A promise for three years

Bai Yushan held Na'er tight and said softly, "Then don't leave. Your big brother is here. As long as I don't want to let you go, no one can take you away!"

His voice was very soft, but his tone carried great weight. Every word was like a nail driven into the air, ringing with conviction. Azure electrical light flickered in his eyes, not deliberately released, but naturally spilling out as his emotions reached their peak.

Electric current surged wildly through his body, like frenzied dragons rampaging through his meridians. His power grew, climbed, and broke through one barrier after another.

Fifty-one thousand volts, fifty-two thousand volts, fifty-three thousand volts.

Fifty-four thousand volts!

"But! But!"

Na'er gathered her courage, abruptly raised her head, and looked earnestly at Bai Yushan, who was right before her. Her face was covered in tear tracks, her eyes and the tip of her nose were red, and her lips trembled. But she did not avoid Bai Yushan's gaze. Her amethyst eyes looked straight at him, at the electrical light churning in his eyes, at his undisguised possessiveness.

Na'er pressed her lips together and said earnestly, "But I have to go and become very, very strong. Only then can I stay by your side forever and ever, Big Brother!"

Her voice was firm, without a trace of hesitation.

Bai Yushan's brow furrowed even deeper.

"Can't you become stronger by staying with your big brother? As long as I..."

Bai Yushan suddenly remembered that only after reaching the level of magnetic field rotation, and perhaps even spending years developing within that level, could he reliably help others obtain and improve the power of electric current push.

How could staying beside him as he was now let Na'er quickly grow stronger?

He thoroughly understood the power of electricity and magnetic fields, but when it came to the path of a Soul Master, he was a complete noob. He knew nothing about Soul Rings, Soul Skills, Soul Spirits, or Soul Tools. He had never paid attention in class when those things were taught.

He was a year older than Na'er, yet his Soul Power cultivation had already fallen behind hers. What right did he have to insist on keeping her beside him?

For a moment, Bai Yushan actually talked himself into it.

Yes, how could staying beside him develop Na'er's extraordinary potential? Her talent was greater than his, and the energy contained within her body was vaster than his. What she needed was not his unorthodox approach, but guidance from a true master and proper systematic training.

Only a magnetic field powerhouse could persuade a magnetic field powerhouse.

Only by persuading himself could Bai Yushan bring himself to accept Na'er and Bi Ji's inevitable departure.

Otherwise, even Na'er and Bi Ji could talk until the sky fell, and he still would not accept an outcome in which they left.

Bai Yushan's brow relaxed for a moment, then furrowed again.

"That's not right!"

He blinked. He had almost been led astray.

"Then if that's the case, why can't I go there? I can go with Na'er to that place. She can cultivate inside, and I'll wait outside. Or I can take the entrance exam too. With my strength, what academy couldn't I get into?"

With Bai Yushan's strength far exceeding his cultivation level, what academy on the entire continent would not sweep its couch clean to welcome him?

He had only been six when he fought three Two-Ring Soul Grandmasters alone. Now he was nine, and with fifty thousand volts of electric current push, he could even challenge a Soul Ancestor!

With such talent and strength, any academy's admissions teacher would have their eyes light up at the sight of him.

At this point, Bi Ji had no choice but to step forward and draw Bai Yushan into her embrace. Her tall figure let her easily enfold the boy before her in her arms. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and held him against her chest.

"Because that academy only admits students once every three years, and this year's admission requirements... you don't meet them, Xiaoshan."

Bi Ji's voice was very soft, like a wisp of wind.

Bai Yushan fell silent.

His face was buried against Bi Ji's chest. He could smell the faint scent of life on her and feel her steady heartbeat. He did not struggle or push her away, merely leaning quietly in her embrace like a soothed beast.

Feeling Bi Ji soothe him, Bai Yushan's emotions slowly settled. The current no longer surged, his power no longer climbed, and everything returned to calm. But his eyes were still bright, not with electrical light, but with something deeper, some kind of flame that had been ignited.

"Tell me. Which academy?"

Bi Ji rested her chin on top of Bai Yushan's head, his black hair mingling with her long emerald hair. Her arms tightened a little, holding him a little closer.

"Shrek Academy. It admits students once every three years."

Bai Yushan drew a deep breath and remained silent.

He had heard that middle-aged geezer Chen Qingquan say that Shrek Academy was the best Soul Master Academy on the entire continent, bar none.

The Shrek Seven Devils, Limit Douluos, the founder of the Spirit Pagoda, high-ranking Federation officials-countless powerhouses had come from there.

It was a place every Soul Master dreamed of, and a place where countless geniuses' broken halberds sank into the sand.

It admitted students once every three years, and the geniuses taking the exam were as numerous as carp crossing a river!

The continent's major alliances were all eligible to recommend outstanding talents to apply.

Because the development of Soul Masters in the eastern coastal region's Skysea Alliance lagged behind the other alliances, its allotted places were relatively scarce.

There were only around a hundred and twenty application slots each time. Those hundred and twenty slots were contested by dozens of cities!

On average, each city only got two or three.

In the past, Bai Yushan had scoffed at Shrek Academy. Given enough time, he could easily shatter the entire planet!

But now, this academy had actually become a barrier standing between him and Na'er and Bi Ji!

Bi Ji held him from behind, and he held Na'er. The three pressed tightly together, like an inseparable whole. The silence lasted a long time, broken only by the ticking clock on the wall and their intermingled breathing.

Only after a very, very long time did Bai Yushan finally relent.

"Fine, I'll wait three years! In three years, I'll definitely go to Shrek Academy! When that time comes, no one will be able to separate us!"

His voice was not loud, but every word rang with conviction. He was stating a fact, one he believed would certainly come to pass.

To Bai Yushan, a separation like this was a humiliation!

A humiliation that could be etched into him for the rest of his life.

Ever since awakening his Bioelectricity Martial Soul, Bai Yushan had always gone his own way, doing whatever he wanted. He had never been afraid and had never backed down.

For the first time, this was the first time he had been made to feel powerless!

Bai Yushan swore that it would also be the last!

He raised his head from Bi Ji's embrace and withdrew his hands from Na'er's embrace. With his left arm around Bi Ji's waist and his right around Na'er's, he held them both tightly in his arms.

"Three years," he repeated, as though persuading himself as well as Bi Ji and Na'er. "In three years, I'll come find you at Shrek."

Bi Ji's eyes reddened, but she did not cry. The corners of her lips lifted slightly into a gentle smile.

"All right. We'll wait for you."

Na'er buried her face against Bai Yushan's chest and said in a muffled voice, "You have to come, Big Brother."