Master of Nine Stars

Under the pitch-black night sky, the blizzard raged and howled outside the cave. Faint wolf howls rode the wind, adding a touch of horror to the night.

The two of them remained silent for a while, enjoying the rare moment of peace after the intense battle. A short while later, Gao Lingwei spoke up, "Since we’ve decided to hold this position long-term and fight the Snowflake Wolf Pack, I need to go gather some firewood from the Snow Forest behind us."

Although they both possessed the Heart of Ice and Snow, allowing them to resist the severe cold to varying degrees, they were still human and needed light and warmth.

Rong Taotao’s heart tightened. "That..."

Gao Lingwei smiled and waved her hand dismissively, her every move casual and confident.

She said, "I’m familiar with the terrain here. There’s a Snow Forest not far behind us. I won’t go deep, just chop some wood at the edge. I’ll be back in three minutes, tops."

As she spoke, Gao Lingwei turned to Rong Taotao and asked, "Three minutes. Can you hold this place by yourself?"

"I mean, I can... but shouldn’t we go together?" Rong Taotao looked troubled. He was thinking further ahead. After all, there was only one Xia Fangran. If Gao Lingwei left, who would Xia Fangran protect? Only by sticking together could Xia Fangran effectively watch over them both.

But as for Gao Lingwei, she had clearly "forgotten" about Xia Fangran. Or rather, she had willfully erased the existence of Xia Fangran, their Guardian.

She needed real, dangerous trials to grow, so she had no intention of seeking Xia Fangran’s help for anything.

Gao Lingwei said, "We fought hard to capture this territory; we can’t just abandon it. I originally thought we’d be attacked from both front and back, but now it seems even the heavens are on our side. A natural cave like this, and not a single beast has made it its lair."

With that, Gao Lingwei sighed softly. "With a bonfire, we’ll have hot food and drinks. You’re different from ordinary Soul Martial Artists; you need a large supply of energy. If our logistics are solid, we have a chance of winning."

Rong Taotao pressed his lips together, noncommittal.

A month ago, this area experienced a blizzard the likes of which hadn’t been seen in sixteen years. This led to an abundance of Snow Realm Soul Beasts within the three passes. Without a doubt, the Snow Forest was home to all sorts of fierce beasts.

If Gao Lingwei left, Rong Taotao knew very well who Xia Fangran would choose to protect.

It wasn’t that Rong Taotao was arrogant, but... well, it was just a fact.

The Lotus Petal alone was enough to make Xia Fangran choose to protect Rong Taotao, not to mention other factors.

Seeing Rong Taotao’s troubled expression, Gao Lingwei suddenly reached out her hand.

The hand, just as it was about to land on Rong Taotao’s head, froze in midair.

Gao Lingwei seemed to realize the gesture was inappropriate. A moment later, her hand, still frozen in the air, moved to press down on Rong Taotao’s shoulder. "Don’t worry," she said softly. "No matter how you look at it, I’m a Soul Captain."

"My true strength isn’t something a little Soul Soldier like you can comprehend. You got lucky and beat me once, so you really think I’m weak?"

"Oh." Seeing how determined she was, Rong Taotao could only nod.

Gao Lingwei’s cold hand squeezed Rong Taotao’s shoulder firmly, as if to give him some confidence. She continued, "While we rest, you should hurry up and absorb Soul Power. Once your Soul Power is full, I’ll go chop the wood."

"It’s already full," Rong Taotao said.

Gao Lingwei was speechless.

Rong Taotao looked a little embarrassed. "All I have are basic skills. Even if I fire off a Snow Burst, I have to fall back several meters. By the time I charge back up, my Soul Power is already full..."

"Mine isn’t," Gao Lingwei said.

"Then you absorb. I’ll keep the Lotus Petal active for you."

Gao Lingwei nodded lightly, but then said, "Seize every second. Practice the Soul Skill: Ice Path now. I already taught you on the way here. The moment you learn it, I’ll go out and chop wood."

