Master of Nine Stars

Chapter 80 - 67: Lopsided

Two messages surfaced in his mind, but they didn’t distract Rong Taotao in the slightest.

SWISH...

Clad in white, Si Huan Nian appeared before the Poacher. She caught the incoming Heaven-piercing Halberd with one hand, and the snow-forged Long Halberd shattered in her grasp.

Si Huan Nian: "Stop... Stop... Hm?"

Si Huan Nian batted away the thrusting Long Halberds—one after another after another...

"Kid, you’re seeing red." A long whip materialized in Si Huan Nian’s right hand, shattering one Heaven-piercing Halberd after another. With her left hand, she casually grabbed the Poacher’s head and viciously brought up her knee!

The Poacher’s head was forced down, his forehead meeting Si Huan Nian’s knee strike.

Faced with Si Huan Nian’s absolute power, and with his movements already restricted by the Frost Cold Thorn... he was like a chick caught in her grasp, utterly powerless. The knee strike knocked him unconscious instantly.

Holding her long whip, Si Huan Nian continued to swat away the incoming Heaven-piercing Halberds as she strode toward Rong Taotao, who was kneeling in the snow. "Kid, are you seeing red? Or are you expressing your dissatisfaction with me?"

As it turned out, the only thing that could stop Rong Taotao was an empty reserve of Soul Power.

When he once again grabbed a handful of snow, but could no longer form a Heaven-piercing Halberd, Rong Taotao had no choice but to stop.

Rong Taotao’s chest heaved with small, rapid breaths. His physical condition was clearly abnormal.

Si Huan Nian tilted her head slightly, looking at the silent Rong Taotao kneeling before her... She bent down, scooped him up by the waist, tucked him under her arm, and nodded to the Soul Police Captain in the distance.

The Soul Police Captain smiled and nodded back. "Coach Si, what’s this kid’s name?"

"Heh." Si Huan Nian seemed to be in a good mood, exceptionally pleased with Rong Taotao’s performance. She replied, "He’s only a freshman. He won’t graduate for another four years. Are you trying to recruit him already?"

"Haha, you jest, Coach Si." The Soul Police Captain made no secret of his intentions, speaking frankly. "His power may be shallow for now, but his Martial Arts are exquisite and his tactics are superb. He’s a fighter who uses his head. To have such psychological fortitude at his age and to perform like that against a scoundrel like this... it’s truly stunning."

"Alright, enough praise, or you’ll make the kid’s head swell." Si Huan Nian hefted Rong Taotao up and down a bit, gave the Soul Police Captain a nod, and said, "We’re leaving."

The Soul Police Captain clearly hadn’t given up. He tried to continue the conversation, a curious look on his face. "His age... he doesn’t look like a university freshman. Oh, right, he must be from the new Junior Class established this year, right?"

Si Huan Nian simply smiled without a word. She kept walking without looking back, merely giving a wave of her hand as she strode away.

’So, the kid is a "university freshman" in name, but actually a "high school freshman"?’

At this thought, the Soul Police Captain’s desire to recruit such a talent became even harder to suppress.

But he could only watch helplessly as Si Huan Nian departed.

Although the Soul Police Captain was a graduate of Songjiang Soul Martial University, Si Huan Nian had just started working there the year he graduated. The two had never crossed paths, let alone developed any personal connection.

During this incident, the Soul Police Captain had hoped to build a personal relationship with the renowned instructor. Alas, the reputation of the Pine Soul Four Rites was too great and her power too immense. Even though he was a captain and an alumnus, if Si Huan Nian wanted to leave, he couldn’t very well step forward to stop her...

’It seems I’ll have to ask my old Pine Soul instructors for information about that kid.’

The Soul Police Captain watched the master and disciple’s departing figures, then turned around and ordered, "Secure the prisoner! Let’s move out!"

The Soul Police mission was a success. They had captured the entire small team of Poachers, a remarkable achievement.

