Master of Nine Stars

”The Wolf King. You see it, right? The one with the scarred face and the tail curled twice over.” Gao Lingwei’s Heaven-piercing Halberd scythed in front of her, sending several Snowflake Wolves flying.

ROAR!

Beside her, a Snowflake Wolf that had been overlooked opened its massive jaws, thinking it had found its chance!

Gao Lingwei’s eyes remained fixed on the small hill ahead. Without even turning her head, she casually extended her left hand.

BANG!

A rapidly forming Snow Burst Ball exploded, and the lunging Snowflake Wolf was instantly blasted away.

Behind her, Lu Mang watched on, filled with awe and envy.

’She’s so effortlessly cool!’

Her long ponytail and the red ribbon tying it fluttered wildly, adding a vivid splash of color to the scene.

This image of her moving with such ease amidst a tide of enemies redefined for Lu Mang what the heroic bearing and grace of a Soul Martial Artist should be.

No wonder Taotao fell for her. For the students of the Junior Soul Class, Gao Lingwei was an existence on a completely different plane.

Even Zhao Tang, the champion from the northwest, hadn’t given Lu Mang such an intense feeling of pressure.

”What’s the plan?” Rong Taotao’s gaze was locked on the Wolf King commanding its troops from the small hill, his hands gripping his Heaven-piercing Halberd tightly.

”We take it out. Once the pack is leaderless, they’ll scatter quickly,” Gao Lingwei said. ”I’ll do it. After all, it’s likely an Elite-Quality Soul Beast, a cut above you two.”

Rong Taotao suddenly had an idea. His eyes lit up, and he said eagerly, ”What if the two of us send you over?”

Gao Lingwei: ”Hm?”

Rong Taotao quickly crouched down and turned to Lu Mang. ”Remember last year, at the edge of the school’s Pine Forest?”

”Got it.” Lu Mang recalled the Human-shaped Cannon from back then. He immediately crouched down, squatting shoulder-to-shoulder with Rong Taotao in the snow.

Rong Taotao patted his shoulder and said, ”Come on, Human-shaped Cannon! Let me personally send my girlfriend into the most dangerous place of all!”

Gao Lingwei: ”...”

Lu Mang raised an eyebrow slightly. ’You’ve got quite the inner drama going on, don’t you? What’s that supposed to mean? That I’m your accomplice in sending your girlfriend off?’

Wasting no time on the battlefield, Gao Lingwei leaped lightly, landed with both feet on their shoulders, and bent her knees.

”Off you go~” With a powerful push from his feet, Rong Taotao viciously twisted at the waist and thrust his shoulder forward with all his might!

WHOOSH...

’Fire the cannon and blast ’em to hell!’

After launching Gao Lingwei, Rong Taotao quickly snatched up his Heaven-piercing Halberd and took a defensive stance in front of Lu Mang again. He picked off the surrounding Snowflake Wolves while keeping a close watch on Gao Lingwei as she hurtled forward.

Meanwhile, Gao Lingwei held her Long Halberd as the fierce wind whistled past her ears, whipping her long hair about and revealing her stunningly captivating face.

In her vision, the figure of the Wolf King grew larger and larger.

”HISS...” The Snowflake Wolf King was much smarter than expected. Though savage by nature, it had some cunning. Seemingly sensing the ferocious momentum of its attacker, it didn’t intend to clash head-on and instead leaped to the side.

Its fierce eyes locked onto Gao Lingwei as it simultaneously opened its massive jaws: ”ROAR!!!”

However, this threat played right into Gao Lingwei’s hands!

Her gaze met the Wolf King’s, and in the next moment, her normally pitch-black right eye suddenly flashed with an eerie red light.

The whites of her eye didn’t change, but her pupil abruptly turned dark red!

”WHIMPER~~~” The Snowflake Wolf King’s scarred face, which had been savage and fierce, instantly contorted with absolute terror.

The Snowflake Wolf King backed away repeatedly, its once-perked-up ears now flattened against its head.

All signs indicated that the Snowflake Wolf King was utterly terrified.

Meanwhile, Gao Lingwei dove onto the small hill and rolled once through the snow. But instead of rising, she kicked off the ground, her body shooting forward parallel to the earth in a powerful thrust!

SHINK...

Gao Lingwei’s halberd pierced through the Snowflake Wolf King’s body. Her forward momentum carried her onward; with the Ironspear Point dragging along the ground, she slid for a full two meters before coming to a steady stop.

”WHIMPER... WHIMPER...” The Snowflake Wolf King struggled frantically. The intense pain momentarily snapped it out of its daze, but as it thrashed its head, it accidentally met Gao Lingwei’s right eye again.

That single glance caused its huge, struggling body to freeze abruptly in place.

”Shhh...” Gao Lingwei whispered, half-kneeling on the ground. She reached down with her left hand, covered its eyes, and pressed the Snowflake Wolf King’s head into the snow.

”It’s okay. Soon, it’ll all be over...” In her right hand, a long, slender Snow-made Blade quietly appeared. She pressed it against its neck and pushed hard!

SHLICK!

The white blade went in, and the red blade came out!

Rong Taotao’s mouth hung open in an ”O” shape. He had, of course, expected Gao Lingwei to successfully kill the Snowflake Wolf King, but he hadn’t thought the process would be quite so smooth.

The Snowflake Wolf King hadn’t even put up a decent fight?

”It must have been terrified,” Lu Mang said, panting heavily. He noticed the surrounding Snowflake Wolves’ attacks had instantly weakened as they all turned to look at the small hill.

”AWOO!”

”AWOOO~!” A series of howls came from all directions, but it was impossible to tell if they were sounds of anger or mourning.

