Jiang Shengyu's Heaven's Hand, now imbued with Intense Cold Without Snow, struck the stream. The extreme ice rushed through the water, freezing the entire mountain creek in an instant—nearly a kilometer of ice!
The Snow Empress observed Jiang Shengyu's destructive combined attack and nodded softly. "Yes, merging Heaven's Hand with Intense Cold Without Snow is effective."
"Effective? Come on, I'm hitting that kind of power with a mere fourth-tier soul skill?!" Jiang Shengyu chuckled as he surveyed the hundreds of meters swallowed by ice and snow.
The Snow Empress didn't argue—she'd never seen a human soul master with better talent.
She cautioned him: "Since you've mastered both Intense Cold Without Snow and Extreme Ice, I'll soon be going dormant again. Remember: protect my embryo!"
"With the Three Absolutes from you, you're half a master to me," he replied warmly. "I'll never let your embryo come to harm."
"You're a smart-mouth!" she snorted, then faded back into the embryo.
Jiang Shengyu returned to Mingde Hall and noticed Xiao Hongchen lurking outside. He ignored him, heading straight toward the Soul Hall headquarters. But Xiao Hongchen zeroed in on him, shouting, "Hey—you're not getting away!"
"Couldn't care less," Jiang Shengyu muttered, hastening his pace. If not for the crowded streets, he'd vanish using Void Traversal.
"Is this necessary?" you ask? Absolutely.
Xiao Hongchen, close to a fifth-tier Soul King, was faster. He intercepted Jiang Shengyu near the headquarters entrance.
"Why are you chasing me?" Jiang Shengyu panted, frowning.
"Why are you running?" Xiao Hongchen shot back.
"Of course I am!" replied Jiang Shengyu.
"So I chase!" Xiao Hongchen stated.
"Xiao Hongchen—what do you want?!" Jiang Shengyu demanded.
Xiao Hongchen sighed. "I need to talk to you. But relax, not for another fight!"
"When are you not coming at me for a fight? Even when I was hospitalized with Tianyin Douluo, you dragged me to duel! What's wrong with you?" Jiang Shengyu retorted.
"Sorry—my bad. This time it's serious." He clasped Jiang Shengyu's shoulder earnestly.
"What is it?"
"Ever heard of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament? Our empire hasn't competed long—but leadership cares a lot. And guess what? My grandfather appointed you and me as co-captains of the preparatory team!"
"The tournament? Who's on the team?" Jiang Shengyu suddenly interested, not surprised.
"There's you, me, my sister Meng Hongchen, Yuhao, Tangmen's Tang Ya, and our academy's own Nana—her soul beast's a 'Ghost', quite special, skillful." Xiao Hongchen said.
"Tang Ya's in?" Jiang Shengyu raised an eyebrow.
Xiao nodded. "She just broke through to fifth-tier Soul King and got a ten-thousand-year plant soul ring. She volunteered. Grandpa agreed to maintain ties with Tangmen."
"So Tang Ya's representing the Royal Soul Academy—this should be entertaining," Jiang Shengyu laughed. "Six members—that enough?"
"For a prep team, yes!" Xiao Hongchen assured. "If you think we need more, ask your sister."
"Ask my sister? Get lost!" Jiang Shengyu snapped.
"But I will ask her," said Xiao.
"…"
"Do you think Qingtong will get picked by Shrek Academy for the tournament?" he asked another question.
"Probably. Her talent makes them stare in awe. They want to do everything to keep her."
Xiao Hongchen frowned. "But she's so naive—don't tell me those hypocrites at Shrek will fool her?"
"Naive? Seriously?" Jiang Shengyu scowled. "She's not that naive."
Xiao Hongchen sighed: "Okay, fine. Don't want me to call both of you idiots, huh?"
"…Fine."
"Well, I've got to go. As deputy captain, we need to meet the team."
"Whatever—most of them are known anyway."
"But what about Nana?" Xiao Hongchen reminded.
"Nana?" Jiang Shengyu thought, nearly forgetting. "Okay. Call them all to Soul Hall for a quick briefing."
Xiao Hongchen quickly assembled the group. Tang Ya arrived first—her Tangmen hadn't fully relocated.
Jiang Shengyu cleared his throat. Clasping his hands behind his back, he said: "We all know each other. We're busy, so I'll be brief."
Xiao Hongchen shoved him aside. "Hey—I'm the captain!"
"No one said you were," Jiang Shengyu grinned, then looked to a nervous girl. "You must be Nana. Go ahead—introduce yourself."
Nana, visibly anxious, stepped forward. Everyone else had strong backing—Xiao and Meng Hongchen were grandkids of Mirror Hongchen; Tang Ya was a school head; Yuhao was a disciple of Xuan Ziwen; and Jiang Shengyu was disciple to Silver Moon Douluo Kong Deming—while Nana was just a civilian.
She had to be nervous—and there was no way not to be.
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