Chapter 533 329: Night is Coming?

Sun Xingyu blinked her big, beautiful eyes and looked up at Yang Chunxi. "Really?"

Yang Chunxi stacked two fingers and gently flicked Sun Xingyu's forehead. "Have a little faith in yourself."

"Oof..." Sun Xingyu rubbed her forehead with one hand. Amidst the CRACKLE-POP of Blast Pearls from a distant window, she turned and left.

Yang Chunxi had thought little Xingyu would be dejected for a while, but she noticed that as soon as Sun Xingyu saw Li Ziyi walk back after embedding his Soul Pearl, an excited smile immediately appeared on her face...

In a rare display, Yang Chunxi rolled her eyes.

Just then, a small hand reached out and grabbed her sleeve.

TUG~

"Hm?" Yang Chunxi looked down to see Rong Taotao looking at her expectantly. "What about Ling Wei and me?"

Yang Chunxi said, "There are plenty of Master-rank Soul Beasts between the Second and Third Walls. You can hunt them yourselves."

"Oh." Rong Taotao nodded. He had six available Soul Slots on his body, with two left to embed: his left ankle and right knee.

The other four were embedded with his Soul Pet, Snow General Candle; his forehead Soul Skill, Songxue's Silence; his eye Illusion Technique, Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon; and his wrist Soul Skill, Snow Ghost Hand.

Aside from Snow Ghost Hand, the other three were absolutely untouchable.

Rong Taotao was very fond of the Snow Ghost Hand Soul Skill. It was the perfect choice for support, control, and sneak attacks.

"What's a Master-rank Snow Ghost Hand like?" Rong Taotao looked at Gao Lingwei across from him and asked in a low voice.

Gao Lingwei said softly, "The frost and snow that form the hand are denser, and the arm is more flexible and harder to shatter. Also, the Snow Charm Demon's palm is larger, and the caster's connection to it will be much closer."

Rong Taotao: "..."

'What does she mean by a closer connection to the Snow Charm Demon's hand?'

Gao Lingwei seemed to notice Rong Taotao's confusion and explained, "You're controlling a Snow Charm Demon's hand, after all, not your own. A closer connection means the hand will be more dexterous."

Rong Taotao nodded thoughtfully. 'Xueba Wei is gentler and more meticulous than Battle Wei.' She continued, "The Elite-rank Snow Ghost Hand is limited to simple actions like grabbing, squeezing, and throwing. The Master-rank one, hmm..."

Rong Taotao's interest was piqued. "Could I control its fingers to flick people on the forehead?"

Gao Lingwei gave Rong Taotao an exasperated but amused look. "Maybe you could have the hand pick up a Heaven-piercing Halberd and fight for you."

"Great idea!" Rong Taotao's eyes lit up, but then his brow furrowed slightly. "No, that won't work. I have to hold the Snow Soul myself. If the weapon leaves my hand for too long, it'll shatter."

"Mm," Gao Lingwei nodded lightly. "That's true."

'Maybe I should... go back to the Martial Arts Hall and grab a Great Xia Dragon Sparrow to carry around?'

At the side, Yang Chunxi clapped her hands. "Alright, everyone's ready. Let's head out."

Hearing this, Rong Taotao hurriedly shoveled two more mouthfuls of soy-braised beef into his mouth, only to be grabbed by the back of his collar by Yang Chunxi and lifted right up...

The group walked out of the cafeteria and felt the emptiness of the university campus.

They hadn't felt it in the Teacher's Cafeteria, since it was never very crowded on a typical day anyway.

But once they were outside, and even as they were leaving the cafeteria, the students noticed the difference.

Songjiang Soul Martial was on break. The Junior Class's final exams were scheduled a bit later than the regular first-year to senior-year exams.

This year, the Soul Class didn't participate in the martial arts exams, and the martial arts portion for the youths in the Martial Arts Class was also postponed until the start of next semester.

In fact, the reason Si Huan Nian was able to leave the confines of the Martial Arts Hall was because this year, Songjiang Soul Martial University... was sending everyone away!

During summer break, many hardworking students would stay at the school to continue their rigorous training instead of leaving the Snow Realm. Although winter break wasn't the same as summer break, since it included the New Year, a small number of students still stayed behind to train every year.

But this year, Songjiang Soul Martial University explicitly stated that no one was to remain for winter break. "Everyone, get your asses home for the New Year! You need a rest!"

The root cause of all this was something Rong Taotao had said—or more accurately, a phrase he had relayed from Gao Lingshi: "The black night is coming."

