"Knock, knock~"
Late at night, Shui Bing'er hesitated for a moment before knocking on Shui Wuhen's door.
"Brother, are you asleep?"
Hearing her voice, Shui Wuhen stopped his training and got up to open the door.
Outside, Shui Bing'er was standing in her pajamas, her long water-blue hair slightly messy. The commanding aura she had displayed during the day was gone, replaced by a touch of cuteness.
Shui Wuhen led her into the room and poured her a glass of water. "Bing'er, why are you looking for me so late? Is something wrong?"
"I can't sleep very well."
Shui Bing'er took the water and brushed the hair away from her face before replying.
"Hmm~~"
By the window, Articuno rolled its eyes. Can't sleep? Don't you know you could be training? Why disturb someone in the middle of the night?
Shui Wuhen was silent for a moment after hearing her words, then suggested, "Do you want me to accompany you for a walk?"
After a short while, they were standing side by side on a small path lined with flowers. Cicadas chirped, frogs croaked, and the moonlight reflected on the pond in the courtyard.
Articuno perched on Shui Wuhen's shoulder, looking around with boredom.
For the Ice God Articuno, these colorful flowers were fleeting. Only the ancient, unmelting glaciers were eternal. Here, she had to carefully suppress her aura, afraid that the cold naturally radiating from her would wither the delicate flowers.
After some time, Shui Wuhen and Shui Bing'er arrived at a martial arts arena.
"So we've come here."
Shui Bing'er was slightly surprised. This place was usually reserved by the Tian Dou royal family for participants to spar. Most of the academies hadn't arrived yet, and it was midnight, so the arena was completely empty.
She smiled at Shui Wuhen and suggested, "Brother, it feels like we haven't sparred in a long time. Why don't we take this chance to train together?"
"Alright. Let me see how well you've mastered your self-created spirit skill."
Hearing this, Shui Wuhen nodded slightly and leapt onto the arena platform.
Shui Bing'er followed him, taking a deep breath. "Brother, please guide me!"
She began circulating her spirit power, and four spirit rings—Yellow, Yellow, Purple, Purple—appeared around her. With them, a spectral Ice Phoenix exuding faint cold suddenly manifested.
As her martial soul manifested, Shui Bing'er's gentle eyes hardened, now calm and cold.
At the same time, a faint icy-blue glow enveloped Shui Wuhen, showing he was also activating his spirit power.
The next moment, Shui Bing'er's first spirit ring activated. A surge of cold immediately rose beneath Shui Wuhen's feet, freezing him into a giant block of ice.
This was Shui Bing'er's first spirit skill: Ice Seal!
Though Ice Seal was only a century-old spirit skill, its effect was strong. It could instantly freeze a designated area, including any creatures within it, and its spirit power consumption was low, allowing continuous use.
Once frozen, even opponents slightly stronger than Shui Bing'er would need considerable effort to break free. As a control skill, it was exceptionally overpowered.
"Rotating Ice Rain!"
Seeing Shui Wuhen immobilized, Shui Bing'er immediately condensed dozens of high-speed ice spikes in front of her and launched them at him.
The spikes were extremely fast and highly penetrative, instantly piercing through the ice block holding Shui Wuhen and striking the ground behind him.
Even so, Shui Bing'er didn't dare relax. She knew her brother wouldn't be defeated so easily.
At that moment, a familiar voice came from behind her.
"Not bad. Looks like you've mastered 'Rotating Ice Rain' quite well."
Shui Bing'er turned around and saw Shui Wuhen standing behind her, a pair of icy wings spread out.
The moment she activated Ice Seal, Shui Wuhen had vanished from his original position. The frozen figure was merely an afterimage he left behind.
The reason Shui Wuhen could move so fast was due to his third spirit skill.
His third skill, High-Speed Movement, greatly increased his speed. Combined with his self-created Ice Wings, he could achieve near-instant teleportation over short distances.
Although Ice Seal was instant, it still required a little time to fully freeze the target. That brief moment was enough for Shui Wuhen to escape!
Shui Bing'er remained calm. "Compared to you, Brother, this is nothing. After all, 'Rotating Ice Rain' was created by you when you were young."
Indeed, the move she had just used was not her own creation—it had been taught to her by Shui Wuhen.
Originally called Rotating Ice Shard, Shui Wuhen had developed it from his first spirit skill, Ice Shard. Later, through continuous improvement, it became Rotating Ice Rain.
"Bing'er, you don't need to compete with me."
Shui Wuhen shook his head helplessly. "Even the top sect in the world, Haotian Sect, uses self-created spirit skills mostly created by previous sect leaders. That doesn't stop them from using the skills.
"But I see that your Rotating Ice Rain still isn't perfect."
With that, hundreds of high-speed ice spikes condensed around him. With a flick of his right hand, the spikes flew out one after another.
Like Shui Bing'er's Ice Seal, Shui Wuhen's first spirit skill, Ice Shard, was an instant skill with unlimited uses as long as there was sufficient spirit power.
He discovered that while the Ice Shard was extremely fast and hard to dodge, its power was slightly low. By adding high-speed rotation, he increased its penetration, creating his first self-created skill: Rotating Ice Shard!
Shui Wuhen had also considered another improvement: combining multiple ice shards into one to increase power. But after mastering his second skill, Triple Spin Strike, he abandoned that idea.
Triple Spin Strike could coat a body part in ice, doubling the attack's power each time it struck. This effect, as a base for a spirit skill, had far higher potential than Ice Shard.
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