Master of Nine Stars

「Three days later, atop the cliff.」

Rong Taotao pursed his lips. As he looked down at the small valley below, he couldn’t help but clench his fists.

Between two cliffs that stretched for several kilometers lay a long, narrow valley. This was Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei’s training ground.

No wonder Xia Fangran had brought the team here. Clearly, he was very familiar with the terrain outside Qianshan Pass and knew the perfect spot for an assessment.

”Hiss...”

”ROAR!!!” Furious roars echoed from the opposing cliff. The enraged cries of the Snow Corpses reverberated through the valley.

Before Rong Taotao’s eyes, one furious Snow Corpse after another was thrown off the cliff by Xia Fangran and Li Lie, tossed to the bottom of the valley.

Just a day before, this valley had been the territory of a troop of Bandit Snow Monkeys, but Xia Fangran and Li Lie had driven them off with little effort.

”Heh...” Rong Taotao exhaled a puff of frigid air and looked up at the gloomy sky. The winter sun was shrouded by layers of frosty mist, barely visible.

All of a sudden, Rong Taotao felt his hand being held. Her cool, soft fingers even gave the pad of his finger a gentle squeeze.

Such a small gesture felt incredibly heartwarming in the frigid Outer Region, right before the chaos of battle.

”Get ready,” came Gao Lingwei’s voice from his side.

”Yeah...” Rong Taotao looked down at the valley below once more. ”There must be two or three hundred of them already.”

Gao Lingwei said, ”Snow Corpses and Snow Ghosts are naturally gregarious creatures, and their biological traits are what they are.

If you catch one and let it continuously call for help, any Snow Corpse that hears the cry will rush to its aid. Though they look like corpses, they have a strong sense of community.

Coach Xia and Coach Li have been using a lure to attract the Snow Corpse horde for a whole day.”

”Mhm,” Rong Taotao responded absently, a hint of worry on his face.

Rong Taotao’s greatest trait was his accuracy in assessing the strength of both sides before a battle.

Of course, once the fighting actually started... he didn’t care if his opponent was a Soul Captain or a Soul School—he would just fight. When a battle began, there was no room for cowardice.

Clearly, Rong Taotao hadn’t started fighting yet. His mind was still in the phase of measuring their respective strengths and formulating a battle plan.

Gao Lingwei, perhaps trying to comfort him, said, ”The coaches are being considerate. At least for this first assessment, they haven’t included any groups of Snow Ghosts, so they’ve lowered the difficulty.

We can take down Snow Corpses with conventional combat methods, but it’s much harder to force back those Snow Ghosts, which are pieced together from frost and snow.”

Having hunted a Snow Corpse three days prior, Rong Taotao was quite familiar with the creature’s characteristics. Snow Corpses felt no pain, their speed and Agility Attributes were above average, and despite their corpse-like appearance, they weren’t unintelligent. Plus, they were incredibly strong. They were truly difficult to handle.

At this thought, Rong Taotao reached a hand into his pocket and felt the Snow Corpse Soul Pearl from his previous hunt.

”Soul Pearl Discovered: Snow Realm - Snow Corpse (Elite Grade)

Soul Pearl’s Soul Skill:

1. Snow Sharp Nails: Gathers Soul Power of the ice and snow Attribute at the fingertips to form and extend long, sharp nails. (Elite Grade, Potential Value: -)

Current Soul Slot is full. Unable to absorb.”

On the opposite cliff, Li Lie sent five or six Snow Corpses flying with a swing of his axe, letting them plummet into the hundred-meter-deep valley. Only then did he speak, ”That should be enough, right? It’s almost 300. That’s about all the Snow Corpses I’ve managed to attract over here.”

On a cliff a hundred meters away, Xia Fangran was being ”forced” to the edge, a dozen furious Snow Corpses before him.

Xia Fangran said, ”Alright, this’ll do for now. 300 Snow Corpses should be enough to teach these young kids a lesson.”

As he spoke, the horde of Snow Corpses before him roared and charged forward in a rage.

Xia Fangran, however, simply leaped backward, scattering a sheet of ice and frost from his hand.

Amidst the thick layers of frost, Xia Fangran actually stood suspended in mid-air. Meanwhile, the dozen or so Snow Corpses that had charged forward tumbled off the cliff one after another, like dumplings dropping into a pot...

”Not bad.” With his hands behind his back, Xia Fangran looked down at the dense horde of Snow Corpses in the valley below and nodded in satisfaction.

Li Lie, axe in one hand, stood nearby with one foot on the cliff’s edge. He looked across at the pair on the opposite cliff. Tilting his head slightly in their direction, he asked, ”Are you ready?”

Rong Taotao squeezed Gao Lingwei’s hand, and they both nodded at the same time.

Holding his Heaven-piercing Halberd, Xia Fangran gestured toward the west end of the long, narrow valley. ”It’s simple. You fight your way from the west end to the east end. I don’t care how many you kill. I just want to see you break through. Understood?”

Rong Taotao turned and crouched down, patting Rong Ling’s hovering helmet. ”Watch the battle carefully. Remember, no matter what happens, don’t come down to help.”

Rong Ling waved the small Stone Halberd in its hand. ”Taotao.”

Rong Taotao said, ”Go on, go over to Coach Li’s side and watch with him.”

But Rong Ling extended a hand of snow, which solidified and tugged on Rong Taotao’s sleeve in a pleading gesture. ”Taotao.”

Gao Lingwei suddenly spoke, her voice stern. ”Go.”

BUZZ... The frost and snow that made up Rong Ling’s body trembled. It seemed a little aggrieved, but it obediently followed the order. Its body broke apart into layers of frost and snow, and the helmet, armor, and cape hovered in the air, drifting toward the opposite cliff.

Rong Taotao lifted his left hand, and in the next moment, a hand made of snow shot up from the ground at his feet.