Battle Against Shui Qinghan

"Teacher, we can begin." Jiang Lan nodded.

Shui Qinghan gave a slight nod, took out an incense stick from her storage Soul Tool, lit it with Soul Power, then casually tossed it out, planting it firmly in the ground.

Immediately afterward, eight brilliant Soul Rings rose from beneath Shui Qinghan's feet.

Two yellow, two purple, and four black!

A bone-chilling cold rushed toward them, and the ground beneath her feet froze over at a visible speed.

"So cold!"

Although Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er both possessed ice- and water-attributed Martial Souls, they still shivered uncontrollably before this cold, with even their brows and hair covered in frost.

"Domain, unfold!" Seeing this, Jiang Lan immediately activated his Innate Domain—the Sea of Tides!

The next instant, an aqua-blue halo spread out from Jiang Lan, instantly enveloping all four people in the field.

Three water rings condensed from pure water elements circled Jiang Lan, Shui Bing'er, and Shui Yue'er.

"Huh? It doesn't seem cold anymore?!" Shui Yue'er looked at the water ring around her in surprise.

"My Soul Power is recovering... and it's recovering so quickly!" Shui Bing'er cried out as she sensed the rapidly replenishing Soul Power within her body.

Although her first Soul Skill consumed little energy, casting it five times in succession had still used up more than half her Soul Power.

But now, the Soul Power in her body was rapidly recovering. At most, it would be fully restored in three breaths.

"Even the cold emitted by a Martial Soul counts as an elemental attack?" Seeing the chill released by her Martial Soul dissipated by Jiang Lan's Innate Domain, Shui Qinghan smiled in understanding.

The strongest means of attack for an ice-attributed Martial Soul was its piercing cold that seeped into everything. If even that cold could not inflict harm, then what was left of an ice-attributed Martial Soul?

"Senior Sister Bing'er, I'm going in!" Jiang Lan gave a low warning before charging straight at Shui Qinghan.

Shui Yue'er followed close behind, only slightly slower than Jiang Lan.

However, halfway there, she split off from Jiang Lan and circled toward Shui Qinghan's flank, looking for an opening to strike.

"First Soul Skill, Ice Seal!" Shui Bing'er came back to herself, raised her delicate hand, and instantly cast her first Soul Skill.

Crack!

Shui Qinghan's entire body was encased in a block of solid ice. The frigid cold radiating from it made her shudder.

Bing'er's Soul Skill has become even colder, nearly reaching the temperature of the mixed region in the Far North. And with the lower temperature, Bing'er's Ice Seal has become sturdier as well. Shui Qinghan thought.

She knew this was the effect of Jiang Lan's Innate Domain and its additional damage enhancement.

For ice-attributed Soul Masters, the additional damage enhancement likely manifested as a drop in temperature.

Shui Qinghan immediately used Soul Power to insulate herself from the cold, while also shattering the ice imprisoning her with a burst of Soul Power.

By the time Shui Qinghan broke free, Jiang Lan had already rushed before her and thrown a punch at her chest.

Smack!

Shui Qinghan merely raised her hand lightly and caught Jiang Lan's punch, then let out a soft sound of surprise.

"His strength is already approaching that of an Assault System Soul Ancestor. Is this the power of an Innate Domain?" Shui Qinghan exclaimed.

With attack power doubled, plus a fifty-percent additional damage boost, which Soul Master of the same rank could withstand it?

As she spoke, Shui Qinghan sent a tremor of Soul Power through her palm, knocking Jiang Lan flying.

Shui Yue'er seized the opportunity to close in. Channeling her mere level-nine Soul Power, she raised her palm and struck at Shui Qinghan's waist.

Shui Qinghan did not dodge. She simply protected her body with her abundant Soul Power and took Shui Yue'er's blow head-on.

Thud!

Shui Yue'er's bare palms struck Shui Qinghan's waist with a dull impact.

"Not bad. Your strength is already comparable to that of an Assault System Soul Master." Shui Qinghan gave Shui Yue'er an approving glance, then reached out, grabbed the back of her collar, and tossed her away.

"Ow! It hurts, it hurts!" Shui Yue'er landed squarely on her backside atop the frozen grass, the pain nearly bringing tears to her eyes.

Fortunately, the water ring around her began to work. Specks of aqua-blue light continuously separated from the ring and flowed into Shui Yue'er's body, healing her injuries.

