Master of Nine Stars

”He’s still fighting!? He’s been burned to a crisp, and he’s still going!?”

”No, don’t, kid... Can’t he even stand steady? He looks like he’s about to fall over...”

”Awesome! This is awesome! That’s the spirit of a true Soul Martial Artist! That’s the determination of a champion!”

”Go! Go, Rong Taotao! Fucking get in there!!!”

Wanqi Wu’s summoning of a massive army was breathtaking, and his rousing Battle Cry sent the crowd’s blood pumping!

And yet, Rong Taotao’s simple gesture seemed to ignite the crowd even more than Wanqi Wu’s grand display.

Countless viewers must have been stomping their feet in front of their TVs. Here in the Worker’s Stadium, packed with tens of thousands, the stands erupted, completely set ablaze by Rong Taotao’s defiant move.

But regardless of the crowd’s reaction, the roiling tide of the corpse army crashed into Rong Taotao in the blink of an eye, instantly swallowing his solitary figure.

’Left... right... left...’ Rong Taotao muttered, his lips moving ceaselessly. Though he held the Heaven-piercing Halberd, his footwork seemed suited for the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow.

The Heaven-piercing Halberd in his hands parried left and braced right, its movements a fluid series of blocks and deflections. But the ultimate target of these maneuvers was not his opponent, but Rong Taotao himself!

Rong Taotao was treating the charging Corpse Fire Camels as mobile leverage points. Within the horde, he moved like a pinball, borrowing their momentum to propel himself, flipping left and right and leaping from side to side...

*Advancement! Heaven-piercing Halberd Mastery, Five-Star: Peak!*

A message suddenly flashed in his Inner Soul Map, but Rong Taotao had no time to look at it.

”My heavens! What is Rong Taotao doing!? What are we witnessing!?” Dai Liunian stared at the screen before him in utter disbelief.

It couldn’t be helped. Though the announcers’ booth was close to the arena and offered a superb view, amid the chaos of the corpse army, Dai Liunian could only rely on the overhead camera feed.

But it was precisely because of this bird’s-eye view that the path and movements of this ’pinball’—Rong Taotao—were all the more distinct!

’Is this... Bouncing Joy?’

Without Gao Lingwei by his side, did Rong Taotao’s evasive maneuvering somehow seem even more agile?

No... that wasn’t it.

Perhaps to an outsider, Rong Taotao appeared more nimble, but in truth, he was suffering immensely.

Back at the bottom of the canyon in Qianshan Pass, every time he’d carved a path through the Corpse Tide, Gao Lingwei had been right beside him.

Rong Taotao had grown accustomed to their two-person fighting style. Without her, not only did he have to completely alter his strategy, but he felt as if he was missing another pair of eyes, another pair of hands and feet...

From within his legion, Wanqi Wu’s eyes burned with intensity as he stared at Rong Taotao, taking in his elusive movements and the ridiculously flashy techniques he was displaying with the Heaven-piercing Halberd!

”Left!” Rong Taotao suddenly roared, as if to remind himself and jolt his mind back to clarity.

In truth, Rong Taotao’s physical condition was dire.

He had been bombarded by the Phoenix Group and was still dizzy and disoriented from the shockwaves.

The only reason Rong Taotao could perform like this was... he felt he had already entered another state of being.

At times, his mind couldn’t even keep up; instead, his body was moving on its own.

’Rong Taotao didn’t know what was happening. His body moved before he could think. This feeling...’

It was the purest form of muscle memory, a keen instinct brutally carved out from countless life-or-death battlefields.

The Heaven-piercing Halberd in Rong Taotao’s hands suddenly pierced into a Corpse Fire Camel’s ribcage. The next moment, with a sharp twist of his wrist, the crescent blades on the halberd’s head turned upright, catching and lodging themselves within the bones.

Rong Taotao held fast to his Heaven-piercing Halberd, letting the army surge past him and allowing this one Corpse Fire Camel to carry him along in its charge.

Without Gao Lingwei, Rong Taotao truly couldn’t carve his way through the Corpse Fire Camel Array alone.

In this terrifying tide of beasts where every step could be his last, a single mistake would mean the end for Rong Taotao.

Left with no other choice, this was the only thing he could do.

Fortunately, the Corpse Fire Camels weren’t intelligent like Snow Corpses or Snow Ghosts.

Fortunately, under their master’s command, these Summoned Creatures knew only one thing: charge forward mindlessly.

As Rong Taotao gripped the Halberd Shaft, he was carried along with the charge, his dangling legs hastily retracting.

WHOOSH! A Corpse Fire Camel charging past opened its cavernous maw, its long neck craning down, nearly snapping off Rong Taotao’s legs in a single bite!

Rong Taotao pushed off the Halberd Shaft, vaulting into the air. He let go of his weapon and landed square on the back of the galloping Corpse Fire Camel!

He was riding it backward, a classic trick that left everyone watching completely stunned...

”Rong Taotao!!!” Wanqi Wu’s face was a mask of battle-lust. With a furious roar, he charged forward himself!

The Corpse Fire Camel Array was designed to crush opponents through sheer numbers, relying on the camels’ impact and trampling power.

But that damn Rong Taotao had used his absurdly masterful skill with the Heaven-piercing Halberd to somehow weather the initial assault. And not only that, he’d then lodged his weapon in a Corpse Fire Camel and let it carry him forward?

If Wanqi Wu could tolerate everything up to this point, Rong Taotao’s action of mounting the camel was the one thing he absolutely could not abide!