Master of Nine Stars

The hour passed quickly, and the assessment finally ended. The students each found the soldiers assigned to them.

The soldiers summoned their Lifebound Soul Beasts, the Snow Night Shocks, and the students tied up their supplies, hanging the bundles on the creatures’ backs.

Staring out at the vast, swirling snow and listening to the terrifying, ghostly wails carried on the wind, Rong Taotao asked, "Aren’t we staying here for the night? We could leave tomorrow morning."

The young soldier replied, "You’re new here and don’t have much experience. You should trust a professional’s judgment.

A storm of this magnitude won’t let up anytime soon once it gets going. It’ll only grow stronger, so the sooner we head back, the better."

"Okay." Rong Taotao nodded obediently. He tightened his clothes, put on his goggles, and with the soldier’s help, climbed back onto the tall steed.

The path back to the outpost was terrifyingly dark. Violent winds howled, and amidst the relentless blizzard, the students couldn’t speak at all.

However, the students did discover another of the Snow Night Shocks’ powerful abilities. Their deep-sea blue eyes, profound and mysterious, acted like a pair of searchlights. The ethereal glow was soft, yet it possessed immense penetrating power!

All Rong Taotao could see were waves of snowflakes, dyed a deep blue by the light, sweeping toward them in a display of breathtaking beauty.

The Snow Night Shocks galloped without rest. True to the saying "an old horse knows the way," Rong Taotao had long since lost his bearings. But the conscientious beasts brought everyone safely back to the foot of the outpost’s wall.

The main gate opened just a crack. After a strict inspection by the guards on duty, the team finally entered the tranquil outpost.

"Phew..." Rong Taotao let out a soft sigh, a puff of white mist escaping his lips. Inside the grand outpost, the wind was much calmer.

This outpost resembled an ancient town, right down to its lighting. Golden lanterns, emitting a soft, ethereal glow, hung everywhere. Snowflakes drifted lazily through the air, creating an ineffably beautiful scene.

"Is there no electricity here?" Rong Taotao whispered curiously. "Why are they using lanterns?"

The young soldier replied, "Those aren’t lanterns. They’re a type of Soul Skill."

As he spoke, the group arrived before a stone building. Standing at the entrance was a woman in a stylish beige trench coat, a stark contrast to the ancient aesthetic of the outpost.

When she saw that it was Rong Taotao’s team, returned safely, and noticed the piles of supplies on their Snow Night Shocks, Yang Chunxi looked up at Rong Taotao and gave him an appreciative nod.

Yang Chunxi said, "Come on in, all of you."

Carrying their bags and bundles, the group entered the stone building, with Jiao Tengda helping the injured Lu Mang.

The main hall was also lit by those same glowing, golden lanterns.

Just as Rong Taotao was thinking, ’I’ll have to go touch one later,’ he felt everyone’s eyes turn to him.

There were already many students in the room.

When the other students saw the massive amount of supplies Rong Taotao’s team was carrying, their expressions changed.

Some looked on with envy, others with jealousy. And, of course, there were looks of disgust and contempt.

This was inevitable. Bringing in so many supplies would easily lead others to assume that Rong Taotao’s team had "hunted" many of the other participants.

Rong Taotao’s group found a spot by the wall, set down their things, and began to rest.

They waited for nearly two hours, during which students trickled into the building one after another.

At 2:30 AM, one final student walked in. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Judging by her clothes, the student was a girl. She had a petite frame, and large, colorful goggles obscured the upper half of her face. No one could make out her expression; they could only wonder what she had been through, or... just how far she had traveled to get here.

Yang Chunxi finally entered as well. She walked past the students sitting on the floor and stepped onto the raised platform at the far end of the hall. Two people who looked like teachers followed, pushing a blackboard onto the platform with her.

Rong Taotao narrowed his eyes, straining to see the names written on it.

1... 2... 3... 46... 47?

’Only 47 names?’

’Out of a hundred participants, 53 were eliminated in just three short days?’

’This massive blizzard today must have eliminated a lot of people.’

Jiao Tengda, with his glasses, could actually see more clearly. He quickly spotted Xu Taiping’s name, but he couldn’t find the fearsome, white-haired boy anywhere in the room.

CREAK... The door slowly opened. A handsome, pale-faced youth strode in, bringing a gust of wind and snow with him. His assigned soldier followed close behind.

This simple sight alone was enough to make a few students in the hall subconsciously take a step back.

Jiao Tengda habitually pushed up his glasses. "Looks like a lot of people were hunted by Xu Taiping, just like I was."

Sun Xingyu, filled with animosity for Xu Taiping, couldn’t resist retorting, "Only a few of them are reacting that strongly."

Jiao Tengda said, "The rest were probably already eliminated by him."

"Mmm..." Sun Xingyu conceded.

"You’ve all worked hard." Yang Chunxi clapped her hands from the platform, drawing everyone’s attention. "Now that all the students are here, we will officially begin the scoring.

The assessment was originally scheduled for seven days, but due to the snowstorm, it has been cut short to three.

In a way, this is a good thing. At the very least, it has shown you the true face of the Snow Realm. It has taught you that you must treat nature with reverence."