Master of Nine Stars

More than two and a half months had passed since Rong Taotao first set foot in Qianshan Pass.

In the process of slaughtering his way through the Corpse Tide, his Sword Mastery had already advanced to Four-Star, low-tier.

And his Heaven-piercing Halberd Mastery had reached Five-Star, high-tier.

His Heaven-piercing Halberd Technique was steadily improving. Although it was a full Major Rank higher than his Sword Technique, the Swordsmanship Rong Taotao displayed was, by comparison, far more shocking to Xia Fangran, Li Lie, and Gao Lingwei.

After all, with his Heaven-piercing Halberd Technique, the outcome against the Corpse Tide was the same whether it was a rank lower or a rank higher. Neither Snow Corpses nor Snow Ghosts could break through Rong Taotao’s Heaven-piercing Halberd defense.

But his Sword Technique was different...

If the two-petaled Lotus in Rong Taotao’s body was like a butterfly, then his four-star Sword Technique was a dazzling flurry that bewildered the eye. It was incredibly flashy.

In fact, Li Lie had always thought the boy had gone off track.

Holding one’s sword tight was the foremost principle for any practitioner of the sword.

But Rong Taotao... he didn’t hold his sword tight. On the contrary, his Great Xia Dragon Sparrow often left his grasp, spinning around his palm, wrist, and arm, flipping up and down. It was enough to make anyone watching secretly worry.

A Soul Skill like Snow Soul, which could create a weapon at will, was undoubtedly the foundation for Rong Taotao’s style.

If he lost his sword, he could instantly create a new one.

The results of Rong Taotao’s sword use far exceeded Li Lie’s expectations. After observing him for a long time, Li Lie came to accept a certain fact: aside from when Rong Taotao intentionally threw his sword, the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow always seemed to be stuck to his hand, no matter how "unstable" his grip appeared.

’It’s just... well, it’s magical, but also heretical.’

Li Lie had once asked Xia Fangran about Rong Taotao’s Swordsmanship, and Xia Fangran had passed all the blame to Si Huan Nian.

After all, Si Huan Nian was Rong Taotao’s Sword Master.

Unwittingly, Si Huan Nian had been greatly wronged and made into a scapegoat.

Because she, too, had forbidden Rong Taotao from doing flashy tricks on more than one occasion, repeatedly emphasizing that he should get a firm grip on that damned hilt. But...

Rong Taotao, who was generally not rebellious in his daily life, was especially rebellious when it came to his Swordsmanship, showing a side of him appropriate for his age.

Others didn’t understand, but Rong Taotao had his Inner Soul Map. And by repeatedly raising his skill ranks, it bolstered his confidence to walk this "heretical path."

In fact, Gao Lingwei was right. For the two of them, these two and a half months of slaughtering the Corpse Tide had been a complete transformation.

Rong Taotao’s Halberd Technique and Swordsmanship had improved, and both his Snow Burst and Snow Soul had reached the Elite Level.

One could only imagine what two and a half months of such high-intensity, extremely perilous slaughter within the Corpse Tide had brought Rong Taotao.

After Snow Burst and Snow Soul advanced, the 12+1 (Frost Flower Snowcake) Snow Realm Soul Skills that Rong Taotao had cultivated on his own had basically all reached the Elite Level. This was also the highest Soul Skill level that a three-star Soul Technique could support.

There were three Soul Skills that had not reached the Elite Level:

Normal-level White Lantern Paper Cage.

Of course, the White Lantern Paper Cage’s Potential Value ceiling was only two stars, so its maximum level was Normal Level anyway. Rong Taotao didn’t feel it was necessary to raise its Potential Value.

Excellent-level Luminous Lantern Paper Cage. Ever since learning this Soul Skill and realizing the level of emotional investment it required, Rong Taotao hadn’t even used it again.

Excellent-level Frost Breath.

This Soul Skill had a Potential Value of a full four stars, but during this phase of Rong Taotao’s training, there was no opportunity to use Frost Breath, so it lacked practice.

Aside from these three, Rong Taotao’s full set of Snow Realm Soul Skills could be considered "graduated."

But it was only a temporary graduation. When his Soul Technique reached four stars, he would have to continue cultivating them, raising them from the Elite Level to the Master Level.

"Hah..." Chen Bingxun smacked his lips from the sting of the liquor. "When you’re advancing to the Peak of Soul Warrior, you have to take it seriously. That’s when talented Soul Martial Artists gain a new Soul Slot."

Rong Taotao asked, "And the untalented ones?"

Xia Fangran grinned. "Heh, the untalented ones have to wait until the early or middle stages of a Soul Captain to open one. You’ll definitely open a Soul Slot at the Peak of Soul Warrior. If you don’t, now *that* would be big news."

Rong Yang suddenly spoke up. "It’s already the end of October. The national competition starts in about ten days. How much longer are you two planning to train?"

Xia Fangran was an old fox. From Rong Yang’s consistent behavior and his current question, he understood the underlying meaning. "We’re about done," he said. "How about we leave them some time to reintegrate into society and adjust their mindsets?"

As he spoke, Xia Fangran turned to look at Li Lie.

But Li Lie was busy tilting his head back and chugging liquor, with no time to spare for Xia Fangran.

Xia Fangran looked at Rong Taotao and said, "The Soul Pearl rewards for the Outer League were sent to Songjiang Soul Martial University a long time ago. You two can go back and check them out."

Rong Taotao nodded. "What kind of Soul Pearls are they?"

"You’ll find out when you get back."

Chen Bingxun suddenly said to Gao Lingwei, "Do you know your family’s whereabouts?"

"Hm?" Gao Lingwei raised an eyebrow slightly.

Chen Bingxun said, "Two weeks ago, under the escort of the Snow Burning Army, your parents returned to Songbai Town. They specifically instructed the soldiers escorting them not to tell you, for fear of disturbing your training."

SNAP!

Gao Lingwei was holding a piece of roasted meat skewered on a twig. Upon hearing Chen Bingxun’s words, she unintentionally snapped the twig, and the sizzling, greasy piece of roasted rabbit meat fell into the cold snow.