Skywater, Blazing Wind, and Blazing Fire: The Three Elemental Academies (I)

No one knew that, in the sufficiently deep darkness of night, Dai Mubai had made a choice unknown to others.

Just like the many eyes and ears that had been replaced by Alchemy Creations during equally deep nights in the past.

The world of soul masters was wondrous enough.

Yet it was not omniscient.

What happened tonight was merely a minor interlude.

Countless minor interludes formed a symphony.

This was the scheme Ye Qingcang had begun laying out at the age of three—a scheme that had taken a full twelve years.

Within Heaven Dou City, he could make anyone learn whatever he wanted them to know. If he did not want someone to know something, then even if that person were a deity, they would find no trace of it.

He was justice, and he was evil.

Justice without restraint, evil without scruple.

However, no matter how just or evil he was, no matter what the colossal force hidden beneath the surface and obeying only his commands could accomplish, no matter how much it could influence the soul master world and this continent, the turning of the sun and moon, the alternation of day and night, remained laws he could not yet change.

"Even the deepest night is only a thing of the past." Standing at the entrance of a hotel partly funded by Blue Tyrant Academy, Ye Qingcang stood beneath the shadow cast by the eaves and held his hand beneath the sunlight. Warmth traveled from his fingertips to his heart. "I really do prefer the light, but I'm better suited to darkness."

"Wow!"

"Big sis, look! A handsome guy!"

"Not just handsome—a total heartthrob!"

"Over there, over there!"

Not far away, at the entrance of another hotel, a blue-haired girl in a black dress held the arm of another blue-haired girl and gently shook it. Both were beautiful, especially the girl whose arm was being shaken. Dressed in a light-blue and dark-blue gown, the icy aura around her added a phoenix-like pride to her bearing.

The two girls looked almost identical.

One glance was enough to tell they were sisters.

Following the direction her younger sister Shui Yue'er pointed, Shui Bing'er could not help but become dazed as well. The rebuke that had reached her lips vanished without a trace.

She was deeply worried about her little sister's tendency to be lovestruck.

But she had complete faith in her little sister's taste.

If her sister said someone was handsome, then he truly was handsome.

Never question the professional judgment of someone obsessed with looks.

Still, she had never expected the handsome men in her sister's eyes to be this handsome—handsome enough to strike down even someone like her, who did not believe in love at first sight, upon their first meeting.

His features and appearance were flawlessly perfect.

He had no especially prominent strengths.

For example, he had none of those obvious merits—an imposing brow, sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, sharply sculpted features, a dashing air, or a face like polished jade.

He was simply perfect.

Looking at him made one feel especially comfortable.

He was the sort of handsome man who was unmistakable.

At first glance: so handsome.

At second glance: it was him.

After that, even upon seeing other handsome men, one would still be able to pick him out from a crowd.

His figure had the golden ratio as well.

Neither bulky nor thin.

His limbs and torso were exceptionally harmonious.

He was a natural clothes hanger.

Most rare of all, he dressed extremely well.

His overall dark attire perfectly compensated for his overly youthful appearance, stripping away the recklessness that came with youth and adding considerable steadiness. The black-and-gold cloak lent him even more mystery.

Wait!

A black-and-gold cloak?

Shui Bing'er abruptly snapped out of her appraisal, her heart tightening. She felt lingering fear at how she had unknowingly become so captivated. Grabbing Shui Yue'er, who was about to sneak over to exchange contact information with the young man, she gave the youth, who had nodded at her in greeting, a slight nod of apology. Just as she was about to say something to reprimand Shui Yue'er, she heard footsteps behind them.

"What are you looking at?" Though aged and no longer in her prime, the voluptuous woman remained breathtakingly beautiful. Walking out of the hotel where they were staying, she looked at her two daughters standing side by side and walked behind them in confusion. She patted their shoulders, then followed their gazes to see Ye Qingcang standing at the entrance of the other hotel. "Wait, why is a Blue Tyrant Academy enforcement team member here?"

