Master of Nine Stars

In the quiet of the night, within an alley that wasn’t exactly narrow.

A small, detached courtyard was piled high with snow. In its dilapidated little house, a dim yellow light shone from a window, lending the scene a particular atmosphere.

At this moment, a middle-aged man in a black padded cap was sitting on the heated brick bed in his home. Dressed in a padded cap and padded pants with the cuffs rolled up, he had his feet in a washbasin, seemingly soaking them before bed.

CLICK. The sound of a disposable lighter echoed as a dancing flame lit a cigarette.

The rising smoke made the middle-aged man squint. He held the cigarette between two fingers, took a deep drag, and then exhaled a plume of smoke. ”Haaa... whoosh...”

The man seemed to have a lot on his mind. As he smoked, he fell into deep thought, not even caring when the ash fell into the washbasin.

To the side, by the east window covered in plastic sheeting, a figure faintly stirred.

”Hmm?” The man’s senses seemed exceptionally sharp, and he immediately turned to look.

’Someone outside the window?’

The man’s expression stiffened, his pupils shrinking slightly. ’There’s... really someone outside the window, staring at me!?’

The window, covered in transparent plastic sheeting, shouldn’t have allowed him to see the person outside clearly. But the problem was... he faintly felt his mind drift into a trance.

Although the face outside the window was blurry, the person’s eyes shimmered with a strange, brilliant light, as if they could pull his very soul out of his body...

SIZZLE. Half a cigarette slipped from between his fingers and fell directly into the washbasin, making a sizzling sound as the water extinguished it.

RIP! In his line of sight, the plastic-covered window was slowly pushed open a crack. A set of keys pierced the transparent plastic sheet and slid slowly downwards, making a strange, scraping sound...

Finally, a face poked through the tear in the plastic sheet. It was a... teenager?

”We meet again, Ying Jie.” Rong Taotao pulled aside the plastic sheeting with one hand, pushed the window open, and stood before it.

”Heh.” Unexpectedly, Ying Jie let out a dry laugh. ’What’s coming will come...’

He picked up the cigarette pack beside him, stuck another cigarette in his mouth, and casually brought a lighter to his face. CLICK.

”Haaa...” Ying Jie took a deep drag, then exhaled a cloud of smoke as if savoring its flavor. Then, he slowly spoke, ”Not bad. Very realistic.”

Rong Taotao raised an eyebrow slightly. ’Just as I thought. He’s not some blockheaded Pirate Leader Snow Ape.’

Ying Jie showed no sign of panic from beginning to end. He didn’t even move, continuing to soak his feet. He had realized from the very first moment that this was the world of an Illusion Technique.

”Your approach is spot on. Offense and defense on the spiritual level is my only weakness. You’ve done your homework, haven’t you?” Ying Jie held the cigarette to his lips, watching Rong Taotao silently.

With things out in the open, Rong Taotao had nothing to hide. He shrugged and said, ”Of course I’d do my homework on someone who tried to assassinate me.”

”Haaa...” Ying Jie exhaled a puff of smoke and nodded silently.

Rong Taotao, however, narrowed his eyes slightly. The cigarette between Ying Jie’s fingers abruptly vanished without any warning.

Ying Jie looked at his empty fingertips and couldn’t help but purse his lips. ”From the moment I became a Poacher, I knew a day like this might come.”

”I just never expected it would be at the hands of a kid who’s barely old enough to shave.”

Rong Taotao grinned. ”You’re very composed. It seems you were mentally prepared.”

Ying Jie nodded silently. ”Jiufang’s death made us realize how special this situation was.”

”Heh... Wo Xue Mian, Gao Lingshi.”

”She didn’t care how we tried to assassinate her younger sister, but she took down every single person who went after her parents. She cut off one of our paths—our most effective path.”

As he spoke, Ying Jie lifted his foot and wiped the sole with a nearby towel. ”We had no choice but to try other methods, to go for broke.”

”I held out some hope regarding Cold Flower’s death, right up until you led your team and defeated Mi Tu, Feng Zi, and the Red-clothed Merchant. Rong Taotao, you really aren’t leaving us any path to survival, are you? Heh.”

Rong Taotao drew a Great Xia Dragon Sparrow from behind his back. ”Right back at you?”

Ying Jie slipped his feet into his shoes and sighed softly. ”It all started with a Calamity Xuerong. A true Calamity, indeed.”

SWOOSH.

Two small Snow Ghost Hands suddenly shot out from the ground and grabbed Ying Jie’s ankles.

Rong Taotao grinned. ”No, it all started when I joined the Snow Burning Army.”

Ying Jie struggled instinctively for a moment before giving up. He looked at Rong Taotao. ”Rong Taotao, give me a chance.”

Rong Taotao looked astonished. ”Huh?”

Ying Jie’s expression was earnest, his tone serious. ”Give me a chance. I’m swallowing my pride and begging you. You know my life story; I can do anything for you.”

”You have a long future ahead of you. You’ll run into all sorts of things, and some of them, you won’t want to get your own hands dirty with...”

”’Big brother’?” Rong Taotao’s expression was odd. ”Who are you calling ’big brother’? You want me to give you a follow or something?”

’Swallowing your pride to beg me?’

’As if your pride is such a big deal.’

’This guy is certainly street-smart, trying to pull that kind of social maneuvering on me?’

’The thing is, your age means nothing to me, you know?’

’Wake up! You’re a fucking Poacher!’

’Even if you were seventy or eighty, there’s no way I’d ’respect the old’ when it comes to you, right?’

