Master of Nine Stars

Xia Fangran’s horse was no horse. It was a roaring pickup truck, a beacon of freedom!

Even in broad daylight, Snow Night Shock’s two enormous eyes glowed with a deep blue light, illuminating the path to survival ahead.

The weight of the four of them—teacher and students—pressed down on it, but Snow Night Shock only ran faster and faster...

He recalled the time he received orders to escort Rong Taotao to Hundred Corps Pass to absorb the Soul Pet: Snow General Candle.

The journey should have taken over an hour, but he was filled with resentment and spurred his horse on, reaching Hundred Corps Pass in just half an hour. The horse’s speed had exceeded one hundred kilometers per hour!

By the time they reached Hundred Corps Pass, Gao Lingwei’s Hu Bugui was panting like a dog, while Xia Fangran’s Lifebound Soul Beast was perfectly fine.

This was enough to show that after its Potential Value had leveled up to match Xia Fangran’s, his Lifebound Soul Beast’s power level was extremely high—at least higher than Rong Taotao’s and Gao Lingwei’s, and perhaps even a bit higher than Yang Chunxi’s?

After galloping through the dense forest for no more than ten minutes, they came across a small team.

Yang Chunxi, standing at the tail end of the Soldier’s Soul’s halberd shaft, feared Xia Fangran was seeing red and quickly said, ”Coach Xia, these are the reinforcements I called for. I made the call right after we were attacked.”

”Ah!” Xia Fangran looked at the approaching group of four. He recognized the Snow Burning Army uniforms, of course. They had probably rushed over from the Pine Soul Station.

In the Soul Martial World, teams were usually made up of three people. Although the Snow Burning Army had various squad configurations, one of the four people before them—a female soldier—was clearly ”out of sync” with the others.

Though they all wore military uniforms, the sole female soldier had a completely different aura.

Rong Taotao, clinging to the central shaft of the Heaven-piercing Halberd’s tic-tac-toe-like head like a koala, looked down and spotted the woman at once. Or rather... he couldn’t help but look at this female soldier.

After all, she was a bit too dazzling.

The three Snow Burning Army soldiers wore grave expressions. Upon spotting Xia Fangran’s team, they quickly greeted them and immediately took out their walkie-talkies to notify the other search and rescue teams.

But the female soldier... from beginning to end, she wore a look of simmering anger, an expression that bordered on uncontrollable rage. The aura she exuded was terrifyingly strong, her presence overwhelming.

And this was while she was wearing a windproof mask. Her neck and the lower half of her face were covered by the black mask, hiding her exact expression. But from the visible upper half of her face, her long, narrow eyes seemed to burn with a furious fire.

Only after she had carefully observed Gao Lingwei for a long moment and saw that the girl was unharmed did her anger recede ever so slightly.

One of the Snow Burning Army soldiers turned his horse around and caught up to the relentlessly galloping Xia Fangran, saying, ”Coach Xia, we’re the advance team. The main force will be here shortly.”

”Unit designation! IDs! Throw them to Coach Yang!” Xia Fangran couldn’t be bothered with any of that. He shot right past the four of them without a moment’s hesitation.

The Snow Burning Army soldiers immediately reported to their team. It was clear they held this Snow Realm Divine General, Xia Fangran, in high regard, as they tossed over their officer IDs.

Xia Fangran was indeed a famous instructor at Pine Soul, and he certainly commanded a degree of respect. But under normal circumstances, soldiers would only flash their IDs; they would never hand them over to someone else. This was a testament to the fierce reputation Xia Fangran had built in the Snow Realm over the past twenty years.

Yang Chunxi examined them carefully and said, ”They’re clear.”

”Good.” Xia Fangran slowed down slightly to let the others catch up, and he tossed Gao Lingwei forward.

Gao Lingwei hurriedly summoned Hu Bugui, landing squarely on its back as she fell. Behind them, Yang Chunxi summoned her own Snow Night Shock and shouted, ”Dispel the Soldier’s Soul, Coach Xia.”

Soul Power flowed through Xia Fangran’s hands, and the giant Soldier’s Soul instantly shattered. High in the air, Rong Taotao was suddenly left hugging nothing but air.

The massive halberd shaft that had filled his arms completely disintegrated into frost and snow.

”Whoa—!” Rong Taotao cried out as he plummeted from the sky. Yang Chunxi spurred her horse forward, flicked her Snow Whip, and wrapped it around Rong Taotao, pulling him toward her.

Xia Fangran, however, looked back at the silent female soldier to his left and rear. ”And you? Where’s your ID? Are you special?”

This was clearly not the way to treat a ”savior.” Perhaps calling her a savior was an exaggeration, but at the very least, she had come with good intentions...

One of the Snow Burning Army soldiers quickly explained, ”Coach Xia, she happened to be resting at the Pine Soul Station when we received the mission, so she came along to lend a hand.

We did a thorough check beforehand. She’s a soldier stationed at the Third Wall. She went home to visit family two days ago and was just on her way back to her post today.”

”Mm.” Xia Fangran turned his head slightly to look at the young woman in the half-mask. She didn’t look like a soldier. She looked more like an assassin.

Xia Fangran watched her gallop on her horse, her short hair whipping wildly in the wind... He frowned deeply and asked, ”Have I met you before?”

The woman nodded slightly in acknowledgement, her tone respectful. ”Coach Xia.”

The moment she spoke those two words, Xia Fangran’s expression froze. Her voice was pleasant, melodious, and highly distinctive. She was...

