Sixth Place on the Golden Ranking Revealed!

Flender looked at Yu Xiaogang.

"That isn't what Hongjun told us."

Yu Xiaogang said nothing.

He already knew Ma Hongjun had deceived him.

Yet he still did not leave his seat.

"Hongjun's evil fire has a flaw."

"He lost his reason at the time."

"Since Shui Bing'er had already blocked the attack, there was no need for her to strike again."

Shui Yuerou looked at him.

"Are you saying, Mr. Yu, that when a student of Skywater Academy is attacked, she can only defend herself passively?"

Yu Xiaogang's expression darkened further.

"That is not what I said."

"Hongjun was indeed at fault."

"But Shui Bing'er's response was excessive."

"She could simply have handed Hongjun over to an academy teacher."

Shui Yuerou lifted her teacup.

"There were no teachers nearby at the time."

"The Phoenix Fire Line Ma Hongjun unleashed was powerful enough to kill."

"Shui Bing'er merely fought back."

"Sparing Ma Hongjun's life was already more than generous."

Tang San stepped forward.

"Ma Hongjun was indeed at fault."

"But Shui Bing'er crippled him. She owes Shrek Academy an explanation."

Shui Yuerou set down her teacup.

"What kind of explanation do you want?"

Tang San looked deeper into the hall.

"Have Shui Bing'er come forward and apologize."

"Then ask Skywater Academy's dean to heal Hongjun."

"Then we can put this matter behind us."

Shui Yuerou watched him calmly for a moment.

"Shui Bing'er will not apologize."

"Nor will the dean treat Ma Hongjun."

Tang San slowly curled his hand into a fist.

"If Xiao Wu suffered an injury like this, I would seek justice for her too."

"Hongjun is my companion."

"I cannot watch someone cripple him and do nothing."

Shui Yuerou shook her head.

"Ma Hongjun attacked our academy's students first."

"Shui Bing'er did nothing wrong in protecting herself and her sister."

"As for what you intend to do, that is your choice."

She turned to the academy steward.

"Show our guests out."

Yu Xiaogang whipped his head around.

"Shui Yuerou!"

"Are you really going to let Shrek Academy leave with this humiliation?"

Shui Yuerou stood up.

"This is Skywater Academy."

"If Shrek has come to cultivate, we can open the designated areas according to our original agreement."

"If you have come to threaten us, Skywater Academy will not receive you."

Two academy stewards approached the hall's entrance.

Flender slowly rose to his feet.

Having seen the entire incident, he naturally knew which side was in the wrong.

"Xiaogang, let's go."

Yu Xiaogang remained where he stood.

"I have yet to meet Skywater Academy's dean."

"You will not meet him."

Shui Yuerou turned and headed toward the back of the hall.

"The dean has no reason to see you."

Yu Xiaogang's chest heaved.

He watched Shui Yuerou leave, but ultimately followed Flender out of the reception hall.

Tang San lingered for a moment.

His gaze fell on the spot where the floating crystal had been.

Ma Hongjun had deceived them.

That was a fact.

But Ma Hongjun was still one of the Shrek Seven Devils.

Tang San could not act as though nothing had happened.

He turned and followed Yu Xiaogang and Flender.

The True Dragon Tower.

Long Yao turned a page of an ancient book.

When Shui Yuerou returned to the ninth floor, he was still sitting by the window.

"Is it settled?"

"I have sent them away."

Shui Yuerou approached the platform.

"They wanted Shui Bing'er to apologize, and they also wanted you to treat Ma Hongjun."

Long Yao kept his eyes on the page.

"Wishful thinking."

Shui Yuerou lowered her head and said:

"Before Tang San left, he still seemed unwilling to let the matter rest."

"Let him."

Long Yao set down the ancient book.

"A few people who cannot even see their own paths clearly are not worth the effort."

Shui Yuerou nodded gently.

After a moment's hesitation, she looked toward the lakeside again.

Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er were still cultivating.

Soul power of two different attributes flowed alternately across the lake's surface.

"Dean, was Bing'er perhaps too heavy-handed this time?"

Long Yao followed her gaze.

"He harbored malicious intent and attacked others first."

"If he dared to act, he must bear the consequences."

"Bing'er already showed restraint by sparing his life."

Shui Yuerou said no more.

Long Yao stood and descended the True Dragon Tower.

He had remained in the tower for several days.

The sunshine was lovely today.

Before long, a pot of fresh tea appeared on the long table beside the lake.

Long Yao sat beneath a tree.

A few leaves drifted toward the tabletop, but before they could touch his teacup, a breeze carried them into the lake.

Shui Yuerou stood a short distance away.

Seeing that Long Yao had no further instructions, she returned to the academy to attend to its affairs.

Out on the lake.

Shui Bing'er guided her ice phoenix over the water.

Each sweep of its pale blue wings stirred up a great swath of ice crystals.

Shui Yue'er stood on the other side.

She guided the water around the ice crystals, then wrapped it around them again.

Ice and water collided continuously.

The two girls' soul power flowed more and more smoothly.

