Master of Nine Stars

"Da Wei, hurry, come embed it." Rong Taotao eagerly waved her over.

Gao Lingwei hurried over but asked, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I don’t like Egg Sabers," Rong Taotao said, handing her the Soul Pearl.

"What are Egg Sabers?" Gao Lingwei asked, a little confused. She took the Soul Pearl and pressed it into her left wrist. "If we’re comparing it to other melee weapons, it looks more like a pair of Butterfly Dual Sabers stuck together."

"Grrr..." The Snowball Cat at their side suddenly crouched low, a dangerous, predatory growl rumbling in its throat.

Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei spun around and saw a stunning, short-handled war hammer floating next to a distant pine tree. It was semi-transparent, shimmering with a golden-red light, and frozen in mid-air.

It rotated slowly, seemingly sentient, as if contemplating something.

Rong Taotao tensed, instantly summoning his Heaven-piercing Halberd. "Holy crap, isn’t that Thor the Thunder God’s Meow Meow Hammer?"

It did look a lot like Mjolnir, except this one was translucent and radiated a dark golden luster, making it breathtakingly beautiful.

There in the dense woods, far from any battlefield, the two of them and the lone hammer fell into a standoff.

Gao Lingwei focused on the Soul Pearl on her left wrist and whispered, "This is our chance. It’s alone, or perhaps it came looking for us."

Rong Taotao asked, "You’re planning a frontal assault?"

Gao Lingwei flicked her left wrist. The Butterfly Dual Sabers materialized in her palm and began to spin rapidly. "It’s different from before. We now have what it takes to face it head-on!"

The moment she finished speaking, the golden-red war hammer flew toward them.

It seemed to have sensed the presence of the Butterfly Dual Sabers. What was it trying to do?

Kill its kin? Or rescue it?

Either way, it was charging straight for Gao Lingwei.

An idea struck Rong Taotao, and he suddenly shouted, "Put away the sabers! Snow Trap! And step back at the last second!"

Gao Lingwei froze for a split second. Faced with the "Mjolnir’s" incredible speed, she didn’t have time to think. Trusting Rong Taotao implicitly, she subconsciously followed his command.

Gao Lingwei retracted the spinning Butterfly Dual Sabers into her palm. Her legs tensed as she looked up at the war hammer hurtling down from the sky. At the same time, she instantly created a trap beneath her feet.

WHOOSH...

The golden-red war hammer’s momentum was immense and unstoppable!

"CRASH!"

At the very last second, Gao Lingwei sprang backward. The Meow Meow Hammer slammed down, landing heavily and sending snow flying everywhere.

However, the snow at the point of impact didn’t scatter.

Quite the opposite. The snow where it landed converged and froze in an instant, trapping the Meow Meow Hammer completely.

Snow Realm Soul Skill, Elite Level: Snow Trap!

Shielding his face with an arm against the blast of air and frost, Rong Taotao strode forward. He extended both hands toward the Meow Meow Hammer frozen in the Snow Trap, and streams of frost and snow erupted from his palms.

Snow Realm Soul Skill, Excellent Level: Jade Dragon Gift!

Not only was Rong Taotao blasting the hammer with frost from his hands, but he was also furiously exhaling a stream of Frost Breath.

He was clearly a Soul Martial Student specializing in Martial Arts, yet he was forced to live the life of a Mage...

Blown back by the shockwave, Gao Lingwei did a backflip in mid-air and landed steadily, just in time to see the scene unfolding before her.

A unique glint flashed in her beautiful eyes, and a flicker of delight sparked in her heart.

’What an incredible level of battlefield judgment!’

’Faced with a sudden crisis, he formulated a plan in just two seconds. And as it turns out, the plan was not only effective, but the results were spectacular!’

Throughout the morning’s search and their multiple hunts, Gao Lingwei had taken note of Rong Taotao’s leadership abilities and his attention to every little detail.

’Calling him "resourceful, decisive, and full of ingenuity" wouldn’t be an exaggeration at all...’

’Back when they were in the Snowfield Cave, Rong Taotao was just a Soul Soldier, and his Soul Technique was only at two stars. He had no power, and thus no right to speak. He himself had said that the strong should be the ones to call the shots.’

’But things were different now. Rong Taotao had advanced to a Soul Warrior. Even more frightening, his Soul Technique had caught up, allowing him to fight shoulder-to-shoulder with her instead of just relying on her for protection.’

Gao Lingwei, who had always been a leader from high school until now, couldn’t help but fall into deep thought.

’So, should I let him be the leader of our duo?’

’Should I hand over command and let him lead the way?’

As these thoughts ran through her mind, her feet didn’t slow. She immediately rushed forward, spraying the Meow Meow Hammer with frost from her hands while also exhaling Frost Breath.

Two people, six streams of frost—the output was enormous!

Forget a hammer, even if Xia Yinyang just stood there and took this combined assault, he’d be frozen solid...

"That should be enough," Gao Lingwei said, stopping her Frost Breath and taking a deep breath.

"Snow Burst?" Rong Taotao asked, looking up at her.

"No need. We already have what it takes to have a ’talk’ with Snow Fury." Gao Lingwei stopped the streams of Jade Dragon Gift from her hands and once again summoned the Butterfly Dual Sabers.

Rong Taotao took two steps back. "Going to use magic to defeat magic?"

