Master of Nine Stars

Instead, he saw the slender, graceful figure twisting its bewitching body like a snake. It coiled around Xiao Ziru’s tall frame, wrapping its arms around his neck from behind. Its lips drew close to his ear, as if whispering softly.

The next moment, Xiao Ziru, whose palm was pressed against the ice wall opposite Xia Fangran, abruptly splayed his fingers.

FWOOSH... 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Five moderately-sized ice pillars instantly jutted out from the thick ice wall Xia Fangran had created.

The pillars weren’t sharp. Instead, they were irregular, multi-faceted columns, quite similar to the icy blossoms left behind by the Ice Path skill.

Snow Realm Soul Skill - Ice Prison!

Xia Fangran’s face fell. He jerked back and yelled urgently, "Again! Call again!"

"Ah," Rong Taotao said, hastily redialing the number.

CRACK, CRACK... The moment Xia Fangran’s palm left the wall, the thick Ice Barrier instantly shattered!

Xia Fangran, still retreating rapidly, spun around and dashed deeper into the cave. He scooped up Rong Taotao with one arm, tucked him under his armpit, and kept running.

"Whoa~" Rong Taotao cried out softly. He twisted his head to look back and saw a tall man who looked like a Wildman, his face covered in frost, and at his side, a graceful figure flickering in and out of sight.

’Illusory lines!?’

’Her hood, her cloak... were they all drawn from illusory lines?’

’She... was so beautiful.’

Her long hair, formed from illusory lines, rippled outward in circles with the frosty aura, swaying in a graceful rhythm.

Her supremely captivating face was as bewitching as her figure.

Whenever frost drifted down from above, her body of illusory lines would be coated in a layer of snow, only to vanish a moment later. The repeating cycle was breathtakingly beautiful and mysterious.

Rong Taotao was stunned. ’Such a bizarre creature existed in this world? Something made of illusory lines?’

’No, wait... How could she have cast a shadow earlier? That fleeting shell of frost and snow wouldn’t have been enough to project one.’

"Ignore her, Rong Taotao! Whatever she says to you, just ignore her!" Xia Fangran shouted.

’Dammit!’

’How could a Frost Beauty appear in a place like this?’

The Snow Realm Army had invaded Earth countless times. Over the past few decades, there had been well over a thousand battles, large and small, between the Snow Realm Army and the Snow Burning Army!

And in all that time, when had a Frost Beauty ever appeared?

This was a powerhouse that not even the Snow Realm Army could command. Her Spiritual Soul Techniques were incredibly bizarre, and her personality was notoriously arrogant and solitary. Why would she be here?

Most humanoid Snow Realm Soul Beasts possessed above-average intelligence and were typically social creatures. Their intelligence was high enough for them to understand self-preservation and the value of sticking together to survive.

But the Frost Beauty’s power was astonishing. Combined with her proud, solitary nature and status as a natural-born ruler, she found it difficult to coexist with her own kind.

This led to a complete lack of cohesion within their species, forcing them to enslave other races and each rule their own separate territory.

Why would a duo like this appear inside the Wall? The Snow Realm Vortex was the main battlefield where they could truly display their power.

’Sightseeing inside the Wall? Isn’t this complete overkill?’

As he ran, Xia Fangran snatched the phone from Rong Taotao’s hand and yelled into it, "First Wall, northwest sector, Cave 13! Besides Xiao Ziru, there’s a Frost Beauty! And listen up, I mean a Frost Beauty, not a Frost Maiden!"

BOOM! RUMBLE!

Tucked under Xia Fangran’s arm, Rong Taotao was jostled up and down as the man sprinted. Before he could even process what was happening, he heard a series of violent explosions.

Rong Taotao saw Xia Fangran cock his head, pinning the phone between his cheek and shoulder. While one arm held Rong Taotao, his other hand was somehow conjuring spinning Snow Burst Balls, which he hurled furiously at the cave wall!

The Xia Fangran-brand excavator!

Blasting a path wherever one was blocked!

By sheer force, Xia Fangran blasted a new exit in the natural cavern and burst outside with Rong Taotao in tow.

Shards of rock and debris slid down, raining over the master and his student.

"HREEE~" Snow Night Shock whinnied.

The moment they were out of the cave, Xia Fangran summoned Snow Night Shock. Holding Rong Taotao, he leaped onto its back and kicked its flanks. "Yah!"