"Huh? It doesn't hurt anymore!" Shui Yue'er rubbed her sore little backside, both shocked and delighted.

Thanks to Shui Yue'er's sneak attack, Shui Qinghan lost her chance to pursue Jiang Lan. The Jiang Lan who had been knocked away had already steadied himself, and his first Soul Ring flashed.

"First Soul Skill, Flash Strike!"

Jiang Lan directly teleported before Shui Qinghan, clenched his fist, and threw a fierce punch!

Shui Qinghan hurriedly raised her hand to block it, then countered with a palm strike to Jiang Lan's chest, sending him flying again.

"So hard! Lan'er's defense is probably no weaker than that of a Defense System Soul Elder now." Feeling the feedback from her palm, Shui Qinghan was secretly astonished.

Jiang Lan had attacked twice and been struck twice, respectively stacking one layer of physical defense enhancement and one layer of energy defense enhancement.

Now, both Jiang Lan's physical defense and energy defense had received a two-hundred-percent boost.

Combined with the innate defense of Jiang Lan's Lord of Tides Martial Soul, it was no exaggeration to say he rivaled a Defense System Soul Elder.

"First Soul Skill, Ice Seal! Ice Seal! Ice Seal!" Seizing the opening, Shui Bing'er instantly cast her first Soul Skill three more times.

Before Shui Qinghan could react, she was hit by Shui Bing'er's three instant casts of her first Soul Skill and frozen inside another huge mass of solid ice.

Does this girl have endless Soul Power or something? Shui Qinghan was becoming irritated by Shui Bing'er's repeated Ice Seals.

In the past, Shui Bing'er would exhaust her Soul Power after casting her first Soul Skill seven or eight times in a row.

But Shui Bing'er had now cast her first Soul Skill nearly ten times consecutively, yet her Soul Power remained plentiful. She did not look overexerted at all.

Is it really the effect of Lan'er's Domain? Shui Qinghan thought.

A Control System Soul Master who did not need to worry about running out of Soul Power was terrifyingly powerful. They could completely lock down an enemy until they could not move.

At the same time, Jiang Lan, who had been sent flying by Shui Qinghan's palm strike, had not yet landed when his first Soul Ring flashed again.

With a swish, Jiang Lan's figure suddenly vanished from midair.

The next moment, Jiang Lan appeared before Shui Qinghan and threw another punch.

Bang!

Jiang Lan's fist smashed fiercely into the solid ice, sending Shui Qinghan and the ice around her flying together.

Boom!

The block of ice flew through the air and was about to crash into the courtyard wall when a powerful surge of Soul Power suddenly erupted from within. The ice exploded with a roar, shattered fragments scattering everywhere. Shui Qinghan drifted down from the air and said, "The three of you worked well together. You actually forced me to use Soul Power beyond that of a Soul Elder. This time, you win."

As she spoke, she glanced at the incense stick planted in the ground, still burning.

At this point, less than a third of the incense had burned away.

It could not be helped. Jiang Lan and Shui Bing'er had seized their opportunities too well. If she had not erupted with Soul Power beyond that of a Soul Elder, she definitely would not have broken through the Ice Seal in time using only Soul Elder-level Soul Power. Her ending would likely have been quite embarrassing.

"Yay! We won!" Shui Yue'er cheered, running up to Shui Bing'er and Jiang Lan in turn to high-five them in celebration.

Shui Bing'er smiled gently. Her gaze toward Jiang Lan held a little more warmth as she said softly,

"Little Junior Brother, it was truly thanks to you this time. Otherwise, defeating Mother would not have been so easy."

"Exactly, exactly! Junior Brother's support ability is amazing. The places where I got hurt stopped hurting right away," Shui Yue'er chattered.

"Alright, as a reward for defeating me, you can have the day off. Take your junior brother out and have some fun." Shui Qinghan gently clapped her hands to draw the three's attention and smiled.

"Yay! Junior Brother, I'll take you out to play~" Shui Yue'er cheered, taking Jiang Lan's hand and running out of the courtyard.

"Yue'er, Little Junior Brother! Slow down, you two. Be careful not to fall." Seeing this, Shui Bing'er hurried after them and called out in warning.

Watching the three of them grow so close after a single battle, Shui Qinghan nodded with a satisfied expression.

She only hoped Bing'er and Yue'er would handle this relationship well, and preferably take it a step further.