Master of Nine Stars

"Damn it, these whips are so tough! They must be about to reach the Master Level!" From a short distance away, Ye Nanxi, who had wanted to show off her strength, was incredibly annoyed by the obstruction. "Hey, you!" she couldn’t help but shout. "Don’t just stand there, do something!"

Rong Taotao: ???

He quickly crossed the battlefield to get behind Ye Nanxi. "Weren’t you the one who told me to lie low? To stay out of your way?"

"Obviously!" Ye Nanxi snapped. "Aren’t we supposed to be fighting this thing as a team? It’s one thing if you can’t create an opening, but can’t you see I’m in a bind?"

In the distance, Nan Cheng’s expression stiffened when she heard her daughter’s words. The faint aura radiating from her was more than enough to intimidate Rong Yuanshan.

Rong Yuanshan quickly said, "Don’t interfere yet. Let... let the kids handle it first. We can talk about this after it’s over."

Nan Cheng’s gaze was incredibly stern as she stared at Ye Nanxi’s figure amidst the swirling Star Vines. She slowly reached a hand into her pocket and pulled out a bag of chocolate beans.

Rong Yuanshan, however, took off his orange backpack and said, "Care to try one of my son’s Little Rascals? He loves them, so they must be pretty good..."

Nan Cheng kept her eyes glued on Ye Nanxi, but she still reached a hand into the orange backpack.

Ye Nanxi pushed out a hand, unleashing a pillar-like Star Wave Stream that instantly shredded the countless Star Trace Whips before her!

Starfield Soul Skill—Elite Level: Star Wave Stream!

The powerful blast temporarily eased her predicament. At the same time, she complained, "Don’t you see the stalemate we’re in? Make yourself useful!"

At the edge of the battlefield, swirling Shuangxue enveloped Rong Taotao, rising from his feet as his speed suddenly shot up!

He kicked off the ground and shot straight into the fray. "You from the Summoner’s Rift or something?"

’All talk about carrying before the match, but a blame-flinging maniac after?’

Ye Nanxi snatched an incoming Star Trace Whip, her palm clenching tight and crushing it to bits. "What nonsense are you spouting!"

"You want to get in close!?" Rong Taotao appeared directly behind her.

"Right!"

"Keep your Star Wave Stream going! Full power!" Rong Taotao said in a low voice, pressing his back against hers. He extended his hands, and two Snow Burst Balls rapidly formed. "I’m detonating!"

Ye Nanxi: "Hm?"

BOOM! BOOM!

The two rapidly spinning Snow Burst Balls detonated instantly! The churning shockwave sent Rong Taotao flying backward, and his back was pressed tightly against Ye Nanxi’s!

In an instant, Rong Taotao’s body curled up like a shrimp, while Ye Nanxi’s arched like a bow!

Back-to-back, the two of them shot forward at high speed.

Ye Nanxi was startled, her almond-shaped eyes flying wide open.

A hint of excitement unexpectedly rose in her beautiful eyes. ’This feels like flying!’

Her hands danced wildly before her as she unleashed a torrent of Star Wave Streams, scattering and shredding every Star Trace Whip in their path.

In the distance, Nan Cheng raised an eyebrow slightly and said with approval, "Very creative."

Rong Yuanshan nodded with a solemn expression. "His Snow Realm Soul Power is basically a one-time consumable. It’s not a good thing for him to rely on it too much in this environment."

The Star Battle Vine Master’s Star Eyes suddenly released an incredibly blinding light. Countless of its vines had been shattered, and it seemed to have taken immense damage.

After all, those Star Trace Whips that were supposedly "summoned" were, in reality, just a coating over the Vine Whips of its main body.

"Get over here!" Ye Nanxi cried sharply, viciously whipping her right hand out.

’She has a Star Trace Whip, too!?’

The whip that shot from her hand wrapped around the Star Battle Vine Master’s ankle. With a surge of strength in her arm, she yanked it back fiercely!

"Hit the ground!" Ye Nanxi yelled.

Rong Taotao was already gathering a Snow Burst Ball at his wrist. Hearing her command, he raised one hand, braced the back of his head against Ye Nanxi’s shoulder, and detonated the Snow Burst Ball again!

BOOM!

The two of them were blasted toward the ground, rapidly closing the distance with the Star Battle Vine Master, whose face was contorted in pain.

"JUST! DIE!" Ye Nanxi’s pretty short hair flew wildly in the blast wave, revealing her ferociously aggressive face. She brought her foot down on the body of the Star Battle Vine Master she’d pulled in, and the stars beneath her feet shattered with a thunderous roar!