In truth, the hardest part wasn’t capturing the Poachers, but identifying them when they were hidden among civilians.

Some things could never be completely stamped out.

Lured by profit, some people were bound to take desperate risks.

It couldn’t be helped. The unique climate of the Snow Realm caused such incidents to occur frequently. These few Poachers had once been ordinary civilians, but they couldn’t resist various temptations and had strayed onto a different path.

As the Soul Police were packing up, Si Huan Nian, still carrying Rong Taotao tucked under her arm, strode toward Pine Soul First Grade. "What are you thinking about?" she asked along the way.

Rong Taotao: "..."

Si Huan Nian: "Do you have a problem with my teaching methods?"

Rong Taotao finally spoke up. "You just remember this. If you actually get me killed one day, someone will come looking for you."

Si Huan Nian raised an eyebrow, lifting Rong Taotao up and down as if he were a handbag. "Kid, are you threatening me? Didn’t you once defeat a third-year student?"

Rong Taotao retorted irritably, "Is a student the same as a scoundrel? Besides, when I fought him, that upperclassman had already been fighting all afternoon. He could barely even stand!"

Si Huan Nian: "Wasn’t that scoundrel just now dead drunk and unsteady on his feet?"

As she spoke, Si Huan Nian arrived in front of the Pine Soul First Grade restaurant. She was about to push the door open but seemed to remember something.

She carried Rong Taotao to the side of the road and slapped a hand on his chest.

"PFFT... Cough, cough... cough, cough..." A sweet taste rose in Rong Taotao’s throat, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

This was a novel experience. Rong Taotao had never spat blood before...

A layer of pearly white frost formed on Si Huan Nian’s palm as she pressed it against Rong Taotao’s chest. A good ten seconds or so later, she finally set him down.

Rong Taotao hunched over slightly. His horribly stuffy chest actually felt much better? At the very least, his airway felt cool and clear. The sensation was very strange.

"What kind of Soul Skill is that?" Rong Taotao turned his head and asked.

’Is it a healing-type Soul Skill? But the effect is so weak.’

’With Si Huan Nian’s power, if a Soul Skill in her hands has a weak effect, then it definitely won’t be much better when cast by anyone else.’

Si Huan Nian turned and walked toward the restaurant. "You guess."

Rong Taotao: "..."

’She’s 27 or 28, but still so mischievous.’

The more he interacted with Si Huan Nian, the more confused Rong Taotao became.

’This woman seems to have a thousand faces, and every single one of them is so detestable!’

’Sister-in-law is still the best. She’s always so gentle with me.’ Watching Si Huan Nian’s back, for a brief moment, Rong Taotao suddenly missed his sister-in-law.

If Yang Chunxi had never appeared in his life, Rong Taotao might have been very strong.

But here in this world of ice and snow, especially after experiencing such an unprecedentedly vicious battle, the first person Rong Taotao thought of was the family member he could rely on.

It wasn’t that Rong Taotao had been so traumatized that he wanted to drop out of school and go home. It was just... seeing and chatting with a loved one would probably be very healing.

With these thoughts in mind, Rong Taotao dragged his heavy feet into the restaurant, grimacing from the pain in his chest.

Inside the restaurant, the dishes that had been served later were still on the table. Si Huan Nian was talking to the owner.

"So sorry to have disturbed your rest this late. Please pack up all this food," Si Huan Nian said apologetically.

The owner, however, still looked shaken. "I saw a fight break out outside. There were so many Soul Police. Were those customers fugitives?"

Si Huan Nian nodded and comforted her, "Don’t worry, it’s all over now."

"That was terrifying. I’ll have to close up earlier from now on." The owner, still looking spooked, brought over some bags to pack the dishes. She added, "Thank you for your help. The meal’s on the house, on the house."

"I can’t accept that." Si Huan Nian refused immediately, picking up her phone from the table and scanning the QR code on the wall.

