Master of Nine Stars

A month and a half later, outside Qianshan Pass, at Gorge 0—the dedicated assessment site for Pine Soul Soul Martial University.

As November approached, the already chilly lands of the Snow Realm grew even more bitterly cold.

In the extremely dry and cold environment, it was bearable without wind, but a strong gale felt like it could freeze your nose right off.

Yet even in such harsh conditions, Xia Fangran was still just wearing a long, plaid shirt, looking completely out of place.

By contrast, Li Lie was much more sensible. Despite being a top-tier powerhouse himself, he was dressed in thick, snow-patterned camouflage.

The two coaches now stood on a cliff’s edge, gazing down at the chaotic gorge below. Their hearts rose and fell, just like the small boat swaying amidst the ferocious Corpse Tide.

"Hm?" Xia Fangran murmured, slightly puzzled, and turned to look.

In the windless daylight, Xia Fangran’s vision was excellent, and he spotted two figures emerging together from deep within the Snow Forest.

A peculiar expression crossed Xia Fangran’s face as he raised an eyebrow. "Well, well. Who do we have here? If it isn’t Taotao’s dear older brother, Rong Yang."

"Hello, Coach Xia." Rong Yang wore a gentle smile, and his voice was just as warm—like a ray of sunshine on a winter day, seeming to raise the temperature around them.

"Tch. How boring." Xia Fangran curled his lip. He had already thrown down the gauntlet, but Rong Yang refused to pick it up. The man’s temperament was terrifyingly mild, nothing like Rong Taotao’s.

’You’re no fun at all.’

Xia Fangran replied casually, his gaze returning to the bottom of the gorge.

Li Lie also turned to face the newcomers. He saw Rong Yang, and beside him, a brawny man with a crew cut, fierce, tiger-like eyes, and an aura of pure masculinity.

The tall, sturdy man was the same height as Rong Yang, but his frame was a full size larger!

Keep in mind, both men were wearing snow camouflage, and winter gear is inherently bulky, making it difficult to discern their true builds.

’This man is almost excessively brawny...’

"Haha! Coach Li, I’ve come as promised," Yin Hu · Chen Bingxun said, grabbing his backpack by a single strap and giving it a light swing.

Li Lie’s eyes instantly lit up, as if he had just laid eyes on a peerless Beauty.

Of course, Li Lie had no interest in women. The only thing that could get him this excited was fine liquor.

Of course, fine liquor came in many varieties, and Li Lie was partial to the strongest kind. He could only hope the "goods" this kid had brought were "hard" enough.

As they spoke, Yin Hu and Sheep arrived at the tent by the cliff’s edge. This "Sheep in the Tiger’s Maw" duo was a truly curious pairing...

Chen Bingxun casually tossed his backpack beside the tent and strode forward to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the two coaches. As he looked down into the gorge, his expression shifted.

In his line of sight, a dense Corpse Tide, like an overwhelming flood, was frantically surging toward Gao Lingwei and Rong Taotao.

Gao Lingwei and Rong Taotao fought as they retreated, like a lone boat tossed on stormy seas. The scene looked incredibly perilous, yet they moved with a surprising nonchalance and grace—almost, one might think, with ease?

After observing them carefully for a good while, Chen Bingxun spoke up. "Isn’t this excessive? One was born in ’93, the other in ’95. Even after the turn of the year, they’ll only be nineteen and seventeen. And you have them undergoing combat training this intense?"

Xia Fangran stood with his hands clasped behind his back and heaved a long sigh, the very picture of a lonely master at the top. "What can I do? It’s my own fault for making these kids so exceptional. I have no choice but to hold them to the standards of our top graduates."

Chen Bingxun: "..."

Xia Fangran shook his head with feigned gravity. "If this keeps up, I’m afraid we’ll have to take them outside the Third Wall to train at a Snow Prison Warrior Village."

Rong Yang’s expression, however, grew increasingly grave, his worry deepening the longer he watched.

’It’s normal for youth to be linked with passion and zeal.’

’But it should never be linked with numbness...’

’Look at Gao Lingwei, her blade rising and falling as she mows down corpses. Then look at Rong Taotao—expressionless, completely lifeless. This...’

’What kind of competitor are they trying to train?’

’This isn’t even how you train a regular Warrior. They’re forging a killing machine!’

Rong Yang’s heart filled with self-reproach. He had specifically switched to a low-level forehead Soul Pearl just so he could be in a better position to look after his younger brother.

But despite both brothers being in the Three-Wall Area, and a full month and a half having passed since their last mission, Rong Yang knew nothing at all about the content of Rong Taotao’s training.

Rong Yang simply trusted his alma mater too much, and he had even greater faith in top-tier coaches like Li Lie and Xia Fangran. Consequently, he had never felt worried, and so he had never asked.

Rong Yang’s expression was grim, most of the gentle aura he’d arrived with now gone. "Do they train like this constantly?" he asked. "Are there no other activities to help them decompress?"

Both Xia Fangran and Li Lie clearly detected the displeasure in Rong Yang’s voice. Li Lie’s thoughts, which had been preoccupied with liquor, grew more serious. "Don’t worry," he said. "Every evening, Coach Xia and I have long talks with both of them. We tell stories, share our experiences, and check in on how they’re feeling."

As a top coach at Pine Soul Soul Martial and a powerhouse in his own right, of course Li Lie had his pride. Who was anyone else to criticize his teaching methods?

But Li Lie was clearly a magnanimous person. Or perhaps his fondness for Rong Taotao was simply so great that it extended to his brother as well.

He clapped a hand on Rong Yang’s shoulder and smiled. "Relax, we know what we’re doing. Besides, you need to adjust your own mindset a bit."

Rong Yang asked, "What?"

Li Lie said, "I don’t care how many people have called you a genius. You need to understand one thing: you can’t compare to those two down there. The standards for an ordinary genius like you simply don’t apply to them."