Master of Nine Stars

An extra chapter for Alliance Leader Fu Hei丶Da Li.

...

”Are both sides ready?” the referee asked, looking from one side to the other. After receiving confirmation from each, he waved his small flag. ”TWEET! The match begins!”

”It’s starting! The highly anticipated Outer Region Finals... uh, the second round of the National Tournament, has finally begun!” Dai Liunian began his commentary, accidentally letting his true feelings slip out.

Su Wan quickly jumped in, covering for her colleague’s mistake. ”The siblings, Baishan and Bai Ming, are indeed not attacking rashly. They’ve chosen to leverage the immense advantage of Ocean Soul Martial Artists. They’re... attempting to turn the Starfield arena into an ocean arena!”

And that was indeed the case. As the referee’s whistle blew, the two siblings immediately waved their hands, scattering droplets of water around themselves.

Ocean Core Soul Skill: Sea God’s Protection.

Sea God’s Protection enriched the Water Element around a Soul Martial Artist, allowing them to scatter droplets of water. With a high enough Soul Skill level, they could even create a vast ocean on dry land...

This Core Soul Skill is learned from a two-star Soul Technique, and it starts at the Excellent Level. However, judging from the density of the water droplets the siblings were creating, their Sea God’s Protection must be at least at the Elite Level!

”Go!” Rong Taotao ordered, taking the lead and charging toward the western half of the field with Gao Lingwei.

They had no choice.

They couldn’t just let the Bai Family siblings change the terrain like this. Even if they turtled up in the eastern half of the field, the Bai siblings would inevitably advance methodically, flooding the entire arena with seawater step by step. By then, it would be too late.

”Hmm, hmm, hmm...” Suddenly, the sound of Miss Bai Ming’s humming came from the western half of the field.

She... wasn’t singing. She didn’t open her mouth to form words at all, but was simply humming the tune through her nose.

And Rong Taotao was actually somewhat familiar with the tune. It was the world-famous piece, ”To Alice”?

’Good grief, I almost thought the school bell was ringing!’

Ocean Soul Skill: Sea Maiden’s Smile!

While using this Soul Skill, Miss Bai Ming had a smile on her face. And from her expression, it wasn’t a forced smile, but a genuine one that came from the heart.

The beautiful girl, the melodious tune—everything was so wonderful.

Except...

”Hiss...” Gao Lingwei’s charging steps faltered slightly, and a look of pain crossed her face.

The melodious and beautiful tune, however, was tearing at Gao Lingwei’s mind, corroding her nerves like a highly caustic liquid.

”Fall back a bit, a little further back!” Rong Taotao shouted, looking back at Gao Lingwei.

As the two charged forward, Gao Lingwei was already positioned behind, using Rong Taotao’s body to shield her. But apparently, Bai Ming had still caught sight of an exposed part of her.

As Gao Lingwei slowed down, Rong Taotao’s rapid advance made his figure loom ever larger in Bai Ming’s eyes.

Objects up close appear large, while those far away appear small. It was a simple truth.

Bai Ming’s beautiful eyes shifted to Rong Taotao, her soft humming continuing without pause.

Snow Realm Soul Skill, Elite Level: Bailing Barrier!

In Rong Taotao’s mind, a spiritual fortress constructed from snow-covered cypress branches defended his brain completely.

’You have the Sea Maiden’s Smile chant, and I have the Tree Maiden’s spiritual protection!’

In fact, Rong Taotao also had a Bailing Vine that could sever the spiritual connection between two people.

But this Bailing Vine was useless against Sea Maiden’s Smile.

If someone were trapped in an Illusion Technique, Rong Taotao could free them. But against a continuous, chant-type Spiritual Attack like Bai Ming’s, his Bailing Vine was ineffective.

”BANG!” Baishan, who had been firing off Water Cannons and scattering droplets everywhere, turned to look at his sister. It was unclear what the siblings communicated in their minds, but Baishan suddenly crouched down and pressed one hand to the ground.

WHOOSH...

In an instant, a pillar of water shot out from the ground. But the water pillar wasn’t aimed at an opponent, but at one of their own?

”Whoa!”

”That’s so beautiful...”

”Is that a rainbow?”

Cries of surprise and admiration rose from the audience.

Displaying incredible skill and courage, Bai Ming actually stepped onto the gushing water pillar and began to control it herself, letting it carry her diagonally upward.

Under the sunlight, a faint rainbow really did arc across the sky above the misty western half of the field...

It looked like Bai Ming was flying backward on the water pillar, but in reality, this was the result of several Soul Skills combined.

Water Element, Walking on Water!

Second was the Ocean Soul Skill: Riding the Waves.

Bai Ming had actually managed to forcibly seize control of the water pillar from her brother, Baishan, and was even treating it as her own wave. Without a doubt, her Soul Skill: Riding the Waves had to be at the Elite Level!

Standing atop the pillar of water, Bai Ming’s field of view widened. Now, Rong Taotao could no longer block her line of sight.

As the gentle breeze blew, Bai Ming’s long hair danced in the wind. Standing high on the pillar of water, her marvelous eyes locked onto Gao Lingwei, the soft humming from her nose never ceasing: ”Hmm, hmm, hmm...”

’This damn ”To Alice”!’

’It haunted me back in middle school. Whenever this song played, I knew my precious free time was over and class was about to start...’