Master of Nine Stars

The two of them stood on the path, gazing upward for quite some time. As the cheers from within the campus gradually faded, they finally headed toward the school cafeteria.

Rong Taotao was thrilled. After all, this was the first time he had seen the sun in months. It was a feeling that people living in normal society would likely find hard to understand.

They navigated the familiar path to the second-floor teachers’ dining hall. As Rong Taotao went to the glass window to order, he noticed the chef was in high spirits, his face flushed red from the cold. It was clear the man had probably just stepped outside to see the sun himself and had only recently returned.

Rong Taotao made a point of ordering a pot of hot milk. Before they started eating, he poured out two bowls and summoned his Cloud Dog.

"Yip~" The Cloud Dog stood on the table, looking up at Gao Lingwei. It broke into an excited grin, its tail wagging as it stuck out its small, pink tongue.

The little creature’s adorable smile was wonderfully soothing and heartwarming.

Gao Lingwei smiled as well and summoned her Snowball Cat.

"Woof!" Seeing its old friend, the Snowball Cat started panting happily, wagging its fluffy tail.

Cloud Dog: "Woof woof~"

Gao Lingwei rested a hand on her forehead and said with exasperation, "It was perfectly normal when we were at the Third Wall. We’ve only just gotten back, and the Cloud Dog has already been a bad influence on it."

"Haha." Rong Taotao laughed and pushed the two bowls of milk in front of the cat and dog. "Their way of interacting might be a little weird, but it’s better than them tearing each other apart on sight."

"Once you’ve spent more time together and Xuerong understands what you’re saying, you can just tell it to stop if you don’t like it."

Gao Lingwei waved her hand dismissively and picked up her chopsticks. "That’s not necessary. As long as it’s happy."

The Cloud Dog sniffed at the porcelain bowl before starting to lap up the warm milk. The Snowball Cat watched it curiously, then followed its lead, lowering its head to drink as well.

The two little creatures were lapping it up with gusto. Rong Taotao watched nervously, half-afraid the Cloud Dog would stick its entire head into the bowl...

The sumptuous breakfast gave Gao Lingwei a huge appetite. She ate a sponge cake, a bowl of eight-treasure congee, and a whole steamer of soup dumplings...

Of course, no matter how much Gao Lingwei ate, she was no match for Rong Taotao, the Glutton of Pine Soul.

What’s that? You say Si Huan Nian is the real glutton?

Heh.

My friend, the times have changed.

Gao Lingwei propped her elbows on the table, resting her chin in one hand. She quietly watched Rong Taotao stuff his face, a faint smile in her eyes as she said softly, "By the way, do you remember back in the Snowfield, when I told you I wanted to find a powerful Soul Pet for you?"

"Mmph?" Rong Taotao nodded, his mouth full of a tea egg.

Gao Lingwei said apologetically, "I’m sorry. Professor Zheng and I saw quite a few Soul Beasts, including some rare ones, but we couldn’t find a suitable one. Plus, it’s very difficult to bring one back from the Third Wall to Songjiang Soul City."

"Oh, it’s fine, don’t worry about it. Just tell me, did you see any interesting Soul Beasts?" Rong Taotao asked curiously.

"Many. Some that aren’t even in the books." Gao Lingwei sighed softly, a glimmer of reminiscence in her eyes. "After I finished my mission with the Snow Burning Army, I spent all my time with Professor Zheng looking for Soul Beasts. Later, he even had all the teams he’d dispatched gather and join up with me."

As she spoke, she looked at Rong Taotao and said, "Xuerong’s utility is truly impressive. Thank you for letting me absorb it back then."

"Ah, haha." Rong Taotao laughed it off and picked up another soup dumpling.

Gao Lingwei, however, took a Soul Pearl from her pocket. "I couldn’t find a suitable Soul Pet for you, but I did bring you a Soul Pearl."

Rong Taotao stopped eating and looked at the Soul Pearl pinched between her thumb and forefinger. A swirl of snowy mist was suspended within it, making it look quite exquisite.

"A Bandit Snow Monkey Soul Pearl. It’s not exceptionally rare, but it’s still hard to come by."

