Master of Nine Stars

「One month later, outside Qianshan Pass.」

Li Lie and Xia Fangran stood halfway up a cliff. The blizzard was getting worse, forcing them to stay and keep watch over the students. Fortunately, the wind and snow were lighter in the canyon, allowing them to clearly observe the situation on the field below.

They looked down at the surging Corpse Tide below, and at the two youngsters who looked like a small boat tossed about on a stormy sea, rising and falling with the waves.

Was it dangerous? Extremely.

But Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei’s teamwork was perfectly in sync—it was even a sight to behold. The small boat sailed wantonly through the vast sea of corpses. Though it seemed to be floundering, it steadily pressed forward.

"Heh..." Xia Fangran let out a deep sigh. After a full month, he had completely given up on the idea of making the two of them fail. The reality of the situation had proven itself time and time again.

For a whole month now, Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei had been cutting their way back and forth through the Corpse Tide.

Aside from a few occasional mistakes in the first few days, for the past twenty-some days, the two had been terrifyingly consistent.

"Every single one of their moves... they’ve been streamlined a little too much, haven’t they!" Xia Fangran couldn’t help but mutter under his breath.

"Mm," Li Lie nodded in agreement. "Using such a dense formation of corpses for training, it’s inevitable that their movements would become more streamlined over time."

After all, Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei weren’t facing a single opponent, but a horde. Of course they would have to use the simplest and most effective means to fend off their enemies.

As he spoke, a slight smile appeared on Li Lie’s face. "This is the kind of synergy forged in battles of life and death. I doubt many of their peers could stand up to it."

"Peers?" Xia Fangran grinned. "Without this kind of Specialized Training, what peer could withstand their firepower anyway?"

"Haha." Li Lie slapped his forehead. "I forgot again. I keep thinking of them as graduates."

Xia Fangran watched as the two cut through the Corpse Tide from west to east, then broke into a run. He couldn’t help but say, "Let’s head back to Qianshan Pass and rest up. Old Ghost Mei’s Soul Pearl for Gao Lingwei has arrived, too. When we come back, it’ll be time to add Snow Ghosts to the mix.

Just increasing the number of Snow Corpses is only a quantitative change. It won’t cause them much trouble anymore."

Li Lie nodded immediately. "Sounds good."

"Let’s go! Let’s go!" Xia Fangran shouted. His figure shot into the air, riding the wind and snow swirling in the canyon. He "flew" up on his own, looking incredibly dashing.

Li Lie, however, had no intention of showing off. He simply stepped on one ice flower after another, walking his way up the cliff.

In the distance, Gao Lingwei and Rong Taotao also climbed up the cliff. Their clothes were in disarray, and you could see large tears ripped open by the claws of Snow Corpses. Blood-stained cotton filling was even poking out of their camouflage uniforms, but neither of them was actually injured.

Seeing Rong Taotao climb up, Xia Fangran couldn’t resist reaching out, pinching his cheek, and giving it a tug. "Don’t give me that lifeless look! Smile a little! Act normal!"

Rong Taotao: "..."

"You scoundrel, how rude!" Rong Taotao grimaced, some expression finally returning to his face. "You want me to laugh my head off right after I fought my way out of a Corpse Tide and escaped a battle for my life?"

"Oh ho?" Xia Fangran raised an eyebrow slightly. "Forgotten the first time you cut your way through the Corpse Tide? Weren’t you singing your heart out back then?"

"Tch." Rong Taotao pursed his lips.

The joy from that first time cutting through the Corpse Tide had a precondition, of course. It was because he and Gao Lingwei had failed again and again, and they had gone all out just to prove they could do it.

The first time they succeeded, Rong Taotao was naturally ecstatic. Even with the "five bars" gushing blood on his thigh, it didn’t stop him from singing.

But now...

After a full month of training, filled with both pain and exhaustion, Rong Taotao’s and Gao Lingwei’s spirits had grown completely numb.

After the major breakthrough, all that remained was polishing the details and repeatedly tempering their minds.

In fact, Rong Taotao was doing better. At this very moment, Gao Lingwei, standing beside him, was the perfect embodiment of what it meant to have a "murderous aura"!

Things like auras and presence are intangible, but if you were to stand in front of Gao Lingwei right now, you would physically experience that sense of danger.

Just her standing there quietly in the snow was enough to make one’s heart pound with fear.

She didn’t even need to open her eyes; it was like she had a built-in intimidation-type Soul Skill!

It’s said that most dogs, no matter how fierce they are or how ferociously they usually bark, will tuck their tails and flee without a whimper if they encounter an old butcher—even if the butcher is unarmed and just out for a stroll.

Without a doubt, over this past month, Gao Lingwei’s hands had been drenched in blood, and the number of souls who had died by her hand was terrifyingly high...

Rong Taotao was certain that if a dog saw Gao Lingwei, it wouldn’t dare to bark.

’Maybe... I should test it on the Cloud Dog?’

’Uh... better not. I shouldn’t traumatize the poor thing...’

Xia Fangran grumbled, "Hurry up and snap out of it. If you spend all day with Corpse Ghosts, you’ll turn into one yourself."

"Yeah," Rong Taotao replied absentmindedly. He turned to Gao Lingwei and nudged her shoulder lightly. "Hey, you... uh, no, I mean, Da Wei!"

Gao Lingwei turned and glanced at Rong Taotao, but he just reached out and covered her eyes, his palm gently rubbing her cheek. "Wake up."

Gao Lingwei’s muffled voice came from behind his palm, "Your hand is covered in Snow Corpse blood. And a few pieces of shredded flesh."