The owner looked at Si Huan Nian with reverence and also sized up Rong Taotao. Clearly, having secretly watched from inside, she had seen the entire battle. Rong Taotao was especially conspicuous with the White Lantern Paper Cage constantly swirling around his head.

The master and disciple took the packed food and pushed the door open. The sound of the door locking immediately came from behind them, as if bolting the door could bring the owner some sense of security.

In fact, most "locks" in this world couldn’t stop a Soul Martial Artist. Forget Soul Martial Artists; even an ordinary person could pick a lock with the right tools.

Rong Taotao put on his down jacket and, while walking, took out his phone and opened WeChat.

For once, Si Huan Nian was actually carrying the takeout herself. Her eyes casually flickered toward Rong Taotao’s phone screen.

’Oh?’

’What, is he going to tattle to Yang Chunxi?’

Si Huan Nian didn’t say anything, just quietly watched the scene unfold.

The two remained silent. She watched as Rong Taotao repeatedly typed and deleted his message.

To Si Huan Nian’s surprise, Rong Taotao wasn’t tattling, nor was he complaining. The topic seemed forced, with no real substance.

Finally... Rong Taotao deleted all the text and turned off his phone.

Si Huan Nian finally broke the silence. "What’s wrong?"

Rong Taotao hunched over slightly, clutching his chest. His voice was strained. "It’s... too late. I don’t want to disturb her rest."

Hearing this, Si Huan Nian pursed her lips. She looked at Rong Taotao’s pitiful, miserable state and thought about what he had actually done...

Si Huan Nian sighed softly. ’Am I being too strict with him? No matter how much of a genius he is, he’s still just a newly awakened kid.’

At this thought, the iron-hearted Si Huan Nian felt a rare pang of sympathy. She put an arm around Rong Taotao, resting her elbow on his shoulder.

This seemingly comforting gesture only made things worse for the already-struggling Rong Taotao...

She began to speak softly. "The Soul Skill I just used is called Snow Prayer Radiance. It’s an exceptionally rare healing-type Soul Skill."

Rong Taotao: "Ah..."

Si Huan Nian continued, "In this world, there are nine types of Soul Techniques and thousands upon thousands of dazzling Soul Skills. But to date, humanity has only discovered two healing-type Soul Skills.

One is the Snow Realm Soul Skill, Snow Prayer Radiance, and the other is the Ocean Soul Skill, Sea Prayer Radiance.

No one knows why. Perhaps it’s because the ice-and-snow and Water Elements have much in common.

Neither of these Soul Skills can be cultivated on their own. They can only be acquired by embedding a Soul Pearl.

The Quality of Snow Prayer Radiance is very low. Its healing effect is far inferior to Sea Prayer Radiance.

But even the highest-Quality Sea Prayer Radiance has a very poor healing effect. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many Soul Martial Artists dying in battle every year."

"Mm..." Rong Taotao nodded.

Si Huan Nian: "Your injuries are nothing. You’ll be fine after a few days of rest. As it happens, you should spend the next few days in the Martial Arts Hall absorbing Soul Power. It’s clear your total Soul Power is limiting your performance."

Rong Taotao scratched his head. ’That does seem to be the case...’

’Just now, didn’t my Inner Soul Map notify me that my Soul Technique and Heaven-piercing Halberd technique leveled up again?’

’My Soul Technique just leveled up half a month ago, and now it’s improved again?’

Frequently studying and using Soul Skills would naturally deepen a Soul Martial Artist’s mastery of Soul Techniques, and absorbing Soul Power of the ice-and-snow Attribute could also improve one’s Soul Technique Cultivation...

At this moment, Rong Taotao’s "physical" cultivation was already failing to keep up with his "technical" cultivation.

After all, that little head of his was full of slick moves; he was playing way too flashy...

Didn’t Yang Chunxi say that Soul Techniques were easy to start but difficult to advance in?

’Did she get it backward? Shouldn’t it be that Soul Power is hard to cultivate, while Soul Techniques are easy to advance?’