Master of Nine Stars

It wasn’t ugly at all—not distorted, not hideous. In fact, it was quite exquisite!

It shouldn’t be called the Frost Fearful Face. It should be the ’Frost Fearful *Beauty* Face’.

’So here’s the question: if the mask isn’t the least bit terrifying, why am I so scared?’

’Damn it, does this thing have a passive effect? Something that intimidates people’s minds?’

’Damn, that’s incredible.’

Rong Taotao watched Gao Lingwei head toward the bathroom. "You’d better brace yourself," he called out. "It’s the middle of the night, so try not to scream."

"I’m not afraid of ghosts." No sooner had the words left Gao Lingwei’s mouth...

"GULP."

The sound of Gao Lingwei swallowing came from the bathroom. Clearly... she had been startled by her own reflection, but having been thoroughly warned, she resisted the urge to back away.

She gripped the sides of the sink, gazing at the beautiful mask in the mirror, and let out a long breath. "I didn’t actively use a Soul Skill, I just put on the mask. It looks like it must have some kind of passive effect that instills fear."

Rong Taotao’s voice called out from the bedroom in agreement. "Looks like it. But its intimidating effect is much weaker than your Ice Crystal Evil Face."

Gao Lingwei stared at the exquisite mask in the mirror. Faint red patterns had even materialized around the eye sockets and along the cheekbones. The painted-on designs should have been mesmerizing, but the longer she looked, the more panicked she became.

An idea struck Gao Lingwei. She closed one eye, and the left eyehole on the mask began to piece itself together.

Though her own eye was closed, the mask "opened" its.

Pure white Shuangxue, veiled by a layer of frost, looked a lot like "glaucoma." And behind that frosty veil, an eye was faintly visible.

In a trance, Gao Lingwei even felt the mask’s eye staring eerily at her reflection.

The mask was so bizarre it made the hair on Gao Lingwei’s arms stand on end. The longer she looked, the more terrifying it became...

Gao Lingwei shook her head hard, her hands braced against the sink as she lowered her head. The mask on her face quietly shattered. Her chest rose and fell as she let out a long sigh. "Haa..."

"You okay?" a voice suddenly came from beside her.

"Ah?!" Gao Lingwei’s expression changed in a flash, and her hand whipped out in front of her.

At the bathroom door, Rong Taotao raised an eyebrow, looking at the still-shaken Gao Lingwei who was now holding the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow...

He blinked, mimicking her calm tone from earlier. "I’m not afraid of ghosts~"

Gao Lingwei shot Rong Taotao a vicious glare and tossed the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow into the sink, letting it shatter into Shuangxue. "It feels... contradictory. The mask is beautiful, yet looking at it makes my heart pound."

Rong Taotao said, "That must be just the passive effect. Let’s test the active one. Come on, hit me with the mask. I want to see what it feels like."

Gao Lingwei: "Hm?"

Rong Taotao looked serious. "I need to experience this Soul Skill’s effects firsthand. That way, I’ll have a better grasp of the enemy’s mental state on the battlefield.

"Besides, no one can guarantee they’ll never make a mistake. Coach Xia said that if your body so much as grazes the mask, you’ll suffer mental trauma. I need to get used to it ahead of time."

"In that case..." Gao Lingwei hesitated, then said, "you should probably sit on the bed first."

"Alright." Rong Taotao walked back to his bed and placed the Snowball Cat on the table between them.

The little creature tilted its head, peeking around curiously, only to see Gao Lingwei standing by the table. Shuangxue swirled across her face, forming into an exquisite, red-patterned mask. *SWISH...*

The next moment, a Patterned Mask made of illusory lines shot out from her face.

Rong Taotao gritted his teeth, braced himself, and swung a slap at it!

"POOF..."

The slap was obviously useless. Rong Taotao’s hand passed right through the mask of illusory lines.

In that moment, Rong Taotao finally understood that the slight mental intimidation was nothing. The real damage was the Mental Shock.

Rong Taotao felt as if countless needles were stabbing his brain. His head was splitting, and under the Soul Skill’s stimulation, it felt like every nerve was twitching violently.

"Hiss..." Rong Taotao’s body slumped to the side and he fell back onto the bed. He closed his eyes, carefully processing the pain.

’This must be what it felt like for Gao Lingwei when she was defeated in the Snow Prison Arena...’

After a long while, the pain finally began to fade. But in the aftermath of the Mental Shock, Rong Taotao’s mind was groggy and sluggish, as if he hadn’t slept properly in days. Even his reactions were slow.

"This is good stuff. Really good," Rong Taotao said, his words strained. "The pain itself doesn’t matter. It’s the after-effects of the Mental Shock. If it can interfere with an opponent’s movements even for a second, that would be a huge advantage for us."

"Mm." Gao Lingwei had already let the mask shatter. She sat on the edge of Rong Taotao’s bed, took his hand, and said softly, "Breathe. Take a deep breath."

"Haa..." Rong Taotao took a deep breath and let it out slowly, his mind gradually calming...

The dorm room fell silent. Gao Lingwei seemed to have picked up one of Rong Taotao’s bad habits, as she gently squeezed the pads of his fingers, lost in thought.

"Huh?"

Gao Lingwei glanced down. "What is it?"

Rong Taotao asked, "Does it only work when you see someone wearing the mask in person? If I took a picture of it with a phone and we just looked at the photo, would it still feel creepy?"

Gao Lingwei replied, "We don’t have our phones, but I doubt it. Soul Skills don’t work that way. A photograph would just be a photograph."