Master of Nine Stars

From behind the thick city wall came Li Lie’s intermittent voice.

As Rong Taotao listened, a strange look crossed his face. Clearly, Li Lie was intentionally raising his voice...

’Did Li Lie find out I was eavesdropping?’

’The teachers at Pine Soul are really generous!’

’It was the same with Si Tangtang yesterday. When she saw me listening in, she called me right into the Martial Arts Arena to join the lesson.’

But this Li Lie obviously had a different style from Si Huan Nian. He didn’t call Rong Taotao in; instead, he just raised his voice. How considerate of him.

"The Luminous Lantern Paper Cage is a very useful Soul Skill. It can illuminate pitch-black environments, and it’s the type of Soul Skill that you cast once and it lasts for a long time..."

"Since Coach Yang gave you an assignment—whoever learns the Luminous Lantern Paper Cage first becomes the class leader—I’ll teach you this Soul Skill first.

However... the Luminous Lantern Paper Cage is an advanced version of the White Lantern Paper Cage. So, I’ll teach you the White Lantern Paper Cage first.

Absorb Soul Power while you listen to me..."

"Open your hands and feel each snowflake that lands in your palm." Li Lie stretched out a broad hand, letting the blizzard sweep across it.

"Cover your palm with Soul Power, holding the snowflake in place while preventing it from melting from the heat of your palm."

Lu Mang, Jiao Tengda, and the others obediently did as they were told, but Xu Taiping didn’t move. Instead, he was focused on cultivating his Soul Power.

Li Lie didn’t disturb Xu Taiping either. He knew the Soul Beast kid had already mastered it.

Li Lie stared at the snowflakes landing in his palm. "Casually pick a snowflake—hmm, pick a larger one. Focus your mind and use your Soul Power to envelop it, forming a sphere the size of a marble.

Imagine the snowflake is a little bug trapped in amber, and the sphere of Soul Power is the resin encasing it."

Jiao Tengda gave a nearly imperceptible nod. ’This teacher’s analogies are so clever,’ he thought. ’I understood immediately.’

"Now," Li Lie said, "activate the Soul Power-wrapped snowflake in your palm."

Jiao Tengda: ???

Li Lie chuckled. "Use your Soul Technique: Ice and Snow Heart to infuse your Soul Power with as much of the ice and snow attribute as possible.

Surrounded by Ice and Snow Soul Power, every snowflake will be granted a ’humanity’ of its own. They will have their own emotions: joy, panic, sorrow.

When you make the snowflake in your palm feel perfectly at ease, this snowflake, imbued with humanity, will naturally give you its truest response."

As Li Lie spoke, the snowflakes in his palm were enveloped by his Soul Power. "Use this method to wrap multiple snowflakes. Make them all cheer and leap for joy at the same time, and you will have learned the White Lantern Paper Cage..."

WHOOSH...

Li Lie gently raised his broad hand, and a soft glow flickered in his palm. Dozens of snowflakes, each wrapped in Soul Power, danced about in a cheerful, chaotic flurry, joyfully twinkling with pinpricks of white light.

The pinpricks of light from the snowflakes were magnified slightly as they shone through the small spheres of Soul Power encasing them.

Like a swarm of fireflies, they danced about freely, a breathtakingly beautiful sight.

With drunken, hazy eyes, Li Lie gazed up at the twinkling specks of light, a smile of pure enjoyment on his face.

"White Lantern Paper Cage is the name humans gave it. Once you’ve learned this, you just put a paper cage around these glowing lights, and that’s all there is to it..." Li Lie murmured to himself.

Alcohol indeed magnified human emotions.

Such a low-level Soul Skill was nothing to a god-level Soul Martial Artist like Li Lie.

But even so, Li Lie seemed to thoroughly enjoy the Soul Skill, looking almost entranced.

Lu Mang’s brow was furrowed in concentration. He had a snowflake wrapped in his hand and was trying his hardest to activate his Heart of Ice and Snow, attempting to create the most comfortable environment possible for his chosen snowflake.

But...

Apparently, it wasn’t comfortable enough. The snowflake in Lu Mang’s hand glowed faintly for a moment, then went dark, giving him no further response.

It was the same for Jiao Tengda. He had a troubled look on his face as the snowflake in his hand—one as large as a goose feather—flickered once before returning to normal, showing no further reaction despite being layered in Soul Power.

