Master of Nine Stars

「November 26th, the day of the finals.」

Waves of heat rolled through the Imperial Capital City’s Worker’s Stadium. Despite this, nothing could dampen the audience’s enthusiasm. The stadium, which held tens of thousands, was packed to the rafters. The organizers, worried about spectators suffering from heatstroke, had dispatched additional medical teams.

Cooling the venue was obviously impossible. It had been a struggle to raise the temperature of such a massive stadium to 35 degrees, so they certainly couldn’t lower it now. The problem was...

The doubles match in the Worker’s Stadium hadn’t started yet. This was because the doubles bracket had to wait until the singles and trios brackets were completely finished.

This meant that while the national competition’s opening match had been a doubles match, the final, concluding battle would also be a doubles match!

This was a clear indication of how much importance Huaxia placed on this year’s doubles division!

The reason?

Naturally, it was due to the special status of the members of the two doubles teams, some of whom were even descendants of Soul Generals.

But that wasn’t the main reason. Ultimately, it came down to the fact that both sides were incredibly strong and highly skilled. Having the Wanqi Siblings and the duo of Gao and Rong represent this generation of Soul Martial Students for the final battle was simply a perfect fit.

On the day of the finals, there were three matches in total: singles, doubles, and trios. The event organizers were already being quite considerate of the audience by having all three matches conclude within a single morning.

If this were some unscrupulous commercial league, three matches could be dragged out over three days, maybe even longer...

Due to the venue requirements, the singles and trios matches weren’t held in the Worker’s Stadium. At this moment, the audience in the Worker’s Stadium was glued to the large screens on the field, watching the live broadcast of the trios match and letting out gasps of surprise from time to time.

「Meanwhile, in the locker room.」

The room had air conditioning, so it wasn’t as scorching as it was outside.

The television hanging in the locker room wasn’t showing the live broadcast of the trios match, but a panoramic view of the Worker’s Stadium’s field.

Rong Taotao stood silently in front of the television, arms crossed, gazing at the scorched black field. It was as if he could feel the intense heat even from where he stood.

"Taotao, you must watch out for the Wanqi Siblings’ Lava Fountain," Yang Chunxi’s voice came from behind him. "On other home fields, it’s not so bad. If the siblings set up a Lava Fountain trap, you can spot the scorched patch of ground at a glance.

"But this Molten Rock home field is nothing but scorched earth. In this environment, the Lava Fountain trap will be very well hidden. If you step on it and trigger the trap, the consequences will be unthinkable."

"Mm-hmm." Rong Taotao nodded repeatedly. It was actually similar to the Snow Realm Soul Skill: Snow Trap. In a snow-covered environment, no one could spot the Snow Trap Soul Skill. Once a target stepped on it, they would be instantly immobilized.

The Lava Fountain, on the other hand, perfectly exemplified the explosive damage of the "Molten Rock" series. It wouldn’t restrain an opponent; instead, it would erupt directly. Being blasted into the air was a given, but the crucial part was having your body sprayed by scorching hot magma. That was no laughing matter.

"Remember to envelop your entire body with Soul Power," Yang Chunxi continued to remind him. "Your clothes getting burned is a small matter, but your body being scorched is a major one. The Soul Power covering you can effectively resist that Molten Rock Fire."

"I will." Rong Taotao stared at the TV screen, at that stretch of scorched earth, seemingly envisioning the battle that was about to begin.

As soon as the trios match in the other arena ended, it would be his turn to take the field.

Magma Soul Skills really did have explosive damage output.

Fortunately, at the Soul Captain stage, which corresponded to the three-star level of the Magma Soul Technique, their damage-dealing Soul Skills weren’t yet overwhelmingly destructive.

If the Wanqi Siblings’ Soul Technique reached four stars... then Rong Taotao would truly have no chance.

To give a simple example, the "Lava Fountain" Yang Chunxi just mentioned is a Soul Skill compatible with a three-star Soul Technique. Its advanced version, "Lava Eruption," is compatible with a four-star Soul Technique, and that one is a pure volcanic eruption!

An erupting volcano doesn’t care whether you trigger a trap or not. Once activated, it erupts immediately, with extremely high destructive power and a very large area of effect.

In comparison, the Soul Skills compatible with Soul Techniques below three stars were still relatively "gentle."

One-Star Magma Soul Technique:

Flame Burn: Allows body parts like hands and feet to be wreathed in flames. At higher levels, one can even cover their entire body in fire, scorching the enemy while attacking.

Flame Burst: While the Flame Burn Soul Skill is active, every attack you make can cause the flames on the corresponding body part to explode. The destructive power of a low-level Flame Burst is already considerable. At higher levels...

Flaming Rock Cannon: Activate a Magma Soul Skill to form a burning Flaming Rock Bomb in your hand and hurl it at your opponent.

Molten Fire Contract: The Core Soul Skill of Magma Soul Martial Artists. This is their one and only trump card for withstanding a Molten Rock Vortex, allowing them to endure high temperatures. It is also the foundation for casting all Magma Soul Skills.

After all... if you summoned all that fire only to burn yourself to death before you could even harm the enemy, that would be a real disaster...

Two-Star Magma Soul Technique compatible skills:

Fire Soul: No different from the Snow Soul.

Breath of Fire: Allows you to breathe scorching flames from your mouth to incinerate your opponent.

Scorched and Shattered: The name of this Soul Skill is quite interesting. It sounds like a large-scale Soul Skill, but in reality, the effect is quite small. It’s a foot-based Soul Skill, and a rare support-type one at that.

A Scorching Fire Vortex with no damaging power swirls at the Soul Martial Artist’s feet, but it can, to a certain extent, alter the ground beneath them, turning it into scorched earth.