Master of Nine Stars

Gao Lingwei: ”...”

Rong Taotao, now much more awake, leaned over and grabbed a nearby pack. ”What’s there to be afraid of? I don’t get grumpy when I wake up. Besides, am I really that scary?”

”You’re not scary, but that... uh.” Shi Lan immediately shut her mouth. Giggling, she ran to the bonfire and started rummaging through a pack for food, changing the subject. ”The Ice Crystal Evil Face is super useful, by the way. I just used it to scare Lu Mang, hehe.”

”Haha!” Rong Taotao laughed when he heard that. ”And then what?”

Shi Lan pulled out a can of tomato soup and yanked the lid off with brute force. Pouting, she said with dissatisfaction, ”That petty guy holds a grudge. He told me to just wait, that he’d get me back.”

With the help of the Snowball Cat, the hard-to-detect Ice Crystal Squirrels had nowhere to hide from Gao Lingwei’s eyes. Several members of the squad now possessed the Ice Crystal Evil Face Soul Skill.

The Snowball Cat! The god of hunting!

Anyone else, even someone like Xia Fangran, would probably walk right past an Ice Crystal Squirrel without ever noticing it.

The Ice Crystal Evil Face Soul Skill was so rare partly because Ice Crystal Squirrels weren’t numerous, and partly because the species’ concealment techniques were just too formidable.

Although the Little Souls all had top-tier Talent, when it came to opening Soul Slots, the Shi Family Sisters were the best of the best!

The forehead, eyes, and chest—the three most difficult Soul Slots to open—they had actually managed to open them all!

The sisters had only opened one eye slot each, but that was already incredibly impressive. After all, of these three locations, the other Little Souls had opened one or two at most. None of them had unlocked all three!

’These two ”blades,” the Shi Family Sisters, I have to keep a firm grip on them.’ The sisters’ goal in coming to the Snow Realm was also to enter the Snow Realm Vortex and explore that unknown world. In a way, their objective overlapped with his own.

”Hey, what do you guys think of Lu Mang?” Shi Lan asked, placing the tomato soup near the bonfire to warm up before picking up another can.

Rong Taotao: ???

’What does she mean, ”what do I think of Lu Mang?”’

Coming from someone else, Rong Taotao would have understood what the question implied. But with Shi Lan’s frank and artless demeanor, he was momentarily unsure of her intentions.

Shi Lan sat cross-legged on the ground, looking at Rong Taotao with a curious expression. ”Say something. What’s he like?”

Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei glanced at each other. After a few seconds, he looked at Shi Lan and said, ”We’ve been classmates for a year and a half. There are only a handful of us in the class. You don’t know what he’s like?”

Shi Lan said, ”Aren’t you his best friend? You even took him on a mission with the Snow Burning Unit for over a month.”

Hearing this, Rong Taotao chuckled. He tore open a bag of salted crackers and tilted his head at Shi Lan. ”What, are you jealous?”

”Oh, come on, just tell me.”

Rong Taotao chewed on a cracker, thought for a moment, and gave a very neutral assessment: ”Lu Mang is a good person.”

Shi Lan pouted. ”You sound so formal. Is that a side effect from all your competition interviews?”

”No, really. He’s a very good person,” Rong Taotao said with a serious expression. ”He has a strong sense of responsibility.”

Judging solely by Lu Mang’s attitude toward his father and his dedication to his family, he was a very filial son and a responsible family man. At the very least, that aspect of his character was flawless.

”Oh.” Shi Lan picked up the still-lukewarm tomato soup and took a swig. ”Tall, thin, fair-skinned... he’s easy on the eyes.”

Rong Taotao was stunned!

The meaning behind Shi Lan’s words was already quite obvious!

Rong Taotao just never expected Shi Lan to be so ”blunt”!

However, as Soul Martial Artists, their training had always been about setting a goal and then striving to achieve it. Of course, this kind of upbringing would also influence their daily lives.

Coupled with Shi Lan’s inherent personality, it was perfectly reasonable for her to say such a thing.

Besides... in a harsh and bitter place like the Snow Realm, free from the distractions of the flashy outside world, people who lived together every day and even faced life and death together could easily develop feelings for one another.

Shi Lan licked the soup from her lips and said, ”It’s just that he never talks. He acts like some kind of master, and it’s annoying to watch.”

An idea struck Rong Taotao. ”Then why don’t you call him out every time he acts like a master?”

”Good idea.” Shi Lan’s eyes lit up, and she nodded repeatedly.

Rong Taotao glanced at her older sister, Stone Tower, who was silently eating her breakfast without any reaction.

’Looks like her sister doesn’t object, huh?’

’That’s true. Lu Mang is a pretty good guy. He’s just a bit quiet, but that’s not necessarily a flaw, right?’

Rong Taotao ate a bit more of his own food, then stood up and stretched fiercely. ”You guys eat. I’m going out to test a Soul Skill. I just embedded it last night and haven’t had a chance to check it out yet.”

With that, Rong Taotao strode out of the cave.

The weather today was windless and clear, just bitterly cold. As soon as he reached the mouth of the cave, he saw a huge bonfire in the distance. Next to it, Lu Mang was sparring with Zhao Tang.

Not far from their combat circle, a little, armored fatty stood on a large boulder, watching with great interest. The frost and snow covering its body hummed from time to time.

Zhao Tang’s style was wide and powerful, as if his feet were rooted to the ground, while Lu Mang nimbly dodged and weaved, avoiding the brunt of the attacks. Rong Taotao nodded in approval as he watched.

’This Zhao Tang is a real beast. It’s a two-handed axe, but he can only wield it with one hand, and he’s still terrifyingly fierce. Just how powerful would he be if he could use both hands?’