Jiao Tengda looked up at Li Lie and asked, "Teacher, is my Soul Technique’s level too low?"

Li Lie’s eyes were glazed over as he stared up at the lingering specks of light. Even in the raging blizzard, they stubbornly danced above his head, and it was easy to see just how happy they were.

Without looking at Jiao Tengda, Li Lie spoke softly, "The White Lantern Paper Cage is a low-level Snow Realm Soul Skill. You can use it even if your Soul Technique is at the most elementary level.

The main reason the snowflakes are unwilling to respond is your impatience and your ulterior motives."

Li Lie finally lowered his head to look at the stunned Jiao Tengda. "I told you, when you use Ice and Snow Soul Power to activate them, these snowflakes are imbued with ’humanity.’

They can sense many things. That is the terrifying power of Snow Realm Soul Skills and of nature itself.

Think about it. Is your only goal to activate them, to make them light up quickly?

Your goal is to learn this Soul Skill, not to make them truly happy..."

Lu Mang and Jiao Tengda exchanged a look, a hint of shock in their hearts.

In just a few short days of training, they had already witnessed many unbelievable things. Lu Mang and Jiao Tengda had developed a deep sense of reverence for the vast, blizzard-swept world.

But learning this Soul Skill today taught them yet another profound lesson.

’Such a low-level Soul Skill actually requires you to put your heart into it!?’

’In human society, putting on a false face is a necessity. Though despised, it’s a survival skill everyone must learn.’

’Everyone laughs at the hypocrite, yet everyone is a hypocrite.’

’But Soul Skills aren’t like people. A Snow Realm Soul Martial Artist personally imbued the snowflakes with ’humanity,’ and these magical snowflakes could apparently sense the artist’s state of mind.’

’This was a true paradox!’

’Why do Snow Realm Soul Martial Artists use this Soul Skill?’

’They just want light—that’s their primary goal. How could they possibly be doing it just to make snowflakes feel comfortable and happy?’

Li Lie let out a soft sigh. "This is the hardest part of using this Soul Skill.

Though it’s a basic Soul Skill, in certain situations, like in the middle of a battle, even powerful Snow Realm Soul Martial Artists can sometimes fail to light the snowflakes in their hands.

Emotion is the foundation of this Soul Skill.

If... you can’t put your whole heart into it, at least try to be as sincere as possible."

Jiao Tengda asked, "Sincere?"

"Yes, sincere." Li Lie nodded. "Adjust your mindset. Think of this Soul Skill as a mutually beneficial exchange. We provide the snowflakes with a comfortable environment and a source of joy, and they, in turn, provide us with light... Hm?"

Before he could finish his sentence, Li Lie suddenly stopped.

His eyes widened slightly, his gaze sweeping past Jiao Tengda’s head toward the crenellations of the city wall behind him.

The students noticed something was off with their teacher. Lu Mang, Jiao Tengda, and Xu Taiping all turned to look behind them.

And there, between the crenellations, a soft glow was flickering!

Snowflake after snowflake, wrapped in Ice and Snow Soul Power, flew about freely like fireflies, swirling and spiraling upwards...

Outside the thick city wall, Rong Taotao was still crouched with his back flat against the wall and his feet planted firmly on its surface. But now, he had one hand stretched out, head tilted back, watching the twinkling specks of light that were continuously rising from his palm.

At that moment, Rong Taotao and the little Cloud Dog peeking its head out of his collar looked exactly alike.

The two of them had nearly identical expressions, their dark, round eyes wide as they stared blankly up at the shimmering glow above them.

The fierce winds still howled, and the biting frost still swept across the land.

But the "fireflies" above Rong Taotao’s head stubbornly spiraled and danced in the wind, positioned directly above him, refusing to disperse no matter how strong the blizzard.

Having grown up alone, Rong Taotao had known few happy moments.

But without a doubt, happiness was something he desperately craved.

Perhaps... that was precisely why he could project the most genuine longing.

Rong Taotao believed,

that one day, he too would become one of those snowflakes.

And there would also come a day when someone would arrive, carried by the wind and snow, to light up his world.

No matter what the future held...

But for now, the lingering, swirling glow of light dancing above his head was enough to make Rong Taotao very, very happy.