Master of Nine Stars

But for this to happen to Rong Taotao... Xia Fangran somehow found it perfectly reasonable?

Was it because of his superb skills?

Or was it the Lotus Petal he possessed?

Or perhaps... he was the descendant of a Soul General? Was this to be expected?

Xia Fangran, who had always considered himself a man who understood things clearly, was actually a bit stumped. This question had truly cornered him.

He felt that none of these reasons seemed sufficient to justify letting Rong Taotao face the Snowflake Wolf Pack alone.

But the truth was... Xia Fangran found himself eagerly anticipating what would happen next.

This was hardly the decision a responsible teacher should make.

While Xia Fangran pondered in the air, down below, Rong Taotao—who was whistling provocatively at the whole world—pulled a snow-made Heaven-piercing Halberd from the blizzard and scanned his surroundings vigilantly.

The last time he was besieged by Snowflake Wolves was a week ago. A lot had happened since then; at the very least, the Snow Burning Army had arrived. He had no idea if those Snowflake Wolves were still stubbornly surrounding the cave.

Or perhaps they had realized there was no opportunity and had long since departed.

"PHEW~" Rong Taotao whistled again, the sharp sound swallowed by the wind and snow.

As the cold current washed over him, Rong Taotao desperately activated his Heart of Ice and Snow, rapidly replenishing his Soul Power with the help of the Nine-Petaled Lotus.

’Poor Da Wei. Even though you’ve gone beyond the Third Wall, your training speed must have slowed down quite a bit, right?’

’Leaving me... what a misfortune for you, eh?’

"Hm?" Xia Fangran’s ears twitched. He turned to see two Snowflake Wolves creeping forward not far away.

’Once a human steps out of the cave, this pack of Snowflake Wolves really can’t hold back.’

Although Xia Fangran could see farther than Rong Taotao, he wasn’t Gao Lingwei. By the time he spotted the Snowflake Wolves, the hunters were already not too far from Rong Taotao.

’Should I give Rong Taotao a heads-up?’

’Mm... I’d better warn him. He is my apprentice, after all.’

A strange smile appeared on Xia Fangran’s face. He suddenly flew over, landed behind the Snowflake Wolves, and with a great swing of his arm, shouted, "Behind you!"

WHOOSH...

In an instant, a blast of frigid wind swept out.

The two Snowflake Wolves were sent tumbling by the gale Xia Fangran had unleashed, and what’s more, they were sent flying right toward Rong Taotao!

Xia Fangran, the anonymous good Samaritan, immediately pushed off the ground and leaped back into the sky...

Rong Taotao whipped his head around just in time to see two Snowflake Wolves flying toward him. He immediately swung his Heaven-piercing Halberd and thrust it violently at the sky!

"BANG!" "BANG!"

Two Snow Burst Balls exploded in the Snowflake Wolves’ mouths. Propelled by the recoil, the two figures flew off to the side, instantly dodging Rong Taotao’s incoming Battle Halberd!

"AWOOO!!!" A wolf’s howl rang out from behind him, and a snow-white figure shot out from the blizzard!

Rong Taotao spun around, and the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow at his waist was instantly unsheathed with a metallic ring.

SHIING!

Rong Taotao held the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow in a reverse grip. He slashed the sharp blade horizontally across the gaping maw of the pouncing Snowflake Wolf, instantly tearing it apart.

SPLAT...

Blood rained down.

Because the Snowflake Wolf had pounced too close, after the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow slashed across its mouth, its head was instantly torn open, splattering blood all over Rong Taotao’s face.

If it hadn’t lunged so fiercely, the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow wouldn’t have torn its head apart...

"Behind you!" Xia Fangran’s voice came again.

Rong Taotao’s heart leaped. The thick scent of blood filled his nostrils. He wiped at his eyes with one hand, but having no time for more, he kept one blood-free eye open and quickly sidestepped.

The next moment, a snowy shadow appeared where Rong Taotao had just been, pouncing viciously onto the ground.

"ROAR!" The Snowflake Wolf crouched on the ground, baring its fangs at Rong Taotao as a Snow Burst Ball rapidly formed in its mouth.

Rong Taotao thrust his long halberd forward. The Snowflake Wolf sprang away, dodging nimbly, but it seemed to have fallen right into Rong Taotao’s trap.

The long halberd was never meant to pierce the Snowflake Wolf’s head. Suddenly, the crosspiece of the Battle Halberd turned vertical, sliding past the wolf’s head as Rong Taotao violently swung it to the side!

"BANG!"

Another pouncing Snowflake Wolf crashed into the one caught by the long halberd, and its Snow Burst Ball instantly detonated!

Up in the air, Xia Fangran’s eyes couldn’t help but light up!

Xia Fangran could accept that Rong Taotao was able to defend a five or six-meter-wide cave entrance.