Rong Taotao scratched his head. On the way to Hundred Corps Pass, Gao Lingwei had indeed carefully taught him how to use Ice Path. Unfortunately, Rong Taotao had been on horseback with his feet off the ground. No matter how great his Talent, he hadn’t been able to learn it.

He walked a few steps deeper into the cave, faced the inner wall that wasn’t completely covered in frost, and after a moment of thought, stepped onto it.

CRACK!

An ice flower bloomed on the wall.

The sole of Rong Taotao’s boot was covered in frost. Around his combat boot, small icicles filled with mist spread out in all directions.

The small, irregularly-shaped polyhedral icicles glittered with a strange light under the glow of the White Lantern Paper Cage, truly resembling an ice flower.

Rong Taotao then took another step.

CRACK!

Another ice flower bloomed. On the inner cave wall, which wasn’t completely covered in frost, Rong Taotao created his own "footholds" and actually walked up it, his body parallel to the ground.

CRACK! CRACK!

As Rong Taotao walked onward, exquisitely beautiful flowers of icy mist bloomed one after another. After just a few steps, he had his feet planted on the ceiling of the cave, hanging upside down.

Gao Lingwei was speechless.

She turned to look at Rong Taotao, her expression a picture.

’Just how badly do you want me to leave?’

’A moment ago, you looked so troubled when I said I was going to get firewood, didn’t you?’

"Learned Snow Realm Soul Skill: Ice Path!

Ice Path: Channel two or more streams of Ice and Snow Attribute Soul Power to the ankles, using a method of layering and repeated infusion to stamp out ice flowers. (Excellent Level, Potential Value: 5 stars)."

’A Potential Value of 5 stars?’

’That’s not low at all, is it?’

’So... according to what Gao Lingwei said before, once Ice Path is trained to its highest level, I’ll be able to create footholds in midair and push off a second time?’

Hanging upside down from the cave ceiling, Rong Taotao swung his body back and forth, testing the sturdiness of the ice flowers.

Strictly speaking, the posture Rong Taotao was maintaining was a Combined Skill of two Snow Realm Soul Skills.

Ice Path created a foothold, but what truly allowed Rong Taotao to hang upside down from the wall was still the Snow Step Soul Skill.

Gao Lingwei turned her head away, slowly stood up, and said faintly, "Fine. I’m going."

Rong Taotao was stunned. "Hey, no, don’t get me wrong," he said hurriedly. "You should fill up your Soul Power first..."

"Heh." Gao Lingwei just laughed, vaulted onto her horse, and turned to look at Rong Taotao hanging from the cave ceiling. "Watch the house."

"Oh." Rong Taotao nodded. In his upside-down world, Gao Lingwei’s departure seemed so resolute.

The clip-clop of hooves, along with her unfeeling figure, quickly vanished into the vast, snowy gale.

’The sound of hooves is gone, but the wolf howls are starting up again?’

Startled, Rong Taotao flipped over and dropped down, taking his post at the cave entrance.

A cloud of frost billowed from his hand as he once again drew out a Heaven-piercing Halberd. His body tensed, and he watched the area outside the cave vigilantly.

"Awoo~"

"AWOOOO~!"

Waves of howls rode the whistling, cold wind, making Rong Taotao’s scalp tingle with fear.

’Waiting is the worst part. Just charge in already!’

’Once the fight starts, it’ll be fine. As long as we’re fighting... I won’t be fucking scared anymore. I’ll just be thinking about how to stab you all to death!’

SWISH...

Unexpectedly, a surge of Soul Power flowed from Rong Taotao’s body, and the Cloud Dog suddenly darted out, landing on his head of naturally curly hair. "Woo~"

Rong Taotao was touched. "You came to keep me company?"

During their day-to-day life and studies, the Cloud Dog did indeed like to stay outside, curiously observing the world with its small, glossy black eyes.

