Master of Nine Stars

”Heh.” Li Lie shook his head with a small laugh. But when Rong Taotao stepped back, an action clearly stating he had no more to say, Li Lie’s smile suddenly turned somewhat carefree.

’People’s attitudes change at every stage of development.’

’Since your mind is made up, then I’ll see you through this. Witnessing the rise of a new star—or the fall of a shooting star—should be interesting, either way.’

”All clear!” Dong Dongdong called out from the edge of the field, waving his hand. He was signaling that the injured student from the singles match was stable, and he could now turn his full attention back to supervising the doubles match.

Li Lie watched as a few medical students in white coats carried the injured player into the tunnel, then nodded.

Holding a small flag, he looked toward the Bai Brothers on the west side of the field. ”Are you ready?”

Bai Xiweng raised his hand high and nodded emphatically.

Li Lie then turned to the east side of the field, his gaze questioning.

Rong Taotao flashed a grin, showing his white teeth, and gave Li Lie a thumbs-up.

Li Lie swung the small flag down and blew his whistle. ”TWEET~!”

The match began!

Under the watchful eyes of several thousand spectators, neither team moved.

Rong Taotao held out a hand, a helpless look on his face. ”Seriously? You want us to attack?”

Bai Xiweng and Bai Xiwu bent their knees slightly. With a flick of their hands, two combat knives appeared in each of their grips.

But both of their gazes were locked firmly on Gao Lingwei.

That’s right, the two brothers stared directly into Gao Lingwei’s eyes, their gazes unwavering.

A thought struck Rong Taotao. He put a hand out in front of Gao Lingwei and said, ”Don’t use Ice Crystal Evil Face.”

Gao Lingwei narrowed her eyes. Seeing the brothers’ blatant provocation, she wanted to act, but she heard Rong Taotao’s command.

Rong Taotao continued, ”They want to get an early feel for your Ice Crystal Evil Face. Even if they can’t fully adapt, they want to assess the impact it will have on them beforehand.”

Gao Lingwei nodded slightly. ”Mm.”

Whatever Bai Xiweng and Bai Xiwu communicated in their minds, they both maintained their combat stances and charged toward Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei.

In the opening exchange, the brothers’ gambit had failed; Rong Taotao had seen through it and countered perfectly.

’And now... is it finally starting?’

Rong Taotao drew a Heaven-piercing Halberd and held it horizontally before him. Gao Lingwei fell in behind him, holding her Long Halberd in one hand behind her back.

The crowd grew louder, cheers rolling in waves as they waited for the spectacular showdown to begin.

Just as the Bai Brothers crossed the center line, Bai Xiwu suddenly dropped to one knee and slammed a hand onto the turf. ”Hah!”

”CRACK!”

The next instant, an ice pillar erupted from the ground between Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei, instantly shattering their Defense Formation.

”Left.” At Rong Taotao’s mental command, they both sidestepped to the left in unison.

Meanwhile, the older brother, Bai Xiweng, was already upon Rong Taotao.

Rong Taotao took advantage of his polearm, sweeping it wide. Bai Xiweng, holding a combat knife in a reverse grip, easily blocked the sweeping halberd. He stomped his foot, shot out his left arm—which also held a combat knife—and thrust it straight at Rong Taotao’s throat!

His first move was a killing blow!

Gao Lingwei’s eyes narrowed. She tried to lock gazes with Bai Xiweng as she thrust her halberd over Rong Taotao’s shoulder.

”CRACK!”

Another ice pillar shot up from the ground, once again splitting Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei’s Defense Formation. It even knocked the Long Halberd Gao Lingwei was thrusting high into the air!

Gao Lingwei’s pupils constricted slightly. Not only was her defensive maneuver broken, but her special gaze was also useless, because... the attacking Bai Xiweng didn’t even have his eyes open!

’The younger brother, Bai Xiwu, is controlling the battlefield from the rear while also acting as his brother’s eyes?’

Staggered by the impact of the ice pillar, Gao Lingwei instinctively took a step back and whipped her head around to look at Bai Xiwu at the center line.

Bai Xiwu immediately shut his eyes. At the exact same moment, the telepathically linked Bai Xiweng snapped his eyes open!

’No wonder no one else can partner with them. Who could possibly keep up with this rhythm!’

Rong Taotao jerked his head to the side. With the ice pillar behind him instead of Gao Lingwei, he didn’t have to worry about anyone else and could simply dodge.

