Master of Nine Stars

On the morning of December 1st, after enjoying two days in Starfield Town, the four of them—two teachers and two students—finally boarded a plane to Aihui City.

The plane landed in Aihui City right around noon.

As the northernmost city in Huaxia accessible by public transportation, it attracted a massive influx of travelers every day. Consequently, the airport was equipped with many special facilities.

For instance, there was a large changing room, flanked on both sides by winter apparel shops. As Rong Taotao, who knew his way around, went in to change, he noticed the streams of customers in the nearby stores.

A very shrewd business setup, indeed.

Rong Taotao slipped on his black winter boots, changed into a white down jacket, and slowly pulled up the zipper. Finally, that familiar feeling was back!

The airport was quite considerate, though; the heat was cranked up high. After Xia Fangran finished changing, the two of them stepped out of the main entrance, and a blast of frigid air hit them, making Rong Taotao shiver.

As far as the eye could see, everything was blanketed in white.

Directly ahead, on the vast plaza, patches of snow were visible everywhere. In the distance, the withered branches of the trees were coated in Shuangxue.

Everything was just so familiar.

"Hah..." Rong Taotao exhaled softly, a puff of white mist forming in the air.

Home. A cold home.

But that did nothing to diminish Rong Taotao’s love for this place.

Interestingly, despite growing up in the north, he had only ever seen Shuangxue during the winter. His hometown wasn’t quite *this* far north; it wasn’t within the borders of the Snow Realm, and it certainly didn’t snow all Four Seasons.

And yet, despite having spent only a year and a half at Songjiang Soul Martial University, Rong Taotao had already come to see Shuangxue as a symbol of ’home’.

Perhaps that was the allure of the Snow Realm.

The place was practically cut off from the rest of the world. Getting back to Songjiang Soul Martial University required a journey of at least eight full hours on horseback.

But every minute of that long, eight-hour journey was a constant reminder to Rong Taotao that he had entered another world.

Or, to put it another way: Welcome home.

"What are you thinking about?" Gao Lingwei’s voice came from beside him as she linked her arm with his.

Rong Taotao turned to look at Gao Lingwei, who was wearing a white, padded hat. She, too, must have been filled with emotion at this moment.

Although she was speaking to Rong Taotao, her head was tilted back, her gaze fixed on the winter sun, hazy through the cold mist.

From behind them, Yang Chunxi spoke up, "Let’s go. We should hurry back. The kids have prepared a welcoming ceremony and are waiting for us."

"Alright! Time to go rile up Li Zi~" Rong Taotao grinned. He had a backpack on and was carrying a gift box containing two bottles of fine baijiu.

’I have to save these two bottles. They’ll be my gifts for the New Year’s visit.’

Rong Taotao didn’t know much about liquor, but he was sure of one thing: if his father had given it to him, it had to be the good stuff.

It was early December, and the semester at Songjiang Soul Martial was only halfway through. Gao Lingwei and Rong Taotao still had two months of academic classes left. Gao Lingwei had spoken with her parents, and at her father’s request, she had to return to school with her teachers, planning to go home during the break.

It was clear that Yang Chunxi was very eager to get back to school.

Fortunately, Rong Taotao had eaten a large lunch on the plane...

Once they were clear of the plaza, the four of them each summoned a Snow Night Shock.

"NEIGH~"

Gao Lingwei smiled, stroking Hu Bugui’s snow-white, ice-cold fur with one hand before patting him gently and swinging herself onto his back.

In the Snow Realm, the Snow Night Shock was the most ideal and common form of transportation. And precisely because it was so common, the Fusion Skill between a Snow Realm Soul Martial Artist and a Snow Night Shock had been researched to death.

With Gao Lingwei’s aptitude, there was a high probability that she would be able to perform the Fusion Skill with Hu Bugui once she reached the peak of the Soul Captain stage.

In terms of effect, the symbiosis between a Snow Realm Soul Martial Artist and a Snow Night Shock could produce an astonishing charging impact.

The Snow Night Shock has two Soul Skills. The first is called Snow Charge, a skill of the lowest ’Common’ grade with a pitiful Potential Value of only one star.

It’s a skill that’s at its peak the moment you get it, and that ’peak’ is practically rock bottom.

But funnily enough, this very same low-level Soul Skill is one that humans cannot learn on their own.

Keep in mind, a significant number of Snow Realm Soul Martial Artists have a Snow Night Shock as their Lifebound Soul Beast. During their Soul School Stage, they perform the Snow Charge Soul Skill countless times in tandem with their beasts. Yet even so, no one to this day has figured out how to master Snow Charge independently.

However, there was no need to worry about the skill being low-level and ineffective.

After all, a Lifebound Soul Beast with a low Potential Value develops alongside its Soul Martial Artist who has a high one. This Potential Value encompasses not just the beast’s own level-up potential, but also the potential of its Soul Skills.

Take Rong Taotao’s Cloud Dog, for example. He had forcibly raised its Potential Value to seven stars, and as a result, its Soul Skill, Thousand Transformations, also reached seven stars.

Furthermore, it’s worth noting that a Soul Martial Artist fusing with their Lifebound Soul Beast to perform a Soul Skill is only one part of the equation; the greater benefits come later.

What is the Snow Night Shock famous for?

Endurance! Unparalleled stamina!

After the Soul School Stage, all of these traits are passed on to the Soul Martial Artist.

Have you ever seen Xia Fangran so exhausted he couldn’t even stand?