One wave had barely settled before another rose

Night fell.

Xiao Yao and the others pitched a tent on high ground in the dense woods some distance from the shore.

From here, they could watch the sailors without being noticed and arousing their misgivings.

Xiao Yao lit a campfire with sea heart flame.

Qiu Wanxi said, "We've been away from the academy for quite some time. Report on your cultivation and Soul Skills."

"Bing'er, you first. Focus on demonstrating your third Soul Skill."

Shui Bing'er sat up straight, though with how short her miniskirt was, she could not avoid revealing a glimpse of spring no matter how she sat:

"The Disc Water Spirit Jellyfish provided exceptionally abundant Soul Power, and I haven't stopped cultivating diligently all this time."

"My Soul Power has now reached rank thirty-two, catching up with the academy's top tier."

"Unfortunately, I wasn't able to evolve my Martial Soul into Ultimate Ice. Perhaps it was because that Disc Water Spirit Jellyfish only had a thousand years of cultivation."

"But I'm only a hair's breadth away. After I use my third Soul Skill, Mysterious Ice Phoenix, I can even temporarily turn my ice into Ultimate Ice-bedrock ice."

"Although it only lasts a minute, my strength increases far more than severalfold while it's active."

"Based on my assessment, none of the senior girls below rank forty at the academy are a match for me."

As she spoke, Shui Bing'er demonstrated her third Soul Skill for them.

A frozen throne rose beneath her feet, and the Phoenix Martial Soul rising behind her looked even more lifelike.

The presence it radiated as the king of all birds grew even stronger. Even Xiao Yao, a human, could sense it.

Qiu Wanxi praised her. "Very good. Every kind of Ultimate Ice has its own specialty. What about yours?"

A faint smile touched Shui Bing'er's lips. "Then please watch closely, Director."

"First Soul Skill, Ice Seal."

In the blink of an eye, Xiao Yao was frozen inside a thick block of ice.

Xiao Yao was speechless. If you want to demonstrate it for the director, go ahead, but why use me as a target?

Then he checked how his body felt.

This bedrock ice was not much colder than ordinary ice, only a dozen or so degrees lower.

The key was its hardness!

Xiao Yao tried activating sea heart flame, only to discover that he could not break out of the ice immediately.

This was a heavenly flame, after all, and one ranked fifteenth on the Heavenly Flame Ranking, several places above the green lotus core flame that the snake-player used most often.

It was simply unbelievable.

Had this been Shui Bing'er's old First Soul Skill, the sea heart flame he released would have melted it hundreds of times over.

Upon examining it again, he discovered that this ice was extremely dense.

It was comparable to the hardest rock at the planet's core.

He exerted himself again, employing the fire-control art of the Five Ring Flame Expelling Technique, and finally broke free.

His voice overflowed with praise. "This Ultimate Ice really is incredible. Combined with your role as a control-type Soul Master, it improves your control capabilities by far more than a single level."

Shui Bing'er pouted. "But I wanted a brute-force damage-dealing Soul Skill for my third Soul Ring."

Xiao Yao and Qiu Wanxi both chuckled.

"Your turn, Lingji. You've made quite a bit of progress too, haven't you?"

"I've done all right. My Soul Power has only risen to rank twenty-seven."

This improvement was actually the least remarkable part. After all, his cultivation speed was the combined total of his own, Xiao Wu's, and Shui Bing'er's, with fallen heart flame assisting him on top of that.

If most of his Soul Power had not been absorbed by the Heavenly Book, he might already have been close to becoming a Soul Elder.

His greatest gain was actually the Heavenly Fire God-Forging Technique he had obtained when his intimacy with Shui Bing'er reached fifty.

It used all manner of powerful and unusual flames to temper oneself and increase one's strength.

Heavenly flames were, of course, the best choice.

The Heavenly Fire God-Forging Technique was divided into three sections, with no prescribed order. All three could be practiced in tandem.

Forge the divine body!

Forge the divine soul!

Forge divine abilities!

There was little to explain about the divine body and divine soul: powerful and unusual flames were used to forge oneself.

The divine abilities were outrageous, though. What they tempered were the heavenly flames themselves.

More precisely, they developed the heavenly flames' own capabilities, evolving them into the most suitable divine abilities.

Beyond that, fully developed heavenly flames had even more marvelous uses.

For example, heavenly flame fusion.

In another world, the snake-player had relied on the Flame Mantra to fuse heavenly flames.

But if Xiao Yao finished tempering fallen heart flame and sea heart flame, he could fuse them himself through his mastery over them.

And this was only the tip of the iceberg of the Heavenly Fire God-Forging Technique.

Xiao Yao had a feeling that, had he cultivated the Heavenly Fire God-Forging Technique, he might have been able to escape with his life back in the sea without needing a Martial Soul Fusion Skill.

But then his intimacy might not have increased further, so it could count as a blessing born of disaster.

Even so, these results already left Qiu Wanxi very satisfied.

"Very good. I feel it won't be long before you can break through to Soul Elder too. When that happens, I'll arrange for you both to join Skywater Academy's reserve team."

"Of course, I won't have you compete, but experiencing the atmosphere will benefit your growth too."

Something stirred in Xiao Yao's heart. He remembered that the Continent Advanced Soul Master Tournament was held once every five years.

The tournament Tang San competed in in the original story was six years away, which meant there would be another one next year.

What would happen if I took the championship in next year's Continent Advanced Soul Master Tournament? It would certainly be interesting.

As for whether he could actually win it, he had never given that any thought. His cultivation would only grow faster and faster, and in a year, he should already be a Soul King.

Meanwhile, even the strongest team, the Spirit Hall Team, had no Soul Kings in this tournament. Winning would really be a trivial matter.

Late that night, the two women went into the tent to rest while Xiao Yao kept watch.

Qiu Wanxi had initially offered to do it, but Xiao Yao insisted on sharing her burden.

After all, she had only just recovered her vitality. It would be better for her to rest more.

Suddenly, someone covered Xiao Yao's eyes.

"Guess who?"

Who else could such a gentle voice belong to? Xiao Yao reached behind him and pulled Shui Bing'er into his arms.

Shui Bing'er did not resist. She giggled. "Didn't expect that, did you?"

"Why did you come out? Aren't you afraid Director Qiu will notice?"

"The director's so tired she's sleeping like a log. I pinched her boob, and she didn't even react."

"w(ﾟДﾟ)w When did you turn naughty, and who taught you?"

"It's all your fault. You used to get handsy with me when we bathed together. Back then, I thought it was just girls fooling around. Now, hmph! ╭(╯^╰)╮"

Uh...

Xiao Yao had no reply. So I was the culprit behind it all.

He returned to his original appearance, and Shui Bing'er sat in his lap. The two watched the moon like that, occasionally exchanging sweet nothings like a young couple...

Suddenly, the earth shook and the mountains rocked.

Sections of the crust collided, and enormous fissures spread from the island's center to beyond its shores.

Lava erupted, and the tremendous blaze lit the night as bright as day.

Billowing black smoke shot into the sky, blotting out the bright moonlight.

The violent shaking woke Qiu Wanxi. She rushed outside, failing to notice that Xiao Yao was still in his male form.

Overwhelming fear and worry filled her eyes. "A volcanic eruption? There was actually a dormant volcano beneath this island?"