Master of Nine Stars

Everyone walked out of the classroom. With the help of the soldier on guard, they braved the wind and snow and made it back to the dormitory.

The moment the soldier left, Jiao Tengda couldn’t help but let out a long sigh. "Sigh..."

Rong Taotao brushed the snow from his clothes. "What’s wrong?"

As he walked toward the hallway, Jiao Tengda said, "Life is just one hardship after another. The assessment was supposed to be seven days, but it got cut to three. The teaching plan was supposed to be a month and a half, and now it’s down to two days... It’s so hard just to learn a trade. So frustrating!"

The others walking with him fell silent.

Jiao Tengda was speaking for himself, but his words applied to them all.

Jiao Tengda looked completely helpless. "I used to always hear people say how dangerous the Snow Realm was, but now I finally, truly understand. Hearing it a million times isn’t the same as experiencing it just once."

Rong Taotao nodded in agreement. It was true.

’For a top institution like Pine Soul Soul Martial to repeatedly alter its curriculum, this northern Snow Realm must be truly dangerous.’

’The weather was harsh and unpredictable. Humanity was simply too insignificant in the face of nature’s power, not to mention the various Soul Beasts that could be lurking within the raging blizzards.’

’Perhaps that was the fundamental reason why the Snow Realm was in a state of constant, year-round war.’

As they went upstairs, the students said their goodbyes, and Rong Taotao’s trio returned to Room 404.

’And here I thought we’d be living here for over a month. I can’t believe we’re leaving tomorrow...’

Sun Xingyu stopped outside their door. She took off her winter hat and coat, shaking the snow from them vigorously before poking her head inside. "Taotao, are you going home?"

"Huh?" Rong Taotao, who had just sat down on his bed to pet his Cloud Dog, was taken aback. "I... don’t think so?"

’Home. His home in New Danxi.’

’There didn’t seem to be any reason to return to that empty house.’

’Although... if I did go back, I could experience a scorching summer. I could change into a T-shirt and shorts, enjoy the wonderful feeling of the sun on my face.’

’I could even return to modern society. Computers, cell phones, shopping malls, street food stalls...’

’Even though I haven’t been in the Snow Realm for long, being cut off from modern society really sucks.’

Sun Xingyu came in carrying her coat and looked at Li Ziyi. "Should we go home?"

Li Ziyi’s voice was gentle. "Whatever you want."

Sun Xingyu seemed torn. After a long hesitation, she finally said, "I want to go home and tell Mom and Dad the good news about us getting in."

’Looks like the girl’s a bit homesick,’ Rong Taotao thought. ’That’s understandable.’

’But she probably didn’t want to hold Li Ziyi back. After all, you could only cultivate the Heart of Ice and Snow here in the Snow Realm.’

"Yeah, that’s a good idea. Let’s go see our parents," Li Ziyi said with a smiling nod. "Besides, Dad said that even if we got accepted, he wants us to come home for the holidays whenever we can. He wants to take us to the coastal cities."

"That’s right!" Sun Xingyu’s eyes lit up, as if she’d just found another perfect excuse to see her parents.

Rong Taotao asked curiously, "What for? What are you going to do in the coastal cities?"

Sun Xingyu said happily, "To cultivate the Heart of the Ocean!"

’Heart of the Ocean?’

Hearing the term, Rong Taotao immediately understood.

’In Huaxia, there are only four types of Soul Techniques people can access: the Heart of the Snow Realm in the far northeast, the Heart of the Ocean along the coast, the ubiquitous Starfield Heart found all over the continent, and the Magma Heart in the far northwest.’

’Both the Starfield Heart and the Magma Heart were strong against Snow Realm Soul Martial Artists.’

’The Heart of the Ocean was strong against Magma Soul Martial Artists, and it had no clear Attribute disadvantage against Starfield Soul Martial Artists.’

’So, families with a bit more foresight would usually have their children cultivate two types of Soul Techniques to prepare them for any situation they might face in the future.’

’The Sun family must have already planned out a development path for their two children. They would study the Heart of the Snow Realm and Snow Realm Soul Techniques at the university, and during their two-month breaks, their parents would take them to a coastal city to cultivate the Heart of the Ocean and Ocean Soul Techniques.’

’A child raised like that would be considered very well-rounded by the time they graduated.’

Rong Taotao looked at Sun Xingyu with envy, sighing inwardly.

The overjoyed Sun Xingyu seemed to notice his expression. She composed herself, and her eyes darted for a moment before she spoke up. "Taotao, why don’t you come with us? Come to our home?"

"Huh?" Rong Taotao rubbed his head out of habit.

’During their three years of middle school, Rong Taotao and Sun Xingyu had barely spoken, so they had never really built a friendship.’

’But over the course of the assessment and their recent studies, the trio had been bound together by a shared fate and had forged a deep friendship. On top of that, Sun Xingyu was just a kind and beautiful person, so it wasn’t completely out of character for her to invite him home...’

"Nah, it’s fine. I won’t go," Rong Taotao said, joking. "I already get stuffed full of your public displays of affection at school. I’m not dumb enough to follow you home just to get another mouthful. You two should just go, let me have a couple days of peace and quiet."

Surprisingly, Li Ziyi didn’t offer a witty comeback.

Despite his young age, Li Ziyi knew about Rong Taotao’s family situation. He said nothing, simply busying himself with tidying up his bunk.

Rong Taotao took off his shoes and lay down on his side, facing the wall. He created a little nook for his Cloud Dog between his body and the wall.

He propped his head up with one hand and playfully poked his finger around with the other, playing ’catch the butterfly’ with the Cloud Dog.

"Woof~ Arf arf!"