Long Yao took a sip of tea.

"Bing'er."

Shui Bing'er immediately withdrew her martial soul.

She came ashore from the lake.

"Dean."

Long Yao looked at her right hand.

"When condensing ice crystals, you still instinctively mobilize your soul power first."

"The ice elements are already present throughout the world."

"Let them respond to you first, then guide them with your soul power."

Shui Bing'er raised her slender hand.

She did not circulate her soul power immediately.

A moment later.

The cold air above the lake slowly gathered.

A tiny ice crystal settled in her palm.

Shui Bing'er closed her eyes.

More ice elements drew near from all around.

The ice crystal gradually became a fully formed ice lotus.

This time, she consumed less than a tenth of the soul power she had used before.

Shui Bing'er opened her eyes.

"I understand."

Long Yao nodded gently.

"Continue."

Shui Bing'er returned to the lake.

With every step she took, ice crystals naturally formed beneath her feet.

She no longer needed to release soul power in advance.

Shui Yue'er immediately ran to the shore.

"Dean, what about me?"

Long Yao raised a hand and pointed at the lake.

"Water has no fixed form."

"You focus too much on controlling it, and end up restricting it instead."

Shui Yue'er looked back at the lake.

She raised both hands again.

Water rose from the lake's surface.

This time, she did not force the current to change.

The water flowed around her wrists and spread outward on its own.

Shui Yue'er adjusted her soul power to follow the current.

The scattered streams soon gathered into a curtain of water surrounding her.

Her eyes lit up.

"It really is easier."

Long Yao offered no further guidance.

What the two girls needed most right now was not powerful soul skills.

It was mastery of their own martial souls.

Only with a firm enough foundation would their future cultivation remain unrestricted.

The lakeside fell quiet again.

Long Yao leaned against a tree.

He drank tea as he watched the two women train.

Shrek Academy had already left.

The incident had had no effect on Skywater Academy.

Its students attended classes as usual.

When several teachers passed in the distance, they bowed to Long Yao.

Now and then, he pointed out problems with their training.

The day passed quickly.

At dusk,

golden light spread across the lake.

Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er finished training and returned to their quarters.

Long Yao sat alone by the lake.

He looked north.

The origin of the Far North was undergoing another change.

The Snow Empress had begun to truly merge with the God of the Far North Divine Position.

The Far North.

Around the ice dais,

countless Soul Beasts lay prostrate on the snowfield.

Ever since the Snow Empress received her Golden Ranking reward, the Heaven and Earth Elements of the Far North had not settled.

Deep in the snowy mountains,

shafts of white light pierced the earth's veins.

Power released by ancient glaciers continued to surge toward the ice dais.

The Snow Empress sat cross-legged at the center of the Ice Lotus.

The three hundred thousand years of cultivation she had gained had fully merged with her origin.

The power of a million years of cultivation was washing through every inch of her body.

Her long white hair lay across the Ice Lotus.

The Far North Divine Seal on her forehead had grown much clearer than it had been a few days earlier.

The Ice Empress stood guard below the dais.

She looked up at the Snow Empress.

The merging of the God of the Far North Divine Position was not over.

As the Far North Origin continued to gather, the Snow Empress's body changed as well.

Her former Heavenly Snow Woman body had itself been formed from condensed Heaven and Earth Elements.

After she reached a million years of cultivation, that body began transforming into a Divine Body.

Tiny ice crystals emerged from within the Snow Empress.

Those crystals were not impurities.

They were Heaven and Earth Elements she had never fully refined.

The crystals landed on the Ice Lotus and quickly merged into it.

The Snow Empress's aura grew purer and purer.

No trace of ordinary Soul Power could be felt from her anymore.

With every breath she took, the surrounding Ice and Snow Origin flowed in response.

High in the sky,

the Ice and Snow Divine Palace appeared once more.

The palace doors slowly opened.

A beam of snow-white light descended and enveloped the Snow Empress.

The Far North Divine Seal shone brightly.

Golden words reappeared across the sky.

[God of the Far North Divine Position formation has advanced.]

[Current formation: 20%.]

[The Heavenly Snow Woman origin has begun to transform.]

[Divine Body has begun to form.]

The Ice Empress looked at the words in the sky, her eyes full of joy.

"A Divine Body."

"Big Sister Snow Empress's body has already begun to transform."

The surrounding Soul Beasts lowered their heads again.

The Heaven and Earth Elements across the entire icefield gathered at the dais.

The Snow Empress slowly opened her eyes.

A tiny snowflake-shaped divine marking had appeared deep within her pale blue eyes.

She raised her right hand.

No Soul Power gathered in her palm.

Yet a glacier in the distance split apart on its own.

A ravine hundreds of yards deep appeared across the icefield.

The Snow Empress closed her fingers.

The split glacier came back together.

Every crack swiftly vanished.

The entire process produced no excess disturbance.

The Ice Empress approached the Ice Lotus.

"Big Sister Snow Empress, did you succeed?"

"The Divine Position is only twenty percent formed."

The Snow Empress rose from the center of the Ice Lotus.