Starfield Soul Skill—Excellent Level: Star-Stepping Split! 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Rong Taotao’s expression changed abruptly, and he hastily enveloped his entire body in Starfield Soul Power.

"Xixi!" Nan Cheng’s face filled with alarm as she roared, but it was already too late to stop it.

Paying no heed to anything else, Ye Nanxi stomped down. The shattered stars sprayed outward, forcefully loosening the Star Battle Vine Master’s tangled body and simultaneously blasting away all the vines whipping in from the surroundings.

The Excellent Level Star-Stepping Split did indeed clear away the surrounding Vine Whips, but in the ensuing explosion, Rong Taotao was sent flying.

’I thought no matter how spoiled she was, she’d at least have a bottom line of not hurting a teammate fighting by her side.’

’Doing this out in the middle of nowhere would be one thing, but your Soul General mom is watching from the sidelines! How dare you pull a stunt like this?’

Rong Taotao never would have expected her to discard him the moment he was no longer useful.

’Then again, maybe it wasn’t about discarding an ally after they’d served their purpose. Maybe she was simply clearing the surrounding Vine Whips to buy time for her own attack. And in the process, she either didn’t care that I was there, or chose to ignore it.’

As he was sent flying, Rong Taotao rolled across the ground to absorb the impact, but he couldn’t help but grimace in pain.

’Thank fuck I’m not a Snow Realm Soul Martial Artist! If I were, that blast would have definitely caused internal injuries!’

Meanwhile, in the center of the battlefield, Ye Nanxi kept one foot on the Star Battle Vine Master and aimed both hands at its head. Two pillar-like Star Wave Streams blasted out furiously, completely disintegrating its vine-constructed head...

"Ye Nanxi!" Nan Cheng vaulted off her horse and strode forward, her face a mask of fury as she looked at her daughter.

Ye Nanxi stood in the center of the field. The once-wildly dancing vines had now fallen still, scattered all around. She turned to look at her approaching mother and saw her furious expression.

A wave of panic hit Ye Nanxi, and she stammered, "I... I won, I..."

SMACK!

A crisp slap landed squarely on Ye Nanxi’s face. A red handprint instantly appeared on her fair cheek.

"Is this how you treat your teammate?"

SMACK! Another slap followed.

Nan Cheng: "He’s the one who got you in there! This was supposed to be a battle for the two of you!"

Ye Nanxi clutched her face, her head bowed and her body trembling slightly. She forced a sentence through her clenched teeth: "Isn’t the point of teamwork to achieve the goal? He was supposed to fulfill his role, and so was I! If a teammate is useless, then why even bother working together?"

Nan Cheng: "You!"

"Hey." Rong Taotao got to his feet and straightened his disheveled clothes. Thankfully, he was a Cloud Peak Soul Martial Artist. He could withstand an Excellent Level Star-Stepping Split as long as his body was enveloped in Starfield Soul Power.

Rong Taotao wasn’t seriously injured, but Ye Nanxi’s combat decisions were truly infuriating. She had many other ways to handle the situation, but she had chosen the most reckless one.

"Stay out of this," Nan Cheng said, waving a hand dismissively.

But Rong Taotao spoke again, and the person he was addressing had never been Nan Cheng. "I’m talking to you, Ye Nanxi."

Ye Nanxi’s hand was still covering her face, but it couldn’t hide the bright red handprint. Her almond-shaped eyes were wide as she glared angrily at Rong Taotao.

She, who had never once been hit by her parents in her entire life, had just been slapped twice by her mother—all in front of Rong Taotao.

Rong Taotao also looked at Ye Nanxi. "I was unhappy with you before, but I tolerated it. I was willing to set aside our differences and work together for a mutual victory.

But now, I can’t tolerate it anymore.

Unlike those other teammates of yours who just take your abuse with a smile, I require some respect."

Noticing Nan Cheng’s startled expression, Rong Taotao smiled and nodded, then turned his gaze back to Ye Nanxi. "How about you and I have a go?"

For the first time, Ye Nanxi responded directly, looking at this arrogant, shameless, puny Little Soul Warrior. "A go!?"

’You fraud! I’ve been dying to beat you and expose your true self!’

Rong Taotao gripped the hilt of the sword at his waist and nodded heavily. "Let’s do it!"

Ye Nanxi took a long stride forward, charging ahead. The slap mark on her face still throbbed, fueling the rage in her heart. "I’ve been putting up with you for far too long!"

Rong Taotao’s body tensed as he shot forward, retorting viciously, "The feeling is mutual!"