The next moment, more Snow Ghost Hands shot out from the dilapidated walls and ceiling, grabbing Ying Jie’s body—his arms, his legs, even his head—and lifting him directly into midair.

Ying Jie struggled briefly, then suddenly said, ”I surrender. Dispel the Illusion Technique.”

SHLICK! Rong Taotao flipped the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow in his hand, aimed for Ying Jie’s thigh, and stabbed.

”Hssss...” Ying Jie grit his teeth, sucking in a sharp breath of cold air.

Rong Taotao pulled out the blood-stained Great Xia Dragon Sparrow and looked up at Ying Jie. ”I may be young and inexperienced, but I’m not stupid.”

”You’re a Soul School, a Middle Soul School with a powerful physical body. If I let you out of here unharmed, you could probably level half of Meihua Town.”

Ying Jie was held suspended in midair by five hands, firmly restrained. He lowered his head, his eyes fixed on Rong Taotao, and squeezed a sentence through his clenched teeth: ”So, this whole process is unavoidable.”

SHLICK!

Rong Taotao twirled the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow in a flourish and stabbed it into his left leg. ”Of course.”

As soon as Rong Taotao finished speaking, Ying Jie’s expression turned fierce. He stared intently at the young man before him. ”I won’t die, Rong Taotao.”

”Oh?”

It was as if Ying Jie had become a different person. After failing to get the result he wanted, his facade completely crumbled, finally revealing his true colors. ”You’re only attacking my mind. My physical body hasn’t suffered the slightest harm.”

”How do you think I became one of the Eight Great Coins without any forehead or Eye Soul Skills? Believe me, Rong Taotao, I’m far more resilient than you can imagine.”

SHLICK! Rong Taotao stabbed him again.

”Heheh...” Ying Jie suddenly laughed. The pained look on his face made his smile seem even more crazed. ”You’ll eventually run out of energy, and there will come a moment when I get out.”

”Hmm?” Rong Taotao paused, seeming to consider it seriously. ”True, you’re different from a Soul Beast. You are human, after all, and a Middle Soul School at that. At my current level, it seems I’m not strong enough to break you.”

Ying Jie: ”Exactly! So, dispel the Illusion Technique now, let me go, and we can negotiate anything!”

’Switching between threats and pleas, hard and soft tactics?’

Ying Jie was truly trying every method he could think of.

But Rong Taotao’s actions highlighted a single quality: he was completely unfazed.

SHLICK! Another stab!

PTOO. Ying Jie spat a mouthful of phlegm. Although Rong Taotao easily dodged it, the insulting and provocative gesture still landed. ”Very good, Rong Taotao! I guarantee you, that moment will be very interesting.”

”You think I’m easily scared? We’re going to have some fun, my battle-hardened Soul School master.” Rong Taotao suddenly stepped aside. ”But you did remind me of something.”

As he spoke, a person suddenly materialized beside Rong Taotao as an Illusion. It was a tall, spirited-looking girl with her hair in a ponytail.

Gao Lingwei!

And in her hand, she too held a Great Xia Dragon Sparrow.

Rong Taotao stepped aside, and Gao Lingwei, holding the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow, stabbed it right through Ying Jie’s kidney.

SHLICK!

She tilted her head up, her gaze sharp, staring intently at Ying Jie. ”Remember this face.”

SHLICK!

”Remember the person you tried to assassinate again and again!”

SHLICK!

”That’s right. When Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon is over, you’ll still be alive.” Gao Lingwei stabbed again, piercing Ying Jie’s liver.

SHLICK!

”Maybe you’ll resist, maybe you’ll surrender, or maybe you’ll just barely cling to life. No matter what, for the rest of your life, you must remember this face.”

SHLICK!

Gao Lingwei: ”Fear, terror... these are the only emotions I want to see on your face. Anything else...”

SHLICK...

Stab after stab. Dark red blood flowed from the wounds and dripped to the ground, only to vanish without a trace—a clear reminder to everyone that this was all an illusion.

But... the pain was very real.

The Gao Lingwei created by Rong Taotao just tilted her head up, face to face with Ying Jie, staring at him intently as she stabbed his restrained body again and again.

Waves of excruciating pain shot through his limbs and his entire body. In this seemingly endless Purgatory, Ying Jie wasn’t just enduring a dual assault on his mind and body; on a psychological level...

”Ugh...” Ying Jie groaned in agony, his eyelids gradually drooping. The next moment, however, the Snow Ghost Hand holding his head used its index and ring fingers to pry his eyelids open, forcing him to keep his eyes open.

Before him, Gao Lingwei twirled her blade in a flourish, the corners of her mouth turning up slightly. ”Lord Soul School, remember the threat you just made to me. Remember my face. This is just the beginning.”

SHLICK!

Ying Jie stared blankly at the girl before him, or rather... at the demon before him.

His bold words, his lofty ambitions, even his extreme desire for revenge and his supposedly unbreakable will...

...all of it was gradually eroding, fading into nothingness within this timeless Purgatory.

Rong Taotao could endure far longer than Ying Jie had ever imagined.

And the girl before him, the one he had once been so eager to kill, had unknowingly become his personal nightmare.

Whenever she so much as began to raise her hand, even before the blade had pierced his abdomen, Ying Jie would already feel an excruciating pain.

Every time she raised her eyes to meet his blurred gaze, Ying Jie’s heart would tremble violently...

’Captain Fu said to take him alive.’

’Since you’re still alive, I hope that the next time you face Gao Lingwei, you won’t dare to even think about raising a butcher’s knife to her.’

’Mr. Soul School, when it comes to survival, when it comes to life, I am dead serious.’

...