Master of Nine Stars

The trio took stock of the battlefield. They had taken down a total of 6 Snowflake Wolves. The Wolf King Soul Pearl went to Gao Lingwei, and one small Snowflake Wolf Soul Pearl went to Lu Mang. The three didn’t extract the remaining four Soul Pearls, leaving them inside the Snowflake Wolf corpses.

After sorting everything out, Lu Mang placed his supply pack onto Hu Bugui’s packsaddle. He also tied up the six Snowflake Wolf carcasses and slung them over the sides of his own Snow Night Shock.

"While it’s still light out, let’s keep heading for the Second Wall. We’ll pick up the pace and search for Soul Beasts as we go," Gao Lingwei said, her voice dropping lower again. "With the Twelfth Squad escorting us, an opportunity like this is rare, and they can’t stay with us for too long."

"You’ve got a point." Rong Taotao immediately nodded, swung himself onto his mount, and said, "Let’s go!"

"Meow~" The Snowball Cat, curled up on Gao Lingwei’s head, lazily licked its little paws.

"Xuerong." Gao Lingwei raised a hand and patted its small head.

"Mrow?" The Snowball Cat’s tail hooked around the back of Gao Lingwei’s head, and with its paws on her forehead, it leaned down curiously to look at her eyes upside down.

"You’ve worked hard. I’ll play with you more when we get back." Gao Lingwei tilted her head back slightly, looking into the Frost Night Xuerong’s beautiful, azure eyes. She blinked twice again. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Receiving the signal, the Snowball Cat climbed back atop Gao Lingwei’s head. Its eyes once again misted over with frost as it gazed out toward the vast, snow-covered Pine Forest...

"Da Wei, when you use that Ice Crystal Evil Face Soul Skill, does it look the same as when an Ice Crystal Squirrel uses it?" Rong Taotao’s curious voice suddenly came from behind her.

"No, it’s different. The appearance of the Ice Crystal Evil Face is based on the Caster’s own."

Rong Taotao’s interest was piqued. "Can you show me? Try using it on me."

Gao Lingwei said while scanning their surroundings, "Hm, it would be good to train your mental fortitude from time to time. I’ll use it on you tonight when we rest, but..."

Rong Taotao asked, "But what?"

Gao Lingwei murmured softly, "I’m worried it’ll scar you, and you won’t dare to look at me afterward."

Rong Taotao was immediately displeased. "What a joke! Absolutely ridiculous!"

"Hmm..." Gao Lingwei nodded lightly. "Fine. If you can look past this shell of mine, you might be able to focus more on what’s inside."

Rong Taotao hurriedly said, "What I mean is, how can we possibly rest tonight?

With a golden opportunity like this, as long as Fu Tiance doesn’t order a retreat, we can’t rest! We have to race against the clock to find Soul Beasts!

Uh... Right! That’s exactly it!"

A faint smile played on Gao Lingwei’s lips as she turned her head and gave Rong Taotao a quick glance.

Rong Taotao, however, was already looking all around, putting on a show of earnestly searching for Soul Beasts.

Nearby, having overheard their conversation, Lu Mang couldn’t help but snort inwardly. ’This kid’s mouth... As they say back in Songjiang, he sure can run it.’

Rong Taotao had spoken quite loudly, seemingly on purpose for the Twelfth Squad behind them to hear.

Whether Captain Fu Tiance agreed or not, Rong Taotao had made his intentions clear.

It served to let the squad know where they stood: Rong Taotao’s group was far from satisfied. They wouldn’t quit while they were ahead; they would only push closer and closer to the Second Wall!

"That Soul Beast... you think we can take it?" After their Snow Night Shocks had been galloping across the Snowfield for several minutes, Lu Mang suddenly spoke up, pointing toward the sky.

Rong Taotao looked up and saw a large, snow-colored bird circling high in the sky.

It looked very much like a bald eagle from human society. However, unlike the American national bird from across the ocean, this one was pure white from head to tail.

"It’s too high." Rong Taotao shook his head in resignation. "If only I had Coach Xia’s skills, I’d just fly right up there."

Gao Lingwei offered some consolation. "Even Coach Xia needs wind and snow to take flight. And in those conditions, you’d never be able to catch a Snow Wind Eagle in midair.

It’s an Elite to Master-grade Soul Beast. I remember its Soul Skill is a foot-type one—its talons can be coated in frost, making them as hard as your Iron Snow Forearm.

Comparatively speaking, a foot-type Soul Skill like that isn’t as practical as Snow Burst."

But Rong Taotao said, "Look, it’s been circling over there this whole time. Don’t you think it’s spotted some prey?"

"Very likely." Gao Lingwei instantly understood what Rong Taotao was getting at. She leaned forward, patted Hu Bugui’s neck, and the mount immediately veered to the right.

Rong Taotao asked, "What do Snow Wind Eagles like to hunt?"

Lu Mang glanced at Rong Taotao, who had barely attended class for half a semester, and explained, "They eat anything; they’re not picky. Once their talons are coated in frost, they’re extremely sharp with a powerful grip—more than enough to handle most Soul Beasts."

Gao Lingwei frowned. "It’s been circling for so long without diving. It seems the Soul Beast in that patch of forest is a high-grade one."

But to everyone’s surprise, the moment the words left Gao Lingwei’s mouth, the Snow Wind Eagle dove!

"There it goes. We missed our chance," Lu Mang said helplessly. "The books say these creatures are superb hunters. Once they make a move, it means they’re fully prepared, and the prey is almost certainly..."

Before Lu Mang could finish his sentence, the Snow Wind Eagle shot back up into the sky, a blood-drenched Snowflake Wolf clutched in its sharp talons.

"A Snowflake Wolf?" Rong Taotao had a peculiar expression on his face. "If a Snow Wind Eagle is that powerful, taking down a Snowflake Wolf should be a piece of cake. Why would it need to circle for so long, even if there was a pack?"

"We’ll find out if we go take a look." Gao Lingwei dug her heels sharply into her mount’s flanks. "Hiyah!"