Master of Nine Stars

This Soul Skill wasn’t very useful. It only allowed you to change a patch of ground the size of your foot wherever you stepped. At higher levels, it might expand to a couple of rings beyond your footprint, but it still took time to alter the land.

Scorched and Shattered was of little use, but its upgraded version, Scorched Earth—compatible with a four-star Soul Technique—was something else entirely!

A single stomp could truly create a patch of scorched earth! The sight was absolutely spectacular!

The final Soul Skill compatible with a two-star Soul Technique was Soul Skill: Fire Ghost Lamp. This illumination-type skill also seemed useless, but... while it was only a two-star Soul Skill, its upgraded version was four-star!

Its name was Melted Ghost Lamp. The ball of fire was like a Fierce Ghost, utterly terrifying. Once cast, it would coil around the Caster’s body and attack opponents on its own, even possessing a homing effect.

Three-Star Magma Soul Technique Compatible Skills:

Lava Fountain: A trap-style, trigger-activated Soul Skill.

Molten Rock Shattering Cannon: An upgraded version of Magma Cannon. You no longer threw a single, burning Flaming Rock Bomb, but a whole cluster! A barrage!

The area of effect for this type of Soul Skill was immense! Forgetting the explosive damage for a moment, the sheer impact force alone was enough to shatter a person’s body...

Of course, this Soul Skill had its flaws. The casting wind-up was a bit long, and the Soul Martial Artist’s movements were somewhat restricted during preparation. It was essentially trading mobility for damage output.

This was also why Rong Taotao was never hit by Molten Rock Shattering Cannon when he faced the Li Family Sisters.

He dashed all over the arena, and the Li Family Sisters couldn’t keep up with him to begin with. If they had slowed down to focus on casting Molten Rock Shattering Cannon, they wouldn’t have even been able to touch the hem of his clothes.

Magma Storm: This Soul Skill was terrifying. Its preparation time was shorter than Molten Rock Shattering Cannon, and if an opponent was caught in it, they’d be skinned alive if not killed outright!

However, it wasn’t without its drawbacks. Because Magma Storm was so powerful and volatile, it required an immense amount of Soul Power. Its casting range was also very short; most Soul Martial Artists would be considered skilled if they could launch one from ten or twenty meters away.

It was impossible to stand on one side of the arena and engulf an opponent on the other side, burning them to cinders.

Unlike Soul Martial Artists of other Attributes, Magma Soul Martial Artists only had three skills compatible with a three-star Soul Technique. But just looking at these three... they were the very definition of "explosive damage"!

Moreover, all the Soul Skills mentioned above were merely the standard kit for a Magma Soul Martial Artist—skills they learned on their own.

The Soul Skills from the Soul Pearls embedded in the siblings, Wanqi Wu and Wanqi Yan, were a different level of terrifying!

To give the most obvious examples, Wanqi Wu had a Soul Slot on his chest and possessed Flame Armor—that much was certain.

He also had Corpse Fire Camel, that devastating Corpse Array known as Ten Thousand Camels Rushing.

The Soul Slots on the siblings’ foreheads were for a mental communication skill with no offensive capabilities, which was a blessing in disguise. However...

The younger sister, Wanqi Yan, had a Soul Slot in her eye. That Eye Soul Skill wasn’t for offense but was a support-type, an elite-grade Soul Skill: Searing Gaze!

By channeling her special Magma Attribute Soul Power, she could activate a blazing eye. With it, she could perceive minute movements that an ordinary person would completely miss. For close-quarters combat, it was a Divine Skill!

Through these subtle movements, Wanqi Yan could even predict her opponent’s next action...

That was truly terrifying!

In truth, partners with perfect synergy could also predict each other’s moves. For instance, when Gao Lingwei and Rong Taotao were in the midst of a Corpse Tide, they barely needed to communicate. A single, small gesture from one was enough for the other to know exactly what their partner was about to do.

But that was with your partner! A partner you had perfect chemistry with!

But to have an enemy you’re fighting for the first time keenly observe and catalogue all your various tells and minute movements after just a few minutes of combat, and then...

...use those tiny gestures to predict your next move? That was just absurd...

