Shrek Clowns!

Deep within the glaciers.

Countless streams of Heaven and Earth Elements, dormant for years, awoke at once.

Snow-covered mountains released brilliant white light.

Beneath the frozen sea, ancient energy veins began to flow.

The entire Far North answered the Snow Empress's power.

The Ice Empress stood below the ice platform.

She raised both pincers against the oncoming blizzard.

"A million years of cultivation."

"Snow Empress succeeded."

All the surrounding Soul Beasts lowered themselves.

"Congratulations, Snow Empress!"

"Congratulations to the Lord of the Far North on reaching a million years of cultivation!"

The Snow Empress closed her eyes.

The vast Ice and Snow Origin coursed through her.

Several breaths later.

A second reward descended from the heavens.

A snow-white Divine Seal appeared before the Snow Empress.

Within it, an image of the Far North slowly turned.

Snowflakes drifted down around the seal.

The Snow Empress opened her eyes.

She reached out and touched the seal.

The next moment.

It became a streak of white light and entered her brow.

The entire Far North trembled again.

High in the sky.

An Ice and Snow Divine Palace spanning a thousand miles slowly appeared.

Countless icy-blue motes rose from across the plains and converged on the Snow Empress.

Beneath her feet.

A giant Ice Lotus bloomed, layer by layer.

She stood at its center.

Golden divine patterns appeared across her white dress.

A snowflake-shaped Divine Seal shone on her brow.

Every snow-covered mountain and every glacier in the Far North became connected to her.

The Snow Empress could clearly sense everything in this land.

The breathing of Soul Beasts.

The movement of wind and snow.

The power deep within the earth.

Even the faintest shifts in the Heaven and Earth Elements lay within her perception.

She raised her right hand.

The blizzard stopped at once.

She lowered her hand.

Snow began falling across the boundless expanse again.

From that moment on.

She was no longer merely the ruler of the Far North.

She was its god.

Golden words appeared in the sky.

[God of the Far North Divine Position successfully integrated.]

[Current divine position formation: 10%.]

[Once the divine position fully forms, the Snow Empress can become the God of the Far North.]

[Within the Far North, the Snow Empress can draw on part of the divine position's power ahead of time.]

The Ice Empress approached the Ice Lotus.

She looked up at the Snow Empress, her emerald eyes full of delight.

"Snow Empress."

"Do you have God Level strength now?"

The Snow Empress felt the power within her.

"In the Far North, yes."

The Ice Empress's eyes lit up.

"What if the Evil Emperor came here now?"

The Snow Empress looked into the distance.

"He wouldn't leave the Far North alive."

The Ice Empress was finally at ease.

After receiving his Golden Ranking reward, the Evil Emperor's cultivation had approached a million years.

The Snow Empress, however, had reached a million years outright.

With the God of the Far North Divine Position and Absolute Zero besides, the gap between them had widened once more.

The Snow Empress lowered her gaze toward the Divine Seal on her brow.

Her newfound power had not disturbed her calm.

A moment later.

She looked toward Skywater Academy.

"The master must have seen it by now."

The Ice Empress came to her side.

"Once the master learns you received the God of the Far North Divine Position, he'll be pleased."

The Snow Empress nodded softly.

Even after receiving this reward, Long Yao was still the first person who came to mind.

Without Long Yao teaching her Absolute Zero.

She might not have ranked above the Evil Emperor.

And she would never have gained this opportunity.

The Snow Empress withdrew the glow of her divine position.

The Ice and Snow Divine Palace gradually faded into the sky.

Yet the Heaven and Earth Elements throughout the Far North continued to flow around her.

Skywater Academy.

The ninth floor of the True Dragon Tower.

Long Yao leaned against the edge of the platform.

Watching the scene in the Far North, he stretched lazily.

"Three hundred thousand years of cultivation."

"God of the Far North."

"Not bad rewards."

Shui Bing'er, Shui Yue'er, and Shui Yuerou stood nearby.

All three were still watching the Snow Empress in the sky.

Shui Yue'er couldn't help asking:

"Headmaster, does receiving that divine position really make the Snow Empress invincible at God Level in the Far North?"

"Yes."

Long Yao picked up his teacup.

"The God of the Far North is linked to the Far North Origin."

"As long as she's there, she can draw on the power of the entire land."

"Unless someone can destroy the whole Far North in a single blow, defeating her for good will be difficult."

Shui Yuerou's heart jolted.

Destroy the entire Far North?

What sort of power would that take?

Ordinary gods clearly couldn't do it.

Shui Bing'er looked at the Divine Seal on the Snow Empress's brow.

"Has the Snow Empress become a god already?"

"Not yet."

Long Yao took a sip of tea.

"She has only received the divine position."

"She won't complete her transformation until it fully forms."

"But within the Far North, she can already wield some God Level power."

Shui Yue'er nodded lightly.

She looked toward the Golden Ranking in the sky.