"Hmm..." Gao Lingwei gave a noncommittal hum. She extended her left arm, palm facing up. In her palm, the Butterfly Dual Sabers spun at an incredible speed, faster and faster...

"Meeeow~" With a soft cry, the Snowball Cat leaped onto Rong Taotao’s head. Its long, fluffy tail wrapped around his head and tugged him backward.

"Hey!" Rong Taotao’s vision was blocked by the cat’s tail, and its pull forced him to take a step back.

"You want me to get back?" Rong Taotao pulled the tail from his eyes but obediently retreated with the Snowball Cat, taking cover behind a tree.

Rong Taotao peeked his head out from behind the tree, his face tense as he watched the scene unfold.

On his head, the Snowball Cat also tilted its head, blinking its big eyes as it peered into the distance.

The scene... yup. A perfect real-life version of the "secretly observing" meme.

Gao Lingwei also backed away, her eyes locked on the war hammer frozen to the ground. The Butterfly Dual Sabers in her hand spun so fast that their afterimages blurred into a single, dark golden disc.

"Hiyah!" With a sharp cry, Gao Lingwei put all her strength into a powerful forward swing of her left arm.

The shimmering, dark golden disc flew toward the frozen war hammer.

"BANG!"

With a loud crack, the solidified frost instantly shattered!

"Meeow~" The Snowball Cat perched on Rong Taotao’s head immediately sprang away.

Gao Lingwei thrust her right hand out, palm open, and a pane of Ice Glass formed in front of her.

"TING! TING! TING!"

A series of crisp chimes rang out as ice fragments struck the Ice Glass shield.

Rong Taotao smirked as he watched Gao Lingwei being pushed back. ’Didn’t she say Ice Glass was unreliable?’ he thought. ’So... what’s this?’

’Hah. Women.’

A few seconds later, the frost mist dissipated. Gao Lingwei casually tossed aside the shattered Ice Glass, her eyes glinting with excitement. She turned and spotted Rong Taotao peeking out from behind the tree.

Rong Taotao stepped out. "Feel better?"

"I do," Gao Lingwei admitted readily instead of arguing. "I’d thought about it a lot before. I knew teaming up with you would mean a long adjustment period, and that I’d need plenty of patience while I waited for you to develop."

Rong Taotao blinked, surprised by the sudden change in topic. He had only been teasing her about her triumphant display.

Gao Lingwei watched Rong Taotao quietly for a moment before speaking. "I chose to team up with you because we’re the same kind of person, and you’re a reliable teammate. It was only after I joined the Soul Class that I learned more of your story.

"And now, just three short months into our partnership, I’m already considering letting you take over as commander and lead me."

"Uh..." Rong Taotao was a bit stunned. He wasn’t sure what specific detail had led her to this decision. In terms of strength and competition experience, Gao Lingwei was undeniably far superior to him.

Gao Lingwei finally got to the point. "The strategy of retreating to advance simply doesn’t exist in my mind. A moment ago, before you told me to use Snow Trap and fall back, my plan was to summon Snow Fury and clash with it head-on."

"As it turns out, your strategy was the right one. We didn’t get a single scratch, the whole process was smooth, and we took down the opponent with ease."

"I started learning Soul Skills a full three years before you did, but you seem to understand them better than I do. You’re more skilled at exploiting each Soul Skill’s unique traits, magnifying their strengths to achieve your objective."

"That last battle completely exceeded my expectations. If we can crush our opponents like that under your leadership, maybe Lu Mang wouldn’t have had to leave."

"Er..." Rong Taotao scratched his head. Looking at Gao Lingwei’s serious expression, he thought he understood the issue.

It wasn’t that Rong Taotao’s strategy had been particularly brilliant, but that he and Gao Lingwei had fundamentally different tactical styles. That was the real difference.

One was all about fearless, aggressive assaults; the other was about defensive counter-strikes. Their different approaches as leaders would inevitably lead to completely different combat styles for the team.

"Ying~" The Snowball Cat, with a Soul Pearl in its mouth, leaped onto Gao Lingwei’s shoulder and mischievously tried to stuff the pearl into her ear.

"You little rascal." Gao Lingwei picked up the Snowball Cat, moved it to her other shoulder, and then tilted her head to shake it.

The Soul Pearl fell from her ear into her hand, and she tossed it to Rong Taotao. "Here, Commander."

For once, Rong Taotao became serious. He was silent for a long moment before saying, "There’s no right or wrong when it comes to tactical styles. It’s just a matter of adapting to different battlefield conditions."

"The facts prove it. You’re the champion of the Outer Region and placed third in the nationals. Your leadership ability has been tested and proven in countless real battles."

"Yes, and the highest I’ve ever gotten is third place in the nationals," Gao Lingwei said with a shrug.

’Jeez, the arrogance! Acting like third place in the whole country is nothing to be proud of!’

Rong Taotao grinned. "Alright, for these kinds of battles where we’re outnumbered and punching above our weight, I’ll take command.

"Later, when we’re back at school for spars or competitions, we can figure out which of our leadership styles is more beneficial for the team. We’ll let the results speak for themselves. No need to decide right now."

Gao Lingwei nodded slightly, agreeing with his reasoning.

Seeing Da Wei agree, Rong Taotao held out his left hand. "Watch closely. I told you about the Soul Pearl my brother gave me. When I say it’ll explode, it explodes..."

Gao Lingwei raised an eyebrow slightly. "You don’t want the Seven-Star Saber?"

"I want a hammer..."

...