"It will take more time before I truly become a god."

The Ice Empress walked around the Ice Lotus.

"But you've already formed a Divine Body."

The Snow Empress looked down at her palm.

"It's only begun to transform."

She could clearly feel the changes within her body.

In the past, she had needed to guide Ultimate Ice through her own origin to call upon it.

Now she needed only a thought.

The ice and snow of the Far North answered her.

The Snow Empress looked up at the sky.

The Ice and Snow Divine Palace floated among the clouds.

Within the palace, a vast amount of power from the Divine Position still awaited her.

She did not immediately return to seclusion.

The Snow Empress raised her hand.

A spatial passage slowly opened above the ice dais.

At its far end lay Skywater Academy.

But the moment the passage stabilized, she stopped.

The Ice Empress looked at her.

"You want to see our lord?"

"Yes."

The Snow Empress nodded gently.

"I want to tell him myself."

The Ice Empress glanced at the Far North Divine Seal, which had yet to fully stabilize.

"The Divine Position is still forming."

"If you leave the Far North now, will it interfere with the process?"

The Snow Empress fell silent for a moment.

She raised her hand and closed the spatial passage.

"I'll go once the Divine Position has stabilized."

The Ice Empress came to her side.

"Our lord already knows."

"The Golden Ranking showed everyone what happened in the Far North."

The Snow Empress looked south, toward Douluo Continent.

"I know."

"But I still want to see him in person."

The Ice Empress nodded.

"Then finish forming the Divine Position as soon as you can."

"I'll go with you when the time comes."

The Snow Empress drew back her gaze.

She sat down at the center of the Ice Lotus once more.

The snow-white Divine Seal rose from her forehead.

The earth's veins throughout the Far North lit up again.

Power from deep within the snowy mountains, glaciers, and frozen sea continued to gather at the ice dais.

The Snow Empress closed her eyes.

The light radiating from the Ice and Snow Divine Palace grew brighter and brighter.

The aura of the Heavenly Snow Woman gradually faded.

In its place came a divine presence connected to the entire Far North.

The Ice Empress retreated beyond the dais.

She raised both pincers and set up a jade-green barrier.

Countless Soul Beasts of the Far North stood guard farther away.

No living creature approached the dais.

The Snow Empress's transformation continued.

The Far North.

Atop the ice dais,

the Snow Empress still sat cross-legged at the center of the Ice Lotus.

The Far North Divine Seal floated before her forehead, its white light slowly shifting.

The Ice and Snow Divine Palace stood among the clouds.

Wisps of power from the Divine Position descended from the palace and merged into the Snow Empress's body.

The Ice Empress stood guard in the distance.

She looked up at the sky.

The words on the Golden Ranking were gradually fading.

The Snow Empress opened her eyes.

She looked higher up the Golden Ranking.

"Sixth place is about to be revealed."

The Ice Empress came to the side of the dais.

"Big Sister Snow Empress, whoever ranks above you must be even more terrifyingly powerful."

The Snow Empress nodded gently.

She already possessed a million years of cultivation, wielded Absolute Zero, and had obtained the God of the Far North Divine Position.

Anyone ranked above her must possess God Level power.

Skywater Academy.

The ninth floor of the True Dragon Tower.

Long Yao sat at the edge of the platform.

He still held the ancient book in his hand.

Shui Bing'er, Shui Yue'er, and Shui Yuerou stood below the platform.

All three gazed up at the sky.

Shui Yue'er lifted her head.

"Headmaster, who will take sixth place?"

Long Yao closed the ancient book.

"The Deep Sea Demonic Whale King."

Shui Bing'er's eyes flickered.

"Deep Sea Demonic Whale King?"

"He lives in the depths of the sea."

Long Yao looked toward the Golden Ranking.

"He has nearly a million years of cultivation."

"His body, Soul Power, and Spiritual Origin have all reached extraordinary heights."

Shui Yuerou's expression turned grave.

"Nearly a million years of cultivation, yet he ranks below the Snow Empress?"

"His strength comes from more than cultivation."

Long Yao said calmly:

"The Deep Sea Demonic Whale King has ruled the deep sea for years."

"He controls the waters and devours the creatures within them."

"In the sea, the entire ocean bolsters his power."

Shui Bing'er looked up at the sky.

"Does he have God Level power too?"

"He has touched it before."

Long Yao replied:

"But he never completed the transformation."

As his words faded,

Golden light burst across the Ranking.

The aura of the sea descended from the heavens.

The scene in the sky changed rapidly.

A boundless ocean spread out.

The sea was pitch-black.

Towering waves churned as dark clouds gathered overhead.

An enormous figure slowly rose from the depths.

His body stretched across the sea.

Black scales covered him, each one seemingly forged from deep-sea metal.

His head emerged from the water.

A single enormous eye opened.

Waves hundreds of meters high surged across the sea.

Golden words slowly appeared.

[Heavenly Dao Golden Ranking: Sixth Place.]

[Deep Sea Overlord.]

[Deep Sea Demonic Whale King.]

[Cultivation: 990,000 years.]