Master of Nine Stars

Chapter 51 - 42: Explosive Talent (Part 2)

"Nice!" a thunderous shout echoed from the distant Martial Arts Arena.

Several soldiers had already stopped to watch the teacher from Pine Soul Soul Martial University instructing his student. They hadn’t expected the kid to be this interesting.

Why was Rong Taotao so skilled at redirecting his opponent’s force and deflecting heavy blows with a light touch?

It was all thanks to his previous Devil Master!

The Devil Master had never been one to hold back. He’d come at him with one strike after another, each one aimed squarely at Rong Taotao’s ass.

Faced with overwhelming power, Rong Taotao had no choice but to master the unique art of using technique to overcome brute force if he wanted to last even a little longer.

And although it was mostly fruitless, Rong Taotao had indeed never strayed from this path.

Rong Taotao had mastered the spiritual core of the Heaven-piercing Halberd—its domineering power—but his external expression of it was completely different. The Long Halberd in his hands was exceptionally agile!

Xia Fangran nodded to himself in approval. He took a step back, easily dodging the smashing Battle Halberd, and followed the motion with a horizontal sweep of his own Long Halberd. "Heh, can’t hit me."

"And you, you’re... uh..." Rong Taotao stopped mid-sentence.

’Danger!’

’I almost said what I was thinking out loud!’

Rong Taotao dove forward, dodging the sweeping Battle Halberd and thrusting his own at Xia Fangran’s face.

But who would have thought that the horizontally sweeping Battle Halberd would suddenly freeze in place right as it passed under Rong Taotao’s body!

Rong Taotao: ???

’I could just stomp my feet and start cussing!’ he thought. ’How heavy is that Heaven-piercing Halberd? And how much momentum did it have?’

’What kind of rookie can just abruptly stop a Battle Halberd mid-sweep?’

’Especially when Xia Fangran is only using one hand! What happened to lowering your skill to my level?!’

Xia Fangran, of course, paid him no mind. As he retreated, he suddenly flicked the Long Halberd under Rong Taotao upward!

Rong Taotao hastily changed his move, pulling back the Long Halberd he’d aimed at Xia Fangran and using both hands to block below his body.

"Heh." Xia Fangran sneered, showing no mercy and no intention of holding back.

The moment his feet left the ground, with no Soul Skills to aid him, Rong Taotao would be a dead man.

But Rong Taotao pressed down on the Long Halberd with his right hand, tilting the Heaven-piercing Halberd that was hovering horizontally in mid-air.

Instead of taking the blow head-on with the Long Halberd, Rong Taotao pulled it toward his chest, angling it. Xia Fangran’s upward-flicking Heaven-piercing Halberd struck the tilted Halberd Shaft!

At the same time, Rong Taotao used the force of the upward-diagonal strike to send his entire body spinning through the air!

Instead of being flung into the air, he skillfully redirected the force, completing a diagonal spin before landing steadily on his feet.

"NICE!!!"

A sharp whistle came from the side of the Martial Arts Arena.

Xia Fangran’s eyes lit up, and he quickly retreated again. The Rong Taotao before him showed not a hint of panic; the moment he landed, he shot forward like a bullet!

The Long Halberd in his hand glinted, its Ironspear Point and Crescent Blade lethally sharp!

After retreating two more steps, Xia Fangran slammed his Long Halberd down. "Now what are you going to do?"

Rong Taotao, who was thrusting forward almost parallel to the ground, suddenly planted a hand on the floor and threw his body to the side. Xia Fangran’s Long Halberd practically grazed his shoulder as it slammed into the ground.

The moment Xia Fangran’s Long Halberd hit the concrete, he immediately followed up with a horizontal sweep, giving Rong Taotao no opening whatsoever!

His forward charge broken by Xia Fangran, Rong Taotao’s momentum was gone. He quickly jabbed the Ironspear Point of his halberd into the ground, performing a clumsy, partial pole vault.

He didn’t get fully airborne, but by using the force of the Ironspear Point on the ground, he managed to lift his body just enough to deftly dodge Xia Fangran’s sweep.

But as Rong Taotao tried to press the attack, the Ironspear Point he had planted on the ground was caught by Xia Fangran’s sweeping Heaven-piercing Halberd!

Rong Taotao had no time to change his move, and he didn’t let go of his Heaven-piercing Halberd. The next moment, Xia Fangran swept him away, halberd and all.

In that instant, a flurry of snowflakes danced through the air...

"Heaven-piercing Halberd Mastery has been upgraded! Four-Star · Mid-Tier (Potential Value: 4 Stars)."

