Delicate white jade wine cups lightly clinked together, producing a crisp, pleasant sound. The Third Elder, Mu Xi, Qing Yun, and Shui Qingmei raised their cups, each wearing an expression of ease and joy that came with sealing a new alliance.
"Mother!"
"Mother!"
Very soon, three different childish voices broke the stillness in the room as three small figures walked in.
Leading them was a young boy—precisely Chen Yi. He was only seven years old. His frame still carried the slenderness of a child, but his steps were steady, and his gaze was clear and transparent, faintly revealing a composure beyond his age.
Following behind Chen Yi were two girls who looked like ice-and-snow fairies—sisters Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er. Shui Bing'er's temperament was cool and tranquil, like a snow lotus on a mountain peak untouched by dust. Shui Yue'er, on the other hand, was more lively and spirited. The play of light in her eyes held curiosity and mischief.
The appearance of the three immediately drew everyone's attention in the room.
"Xiao Yi, you three are…?"
Mu Xi put down her cup, her gaze first landing on her son, then curiously sweeping over the pair of sisters behind him. A hint of surprise flashed across her eyes.
Although she hadn't returned to Skywater Academy in many years, the Body Sect's spies had occasionally transmitted important information about Skywater Academy back to the sect, including news about the Shui sisters. So Mu Xi was aware of her senior sister's famous pair of daughters.
Chen Yi stepped forward and gave a slight bow to the elders, answering calmly, "Mother, Third Elder, Grandmaster, Martial Aunt. I went to the training grounds just now to get familiar with the environment. On the way back, I happened to run into Sisters Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er."
Seeing the Third Elder's figure, Chen Yi was not surprised. He had long suspected that either the Second or Third Elder was somewhere nearby.
Chen Yi's explanation was straightforward, but Mu Xi's eyebrows arched slightly. The trace of surprise in her eyes quickly turned into understanding and mischief. The corners of her lips unconsciously lifted into a smile filled with Onee-san-like teasing.
Oh?
Just by going to the training ground he can happen to meet the academy's two most outstanding little girls? That kind of coincidence… was really something.
Mu Xi looked at the three children standing side by side—the boy handsome, the girls beautiful. Standing together, they were a very pleasing sight.
Then her gaze became a bit unfocused; clearly, her thoughts had already drifted toward a direction that older relatives were fond of imagining.
Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er also obediently greeted the elders. Shui Qingmei gave her daughters a small nod, but her gaze rested mainly on Chen Yi, full of scrutiny and curiosity. She hadn't paid much attention earlier, but now she was more intrigued than ever.
A god?
Did such beings really exist in this world?
And this boy had actually been chosen by a supreme god?
Qing Yun was the same. She looked at Chen Yi gently and said, "I was just about to ask about this little rascal earlier, but your mother sent you out first, so I still haven't had a proper look at you."
Then, with meaningful emphasis, she added, "Now that I see you, this little fellow really is excellent."
Mu Xi's smile grew even more brilliant at that. She had just been about to offer a few modest words to her teacher, when Shui Qingmei gently set down her teacup, turned her gaze to the Third Elder, and spoke with a hint of seeking confirmation:
"Third Elder, earlier you mentioned that Chen Yi possesses an unprecedented innate rank twenty soul power. Such a thing has never been heard of. I wonder if our family might have the honor of witnessing it for ourselves today?"
As soon as those words left her mouth, Chen Yi was slightly taken aback. The Shui sisters jolted as if struck by lightning, their beautiful eyes going wide as they stared at the boy standing calmly beside them in disbelief.
"Innate… rank twenty?" Shui Yue'er couldn't help but cry out in a small voice, brimming with shock. "But, Junior Brother Chen, you clearly told us just now that you had innate rank seven and a half soul power!"
Shui Bing'er, though she didn't speak, had eyes full of astonishment and confusion. She looked at Chen Yi, clearly seeking an explanation.
Innate rank twenty soul power?
How was that possible? When she had awakened her martial soul, both her mother and Grandmaster had said that innate full soul power—rank ten—was already the limit a martial soul could reach. How could there be something like innate rank twenty soul power that no one had ever heard of?
On the surface, Chen Yi's expression didn't change, but his heart was in turmoil. He cast a questioning look at Mu Xi and the Third Elder. Only when he saw them both nod slightly did he relax. So they had revealed this—it must be part of some larger plan of the sect.
Faced with the Shui sisters' confusion and questioning, Chen Yi showed no trace of embarrassment at being exposed. He merely offered the two girls a slightly apologetic smile and said evenly, "Sister Yue'er, Junior Sister Bing'er, I was compelled to conceal the truth earlier. It wasn't my intention to deceive you. Please accept my apology."
The sincerity in his tone eased much of the sisters' brief displeasure, replacing it with even greater curiosity.
Innate rank twenty soul power?
That was a level of talent unheard of in the entire recorded history of the soul master world. Just how powerful must the martial soul of someone like that be?
Before the girls could think further, Chen Yi took a step forward. Without further explanation, he stirred his thoughts, and the vast soul power slumbering within him surged forth like a torrent unbound.
"Buzz."
A powerful wave of soul power burst out from him as the center. It wasn't wild, yet it carried a heavy, oppressive force that made one's heart pound. For an instant it felt as though the air in the room had solidified, the lights flickering in response.
With it, boundless, violent purple-gold lightning erupted outward. Three deep, rich purple soul rings slowly rose from beneath Chen Yi's feet, revolving in a steady rhythm around his body.