”Ah! I remember now!” Xia Fangran slapped his forehead. ”When we went into the Snow Realm Vortex to search for the Cyan Mountain Army soldiers, you were in my group! You were just a little girl back then...”

The woman nodded lightly but said no more.

However, her earlier behavior had already been noted by an observant person—namely, the galloping Gao Lingwei.

Gao Lingwei also turned her head to look at the woman who had fallen back to cover their rear. ”Do you know me?”

The woman’s voice came from behind her windproof mask. ”You look exactly like your sister.”

Gao Lingwei: ”...”

”One is lawless. The other won the national championship.” The young woman snorted and continued, ”Heh. The one who murders and commits arson runs rampant, living a life of debauchery, while the one who walks the righteous path gets assassinated at her own doorstep.”

Gao Lingwei: ”And your name is?”

”Xu Yiyu.”

Gao Lingwei pressed her lips together. ”Your emotions were running a little high just now. Especially toward me.”

Up ahead, Xia Fangran grinned. ”How could they not be? The ones who teamed up with me to go into the Vortex for that search and rescue were all from the Cyan Mountain Army. She’s one of your dad’s old soldiers.”

Gao Lingwei’s eyes widened slightly as she looked back at the young woman who called herself Xu Yiyu.

’It all added up!’

’The woman’s furious reaction earlier, and the way she had subsequently sighed in relief.’

The soldiers had said she was a guard at the Third Wall. By now, the Cyan Mountain Army existed in name only, and its remnants had indeed been incorporated into the legions guarding the Third Wall.

’Could she really be from the Cyan Mountain Army that was disbanded back then?’

And the name ”Cyan Mountain Army” still existed precisely because people like Xu Yiyu were still alive.

”Ah!” To the right of the group, Rong Taotao, who was being held down flat across the horse’s back in front of Yang Chunxi, suddenly spoke up, his face full of regret. ”My backpack! I left my backpack on the battlefield! Mine and Da Wei’s trophies were in there...”

There was something else Rong Taotao didn’t say. It wasn’t just the trophies that were lost, but also those two bottles of fine liquor his father, Rong Yuanshan, had specially procured—the baijiu he was supposed to gift to the Gao Family for the New Year...

”What about it?” Xia Fangran turned to look at Rong Taotao, a strange smile on his face as he teased, ”Taoist God, should we charge back in?”

Hearing Xia Fangran’s words, Rong Taotao pressed his lips together and remained silent, lying quietly on the horse’s back.

Not getting a response from Rong Taotao, Xia Fangran was a little surprised. He had expected to trade a few barbs with the kid, but Rong Taotao was avoiding the fight?

Yang Chunxi, ever perceptive, tilted her head slightly and noticed Rong Taotao’s silence.

’Power, power, it’s still all about fucking power!’

’Without power, you can’t protect anything.’

In the national competition, Rong Taotao had dominated the field, reigning supreme. And while no one could take away his champion title, the trophy that symbolized that honor had been lost just like that, in a place far from the competition grounds.

Logically, on a life-or-death battlefield, Rong Taotao of course had to drop his burdens, to let go of the baijiu gift box he was holding. But for Rong Taotao, the current outcome was undoubtedly a blow.

Xia Fangran’s godlike maneuvers had led them to escape with their lives. How could Rong Taotao possibly expect him to have also brought the forgotten bag? That wasn’t something a person could do, and Rong Taotao would never even think of asking for it.

Even though the opponents Rong Taotao had faced in the national competition were all top-tier university students, most of whom weren’t even his peers but were, on average, several years older with several more years of training.

Without a doubt, in the eyes of outsiders, Rong Taotao had already done well enough. His achievements were unprecedented and likely unrepeatable. No one should ask more of him, but for Rong Taotao himself...

’It’s not enough. My growth is too slow. It’s far, far from enough...’

’The shame of today must be repaid, it must! But... how much longer must I wait?’

’A bag containing a trophy, two bottles of baijiu from my father...’

It was almost unbelievable, but the act of losing the bag had affected Rong Taotao more than his narrow escape from death.

’To be alive, but unable to protect what is mine... This feeling is simply awful!’

”Taotao?” Yang Chunxi placed a hand on Rong Taotao’s back and patted it gently. ”Get a hold of your emotions.”

Rong Taotao: ”Mm.”

Yang Chunxi was just that meticulous, just that warm. She seemed to have perceived Rong Taotao’s inner turmoil.

She leaned forward slightly and comforted him in a soft voice, ”You’re already working hard enough. It’s just that this world has dragged you onto a higher-level battlefield.

At your age, you shouldn’t have to join a battlefield like this. You shouldn’t have to face these things.

You’ve already done very well. During the ambush just now, you even managed to inflict a casualty all on your own. No one expected that. The battlefield even came to a standstill for a moment.

Don’t be too hard on yourself. You just need some time to grow. Give yourself that time.”

”Mm...” Rong Taotao gripped the side of the horse’s belly with both hands and nodded silently.

Ahead, the thundering of hooves grew louder as the main force met up with them.

After a brief exchange, Xia Fangran led his students onward, escorted by a squad of Snow Burning Army soldiers, continuing toward Pine Soul Soul Martial University.

Although Xia Fangran was a loudmouth, he knew what choices to make and when to make them.

But Xu Yiyu, the woman in the half-mask, quietly came to a stop. She watched the teacher and students depart, her gaze lingering deeply on the silent Rong Taotao.

A few seconds later, she wheeled her horse around and galloped after the main force that was hunting the poachers...