of asking you for more."

"Of course, if you still have pills like that, Tianshui Academy will buy them all. The price will definitely satisfy you."

Shui Bing'er promised earnestly.

Then she raised a hand.

"So, would you be willing to come back to the academy with me?"

"We only want to learn where the pill came from. Don't worry, your trip will not be for nothing. Our dean will pay you an additional sum as well, to make up the difference in price for that pill."

"Our dean said that pill is worth at least 1,000 Gold Soul Coins."

Ning Yao fell silent for a few seconds and quietly looked at Shui Bing'er.

When he had traded the pill for money and a map, he had never imagined something like this would happen.

According to his plan, they should never have met again after that.

Even though he had already decided to come to Tianshui City, he had not expected to run into Shui Bing'er and the others again by such a coincidence in this enormous main city.

But since they had met again, he might as well wrap this matter up. Besides, he also wanted to see what Tianshui Academy was like.

"If it is only to meet your academy's dean and explain things clearly, then there is naturally no problem."

"As for the difference in price, forget it. Since I already sold it, I have no intention of asking for more money."

Shui Bing'er smiled and nodded at his words. Naturally, she automatically ignored the latter half of them.

"Come on, Ning Yao. I'll take you to meet our dean."

The two left one after the other. Shui Bing'er did not walk too quickly, seemingly noticing that Ning Yao was visiting Tianshui City for the first time, so she occasionally explained things about the city to him along the way.

Before long, when they finally stopped, they had arrived at the gates of Tianshui Academy.

Worthy of being one of the Four Element Academies, this academy was countless times larger and more imposing than Soto City Advanced Soul Master Academy under Ning Yao's sweeping gaze.

"Ning Yao, wait here for a moment. Under normal circumstances, our academy does not allow men to enter. I need to inform the dean."

After turning around and telling Ning Yao this, Shui Bing'er quickly entered the gates of Tianshui Academy.

There was a steady stream of people outside Tianshui Academy, and quite a few noticed Ning Yao, whom Shui Bing'er had brought over.

One of those gazes belonged to another person from the group that had bought the pill back then.

"We meet again, little brother."

"You certainly made us search hard for you."

A middle-aged woman stepped out of the crowd and greeted Ning Yao with a smile.

Ning Yao also recognized her. She was the very person who had traded with him back then.

Smiling faintly, he nodded at the woman.

"I heard from a young lady that your dean wished to learn more about that pill, so I came to have a look."

The middle-aged woman immediately understood and smiled as well.

"That girl is Shui Bing'er, one of our academy's most outstanding talents. I never expected that not only was she gifted, but her luck was not bad either. She actually managed to bring you to Tianshui Academy."