The snow-forged combat knife scraped past Rong Taotao’s neck, leaving a shallow, bloody gash.

Beads of blood welled up on his neck. The cut wasn’t deep, but it had definitely broken the skin.

And this was only the opening exchange!

”Hiyah!” With a sharp cry, Gao Lingwei could no longer hold their Defense Formation. She strode forward to Rong Taotao’s side and thrust her halberd.

Bai Xiweng’s movements were seamless. Failing to pierce Rong Taotao’s throat, he immediately swung his combat knife in a horizontal slash.

Rong Taotao sprang back, retreating quickly.

Bai Xiweng instantly closed his eyes, giving Gao Lingwei no opportunity. He ducked under her forward-thrusting Long Halberd and simultaneously stabbed upward with the combat knife in his right hand.

At such close quarters, her polearm’s advantage was nullified. Showing astonishing combat sense, Gao Lingwei decisively abandoned her halberd and swiped a hand horizontally toward the figure stabbing up at her.

As her palm swept across, a snow-forged Great Xia Dragon Sparrow materialized in her grip.

”CLANG!”

The Long Straight Saber crashed against the combat knife. The immense force sent Gao Lingwei sliding backward a full three to four meters, her knees bent to absorb the impact.

In just a few short exchanges, Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei’s Defense Formation was in shambles, existing in name only.

At the center line, Bai Xiwu slapped his palm on the turf again, and another ice pillar shot up!

The halberd Rong Taotao was thrusting forward was knocked aside, and the rising pillar even forced his hands apart. He stumbled back a step before regaining his balance.

From the center line, Bai Xiwu immediately rose and charged at Rong Taotao.

Meanwhile, Bai Xiweng’s assault was relentless and ferocious. The combat knives in his hands became a blur, a flurry of continuous strikes that forced Gao Lingwei into a steady retreat.

Under Bai Xiweng’s impossibly dense assault, Gao Lingwei, wielding her Great Xia Dragon Sparrow, found her defense stretched thin as she was forced back again and again.

”WHOOSH...”

The Butterfly Dual Sabers suddenly flew out. Bai Xiweng didn’t even try to dodge; he simply swiped an arm horizontally, knocking them away. His advance never faltered for a second as he relentlessly forced Gao Lingwei toward the boundary.

Bai Xiweng said in a low voice, ”I’m sorry!”

Gao Lingwei kicked off the ground, springing backward. The moment she landed, regardless of the distance between them, a Snow Burst Ball rapidly formed on the sole of her boot, and she launched it with a roundhouse kick!

Her voice was just as cold. ”Don’t be!”

As expected, no matter how far Gao Lingwei retreated, Bai Xiweng was able to close the distance instantly—just in time to meet the Snow Burst Ball head-on.

”BANG!”

The Snow Burst Ball detonated, finally giving Gao Lingwei a moment’s respite.

But for her, the best defense was a good offense!

Instead of taking the opportunity to regroup, Gao Lingwei shot forward, charging the retreating Bai Xiweng!

At the same time, the Butterfly Dual Sabers she had thrown returned. With their master too busy to control them, they displayed a unique autonomy, circling rapidly around Gao Lingwei’s body, waiting for an enemy to appear.

The Butterfly Dual Sabers didn’t have to wait long. Gao Lingwei was already on the attack, savagely cleaving down at Bai Xiweng with her blade.

”WHOOSH...”

Suddenly, a biting cold wind gusted from Bai Xiweng’s body, and a violent wave of Shuangxue blasted outward!

As Bai Xiweng fended off Gao Lingwei’s fierce assault, the Shuangxue billowing from his body grew thicker and the wind grew stronger.

The gale didn’t seem to be controllable or strong enough to blow an opponent away, but it was more than enough to whip the spreading layers of Shuangxue into a frenzy.

In just three to five seconds, no one present could see Bai Xiweng or Gao Lingwei anymore!

Their figures had vanished into a swirling blizzard of Shuangxue!

A Shuangxue Vortex suddenly formed on a patch of the green field, creating a bizarre spectacle.

At the same time, Bai Xiwu, who had been trying to pin Rong Taotao down by circling him, used his superior speed to disengage, sprinted forward, and plunged headfirst into the swirling Shuangxue!

Rong Taotao instantly lost his targets. Before him was nothing but a massive, slowly spinning Snow Dragon Tornado.

He was startled, but his feet didn’t slow. He also charged forward, plunging headfirst into the Shuangxue.

...

More at eight.