Master of Nine Stars

The sky is vast, the wilds are boundless, and beyond the plains lurk the Star Ape Wolves.

It was a saying every Starfield Soul Martial Student knew, a warning not to venture recklessly into the wilds.

Within the Starfield Vortex, the Star Candle Army had built a comprehensive network of training grounds, more than sufficient for the students’ training needs.

But if you insisted on exploring the wilderness, you had to be prepared to encounter Star Ape Wolves.

Using a creature to scare children might sound like a crude tactic, but in the lands of the Starfield, the vicious and hideous Star Ape Wolf was a genuinely effective deterrent.

These creatures were extremely sinister and cunning, their nature highly deceptive.

They would even feign weakness, allowing a human Soul Martial Artist to dominate the fight. But the moment they found an opening, they would suddenly unleash a fatal blow, revealing their true strength. Before the Soul Martial Artist could even react, they would be dead.

This peculiar temperament was also why the Star Candle Army dared not capture them for the training grounds.

If an exceptionally cunning Star Ape Wolf were to feign weakness to the point of being captured, and then suddenly lash out at a student in the training grounds, it would be a major catastrophe.

”CRUNCH, CRUNCH.” Rong Taotao chewed on a chocolate bar, crouched atop a cliff, and gazed down into the canyon below. Not far away, two Star Ape Wolves were savagely tearing each other apart.

Ye Nanxi shot Rong Taotao a speechless look. ’This guy... He’s so relaxed, it’s like he’s just watching a show. He has absolutely no sense of the danger we’re in.’

At that moment, the two of them were deep within the Starfield Vortex, hunting in an old-growth mountain forest.

After convincing both sets of parents, Rong Taotao and Ye Nanxi had left the safety of the training grounds to explore the Starfield Vortex.

He had crossed vast, fertile plains and seen endless mountain ranges, finally entering this dense, deep forest.

’Unfortunately, the one accompanying him through such beautiful scenery was a Tulip, not his Rose.’

”As expected of the staple Soul Skill for Starfield Soul Martial Artists. A textbook Brutal Charge,” Rong Taotao said, half-kneeling and peering over the cliff’s edge.

Ye Nanxi whispered, ”It’s not just a charge. As it rushes forward, a Star Shield materializes on its shoulder. It’s actually a rare shoulder-type Defense Soul Skill: Star Shield Charge.”

”So? Are they just playing, or is this a real fight? Can we handle that kind of speed and power?” Rong Taotao finished his chocolate and stuffed the wrapper into his pocket.

Ye Nanxi thought for a moment. ”They’re this badly injured. It has to be a fight to the death, right?”

But Rong Taotao asked, ”What if one of them is just putting on an act for the other?”

Ye Nanxi glanced from side to side, then said, ”If we don’t move soon, the winner is going to absorb the loser’s Soul Pearl.”

”Alright, let’s go!” Rong Taotao patted his shoulder. ”Hop on.”

”Can you even manage?” Ye Nanxi gave Rong Taotao a distrustful look.

”Less talk, just follow my lead.”

Ye Nanxi pouted but climbed onto Rong Taotao’s back. ”Go slowly, okay? I don’t want to fall to my death with you.”

”As if. If I were going to die in a lover’s pact, it wouldn’t be with you,” Rong Taotao snorted.

Ye Nanxi: ”...”

Ye Nanxi was at a loss for words. ’That damn mouth of his. He never loses an argument and never spares anyone!’

’Having a sharp tongue was one thing, but he’d always try to justify it, claiming it was how any normal person should act.’

’What kind of normal person roasts people for fun every day?’

With Ye Nanxi on his back, Rong Taotao nimbly flipped over the side, his hands gripping the cliff’s edge and his feet finding purchase on the near-vertical rock face.

Rong Taotao muttered under his breath, ”Perfect. If we fall, you can be my human cushion.”

”Stop trying to scare me!” Ye Nanxi was already on edge, and at his words, she couldn’t stop herself from yanking on his mess of natural curls.

”Ow, that hurts...” Rong Taotao grimaced. ”Alright, no more jokes.”

”Mm.”

Gripping the numerous handholds on the cliff face, Rong Taotao slowly made his way down.

”CRACK!” ”CRACK!”

One after another, beautiful ice flowers bloomed beneath Rong Taotao’s feet. In the sunlight, tiny, multifaceted icicles glittered with a strange light.

As Rong Taotao rappelled down, passing the ice flowers he had created on the cliff face earlier, Ye Nanxi looked on curiously at the shattering blossoms. She couldn’t help but ask, ”Are all of you Snow Realm Soul Skills this versatile?”

Rong Taotao replied, ”You don’t know how good you have it. If the Snow Realm had the same amazing environment as your Starfield, who would waste their time figuring out how to walk on snow or climb walls? All of this was born of necessity...”

Rong Taotao’s descent grew smoother and smoother. Eventually, he adapted to the motion so well that he no longer needed his hands for support. He simply slid down in a crouch, his speed increasing!

The ice flowers, which should have bloomed around his entire shoe, now blossomed only at the very tips of his toes, achieving the same effect with less Soul Power.

”Advanced! Snow Realm Soul Skill: Ice Path, Elite Tier!”

Rong Taotao: ”...”

Ye Nanxi said urgently, ”Don’t stop! We’ve still got 30 or 40 meters to go, and replenishing your Snow Realm Soul Power is a huge pain.”

”It’s fine, don’t worry.” Rong Taotao continued his rapid descent, his speed increasing significantly.