Chapter 82: Shui Bing'er's Goodbye Kiss
"Ye Wen!"
"Hmm?"
Ye Wen turned around and found Shui Bing'er standing behind him. As he turned, her lips pressed against his, and they kissed.
Ye Wen stood frozen in place. His first kiss had already been taken by Shui Bing'er a few years ago, so this wasn't his first time kissing a girl.
But the previous time was an accident, whereas this time, Shui Bing'er had kissed him on her own initiative.
"Bing'er, you..."
Ye Wen stood there dumbfounded, feeling the warmth of Shui Bing'er's lips and the faint fragrance that emanated from her. For a moment, his heart raced, and his mind was in turmoil. It was the feeling of his heart fluttering!
Shui Bing'er slowly withdrew her lips, saying nothing, and then, incredibly shy, she turned and ran off, disappearing from Ye Wen's sight.
As she ran, Shui Bing'er thought to herself that even if her feelings were somewhat slow to develop, she had kissed him first, so he should have known that she liked him by now.
And indeed, Ye Wen, though not particularly emotionally intelligent, wasn't that oblivious. He understood now—Shui Bing'er liked him.
He understood why she was so upset when she found out he was leaving.
"This girl..."
Ye Wen watched as Shui Bing'er's figure disappeared in the distance. He even wanted to take a step forward to chase after her but ultimately didn't, sighing deeply.
After hesitating for a moment, he turned and left.
But that kiss had left a deep impression on his heart, and Shui Bing'er had carved out a large space in his emotions.
A moment later.
Ye Wen returned to the villa, where Xie Hu, Xiao Bai, Snow Emperor, Ice Emperor, Na'er, and the others were waiting.
"Did you tell Bing'er?" Snow Emperor asked.
Xiao Bai, considering Shui Bing'er's feelings, added, "How did Bing'er react?"
Xie Hu shook his head. "Do you even need to ask? We're all seen as peerless geniuses at Tian Shui Academy. How could she be happy when all of us are leaving? Plus, Bing'er... she's also..."
Xie Hu paused mid-sentence.
Ye Wen looked at Xie Hu and asked, "So you all knew?"
"As they say, 'the onlooker sees clearer than the person involved.' Old man, you're the only one who didn't notice," Xiao Bai said.
"Alright," Ye Wen sighed helplessly.
His mind had always been focused on building up the soul beast faction and improving his own strength, so he hadn't really thought much about matters of the heart.
But now, looking back, he could indeed feel it.
Now, he didn't want to think about it anymore because they were about to leave Tian Shui City.
"Let's stop talking about this. Let's go. It's time to leave Tian Shui City."
Ye Wen, along with his soul beast companions and Scott, who led a group of Soul Masters from the City of Slaughter, left Tian Shui City.
As for their destination and the location of their newly founded academy, they had already decided during the past year.
They planned to set up the academy in a coastal city in the northern part of the continent, near a place called Beihai City.
It was part of the Tiandou Empire, so during the Soul Master Tournament, they would belong to the Tiandou division. It was also very close to the extreme northern regions.
If not for the location of Spirit Hall near the Star Dou Forest, Ye Wen might have chosen to build the academy near the forest.
On the way, Ye Wen arranged things.
"Scott, take a group and head to the Star Dou Forest. Bring Da Ming and Er Ming here. Tell them we're setting up our own academy and need them as substitutes for the Soul Master Tournament."
"Yes, Master!" Scott respectfully responded before turning to a few Soul Saints and saying, "You four, come with me!"
Soon, Scott led the team away.
Ye Wen continued, "Xiao Bai, Ice Emperor, Snow Emperor, Na'er, you go ahead to Beihai City. I'll take Xie Hu to Shrek Academy. It's time to bring that rabbit under control."
"Once we've captured the 100,000-year-old Soft Bone Rabbit, we'll return immediately."
"When you reach Beihai City, Snow Emperor or Ice Emperor, one of you take a trip to the extreme north to bring A Tai and the Ice Bear King here to temporarily accompany us for the Soul Master Tournament."
"Got it." Snow Emperor and Ice Emperor nodded.
"Xiao Bai, your main task is to handle the paperwork for establishing the academy with the Empire, and select the location for the academy. Don't choose a city; that would make it inconvenient for us to transform. Pick a secluded, uninhabited mountainous area outside the city."
"Got it. I understand." Xiao Bai nodded.
Establishing a Soul Master Academy wasn't something you could do on a whim. Of course, one could set up an academy privately, but it would be considered unauthorized and would not have the proper credentials.
Such an academy wouldn't be qualified to participate in the Soul Master Tournament.
You needed to apply for permission from the empire that the academy belonged to, go through all the necessary procedures, and gain recognition from the empire before it could be considered a legitimate academy.
The application process for founding an academy was relatively simple, requiring just a Soul Saint-level Soul Master to apply for a qualification certificate. Once the process was completed, the academy would be officially recognized.
However, even if the paperwork was approved and the academy was established, it would still not automatically qualify for the Soul Master Tournament. The academy needed to have strong credentials, particularly in terms of the strength of its students.
If there wasn't even one Soul Elder-level student in the academy, no one would allow you to compete in the tournament.
Although newly established academies didn't have the credentials yet, money could smooth the way in such a corrupt empire. As long as the academy was strong enough, a little money could make everything go through easily, allowing them to enter the Soul Master Tournament.
As for the location, no one would care where you built it. Whether it could recruit students, survive, or continue operating was entirely up to you.
"Alright, you all go ahead to Beihai City and handle the tasks I've assigned," Ye Wen said, looking at Xie Hu. "Xie Hu, let's go. We're headed to Shrek Academy."
"Alright!"
With that, Ye Wen and Xie Hu jumped out of the carriage and parted ways, heading towards Shrek Academy.
Meanwhile, Tang San and Xiao Wu had successfully graduated from Notting Academy. At the suggestion of Yu Xiaogang, they were preparing to head to an academy called Shrek Academy to register and enroll.
Tang San and Xiao Wu followed the directions given by Yu Xiaogang and made their way to Shrek Academy.
As they traveled, they conversed: "Big Brother, do you think this Shrek Academy is reliable? I've never heard of it before."
(END CHAPTER)
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