Master of Nine Stars

”Okay.” Hearing Rong Taotao’s words, Gao Lingwei immediately backed away. The Heaven-piercing Halberd in her hands quietly shattered, and with a wave of her hands, she scattered a layer of frost.

The next moment, a Snow-made Longbow appeared in her hands. ”Absorb Soul Power.”

Rong Taotao, with a Lotus Petal by his side, could only bless others when he himself was absorbing Soul Power.

Just as Rong Taotao began to absorb Soul Power with all his might, the Snowflake Wolf Pack’s even fiercer assault arrived!

As expected, that strange howl was the signal for an all-out attack!

Gao Lingwei’s eyes narrowed. She drew her bow, nocking an arrow, and the Longbow instantly bent into a full moon. ”You do what you need to do. I’ll handle the rest!”

’So it’s Gao ”I’ll-handle-everything” Da Wei?’

”Right!” Rong Taotao replied with a single word, also trying his best to banish the image of Mei Hongyu’s old, tree-bark-like face from his mind.

”SWOOSH~ SWOOSH~ SWOOSH~”

’There it is!’

’The master of tracing silhouettes!’

One sharp, snow-colored arrow after another grazed past Rong Taotao’s silhouette, shooting out at high speed to pierce the Snowflake Wolves pouncing from every angle.

’She has this skill, too?’

Before they left the school, Gao Lingwei had mentioned that she trained in the halberd, sword, and bow.

It seemed she hadn’t been lying.

Rong Taotao’s battlefield, on the other hand, was a true, head-on confrontation.

He wielded the Heaven-piercing Halberd in his hands in an impenetrable flurry, a completely different style from Gao Lingwei’s previous aggressive offense.

Stick, follow, deflect, redirect!

This technique of using the enemy’s force against them made Gao Lingwei’s heart bloom with joy!

’This is her comrade-in-arms! This is the person whose fate is tied to hers!’

What level were the Snowflake Wolves?

Most were Ordinary to Excellent Level Snow Realm Soul Beasts. And what level was Rong Taotao?

He was merely a Soul Soldier.

As a Soul Captain, it was only natural for Gao Lingwei to be able to hold her ground and control the situation.

But for Rong Taotao, a mere Soul Soldier, to also be able to defend the five-to-six-meter-wide cave entrance was a testament to his skill and unique fighting style.

Bathed in the light from Snow Night Shock’s giant eye behind them, Rong Taotao’s figure was tinged a deep blue. Amidst the spreading frost and snow, his movements seemed even more dreamlike...

”Nice!” Gao Lingwei’s beautiful eyes shone brightly as she let out a sharp cry. She drew her bow like a full moon, her arrows like shooting stars, all infused with dense Soul Power. Layers of frost spread from her body, a breathtakingly beautiful sight.

Gao Lingwei, who also used a Heaven-piercing Halberd, seemed to finally realize at this very moment why Marquis Wen had been able to fight three opponents at once before Hulao Pass.

Although they were both people who wielded halberds, their practical combat styles were vastly different.

Gao Lingwei was a pure overwhelming-offense, forward-charging type of fighter, whereas Rong Taotao always won with technique and defensive counter-attacks. Especially in a situation like this, his defensive efficiency was simply astounding!

Even someone as proud as Gao Lingwei had to admit that if she were a Soul Soldier in the same situation, she probably couldn’t have defended the cave entrance.

One-on-one combat was definitely not Rong Taotao’s strong suit.

But when it came to fighting many... had Rong Taotao suddenly evolved into a War God?

”If you’ve got something to say, say it louder!” In a state of soaring adrenaline, with blood rushing to his head, Rong Taotao grew more and more excited as he fought, revealing a side of himself even more shameless than usual...

It was undeniable that even though Rong Taotao was on the front line in close-quarters combat with the enemy, he felt quite comfortable.

Mmm... it was very likely the first time in his life he had experienced such a deeply satisfying battle.

Because their techniques were similar, Gao Lingwei knew where his weak spots were.

Especially in a combat form where his posture was constantly changing, and with him wielding a two-handed, long-handled weapon, his so-called ”weak spots” were also constantly shifting.

But Gao Lingwei, behind him, used her rapidly fired arrows to completely cover Rong Taotao’s weak spots at every single moment.

The Snowflake Wolves that sneak-attacked from all sorts of tricky angles were all either forced back or pierced through by Gao Lingwei, relieving a great deal of pressure on Rong Taotao.

”Get down!” Gao Lingwei suddenly shouted. She, who had previously only nocked a single arrow each time, seemed to have just unleashed an ultimate ability!

The Snow-made Arrows between her fingers were no longer just one, but three.

Firing three arrows at once wasn’t a huge deal; the key was her firing speed!

”SWOOSH~ SWOOSH~ SWOOSH~”

Showers of arrows rained down. All by herself, Gao Lingwei was producing the effect of a small squad of archers!

The mere five-to-six-meter-wide cave entrance was bombarded by a volley of arrows. Forget Snowflake Wolves, even a Snow Lion Tiger would probably have to give it a wide berth!

Originally, Gao Lingwei wouldn’t have dared to attack so extravagantly. As a Soul Martial Artist, one had to learn to be meticulous, to stretch every ounce of Soul Power.

But as the battle unfolded, under the blessing of the Lotus Petal inside Rong Taotao, Gao Lingwei personally felt the terrifying speed of Soul Power absorption. She could finally no longer hold back and unleashed her ferocity!

”Owoo~”

”Hiss...”

”Argh, whimper~” A series of howls and whimpers rang out. The Snowflake Wolf Pack, fearlessly surging forward, was actually beaten back by Gao Lingwei, thanks to the terrain’s limitations...