It was clear that Xia Fangran truly treasured Rong Taotao, laying him sideways across the horse’s back in front of him.

He even hunched over, shielding Rong Taotao with his own body as he yelled at Snow Night Shock, "To Hundred Corps Pass!"

This was the first time Rong Taotao had ever seen Coach Xia so panicked. A million questions flooded his mind, and though he was uncomfortably pinned sideways on the horse, he remained obedient, afraid of causing his coach any more trouble.

The thunder of hooves pounded in his ears as Xia Fangran redialed the number. His voice was urgent and his tone incredibly blunt. "Don’t send any soldiers without Spiritual Soul Techniques; they’ll just be throwing their lives away! I’m positive this is a Frost Beauty. Report to your superiors first!"

"I’ve got a student with me, so I can’t engage. Eight minutes! I can be at the gates of Hundred Corps Pass in eight minutes! Yah!"

As he spoke, Xia Fangran urged his steed onward. His air of facing a mighty foe reminded Rong Taotao of the night the Snow Realm Army had invaded Pine Soul Soul Martial.

WHOOSH~

A rapidly spinning, snow-forged short halberd shot toward them from behind.

Xia Fangran’s expression tightened. He slapped the horse’s back, instantly recalling his Lifebound Soul Beast. He launched himself into the air, twisting and dodging nimbly through the wind and snow.

Xia Fangran, a True Divine General!

With Rong Taotao still in his grasp, he executed a stunning acrobatic maneuver, spinning a full two rotations in mid-air to let the Flying Halberd graze past him.

The instant before he landed, his Lifebound Soul Beast reappeared, and he settled firmly back onto its saddle.

FWOOSH...

A giant Cyan Lotus suddenly blossomed not far behind him!

Curiously, only one of the giant lotus’s petals was solid. The other eight were made of illusory lines that shimmered with a faint glow.

"Rong Taotao!!!"

Rong Taotao cried, "What is it, Coach Xia?"

Xia Fangran roared, "Stop messing around! Dispel your lotus! Conserve your energy before you pass out from hunger!"

Rong Taotao was baffled. "I didn’t use my lotus!" he yelled back. "It’s still inside me..."

Xia Fangran: ???

’Astonished, Rong Taotao struggled to twist his head around. Was there really a giant Cyan Lotus blooming behind them?’

Just then, the snow-covered ground beneath them suddenly gave way.

"HREEE!" Snow Night Shock let out a panicked whinny. Why had the solid ground beneath the ordinary snow suddenly vanished?

Beneath its hooves was now a gaping abyss!

And at the bottom of that abyss, countless illusory Lotus Petals were blooming with an eerie light. The Cyan Lotus, which should have been noble and pure, now seemed to emit a faint, poisonous fragrance that captivated the very soul...

His face grim, Xia Fangran recalled Snow Night Shock again and shot into the air.

At almost the same instant, a sweet, coquettish voice echoed in Rong Taotao’s mind. "Child, you took something of mine. Would you be a dear and return it to me?"

GULP. Rong Taotao’s face was a mask of shock. ’What does she mean?’

’How does she know I have a Lotus Petal? Did the Snow Realm Soul Beasts that fought and fled from me over the last month and a half tell her?’

’Or... does her Lotus Petal have some kind of tracking effect?’

SMACK! As Xia Fangran struggled to fly forward with Rong Taotao in his arm, he smacked the back of the boy’s head. "Remember what I said! No matter what she says to you, ignore her! Guard your mind!"

’This is so damn absurd!’

’Guard my mind? How am I supposed to do that?’

This was a matter of life and death! Rong Taotao yelled, "Don’t just give me the general idea, give me a concrete solution!"

"Can’t you just let it go in one ear and out the other? If not, recite ancient poetry! Recite your texts! Start reciting for me now!"

"The late emperor was taken from us before he could finish his great task..."

Xia Fangran swore and yelled, "That’s a jinx! Pick another one!"

But Rong Taotao truly did "guard his mind." He ignored not only the Frost Beauty haunting his thoughts, but even Coach Xia. He was, as they say, completely absorbed in the words of the sages!

"The empire is now divided in three... This is indeed a critical moment on which our very survival depends..."

Xia Fangran: "Recite it in your head! In your head!!!"