Stop Pretending You're Innocent

After they finished.

Lin Ye took Shui Yue'er back to her room.

Then...

The two sat around in her room... and went another round.

They had simply moved the battlefield from one room to another.

The next day.

Shui Yue'er could not even get out of bed.

"Oh no!"

"The two of us..."

"I drank too much yesterday."

"If Bing'er finds out about this, she'll never forgive me."

Shui Yue'er covered her face with both hands.

The remorse in her heart seemed ready to spill through her fingers.

"All right."

"Stop pretending."

Lin Ye slapped Shui Yue'er on the butt.

If this woman had really been thinking about Shui Bing'er, she would not have slept with him last night.

Drinking?

That was nothing more than an excuse.

He was certain Shui Yue'er had not been drunk last night.

"Then what do we do now?"

Shui Yue'er did not regret what had happened between her and Lin Ye. She was just a little afraid of Shui Bing'er.

"I'll tell her..."

The moment he said that.

Shui Yue'er sprang up.

She immediately objected. "Absolutely do not tell Bing'er. At the very least, we can't tell her yet. Let me prepare myself first."

"What exactly do you mean?" Lin Ye added, "Sneaking a taste on the side feels good, huh?"

"That's not it."

"Just don't tell her yet."

"I'll tell Bing'er myself later."

Shui Yue'er pleaded over and over.

In the end, Lin Ye agreed to this outrageous arrangement.

Hmm...

He wanted to see what tricks Shui Yue'er could come up with.

Meanwhile.

Shui Bing'er knew nothing of what had happened in Heaven Dou City.

After she returned to Heaven Dou City, the entire family became lively.

To test the results of his daughter's year of training, Shui Tianhan sent a member of the family's middle-aged generation to assess her in front of everyone.

At that moment.

Shui Bing'er and Shui Luochuan stood facing each other.

The next second.

Shui Bing'er slowly raised her right arm.

Pale blue soul power surged from her like a tide, gathering around her into a thin gauzy mantle of ice crystals.

A snowflake-shaped mark appeared between her brows.

"Screee—"

An enormous phantom of an ice-blue phoenix soared up behind her, scattering ice crystals across the sky as it spread its wings.

At the same time.

A total of five Soul Rings rose beneath Shui Bing'er's feet.

Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black!

"Excellent!"

Shui Tianhan nodded in satisfaction at the sight.

A Soul King!

His daughter was a Soul King!

Had Shui Bing'er followed a Soul Master's conventional cultivation methods, she would have needed at least another five years to break through to Soul King.

"Wonderful."

"She's a Five-Ring Soul King now."

"That girl Bing'er has made tremendous, plainly visible progress after a year of training away from home."

"Looking at it now."

"The family head was right to let her go out training with Lin Ye."

"..."

While everyone voiced their admiration.

Shui Luochuan also released his martial soul on the other side.

A phantom of a water-blue dolphin appeared behind him. At the same time, six Soul Rings bobbed around his body.

After a single exchange of glances, both began channeling their soul power to attack.

Shui Luochuan moved first.

His first Soul Ring lit up!

He raised his hand and pressed against the air. A water-blue beam shot from his palm, bursting in midair into dozens of water arrows that rained down on Shui Bing'er, blanketing the sky.

Shui Bing'er did not move.

She simultaneously unleashed her first Soul Skill, Ice Seal.

Except...

The target of her Ice Seal was not Shui Luochuan across from her, but herself.

Without any warning.

Shui Bing'er was instantly encased in the solid ice she had released.

Clink, clink, clink, clink, clink—

Every water arrow was blocked.

Shattered ice flew everywhere!

Shui Tianhan nodded in satisfaction at the sight.

Hmm...

A year of training.

Shui Bing'er had not only improved her cultivation. Her use of Soul Skills had also made plainly visible progress.

Seeing his first Soul Skill countered so easily, Shui Luochuan lit up his second and third Soul Rings simultaneously.

He brought his palms together, then abruptly pulled them apart. A column of water formed between them.

Shui Bing'er remained completely calm.

As she watched Shui Luochuan unleash his Soul Skill, the corners of her mouth even curved upward involuntarily.

She knew the Shui Family's members far too well.

And she knew even better what each of Shui Luochuan's six Soul Skills did.

"Third Soul Skill—Repelling Ice Ring!"

The instant Shui Luochuan released his water column, Shui Bing'er detonated a ring of ice-blue light beneath his feet.

The next instant.

An irresistible yet harmless force pushed Shui Luochuan dozens of meters away.

His body was forcibly displaced.

Shui Luochuan's Soul Skill immediately blasted toward the family head and the elders.

Shui Tianhan waved a hand through the air.

The water column instantly broke apart in midair.

After Shui Luochuan's two consecutive attacks missed, it was Shui Bing'er's turn to counterattack.

Shui Bing'er's gaze sharpened.

The fifth, pitch-black Soul Ring beneath her feet suddenly blazed with light.

Ice Storm was silently unleashed!

She thrust both palms forward.

The water mist filling the air was instantly overtaken by extreme cold, turning into countless ice blades.

The ice blades spun and gathered within the storm, forming an ice-blue tornado that blotted out the sky and sun as it roared toward Shui Luochuan.

Wherever it passed...

The air gave an earsplitting shriek, and a thick layer of ice crystals formed on the ground.

Shui Bing'er's Fifth Soul Skill, Ice Storm, was an area attack. Although it could not deliver explosive damage to a single target, the ice blades formed within the storm were not to be underestimated.

Once they opened a cut.

An endless stream of icy power would pour through the wound, freezing the opponent's Eight Extraordinary Meridians.

Shui Luochuan was experiencing that firsthand.

Because of a moment's carelessness just now, the storm's ice blades had slashed two gashes across his chest.

He could clearly feel the circulation of soul power within his body slowing.

"Sixth Soul Skill—Dolphin's Angry Roar!"

Shui Luochuan had now decided to end this farce with his sixth Soul Skill.

However...

Shui Bing'er was already prepared.

Before Shui Luochuan could unleash his sixth Soul Skill, she released Repelling Ice Ring again.

Shui Luochuan's body was forcibly displaced once more.

And that was not the end...

The instant Shui Luochuan stopped moving, another Ice Seal froze him.

Another Repelling Ice Ring immediately followed, bouncing Shui Luochuan into the spot where the storm's ice blades were converging in a concentrated barrage.

At the critical moment, Shui Luochuan crossed his arms in front of himself.

He was frustrated!

Before he could even unleash his sixth Soul Skill, he had already been forcibly flung away three times.

Before he could catch his breath, Shui Bing'er's fourth Repelling Ice Ring came at him.

This was the little combo she had developed over her year of training—Infinite Ice Ring Combo!

It dealt explosive damage while forcibly displacing the opponent.

Just like now!

Shui Luochuan had barely landed before he collided head-on with her fourth Soul Skill, Ice Phoenix Heart-Piercing Strike.

Shui Bing'er's figure flashed.

Her entire body became an ice-blue afterimage as she charged straight ahead. The air shrieked as it was torn apart, and a glittering trail of ice crystals marked her path.

One palm strike!

Shui Luochuan was sent flying, thick layers of ice forming over both arms. He skidded backward dozens of meters before barely managing to steady himself.