Master of Nine Stars

Gao Lingwei stumbled, falling back until her spine was pressed against Rong Taotao’s back.

The two brothers had Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei sandwiched between them. For a moment, the cheers from the stands grew even louder; the audience seemed to believe they were already seeing the end of the story.

”It’s over. The underclassmen are completely surrounded.”

”That Gao Lingwei is decent on offense, but her defense seems weak. If she tries to use offense as her defense, I’m afraid she’ll leave Rong Taotao’s back exposed.”

”Mmm... this pincer tactic is good. Although it’s technically two separate 1v1s, it’s not a pure 1v1. It’ll force the underclassmen to hesitate.”

On the field, the younger brother, Qi Tian, wore a smug expression. He stared at Gao Lingwei’s long legs... ahem, don’t get the wrong idea. He wasn’t a pervert; he just didn’t dare look into her eyes, terrified he’d fall for one of her tricks.

So, Qi Tian could only look at her legs—or to be more precise, her waist.

As long as he locked onto her torso, she wouldn’t be able to get away.

Qi Tian clenched his fists. Though he was standing in front of Gao Lingwei, he directed his taunt at Rong Taotao behind her. ”Go on, use another explosion! Use your Star-Stepping Split! Haha, out of options, are you?”

Rong Taotao: ”Oh? Done with the fancy idioms, are we?”

Qi Tian: ???

He never would have imagined that, while at such a disadvantage, Rong Taotao could still come up with a line like that.

’Is there something wrong with this kid’s head?’

Meanwhile, the older brother, Qi Dao, who was facing Rong Taotao, felt that this young underclassman was anything but simple.

Rong Taotao was clearly watching Qi Dao with a serious expression, wary of his every move, yet his verbal sparring didn’t miss a beat. Was he still trying to provoke the younger brother, Qi Tian?

Qi Tian immediately roared in anger, ”Time to cage the dogs!”

Hearing the shout from behind him, Rong Taotao shot back instantly, ”Says the dog who only barks with his master around!”

Qi Tian: ???

”Heh.” A small smile played on Gao Lingwei’s lips.

Nothing could have provoked her opponent more than that soft chuckle!

Qi Tian stomped his foot and charged toward Gao Lingwei, roaring, ”Victory is assured!”

The two brothers moved in unison, both lunging toward the pair.

Rong Taotao abruptly raised his left hand, and a Dark Gold Heavy Hammer flew out. ”Getting ahead of yourself!”

”Ngh—” The younger brother, Qi Tian, suddenly grabbed the Long Halberd that Gao Lingwei had thrust at him. This time, however, he didn’t try to snatch it away. Instead, he gripped the Ironspear Point and charged forward viciously, trying to break their back-to-back formation. ”Desperate times!”

Gao Lingwei quickly let go. If she hadn’t, both she and Rong Taotao would have been sent flying by Qi Tian’s charge.

This, however, was exactly what Qi Tian wanted. He closed the distance in an instant and threw a vicious punch!

Rong Taotao: ”Putting on airs, you mutt!”

Qi Tian: ”I... I...”

Rong Taotao: ”You’re stuttering. You lose. Your Chinese Language teacher is going to weep!”

The students in the audience were all dumbfounded. Unlike the previous trash talk, the two were now shouting every single line at a considerable volume.

The students exchanged strange looks.

”Does... does fighting now require a certain level of cultural literacy?”

”Haha, those two are probably getting into it. A few more rounds, and I bet they’ll start composing couplets.”

”If you ask me, both teams should just be eliminated. I feel like it’d be a little embarrassing for them to represent our school...”

「...」

”CLANG!” Gao Lingwei instantly drew her Great Xia Dragon Sparrow and slashed down on his fist, which was as hard as steel!

The blade cut into his flesh but was stopped by the Frost Snow Skeleton.

Gao Lingwei gritted her teeth. With one hand on the hilt and the other pressing down on the back of the blade, she used the edge to desperately resist Qi Tian’s fist, but she was inevitably pushed back by his strength.

And since Gao Lingwei and Rong Taotao were back-to-back, as she was pushed backward, Rong Taotao was forced toward the older brother, Qi Dao!

The older brother, Qi Dao, knew full well how treacherous Rong Taotao was. He had been on the lookout for his opponent’s Snow Fury from the start. The moment Rong Taotao raised his hand, Qi Dao jerked his head to the side, narrowly dodging the Dark Gold Heavy Hammer.

Seeing Rong Taotao pushed right in front of him, a vicious glint appeared in Qi Dao’s eyes as he threw a punch straight at Rong Taotao’s face.

”CLANG!”

With a flick of his wrist, Rong Taotao swiftly manifested the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow. He held it in a reverse grip and swung it upward to parry.

In their back-to-back position, he really couldn’t dodge. If he moved aside, Qi Dao’s fist would smash into the back of Gao Lingwei’s head.

The scene at that moment was strangely bizarre.

Both Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei were holding a Great Xia Dragon Sparrow—one with a standard grip, the other with a reverse grip. Their free hands pressed against the backs of their blades, holding them steady against the fists on their edges.

Meanwhile, Qi Dao and Qi Tian both began to gather a Snow Burst Ball in their free hands. Their minds seemingly connected, their movements were perfectly synchronized.

The two obviously had a tactical plan. They were going to crush Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei together, forcing their bent backs and legs straight! They intended to completely break their combat stances and then leisurely reap the fruits of victory.

’What do we do? The brothers’ Snow Burst Balls are almost fully formed! What do we do!?’

In a flash, Rong Taotao communicated in his mind, ”Tilt your head to the left, turn and lock eyes with Qi Dao!”

WHOOSH...

Rong Taotao abruptly lifted his left hand while simultaneously tilting his head to the left.

The older brother, Qi Dao, was startled and quickly tilted his own head to the left. In the face-to-face confrontation, since both of them tilted left, their figures instantly crossed paths.

The older brother, Qi Dao, had assumed Rong Taotao was about to throw another hammer with his left hand. What he hadn’t expected was that the hammer Rong Taotao had thrown earlier hadn’t disappeared at all—it was still on its way back.

That raised left hand was a complete feint!

And at the very moment Qi Dao leaned aside to dodge, Gao Lingwei, her back still against Rong Taotao’s, turned slightly, looking back to her left. Her eyes, glinting with a dark red light, met Qi Dao’s gaze just as he leaned in the same direction.