Starry Sky Body-Tempering Art

Snowfield Town was the small town closest to the Far North. Because of its location, nearly half the town lay beneath a blanket of white snow, making it bitterly cold.

Yet the cold had not left the town desolate. On the contrary, it was quite prosperous, for anyone heading into the Far North would find it the best place to replenish supplies and rest.

Moreover, the hotels and inns that offered lodging to Soul Masters and adventuring parties often could not keep up with demand. This was especially true of the Snowfield Hotel, the finest hotel in Snowfield Town.

At that moment, quite a few travelers wearing armor or Soul Master uniforms were chatting on the Snowfield Hotel's ground floor, amid laughter, playful curses, and boisterous banter.

Suddenly, the hotel doors swung open, and an old man with snow-white hair and beard entered with a gust of icy wind. Behind him came five lively young girls and two beautiful middle-aged women who still retained their mature charm. All wore matching aqua-blue uniforms bearing Skywater Academy's crest.

Although the weather had forced the Skywater Academy students to dress in thick layers, those clothes could not conceal the girls' graceful figures.

Their perfect figures, coupled with angelic faces, were enough to make a crowd of adventurers drool, but no one dared act rashly.

For one thing, those who survived in the Far North certainly were not all the sort who thought only with their lower halves, though there were still some fools among them.

The first time Qian Chongling had brought the Skywater Academy team here, he had encountered just such a man: emboldened by drink, brazen with lust, and unaware that a blade hung over the head of desire.

That drunk had grandly declared that the two older ladies and five young beauties from Skywater Academy could all come at him together. He had his Six-Flavor Rehmannia Pills, so none of it would be a problem.

In the end, the two Soul Saints, Chen Xiaoxue and Qin Yun, had beaten the old drunk sober and thrown him outside. Then Qian Chongling had smilingly revealed his nine Soul Rings, and that had been the end of that.

By now, Qian Chongling had reached the hotel bar. He told the attendant before him, "Three Blazing Crimson Fires and five Snow-Colored Roses. Also, please clean Yi-Class rooms one, two, and three for us. We'll be staying tonight."

There was no helping it. Almost every hotel offering accommodation here was full, so to avoid trouble, Qian Chongling had booked three Yi-Class rooms for two months when he arrived. The better Jia-Class rooms had long since been taken.

"Certainly. Three Blazing Crimson Fires, five Snow-Colored Roses, plus the room-cleaning fee-that comes to thirty Gold Soul Coins and six Silver Soul Coins," the attendant said with a professional smile, then signaled for a waiter to bring Qian Chongling's party their drinks.

In the hotel lobby, Qian Chongling coughed softly, interrupting the five young girls as their gazes wandered everywhere.

"It's late. We'll rest here tonight. The usual arrangement: Teacher Chen and Teacher Qin will take the students to rooms one and two respectively. I'll take room three," Qian Chongling said.

"Yes, Teacher Qian," Chen Xiaoxue and Qin Yun replied with nods. Naturally, they had no objections to his arrangements.

"By the way, I have other business in the Far North. Wait here for ten days to half a month or so, and we'll return together afterward."

After a pause, Qian Chongling added this reminder. He had not forgotten that he still had another objective to accomplish on this trip to the Far North.

"Oh, then take care, Teacher Qian," Chen Xiaoxue said.

After drinking to warm themselves, everyone followed an attendant back to their respective rooms.

Night fell, leaving the sky hazy. The occasional drifting cloud was exceptionally dark as well. Soon, all of Snowfield Town was enveloped in peace and quiet.

At that moment, a faint light still shone in Yi-Class room three of the Snowfield Hotel. Inside, Qian Chongling sat cross-legged, his hair white as a crane's feathers and his face youthful.

Qian Chongling had entered a state of lucid tranquility. His Mental Power gradually spread outward, bringing everything within several thousand meters into his mind.

There was a little green caterpillar on the flowers and plants in the courtyard, and a small bird's nest among three large locust trees. Some hotel guests had yet to retire: one sat alone by a window in contemplation, others chatted in groups of two or three, and some burly men played finger-guessing games as they competed in drinking.

At the outermost edge of the Far North, two Ice-Rock Monsters were gnawing on ice and snow, while an Icefield Bear rolled about on the ground.

Qian Chongling gradually withdrew his Mental Power from the distance, leaving it spread only through the Snowfield Hotel. Suddenly, his aged face flushed, and he pulled it all back, muttering, "I didn't mean to peek. Still, one of those big meat buns would probably fill me up. I don't think I could even get my whole hand around one..."

Yi-Class rooms one and two were adjacent rooms in the same courtyard, and there was a hot spring in the back courtyard!

After their dusty journey, once the seven women had eaten and drunk their fill, what they wanted most was naturally a comfortable bath.

Chen Xiaoxue took the lead, opening the door to the hot spring room and entering the steaming spring.

She removed all her clothes and comfortably reclined in the spring. The warm water rose over her fair thighs, her upper body, and her towering snowy peaks. She let out a soft breath, and as the warm water soaked her body, her thoughts slowly emptied and her breathing steadied.

Chen Xiaoxue lay faceup on the water, her chestnut-colored eyes slowly closing. Her long black hair spread over the surface, and amid the curling mist, the scene looked exceptionally soft and beautiful.

Splash.

Soon, Qin Yun and the others lay down in the water without hesitation as well! For a time, the entire bathing room brimmed with springtime allure, and the occasional sounds of playful laughter only stirred the imagination further.

"Sister Xue, what do you think that important business Teacher Qian mentioned is?" Qin Yun asked Chen Xiaoxue nearby, reclining slightly.

"Teacher Qian is a Titled Douluo. How could we presume to guess at his affairs?" Chen Xiaoxue raised herself a little and parted her red lips to answer.

"Sister Xue, is that body-tempering training method Teacher Qian taught us really that effective?" Qin Yun asked.

"Of course. That training method deserves most of the credit for the children being able to obtain Soul Rings beyond their usual age limits," Chen Xiaoxue said solemnly.

"The dean will most likely make it a compulsory course in the future. It's just that those movements really are..." As though she had suddenly remembered something, an indescribably peculiar expression crossed Chen Xiaoxue's face.

"Ugly and difficult..."

The moment Qin Yun said this, the remaining girls all voiced their agreement. The body-tempering art Qian Chongling had tossed to Skywater Academy was actually something he had received from a check-in. A line of small text beneath it read: introductory training method for the Starry Sky Body-Tempering Art.

It seemed to be a set of poses similar to gymnastics on Blue Star, only stranger. Some poses also required the body to bend in highly skillful ways, making those movements very difficult to perform.

When several of the girls could not manage them, Qian Chongling had even used his Mental Power to control their bodies and force them through the movements. It hurt so much that tears streamed from their eyes.