Coward?

After saying that, she seemed to sense something. Her gaze passed over the crowd and met Wu Changkong's in the center of the formation.

The instant their eyes met, Wu Changkong hurriedly looked away.

He didn't know why he lacked the courage to meet her gaze.

But he had instinctively avoided it.

At the same time, Wu Changkong realized that if reincarnation truly existed in this world, he could almost certainly say that the little girl before him was Long Bing's past life.

At that moment, for the first time, he rekindled the desire to live. Shui Bing'er before him was the answer fate had given him.

After Su Yuntao finished recording everything and closed the register, he finally noticed that Wu Changkong was still standing motionless in the formation.

"Why are there tear tracks on this child's face?"

"Crying and laughing at the same time—what kind of expression is that?"

"Little Kong, would you like to join Spirit Hall?"

Wu Changkong came back to his senses. He glanced at Su Yuntao, then at Shui Bing'er, who stood by the doorway curiously studying the awakening formation.

"I wouldn't."

"Won't you think it over? Joining Spirit Hall comes with many benefits. Once you become strong, you'll have anything you want..."

Halfway through, his gaze meaningfully flicked toward Shui Bing'er. "Do you like that girl?"

"It's fine. Once you grow stronger and become a high-ranking Soul Master, you can naturally marry her."

"Spirit Hall can help you become stronger. When the time comes, what Shui Family's eldest daughter? Wouldn't that be just a word from you?"

"Mm, I'll become stronger." With that, he walked out of the awakening formation.

Watching the six-year-old leave without the slightest hesitation, Su Yuntao felt that something was off.

He scratched his head and muttered, "Did this kid only hear the second half? Next."

Wu Changkong didn't leave. After stepping out of the temple, he stood quietly beside a colonnade outside the main entrance of the Spirit Hall Temple, looking inside.

The spot wasn't particularly conspicuous, but it gave him a clear view of everything happening at the awakening formation in the side hall.

His eyes fell precisely upon that pale-blue figure.

After several children ahead of her completed their awakenings, it was finally Shui Bing'er's turn.

A phoenix cry rang out from Shui Bing'er's body.

"Top-tier beast Martial Soul—Ice Phoenix! Innate Soul Power rank nine!" Su Yuntao cried out in shock.

The watching parents erupted into an uproar.

"Ice Phoenix! Heavens, that's an Ice Phoenix!"

"The Shui Family is going to produce a genius!"

Standing at the entrance, Wu Changkong took it all in and murmured with a sigh, "Her past life wasn't weak either. To think it was an Ice Phoenix."

Inside the temple, the awakening ceremony was nearing its end.

Su Yuntao offered Shui Bing'er a few more words of encouragement. The little girl politely thanked him, then turned toward the steward and her younger sister waiting nearby.

Shui Yue'er rushed over and hugged her sister's arm, chattering away with her little face tipped up. Shui Bing'er lowered her head and patiently responded, occasionally pressing her lips together in a smile.

Wu Changkong still leaned against the pillar, his gaze following her every movement.

Then he noticed Shui Bing'er walking toward the entrance.

The main entrance was exactly where he was standing.

Wu Changkong's body instantly stiffened. He swiftly turned his head away and looked toward the lone ginkgo tree in the square, putting on an indifferent pose.

As Shui Bing'er passed the entrance, she noticed Wu Changkong leaning against the pillar.

Why was he still here? Hadn't the ceremony ended long ago?

The thought flashed through her mind, but she didn't dwell on it. Maybe he was just waiting for his family.

Six-year-old Shui Bing'er didn't yet understand what it meant when a boy deliberately waited at the entrance just to get another look at her. She only found the boy a little strange, and nothing more.

She withdrew her gaze and continued forward.

The steward opened the carriage door for her. She lifted her skirt, stepped onto the footboard, and climbed into the carriage.

The door closed. The coachman raised his whip, and the carriage left the square before the Spirit Hall Temple.

Wu Changkong grabbed his hair in frustration. "What am I scared of?"

In his previous life, he hadn't feared death in the slightest, nor had he ever taken half a step back before powerful enemies.

Yet when Shui Bing'er had passed by him just now, he hadn't even had the courage to look at her properly.

He had even turned his face away.

Turned it away!

A dignified elder of Shrek Academy's Sea God Pavilion, the Skyfrost Sword God, had actually been too afraid to even look at a little girl.

If those people from his previous life found out, they'd probably laugh their teeth out.

Wu Changkong took a deep breath and suppressed the irritation in his heart.

"I want to become stronger."

From that day onward, Wu Changkong began cultivating desperately.

His family lived in Water Source Town west of Skywater City, a small town nestled between mountains and water.

Wu Changkong's method of cultivation left everyone who saw it dumbfounded.

Before dawn broke, he was already up. He first cultivated his Purple Demon Eyes on the roof, then carried a bamboo basket into the mountains, running through the hills, climbing, and marching under heavy loads, tempering his body in the most primitive ways.

After awakening their Martial Souls, other children were either sent to an academy for systematic study or hired private tutors for one-on-one instruction. He had neither.

His parents couldn't afford a private tutor, nor could they afford academy tuition.

But that wasn't a problem for him at all.

Because what filled his mind exceeded what any teacher at any academy in this world could offer.

Methods for cultivating Soul Power, techniques for using soul skills, tactical planning, the habits and weaknesses of soul beasts, Soul Tool crafting, Battle Armor crafting—these things had long since been carved into his bones.

He didn't need a teacher. He himself was the best teacher.

Besides his regular cultivation, he also practiced the Mysterious Heaven Skill, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon, and Mysterious Jade Hand.

He had already mastered these in his previous life. Now that he was training them again from the beginning, his progress was astonishingly fast.

As the days passed, Wu Changkong's strength advanced by leaps and bounds.

At the age of seven, he went alone to the Far North and killed his first Millennium soul beast, an Iceback Wolf, obtaining his first Soul Ring.

When a purple Millennium Soul Ring appeared on a seven-year-old child, all of Water Source Town was shaken.

Some said he was lucky. Some said he was exceptionally gifted. No one knew that this child had been a Titled Douluo-level powerhouse in his previous life. Absorbing a mere Millennium Soul Ring was as ordinary as eating and drinking for him.

At eight, two rings.

At ten, three rings.

During those years, he would accompany his father to Skywater City for the market.

His father went to buy iron and blacksmithing tools, while he took the chance to visit the Shui Family.

The Shui Family residence was easy to find in Skywater City. It was the largest estate in the eastern district, built beside the river with white walls and dark tiles.

Every time, he sat down at the tea stall across the street, ordered the cheapest bowl of cold tea, and watched the Shui Family gates as he drank.

He wanted to "run into" Shui Bing'er.

The logic behind the plan was simple: if he kept appearing outside the Shui Family residence, one day he would run into Shui Bing'er as she left, and then he could naturally walk up and get to know her.

But reality was cruel.

He watched the Shui Family servants come and go and watched the steward leave to make purchases, but he never once saw Shui Bing'er.

Later, through indirect inquiries, he learned that after Shui Bing'er awakened the Ice Phoenix Martial Soul, the Shui Family had placed great hopes on her. They had hired a dedicated Soul Master tutor to teach her at home. She spent most of her time cultivating inside and rarely went out.

Whenever Wu Changkong rose from the tea stall and left, his expression remained as calm and cold as ever.

"Next time. I'll definitely run into her next time."