Rong Taotao’s brow furrowed as he racked his brain. "Bandit Snow Monkey? Are those the monkeys that travel in packs, the ones that rob and murder people?"

Gao Lingwei nodded in agreement. This type of Soul Beast was viewed very poorly by human society. "They’re far more vicious than the normal monkeys you’d find at a tourist spot. They rarely steal things; they’re almost always out to kill."

Rong Taotao clicked his tongue in amazement. "You actually ran into them? The world outside the walls is certainly full of surprises."

Gao Lingwei ignored the comment and continued, "I remember you told me that the second and third Soul Slots you unlocked were on your forehead and your right elbow."

Rong Taotao was touched. ’I can’t believe she remembered something I mentioned so casually.’

He nodded. "Yeah, that’s right."

Gao Lingwei said, "The Bandit Snow Monkey’s Soul Pearl is meant to be embedded in the elbow. The Soul Skill is Iron Snow Forearm."

Rong Taotao grimaced. ’That name... sounds kind of thuggish, doesn’t it?’

Gao Lingwei handed the Soul Pearl to Rong Taotao. "It can be used for both offense and defense. For us, at our current level, it’s a very practical Soul Skill."

Rong Taotao took the Soul Pearl, and a message appeared in his mind:

"Soul Pearl discovered: Snow Realm · Bandit Snow Monkey (Elite Grade, Potential Value: N/A)

Soul Pearl’s Soul Skill: 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

1. Iron Snow Forearm: Gathers ice- and snow-attributed Soul Power to release a layer of frost over the forearm. Solidified through a special method, this frost becomes as hard as steel and incredibly durable. (Elite Grade, Potential Value: N/A)

All Soul Slots are currently full. Unable to absorb."

Rong Taotao nodded to himself. ’This Soul Skill is simple and straightforward. It’s basically like wearing a bracer made of snow. Just as Ling Wei said, it can be used for defense, and of course, for offense too.’

’If I aimed an elbow strike at someone’s jaw...’

’Tsk, and it’s Elite Grade. This bracer must be exceptionally tough.’

Rong Taotao asked, "You can’t learn this Soul Skill on your own, can you?"

Gao Lingwei nodded matter-of-factly, gently stroking Xuerong’s fluffy little head. "Although the Soul Skill is simple to execute, and any Snow Realm Soul Martial Artist can cover their arm in frost, no one knows the specific method used to make that frost so solid. The instructors haven’t figured it out yet."

Rong Taotao glanced at the Soul Skill’s description again and saw that it was indeed a bit vague, not revealing the specific mechanism behind it.

Rong Taotao knew he couldn’t improve the Quality of a Soul Skill acquired by embedding a Soul Pearl. Only skills he learned and trained on his own could be upgraded.

For example, take the Thorny Frost Flower Soul Pearl his brother Rong Yang had given him. Rong Taotao had used the Soul Skill: Frost Cold Thorn countless times, but to this day, he was still just like someone pulling the trigger on a gun, with no understanding of its inner workings.

"Finished eating?" Gao Lingwei asked, looking at the preoccupied Rong Taotao.

Rong Taotao snapped out of it and looked at the empty dishes on the table. He looked a little embarrassed and said, "How about... we order another round?"

Gao Lingwei: "Hm?"

Rong Taotao awkwardly rubbed his nose and changed the subject. "You gave me a very useful Soul Pearl, but I don’t have anything nice to give you in return."

Gao Lingwei waved her hand nonchalantly, completely unconcerned about it. She just asked, puzzled, "Are you joking, or do you really want to eat more? Your appetite seems to have gotten bigger. Can your stomach handle it?"

"Oh, right, my mistake. It’s not exactly true that I have nothing to give you." Rong Taotao suddenly leaned forward and whispered, "Let me give you a surprise!"

"What is it?" Gao Lingwei raised an eyebrow slightly, playing along by leaning in closer to listen.

Rong Taotao whispered, "While you were off having fun at the Third Wall, I absorbed another Lotus petal."

Gao Lingwei’s beautiful eyes widened slightly as she whipped her head around to stare at Rong Taotao.