At the same time, he released his soul power pressure without restraint. His aura was clearly at the thirty-seventh rank—a Soul Elder at level thirty-seven!
"How… how is this possible?!"
Even with Shui Qingmei's experience as Skywater Academy's dean, she couldn't help but pale in shock. She sprang to her feet, staring fixedly at the three thousand-year soul rings. It felt as though her understanding of the world was being overturned on the spot.
A seven-year-old Soul Elder? A seven-year-old three-ring Soul Elder? And all three rings were thousand-year-level?
Innate rank twenty soul power was already shocking enough. Yet this utterly abnormal soul ring configuration was just as unprecedented, completely beyond anything anyone could have imagined.
Qing Yun was equally stunned. Her teacup fell onto the table with a "pa," tea splashing out without her noticing. Her face was filled with astonishment; her lips trembled as she murmured, "A complete body martial soul… and three thousand-year soul rings. Only seven years old, yet already at rank thirty-seven."
"A monster—this is a true monster!"
At that moment, Qing Yun finally believed that Chen Yi had indeed received the favor of a god. Only such a heaven-defying monster was worthy of a divine inheritance, and worthy of reaching that supreme realm.
As for Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er, they were completely dumbfounded. Their minds went blank, their rosy lips falling open as if they could fit an egg inside.
They had thought that innate rank twenty soul power was already the limit of what their young hearts could handle, yet that turned out to be just the tip of the iceberg. Three thousand-year soul rings, rank thirty-seven at seven years old—these facts struck like three heavy hammers, shattering their previous worldview to pieces.
Shui Yue'er instinctively clutched her sister's arm. Shui Bing'er felt her own heart thudding wildly. The look she gave Chen Yi had gone from initial puzzlement to complete awe and shock.
So, when he'd said innate rank seven and a half, it had been nothing more than a flimsy disguise. This was his true strength—terrifying beyond belief.
Mu Xi watched the shock on everyone's faces—especially Shui Qingmei and Qing Yun's total loss of composure—and her heart swelled with pride.
She had known that once her son's full talent was revealed, it would have exactly this effect. The Third Elder stroked his beard with a satisfied smile, a gleam in his eyes. He was quite pleased with the impact Chen Yi had created.
Yes, this kind of visual harm couldn't be reserved for only the Body Sect members to enjoy. Skywater Academy was just the beginning.
Chen Yi stood calmly in place, encircled by lightning. The three purple rings slowly revolved, casting shifting light and shadow over his still-young yet already sharply defined features. He wasn't deliberately showing off; he simply displayed his strength openly. The ultimate lightning attribute that came with his body martial soul filled the air with a faint scorching smell—the natural manifestation of that extreme power.
"And this lightning… It far surpasses the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. Even the current Yu Yuanzhen can't compare." Qing Yun took several deep breaths before she managed to suppress the storm in her heart. She looked at the Third Elder and said hoarsely, "Third Elder, your Body Sect… has truly produced a monster unseen in ten thousand years."
Shui Qingmei regarded Chen Yi with a complex expression and sighed. "I've lived so many years and thought I'd seen my share of geniuses. But for someone like Chen Yi… genius is no longer enough to describe him. This is a true miracle."
She then turned her head toward Mu Xi, her tone filled with sincere admiration. "Mu Xi, you've given birth to a remarkable son."
Mu Xi hurried to demur. "Xiao Yi has just been a bit more fortunate than most."
But the smile at the corner of her eyes could not be hidden.
Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Chen Yi willed his martial soul and soul rings to withdraw. The suffocating aura and dazzling purple glow vanished in an instant. The reception room returned to calm, as if nothing had happened, yet the shock in everyone's hearts lingered on.
Only then did Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er come back to themselves as though waking from a dream. The way they looked at Chen Yi had completely changed. Where before there had been the casual regard of older schoolmates for a younger one, now there was only respect and overwhelming curiosity.
Shui Yue'er couldn't help muttering under her breath, "You big liar… to be this powerful…"
There was no real blame in her tone. Instead, it carried a hint of admiration that even she did not notice.
Shui Bing'er thought more deeply. She recalled the moment when Chen Yi had entered his martial soul state; that ultimate lightning power had caused her Ice Phoenix martial soul to shudder faintly. In her heart, she admitted, "I thought myself a peerless genius. Now I see I've only been a frog at the bottom of a well."
Shui Qingmei sat back down, her expression once again showing her usual composure and decisiveness, but the look in her eyes as she regarded Chen Yi had become burning hot.
Chen Yi's very existence was a stock of potential that could not be measured. Maintaining close ties with him and the Body Sect would bring Skywater Academy unimaginable benefits in the future.
The conversation that followed grew even more passionate and in-depth.
Chen Yi, however, quietly stepped aside to stand with Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er. Shui Yue'er couldn't help scooting closer, her big eyes blinking at him as she lowered her voice:
"Brother Chen Yi, just… just how do you cultivate? Three thousand-year soul rings—that's way too frightening!"
Though she didn't speak, Shui Bing'er's ears were clearly tuned to every word.
Looking at the two sisters who'd been thoroughly shocked by his display, Chen Yi smiled but did not explain in detail. He only answered softly, "A series of coincidences, plus the Body Sect and my mother nurturing me with everything they had. Both of you are exceptionally gifted. Your future achievements will surely be limitless."
His modesty did nothing to quell the Shui sisters' curiosity. Instead, it made them feel that this mysterious junior brother was even more unfathomable.