Master of Nine Stars

Back at Hundred Corps Pass, Rong Taotao and Lu Mang finished changing their clothes. When they walked out of the building, Fu Tiance, Rong Yang, and Gao Lingwei were already geared up and ready to go.

"Tie it to the saddle," Gao Lingwei said, tilting her head and gesturing toward her Snow Night Shock.

Fu Tiance was much better than Xia Yinyang; he had no issue with them riding the Snow Night Shock. A pack saddle was already fitted onto Gao Lingwei’s steed, and her survival supply pack was already on it.

As Rong Taotao tied his pack, he gave Fu Tiance and Rong Yang a strange look, taking in their getups.

The two of them really looked like bank robbers. Although they were wearing traditional Snow Burning military camouflage, they both had black balaclavas pulled over their heads, revealing only their eyes.

"If you’re ready, let’s go. The rest of the team is waiting for us," Fu Tiance said, signaling for everyone to mount up.

Gao Lingwei swung herself onto her horse and pulled Rong Taotao up onto its back behind her. The group of five quickly departed Hundred Corps Pass and entered the area north of the First Wall.

Barely five minutes into their journey, Rong Taotao covered his mouth and nose with one hand and shouted, "Hey, Captain Fu, your squad is called ’Twelfth Squad,’ and all your codenames are from the Zodiac. There must be tons of squads in the Snow Burning army, so snagging a theme from traditional Eastern culture is pretty badass..."

"What about it?" Fu Tiance asked, turning his head toward Rong Taotao.

Looking at Fu Tiance, who resembled a "Firebird Warrior," Rong Taotao grinned and said, "Couldn’t you guys change your look? You look like bank robbers."

"Change what? What’s wrong with this?" Fu Tiance tugged at the balaclava on his head and explained, "In our line of work, we can’t be seen. Keeping our identities secret is pretty important.

"Of course... even though I say that, over our long careers, we’ve arrested all sorts of criminals, so our identities have inevitably been exposed."

As he spoke, Fu Tiance turned to Gao Lingwei and said, "Don’t worry. Ever since the incident on New Year’s Eve, the Snow Burning military has contacted the authorities in Liaolian. They’ve already assigned agents to secretly protect your parents."

Gao Lingwei nodded. "Thank you, Captain Fu."

Fu Tiance then looked at Lu Mang and said with a smile, "You can rest assured too. Songbai Town is very safe. New Year’s Eve was an exception, after all, Gao Lingwei’s Soul Pet is rather special."

It was unclear what Lu Mang was thinking, but he just gave a slight nod.

Sensing the heavy atmosphere, Rong Taotao spoke up. "When I join the squad in the future, it would be cool if we all wore masks of the Twelve Zodiacs."

"Oh?" Fu Tiance thought for a moment. "That’s not a bad idea. Sounds interesting."

"Sheep, make a note. Tell Mao Rabbit later, after the mission is done, to get masks for all the guys. I want to see how it looks. Oh, and tell her to make my dragon mask look good."

Rong Yang: "..."

Gao Lingwei, however, asked, "Captain Fu, what’s our objective this time?"

Fu Tiance smiled. "A few days ago, a formidable team of Poachers was discovered outside the Second Wall. The Snow Burning squad that found them accidentally alerted them. Now, the Poacher team has crossed south over the Second Wall and entered the area of the First Wall.

"With the snowstorm dying down and the sun coming out these past two days, the Snow Burning army thought it would be easy to capture those Poachers. But unexpectedly, that group is very patient. They’ve hidden themselves in a mountain forest somewhere and refuse to show their faces."

"This wasn’t originally our mission, but after three days with no sign of the Poacher team, the Snow Burning army contacted us to take a look. After all, we’re the specialists."

Curious, Rong Taotao voiced a question that had been bothering him. "The Twelfth Squad catches Poachers? Doesn’t that overlap with the Soul Police’s duties?"

Fu Tiance replied, "The enormous profits have allowed the criminal industry of poaching to rapidly grow in scale.

"Think about the organization that tried to assassinate you and Gao Lingwei. Think about their reaction speed and their operational capability. If your brother and sister-in-law hadn’t been with you, their mission would have likely succeeded."

As he spoke, Fu Tiance looked at Rong Taotao. "The organization that tried to assassinate you is called ’Money.’ Let me introduce you to two more: the Free People and Wo Xue Mian. You should be able to find information on them online."

Rong Taotao: ???

’Money, the Free People, and Wo Xue Mian?’

’These... the styles don’t even match!’

Fu Tiance continued, "’Money’ and the ’Free People’ are two Poacher Organizations with large numbers, and their members’ strengths are all over the place. The strong ones can reach the Soul School level, while the weak are just Soul Soldiers. They’ll do anything for money. Hmph, a bunch of scum."

"When it comes to these two Poacher Organizations, the Twelfth Squad’s duties do overlap with the Soul Police. After all, the Soul Police can’t enter the Third Wall’s territory; this is under the jurisdiction of the Snow Burning army."

Gao Lingwei suddenly spoke up. "If they can become Soul Schools, how could they be short on money? Why would they get involved in something like this?"

Fu Tiance said, "This world has all kinds of people—greedy for money, lustful, hungry for power. Since the schools couldn’t educate them properly, our duty is to throw them in prison to be reformed."

Rong Taotao asked curiously, "What about that Wo Xue Mian group? The name sounds pretty unlucky. Do they like to sleep?"

"Mm..." Fu Tiance frowned slightly. "They’re a bit more troublesome. Most of them are obsessed with strength and operate year-round inside and outside the Third Wall. We occasionally get reports about them from the Russian Federation, so they’re considered a transnational criminal organization.

