The weather was gradually becoming hotter. The once lively world suddenly wilted, and the green leaves hung listlessly on the branches, appearing severely affected by the scorching heat.
The chirping of cicadas rang out everywhere, each sound somewhat piercing and disturbing to the peace, yet it was nothing less than their indulgence in their brief lives—tragic yet fleeting.
This summer was the hottest in the past decade, to the point that even the outskirts of the Extreme North were significantly impacted, with the peripheral snowfields shrinking considerably.
However, this also brought considerable benefits to humanity. The weather had somewhat weakened ice-attribute spirit beasts, and many low-level spirit masters had already formed teams to hunt for spirit rings.
Tian Meng lay listlessly on a tree branch, watching Shen Hanyu below, who remained completely unaffected as he meditated and cultivated, not even a single bead of sweat appearing on his forehead.
The Cold Heaven Spear was planted to the side, emitting a faint chill that dispersed the surrounding heat.
Shen Liuyu slowly came down from the second floor, yawning, her sleepy eyes somewhat hazy as she mumbled:
"Brother, aren't you hot? I was even woken up by the heat…"
Shen Hanyu slowly opened his eyes, glanced at her, and said mercilessly:
"You're an embarrassment for a water-attribute spirit master to actually fear heat. You really have the nerve to say that out loud."
Shen Liuyu didn't mind and said self-righteously:
"Do you think everyone is as freakish as you, always cold as an ice block, no matter when or where? I really don't know why, Bing'er's spirit, the Ice Phoenix, should clearly have a higher quality than your broken spear, yet, whether in attributes or quality, it's actually suppressed by that broken spear of yours. It's so strange…"
Shen Hanyu couldn't be bothered to deal with this sister who had completely let herself go. After regulating his breathing for a moment, he stood up and walked straight into the house.
As he passed by Shen Liuyu, she suddenly said:
"Bing'er has broken through to become a Spirit Grandmaster. I heard she'll be going to hunt for a spirit ring in a few days, but…"
Shen Hanyu showed a slight bit of interest and said:
"Continue. What's wrong?"
Shen Liuyu tried to find even a trace of change in expression on Shen Hanyu's face, but as usual, she failed.
"I heard from Yue'er that Bing'er and her little aunt have had some small disagreements over the development direction of her martial soul. Bing'er wants to continue down the control system path, while the dean believes that, as a top-tier beast martial soul, the Ice Phoenix should take the assault system route. The two of them have been arguing about this for several days now. Brother, what do you think, which path is more suitable for Bing'er?"
Shen Liuyu asked curiously.
Shen Hanyu thought for a moment, then casually shook his head and said:
"The ice attribute is inherently a balanced element. Both assault and control are viable; in fact, they can even be said to be completely integrated. But for the Ice Phoenix martial soul specifically, I think the assault system would be better. As for whatever choice she makes, I'll support it either way."
Shen Liuyu let out an "oh," nodded, and said no more. After washing up, she went straight to the recliner on the side to laze around.
After all, she had arranged to meet the Shui Bing'er sisters here today to hang out, so she needed to conserve her energy properly…
…
Midday
The figures of Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er appeared outside the fence.
Shen Liuyu saw them and excitedly waved.
However, the Shui sisters seemed to be in low spirits and ignored Shen Liuyu's greeting, their brows filled with worry and tension.
Shen Liuyu was stunned and stood there in confusion.
Shen Hanyu slowly walked out of the house and suddenly said:
"Senior, there's no need to hide. It's pointless, isn't it?"
These words left Shen Liuyu even more bewildered.
Good heavens, what are they playing at? How come this great Jade Sister knows nothing about it? Is this some new kind of prank?
But the palace-dressed beautiful woman who suddenly appeared behind the Shui sisters made Shen Liuyu tremble all over. She said in shock:
"D-Dean! When did you arrive?"
Shui Ningbing smiled gently and said:
"What, you're allowed to secretly gather here, but I'm not welcome?"
Shen Liuyu hurriedly shook her head. She then looked at Shen Hanyu, who remained unmoved and said indifferently:
"There's no question of welcome or not. I'm actually more interested in knowing the purpose of your visit."
Shui Ningbing was not annoyed and remained gentle and refined. She lightly pulled the Shui sisters inside, looked around at the surroundings, and a trace of admiration appeared in her eyes as she said:
"What a nice place. No wonder Bing'er and Yue'er sneak out of the city every couple of days to come here. Even I quite like this atmosphere."
Shen Liuyu quickly brought juice from inside the house, placed it on the table, poured a cup for everyone, then frantically winked at Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er, asking what was going on.
A hint of helplessness appeared in Shui Bing'er's eyes, while Shui Yue'er looked utterly resigned and simply ignored Shen Liuyu's pleading glances.
Shui Ningbing smiled as she looked at Shen Hanyu and said:
"You must be Liuyu's older brother. I've heard all about you from Yue'er's mouth."
Shen Hanyu nodded. Looking at the elegant and noble beautiful woman before him, a trace of surprise flashed in his eyes. She appeared to be around forty or fifty years old, yet her spirit power had already reached Spirit Douluo. Her martial soul was not the Ice Phoenix, but it was still an ice-attribute martial soul, likely a lower-branch variant of the Ice Phoenix, such as something like the Ice Jade Luan Bird.
"That's correct. I am Liuyu's biological older brother."
Shen Hanyu said.
Shui Ningbing nodded in understanding, looked Shen Hanyu up and down, and said:
"There are many extraordinary things about you. With my Spirit Douluo cultivation, I actually can't see through your level, and even my spiritual force senses a serious threat from you. I'm very curious, your age doesn't seem high, yet how can you be so outstanding…"
Shen Hanyu smiled lightly and said:
"It's due to fortunate opportunities and good luck, that's all."
Hearing this, Shui Ningbing revealed a smile, covered her mouth, and said:
"Some things can't be obtained solely through opportunities. You're a very clever young man. May I know your name?"
Shen Hanyu relaxed a little. At the very least, he could now confirm that the other party harbored no malice and had simply come to take a look.
Moreover, if a fight truly broke out, he was confident he could subdue her within a hundred moves. Though it might cause considerable damage to the surroundings, at least he could ensure no one got hurt.
"Shen Hanyu. Han as in cold, Yu as in feather."
Shen Hanyu smiled lightly. His expression had clearly softened quite a bit as he spoke.
"A good name. Is your martial soul a long spear? It seems to be of very high quality. Bing'er said even her martial soul can't compare to yours."
Shui Ningbing praised, then asked with some curiosity.
When Shui Bing'er awakened her atavistic Ice Phoenix martial soul with innate spirit power reaching level nine, it had shaken the entire Elemental City and was regarded by both the Shui family and Tianshui Academy as their future hope.
The phoenix, as the king of birds, not only possessed high quality but also universally exerted a certain suppressive effect on ice-attribute martial souls. This point was undisputed.