But here, north of the Wall, where the wind was stronger and colder, the Cloud Dog preferred to hide inside Rong Taotao’s body.

He never expected that after Gao Lingwei left, the Cloud Dog would come out to stay by his side.

Its little paws dug into Rong Taotao’s frost-covered natural curls. This time, it didn’t seem to mind the cold.

"WOOF! WOOF!"

The two sudden barks left Rong Taotao a little dazed.

"What’s wrong?" Rong Taotao looked up at the Cloud Dog on his head, but he couldn’t see it properly.

The Cloud Dog flew down on its own, its two large, cloud-like ears flapping. It hovered beside Rong Taotao’s shoulder and barked twice more toward the inside of the cave. "WOOF! WOOF!"

Rong Taotao’s face stiffened, and his heart nearly leaped out of his throat!

The Cloud Dog wasn’t barking at the outside, but at the inside of the cave!?

???

Rong Taotao whipped his head around. In the pitch-black depths of the cave, there was nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, you could even call it dead silent...

"What did you find?" Rong Taotao asked anxiously. "Don’t scare me like that! I checked the cave before, there was nothing inside!"

Tired from flying, the Cloud Dog settled onto Rong Taotao’s shoulder. It tilted its little head, blinked its small, glossy black eyes, and stared intently into the pitch-black depths of the cave.

GULP. Rong Taotao’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He could feel his scalp tingling with fear again!

’There isn’t really something in there, is there?’

During the intense battle just now, Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei hadn’t paid any attention to what was behind them, assuming their rear was completely safe. If there really was some creature inside, and it had launched a sneak attack during the fight, they would both be dead by now!

A wave of retroactive fear washed over Rong Taotao at the thought, but he didn’t dare leave the cave entrance.

He couldn’t advance.

And he certainly couldn’t retreat!

It felt as if the entire world had fallen silent. An unknown amount of time passed...

CLIP-CLOP-CLOP... The crisp sound of hooves grew closer, and Rong Taotao instantly came back to life!

He quickly looked outside. Sure enough, a few seconds later, Gao Lingwei rode her tall horse into the cave, bringing a gust of wind and snow with her.

"You’re back!" Rong Taotao’s face lit up. "That was fast!"

"Mhm." Gao Lingwei grunted in affirmation. She was gripping a small tree in one hand, her fingers digging deep into the wood, dragging it for several meters before she casually tossed it aside and dismounted.

The edge of the Snow Forest was not far north of the cave. Gao Lingwei’s trip had been surprisingly smooth. Perhaps the Snowflake Wolf Pack was also wary of the forest, so their encirclement didn’t extend toward the northern Snow Forest.

However, Gao Lingwei wouldn’t consider the north an escape route. She knew that the reason the Snowflake Wolf Pack didn’t set up an ambush in the northern Snow Forest was that even more ferocious beasts were entrenched there.

While brushing the frost off her body, Gao Lingwei chuckled. "Were you scared after I left?" 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

It was meant as a joke, but unexpectedly, Rong Taotao actually nodded?

Gao Lingwei’s expression faltered. "Hm?"

Rong Taotao gestured toward the pitch-black depths of the cave. "Just now, the Cloud Dog seemed to have found something in there."

As he spoke, Rong Taotao turned to the Cloud Dog on his shoulder. "Right? Is there some kind of creature in there?"

The Cloud Dog didn’t seem to understand what Rong Taotao was saying. It just put on an adorable face, tilted its little head, and looked at him. Then it flashed its signature cute smile and stuck out its little pink tongue. "Woof~"

Rong Taotao was speechless.

With a flick of her wrist, Gao Lingwei formed a short blade of snow in her hand and strode deeper into the cave. "You watch the entrance and break up the wood. I’ll go take a look."

Snow Night Shock hurriedly followed her, its deep blue headlamp beaming into the pitch-black cave...