Rong Taotao: !!!

Stumbling as he landed, scrambling and rolling, Rong Taotao hadn’t even processed the message in his mind when a hauntingly persistent voice came from behind him: "It’s not over yet!"

Startled, Rong Taotao immediately executed a backward thrust!

Er... a backward halberd thrust!

The moment he fell backward, he thrust the Heaven-piercing Halberd in the direction the voice had come from.

DING!

Xia Fangran held his Long Halberd vertically, easily deflecting the attack. He was much faster now. He aimed the sharp Ironspear Point at Rong Taotao’s head and stabbed down!

Rong Taotao’s heart leaped into his throat. Lying on the ground, he scrambled to roll aside.

DING!

DING!

DING!

The sharp Ironspear Point stabbed into the concrete ground again and again, ringing out with crisp clangs.

Rong Taotao had no time to mount a proper counterattack; he didn’t even have a moment to redirect the force. All he could do was desperately roll to the side.

’That damn Xia Fangran!’

’He’s clearly just toying with me!’

His control was perfect. Each strike was timed just right, allowing the rolling Rong Taotao to barely dodge. Yet every stab was still thrillingly dangerous, the Ironspear Point grazing past Rong Taotao’s head to strike the ground!

And so, a rather strange scene unfolded in the Martial Arts Arena.

Rong Taotao, covered in snowflakes, was frantically rolling on the ground like a donkey in the dust, measuring the length of the Martial Arts Arena one miserable roll at a time...

Sun Xingyu’s eyes widened as she stammered, "Is... is this Beijing Opera?"

Li Ziyi, clearly enjoying the spectacle of the "donkey roll," chimed in, "More like a comedy, don’t you think?"

Xia Fangran suddenly stopped, turning his head to look at Li Ziyi. "You’ve got a lot to say. You’re next!"

The color drained from Li Ziyi’s face...

"Phew..." Rong Taotao finally let out a sigh of relief. He lay on the ground, gasping for air. ’That was so damn stimulating!’

Xia Fangran turned back to Rong Taotao, who was still lying on the ground, shaken. He couldn’t help but smile. Holding his Long Halberd, he gently patted Rong Taotao’s cheek with the cold Crescent Blade. "Not bad. You’re interesting. You can go."

Rong Taotao sat up and rubbed his cheek. He wanted to say a few choice words, but after seeing what happened to Li Ziyi, he didn’t dare utter a single syllable and quickly scrambled off the arena floor.

’Wait a minute.’

’Right, didn’t my Inner Soul Map just tell me my Heaven-piercing Halberd skill leveled up?’

’I just raised my Potential Value yesterday and hit Four-Star · Low-Tier, and now I’m already at Four-Star · Mid-Tier today?’

’Low-Tier, Mid-Tier, High-Tier, Peak... am I on my way to Five Stars?’

’Is my Talent really that insane?’

’Or... was I just stuck at a low level for so long that I built up a ton of experience?’

Musing over this, Rong Taotao walked to the side of the arena.

Yang Chunxi placed the Cloud Dog back on Rong Taotao’s head and praised him sincerely, "That was really impressive. It’s clear that your split-second reactions are the result of rigorous training."

"Ah." Rong Taotao forced a smile, not saying anything.

Yang Chunxi reached out and brushed the snowflakes from his naturally curly hair. The Cloud Dog tactfully dissolved into mist, clearing a space for her.

Perhaps, in the Cloud Dog’s mind, Yang Chunxi wasn’t helping Rong Taotao, but was just tidying up its doghouse...

Yang Chunxi said softly, "Don’t let a little praise go to your head."

Rong Taotao looked at Yang Chunxi with a helpless expression. "Do I look like I’m feeling proud right now...?"

"Hmm." Yang Chunxi suddenly realized that Rong Taotao wasn’t proud at all; he was actually quite annoyed.

’Then again, who would feel proud after rolling around on the ground like that...’

She thought for a moment before saying, "Xia Fangran is the Heaven-piercing Halberd instructor the university specially found for you."

"Instructor Xia Fangran is very busy with his classes. You only have a month and a half. Once the semester starts, he has to go back to teaching the new Senior Year students."

"You need to make the most of this time. Learn everything you can from him."

Rong Taotao grimaced. He didn’t know how much he could learn about the Heaven-piercing Halberd from Xia Fangran.

But as for Xia Fangran’s brand of biting sarcasm, Rong Taotao was pretty confident he could master the essence of it within a week...

’All other skills are inferior! Trash talk is the true Divine Skill!’