After You Mengchu returned, she briefly explained the situation to Shui Ningbing. As expected, Shui Ningbing smiled, patted You Mengchu, and said with a laugh:
"Actually, Little Yu is still a very good person, of course… provided that you first become one of the 'insiders' in his words…"
You Mengchu pursed her lips and said:
"That guy not only has a cheap mouth but is also sharp-tongued. Talking to him can practically make someone die of anger."
Shui Ningbing laughed so hard her branches trembled. After a moment, she finally said:
"That's just how you feel. Actually, at the beginning, he guarded me, Bing'er, and Yue'er like we were thieves. You don't know how vigilant he was back then. But later, after everyone got familiar, he not only helped me advance to Titled Douluo but also entrusted Senior Snow Emperor to hunt a ten-thousand-year soul beast. Bing'er and Yue'er grew up around him from a young age and received benefits from him that ordinary people can't even imagine. Actually, sometimes we all envy Liu Yu; she has such an outstanding older brother that she basically does not need to work hard herself. Just the things her brother feeds her in a single year are enough to make even a Titled Douluo like me envious…"
"Little Yu is someone who is very suspicious and has a lot of schemes. The fact that you've already reached the point of getting along well with him means you can relax~"
You Mengchu nodded thoughtfully, then said:
"Sister Ningbing, there's one more thing. Shen Hanyu has already confirmed that this item has no issues. Find a suitable time to release it."
Shui Ningbing also put away her smile and said seriously:
"Don't worry. In a few days, I'll find a suitable opportunity and release it through the academy's channels."
You Mengchu nodded. Then she glanced at the time and cried out in surprise:
"Ah! Sister Ningbing, we're going to be late for class."
Shui Ningbing was pulled along by You Mengchu, the smile in her eyes never fading…
…
Early in the morning, Shen Hanyu was dragged out of bed by the Snow Emperor.
Looking at the sky outside the window that was still pitch-black, Shen Hanyu rubbed his brow, feeling quite annoyed. Today, he and the Snow Emperor had to take Shui Bing'er and the other girls to hunt soul beasts and obtain soul rings.
These girls always moved in groups; it was impossible to take just one. Every time they went out, it was always three or four of them together, as if they had already developed a tacit understanding.
After finishing breakfast and seeing that the sky was still quite dark, Shen Hanyu couldn't help but curse inwardly:
"Damn it, even my early eight o'clock classes in my previous life weren't this dark…"
The Snow Emperor, who was nearby, heard his low mutter and asked curiously:
"What's wrong?"
Shen Hanyu shook his head, turned around to hold the Snow Emperor's hand, and said with a smile:
"Nothing. I was just saying the weather today doesn't look very good."
The Snow Emperor nodded slightly and said:
"The weather these past few days has indeed been a bit unusual. I don't know how things are in the Extreme North."
Shen Hanyu patted the Snow Emperor's hand to comfort her, then sat down on the nearby sofa and closed his eyes to rest.
This rest lasted half an hour.
By then, the sky had already brightened considerably, though the morning sun was still hidden behind the distant mountains and had not yet emerged.
Droplets of water clung to the green leaves of the evergreen trees. The surrounding grass was bent down by the weight, and even the drainage ditch rang with clear, tinkling sounds of water.
Shen Liuyu, holding Shui Yue'er's hand, happily ran over while stepping in the small puddles that had accumulated on the road. Shui Bing'er followed behind with a smile, walking slowly and gracefully.
Shen Liuyu and Shui Yue'er arrived first. They made funny faces at Shen Hanyu and the Snow Emperor.
Shui Bing'er arrived right after and greeted the two with a smile.
Shen Hanyu smiled at Shui Bing'er and said:
"Bing'er is still harderworking than A-Yu. A-Yu has taken so many good things from me, yet she's still only a Soul King up to now…"
Shui Bing'er covered her mouth and smiled lightly, while Shen Liuyu put her hands on her hips and said somewhat unhappily:
"What do you mean, I'm not hardworking? Clearly, you've been giving me fewer things these past two years, okay…"
Shen Hanyu knocked on Shen Liuyu's forehead in exasperation and said helplessly:
"You're the greediest one."
After some more casual chatting, Shen Hanyu reached out and pinched Shui Yue'er's cheek, smiling as he said:
"Yue'er, don't be impatient. What's meant for you won't be any less. Once you break through to Soul Elder and can absorb it, it'll be given to you…"
Shui Yue'er nodded, then gave Shen Hanyu a playful smile.
…
Under raging storms.
Shen Hanyu and the Snow Emperor slowly descended with the three girls onto the vast snowy plain. Shen Hanyu released a burst of soul power, forming a barrier in front of everyone to block the biting cold wind and the razor-sharp snowflakes.
Shen Hanyu and the Snow Emperor led the four of them forward into the distance.
The wind and snow blurred their vision and, to some extent, even weakened spiritual perception. Fortunately, these effects meant nothing to Shen Hanyu and the Snow Emperor. Humans would be affected by the wind and snow, and the soul beasts living here were the same.
After trudging with difficulty across the vast snowy plain for about half an hour, they suddenly heard a loud, clear luan cry from the distance, accompanied by several responding calls.
Shen Hanyu told everyone to wait in place, then his figure swiftly vanished into the wind and snow, so fast that the three girls blinked in confusion.
Moments later, a miserable cry rang out from afar. Then they saw a huge ice-blue luan bird being thrown over with tremendous force. The once neat and smooth, gorgeous feathers of the Ice Jade Luan Bird were now somewhat disheveled. Shen Liuyu narrowed her eyes—she seemed to see stars in the eyes of this luan bird…
Shen Hanyu soon returned right after and said with a smile:
"This Ice Jade Luan Bird seems to have been driven to the edge of the flock because of a fatal injury on its body. Its age happens to be just right, very suitable for Bing'er."
The Ice Jade Luan Bird carried pure ice phoenix bloodline. In a sense, the Ice Jade Luan Bird was a pure descendant of the phoenix. Once its bloodline successfully returned to its ancestral form, it would instantly become the king of birds, the phoenix.
The Snow Emperor gently squatted down and stroked the beautiful feathers of this Ice Jade Luan Bird, whispering a few words. A trace of reverence and longing appeared in the Ice Jade Luan Bird's eyes. Then it obediently came before Shui Bing'er, even gently rubbing its head against her, letting out a whimpering cry.
Shen Hanyu roughly understood what the Snow Emperor had done and explained with a smile:
"This Ice Jade Luan Bird is about thirteen thousand years old, slightly beyond the limit you can normally endure. But if the soul ring it produces after death carries no resentment, the threat of soul shock can be eliminated. Although the age is a bit high, with us here, it won't be a big problem."
Shui Bing'er nodded, then looked at the Ice Jade Luan Bird in front of her and said softly:
"It might hurt a little later. You'd better close your eyes."
The Ice Jade Luan Bird tilted its head, finally understood what Shui Bing'er meant, and obediently closed its eyes…
…
Just as Shen Hanyu had expected, Shui Bing'er's absorption of this black soul ring went without any major issues. Not even soul shock occurred. The slightly overflowing energy was sealed a bit by Shen Hanyu; she could slowly absorb it later when consolidating her cultivation back home.
With that, Laborer Shen Hanyu's another soul-hunting trip came to an end once again. Who knows when the next mandatory labor would be…
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