"The Evil Emperor received a Mental Attribute divine artifact."

"The Snow Empress received the God of the Far North Divine Position."

"The Golden Ranking's rewards seem perfectly suited to whoever earns them."

Long Yao set down his teacup.

"Tailored rewards."

"That Golden Ranking certainly knows how to choose."

The Evil Emperor's greatest strength lay in his Spiritual Origin.

The Evil God Crown could amplify that advantage even further.

The Snow Empress was linked to the Far North Origin.

The God of the Far North Divine Position would let her truly command that land.

Bibi Dong had received a Million-Year Soul Ring and an upgrade to the quality of her Martial Soul.

Tang Chen had received a Tai Tan Soul Bone and a transformation of his Clear Sky Hammer.

Every reward was tied to its recipient.

Long Yao looked toward the higher reaches of the Golden Ranking.

A special divine position had already appeared as the reward for seventh place.

The rewards still to come could only be more precious.

"I'm looking forward to seeing what's next."

Shui Yuerou stood beside him.

Hearing that, her expression shifted slightly.

For the other experts across the continent.

The Golden Ranking's remaining rewards were enough to drive them wild.

Yet Long Yao remained nothing more than a spectator.

Even the appearance of the God of the Far North Divine Position had barely changed his expression.

Shui Yuerou found it harder and harder to fathom Long Yao's true level.

Perhaps.

To the headmaster, who stood above the gods, a special divine position really was nothing much.

Several days later.

Skywater Academy.

Pale blue light flowed ceaselessly above the lake.

Shui Bing'er stood at its center.

There was nothing beneath her feet to support her.

Yet her slender figure remained steady atop the water.

An Ice Phoenix spread its wings behind her.

Its crystalline feathers refracted pale blue light in the sunlight.

The lake rapidly froze over.

Ice Lotuses bloomed outward in every direction.

Shui Bing'er raised her right hand.

The Water Element in the air rapidly gathered.

An icy-blue orb gradually took shape.

Inside it, tiny snowflakes spun without cease.

She closed her fingers.

The icy blue orb of light dissipated.

Her Ice Phoenix Martial Soul merged back into her body.

Shui Bing'er walked from the lake to the shore.

An ice crystal formed beneath each step.

Once she moved on,

the crystals quickly melted into the lake.

Shui Yuerou stood on the shore.

She watched Shui Bing'er finish training and nodded gently.

"Your control over ice has improved again."

Shui Bing'er came up to her.

"It's all thanks to the headmaster's guidance."

Over the past few days,

Long Yao had not simply granted her powerful Soul Skills.

He had only corrected a few problems in how she circulated her Soul Power.

Shui Bing'er's cultivation speed had increased severalfold.

Her command of the Ice Phoenix Martial Soul was far beyond what it had been.

Soul Skills that once demanded vast amounts of Soul Power now came easily to her.

Shui Yue'er ran over from the other side.

A cluster of clear, shimmering water hovered above her palm.

"Look, Sis."

The water kept changing shape in her hand.

First, it gathered into a droplet.

Then it became a little fish, swimming slowly above her palm.

Finally, it turned into a blooming water lily.

Shui Bing'er watched the shapes change in her palm.

"Your control over water has improved too."

Shui Yue'er withdrew her Soul Power.

"The headmaster said just one thing, and I broke through the bottleneck that had held me back."

Shui Yuerou looked toward the True Dragon Tower.

On the tower's ninth floor,

Long Yao sat beside a window, his black-and-gold robe draped at his side.

He held a volume of the academy's ancient texts.

Sunlight streamed through the window onto the open pages.

Around the True Dragon Tower,

water, ice, and wind gathered on their own.

Long Yao was not actively cultivating.

Yet the Heaven and Earth Elements flowed around him without pause.

Shui Yuerou looked away.

"Every change here is because of the headmaster."

Since the True Dragon Tower had awakened,

cultivation had grown steadily faster throughout the academy.

Many students had broken through in succession.

Several teachers who had been stuck at bottlenecks for years had also advanced in the past few days.

Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er had made the most striking progress.

The quality of their Martial Souls had not changed.

But their command of their own power had reached an entirely new level.

Shui Yuerou had benefited as well.

The bottleneck in her Soul Power, unmoved for years, was finally showing signs of giving way.

And these were only the changes Long Yao had brought in the few days since his return.

If the headmaster remained at Skywater Academy,

it would not be long before the academy's overall strength rose dramatically.

Shui Yue'er followed her gaze.

"Does the headmaster read every day?"

Shui Yuerou shook her head.

"What the headmaster does is not for us to guess."

Shui Bing'er gazed silently at the True Dragon Tower.

Beside the tower window, Long Yao closed the ancient text.

He raised his eyes and looked straight toward the lakeshore.

Shui Bing'er bowed at once.

Shui Yue'er caught on and lowered her head too.

Long Yao gave a slight nod.

Then his gaze shifted toward the academy gates.