’But out here on the Snowfield, surrounded on all sides by Snowflake Wolves... can this kid actually hold on?’

’So the question now is, how many seconds can he last?’

Had Xia Fangran, after twenty years of teaching, suddenly rediscovered the joy of his profession?

Rong Taotao paid no mind to the two Snowflake Wolves blasted apart by the explosion, instead hastily dodging away, not daring to relax for even a second.

Sure enough, two more Snowflake Wolves arrived one after the other!

When besieged, one had to face such a situation; Rong Taotao couldn’t stay in one place for even a moment.

As he sprang away, Rong Taotao, holding the halberd in his right hand, had already swung it out. The sharp Half Moon Blade on its side swept against a Snowflake Wolf, sending it flying into the blizzard.

"ROAR!!!"

A ferocious roar suddenly came from his left. But Rong Taotao was swinging the halberd with his right hand, and the hilt of the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow slung across his back was also on his right side...

He hastily stepped back again... "BANG!"

The Snow Burst Ball in the Snowflake Wolf’s mouth exploded violently!

The surging blast ripped the clothes on Rong Taotao’s chest. He was thrown backward, tumbling over and over in the snow for a full five meters before he finally stopped.

A cloud of snow billowed up, and a long trail was carved into the snowfield...

Lying on his back in the snow, Rong Taotao endured the pain and once again raised his Heaven-piercing Halberd toward the sky in a defensive posture, but the sound of a running Snowflake Wolf came from his left.

In just a few short exchanges, the Snowflake Wolves seemed to have found Rong Taotao’s weakness: his left side!

Rong Taotao quickly thrust out his left hand, and a Snow Burst Ball rapidly formed, but its speed... was ultimately a bit too slow.

’Faster, faster!’

’This is a race of speed, a race between life and death!’

’I don’t need this Snow Burst to be fully formed, I just need to knock it back once! Even a slight pushback will do! I can’t be taken out like this!’

Rong Taotao felt the whole world slow down. The Snowflake Wolf’s gaping maw drew infinitely closer to his hand, dead set on tearing his arm off...

"BANG!"

The Snow Burst Ball exploded violently!

The Snowflake Wolf was instantly sent flying, but Rong Taotao, who should have also been sent flying, was still lying in the same spot, not moving at all?

"Promotion! Snow Realm Soul Skill: Snow Burst, Excellent Level!"

In mid-air, Xia Fangran, who had been ready to intervene, was also stunned. ’A Snow Burst with no recoil?’

This was the hallmark of advancing from the ordinary level to the Excellent Level.

’Has the kid grasped the principle of "skillfully use three parts, hold back seven"? So quickly?’

’As expected of my apprentice!’

’This is the attitude! This is the growth rate!’

’Those useless second-years must have been sleeping for the past two years!’

Such a low-level battle had actually gotten Xia Fangran fired up! He couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration, "Good!"

Rong Taotao shot up into a sitting position. Facing another Snowflake Wolf that shot out from the white blizzard before him, he thrust out a hand and unleashed another Excellent Level Snow Burst!

Incredibly fast, astonishingly efficient.

"BANG!"

Rong Taotao finally got to his feet and once again pulled a snow-made Heaven-piercing Halberd from the air.

’Good?’

’Of course it was good. It had to be!’

"Heh!" Rong Taotao’s face was stained with nearly-frozen wolf blood. With a grunt thick with the smell of blood, he gripped his Heaven-piercing Halberd and lunged forward with a powerful thrust.

This was the first forward step he had taken since facing the Snowflake Wolf Pack...

And with this very thrust, a strange Lotus Petal twined around the halberd shaft and flew out, spinning.

In a daze, Rong Taotao seemed to understand just when this willful Cyan Lotus Petal would appear.

It wasn’t in a moment of life and death, desperately clinging to survival. Nor was it in a moment of fearless, forward-charging determination.

It was arrogance. It was conceit!

Rong Taotao also finally understood why it was called the "Sinful Lotus."

In fact, if Rong Taotao had entered the Martial Arts Arena earlier during the Snow Realm Army’s invasion of the campus and seen how the Ice Soul Guide youth used the Sinful Lotus, he probably would have figured out how to use this Sinful Lotus petal long ago.

Back then, facing the great Pine Soul Four Rites, the Ice Soul Guide had spoken a single, incredibly arrogant sentence: "All of you will die!"

That sentence wasn’t just directed at the Pine Soul Four Rites; it was aimed at the entire Pine Soul Soul Martial academy!

And the reason Rong Taotao was starting to figure things out now was because...

Because in this moment, facing the siege of the wolf pack, he felt almost the exact same way he did when Gao Lingwei had brought her foot down on his head.

’An away game? Surrounded? A powerful enemy?’

’So what?’

’How could I possibly lose!?’

...

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