Master of Nine Stars

He kept taunting Ye Nanxi, frantically fanning the flames and eroding what little reason she had left.

"You stop right there!" Fire was practically blazing in Ye Nanxi’s eyes. Seeing her Star Wave Streams fail one after another, she tensed her long legs and lunged forward.

The Star Wave Stream in her hand transformed into a Star Trace Whip, and as she rapidly closed in on Rong Taotao, the Star Long Whip lashed viciously at his body.

Rong Taotao retreated rapidly, waving his hands repeatedly as a volley of small meteors fell down.

"That handprint on your face is nice and red~"

"If you don’t hurry up, that handprint is going to fade~"

"You!!!" Ye Nanxi completely snapped.

She couldn’t bear being slapped by her mother for the first time, even in private, let alone being disciplined like this in front of an outsider.

But Rong Taotao was just so vicious...

That mouth of his just kept running, as if it would never stop.

"Weren’t you the one who was going to crush me with a single slap?"

"So where’s that slap? All gone? Did you use it on your own face?"

"Shut your mouth! SHUT UP!" In a fit of rage, Ye Nanxi tossed aside her Star Trace Whip and stomped her feet, blasting two craters into the ground.

Ye Nanxi lunged like a cheetah, brilliant starlight gathering in her palms. She was going to show Rong Taotao exactly how she planned to crush him to death with a slap.

WHOOSH!

A dark-gold heavy hammer materialized out of nowhere and shot past.

Though consumed by fury, Ye Nanxi’s reflexes were still sharp. She didn’t get a clear look at what flew past but instinctively tilted her head to the side.

Rong Taotao’s brow furrowed slightly. ’With that much forward momentum and a mind clouded by rage, she can still dodge my long-planned Snow Fury?’

’Tsk... Well, she is a national tournament contender, after all. She’s got some real skill.’

Rong Taotao stood his ground. His Snow Realm Soul Power was running low, and since he had to keep Snow Dance active, this battle had to end quickly.

’Plan A is complete. Ye Nanxi is thoroughly enraged.’

’There’s no way she’ll settle in for a battle of attrition now. This is good.’

’Now for Plan B...’

Rong Taotao reached down with both hands. A frosty mist billowed out, and from within its swirling layers, he drew a Heaven-piercing Halberd!

Seeing Ye Nanxi charging at him, Rong Taotao lunged forward with a direct thrust!

His Snow Realm Soul Power was nearly depleted. Victory or defeat would be decided in this moment!

Rong Taotao deactivated Snow Dance. He no longer needed the Movement Speed—all he needed was the Heaven-piercing Halberd!

Fight!

’I’ll plant my damn feet right here on this spot and fight you!!!’

The aura of Rong Taotao holding the Heaven-piercing Halberd was worlds apart from when he had been wielding the Tang Saber!

The sight stirred the hearts of Rong Yuanshan and Nan Cheng, who were watching from the side. Wreathed in the swirling mist, that somewhat slender figure truly gave off the air of a single warrior holding the pass.

"Let go!" Ye Nanxi’s charge came to a halt. Faced with the Long Halberd thrusting at her face, her hands shot out and grabbed the Crescent Blades on either side of the Heaven-piercing Halberd.

She clenched her fists and yanked backward with all her might, sending the Heaven-piercing Halberd flying.

"You can have it." Rong Taotao had already let go. Taking advantage of the lingering mist, he drew out another Heaven-piercing Halberd and swept it upward fiercely with both hands.

It should be known that Cold Star Cover is an offensive technique, not a defensive one.

In her fury, Ye Nanxi had gripped the two Crescent Blades with too much force. As she wrenched the Battle Halberd away, she left two bloody gashes, neither deep nor shallow, in the palms of her hands.

The pain shooting from her palms only grated on Ye Nanxi’s already frayed nerves.

She lunged forward again, leaning in and thrusting her palm forward!

As Ye Nanxi lunged, she drew extremely close to Rong Taotao, only to discover a Battle Halberd sweeping up at her from below.

"So annoying!" Utterly exasperated, Ye Nanxi clenched the hand that was about to slap Rong Taotao into a fist and smashed it down onto the Ironspear Point below her.

At that exact moment, Rong Taotao also released the Halberd Shaft—and even kicked it hard!

It spun!

Since Ye Nanxi was smashing the Ironspear Point toward the ground, with a well-aimed kick from Rong Taotao, the Halberd Shaft was sure to whip upward!

And Rong Taotao’s final gift to the Heaven-piercing Halberd was to let it go...

Not only did he let it go, he gave it a kick for good measure...

CRACK! The upward-whipping shaft struck Ye Nanxi squarely across the face, and the Snow-made Halberd Shaft instantly shattered on impact.

"Aargh!" With a pained cry, Ye Nanxi’s charging figure froze. The force of the blow was so immense that her body was momentarily stopped in its tracks.

"This move is called: Rong Clan’s Bludgeon to the Head!" The words seemed to echo directly in Ye Nanxi’s mind.

"And the next move..."

THUD!

You see, that dark-gold heavy hammer from before—ever since it flew past, it had been arcing back toward its master.

And at that very moment, the hammer slammed heavily into the back of Ye Nanxi’s head!

With a soft thud, Ye Nanxi collapsed to the ground. She was so dazed by the blow that she barely even groaned.

"This move is called: Rong Clan’s Blindsiding Hammer!"

A seamless transition for a silky-smooth experience!

Best when served together for maximum effect!

Rong Taotao finally severed the soul thread, and the heavy hammer vanished. He looked at Ye Nanxi, who had collapsed face-first onto the ground, then kicked her over onto her back.

Rong Taotao’s right hand, meanwhile, reached for the hilt of the Tang Saber slung across his back.

Watching from the side, Nan Cheng’s body went taut as he saw Rong Taotao draw the saber in a reverse grip and aim it at the fallen Ye Nanxi...