Master of Nine Stars

Rong Taotao waved his hand. ”What Snow Realm Soul Beast isn’t savage? And eating living things is nothing special. If that Snowflake Wolf had defeated us, it would have eaten our flesh raw, too. It’s not like they know how to cook...”

Gao Lingwei: ”...”

’Wait, something seems a little off.’

A thought suddenly struck Rong Taotao. ’Since the Snow General Candle doesn’t have a physical body, how can it eat meat? It doesn’t even have a mouth, does it?’

Puzzled, Rong Taotao looked at the information on the Snow General Candle and asked, ”What does ’foolishly loyal’ mean? How did they figure that out?”

Gao Lingwei didn’t know for sure, only guessing, ”Maybe the Snow Burning Army captured one of these creatures alive once. Perhaps they discovered they’re the type to die before they surrender? Is that why it’s described as ’foolishly loyal’?”

Rong Taotao, however, grew even happier. ”Foolishly loyal is a good thing! This is absolutely perfect. My brother is applying for a cub for me. It won’t have joined the Snow Realm Soul Beast Army, so it won’t have anyone to be loyal to.

”If I absorb the cub and make it my Soul Pet, then won’t it only be loyal to me? Ahh, I could die of happiness!”

Hearing Rong Taotao’s reasoning, Gao Lingwei finally relaxed a bit and nodded. ”If you put it that way, it would be ideal. But you can’t completely trust online sources. We should go to the library and look for some information.”

”Let’s go, let’s go!”

”Grab your student ID...”

Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei hurried to the library. As they left the Martial Arts Hall, the battles in the Martial Arts Arena were raging. Poor Si Huan Nian was still refereeing, and from the impatient look on her face, she was probably miserable.

Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei didn’t dare to linger, much less provoke the hangry girl. The two of them quietly slipped away.

Despite having been at Songjiang Soul Martial University for an entire semester, this was Rong Taotao’s first time visiting the library.

When he had first enrolled, the library was the building that fascinated him most. Unfortunately, Rong Taotao had been a bit too busy. He didn’t even have time for his academic classes, let alone visiting the library to read...

”Uh...” Rong Taotao stared at the three library buildings, which stood in a triangular formation. ”How do we know which one to go to?”

”Building C,” Gao Lingwei said confidently. ”Building C is for books about the Soul Martial World. The other two house collections from the mundane world.”

The two entered the library. With the help of the front-desk staff, they looked up books on high-Quality, rare Soul Beasts on a computer, then took the elevator straight to the top floor.

”Wow.” Arriving on the fourth floor, Rong Taotao couldn’t help but marvel at the walls of bookshelves. ”The Vortex only appeared a few decades ago. Where did all these books come from? I wonder what they’re even about.”

”Shh.” Gao Lingwei gently nudged Rong Taotao with her elbow, signaling him to be quiet.

The top floor was quiet and nearly empty of students. Following the section signs, Gao Lingwei walked past several walls of bookshelves, only to spot a peculiar figure.

Standing in front of the very bookshelf they were looking for was a woman.

She was no longer young, perhaps in her fifties or sixties. What was most striking was her unusual attire. She wore a nun’s robes and cloth shoes, and without a hat, her perfectly bald head was on full display.

After a few glances, Gao Lingwei gently tugged on Rong Taotao’s sleeve and whispered, ”That’s Professor Wang. If she speaks to us, be respectful.”

”Okay, okay,” Rong Taotao whispered in agreement, but his mind was reeling.

In his full year at the university, he had seen many famous figures, people like the Pine Soul Four Rites and the Pine Soul Four Seasons.

Yet the woman before him was on the same level as Headmaster Mei Hongyu!

Wang Tianzhu! The Bamboo of the Three Friends of Winter!

As if sensing the two students’ gazes, the nun-like woman turned to look at the two youngsters.

Gao Lingwei and Rong Taotao quickly greeted her, ”Professor Wang.”

”Mm,” Wang Tianzhu said, looking at them with a neutral expression. ”Rong Taotao.”

”Ah, Professor Wang, you know me,” Rong Taotao said in a low voice as he and Gao Lingwei stepped forward.

”Hongyu speaks very highly of you.” Wang Tianzhu closed the book in her hands. Her every gesture exuded an indescribable elegance and calm. ”It’s been a long time since I’ve heard him praise a student.”

