Eight Months Later, Breaking Through Level 20

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, more than half a year had passed.

Every morning, Jiang Lan went to school with Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er. In the afternoons, he followed Shui Yue'er to the mimic training grounds for water-attribute soul masters to cultivate his soul power. In the evenings, he returned home with Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er. His days followed the same three-point routine.

Over time, the teachers and students of Tianshui Academy grew accustomed to Jiang Lan's presence. Whenever they ran into him, they would greet him. Some of the bolder students would even come over to tease him before leaving with sweet laughter.

Other than having an entirely female student body, Tianshui Academy was not much different from any ordinary advanced soul master academy. Everyone attended classes during the day, then cultivated in the mimic training environment or went shopping in the afternoon, before returning to their dormitories to rest at night.

Their usual attire was also proper school uniforms. Scanty clothing and alluring sights were purely the fantasies of outsiders. Such things might occur in the student dormitories, but they would never appear on campus.

Tianshui Academy kept a tight grip on campus conduct and student character.

After all, Heaven Dou Imperial Academy's cautionary example was right there.

Pregnancies before marriage, impact, men with men, women with women—there was no end to the mess.

Those spoiled young masters did nothing but throw parties and stir up trouble, turning a perfectly good academy upside down.

"Phew... I finally broke through Level 20. Four and a half levels of soul power in eight months, averaging one level every two months. That's already quite fast." Jiang Lan opened his eyes, exhaled a breath of turbid air, and smiled.

Jiang Lan jumped off the bed, pushed open the door, and found Shui Qinghan, who was preparing breakfast. He said excitedly,

"Teacher, I've broken through Level 20!"

"You broke through? So quickly?" Shui Qinghan froze, clearly not expecting Jiang Lan to reach Level 20 so soon.

After all, every major realm advancement for soul masters came with bottlenecks of varying severity.

For example, Level 9 to Level 10, Level 19 to Level 20, Level 29 to Level 30, and so on.

After reaching Level 90, every single level was a bottleneck.

Although the Level 19 to Level 20 bottleneck was not as pronounced as the one from Level 29 to Level 30, Shui Bing'er had still been stuck there for over a month before finally breaking through to Level 20 more than a month ago.

"Teacher, when are we leaving to hunt soul beasts?" Jiang Lan asked impatiently.

"No rush. Go wash up first. I'll wake your senior sister Bing'er. Once we've had breakfast, we'll set out." Shui Qinghan smiled and rubbed Jiang Lan's head.

"Mm!" Jiang Lan nodded and ran to the bathroom to wash up.

By the time Jiang Lan had finished washing up, Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er had also been called out of bed by Shui Qinghan.

"What?! Junior Brother broke through Level 20?!" Shui Yue'er cried out.

Her soul power was only at Level 16. If she wanted to reach Level 20, she would need at least another year.

"Junior Brother broke through so quickly?" Shui Bing'er pressed her lips together, her expression somewhat complicated.

She had expected it, but she truly had not thought that her cultivation would be caught up to by her junior brother so soon.

"Enough. You two hurry up and wash, then come downstairs for breakfast," Shui Qinghan urged.

"Yes~" The two nodded and immediately headed toward the bathroom.

"Senior Sister Bing'er, Senior Sister Yue'er." Jiang Lan emerged from the bathroom and immediately greeted the Shui sisters when he saw them.

"Junior Brother, are you abandoning me too?" Shui Yue'er looked at Jiang Lan with tears welling in her eyes.

Shui Bing'er and Jiang Lan had broken through Level 20 one after the other. Once they returned from hunting soul beasts, they could advance directly to the advanced class, leaving her alone in the intermediate class. It was simply too cruel.

"Ah~ Who told Senior Sister Yue'er to cultivate so slowly?" Jiang Lan teased.

"Junior Brother, you heartless brat. I really spoiled you for nothing." Rather than receiving comfort from Jiang Lan, Shui Yue'er was mocked instead. Her pretty, adorable face immediately puffed up like a pufferfish as she raised her hand to hit him.

