"Bing'er, the host announced that it's our turn after Thunder Academy and Divine Wind Academy finish their match. Get ready to enter the Great Spirit Arena waiting area."
"Okay, I'll be there after I finish tidying up. You all go and prepare first. Canghui Academy's Seven-Colored Gemstones have already achieved seven consecutive victories, and they are only one win away from the current promotion line. They will definitely go all out today, so we cannot underestimate them."
Outside the Great Spirit Arena, Tianshui Academy's resting hotel.
In the mirror, the reflection showed a fair-skinned, exquisitely featured girl's face. Shui Bing'er had a few drops of water on her face; the cold water helped her sober up.
Before this, Tianshui Academy had already lost consecutively to Peach Blossom Spring Academy, Divine Wind Academy, and others. Although their ranking was currently within the promotion line, there were still two or three matches left, and a slight carelessness could lead to the risk of being eliminated.
As the captain of Tianshui Academy, she had no choice but to be fully alert.
Taking a deep breath, when Shui Bing'er walked out of the hotel, intending to catch up with her teammates, the surroundings suddenly became very quiet.
She walked in the direction leading to the arena, only to find that the road had no end.
She seemed to be going in circles, returning to the starting point again and again.
"Am I too nervous?"
"No, something's wrong!"
Shui Bing'er looked back and realized something was amiss. During the competition, most people were watching the matches. Although there weren't many people on the road, there was more than one Spirit Arena, and the intermittent break times were also different. So, people would often come out to buy drinks and snacks during breaks. However, she had been circling this road two or three times already and had only seen one old man drinking tea!
"Could it be… an illusion! Canghui Academy!"
"As expected of Tianshui Academy's captain, your vigilance is indeed strong. Unfortunately, you discovered it too late."
A white-robed elder appeared behind Shui Bing'er and spoke indifferently.
"You are the leading teacher of Canghui Academy. Attacking a participating student in Heaven Dou City, aren't you afraid of alarming the city's defense forces?"
Shui Bing'er's expression instantly turned serious. At such a critical point in the competition, this Canghui Academy teacher using an illusion to trap her, what he wanted to do, she could actually guess.
"Do you think this is still Heaven Dou City?"
"You can only blame your bad luck for letting me seize the opportunity. Originally, I wanted to make the students of Peach Blossom Spring Academy disappear, as this academy is a rising star, and the risk of acting against them is much lower than against your four elemental academies.
But unfortunately, they stick to their teacher like a dog's plaster, leaving no opportunity. For Canghui Academy to advance, only the students of Tianshui and Blazing Academy can disappear."
Shi Nian sneered, then he didn't waste any more words. Shui Bing'er discovered him too quickly, and she hadn't left Heaven Dou City too far. The longer he delayed, the easier it would be to be discovered. If Tianshui Academy found out he had laid hands on Shui Bing'er, he would definitely not have a good outcome.
"I have always loved watching geniuses die painfully in my Remnant Dream Spirit, especially beautiful young girls like you. It's a pity I can't enjoy them properly before tormenting them."
"You!"
Shui Bing'er's pretty face changed instantly, and she saw the surrounding scenery begin to shift. She was in a glacier, surrounded by thousand-year and ten-thousand-year ice-type Spirit Beasts—Ice Bisk Scorpion, Ice Snow Great Python, and Snow Bear—attempting to devour her body completely. Her entire body was covered in blood, bones separated from flesh, utterly terrifying…
"The essence of illusion is mental stripping. All scenes come from illusion. Mental pain is merely subjective. If you believe it exists, then it exists; if you believe it is nothingness, then it is nothingness. There is no need to be afraid.
Physical pain, however, still comes from reality. As long as you understand this, you will know who is harming you and what you should do."
Just as Shui Bing'er was about to collapse under the pressure, a faint voice seemed to penetrate the ice plain and enter Shui Bing'er's ears.
Shui Bing'er stood stunned, muttering:
"The essence of illusion is mental stripping? Nothingness… If I'm not afraid, they don't exist?"
Shui Bing'er took a deep breath, clenched her fists, and swung them heavily at the terrifying ten-thousand-year Spirit Beast in front of her.
Under normal circumstances, her punch would be no more than a tickle to a ten-thousand-year Spirit Beast, but this time, with this punch, the ten-thousand-year Spirit Beast in front of her swayed precariously, almost collapsing.
She seemed to have found the feeling of guiding the spirit power within her body. A wave of spirit power vibrated, and the surrounding scenery changed again. She returned to the real World—on a small path about one kilometer outside Heaven Dou City.
"Who ruined my plans?!"
"It's you, the leading teacher of Peach Blossom Spring Academy. How are you here?"
At this moment, Shi Nian finally noticed that behind him, a white-robed young man wearing a peach blossom mask was leaning against a large tree, looking at him calmly.
"Pfft—"
"For someone like you who maliciously disrupts the competition environment and ruthlessly harms students, I'm too lazy to say anything more to you. Go reflect in the Nine Nether Hell."
Behind Su Ran, a terrifying Yama of Hell appeared, directly suppressing Shi Nian and dragging him into the fiery hell. A heartbreakingly shrill scream, in just a few tens of seconds, turned him into ashes.
"Thank you, Senior, for saving my life and for teaching me how to break illusions. Bing'er will definitely repay you in the future."
Shui Bing'er's pretty face was quite surprised. Although she had noticed this Peach Blossom Spring Academy teacher before, she didn't know much about him. She didn't expect his strength to be so terrifying, instantly burning a seven-ring Spirit Saint to ashes with a mere raise of his hand.