On his face, she saw no sign that he was joking...

Gao Lingwei was stunned. She couldn’t help but ask, baffled, "A Supreme Treasure of that caliber... you can just get one whenever you want? You can get as many as you like?"

Rong Taotao muttered under his breath, spinning a ridiculous tale. "It’s not like I wanted it. The Frost Beauty insisted on shoving it into my hands. If I refused, it would’ve been disrespectful."

"We’re all just trying to get by in this Snow Realm. We see each other all the time. We have to maintain a good relationship for the future, you know?"

Gao Lingwei’s expression was a picture. "The Frost Beauty?"

Rong Taotao: "A Frost Beauty."

Gao Lingwei: "A Frost Beauty!?"

Rong Taotao: "Mhm..."

Gao Lingwei stared blankly at Rong Taotao, then suddenly blurted out, "Who went to the Third Wall, me or you?"

Rong Taotao: "..."

Gao Lingwei propped her elbows on the table, her expression turning serious as she looked at Rong Taotao, even scanning him up and down. "That’s the soul-snaring Frost Beauty. You encountered a creature like that and managed to walk out of the Snowfield with your mind intact?"

A look of delayed fear crossed Gao Lingwei’s face. She had assumed that the area north of the First Wall was relatively safe, and with Xia Fangran protecting him, nothing terrible would happen to Rong Taotao.

But only now did she belatedly realize that their parting in that cave could very well have been their last.

Her face turned grim. "How is Coach Xia? His mental state?"

Seeing her grave expression, Rong Taotao tried to reassure her. "He’s alive and kicking, nothing’s wrong. Neither of us were really hit with any Spiritual-type attacks."

"Hm?" Gao Lingwei was even more confused. "How is that possible? That’s her signature attack."

"Once she finds prey, a Frost Beauty will constantly try to invade your Heart Soul. If a Soul Martial Artist’s mental guard wavers for even an instant, just a few seconds of being mesmerized can be enough to fall into an abyss from which there is no return..."

’Now *this* is a real expert!’

Rong Taotao nodded quietly and glanced around before saying, "At the time, she probably didn’t have the spare energy to invade our minds."

Gao Lingwei was extremely sharp. Her eyes narrowed slightly. "You mean that when the Frost Beauty attacked you, she already had another creature with her, one whose Heart Soul she had invaded?"

"Hm... that makes sense. An empress-like creature such as a Frost Beauty always surrounds herself with a large number of servants. Controlling the leader of a clan to command the entire group is what they do best."

"For Coach Xia to protect you and still get out, he must have been seriously injured."

"Let’s go. We can talk more on the way back." Rong Taotao picked up his Cloud Dog, then, after a moment’s thought, tentatively picked up the Snowball Cat as well.

Now that it was a Soul Pet, the Snowball Cat was aware of the relationship between Rong Taotao and its master, so it didn’t resist.

Savoring the bliss of having a cat in one arm and a dog in the other, Rong Taotao noticed Gao Lingwei’s expression was still grim, unable to shake off her earlier fear. He decided to change the subject. "By the way, you promised to teach me archery."

"I can," Gao Lingwei said, getting up to follow him out. "What species was with the Frost Beauty? Tell me, I might recognize it."

’Species? The human species.’

’She didn’t have a large group of servants, just one. But that one servant was enough to nearly beat Xia Fangran into a stupor.’

’To this day, Rong Taotao could still hear Xia Fangran’s cursing: ’What level of Soul School student is this? I haven’t seen them in a few years, how the hell did they get this strong...?’’

’Sigh... Xiao Ziru, Smoke of the Pine Soul Four Rites.’

’I wonder if I’ll ever see you again.’

’If I do, will you still be trapped in that purgatory, unable to live, unable to die?’

Rumor had it that the Snow Burning Army never found Xiao Ziru that night. They didn’t even truly engage the enemy. The human and the beast had vanished, their destination unknown.

For decades, the endless blizzards of the Snow Realm have buried countless stories. A single, inadvertently revealed corner of one could represent the entirety of someone’s tragic life.

...