”Hehe, I just got lucky. It’s an honor, really,” Rong Taotao said humbly, breaking into a goofy grin.

Wang Tianzhu seemed to have no intention of continuing the conversation. She simply took a step back, moving away from the bookshelf. ”Go on, read.”

With that, she opened the book in her hand and began to study it intently, her head bowed.

Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei looked at each other, not daring to disturb the powerhouse. ’She’s a top-tier master,’ Rong Taotao thought. ’Just getting her to acknowledge you is a big deal...’

Gao Lingwei didn’t mind being overlooked. ’After all, my qualifications... well, they’re certainly not enough to warrant a second glance from someone like her.’

What made things awkward for Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei, however, was that the book in the professor’s hands appeared to be the very one they were looking for.

For a moment, the atmosphere grew quiet.

”What is it? You want the book I’m holding,” Wang Tianzhu stated mildly, not even lifting her head from its pages.

Rong Taotao quickly answered, ”Ah... we were looking for detailed information on the Snow General Candle. I’m worried the information online might be inaccurate.”

”Snow General Candle.” Wang Tianzhu nodded lightly. She showed no surprise, not even a hint of a question, as if nothing in the world could stir her emotions—not even the knowledge that Rong Taotao possessed two whole Lotus petals.

She simply raised a hand, and a cloud of frost began to spread beside her...

The next moment, a towering figure, a full two meters tall and clad in thick plate armor, stood before them.

Startled, Rong Taotao quickly pulled Gao Lingwei back a step.

The Snow General Candle’s body of frost flickered in and out of sight. From within its faint facial silhouette, two burning Ice Candle eyes quietly observed the two youngsters before it.

”Go ask it in the hallway. It will answer any questions you have about the Snow General Candle. Do not disturb me.” Wang Tianzhu’s flat voice drifted from behind the imposing body of the Snow General Candle.

GULP. Rong Taotao’s Adam’s apple bobbed. ’This behemoth... its presence is way too intense.’

CLANK. It was the sound of armored boots on the floor. Though they were clearly made of snow, they rang out like steel.

Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei quickly stepped aside to let it pass. The enormous Snow General Candle walked out, step by step. ’It must be going to the hallway?’

Rong Taotao dazedly turned his head back to look at Professor Wang, who was already absorbed in her book. He pursed his lips and whispered, ”Thank you.”

Seeing that Professor Wang had no intention of responding, Gao Lingwei pulled Rong Taotao out of the aisle.

When they reached the hallway, sure enough, the enormous figure was standing silently in a corner, perfectly still.

”Um, hello?” Rong Taotao approached cautiously, tilting his head back to look up at it and offering a friendly greeting.

The Snow General Candle lowered its head, its softly burning Ice Candle eyes fixed on Rong Taotao. ”Ask.”

Rong Taotao blinked.

’Jeez, I can’t even see where your mouth is. How are you speaking?’

”Uh,” Rong Taotao scratched his head and held out a hand. ”Can I touch your armor first?”

”Yes.” The body of swirling frost vibrated again, emitting the sound.

Rong Taotao suddenly understood. ’It speaks by vibrating the frost and snow particles?’

’What an amazing creature!’

The more Rong Taotao looked at it, the more he liked it. The fact that a human owned a Snow General Candle as a Soul Pet meant that he could have one too.

He reached out and pressed his hand against its pectoral muscle... well, to be precise, against the thick armor plate on its chest.

”Hah...” With a look of pure satisfaction, Rong Taotao sighed, took two steps back, and looked the majestic Snow General Candle up and down.

Gao Lingwei shot a glance at the star-struck Rong Taotao before tilting her own head up to look at the Snow General Candle. ”We may have the opportunity to partner with a Snow General Candle. What advice would you give us?”

The frost vibrated, and the voice sounded again. ”Give it a battlefield.”

”That’s...” Rong Taotao stared up blankly at the Snow General Candle. ’What kind of advice is that?’

The next moment, the Snow General Candle’s body of swirling frost suddenly dispersed, leaving only its armor and candle eyes suspended in mid-air.

The layers of cold mist and frost then coalesced in front of the armor, forming three-dimensional illusions.

A Cyan Dragon Yanyue Saber, a fine steed, and a wineskin.

The Snow General Candle spoke again. ”If you can, also give it a weapon, a warhorse, and a flask of strong spirits.”