"This organization has caused huge problems for the order in the Snow Realm. Their methods show no regard for good or evil. A good number of Snow Burning soldiers die at their hands every year. They never show mercy to anyone who gets in their way."

"Wo Xue Mian is one of our squad’s primary targets."

"They’re a group of extreme egoists," Rong Yang suddenly said. "The emergence of Soul Power gave a certain type of person delusions of becoming gods or saints. They have their own philosophy for how to live. Taotao."

"Hm?" Rong Taotao turned to look at Rong Yang.

He heard the very serious tone in his brother’s voice as he said, "If you’re ever unfortunate enough to run into people from Wo Xue Mian, you must remember what I’m about to say."

Rong Taotao: "What?"

Rong Yang said, "Do not get in their way. Remember, for the foreseeable future, you are still a student, not a soldier.

"Don’t even think about trying to stop them. Unlike other Poacher Organizations, as long as you act like you saw nothing and don’t interfere with their business, they won’t harm you without reason."

Rong Taotao: "Mm..."

’The Snow Realm was just too dangerous.’

The blizzard environment was the root cause for the proliferation of crime.

’Over 85% of Huaxia’s landmass was Starfield territory, with Starfield Vortexes opening in the sky, but where else was as chaotic as the Snow Realm?’

"It’s too early to be talking to them about this. Just watch out for ’Money’ and the ’Free People.’ Wo Xue Mian isn’t likely to be hanging around the First Wall," Fu Tiance said, changing the subject. "You three little ones, remember this: after we complete the mission, if you spot any Soul Beasts along the way and want a closer look, just say the word."

Since he had brought a few students from the Junior Class out with him and wanted to recruit them, Fu Tiance was naturally happy to do them a favor.

At these words, Rong Taotao’s eyes lit up, and his train of thought immediately shifted.

He couldn’t help but tug on the corner of Gao Lingwei’s clothes. "This is a great chance!"

Gao Lingwei hummed softly in agreement. "If we can find a wrist-type Soul Slot of Elite Quality, we can replace your Thorny Frost Flower Soul Pearl."

"Don’t just think about me," Rong Taotao said, scooting forward on his butt to get closer to Gao Lingwei’s ear. "All of your Soul Slots can be upgraded with high-quality Soul Pearls. We have to compete in the second half of the year, so you need to fill up every single one of your Soul Slots.

"With the Twelfth Squad here, we can specifically hunt Elite-level Soul Beasts!"

"Mhm, I’m not asking for an Eye Soul Pearl. I’d be content with just a chest Soul Pearl," Gao Lingwei said, nodding with a smile.

WHOOSH...

The next moment, a swirl of frost and snow unfurled in front of Gao Lingwei. A pure white Snowball Cat appeared, its bright, sapphire-blue eyes like gemstones, perched on the back of the Snow Night Shock.

It tilted its little head up and let out a coquettish cry at Gao Lingwei. "Meow~"

Gao Lingwei reached out and gently patted the Snowball Cat’s little head. "Good kitty."

As she spoke, Gao Lingwei blinked twice.

Recognizing the signal, the Snowball Cat immediately knew what to do. With a light leap, it landed on Gao Lingwei’s head. Its pair of brilliant, flawless eyes instantly transformed into a frosty mist as it gazed out at the vast snowfield ahead.

Lu Mang stared in astonishment, his curious gaze fixed on the little cat atop Gao Lingwei’s head. ’Is that... a Ragdoll cat? Such a beautiful and docile creature is actually a Soul Pet?’

The weather today was exceptionally good. The wind was light, so there wasn’t much frost and snow blowing around, and everyone could even see the sun in the sky.

Rong Taotao asked curiously, "Our visibility is pretty good. Do we still need to use Xuerong?"

"Mhm," Gao Lingwei replied. "With wind and snow, it lets me see through them. Without wind and snow, it lets me see more clearly. Do you see those three pine trees over there?"

Rong Taotao looked over. "Of course."

Gao Lingwei: "Did you see the four Cold Night Birds on the branches?"

Rong Taotao: "Uh..."

"Meow~" The Snowball Cat perched on Gao Lingwei’s head let out a soft cry, its fluffy tail sweeping back and forth across Rong Taotao’s face.

Rong Taotao scooted his butt back a little and scratched his cheek with one hand.

The group continued northwest, crossing a medium-sized snowy mountain. As they came to the leeward slope, they saw a huge figure standing in the snow.

Rong Taotao jumped in fright. ’Is that... a giant?’ 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"Get Mao Rabbit. We’re leaving," Fu Tiance said. He didn’t dismount; the squad didn’t even stop, merely passing by the mouth of a cave. A moment later, the tower-like giant of a man and a woman who quickly emerged from the cave both mounted their own Snow Night Shocks and caught up.

"Which forest number?" Fu Tiance shouted.

"Number 27. Continue northwest for 32 kilometers," the giant man said in a deep voice.

Fu Tiance gestured. "These three are the Pine Soul Soul Martial students I’ve taken a liking to. These two are my team members, Ugly Ox and Mao Rabbit."

Rong Taotao turned his head and waved. "Hello."

"Hn," the giant man grunted, his response perfunctory.

In contrast, Mao Rabbit, who was galloping alongside them, offered a proper response. She tilted her head, waved at Rong Taotao, and said in a sweet voice, "Hello, junior."

’Oh? So Miss Mao Rabbit also graduated from Pine Soul Soul Martial?’

’It’s a shame she’s wearing a black balaclava, so I can’t see her face. I can only see a pair of lively, big eyes.’

’Combined with the way she’s tilting her head right now... hmm, this bank robber is kind of cute.’