Master of Nine Stars

The grassy field that should have been green was now a stretch of scorched black. This undoubtedly provided the Wanqi Siblings with the perfect conditions to use their Soul Skill: Lava Fountain.

In fact, compared to the Wanqi Siblings’ other powerful Soul Skills, it was this trap-style Lava Fountain that Rong Taotao was most wary of.

Just like the Snow Realm Soul Skill: Snow Trap, integrating a Soul Skill into the environment made it fundamentally "colorless and odorless." But Snow Trap was less of a threat than Lava Fountain, because...

All Snow Realm Soul Martial Artists knew how to use Snow Step. This one ordinary, basic Soul Skill practically negated the effectiveness of Snow Trap.

’So what if it’s a trap? I’m stepping *on top* of the snow, my feet aren’t sinking into it... Even if I jog in place right over a Snow Trap, it can’t catch me...’

"Whew~"

A whistle sounded from afar, snapping Rong Taotao out of his daze.

Rong Taotao looked up toward the eastern half of the field and saw the tall, imposing Wanqi Wu, along with the tall and beautiful Wanqi Yan.

’To be fair, they’re quite good-looking. Excellent presence, too. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call them the cream of the crop.’

The siblings had similar sword-like eyebrows, fair skin, high-bridged noses, and thin lips. If they changed out of their competition uniforms, they could debut as idols right away. In fact, they didn’t even need to change; the pair already had plenty of fans.

"Finally. I knew I’d face you, just as I predicted from the very beginning," Wanqi Wu said.

Rong Taotao wasn’t quite used to looking toward the east. He had been on the eastern half of the field since the start of the tournament, but for these finals, he’d been placed on the west side.

A grin of excitement on his face, Wanqi Wu was brimming with fighting spirit. "We’ve been looking forward to this fight. We thought we’d meet along the way, but who would have thought we’d have to wait until the finals."

"Hehe," Wanqi Yan, who seemed quite cheerful, said with a laugh. "My brother has been looking forward to fighting you so much he’s practically gone crazy."

Rong Taotao, however, tilted his head slightly, motioning toward Wanqi Yan. "Not tying your hair up?"

"Hm?" Wanqi Yan blinked her large, beautiful eyes and stroked her long hair, which fell over her shoulders. "I look better with my hair down, don’t you think?"

Rong Taotao pursed his lips. "Fine by me. The prettier the girl, the smoother my blade cuts."

Wanqi Yan: "..."

"Hehe." At his side, Gao Lingwei let out a laugh. Rong Taotao’s words sounded like nonsense, but considering his track record, it seemed... that might actually be true?

"We’re teammates on the national team. We’ll be fighting overseas together soon," Wanqi Wu said. "If necessary, tactically conserving our strength is an excellent choice."

Rong Taotao frowned slightly, looking at Wanqi Wu standing on the scorched earth. ’The guy just said how long he’d been looking forward to this fight, and now he’s trying to talk us into surrendering?’

’Isn’t that a bit of a contradiction?’

"The truth always hurts the most." Wanqi Wu looked at Rong Taotao with a sense of resignation, even a hint of pity. "If I could choose, I’d rather we were fighting on a Starfield home ground, or even a Snow Realm one."

As he spoke, Wanqi Wu stamped his foot and said, "On this Molten Rock home ground, I truly see no hope of you winning.

"So, you can choose to concede if you must. My little sister and I have already agreed to be careful and hold back. After all, we’re teammates. There’s another stage for us next year..."

Rong Taotao suddenly cut in, "You’re not my teacher."

Wanqi Wu stopped talking and looked at Rong Taotao.

Rong Taotao said, "You’re my opponent."

Wanqi Wu fell silent. After a moment of thought, he said, "If you take my respect and admiration for you as an insult... I’m sorry. And I’m disappointed."

But Rong Taotao just smiled. "Will your respect and admiration make you forfeit?"

Wanqi Wu was clearly taken aback, as if he’d heard something unbelievable. "What?" he asked.

"Exactly." Rong Taotao nodded in agreement. "Respect, admiration, friends, teammates... blah blah blah. That’s all fine off the field."

"On the field, I don’t need your admiration. And I certainly don’t need friendship from my opponent."

On the eastern half of the field, Wanqi Wu actually licked his lips, his eyes gleaming, looking just like a predator that had spotted its prey.

That’s right. This was no friendly match.

Standing on their respective halves of the field, face to face, they were enemies.

"TWEEET~ TWEEET!" The referee’s whistle blew. "Are both sides ready?" he asked.

Wanqi Yan raised her right hand, and on the other side, Rong Taotao gave a thumbs-up.

"TWEET~!" The referee’s small flag swung down. "The match begins!"

But neither side moved right away.

Wanqi Wu’s gaze was locked on Rong Taotao. "It seems our feelings aren’t mutual. I admire you a great deal. I thought the feeling would be shared, but it seems I was being presumptuous."

"For me, respect is earned through battle." Rong Taotao tilted his head up, gesturing toward Wanqi Wu. His smile and his posture were both filled with provocation. "You want my respect? Come and take it!"

Wanqi Wu bent his knees and shot forward. "Good. Here I come!"

Rong Taotao swiped his hand, scattering a spray of frost, and drew a Heaven-piercing Halberd. "Come on. I’m waiting for you!"

"Woohoo! It’s starting! It’s finally starting!" Dai Liunian exclaimed excitedly. Despite having commentated on countless matches, his body was actually trembling with excitement. "The highly anticipated duo finals—the closing battle of the 2011 National Tournament—has finally begun!"