Rong Taotao, lying prone on the ground, looked up at the scene before him and couldn’t help but grimace. ’Th-this... what is this?’

’I thought you were Jarvan IV, about to shout something about divine might and being unstoppable, but then you suddenly hit me with ”the fury of the ice bloodline”?’

’Good grief, it’s true! What they say about Scouts is no lie!’

’Sometimes, time seems to stand still, and all you can do is watch...’

...

Under the dense rain of arrows, the ferocious Snowflake Wolf Pack was finally forced to retreat.

”AWOOO~~~!”

Following a long howl from within the vast blizzard, the Snowflake Wolves that had been trying to storm the cave each grabbed the bodies of their fallen comrades and quickly retreated, their figures vanishing into the boundless snow.

From behind, Gao Lingwei’s voice came. ”And you? Do you know how to talk?”

As the explosive damage output from behind him finally stopped, Rong Taotao cautiously got to his feet and turned to look at Gao Lingwei.

’Oho? Are you a child? How immature... fishing for compliments like that?’

”Mhm, mhm, my Da Wei is the best~” Rong Taotao nodded, muttering to himself in a manner quite reminiscent of Xia Yinyang.

”Hah.” A small smile played on Gao Lingwei’s lips. ”You can say it louder, too.”

Looking at the aggressive, post-battle Gao Lingwei, Rong Taotao couldn’t help but wave his hand dismissively. ”Alright, alright, everyone knows you’re mine. When we get back from training, I’ll borrow the school broadcast to announce it, how about that? I’ll post it online and tag the whole world...”

Gao Lingwei: ???

’Was I asking you to say the ”mine” part louder?’

Rong Taotao glanced outside the cave and couldn’t help but ask curiously, ”They even clean up the battlefield?”

Gao Lingwei snorted coldly. ”Beasts. They’re just taking their companions’ corpses to eat.”

The moment she finished speaking, Gao Lingwei seemed to realize that her tone had been rather cold ever since the fight began.

She reached up and rubbed her cheeks, her voice softening. While not quite gentle, it at least returned to some semblance of normalcy. She said softly, ”Good job. We worked well together just now. This is a great start.”

Rong Taotao, however, quickly dragged a few Snowflake Wolf corpses back from the cave entrance, afraid of losing any more resources. As he did, he said, ”Then you’d better work hard. The strong are the ones who get to call the shots. One day, I’ll usurp your position and become the commander.”

Gao Lingwei smiled casually. ”I couldn’t ask for more.”

Her love for a challenge permeated every aspect of her life and her fighting, and she readily accepted Rong Taotao’s gauntlet.

Rong Taotao suddenly said, ”By the way, I want to learn your archery skills too.”

”I can teach you, no problem.” Although Gao Lingwei was consciously trying to soften her tone and attitude, having just gone through such a major battle, it was indeed difficult for her to quickly readjust.

Rong Taotao was delighted. ’Such a great skill, I’ve got to learn that no matter what!’

Gao Lingwei thought for a moment and continued, ”It’s just that this rate of fire consumes too much Soul Power. If they had held on for a little longer, I would have had to switch to my Heaven-piercing Halberd.

Even with your Lotus Petal, allowing you to absorb Soul Power faster than me, I am still a Soul Captain. My Soul Power reserves are far more profound than yours. At your current level, it would be difficult for you to do what I just did.”

Rong Taotao nodded. ”Mhm, mhm, as long as you teach me, it’s fine.”

Since the Longbow in Gao Lingwei’s hands was made of ice and snow, her understanding of archery must be quite high.

At this point, Rong Taotao probably couldn’t really learn archery. At the very least, he would need to have a real bow and study it diligently before he could casually create a bow and arrows from snow.

Rong Taotao’s Sword Technique had already reached One-Star Pinnacle, but he still couldn’t use his Snow Soul to create a snow-made Great Xia Dragon Sparrow. That was the reality of the situation.

The two of them cleaned up the battlefield, but their guard never dropped.

Although the Snowflake Wolf Pack had temporarily halted their frenzied attack, the pair’s visibility was very limited. They couldn’t see any trace of the wolves, only hear the continuous, overlapping howls in the distance.

After standing guard for a while, Rong Taotao asked, ”Is this the second phase you were talking about?”

”More or less.” Gao Lingwei had finally calmed down. ”Don’t relax. This is where the real battle begins.

In this environment, we can’t go out to hunt the Snowflake Wolves, and they could attack us at any moment.”

Rong Taotao of course knew the severity of the problem. There were only two of them, and even with ample supplies, they would soon become exhausted.

Rong Taotao: ”So?”

Gao Lingwei: ”Savor every minute, every second of this moment.”

Rong Taotao: ”Huh?”

Gao Lingwei: ”I even hope the Snowflake Wolf Pack continues to besiege us, keeping us in a constant state of high alert.”

Rong Taotao: ”...”

’This girl’s a real lunatic...’

Gao Lingwei slowly knelt at the entrance of the cave, her eyes gazing out at the vast blizzard as she said softly, ”This is the difference between life inside the wall and life on campus.

In the end, we’re not supposed to be contestants in a tournament. We’re supposed to grow from students into Warriors. Aren’t we?”

Hearing this, the silent complaints in Rong Taotao’s heart vanished without a trace.

Bathed in the light from Snow Night Shock’s eye, Gao Lingwei, kneeling at the cave entrance, was cast in a deep blue hue.

That dreamlike color, set against her resolute eyes, sketched the image of a perfect Warrior’s statue in Rong Taotao’s mind.

’Perhaps, this is the real gap between us.’

’You’re already a Warrior.’