"Hey~ You can't hit me, you can't hit me."

"Damn it, stop dodging!"

The two chased each other around Shui Bing'er, fooling around in the hallway.

"Ah..." Shui Bing'er helplessly rubbed her forehead and could not help sighing.

What a pair of children.

Watching the two frolic around her, Shui Bing'er immediately put on the authority of an elder sister and ruthlessly suppressed them.

"Enough, stop messing around! Don't keep Mother waiting!"

"Yes~" The two instantly behaved themselves.

"Yue'er, let's go."

Taking advantage of Shui Bing'er's inattention, Shui Yue'er made a face at Jiang Lan before bouncing after Shui Bing'er into the bathroom.

Jiang Lan smiled and leisurely made his way downstairs.

After breakfast, Shui Qinghan took out two dark golden pieces of Whale Glue, each about the size of an adult's fist, and said, "Before we set out to hunt soul beasts, you two should consume this Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue first."

Over the past half year, Shui Bing'er and Jiang Lan had each consumed two more pieces of Thousand-Year Whale Glue. Even Shui Yue'er and Xue Wu had consumed two pieces each.

However, Whale Glue was most effective the first time it was consumed. Its effects gradually diminished with the second and third uses.

After consuming three high-quality pieces of Thousand-Year Whale Glue, Shui Bing'er could now absorb a soul ring of over 1,700 years beyond her limit for her second ring. But Shui Qinghan wanted Shui Bing'er's second ring to surpass the third ring of an ordinary Soul Elder. She wanted to use the benefits brought by absorbing soul rings beyond the limit to evolve Shui Bing'er's Water-Congealing Flying Luan martial soul into a true Ice Phoenix.

After more than half a year of continuous purchasing, they had accumulated over fifty pieces of Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue, while their supply of Thousand-Year Whale Glue had surpassed two thousand pieces.

It could be said that Tianshui Academy's covert purchases of Whale Glue had driven up its price across both great empires.

A fist-sized piece of Thousand-Year Whale Glue had risen from several hundred gold soul coins to over a thousand gold soul coins, while a piece of Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue had soared from several thousand gold soul coins to the sky-high price of nearly ten thousand.

Many nobles who relied on Whale Glue to regain their vigor were now cursing their heads off.

After using soul power to heat and soften the Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue in her hands, Shui Qinghan placed it in the two children's hands and urged them to consume it.

Shui Bing'er and Jiang Lan exchanged a glance, then bit by bit swallowed the Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue in their hands.

As soon as the Whale Glue entered their stomachs, it transformed into a scorching current that flowed from their abdomens through their limbs and bones.

The side effects of Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue were far stronger than those of Thousand-Year Whale Glue. Jiang Lan's entire body burned with heat, and he could not help tugging open his collar. There was also a trace of desire in the way he looked at Shui Qinghan.

Shui Bing'er was in an even worse state, nearly losing her mind to the flames of desire.

Her eyes were unfocused, her soft pink lips slightly parted as she let out sweet, sultry breaths. Her cool pale skin was flushed with a faint pink, and driven by instinct, she wrapped her arms around Jiang Lan beside her and unconsciously rubbed herself against him.

Shui Qinghan was in no hurry to cool the two down. Instead, she watched her daughter make a fool of herself with great interest.

She had already intended to bring Shui Bing'er and Jiang Lan together. The effects of the Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue had instead given her a helping hand.

"Auntie!" Shui Yue'er, who was watching from the side, was so anxious that she paced in circles.

She was truly about to cry from anxiety.

"What are you getting so worked up for, little girl? What do you sisters not share? It's not as if there won't be a share for you." Shui Qinghan shot Shui Yue'er a glance, then raised her hand and rapped her on the forehead, sounding annoyed.

"R-Right." Shui Yue'er immediately turned her tears into a smile.