Empty?

Not bad.

Lin Yichen nodded in satisfaction.

This gave him a few more skills.

He could fill in the rest gradually.

With that thought, Lin Yichen put away his flute and glanced at Hu Liena on the bed.

Daylight had long since broken outside. He had spent over an hour practicing that soul skill.

Lin Yichen smiled self-mockingly and walked out of the room.

The moment he stepped outside, he saw Xie Yue leaning against the wall by the doorframe, arms crossed. He had clearly been waiting for a while.

"Where's my sister?"

He turned and glanced at Lin Yichen. There was none of the respect he showed a captain in his tone.

Only the scrutiny of an older brother-in-law sizing up his younger sister's husband.

"She's inside."

Lin Yichen stepped aside and tilted his head toward the door behind him. "She's still sleeping."

Xie Yue looked in that direction but said nothing. His gaze returned to Lin Yichen's face, and he fell silent for two seconds.

Lin Yichen nervously swallowed. He didn't see the water stains, did he...?

After all, he had blocked them thoroughly.

"Today is Heavenly Water Academy's match. Going to watch?"

"Yeah. I have friends there."

At last, a smile appeared on Xie Yue's expressionless face.

"I can't even be bothered to expose you.

"If she's upset, comfort her yourself. I'm not obligated to do it for you."

Watching Xie Yue's back disappear at the end of the corridor, Lin Yichen suddenly felt that Xie Yue was easier to get along with than he had imagined.

He was cold on the outside but warm on the inside, too.

Lin Yichen stood there, rubbed his nose, and chuckled foolishly before heading toward the arena.

The Great Spirit Arena was even livelier today than it had been yesterday.

Heavenly Water Academy's team stood ready.

Shui Bing'er stood at the very front, her light-blue uniform gleaming in the morning light.

Her hair was tied in a high ponytail, revealing a stretch of fair neck.

She was speaking with her teammates. Her voice was quiet, but her tone was steady.

"Like Heaven Dou Academy, Heavenly Water Academy isn't suited to direct assault when compared to Thunderclap Academy.

"So in one-on-one matches, they'll probably send their captain out immediately, then forfeit after three rounds."

Ghost Douluo had appeared beside Lin Yichen at some point, his voice hoarse as he spoke.

Lin Yichen nodded slightly, agreeing with Ghost Douluo's assessment.

"But if Shui Bing'er's Ice Phoenix possesses ultimate ice, it should be able to freeze the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon's lightning, right?"

Ghost Douluo looked somewhat taken aback. Lin Yichen had mentioned something he did not understand.

"What is ultimate ice?"

Lin Yichen jolted. He had forgotten that this era had no concept of ultimate attributes.

"An ultimate element is one that has reached a high level of cultivation and density. It can suppress non-ultimate forms of the same element.

"And it absolutely surpasses the non-ultimate forms of all other attributes."

After hearing Lin Yichen's explanation, Ghost Douluo became slightly interested.

"You researched this yourself, didn't you? Then in your view, who here has reached an ultimate attribute?"

"Only Shui Bing'er. Even the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon doesn't count as ultimate lightning."

Ghost Douluo was puzzled.

"Even the number one beast martial soul in the world doesn't qualify as ultimate in your eyes?"

Lin Yichen did not answer. He had already reached a rough conclusion in his heart.

The undisputed ultimate lightning was Star Dou's king of plant-type soul beasts—the Thunderous Hellvine.

However, that thing was extremely difficult to cultivate, and its age would not be very high.

The whistle signaling the start of the match rang out.

Just as Ghost Douluo had expected, Heavenly Water Academy sent out their captain, Shui Bing'er.

Their opponent, meanwhile, sent out an ordinary team member.

Both contestants released their martial souls.

That contestant's martial soul was a Lightning Spear. He was clearly cannon fodder sent out to test the waters.

Against Shui Bing'er... he could only be said to be courting death.

Sure enough, Shui Bing'er ended the battle in less than three minutes.

Then she pointed at the opposing team's resting area and shouted,

"Next!"

Lin Yichen could not help but laugh, and the people from Spirit Hall also let out a round of soft laughter.

"Captain, she's copying you."

Zhou Ming teased.

