Master of Nine Stars

’He had taken with him the title of one of the Nine Little Souls: Apple.

After he left, Sun Xingyu kicked him out of the group chat. That account would probably never send another message again.

I wonder where he is now, or if he’s even still alive...’

Yang Chunxi’s gentle voice called out, ”Taotao?”

”Huh?” Rong Taotao came back to his senses, only to find that Yang Chunxi had already pulled him out of the Illusion World.

At that moment, his sister-in-law had a hand on his shoulder, her expression searching. ”The Ice Soul Guide used the Lotus Petal very well. The display was spectacular, and its destructive power was immense.

Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Just do your best. After all, we have plenty of time to practice.”

”Ah, okay!” Rong Taotao nodded repeatedly, reined in his emotions, and stepped onto the field, intentionally walking toward the center.

After all, the scene Yang Chunxi had just shown him was far too grand. The Sinful Lotus… its attack range was a bit too large. It would be easy to accidentally injure others.

Standing in the center circle, Rong Taotao looked around. The brightly lit stadium was empty; even Yang Chunxi had retreated to the stands.

In the south stands, Si Huan Nian watched Rong Taotao in silence, her head tilted and her legs crossed elegantly. She gave no indication of her thoughts.

In the southwest stands, Li Ziyi crossed his arms, his gaze fixed on the center of the field.

Gao Lingwei, however, sat boldly in her chair, her elbows on her knees and her clasped hands propping up her chin, waiting quietly.

Rong Taotao pursed his lips and extended a hand, palm up. From his palm, a single lotus petal suddenly flew out.

One petal, not two!

Following Rong Taotao’s very clear command and request, the Sinful Lotus separated from the Prison Lotus, flew out on its own, and hovered vertically above his palm, rotating slowly.

”So… this is how you use it,” Rong Taotao murmured softly.

In an instant, Soul Power surged from within him. A stunning shockwave of energy ruffled his soft, naturally curly hair.

Rong Taotao suddenly sucked in a sharp breath!

The very moment he tried with all his might to use the Lotus Petal, the emotions in his mind suddenly descended into chaos!

He just wanted to deploy the Lotus Petal, just wanted to run a simple experiment, that was all.

But for some reason, his emotions suddenly underwent a drastic transformation, swinging to the complete opposite extreme!

’What does that Ice Soul Guide even count for? Does it know the first thing about the Lotus Petal?

Giving this Lotus Petal to it is a damn waste! An absolute travesty!!!

I will show the world what the true Nine-Petaled Lotus—the Sinful Lotus—really is!’

Rong Taotao didn’t know why this emotion was flooding his mind. But without a doubt, he truly felt that he was the only person in the world who could properly wield the Lotus Petal…

As the thought crossed his mind, Rong Taotao flipped his palm, suddenly dropping to one knee. He pressed the Lotus Petal into the frost-covered turf.

WHOOSH…

In an instant, a wave of air rippled out, spreading in circles from Rong Taotao’s position.

Frost danced on the wind and rings of turf floated up, creating a strangely beautiful sight.

One second, two seconds, three seconds…

One flower, two flowers, three flowers…

One by one, huge Cyan Lotuses abruptly materialized around Rong Taotao, continuously emerging from near to far!

Carried on the gusting wind, the Cyan Lotuses slowly began to bloom…

In the blink of an eye, a total of nine giant lotuses had nearly covered the entire green field. As they swayed in the wind, countless smaller lotus petals flew out from within them!

”This…” Rong Taotao’s face strained. He felt the Soul Power in his body grow violent and unruly, and was horrified to realize he’d lost control of the lotuses.

’I’ve lost control!?

Wh-what is happening?’

BOOM… The surging Soul Power in Rong Taotao’s body suddenly exploded.

Advancement! Soul Technique: Heart of the Snow Realm, Three-Star Peak!

’Successfully executing the Sinful Lotus’s attack actually leveled up my Soul Technique: Heart of the Snow Realm, which has been stuck for so long?

That’s a pleasant surprise…’

At the very moment the message came from his Inner Soul Map, the sky full of small lotus petals floating above the nine giant lotuses began to spin rapidly like tiny blades, and then…

WHOOSH!!!

