Shui Yue'er Arrives

That afternoon.

Shui Qinghan received a message from the innkeeper, saying that a mother and daughter had come looking for them by name.

Upon hearing this, Shui Qinghan immediately brought Jiang Lan and Shui Bing'er downstairs to greet the mother and daughter, Shui Qingrou and Shui Yue'er.

"Little Junior Brother!"

Her voice arrived before she did.

Jiang Lan had only just come downstairs when he heard Shui Yue'er's clear, delighted voice before even catching sight of her.

The next moment, a small aqua-blue figure plunged headfirst into Jiang Lan's arms, knocking the unprepared Jiang Lan back a step.

"Senior Sister Yue'er, be careful." Jiang Lan hurriedly wrapped an arm around Shui Yue'er's slender waist to keep her from falling.

"Little Junior Brother, I missed you so much~" Shui Yue'er wrapped her arms around Jiang Lan's neck, looked up at his handsome face, and coquettishly said.

Ever since Jiang Lan had enrolled at Tianshui Academy, the two of them had been inseparable.

Shui Yue'er had long grown accustomed to having Jiang Lan by her side, and they had never been apart for so long.

Now that they had suddenly reunited, Shui Yue'er could no longer suppress the longing in her heart.

"I missed you too, Senior Sister Yue'er." Jiang Lan quickly soothed her.

"Ahem, don't you miss me too, Yue'er?" Shui Bing'er lightly coughed, making her presence known.

Only because Yue'er was her biological younger sister could she tolerate this. If it had been any other woman, she would have gotten possessive long ago.

"Of course I do! I missed Sister too." Shui Yue'er immediately released Jiang Lan, turned, and threw herself into Shui Bing'er's embrace, smiling as she coquettishly spoke to her.

"Sis, you suddenly sent word for Yue'er and me to come here. Could it be..." Shui Qingrou did not finish her sentence, but she knew Shui Qinghan understood what she meant.

"Yes, I'm already level eighty-nine." Shui Qinghan gave a slight nod and transmitted her voice.

"Gasp—Level eighty-nine?! You rose four levels in less than a month?" Shui Qingrou's pupils contracted as she could not help drawing in a sharp breath.

These were four levels of soul power at the high-rank Soul Douluo stage. Under normal cultivation, it might take three or four years just to raise one level.

"No. To be precise, I rose four levels in eight hours," Shui Qinghan corrected her.

Shui Qingrou: "..."

Shui Qingrou shot Shui Qinghan a resentful look and continued transmitting her voice.

"Sis, are you showing off?"

She was still stuck at level seventy-nine, while her sister had already charged up to level eighty-nine and was about to break through to the Titled Douluo realm.

"Who told me to have such a good disciple?" The corners of Shui Qinghan's lips curled up slightly, her eyes and brows revealing a hint of pride.

Taking Jiang Lan as her disciple had been the wisest and most correct decision of her life.

Shui Qingrou: "..."

Damn it!

If she could beat her, she really wanted to have a no-holds-barred fight with her sister.

"Enough of that." Shui Qingrou took a deep breath and decisively changed the subject, asking again, "Sis, give me the truth. How much Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Marrow is there?"

"There's quite a lot. After setting aside Jiang Lan and the others' shares, the remaining Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Marrow will be enough for you to cultivate to level eighty-nine. You may even have a chance to challenge the Titled Douluo realm," Shui Qinghan transmitted her voice.

"Challenge the Titled Douluo realm..." A flicker of excitement appeared in Shui Qingrou's eyes.

She truly had not expected that she might one day have the chance to break through into the Titled Douluo realm.

Even if she could only reach the weakest level ninety-one, she would be more than satisfied.

After all, with her innate level-seven talent, let alone challenging the Titled Douluo realm, even reaching the high-rank Soul Douluo stage would have been difficult.

"Sis, since you've already found the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Marrow, why did you have Yue'er and me come here?" Shui Qingrou asked in confusion.

"I plan to have you absorb one stalk of Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Marrow to help you break through the level-eighty bottleneck, then take you to the Frozen Forest to hunt soul beasts," Shui Qinghan transmitted her voice.

The mixed zone of the Far North was far too dangerous. If she took Shui Qingrou soul hunting alone, she truly was not confident.

With Shui Qingrou's physical strength, coupled with the Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue she had consumed, her eighth soul ring could absorb a soul ring of at least seventy thousand years.

And a seventy-thousand-year soul beast already possessed strength comparable to an eight-ring Soul Douluo.

Moreover, soul beasts in the Far North were generally stronger than those in the Frozen Forest.

If she took Shui Qingrou into the mixed zone of the Far North to hunt soul beasts alone, she really could end up stumbling into disaster.

"Sis, isn't this unnecessary? You've already found the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Marrow. Why not simply bring it back for me to absorb? Why make me come all this way?" Shui Qingrou looked speechless.

"The environment within the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Marrow Cave is very suitable for Jiang Lan and the others' cultivation. The ice-attribute spiritual energy there is exceptionally pure and dense, which is extremely beneficial to Bing'er and the others. If Yue'er cultivates in such an environment, she can break through to level twenty in at most three or four months. If I take away the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Marrow, I will definitely damage the environment there. The loss would outweigh the gain," Shui Qinghan patiently explained.

"Once Jiang Lan and the others all break through to level thirty and can use the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Marrow for cultivation, it will not be too late to take it away."

The effects of Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Marrow were simply too powerful. With Jiang Lan and the others' current cultivation, they could not absorb much at all. If they accidentally absorbed too much, they might even fall asleep and delay their cultivation.

"That's true." Shui Qingrou thought it over and nodded in agreement.

While the two secretly conversed through voice transmission, Shui Yue'er finished placating her sister. She then glanced at Jiang Lan a few times, raised a hand to compare their heights, and said, "Little Junior Brother, you've grown so much taller. You're even taller than me now."

Before, she had clearly been the taller one.

Even though she had only been a few centimeters taller than her little junior brother.

But even one centimeter taller was still taller!

Yet now, her little brother had grown taller than his older sister.

How was she supposed to maintain the dignity of an older sister now?

"Once Senior Sister Yue'er absorbs her second soul ring, perhaps you'll grow taller than me again." Jiang Lan smiled as he reassured her.

"That'll still take a long time." Shui Yue'er pouted.

"It won't take too long." Shui Qinghan stepped forward, smiling as she rubbed Shui Yue'er's little head. "Jiang Lan discovered a cultivation treasure ground exceptionally suited for ice- and water-attribute soul masters. As long as Yue'er cultivates diligently, she can break through to level twenty in at most two or three months. Jiang Lan and Bing'er won't leave you too far behind."

"Auntie Qinghan, is that true?" Shui Yue'er's eyes lit up as she hurriedly asked.

"Of course. Why would Auntie lie to you?" Shui Qinghan smiled and pinched Shui Yue'er's little cheek.

"Auntie, then when are we leaving?" Shui Yue'er asked impatiently.

"We'll leave right now."

After saying this, Shui Qinghan found the innkeeper and checked out, then led everyone toward the Seven Treasure Pavilion in the city.

She planned to purchase some daily necessities at the Seven Treasure Pavilion so that Jiang Lan and the other two could live in the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Marrow Cave for an extended period.

She had no choice. She needed to help her younger sister obtain her eighth soul ring, so she simply could not attend to both matters.

Jiang Lan and the other two could only temporarily stay in the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Marrow Cave for secluded cultivation.