Master of Nine Stars

「One week later. Inside Hundred Corps Pass, at the Twelfth Squad headquarters.」

The Pig’s office was pitch-black. A fierce snowstorm raged outside the window. Even with the towering fortress walls standing guard, the blizzard obscured all sight and carried a distinctive howl, like the wailing of ghosts and demons.

On a small single bed lay a deeply sleeping young man. Beside the bed, Gao Lingwei sat in a chair, also fast asleep. Her legs were crossed, her arms were folded across her chest, and her head was bowed.

Except… Gao Lingwei seemed to be having a nightmare. Her expression was grave, and her brow would occasionally furrow. A faint sheen of cold sweat was visible on her forehead…

With a sudden gasp, Gao Lingwei startled awake from her dream, her eyes flying open.

Her breathing was ragged, and she couldn’t help but clench and unclench her fists, as if trying to work the stiffness from her palms.

After sitting for a long moment, Gao Lingwei finally raised a hand to wipe the cold sweat from her forehead.

‘A nightmare,’

‘Another one.’

‘In my dream… there was that enormous face of frost and snow, the faint outline of its features, and that infinite, crushing pressure…’

Gao Lingwei closed her eyes in resignation, pressing a hand to her forehead. She couldn’t help but let out a soft sigh.

‘She’d never imagined that one day, the legendary top Soul General of the Outer Region would become her personal nightmare.’

That sky-blotting face of frost and snow filled her entire world. It possessed an unparalleled aura and a crushing pressure that no ordinary person could withstand. Time and again, it left Gao Lingwei paralyzed in her dreams, unable to move an inch, her breathing halted.

Only when she jolted awake would the nightmare end, and only then could she count herself as having escaped a catastrophe.

Gao Lingwei felt a wave of frustration.

‘She knew she shouldn’t be facing the top Soul General of the Outer Region with this mindset, but… she just couldn’t help it.’

Gao Lingwei had once stood within the lines of the Lord Soul General’s palm and had looked directly upon his face. Ever since that moment, she’d been showing faint signs of breaking down.

Rationally, Gao Lingwei knew he was someone she should revere and admire.

But emotionally, her heart held only awe—a profound awe that bordered on… dread. On terror!

During their brief encounter, the Lord Soul General had shown no hostility toward Gao Lingwei. In fact, his actions had stemmed from goodwill; he was helping her and Rong Taotao.

But even so, Gao Lingwei felt as if she were on the verge of being crushed by the weight of it all.

A full seven days had passed since she’d met Xu Hunjiang, yet the nightmares still plagued her. That was proof enough.

No matter how tough she had always appeared or how mentally strong she was, at the end of the day, she was still just a Second Year of College student. After suddenly encountering the number one combatant in the Snow Realm, it was truly difficult for her to remain composed.

Forget Gao Lingwei; even the members of the Twelfth Squad and the Cyan Mountain Army—who had only caught a glimpse of the Lord Soul General’s ankles and the hem of his greatcoat—had probably been trembling uncontrollably inside.

The immense shock of such a vast difference in power levels, the absolute dominance of his aura—it wasn’t something anyone could easily endure.

Some lingering aftereffects were inevitable.

‘Seven days. Seven days…’

At this thought, Gao Lingwei’s gaze shifted to the person sleeping soundly on the bed.

She couldn’t see a thing in the pitch-black room, but she could easily picture Rong Taotao’s face as he slept.

As she pictured the image in her mind, the frustrated look on Gao Lingwei’s face finally softened, and her heart gradually began to settle.

Rong Taotao had been unconscious for a full seven days now, which was cause for concern.

The first time he’d used the Sinful Lotus—an experimental use right after he had advanced to the Soul Captain rank—Rong Taotao had woken up after only three days of rest.

Back then, Rong Taotao had only just advanced to the Soul Captain rank, whereas now, he was already a mid-rank Soul Captain.

‘His body should be much stronger now, so why was he sleeping even longer?’

Because this time, his use of the Lotus Petal wasn’t an experiment. It was real combat, it was war—it was the very key that had turned the tide of the battle!

Rong Taotao had given it his absolute all. He had not only precisely controlled the position where the giant Lotus bloomed but had also drained the very last shred of his energy to keep the Lotus Petal active until the final second.

‘Perhaps this was the price of giving everything you have…’

Gao Lingwei leaned forward, resting her elbows on the edge of the bed. She reached out carefully, her hand searching in the darkness until it finally found Rong Taotao’s and held it gently.

‘The boy who was once just a “rookie” had now grown to this point, becoming a powerful Soul Martial Artist, even capable of making waves on the battlefield.’

‘And she herself—the one who once looked down on Rong Taotao, who taught him Soul Skills and fought by his side—had become just an insignificant ripple in the torrent of war, unable to make any real impact on a conflict of this scale.’

In truth, Gao Lingwei was being too hard on herself.

In a skirmish of that magnitude, forget her—who among all the Great Gods of the Cyan Mountain Army and the Twelfth Squad could have turned the tide?

Rong Taotao had only managed to pull off such a feat by relying on his Lotus Petal.

Of course, that being said, Rong Taotao had risked his life to obtain that Lotus Petal. His “Dharma Artifact” was naturally a part of his own strength.

As she sat with him in silence, Gao Lingwei suddenly felt something amiss.

Rong Taotao’s fingers seemed to twitch, giving her fingertips a gentle squeeze.