Although Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er did not quite understand, they still walked over.
The two sisters were both remarkably fresh and charming. Shui Bing'er appeared somewhat more cold and aloof, while Shui Yue'er was much softer.
Together, the two of them bowed to Tu Ya in unison: "Greetings, Master!"
They were not fools; how could Liu Ruyan possibly wish to harm them?
Liu Ruyan immediately explained, "They are half-sisters. Shui Bing'er's Martial Soul is the Condensed Water Flying Luan, and Shui Yue'er's is the Glaze Jade Dolphin."
"Just in terms of Martial Souls, they rank among the very top tier in the academy, and indeed across the entire continent."
Saying this, Liu Ruyan affectionately stroked the crowns of the two sisters' heads, her eyes brimming with undisguised fondness.
While following a Titled Douluo held many benefits for their future, parting ways still brought a heavy wave of reluctance.
Liu Ruyan looked earnestly at Tu Ya and said, "I hope Your Excellency will take good care of these two children."
"Naturally." Tu Ya nodded in agreement.
She beckoned with her hand, and the Shui sisters obediently walked over, neither crying nor making a fuss.
After receiving Chu Fei's confirmation, Tu Ya did not linger any longer, turning around to lead the group away.
This journey was not directed toward Tiantou City, but rather pressed straight north.
The sharp-witted Shui Bing'er immediately noticed something amiss as the silhouette of Tiantou City grew farther and farther away.
A slight tremor entered her voice as she tightly clutched Shui Yue'er's hand and asked from the side, "Master, where are we going?"
Shui Bing'er was deeply puzzled; at such a tender age, how could she possibly understand these complex matters?
Chu Fei quietly spoke up, "To the Far North."
Seeing that Shui Bing'er was still confused, he patiently explained, "Shui Bing'er, your Soul Power has already reached level ten, hasn't it?"
Shui Bing'er nodded and said, "Yes. Dean Liu originally planned to take me to absorb my first Soul Ring, but now—"
Chu Fei's words calmed her agitation, replacing it with a child's natural curiosity in her eyes.
Clearly around the same age as her, why was the boy before her so remarkably composed?
It was as if no problem could ever trouble him.
"This trip is precisely to get your first Soul Ring," Chu Fei said, offering no further explanation.
Given Shui Bing'er's intelligence, she could naturally guess the reason behind it.
And there were only two objectives for this journey.
The most crucial one was that the Far North was bitterly cold, and precisely within such extreme cold, countless immensely powerful Soul Beasts bred, along with numerous rare natural treasures.
This place was a veritable paradise for water-type Soul Masters like the Shui sisters.
However, Liu Ruyan's strength was insufficient to bring the two sisters into the extreme cold; let alone carrying two burdens, she would likely struggle to survive there on her own.
Realizing that this journey posed no danger, Shui Bing'er grew quiet and said no more, huddling close to Shui Yue'er for comfort beneath the shade provided by Tu Ya.
Even though both of them possessed ice- and water-type Martial Souls, they still shivered uncontrollably upon setting foot in the Far North.
The temperatures here were an absolute forbidden zone for humans; venturing here unprepared was no different from seeking death.
Blinding snow filled the sky, but relying on her formidable strength, Tu Ya led the group deeper and deeper.
When hungry, they hunted; when thirsty, they drank melted snow.
After searching for seven consecutive days, they finally discovered a massive piece of ten-thousand-year Cold Ice Marrow the height of a grown person inside a cave near the inner perimeter of the Far North!
The translucent, azure Cold Ice Marrow illuminated the entire cavern. Even in the pitch-dark surroundings, the surging Soul Power within it turned the Cold Ice Marrow itself into a source of light.
The Shui sisters stared dazedly at the transcendent beauty of the ice marrow.
Chu Fei brushed the accumulated snow from his body, stretched out his frost-reddened hands to touch the Cold Ice Marrow, and a Sea of Blood surged forth, completely enveloping it.
He beckoned to the two sisters beside him, "Go inside and absorb it."
Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er rushed in together. Feeling the Soul Power emanating from the cold jade marrow, they felt as though their very Martial Souls were cheering and leaping with joy.
Tu Ya stood guard at the cave entrance; should any blind Soul Beast dare to approach and provoke them, she would simply slaughter it!
As Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er gradually entered a state of deep meditation, opening their hearts wide while their entire bodies received the external essence, Chu Fei timely activated the assimilation.
The Martial Souls displayed by the two young women gradually began to change, and during this assimilation process, they completely absorbed the entire block of Cold Ice Marrow.
The person-sized crystal block lost all its vitality; devoid of luster, it forged two even more dazzling newborn entities.
A luan bird and a dolphin soared forth, their blood-red skin overflowing with brilliant radiance.
Chu Fei nodded in satisfaction as he watched their transformation, feeling that the trip had certainly not been in vain.
The aura emanating from the two of them was undeniably proof that they had stepped into god-grade aptitude. Through the assimilation of the ten-thousand-year Cold Ice Marrow, they had forged a Blood Ice Divine Body, while the Ice Snow Divine Phoenix and Ice Blood Divine Dolphin elevated their Martial Souls to the level of God-grade Martial Souls.
In this way, provided they had sufficient natural treasures and their own innate aptitude was not lacking, they could steadily take a massive leap forward following the assimilation!
The Soul Power of Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er increased by four levels simultaneously, reaching level 14 and level 11 respectively.
"I... have I reached level 11?" Shui Yue'er asked, still finding it hard to believe.
Having just embarked on the path of cultivation, she naturally knew how difficult it was. With Shui Bing'er ahead of her and the dean urging her on, how could she possibly slack off in her training?
Now, having followed Chu Fei to the Far North, although she had endured quite a hardship, the final outcome made all the preceding struggles fade into oblivion.
With such an improvement, what did a little hardship and fatigue matter?
Chu Fei stepped forward to look at the two girls who had completed their absorption, rewarding each with a word of encouragement.
What they needed was validation, and this sense of recognition would quickly draw them closer.
How could the two children, Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er, refuse? A slight blush immediately bloomed on their delicate, tender cheeks.
"Master Chu Fei, I have found them."
After a short while—not long after the assimilation was complete—Tu Ya walked slowly into the cave, carrying two listless Soul Beasts whose auras were feeble, and dropped them in front of the two sisters.
Even though these thousand-year ice-attribute Soul Beasts held the home-field advantage in the Far North, they were merely millennium-level beasts, which naturally posed no obstacle to Tu Ya.
Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er each immediately chose a Soul Beast, killed it, and sat cross-legged to absorb the Soul Ring.
This single thousand-year Soul Ring elevated their Soul Power by another two levels.
A Soul Master absorbing a Soul Ring differed slightly from Xiao Wu transforming into human form and condensing a Soul Ring.
Xiao Wu did not need to painstakingly search; upon reaching the required rank, she could condense a Soul Ring on her own.
Soul Masters, however, had to hunt Soul Beasts to acquire rings. If a Soul Master absorbed a higher-level Soul Ring and managed to endure it, a sudden surge of three or four levels after absorption was entirely possible.
After becoming Blood Ice Divine Bodies, the Shui sisters experienced massive enhancements across all attributes, including physical strength, power, speed, and reaction time. They could also suppress the spiritual shock generated by the Soul Rings, meaning their endurance far surpassed that of ordinary Soul Masters at the same level.
Their Soul Power cultivation speed increased dramatically, and cultivating ice-attribute Soul Power granted them a double cultivation speed bonus.
In addition, they gained immunity to ice attributes.
Once the two sisters finished their absorption, Chu Fei did not linger, having Tu Ya lead the group back to Tiantou City.