The little creature flapped its big ears, playing happily, but Rong Taotao was lost in thought.

’Other kids have their families with them, helping them develop well-rounded skills and cultivate two Soul Techniques. What am I supposed to do?’

’Sigh...’

’Whatever. I’ll worry about it later. For now, I’ll just focus on cultivating Snow Realm Soul Techniques and Soul Skills with the school.’

’Right, I still have my sister-in-law around. I’ll have to be shameless and get her to find me a good teacher. At the very least, I can stick close to her and learn everything I can.’

’By the time Sun Xingyu and Li Ziyi get back, I have to be way ahead of them!’

As Rong Taotao continued playing with his Cloud Dog, he suddenly remembered something. He reached into his pocket, pulled out the Snowflake Wolf Soul Pearl, and tossed it to Li Ziyi.

Li Ziyi caught it, a startled look on his face. After a long moment, he finally asked, "What’s this for?"

Rong Taotao waved his hand dismissively. "The teacher told me to decide who gets it. The three of us killed that Snowflake Wolf together, but during the hunt, you and Sun Xingyu did most of the work. You two can figure out what to do with it."

With that, Rong Taotao turned back around and went back to playing with his Cloud Dog.

Li Ziyi said nothing. He just stood there, gripping the frame of the top bunk where Sun Xingyu was, and they started discussing it.

As night fell, Rong Taotao washed up and went to bed. He began absorbing Soul Power as he drifted off into a hazy sleep.

Outside, a vast expanse of wind and snow raged. The biting wind howled like ghosts and wolves, completely transforming the usually peaceful and quiet Hundred Corps Pass.

It was impossible to say how much time had passed...

"RUUUUMBLE!!!"

The tremendous roar startled Rong Taotao, and he shot up in bed.

From the bunk beds in the opposite corner of the room, Li Ziyi and Sun Xingyu were also jolted awake.

Li Ziyi scrambled down from his bunk and ran for the door to turn on the light. But after just two steps, he saw the door—and the entire wall around it—suddenly bathed in a blood-red glow.

Li Ziyi froze, his pupils contracting. He stared dumbly for a moment before turning his head to look out the window.

From his bed, Rong Taotao leaned over and peeked out, also seeing the eerie red light outside the window.

Within that red light, he could see sheets of snow sweeping down, all stained a bloody crimson.

’Is that... an eye?’

’What kind of creature could have an eye so enormous it completely blocked the entire window?’

Just then, a cry of alarm echoed from downstairs!

This dormitory building was meant for Social Practitioners. When the blizzard first hit, the Snow Burning soldiers had already recalled all the practitioners from outside the walls, quickly sent them beyond the pass, and ordered them to return home immediately.

In other words, in this entire, massive dormitory, the only ones left were the few students from Pine Soul Soul Martial’s Junior Class.

’A man’s voice!? From 304?’

Still in his cotton pajamas and slippers, Rong Taotao snatched his Heaven-piercing Halberd from the corner. "Let’s go! Downstairs, now! Ignore what’s happening outside!"

Sun Xingyu scrambled with her short legs from the top bunk by the window to the one by the door, then leaped straight down.

Li Ziyi instantly caught her, scooping her up in a princess carry and dashing out of the room.

Just as they reached the first landing, they heard a strange beastly cry. "HISSS... ROAR!!!"

Rong Taotao didn’t know what it was, but he was certain it was no Snowflake Wolf!

Rong Taotao shot down the stairs like the wind. The door to Room 304 was shut tight, and a loud commotion could be heard from inside.

Without a second thought, Rong Taotao wrapped a thread of Soul Power around his heavy Heaven-piercing Halberd and thrust it at the wooden door!

"CRACK!"

With a twist of his hands, the already cracked wooden door splintered even more. From the side, Stone Tower, Shi Lan, and Fan Lihua rushed over, also in their pajamas and carrying weapons.

Rong Taotao paid them no mind. Through the shattered door, he saw that the window of the room across the hall was also completely covered by that same blood-red eye.

’Just how big was this eye?’

And not only that—within the blood-red glow, on the bottom bunk next to the window, a massive creature was viciously tearing into the person on the bed.

"BANG!"

With a loud bang, the giant, lion-like, tiger-like beast was sent flying by a Soul Skill: Snow Burst.

The person struggling on the bunk was also thrown to the floor by the force of the Snow Burst. The wooden bed frame shattered on impact with a series of CRACKS.

Xu Taiping!?

’The person being mauled by the beast was Xu Taiping!?’

Rong Taotao gripped his halberd, his hands set on the shaft. He executed a sharp ’Lance Flower,’ carving a huge hole in the shattered wooden door. He then rushed forward and dove straight through the opening.

"THUD!"

The fierce, lion-and-tiger-like Soul Beast had a massive body nearly three meters long, yet it possessed an agility that defied its heavy frame.

The beast, its head still ringing from the blast that had knocked it backward, righted itself in one fluid motion. It swept Jiao Tengda’s longsword aside with its tail and, impossibly, scrambled vertically up the wall. It clung there, roaring down at Xu Taiping, who was half-buried in the wreckage of his bed. "ROAR!!!"

The sound seemed to be telling Xu Taiping, ’You are already my prey!’

"CLICK!"

Lu Mang, who was still injured, had made it to the doorway and flipped on the light switch.

The room was finally illuminated, no longer resembling a blood-soaked hellscape.

And the ferocious Soul Beast’s true form was finally revealed.

It was snow-white all over, with strange, black striped markings.

It had the head of a lion but the black-striped body of a tiger. It was majestic and radiated an unparalleled, domineering aura.

’Great. Time for a slide tackle.’