Master of Nine Stars

「The next morning.」

On the rooftop of an old residential building, under the warm winter sun, Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei were sparring fiercely, each wielding a Heaven-piercing Halberd.

The thick snow was kicked up into a flurry, glittering beautifully in the sunlight.

Rong Yang sat on the stone railing from a distance, watching the two of them practice seriously.

At this moment, he had to admit that even though Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei’s Soul Power levels were somewhat lacking and their Soul Technique levels had just barely passed, their Martial Arts were truly something to behold.

When it came to their skill with the Heaven-piercing Halberd, Rong Yang found he couldn’t watch this match as an instructor. He was more like a spectator.

The saying ”different fields are separated by mountains” was true. Even though they were all martial artists, their weapons, styles, and techniques were different. Rong Yang really had no right to comment.

”Hah...” Gao Lingwei let out a long breath and stood her ground, the Heaven-piercing Halberd in her hand vanishing without a trace. She wiped the sweat from her forehead with one hand.

’So satisfying!’

There really weren’t many students who could withstand such a relentless barrage from her. As long as she didn’t deliberately use her physical superiority to bully Rong Taotao and just focused purely on skill, this kind of sparring was incredibly exhilarating.

To even out the gap in their physical Attributes, Gao Lingwei hadn’t even activated Snow Dance, while Rong Taotao had kept his active the whole time. This brought their speed and Agility Attributes much closer, so all Gao Lingwei had to do was hold back her strength a little.

The Soul Captain stage was indeed a huge threshold, one that brought a qualitative leap in a person’s physical condition.

Rong Taotao had been on the defensive the entire time. Seeing Gao Lingwei cease her attack, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but his expression was strange as he said, ”Hey... that time we had our duel for the bet—the time I stabbed you in the kidney with my Flowery—you said you’d fight seriously, but were you actually holding back?”

Gao Lingwei paused for a moment, then asked, ”Why do you say that?”

Rong Taotao grimaced, looking aggrieved. ”Even with Snow Dance active, I’m struggling just to keep up with your movements. With the speed you have, how could you have possibly let me draw my blade back then?”

Gao Lingwei pondered for a moment before replying, ”I was completely overwhelming you. You were powerless to fight back, and I drove you from the center of the field to the edge... I guess back then... hmm, I was probably feeling a bit playful.

”I shouldn’t have stepped on you. That gave you the chance to draw your blade. I should have chosen another, faster method.”

As she spoke, Gao Lingwei smiled. ”Besides, for an ordinary person, what good would drawing a blade do? I would have just stomped both them and their blade into the ground. I just didn’t expect...”

”Alright, alright, stop. Spare me some dignity,” Rong Taotao mumbled, his face a mask of misery.

Gao Lingwei shot Rong Taotao a glare. He was the one who asked the question, and now he was the one telling her to stop answering.

Rong Taotao chuckled. ”It’s mainly because my brother’s over there. If it were just the two of us, you could say whatever you want. With an outsider here, you’ve got to let me save some face.”

From a distance, Rong Yang’s eyes widened. ’I’m an ”outsider” now?’

Rong Taotao quickly asked, ”Feeling better?”

Gao Lingwei nodded lightly. ”Mhm, I was lying down too much yesterday. A good fight really loosened me up.”

”So, is it my turn to feel good?”

Gao Lingwei raised an eyebrow slightly. ”Hm?”

Rong Taotao said, ”My Three-star Soul Technique! I still have three Soul Skills to learn to complete it!”

”Alright.” Gao Lingwei nodded immediately. ’Raising a student is the best,’ she thought happily. ”Let’s start with the simplest one.”

As she spoke, she held out a hand, palm upright.

SWISH...

A layer of Shuangxue spread out from her palm as shards of ice continuously condensed, finally forming a square pane of ice ”glass.”

Rong Taotao vaguely remembered something. On that night in the Snowfield, it seemed Xia Fangran had used this very Soul Skill.

That’s right. Facing Xiao Ziru’s barrage of Flying Halberds, Xia Fangran had created a massive ice wall, completely sealing the cave entrance.

Gao Lingwei looked at Rong Taotao and said, ”This Soul Skill is called Ice Glass. I’ll tell you up front, it’s very brittle. You can’t trust it.”

”Huh?” Rong Taotao was genuinely surprised. He never thought he’d one day encounter a Soul Skill with such a terrible reputation.

’Untrustworthy?’

’But that huge ice wall Xia Fangran made looked pretty defensive, didn’t it? You have to remember, the one attacking was Xiao Ziru! You can imagine the level of that assault!’

’Although, in the end... hmm, I guess it did end up shattering, didn’t it?’

Gao Lingwei confirmed, ”Yes. When facing an enemy’s attack, especially an assault that could decide the outcome of a battle or even life and death, I don’t recommend using Ice Glass.

”Even though they are both elite-grade Soul Skills, your Iron Snow Forearm has much stronger defense and is far more reliable than Ice Glass.”

”Among Snow Realm Soul Skills, Shuangxue-type Soul Skills are generally more reliable. They can be compressed to be very thick and sturdy.”

”But Soul Skills that manifest in the ’ice’ form are mostly brittle. Whether for defense or offense, they aren’t the best choice. It’s better to use them as support abilities.”

”For example, the Ice Path you learned before creates ice flowers under your feet. That’s a support-type Soul Skill, and it’s very practical.”

Rong Taotao’s expression was strange. ”Then why would I make a shield out of ice instead of Shuangxue?”

Gao Lingwei replied, ”You’d have to ask Pine Soul Four Rites · Tea about that. He’s the one who developed this Soul Skill.”

”Currently, no one has been able to make a shield out of Shuangxue. For most people, learning a Soul Skill is easy—you just need guidance. But creating a new Soul Skill...”