A moment later,

an Academy Steward hurried over from a distance.

She reached the lakeshore and bowed to Shui Yuerou first.

"Vice Headmaster."

Shui Yuerou turned to her.

"What happened?"

The Academy Steward glanced up at the True Dragon Tower.

"The headmaster is here too."

"People from Shrek Academy have arrived."

Shui Yuerou frowned at once.

Last time,

Yu Xiaogang had brought Ma Hongjun to Skywater Academy.

What the two had done there had cost them every scrap of goodwill she held for Shrek.

Ma Hongjun had tried to assault an academy student.

Yu Xiaogang had not even investigated what happened. Instead, he had taken Ma Hongjun to the academy gates and threatened them.

And now Shrek Academy had sent people again.

"They still dare come here?"

Shui Yuerou looked at the Academy Steward.

"How many?"

"Only a few so far."

The Academy Steward lowered her head.

"They say they have something important to discuss with the headmaster."

On the ninth floor of the True Dragon Tower,

Long Yao set down the ancient text in his hands.

He looked toward the academy gates.

A hint of interest appeared in his golden eyes.

"Shrek sent more people?"

"Interesting."

At Skywater Academy,

beside the lake,

the Academy Steward stood waiting for Shui Yuerou's instructions.

Shui Yuerou looked up at the True Dragon Tower.

"Headmaster, shall we let them in?"

Long Yao closed the ancient text in his hands.

"No need."

Shui Yuerou nodded slightly.

The answer did not surprise her.

Had Shrek Academy come on an ordinary visit, Skywater Academy would naturally have received them with due courtesy.

But when Yu Xiaogang and Ma Hongjun had left last time, they had threatened the academy in front of its students.

They were unlikely to have returned to apologize.

Shui Yuerou looked at the Academy Steward.

"Take them to the reception hall."

"I'll go there myself."

The Academy Steward bowed.

"Yes."

Shui Yuerou turned and left the lakeshore.

Shui Yue'er looked toward the academy gates.

"Headmaster, has Shrek Academy come to cause trouble this time?"

"It doesn't matter."

Long Yao reopened the ancient text.

"The academy has its rules."

Shui Yue'er blinked.

She had thought Long Yao would deal with them personally.

But from beginning to end, he had paid Shrek Academy no mind.

Shui Bing'er turned to her younger sister.

"Keep training."

"The vice headmaster will handle it."

Shui Yue'er looked away.

"All right."

The sisters headed back onto the lake.

Pale blue Soul Power spread beneath Shui Bing'er's feet.

The still water quickly froze into a path of ice crystals.

Shui Yue'er raised both hands.

A cluster of shimmering water rose from the lake and became dozens of transparent little fish swimming around her.

On the ninth floor of the True Dragon Tower,

Long Yao read quietly.

Shrek Academy's arrival did not disturb him in the slightest.

In the academy's reception hall,

Flender sat on the left.

Yu Xiaogang stood in the center of the hall, his face dark.

Tang San stood behind him.

Ma Hongjun had not entered the academy.

He remained in the carriage outside.

After treatment, his life was no longer in danger.

But the parts damaged by the extreme cold could never recover.

Flender pushed up his glasses.

"We've been waiting for fifteen minutes."

"Does the headmaster of Skywater Academy have no intention of seeing us?"

Shui Yuerou entered the hall.

"The headmaster has many matters to attend to."

"If you have something to discuss, you can tell me directly."

Yu Xiaogang turned around.

"This is beyond your authority."

Shui Yuerou sat in the main seat.

"Mr. Yu, you haven't even said what this is about. How do you know it's beyond my authority?"

Yu Xiaogang stared at her.

"An Academy disciple attacked and injured Ma Hongjun without cause."

"This has damaged Shrek Academy's reputation."

"I want to see your headmaster."

Shui Yuerou looked at Tang San.

"Are you here about this too?"

Tang San nodded.

"Hongjun is my companion."

"Whatever he did, Shui Bing'er shouldn't have crippled him."

Shui Yuerou did not answer immediately.

She raised her right hand.

A pale blue crystal flew from her palm.

It hovered in the center of the hall.

A screen of light unfolded around it.

Everything that had happened by the lake appeared on the screen.

Ma Hongjun had hidden behind a tree and watched them.

Then he had approached Shui Bing'er and her sister.

From his lewd remarks to the moment he unleashed his Evil Fire Martial Soul, every detail was clear.

When the Phoenix Fire Line shot toward the sisters, Flender's expression changed at once.

Yu Xiaogang fell silent too.

Tang San watched Ma Hongjun on the screen, his frown deepening.

The scene continued.

An Ice Arrow pierced Ma Hongjun's groin.

Shui Bing'er withdrew her Martial Soul.

She neither attacked again nor took Ma Hongjun's life.

Only after Ma Hongjun left the academy did the screen gradually fade.

Shui Yuerou took back the crystal.

"That is what happened."