Master of Nine Stars

CLANG! With the resounding rattle of a chain-link fence, Li Lie’s heavy body smashed onto the overturned barrier of the Martial Arts Arena far in the distance.

The moment before Si Huan Nian had pitted their own Nine-Petaled Lotus against their opponent’s, they had warned Li Lie, but the violent explosion still left him severely injured.

"Ugh..." Li Lie coughed out a puff of frosty air laced with the faint scent of alcohol. He couldn’t help but grimace as intense pain wracked his body. With torn clothes and covered in blood, he was a truly miserable sight.

But one couldn’t judge a book by its cover. In truth, Li Lie’s physical condition was far better than his wretched appearance suggested.

That Li Lie could withstand the impact of such an intense bombardment from a Snow Realm Treasure, and even retain the strength to fight, was the truest definition of the word "power."

The Ice Soul Guide youth’s confidence—his ability to single-handedly come to the Martial Arts Arena and crush everyone—stemmed from the terrifying power of this single Lotus Petal.

This Lotus Petal wasn’t Si Huan Nian’s Imperial Lotus, but the explosively destructive Sinful Lotus!

Li Lie was left battered and bleeding from the blast, while the Ice Soul Guide youth over on the other side...

The very moment Rong Taotao snatched away and pocketed the Seventh Petal: Sinful Lotus, the body of the Ice Soul Guide youth—who had been flung to the edge of the Martial Arts Arena by the blast—suddenly went rigid.

The Ice Soul Guide’s already pale face turned a ghastly white. He clutched his chest, right over his heart...

It was as if a piece of his heart had been suddenly carved out—an agonizing sensation that defied description.

The Ice Soul Guide youth knew that something he cherished had just silently slipped away from him.

Compared to this, the pain of a broken heart suddenly seemed like child’s play...

THUD!

With a muffled thud, the airborne Ice Soul Guide youth crashed heavily to the ground. But his momentum didn’t stop there; he continued to slide backward across the snow, kicking up a blizzard in his wake.

Suddenly, someone blocked his path, planting a foot on his shoulder and bringing his backward slide to an abrupt halt.

The Ice Soul Guide youth opened his eyes and looked up to see an elegant, captivating woman.

A face so bright and beautiful it seemed to belong in the sun, not in the cold of a winter night...

Yang Chunxi of the Pine Soul Four Seasons!

A strange light glinted in her beautiful eyes as she stared down at the handsome young man pinned beneath her foot.

The Ice Soul Guide youth’s reddened eyes glazed over. One second, two seconds...

But in just a moment, the young Ice Soul Guide’s vacant eyes snapped back into focus. He couldn’t help but roar, "You dare use a Spiritual Soul Skill on an Ice Soul Guide!?"

The unrestrained fury in his voice was even greater than when he had lost his Nine-Petaled Lotus!

And it was true. For a member of the Ice Soul Guide clan, which specialized in Spiritual Soul Techniques, the attempt by a human Soul Martial Artist to control him with a Spiritual Soul Skill was the ultimate insult.

But angry or not, having lost his Nine-Petaled Lotus, the Ice Soul Guide youth was not only deprived of his deadly Snow Realm Treasure, but the loss of the Lotus Petal itself had left him incredibly weak.

"Get off me!" the Ice Soul Guide youth roared in fury. Humiliated, he grabbed Yang Chunxi’s ankle, intending to fling her aside, but...

CRACK... Yang Chunxi suddenly lifted her other foot and stomped down hard. A dense surge of Soul Power erupted, smashing the Ice Soul Guide’s head straight into the ground. The frost-covered concrete instantly fractured and split apart.

’Oh, right! My mistake for not knowing my place!’

Yang Chunxi’s expression changed in a flash. The bright, sunny smile that could bewitch one’s very Heart Soul vanished, replaced by a face filled with murderous intent.

A Snow-made Longsword materialized in her hand. With a flick of her wrist, she switched to a reverse grip and plunged the blade downward without hesitation!

Truly a Snow Realm Soul Martial Artist!

Truly someone forged in the endless blizzards!

In that moment, she was no longer the gentle sister-in-law or the kind teacher. All that remained was the ruthless, decisive heart of a Soul Martial Artist!

’Invading my home, pillaging my school, slaughtering my students...’

SHLICK!

Her target: the Ice Soul Guide’s heart!

The Snow-made Longsword instantly pierced through his back and into his heart. Without his Nine-Petaled Lotus, the Ice Soul Guide had fallen from grace.

This was a battlefield of life and death—a place full of surprises, with no second chances.

The price was not merely his life, but also his shattered pride and faith.

Dead.

Just like that, the ambitious Ice Soul Guide had his heart mercilessly and cleanly pierced by Yang Chunxi.

The difference in power between an Ice Soul Guide with and without their Lotus was night and day.

WHOOSH...

Suddenly, a violent wind erupted!

A massive Snow Dragon Tornado materialized, erupting from right beneath Yang Chunxi’s feet!

Yang Chunxi had no time to react before the instantaneous Snow Dragon Tornado launched her into the sky.

Moreover, the immense Soul Power within the rapidly spinning vortex tore at her body.

’A Frost Beauty?’

A look of shock crossed Yang Chunxi’s face as Soul Power rippled from her chest, instantly enveloping her in a defensive barrier laced with a faint, snowy mist.

In the Snow Realm, many kinds of Soul Beasts could use a Soul Skill in the form of a Snow Dragon Tornado.

For instance, the Poacher Rong Taotao had previously encountered possessed the Jingfengxue Soul Skill, which originated from the Crystal Ice Wings—a species of Neutral Creatures within the Snow Realm that were forbidden to be hunted.