A sky-blotting, dense cloud of lotus petals flew about chaotically, churning the air!

”Ho-ly!” Li Ziyi’s eyes widened as a curse escaped his lips. ”What in the ever-loving fuck… This… this is…”

Gao Lingwei’s fingers interlaced, her clasped hands pressed against her chin. Her beautiful eyes shone with an incredible brightness.

In that moment, the petals dancing through the sky were nothing but a backdrop in her eyes.

She just stared intently at Rong Taotao, her gaze not just sizing him up, but admiring him, as if she were gently caressing the person kneeling in the center of the field with her eyes.

’Yes, Taotao, just like this. This is how you grow—wildly. Become a Soul Martial Artist the world looks up to. Become… become someone I can look up to.’

...

Although the sky-blotting lotus petals had no target, they attacked with a frenzy, as if they wanted to destroy everything in the world!

Even the tiny specks of frost drifting across the field seemed about to be sliced into countless pieces by the wildly dancing lotus petals!

’If there are no enemies, then we will shred the very air to pieces!’

Rong Taotao was completely stunned!

’Where the fuck did all this deep-seated hatred come from!?

Am I picking a fight with the air itself?

I… I…’

Rong Taotao felt the churning Soul Power in his body being rapidly drained. His strong body, which he had been proud of for just having advanced to Soul Captain, became incredibly weak in a single instant.

As the energy in his body plummeted, in less than three short seconds, all of Rong Taotao’s ”resources” were completely exhausted. The world went black, and he collapsed to the ground…

”Taotao?” Yang Chunxi shielded her face with a hand, wanting to rush forward immediately, but she forced herself to stop.

Because the rain of lotuses on the green field was like a torrential downpour, its momentum terrifyingly violent.

Even with her Silk Mist Enchanting Robe active, Yang Chunxi didn’t dare approach immediately, afraid her clothes would be torn to shreds by the lotus petals.

If even the Silk Mist Enchanting Robe could be shredded, then her physical body would, of course, also be torn to pieces.

However, of all things in this world, everyone else was a target for the lotus petals. The only exception was Rong Taotao, who lay unconscious in the center of the field.

How violent could the lotus petals be? They had no fixed attack routes, flying wherever they pleased and turning however they wished.

As a result, the green field was covered in tears and cuts. Inevitably, some petals flew toward Rong Taotao’s body, but every petal that passed him would merge into his body without causing the slightest harm.

Seeing this, Yang Chunxi felt a little relieved. It had been the same when the Ice Soul Guide used the Lotus Petal to attack, which was why she hadn’t risked her life to rush in.

Besides, it wasn’t as if Rong Taotao had never used lotuses before. On a competition field, the petals were incredibly sharp to others, but to Rong Taotao, his body was their home…

The few people in the stands silently watched the attack that covered the entire field.

The silent Si Huan Nian raised an eyebrow slightly. She had keenly perceived the attack range of the lotus petals.

Nine circular zones of destruction radiated outward, centered on the nine giant lotuses Rong Taotao had initially summoned.

Within the circles, a torrential rain of lotuses fell and storms raged.

So violent, yet so beautiful.

And outside the nine circles, not a single lotus petal drifted out…

The field, which had been subjected to a thousand cuts, was the best proof. The line between the area covered by the attack and the area untouched was perfectly clear.

”Taotao.” As the rain of flowers in the sky gradually subsided, Yang Chunxi rushed in…

Gao Lingwei’s beautiful eyes burned as she slowly stood up, while Li Ziyi next to her collapsed into his chair with a THUD.

’Goddammit, how is anyone supposed to compete with that?’

Li Ziyi had originally planned to provoke Rong Taotao a bit, since he had entered the Soul Captain stage one step ahead of him, but instead, he had witnessed a scene like this.

In the distance, Si Huan Nian uncrossed and re-crossed her legs, leaning sideways against the back of her chair. She didn’t know Rong Taotao’s current condition, but she did know one thing…

The Poachers,

Are doomed.