Master of Nine Stars

Rong Taotao looked at the completely helpless Pirate Leader Snow Ape. For some reason, it made him think of himself.

Back then, in the stone classroom at Hundred Corps Pass, Yang Chunxi had dragged all Nine Little Souls into her Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon World at once.

The Nine Little Souls had struggled desperately to survive inside, fighting against a Snow Lion Tiger.

But looking back now, Yang Chunxi had clearly held back. The Nine Little Souls had given their all to escape, and they truly believed they could fend off the Snow Lion Tiger’s pursuit, even managing to flee to a rooftop. But in reality...

If Yang Chunxi had wanted to, not a single one of the nine Little Souls would have escaped. With their incredibly fragile minds, they could have all been brutally slaughtered by her inside the Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon World.

And as for what state their bodies would be in after returning to the real world... the outcome was self-evident.

The world of Soul Martial Artists was truly terrifying. To ordinary people, they were like lofty Deities.

And the different effects and functions of the various Soul Skills also created several different tiers within the Soul Martial Artist community.

’The forehead Soul Slot, the eye Soul Slot, the chest Soul Slot... It’s no wonder they’re the three most difficult Soul Slots to open.’

While he was lost in thought, the behemoth before him was already on its last breath—breathing out more than it was breathing in...

’That’s enough.’

Rong Taotao pressed his lips together. Just as he was about to withdraw his technique, he suddenly remembered something.

He had only been thinking about himself, about Yang Chunxi’s gentle method of teaching. He had forgotten that last year, on New Year’s Eve in Songbai Town, Gao Lingwei had also been dragged into an Illusion World by Mi Tu.

’Was Gao Lingwei as miserable as this Pirate Leader Snow Ape back then?’

’Maybe... she was.’

Gao Lingwei had escaped by shattering the Soul Pearl in her forehead. But even after fleeing the Illusion World, she had been completely unable to participate in the subsequent fight. She had just clutched her forehead, curled up in a corner, in an extremely poor state.

’So what kind of painful torment did she endure in Mi Tu’s Illusion World?’

The next moment, Rong Taotao’s vision blurred, and he returned to the real world.

His body swayed. He had been standing on the packed snow, but he suddenly sank into it.

Gao Lingwei was quick to react, grabbing Rong Taotao’s shoulder to steady him. The Patterned Mask on her face shot forward and immediately shattered.

She looked at Rong Taotao beside her with a concerned expression. ”Are you all right?”

No matter how long Rong Taotao and the Pirate Leader Snow Ape had spent in the Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon World, only a brief moment had passed for those in the real world.

Jiao Tengda’s command to ”Attack!” rang in their ears. The Shi Family Sisters and Li Ziyi unleashed three Wind and Snow Blades, chopping down at the Pirate Leader Snow Ape on the edge of the forest.

The Pirate Leader Snow Ape, which should have been hanging from the tree by one hand and one foot, suddenly seemed to lose all its strength. Its grip loosened, and its enormous body fell. The heavy creature had just crashed into the snowdrift when the three Wind and Snow Blades arrived.

”Taotao?”

”Ah, I-I’m fine. Just a little tired.” Rong Taotao shook his head hard. He realized that if he just created a Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon World and wandered around in it, the consumption of Spiritual Power seemed to be based only on ”duration.”

But if you launched a full-scale attack on a target within the Illusion World, the drain on your Spiritual Power was immense!

’The saying ”injure the enemy by a thousand, lose eight hundred yourself” might be an exaggeration,’ he thought. ’But ”injure by a thousand, lose three or four hundred” felt about right.’

Of course, there was a difference in the kind of ”damage” sustained. Rong Taotao wasn’t in pain, just exhausted.

No wonder his sister-in-law had been so exhausted after going out to check on the scout during the hunt for the Poacher Organization. This Soul Skill was indeed extraordinary, but its side effects were also quite significant.

”SOB... SOB... SOB...”

”WAAAH...” With the fall of their king, the expressions on the faces of the Bandit Snow Monkeys, who had been leaping through the trees, changed drastically. They stopped their jeering roars and, one by one, began to wail in grief and indignation.

A few seconds later, when the frost and snow from the Wind and Snow Blades dissipated to reveal the sundered remains of the Pirate Leader Snow Ape on the ground, the troop of Bandit Snow Monkeys let out a loud howl and turned to flee!

Using their hands, feet, and tails, they swung through the Snow Forest like acrobats on trapezes, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

”Phew~” Sun Xingyu wiped the sweat from her forehead and let out a huge sigh of relief. She plopped down into the snow in a W-sit, and her petite body was half-buried.