Principal Mei Hongyu had received the news from two sources: one was from Rong Taotao himself, and the other was a report from the Snow Burning Army.

Presumably, Fu Tiance had also reported the information he'd obtained.

Rong Taotao didn't think they were overreacting. Anything that concerned life and death was a matter of utmost importance.

The only question was, could Gao Lingshi's words be trusted?

However, judging by Songjiang Soul Martial University's actions, the school was clearly operating on the principle of "better safe than sorry."

Besides, not many students ever stayed behind during winter break at Songjiang Soul Martial University anyway. Sending them home didn't have a huge impact.

However, Rong Taotao heard that a small number of senior-year students and graduate students were still here. But they hadn't stayed voluntarily; they had been specifically assigned to guard Songjiang Soul Martial.

Typical examples were the few medical graduate students led by Dong Dongdong and the few academic graduate students led by Cha Er. There might have been other teams, but Rong Taotao didn't know about them.

In Rong Taotao's opinion, Professor Wang Tianzhu, whom he had met in the library last time, would surely be staying at the school as well, and she likely had some elite forces under her command.

The last time Songjiang Soul Martial University was attacked, the library was burglarized. As the person in charge, Professor Wang Tianzhu bore no small amount of responsibility.

But it couldn't be helped. At that time, Wang Tianzhu had been dispatched to help the Snow Burning Army defend the Third Wall. Who would have thought their home base would be raided and their 'crystal' destroyed...

...

The group of teachers led the Little Souls to the school gate. After a short wait, Gao Lingwei and Rong Taotao returned on horseback. A Great Xia Dragon Sparrow was slung across Rong Taotao's back, its hilt and scabbard magnificent.

"Alright, everyone's here. Let's... hmm?" Before Yang Chunxi could finish, she saw a group of people appear at the school gate and walk in. She smiled and nodded. "Professor Zheng, long time no see."

'Pine Soul Four Seasons: Autumn?'

Xia Fangran dropped his lazy, devil-may-care attitude and waved to Zheng Qianqiu. "Coach Zheng."

"Long time no see. Are you taking the students out for training?" The white-haired Zheng Qianqiu was very serious and stern. He nodded to the teachers, his gaze landing on Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei.

As the teachers responded politely around them, Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei quickly greeted him.

"Coach Zheng."

"Hello, Professor!"

Zheng Qianqiu ran a hand through his white hair and looked at the two of them, remarking with feeling, "Since we last met, you two have accomplished quite a few great things."

Gao Lingwei just smiled lightly and said nothing.

Rong Taotao peeked his head out from behind her and gave Zheng Qianqiu a thumbs-up.

"Heh." The serious Zheng Qianqiu actually chuckled. "Stay safe. Go on."

With that, he waved to the team behind him, and the upperclassmen parted to the sides.

Rong Taotao looked curiously at Zheng Qianqiu's students. They looked very professional, fully equipped with cameras and video recorders, like a crew of war correspondents...

As the group finally walked out of Songjiang Soul Martial University, Rong Taotao sighed inwardly.

'Putting aside whether the information from Gao Lingshi is true, Songjiang Soul Martial University is certainly taking it seriously.'

'Even the ever-elusive Zheng Qianqiu has rushed back with his team... Then again, if this is the university's attitude, is this training trip for the Junior Soul Class really necessary?'

'With four great generals watching over us, Songjiang Soul Martial is showing real commitment. It seems they don't want to delay the growth of the Junior Soul Class by even a second.'

'Well, there's nothing wrong with taking precautions. Can't let fear paralyze you, right? Life has to go on...'

"Taotao."

"Huh?"

Jiao Tengda spoke up, "I've decided. I'll command the teams, not the individuals. Under a unified tactical doctrine, I'll give each squad ample autonomy to maintain its own flexibility and specialties. This should help everyone perform at their best."

Rong Taotao: "Sounds good!"

Up ahead, Li Lie turned his head and looked back with a chuckle at his Direct Disciple, Jiao Tengda, seemingly looking forward to his future performance.

Xia Fangran, who was chatting with Yang Chunxi, could be heard muttering, "Chunxi, you're just too responsible. Why bother planning a route? Just toss them all into Gorge 0, let 'em kill stuff for a week or two, and then we come back. So much easier..."

From the back of the group, Shi Lan asked curiously, "What's Gorge 0?"

Rong Taotao turned to look at Shi Lan, a hint of pity in his eyes.

'Ah, the ignorant girl...' he thought with a sigh. 'What's to be done? Yang Chunxi is indeed responsible and dedicated, but she can't stop a troublemaker like Xia Fangran from stirring things up right beside her...'