"It's no trouble at all. If you wish to repay me, you can come for my apprenticeship assessment after the match. Become my disciple. I don't have any ice-attribute disciples yet, so I can consider nurturing one," Su Ran said indifferently.
"Ah? Apprenticeship?"
Shui Bing'er was momentarily stunned.
"Unwilling? If unwilling, then forget it."
"Senior can teach seven such excellent students and possesses such powerful strength. It would naturally be an honor for Bing'er to become your disciple. After the match…"
Shui Bing'er checked the time, "Oh, right, the match! Senior, if you are willing to teach me, I am also willing to be your disciple. But my team is about to compete, I need to rush back for the match!"
Shui Bing'er bowed to Su Ran and quickly ran towards Heaven Dou City.
"I'll give you a ride. Re-entering the city requires identity verification, I'm afraid you won't have enough time. Hold tight!"
Su Ran took a peach blossom branch and, using the art of sword-flying, soared away.
Shui Bing'er held the peach blossom branch, directly soaring into the air and flying at an extreme speed, arriving at the Great Spirit Arena in Heaven Dou City.
This peach blossom branch made Shui Bing'er inwardly exclaim: so big, so thick, so fast.
At that time, it was just after Divine Wind Academy defeated Thunder Academy, and Tianshui Academy was preparing to enter the arena. Tianshui Academy's teammates were all anxious because their captain hadn't arrived, when suddenly, several peach blossoms fell, and Shui Bing'er descended, holding a peach blossom branch.
Host: "Where did these peach petals come from? Where did this celestial being come from?"
Shui Yue'er: "Sister, why is your entrance so magnificent?"
Xue Wu: "Captain, how can you fly?"
…
"Teacher, where did you just go?"
"I noticed recently that in the spectator stands, several attractive female teachers from Tianshui, Blazing, and other academies came to talk to Teacher. Teacher, you weren't secretly going on dates with them, were you?"
"You're back so late, let Xiao Wu smell if there's any woman's scent on Teacher! Xiao Wu's nose is the keenest!"
"I smell it! It's the scent of a young girl, very faint! Teacher, you definitely went on a date with another girl!"
When Su Ran returned to Peach Garden, his students were already in the courtyard, fretting about where their Teacher had gone.
As soon as Su Ran returned, his students eagerly surrounded him, questioning him about his whereabouts. Anyone who didn't know better might have thought they were his strict little wives.
Senior Sister Ning Rongrong declared: "Don't let fertile water flow into outsiders' fields. How we sisters compete is our internal matter, but we absolutely cannot let outsiders abduct Teacher."
Collective interest: Protect Teacher's chastity!
"You girls, what are you thinking about in your little heads all day? If you keep imagining things, Teacher will have to use the cane."
"No, Teacher!"
"I want to be served by Teacher's whip, but not the teaching cane!"
"The two of you, Xiao Wu and Meng Yiran, are the ones who deserve a beating the most. You haven't tasted the cane on your palms, have you?"
"Mm-hmm, Teacher is right," Ning Rongrong agreed wholeheartedly.
Ever since Rongrong started trying the virtuous route and the intelligent captain route, and everyone got used to it, Xiao Wu and Meng Yiran were the most mischievous.
Zhu Zhuqing's nature was cold and aloof, so she didn't have as much nonsense to spout.
"In my opinion, all of you deserve a beating."
"Look, what is this?"
Su Ran said indifferently, walking to the table under the peach tree and sitting down. He drank a cup of tea, and surrounded by his six students, took out a circular bone from his peach blossom mask. It was about three inches in diameter, glowing with a faint seven-colored light, and looked like a miniature skull.
"This is… a Spirit Bone!"
"A head Spirit Bone!"
"Teacher, where did you get this Spirit Bone?"
"It's a secret. This is a head Spirit Bone for mental power. Actually, all of you can absorb it. Choosing the best among the best, if given to Rongrong, it should provide her with an additional mental auxiliary Spirit Ability."
"If given to Lingling, her Nine Revolutions Black Lotus will condense more smoothly and quickly, reducing her cultivation pain and aiding her soul-capturing technique."
"Of course, Little Yan and Meng Yiran will also gain significant improvements after absorbing it."
"You all decide who this Spirit Bone goes to."
Su Ran gave the students the right to decide who would absorb the Spirit Bone.
As a Teacher, he could also share the Spirit Bones and Spirit Abilities absorbed by his students, though the spirit power increase for him would be smaller. However, this would greatly benefit the students' future cultivation.
A benevolent Teacher, with boundless love.
"Teacher, give it to Lingling," Ning Rongrong said.
"What? You don't want an additional mental auxiliary skill?"
Su Ran was actually very pleased that Ning Rongrong could say this.
Ning Rongrong said, "Lingling needs it the most right now. And Teacher, you said this head Spirit Bone can alleviate Lingling's pain from cultivating the Nine Revolutions Black Lotus. Every time I see Lingling sweating profusely and her meridians turning green from the pain of cultivation, I feel the pain myself. As a captain, teammate, or even a classmate and friend, I hope her suffering can be lessened."
"Moreover, if Lingling's soul-capturing technique becomes proficient, it will also benefit us in matches."
Hearing Ning Rongrong say this, Dugu Yan and Meng Yiran also nodded:
"Captain Rongrong is right, Teacher, give it to Lingling. Lingling needs it the most."
Ye Lingling's eyes welled up with tears, deeply moved.
At Heaven Dou Royal Academy, she never had such good teammates.
"Silly girl, why are you crying?"
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