Master of Nine Stars

”AOOO~!!!” The Pirate Leader Snow Ape let out a cry, as if issuing a command, but...

’Something’s wrong!’

’There’s something wrong with this world!’

’Where did all my little monkeys go?’

The Pirate Leader Snow Ape hung from a giant tree by one hand and one foot, looking around. It found that its hundred or so Bandit Snow Monkeys had all vanished without a trace.

It looked up and saw a blood-red moon hanging high in the sky. Beneath the crimson heavens, the Pine Forest was eerily silent, the atmosphere utterly bizarre.

’Hm?’

’Is that...’

The Pirate Leader Snow Ape stared into the distance. In the deserted, uncanny Pine Forest, it saw a young man.

He was dressed in snow camouflage, with the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow slung across his lower back. His naturally curly hair swayed gently with the breeze.

It was as if they were the only two living things left in the entire world. And that young man, a strange smile on his face, was watching it from afar.

The scene sent a chill down the Pirate Leader Snow Ape’s spine.

”Hngh?” The Pirate Leader Snow Ape’s coarse, giant palm stiffened slightly. As it hung from the tree by one hand and one foot, it suddenly found the tree had become incredibly pliable. A few pine branches shot out and wrapped around its palm?

”GRAH!” the Pirate Leader Snow Ape roared. Relying on brute force, it viciously tore at the branches and yanked its hand free.

But its coarse, giant palm had barely pulled away half a meter before it could move no further.

SNAP!

The sound was sharp and sudden.

The strange pine branches, like rubber bands, instantly whipped the Pirate Leader Snow Ape’s palm back, pinning it to the tree trunk.

It wasn’t just the Pirate Leader Snow Ape’s hand; the toes of the foot it had dug into the tree were also ensnared by sprouting pine branches.

”GRR... GRR!!!” The Pirate Leader Snow Ape let out a furious roar, planting its other foot against the trunk and pulling back with all its might.

And yet... to the Pirate Leader Snow Ape’s astonishment, it found it couldn’t break free from the entwining branches.

Its simple mind was completely baffled! It couldn’t comprehend why the world had changed so drastically.

It had lived in this forest its whole life. These pine trees had always let it break, hang from, and trample them without ever fighting back. It had never imagined that the trees, which had endured its abuse without complaint, would suddenly come ”alive.”

Just as the Pirate Leader Snow Ape was trying to struggle free, several more strange branches wrapped around its other hand and foot. They pulled and yanked with absolute force, flipping the creature over...

The Pirate Leader Snow Ape was instantly spread-eagled, its massive body pressed tightly against the trunk, bound fast.

For the first time, its ferocious strength was useless.

For the first time, the natural-born king felt a sliver of despair.

But something even more terrifying was yet to come!

With its limbs bound, tied tightly to the tree, it was shocked to find that the young man had appeared right before its eyes. He was now looking up at it.

”HISS... ROAR!!!” The Pirate Leader Snow Ape shrieked, struggling with all its might, but to no avail.

It was less a cry of anger and more a desperate attempt to hide its panic.

”As I thought. Your Spiritual Power is pathetically low. Did you put all your Attribute points into your physical body?” Rong Taotao finally spoke. Unfortunately, the Pirate Leader Snow Ape couldn’t understand him.

Its crimson eyes widened in horror. The large tree behind the young man had also come to life. Pine needles twisted and wove together, forming thick branches, and the tips of those branches revealed sharp, wooden thorns.

The Pirate Leader Snow Ape hastily tried to resist. A layer of Frost Snow Armor materialized on its body. The thick frost was compressed incredibly tightly, providing immense defense!

SCHLICK!

”WHIMPER~~” The Pirate Leader Snow Ape couldn’t help but let out a pained cry. A wooden thorn shot past Rong Taotao’s side and plunged directly into the ape’s thigh.

Its incredibly durable Iron Snow Armor and its thick, tough thigh were pierced just like that?

’This... This is impossible!’

However, in this world of Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon, everything was decided by Rong Taotao.

He could make parts of this world real, and he could, of course, make parts of it false.

All of the Pirate Leader Snow Ape’s methods of resistance were completely ineffective.

Only Spiritual Soul Techniques could help the ensnared Pirate Leader Snow Ape. Only a direct clash of Spiritual Power could possibly allow it to break out of this cage and return to the real world.

Note: *possibly*, not *definitely*.

In this world of Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon, Rong Taotao appeared to be attacking the Pirate Leader Snow Ape’s body, but in reality, he was crushing its spirit.

Rong Taotao just stood there before the Pirate Leader Snow Ape, looking up at the massive, tightly bound creature.

Behind him, thick wooden thorns slithered like pythons, repeatedly streaking past his side and over his head to pierce the Pirate Leader Snow Ape’s body again and again.

SCHLICK!

SCHLICK!

”Whimper... whimper...”

The Pirate Leader Snow Ape despaired... It was utterly hopeless.

The red glow in its eyes faded rapidly. ’Why? What is this...’

Wave after wave of agonized wails echoed under the crimson sky, reverberating through the silent Pine Forest.

And so the king fell. Its past arrogance, defiance, and invincibility were all pierced to shreds by the branches, leaving it without a shred of dignity.

Rong Taotao could even hear it begging for mercy.

Of course, he couldn’t understand the Pirate Leader Snow Ape’s language, but its tone and posture were clearly pleading.

It wasn’t like this when it first appeared. When it was leading its monkey soldiers to torture their prey, it had been high and mighty, looking down on all creation.

An unknown amount of time passed. The three-meter-tall behemoth no longer had the will to resist. Blood gushed from its wounds as it was pierced and entangled by the thorns, trussed up and riddled with holes.