What’s more, while this was Gao Lingwei and Rong Taotao’s first time facing Wanqi Yan, she had undoubtedly studied their combat footage meticulously. All of their subtle movements and combat tendencies were surely already committed to her memory!

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

Just as Rong Taotao was wrestling with countermeasures, his expression grim, a voice suddenly came from the locker room door. "The three-person team match has concluded. Gao Lingwei and Rong Taotao’s team, please follow me to the entrance now."

’It’s over?’

Rong Taotao snapped out of it. He looked at the television in front of him, only to realize he hadn’t been watching the match at all. He’d just been staring blankly at the image of the scorched arena.

"Taotao."

"Huh?" As Rong Taotao turned his head, a hand rested on his shoulder and began guiding him toward the door.

As he was led forward, Rong Taotao found himself looking at the pale hand on his shoulder.

Perhaps because he had just been thinking about Wanqi Yan’s Eye Soul Skill, Rong Taotao’s mind was still focused on "minute" details. This led him to stare, lost in thought, at the faint lines on the back of Gao Lingwei’s hand.

He’d always just thought of her hand as being a little cool and a little soft.

But looking at her hand now... Her fingernails were trimmed neatly, with small, crescent-shaped lunulae at their base. The lines on the skin of her fingers were very faint...

He often squeezed the pads of her fingers, but he’d never paid attention to these details before.

"Taotao." Within his view, the hand on his shoulder tightened slightly, giving him a gentle shake.

"Ah." Rong Taotao turned to see Gao Lingwei’s earnest expression.

"It’s the finals, after all. It’s natural to be nervous." To his surprise, Gao Lingwei’s voice was incredibly gentle.

The last time Rong Taotao had heard her voice sound like that was back at Qianshan Pass, when she was on the phone with her father.

Following behind her two disciples, Yang Chunxi’s heart was filled with emotion.

Gao Lingwei had always concealed it well, but when necessary, she revealed the makings of a true leader.

"We’ve made it this far. This is the final match." Gao Lingwei looked directly into Rong Taotao’s eyes, the hand on his shoulder squeezing tightly as if to help him clear his thoughts. "Forget everything. Forget all the factors outside of this competition.

Right now, nothing else matters. This is just about you and me.

Win or lose, just fight with everything you’ve got. Lead us boldly. Let’s give a worthy conclusion to this Chapter of our Soul Martial Life.

We’re already standing on the grandest stage. Now, all we have to do is give it our all and hold nothing back.

And then, just as you told me before: do our best and leave the rest to fate."

As she spoke, however, Rong Taotao stopped walking.

Gao Lingwei paused, her gaze flicking uncertainly toward the nearby entrance to the player’s tunnel. She was confused, wondering why he had stopped, and why here.

’He... doesn’t want to go in?’

’Is he backing out? No... that can’t be it. How could he possibly back down?’

The next moment, however, Gao Lingwei’s eyebrow arched slightly.

In her line of sight, Rong Taotao suddenly raised his arm, taking the hand that rested on his shoulder. He held the back of her hand, brought it to his lips, and gently pressed a kiss against it.

Gao Lingwei was stunned, but she didn’t pull her hand away.

Finally, Rong Taotao started walking again, heading with her toward the entrance of the player’s tunnel, from which a wave of heat billowed, and toward the scorched, blackened arena.

A roiling wave of heat washed over them, and a cacophony of noise swirled in their ears.

Stepping onto the field, Rong Taotao took a deep breath, drawing the searing air into his lungs as he looked upon the rows of excited faces in the stands.

The spectators were ecstatic, cheering wildly.

But Rong Taotao, standing at the mouth of the tunnel, felt a storm of emotions churning in his chest. Though he shared the same space, his feelings were the polar opposite of the crowd’s.

’Forgive my rashness just now, Da Wei.’

’But I really wanted to do it.’

’After all... I don’t know when I’ll next open my eyes...’

Burying those thoughts deep in his heart, Rong Taotao’s face broke into his signature smile. He raised his right hand high and gave a thumbs-up.

Instantly, in response to his gesture, the cheers from the crowd surged forth like a tidal wave.

So,

’You all came to see me, right?’