"What a pity. We don't have your luck with women, Captain~"

Lin Yichen sighed helplessly.

"What a pity. You don't have my iron kidneys."

Everyone: "..."

Hu Liena gave a muffled hum beneath the covers and turned over.

While everyone was joking around, Shui Bing'er finished her three matches.

Three wins.

Over at Thunderclap Academy, Yu Tianxin was furious.

What kind of person sent out their captain right at the start?

And because of his battle-obsessed nature, he possessed an innate thirst for combat.

His opponent was so powerful. How could he not be eager to fight?

"I'm going for this one!"

Just as Yu Tianxin stepped onto the stage with great anticipation, however...

"Referee, Heavenly Water Academy forfeits the one-on-one match."

The entire arena erupted into an uproar.

Shui Bing'er had won three matches without any suspense and displayed such overwhelming strength.

Then she forfeited?

"Give us our damn money back!"

As Shui Bing'er stepped down from the stage, she threw a flirtatious wink at Lin Yichen in the resting area.

In the following two-two-three battle, Shui Bing'er only participated in the three-on-three match.

They won that one without any suspense as well.

Both sides had four points.

Only the final team battle remained.

At some point, Xiao Rou had delivered several cups of milk tea again, and everyone sampled them.

Lin Yichen leaned against the back of his chair. The cup in his hand had been specially made by Xiao Rou for him, with an extra layer of milk foam compared to the others.

The team battle had already begun.

Shui Bing'er darted through the battlefield like a swimming dragon, repeatedly using her freezing skill to control the opponents.

Yu Tianxin was a battle maniac after all. He was naturally not so easy to defeat.

In his hands, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon's berserk nature was displayed to the fullest.

He was even more formidable than Yu Tianheng.

He forcibly tore open a gap in the frozen surface and launched unrestrained attacks against Heavenly Water Academy's other members.

Shui Bing'er's expression changed dramatically at the sight.

"The number one beast martial soul in the world truly lives up to its reputation."

Shui Bing'er murmured bitterly to herself.

"Is the Ice Phoenix still not enough?"

Then her gaze drifted toward Lin Yichen, filled with panic and helplessness.

Lin Yichen nodded at her and mouthed the words,

"You're stronger than him. Keep going. Don't be afraid."

Shui Bing'er immediately nodded, looked toward Xue Wu, and gritted her teeth.

Shui Bing'er and Xue Wu's martial soul fusion skill, in this exchange tournament, was the strongest soul skill aside from Lin Yichen's absurd soul power suppression skill.

Ice Snowfall!

A blizzard swept across the entire arena. Yu Tianxin, who had been unstoppable moments earlier, was instantly dumbfounded.

How the hell was he supposed to deal with this?

However...

They had only recently begun attempting this martial soul fusion skill, and they had yet to master it.

"No... I can't control it much longer!"

Shui Bing'er kept her voice low. Only Xue Wu beside her could hear it.

Shui Bing'er quickly calculated the situation in her mind.

The opponent's berserk attribute, combined with Thunderclap Academy's naturally aggressive fighting style, was perfectly suited to counter a wide-area, destructive soul skill like theirs.

If they could not completely suppress Yu Tianxin and allowed him to rise again within the blizzard, then Heavenly Water Academy would be the ones eliminated instead.

She gritted her teeth.

"Hold on... just hold on for ten more breaths..."

Finally, after ten breaths, the blizzard shattered without warning.

Xue Wu and Shui Bing'er collapsed limply to the ground, their faces deathly pale.

Only Shui Bing'er, Xue Wu, and Yu Tianxin remained on the battlefield.

"It's not... over yet..." Yu Tianxin's voice was low. Blood stained the corner of his mouth, but his expression held even more excitement.

He tried to stand, only to discover that his knees had already gone numb.

"Do you think... my ice... is really that weak?"

His mouth opened as if he wanted to say something, but no words came out. He slowly fell to his knees.

The referee stepped onto the platform, confirmed their conditions, and declared Heavenly Water Academy victorious.

The entire arena fell silent for a moment before erupting into deafening cheers.

Shui Bing'er also let out a slight breath of relief, then finally could not hold on any longer and fainted.

Then she felt herself fall into an embrace.

So warm...