"A Blue Tyrant Academy enforcement team member?" Shui Yue'er's eyes immediately lit up, harboring her own little thoughts. "Aunt Liu's Blue Tyrant Academy?"

"How many Blue Tyrant Academies are there in the Heaven Dou Empire?"

"How many Blue Tyrant Academies are there on the entire continent?"

"Good thing Aunt Liu didn't hear that, or she'd be heartbroken. She treats you so well every day, yet you can't even remember Blue Tyrant Academy?"

The stunningly beautiful woman, Shui Feng—the mother of Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er, as well as the dean of Skywater Academy—rolled her eyes irritably. Then she suddenly saw several more young people in different uniforms walking out of the hotel opposite them. She could not hide her surprise. "Enforcement team members, Three Rankings Students, and ordinary students... Good heavens. I've heard from Liu Erlong that Blue Tyrant Academy students can apply to hunt soul rings under their teachers' protection, but this is the first time I've seen so many students gathered together... Bing'er, Yue'er, Xue Wu, and you girls, come with me and meet them. Liu Erlong and I are close, so if these Blue Tyrant Academy children have any difficulties, we should help as much as we can."

On Blue Tyrant Academy's side, thanks to the Stellar Martial Path automatically adjusting one's physical condition and bringing the body closer to perfection, there were many handsome young men and beautiful young women.

On Skywater Academy's side, though they did not have the Stellar Martial Path, they benefited from Skywater Academy's admission criteria: female, with a water-attribute or ice-attribute martial soul, and no older than twenty. All of them were beauties who scored above passing, especially the Skywater Team. Chosen from the best of the best, all seven members were beauties scoring above seventy-five. As the most talented student in Skywater Academy's history, Shui Bing'er had not only reached Soul Power Level forty—her reason for coming to the Star Dou Great Forest this time was to obtain her fourth soul ring—but her looks were also impeccable, scoring above ninety. If she met someone who liked the icy beauty type, she could easily score above ninety-five.

Beauty was in the eye of the beholder.

Taste was something difficult to satisfy universally; it was enough to choose what one liked.

Therefore, it was not only the later-arriving Xue Wu, Qiu Ruoshui, Yu Hairou, and the others who noticed the Blue Tyrant Academy students led by Ye Qingcang. Blue Tyrant Academy's side also noticed the Skywater Team being led over by Shui Feng.

"Shui Feng?"

The moment Liu Erlong stepped outside, she spotted Shui Feng.

Along with her surprise came a trace of delight.

She took the initiative to greet her and introduced her to Ye Qingcang, Flender, Qin Ming, Yu Xiaogang, and the others. "This is Shui Feng, the dean of Skywater Academy, a Soul Douluo and also my friend. My story with her began seven or eight years ago. My martial soul is a Fire Dragon, while hers is the Water-Condensing Luan, which carries phoenix bloodline. We happened to meet on the street one day, our auras clashed, and we found a place to spar. Gradually, we got to know each other. In the blink of an eye, it's been more than half a year since we last met. I didn't expect to run into you here... You're here to hunt soul rings too?"

"That's right. You know, more than half a year ago, Bing'er had already reached Soul Power Level thirty-seven. After half a year, she had to have made some progress..." Shui Feng immediately caught the implication in Liu Erlong's words. "Could it be that your Blue Tyrant Academy is here to hunt soul rings too?"

"Of course..." Liu Erlong subconsciously wanted to boast about her son as she usually did, but she suddenly remembered how Yu Xiaogang had wronged her son. Her heart trembled uncontrollably, and her tone became much more modest. "My Little Eagle has reached level forty too. He figured that whether one person went or ten people went, it was still a trip, so he brought along the other children from Blue Tyrant Academy who needed to hunt soul rings. Since you're here for soul rings too, why don't we travel together? We can look after one another on the way."

Following Liu Erlong's gaze, Shui Feng looked in turn at fifteen-year-old Ye Qingcang, who was level forty, and sixteen-year-old Shui Bing'er, who was also level forty. Like Liu Erlong, she revealed the smile shared between elders. "Then I won't stand on ceremony..."

Thanks to Meng Li Situ for the 500 reward.