Rong Taotao asked, ”You got hit by it before. What did you see?”

Lu Mang: ”A dark red world, and a huge, hideous monster.”

Rong Taotao: ”A squirrel?”

”You think you could still call that thing a squirrel?” Lu Mang snorted. Watching warily as the Snowflake Wolves rapidly retreated, he said, ”They’re really leaving.”

”They probably need to choose a new Wolf King as soon as possible. That’s the pack mentality of Snowflake Wolves,” Rong Taotao guessed, looking toward Gao Lingwei on the hill.

She knelt beside the massive Snowflake Wolf, holding a blood-stained Soul Pearl. After setting it in the snow, she scooped up a handful of Shuangxue and gently rubbed the pearl clean.

Rong Taotao hurried forward and said cautiously, ”Da Wei?”

”Hm?” Gao Lingwei turned her head and casually handed the Soul Pearl over. ”Here.”

Seeing that Gao Lingwei seemed perfectly normal, Rong Taotao finally breathed a sigh of relief, though he still looked shaken. ”Did you just use your New Soul Skill? The one from the Ice Crystal Squirrel?”

”Yes, Ice Crystal Evil Face.” Gao Lingwei whistled, and Hu Bugui came running from the distant mountain forest. ”It lets the enemy see a terrifying image through their own eyes for a short time, and it’s accompanied by a minor Spiritual Attack.

If they don’t have a Spiritual Soul Pearl on their forehead, or if their power level is relatively low, they’ll be greatly affected.”

”Spiritual Attack? I remember you saying it was an Illusion Technique before?” Rong Taotao asked in a low voice as he took the Soul Pearl.

”It’s in the Illusion Technique Type, specifically a Visual Illusion Technique. A pure Spiritual Soul Skill doesn’t require eye contact and is much more advanced than the Ice Crystal Evil Face Soul Skill.” As she spoke, Gao Lingwei detached a rope from Hu Bugui’s saddle and expertly tied up the Snowflake Wolf King’s corpse.

Gao Lingwei turned to Lu Mang and said, ”Go find another Snowflake Wolf corpse and tie it to the other end of the rope, so Snow Night Shock has a balanced load.”

”Okay.” Lu Mang walked down the small hill. They had killed quite a few Snowflake Wolves on their way through, but looking around, it seemed many of the corpses had been dragged away.

”Why the sudden interest in these?” Rong Taotao asked curiously.

Gao Lingwei stood up and said in a low voice, ”Every part of a Snowflake Wolf is valuable. The Snow Burning Army buys them back, and the Soul Pearls too. Isn’t Lu Mang’s family having some financial difficulties?”

A warmth spread through Rong Taotao’s heart. Looking at Gao Lingwei, who was deliberately keeping her voice down, he also whispered, ”I know him. He won’t accept it.”

Gao Lingwei waved her hand dismissively. ”Then we’ll split it evenly. When a team is on a mission, the profits are split evenly. That’s the rule. He has to take it whether he wants to or not.”

Rong Taotao pouted and muttered under his breath, ”So bossy~”

”Hm?”

”N-Nothing...”

Gao Lingwei tilted her head and gave Rong Taotao a flat look.

Rong Taotao held out his hand, offering the Snowflake Wolf King’s Soul Pearl back to her. ”Here, you take this. It should be an Elite-Quality Snowflake Wolf Soul Pearl, which means Elite-level Snow Burst and Snow Step. It’s a higher grade than the Snow Burst you have on your ankle now.”

After inspecting it, Rong Taotao had confirmed that it was an Elite-Quality Soul Pearl.

”You embed it in your wrist,” Gao Lingwei said, shaking her head and refusing it outright.

Rong Taotao shoved the Soul Pearl right into Gao Lingwei’s hand. ”Embed it in your ankle. You’ll gain an extra Snow Step Soul Skill to use, which you wouldn’t get from your wrist. Plus, you use your legs a lot in combat, so you really need the Soul Skill on your left ankle.

We’re a team; we succeed or fail together. This way, the benefit to both of us is greater.”

Gao Lingwei hesitated for a moment. Seeing the serious look in Rong Taotao’s eyes, she nodded without another word, turned around, and lifted her left leg.

Rong Taotao quickly jumped aside. He knew Gao Lingwei was about to Blast the Pearl. Even as a Soul Captain, she would inevitably be hit by a huge impact force when Blasting a Pearl.

BOOM!

After the massive explosion, Gao Lingwei was sent flying backward with a WHOOSH...

Below the hill, Lu Mang, who was collecting Snowflake Wolf corpses, jumped in fright.

He hastily turned around, only to see that Rong Taotao had been prepared. He was covering his ears with both hands, in the exact same pose as a kid setting off firecrackers for New Year’s...

’In fact,’ Rong Taotao’s mind was racing, ’right now, Gao Lingwei has a total of six usable Soul Slots. Her left ankle has an Elite-Quality Snowflake Wolf Soul Pearl, her right ankle has the Soul Pet Frost Night Xuerong, and her right eye has an Elite-Quality Ice Crystal Squirrel Soul Pearl.’

’And if you add in the forehead Soul Pearl that Fu Tiance promised to bring her...’

’She still has the Soul Slots on her left wrist and chest that need to be replaced or filled.’

’If they’re lucky enough to find a full-body defensive Soul Pearl for her chest slot, then she’ll basically be fully geared!’

’He just had to wait for this hot-off-the-press Valkyrie to be ready, and then he could ride her coattails into the competitions.’

’Win battles, earn glory, and collect prizes. That’s the life! Tsk... Simply perfect!’