Master of Nine Stars

"Get lost!" the Poacher in the black cotton hat yelled, thrusting a hand forward as a gale-force wind erupted.

The small tables in the shop toppled over with a great CLATTER, shattering soy sauce and vinegar bottles and chili bowls all over the floor.

The gale forced Rong Taotao to slide back another step, but his still somewhat slender frame remained planted in the center of the noodle shop.

"I told you to get lost! Are you deaf!?" the female Poacher shrieked. With a leap, a Snow Burst rapidly coalesced in her hand, and she charged straight for Rong Taotao!

Songbai Town was exceptionally well-guarded. For this assassination mission, only a top-tier expert like Mi Tu, relying on his absolute power, had managed to get in. He had painstakingly hidden in the mountain forests outside of town for days before finally finding an opportunity to sneak past the perimeter and lead this small team on their mission.

The other four were mere Soul Warriors. This lower level of strength was precisely what made it easier for them to enter the town. And with Mi Tu making the opening move, completing the mission should have been easy.

Among these four Poachers, one was a deep-cover agent who had been living here as a civilian all along. The other three had not yet officially joined the Qian Organization; they had, in fact, been ordinary civilians before this.

That was how they were able to enter Songbai Town disguised as tourists, using the excuse of being drawn by its reputation to experience the grand New Year’s celebration.

The woman before him was one of those three. This assassination mission was her pledge of loyalty to join the Qian Organization.

The Poacher Qian Organization—its strength was as immense as its name was tacky!

Not just anyone who wanted to could get in.

"Bring it on!" Rong Taotao roared, his fury stoked by Gao Lingwei’s painful moans from behind him.

’Die!’

Rong Taotao dropped into a lunge, thrusting the Heaven-piercing Halberd in his hand forward with all his might.

"SHK!" "BOOM!"

The sound of the Ironspear Point sinking into flesh and the thunderous explosion erupted at almost the exact same moment.

Blasted back by the Snow Burst, Rong Taotao flipped in mid-air and landed heavily with both feet against the inside wall of the shop.

CRACK!

With a crisp snap, the moment Rong Taotao’s feet hit the wall, a filigree of ice blossomed beneath them, allowing him to crouch steadily on the vertical surface.

The female Poacher, however, looked completely crazed. The palm that had held the Snow Burst Ball was now pierced through, torn open into a massive, bloody hole by Rong Taotao’s halberd!

But she didn’t stop. Flinging her pierced hand, she staggered toward Gao Lingwei.

Rong Taotao’s heart lurched. He kicked hard off the wall, his body shooting forward with a WHOOSH!

But it was as if the woman was oblivious to everything else, her eyes fixed only on Gao Lingwei!

Rong Taotao was stunned. Utterly stunned.

’These lunatics... do they have no fear of death? At this rate, even if you succeed, you’ll be dead!’

"SHK!"

Kicking off the wall, Rong Taotao lunged with incredible speed. Though he had moved second, he struck first.

His Heaven-piercing Halberd stabbed down from above, and in the blink of an eye, it pierced the female Poacher’s spine, pinning her to the floor.

"Watch out!" the Poacher in the black cotton hat cried out in alarm, once again raising his hands. In that instant, a furious gale erupted.

Rong Taotao was sent flying once again. Meanwhile, the female Poacher—her palm pierced and her spine impaled—finally got her wish.

Propelled by the gale, the female Poacher finally neared Gao Lingwei. A look of intense longing spread across her pain-wracked face, as if her "pledge of loyalty" was finally within reach.

But Gao Lingwei’s eyes snapped open, terrifyingly sharp. The hand that had been desperately clawing at her own head slammed down viciously.

The female Poacher, still sliding across the floor from the force of the wind, was met with a palm to the top of her head. With a loud CRACK, the floor tiles shattered as Gao Lingwei smashed the woman’s head straight into the ground.

But Gao Lingwei wasn’t finished. Perhaps having found an outlet for her agony, she grabbed the female Poacher’s head with one hand, yanked it up, and slammed it viciously back into the ground.

THUD!

The already shattered tile floor was gouged even deeper by the female Poacher’s head.

"BOOM!" "BOOM!"

Scrambling back to his feet, Rong Taotao held a Snow Burst Ball in each hand and immediately hurled them at the charging Poachers.

"You little shit, always getting in the way! You’re asking to die!" Seeing his female companion being brutalized and two of his team members sent flying by Snow Burst Balls, the man in the black cotton hat finally changed his target from killing Gao Lingwei to eliminating Rong Taotao first.

The man in the black cotton hat was frantic. He wanted to end this fight quickly, as the Songbai Town Soul Police could arrive at any moment. But after a few exchanges, he finally realized that if he didn’t deal with the meddlesome Rong Taotao, the assassination would be impossible.

The female Poacher had been focused to a terrifying degree, her heart consumed with the overwhelming desire to kill Gao Lingwei. And what was the result?

By the time she reached Gao Lingwei, she was already covered in wounds and gravely injured! What chance did she have to strike?

THUD! Another sickening thud. Gao Lingwei lifted the female Poacher’s head and smashed it into the floor tiles again. When she lifted it this time, the woman’s face was a mask of blood, a mangled, bloody mess...

"Nghh..." To everyone’s surprise, the one still moaning in agony was Gao Lingwei.

That’s right. Her mental state was still in shambles, the excruciating pain refusing to subside.

The man in the black cotton hat immediately drew a small sickle made of snow. It wasn’t the long scythe of a grim reaper, but more like a short-handled sickle used for farming.

A change in tactics meant a change in the focus of his attack.