Master of Nine Stars

Beside them, Lu Mang hurried to keep up. He wholeheartedly agreed with Rong Taotao’s analysis and found himself secretly looking forward to seeing what kind of Soul Beasts were in that Snow Forest.

Just a few days ago, Lu Mang would never have dared to imagine that he, a mere Soul Soldier, would be adventuring so close to the Second Wall, let alone intentionally heading into the incredibly dangerous Snow Forest.

A duo like Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei was simply terrifying. While the Little Souls from the Junior Class were still back at school, crushing students from the Martial Arts Class and fighting to top the rankings, Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei were already out here in the thick of it...

Lu Mang marveled to himself. In less than two minutes, he heard waves of roars coming from within the Snow Forest.

Lu Mang was very familiar with the sound; he had just been besieged by Snowflake Wolves.

There weren’t just roars, but also whimpers. ’It seems the Snowflake Wolf Pack has met its match?’

"Slow down," Gao Lingwei said, her expression growing solemn. She moved from the cover of one tree to the next, observing cautiously.

The closer they got to the battlefield, the more piercing the miserable cries and furious roars of the Snowflake Wolves became.

’What on earth is this Soul Beast?’

’If the Snowflake Wolf Pack is getting beaten this badly, why aren’t they running away?’

Gao Lingwei couldn’t make sense of it. She dismounted and crept forward quietly with Rong Taotao and Lu Mang.

"Whoa." Rong Taotao poked his head out from behind a tree, unable to help but whisper in shock as he took in the battlefield before a natural cave.

Ever since he’d entered the Snowfield and first encountered Snowflake Wolves, it had always been the wolves besieging their prey. When had he ever seen another species besieging them!?

’Are those Snow Souls? I’ve seen Snow Souls before, but something about these feels off...’

Rong Taotao’s eyes widened as he stared at the weapons floating in mid-air. They were nearly transparent, yet faintly emanated a strange luster.

Back when they first enrolled, the Soul Martial University had provided everyone with a Lifebound Soul Beast, and among them were extremely special weapon-type Soul Beasts like the Snow Soul.

But compared to the Snow Souls he had seen, which were made of ice and snow, these glowing, translucent weapons were dazzlingly brilliant—they were breathtakingly beautiful! 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Gao Lingwei placed a hand on Rong Taotao’s shoulder, yanked him back, and in the same motion, pressed him against the tree trunk.

Rong Taotao: ???

’What’s going on?’

’We’re supposed to be hunting. Why is Goddess Wei suddenly wall-slamming me?’

"Snow Fury. An extremely special, elite-tier, weapon-type Soul Beast. Judging by their numbers, there are at least fourteen or fifteen of them." Gao Lingwei’s expression was serious as she spoke in a low voice. "With Captain Fu and his team backing us up, we can afford to be a little reckless.

But there are a lot of them. One wrong move, and our lives could be in danger. You need to think carefully about whether we take this fight or not."

Rong Taotao scratched his nose. Da Wei’s breath brushed against his face, making it itch.

He asked, "What Soul Skills do they have?"

Gao Lingwei replied, "The Snow Fury itself is a Soul Skill. Whatever shape of Snow Fury you absorb, that’s the kind of weapon you’ll get.

Unlike the Snow Soul, they don’t change their shape according to the Soul Martial Artist’s will."

Rong Taotao nodded thoughtfully. "Then let’s not get involved," he said. "Even if we manage to get a Soul Pearl, there’s not much to gain."

"No, there is a benefit, and it’s a big one," Gao Lingwei said. "It’s called a Snow Fury for a reason. It’s in a constant state of rage and is extremely aggressive.

The Soul Skill from a Snow Fury’s Soul Pearl also has a degree of autonomy. It has a mind of its own."

Rong Taotao froze for a second. "You mean, it attacks on its own?" he asked.

Gao Lingwei gave a slight nod. "Yes, and that’s the most crucial part. You have two options.

You can use your movements to direct its attacks, or you can just let it be. If you do, it will continuously circle your body and automatically attack any enemy that tries to get close."

Rong Taotao’s eyes lit up. "So it’s like having my own personal Sword and Shield?" he asked.

Gao Lingwei considered this for a moment. "You only have two hands, so you can have a maximum of two Snow Furies circling your body."

"It’s that amazing?" Rong Taotao turned and once again poked his head out to get a better look.

The translucent Snow Furies, each emitting an eerie luster, were absolutely decimating the Snowflake Wolf Pack.

And these things were truly aggressive. After slaughtering a Snowflake Wolf, each weapon would plunge into the creature’s body as if drinking its blood...

After drinking the blood, the Snow Fury’s original dark-gold luster would turn an eerie, blood-red hue.

Short blades, iron truncheons, long daggers, square hammers... ’What’s that one? Is it a scepter?’

"Da Wei," Rong Taotao said.

"Have you made a decision?" Gao Lingwei inquired.

"See that dagger-shaped Snow Fury? The one with the circular grooves on it? Doesn’t it look like the Seven-Star Dagger that Cao Aman tried to assassinate Dong Fatty with?"

Gao Lingwei tilted her head to look, just in time to see a short blade, mottled with gold and red, being pulled from the body of a Snowflake Wolf.

And sure enough, on its gold-and-red surface were several circular grooves of various sizes, all filled with the Snowflake Wolf’s blood—as if the blade wanted to save some to savor later...

Rong Taotao licked his lips in excitement. "Did you see it?"

Gao Lingwei: "Mm."

Rong Taotao: "It’s so beautiful."

Gao Lingwei: "..."

At their side, Lu Mang suddenly spoke up. "I... I think I’ll fall back. I’ll take the two Snow Night Shocks and go find Captain Fu and the others."

Gao Lingwei glanced at Lu Mang. She seemed to bite her tongue, but in the end, said nothing.