A fish and bird bound by love, Breath of Ice

Shui Bing'er was still too thin-skinned to imitate the "Moon prism power, transform!" that Xiao Yao had taught her.

She only silently recited, Transform.

Her long, fair, delicate feet pressed together, and her short skirt extended backward, wrapping them tightly within.

Her blue-and-white sailor top was also enveloped in a pure white glow, its shape changing.

When the light faded, it had become a pair of seashells, pressed snugly against her two little doves.

Quite a few colorful scales also sprouted at the corners of her eyes and along her hair.

After transforming, Shui Bing'er looked just like a mermaid straight out of a fairy tale.

The Martial Soul Evolution Set: A Fish and Bird Bound by Love caused the wearer's Martial Soul to evolve, improving both Soul Power quality and cultivation speed to a certain degree.

After her Martial Soul evolved, she could switch to mermaid form, and the corresponding Soul Skills would change accordingly.

This evolution was similar to Twin Martial Souls, with each Martial Soul having its own Soul Skills.

But it was considerably inferior to Twin Martial Souls, because Soul Rings could not be added to the two Martial Souls separately.

Xiao Yao did not know why her evolution had taken this direction either.

Xiao Wu's Martial Soul Evolution had been simple and straightforward, evolving from a Soft Bone Rabbit into a Soft Bone Charm Rabbit. That could not have been more normal.

Shui Bing'er's left Xiao Yao scratching his head.

He had two guesses. One was that the direction of her evolution was a Kunpeng; Shui Bing'er's Martial Souls happened to be a bird and a fish, so that made sense.

His other guess was that the mermaid could continue evolving into a true aquatic dragon.

Eventually, the Ice Phoenix and the true water dragon would merge into one, becoming a Dragon Phoenix.

Whichever it was, it meant that Shui Bing'er's evolution was incomplete and she needed to keep obtaining rewards.

"Get on."

Shui Bing'er swam a circle around Xiao Yao, then stopped in front of him.

Xiao Yao froze for a moment. "Get on what?"

"Ride me. Do I have to teach you?"

Blood-red tears trickled from Xiao Yao's nostrils, betraying him.

He mounted Shui Bing'er's slender waist, locking his legs around her abdomen like a saddle.

But when Shui Bing'er accelerated, she still nearly threw him off.

In the end, Shui Bing'er simply held her hands behind her back for Xiao Yao to grab.

However, this posture also forced her to thrust out her chest, making her even more alluring.

In mermaid form, Shui Bing'er was over ten times faster, and she soon caught up with the Disc Water Spirit Jellyfish.

Seeing that things were going badly, the Disc Water Spirit Jellyfish plunged straight from the air into the sea, hoping to use the underwater environment to shake the two of them off.

"Lingji, how long can you stay underwater?"

"My sea heart flame can separate oxygen directly from water. As long as my Soul Power doesn't run out, I can stay indefinitely."

At that, Shui Bing'er hesitated no longer and plunged beneath the sea's surface.

"First Soul Skill, Heavy Water Cage."

It was likewise an instant-cast Soul Skill, and likewise a powerful control skill.

Unlike Ice Seal, however, this move needed actual water to unleash its full power.

The density of that water would also increase dramatically, squeezing inward against the opponent trapped inside.

A light blue sphere of water, distinct from the deep blue seawater, appeared and enclosed the Disc Water Spirit Jellyfish.

Xiao Yao promptly coated the outside of the water sphere with a layer of sea heart flame.

The Disc Water Spirit Jellyfish charged out, but its speed had clearly dropped considerably compared to before.

"This could work."

Both Xiao Yao and Shui Bing'er were delighted.

They had both been troubled earlier. The Disc Water Spirit Jellyfish had form but no mass, so all physical attacks would be ineffective against it.

Qiu Wanxi had reminded them at just the right time that they needed to attack the organ beneath the Disc Water Spirit Jellyfish and release its mass before they could hurt it.

