Leaving a Mark

Shui Yue'er's cheeks flushed crimson. Covering her burning little face with both hands, she secretly peeked through her fingers as her sister took the initiative to kiss their junior brother on the lips. Her pale blue eyes were full of shock, while her traitorous heart pounded wildly in her chest.

Sister, you're so bold!

Shui Bing'er greedily drew in the fresh air from his mouth. Only when she could no longer steal even a trace of it did she gently bite his lips, leaving behind a neat row of faint tooth marks, like a seal.

"Mm~" Jiang Lan let out a muffled groan after Shui Bing'er suddenly bit him.

Shui Bing'er had not bitten hard. There was only a slight sting. It did not feel like an outburst of anger or jealousy, but more like flirting.

Tears welled in Shui Yue'er's eyes as she watched her sister bite their junior brother's lips. It made her heart ache terribly.

Sister, be gentler! Don't hurt Junior Brother!

Sob, sob~

Shui Bing'er merely gave Jiang Lan's lips a light bite before releasing them.

Seeing the faint row of tooth marks on Jiang Lan's lips, Shui Bing'er's cheeks burned.

Not even the icy spring water could suppress the heat flooding her face.

She turned her head slightly and buried her burning cheeks against Jiang Lan's firm back, not daring to look at the expressions on Jiang Lan's and Shui Yue'er's faces.

Still, she did not regret it.

Besides, she was not going to keep Junior Brother all to herself. She would still share him with Yue'er.

"Phew~" Jiang Lan took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the heat in his heart as he continued diving downward with the two girls.

Before long, the entrance to the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Marrow Cave appeared before the three of them.

Shui Bing'er released her arms, climbed down from Jiang Lan's back, and was the first to slip into the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Marrow Cave.

Holding Shui Yue'er, Jiang Lan followed close behind and entered the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Marrow Cave as well.

The moment they entered the cave, pure and dense ice-attributed heaven and earth energy, so rich it had condensed into mist, rushed toward them.

Simply standing here, Shui Yue'er could feel the soul power within her continuously rising. It was even faster than her usual meditation.

On the Douluo Continent, ice and water elements shared the same origin.

Ice was derived from water, representing water's unyielding side.

Simply put, the ice-attributed heaven and earth energy here could likewise be absorbed and refined by water-attributed soul masters, with no reduction in effect!

"What dense ice-attributed heaven and earth energy! Even doing nothing here, my soul power can actually increase on its own!" Shui Yue'er exclaimed in amazement. Compared to the cultivation environment here, Tianshui Academy's simulated cultivation environment was simply not worth mentioning.

"Enough marveling. Hurry up and meditate. This environment is a rare opportunity for us. Don't let two months pass only for you to still fail to break through Rank 20, Yue'er." Though her face was still somewhat hot, Shui Bing'er put on a calm front and spoke indifferently.

"Got it~"

Shui Bing'er nodded slightly, then immediately sat cross-legged in a corner and began meditating.

The ice-attributed heaven and earth energy within the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Marrow Cave had formed from the essence leaking out of the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Marrow. Absorbing this pure ice-attributed heaven and earth energy would bring them enormous benefits.

The growth of their soul power was secondary. More importantly, the origin of their martial souls would continually strengthen, making the temperature of their ice attribute even lower.

For them, this was an exceedingly rare opportunity.

"Senior Sister Yue'er, don't forget the bet. You still owe me one request," Jiang Lan whispered into Shui Yue'er's ear, refusing to let her off.

"Bad Junior Brother, you only know how to bully me..." Shui Yue'er said sulkily.

Looking up at the faint row of tooth marks on Jiang Lan's upper lip, a wicked impulse suddenly rose in her heart. She immediately wrapped her arms around Jiang Lan's neck and bit down on his lower lip, leaving behind another faint row of tooth marks, neatly aligned with those on his upper lip.

"This..." Jiang Lan did not know whether to laugh or cry.

Were these two sisters dogs or something?

Why did they love biting people so much?

"Hmph~" Shui Yue'er looked at the mark she had left and gave a satisfied snort. Her mood immediately improved. She jumped out of Jiang Lan's arms, then happily ran over to Shui Bing'er, sat down cross-legged beside her, and began meditating.

Other than lazy dogs, anyone who encountered such a treasured place would race against time to cultivate.

Seeing that Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er had both entered meditation, Jiang Lan also sat down cross-legged and circulated the soul power within his body to begin cultivating.

Far North Mountains, shore of the cold spring.

After absorbing only a portion of the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Marrow's essence, Shui Qingrou directly broke through the bottleneck at Rank 79 and advanced to Rank 80, becoming a quasi Soul Douluo.

The excitement in her heart was truly beyond words.

This Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Marrow truly was a heavenly treasure!

Very soon, Shui Qingrou suppressed her excitement and continued absorbing the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Marrow's essence bit by bit.

Without an eighth soul ring to break through the bottleneck, no matter how much Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Marrow essence she absorbed, her soul power would remain firmly stuck at Rank 80, unable to advance any further.

However, a soul master's bottleneck would not prevent their soul power from continuing to accumulate.

In other words, once she absorbed her eighth soul ring, her soul power would experience explosive growth.

By her estimation, after absorbing her eighth soul ring, her soul power would directly surge to Rank 83 or 84.

A single Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Marrow had saved her nearly ten years of arduous cultivation.

Not to mention that its essence had strengthened the origin of her martial soul, indirectly improving her innate talent.

Such an opportunity was truly something one could only encounter by chance. It was far beyond a mere increase in soul power.

In just four hours, Shui Qingrou had completely absorbed the essence of this Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Marrow. The snow-white ice pillar instantly shattered, turning into fragments of ice scattered across the ground.

"Phew~" Shui Qingrou slowly opened her eyes. Her vermilion lips parted as she exhaled a breath of icy cold air.

She had thoroughly absorbed the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Marrow's essence. The soul power within her body had become exceptionally abundant, and even its quality had risen significantly. Strands of cold air intermingled within her liquid soul power.

"Now that you're awake, let's go." Seeing Shui Qingrou awaken from meditation, Shui Qinghan, who had been sitting nearby guarding her, immediately rose to her feet and spoke.

"Mm." Shui Qingrou nodded, a hint of anticipation flashing through her watery blue eyes.

"Sister, where did Lan'er and the others go?"

Seeing that only the two sisters remained beside the cold spring while the three youngsters had vanished, Shui Qingrou could not help feeling curious.

"They should have already dived into the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Marrow Cave to cultivate," Shui Qinghan replied casually.

"Sister, is it really all right to leave them here?" Shui Qingrou asked worriedly.

"Don't worry. Without Lan'er's innate domain protecting them, the cold air at the cold spring's source could instantly freeze even a non-ice-attributed Titled Douluo to death. As long as the three of them remain safely inside the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Marrow Cave and cultivate in seclusion for two months, nothing will happen to them," Shui Qinghan said with an amused smile.

She had personally experienced just how terrifying the cold air at the cold spring's source and within the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Marrow Cave was.

If not for Jiang Lan's innate domain being able to nullify attribute-based attacks, they likely would not even have been able to approach the cold spring's source.

"...All right." Shui Qingrou nodded. Naturally, she trusted her sister.

Shui Qingrou glanced back at the cold spring before turning to leave with Shui Qinghan, heading for the Frozen Forest.