”We won! We won!!!” Shi Lan clenched her fist and pumped it fiercely, her face alight with the joy of getting sweet revenge. ”That’s right! Run! You wretched, stinking monkeys!”

”Haha!” Jiao Tengda also cheered, his heart filled with a sense of accomplishment.

As the commander, Rong Taotao was the ”blade” in Jiao Tengda’s hands. As it turned out, Jiao Tengda had made the right calls, leading his companions out of danger and repelling the monkey troop.

If judged by the standards of Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei, this battle was acceptable, but it couldn’t be called particularly brutal.

However, for the other Little Souls, this fight had been incredibly perilous!

Most of the team breathed a sigh of relief, their hearts finally easing. Jiao Tengda reined in his emotions and quickly gave an order. ”Quick, everyone, clean up the battlefield! Be careful, there might still be living Bandit Snow Monkeys under our feet, ready to crawl out at any moment!

Xing’Er, get up! The battle isn’t over yet!”

”Aah, I know~”

”Roger that!” Having won such a great victory, everyone was clearly in much higher spirits.

The Shi Family Sisters hurried to the edge of the Pine Forest and found the patch of snow stained red with blood. Looking at the heavy body sunk deep in the snowdrift, the two sisters couldn’t help but be secretly amazed.

Shi Lan grabbed a handful of the Pirate Leader Snow Ape’s thick fur, struggling to lift it out of the snow, and sighed under her breath. ”It’s a good thing he used a Spiritual Soul Skill to defeat it. If we had fought it head-on, how could we ever have won?

It’s already in several pieces, and it’s still this heavy. Imagine how strong it must have been when it was alive...”

Shi Lou nodded in agreement. ”We’ve also opened our right eye Soul Slots. Once our Soul Technique levels are higher, we’ll have powerful offensive Soul Skills like this too.”

While collecting the Pirate Leader Snow Ape’s Soul Pearl, Shi Lan said, ”Soul Techniques are too hard to train. The three-star Illusionary Soul Pearls are all junk. Sigh... if only we had the same kind of support as Wei.”

”Heh, we don’t even have any of that ’junk.’ Let’s just see what we can get on this trip.

Don’t be impatient. When we represent the school on the expedition to the Outer Region, Principal Mei will reward us with good Soul Pearls.” Shi Lou scanned her surroundings vigilantly, then reached out and gently ruffled her younger sister’s hair.

And it was true. After the two sisters had advanced to the Soul Captain stage, their right eye Soul Slots had become usable, but they were still empty, with no Soul Pearls embedded. They were both looking forward to seeing what kind of creatures they might encounter on this journey.

”By the way, do we give this to Juanjuan or to Jiao?” Shi Lan finally extracted the Soul Pearl and asked in a low voice.

Shi Lou: ”According to the rules, give it to the commander first. Jiao will give it to Taotao and Wei, don’t worry.”

”Mhm.” Shi Lan nodded and quickly walked back to the clearing with her sister, just in time to see Jiao Tengda dealing with a Bandit Snow Monkey that had just popped its head out of the snow.

”Here, the Soul Pearl from that big guy.”

”Oh.” Jiao Tengda fumbled to catch it. He subconsciously glanced to the side and saw Gao Lingwei supporting Rong Taotao, the two of them whispering about something.

Rong Taotao said in a low voice, ”I’m having a delayed reaction, I think.”

Gao Lingwei: ”How so?”

Rong Taotao tapped his slightly muddled head. ”When I was dealing with the Pirate Leader Snow Ape, I remembered that night last New Year’s Eve, when Mi Tu pulled you into his illu—”

Gao Lingwei, who had one arm around Rong Taotao, suddenly pulled him tighter. She brought her lips close to his ear and whispered, ”Forget him. No matter how vicious and wicked he was, no matter how much of a threat he was or how much harm he caused us, the reality is... Mi Tu is already dead.”

Rong Taotao: ”Mm...”

Gao Lingwei whispered, ”I looked him right in the eyes and pierced his heart.”

Rong Taotao pursed his lips and said softly, ”After we get back, let’s apply to Principal Mei for a Spiritual Soul Pearl. Preferably a defensive one.”

”Hm?”

Rong Taotao: ”For you to embed. Spiritual Soul Techniques are too terrifying.”

Gao Lingwei looked at Rong Taotao’s earnest expression and gently patted his back. ”Okay.”

...

It’s the start of the month, so for those who have monthly tickets, don’t hold back! Please vote for this book. Thank you!

...