But if the Disc Water Spirit Jellyfish truly had no mass whatsoever, how could they attack that organ?

Xiao Yao's guess was that the Disc Water Spirit Jellyfish's apparent lack of mass was actually an illusion.

He believed that the Disc Water Spirit Jellyfish did not store all its mass in the organ.

Instead, it stored most of its mass inside the organ, while leaving an extremely small amount outside, disguised to resemble its surroundings and capable of being adjusted at any time.

When Shui Bing'er had frozen it earlier, it had adjusted its external mass to resemble ice, allowing it to seep out flawlessly.

It looked no different from having form but no mass.

But such adjustments had to take time, and the greater the difference, the more time they would require.

Shui Bing'er's earlier freezing had frozen its surface directly, in close contact.

So it only needed to complete the change from ice to air to get out.

The Heavy Water Cage, however, enclosed both the Disc Water Spirit Jellyfish and the seawater.

To escape again, the Disc Water Spirit Jellyfish had to change from seawater to heavy water to sea heart flame to seawater. The time required would be far more than double.

The Disc Water Spirit Jellyfish's slowing speed meant that Xiao Yao's guess was correct.

That meant he had a way to deal with the Disc Water Spirit Jellyfish.

"Make a bigger Heavy Water Cage in a moment, so it'll take a long time even if it wants to break free."

"I'll shatter the heavy water directly. That should definitely deal it a heavy blow."

"Mm." Shui Bing'er nodded firmly.

She took out another Intimacy reward Xiao Yao had given her, the Breath of Ice.

It was a weapon shaped like a staff.

Like the Martial Soul Evolution Set: A Fish and Bird Bound by Love, it had different effects in her mermaid and Ice Phoenix Martial Soul forms.

In mermaid form, it could greatly improve Shui Bing'er's control over water-attribute Soul Power.

Both the power of her Soul Skills and her casting speed would receive an enormous boost.

"First Soul Skill, Breath of Ice-Heavy Water Cage."

A sphere of water a full thirty meters in diameter enclosed the Disc Water Spirit Jellyfish.

The latter still used its innate skill, merging into the Heavy Water Cage and charging outward at tremendous speed.

Shui Bing'er's heart tightened. "Junior sister, it's up to you."

"All right," Xiao Yao said in a low voice.

The azure sea heart flame blazed in his right palm.

What Shui Bing'er could not see, however, was another ball of unnamed flame burning fiercely in Xiao Yao's left hand.

The moment the fallen heart flame rose, Shui Bing'er, whom Xiao Yao was riding, inexplicably felt a little hot all over.

But submerged in the sea, she soon settled down, thinking it had only been an illusion.

Xiao Yao brought his hands together, fusing the two heavenly flames. A glass-colored fire lotus slowly took shape.

Indeed, what Xiao Yao was using was none other than that snake player's signature ultimate technique.

It was also his most powerful move at present.

He was confident that he could burn the Heavy Water Cage and the Disc Water Spirit Jellyfish inside it to ashes in a single strike.

Hurling the Buddha's Fury Fire Lotus in his hand, Xiao Yao turned pale and squeezed his legs against Shui Bing'er beneath him. "Run!"

Shui Bing'er did not understand why, but out of trust in Xiao Yao, she still turned and fled without hesitation.

She soon learned the reason.

An enormous explosion erupted in the sea, and a massive torrent swept up Shui Bing'er and Xiao Yao, carrying them outward.

The raging current scoured them painfully. Afraid that Xiao Yao would be hurt, Shui Bing'er even deliberately held him against her chest, protecting him with her body.

The situation changed drastically once again as the explosion blasted a hollow zone devoid of matter into the sea.

Water surged back in, carrying their bodies toward the center of the explosion again.

At that moment, Shui Bing'er was still struggling against the force pushing from behind and had no time at all to adjust.

She and Xiao Yao were both swept away by the current.