「The next day, 4:30 AM.」

Every last student of the Junior Soul Class was out training in the Martial Arts Arena.

There was no helping it. Si Huan Nian’s iron-clad daily routine strictly dictated the students’ training schedule, and with academic classes still taking up time, they were forced to seize every available moment to practice.

Rong Taotao, accompanied by his Lotus Petal, was clearly leagues ahead of the other students in terms of Soul Techniques.

However, in terms of Soul Power levels, the other students were mostly at the mid-to-late stage of the Soul Soldier realm and were on the verge of catching up to him. After all, Rong Taotao had been out cold for a solid month...

Among the Eight Little Souls, Lu Mang’s realm was even a bit higher than Rong Taotao’s. He had returned to school early from summer vacation and had trained with Rong Taotao in the Martial Arts Arena for over two weeks.

But with the Lotus by his side, it wouldn’t be long before Rong Taotao would pull away from the other students again.

Although everyone around him could enjoy the benefits of the Lotus, as the vessel for the Lotus Petal, Rong Taotao’s own gains were undoubtedly the greatest.

"Hooo..." Rong Taotao breathed out a wisp of cold air, cupping his hands in front of him. Bathed in the bright lights of the Martial Arts Arena, he stared fixedly at his palms.

It wasn’t like he was some kind of performance artist; in this frozen landscape, nobody would wake up so early just to come to the training grounds and space out.

He turned a deaf ear to the sounds of his classmates’ fierce sparring, his gaze locked on his own palm as if trying to will a flower into existence there.

’Jade Dragon Gift... Jade Dragon Gift...’

’I don’t want the frost and snow from the outside world! I want to create my own!’

Although he didn’t want to rely on the frost and snow from his surroundings, being in an outdoor environment still increased his chances of successfully mastering this Soul Skill.

Following Si Huan Nian’s instructions from the previous afternoon, Rong Taotao resumed his training from yesterday.

’Soul Power from the Pleiades Acupoint, check.’

’Soul Power from the Dantian, check.’

’Heart of Ice and Snow, Heart of Ice and Snow... Wrap it up. Turn every wisp of pure Soul Power into the form I want, suffusing it all with ice and snow.’

’Left hand, let’s go!’

’The Ice and Snow Soul Power from the Pleiades Acupoint flowed over my shoulder and rushed to my left wrist, where I did my best to release its icy attribute.’

’Second core—the Dantian—activate! Quick, follow up, head to the left wrist, a secondary infusion of the ice and snow attribute. The timing has to be perfect... yes... yes... give it life!’

’The two streams of Soul Power must not converge before they reach my left wrist. One travels over the top of my arm, the other underneath. The moment of fusion has to be... ’

SWISH!

In the next instant, a layer of frost and snow suddenly appeared on Rong Taotao’s palm!

Rong Taotao’s face lit up with joy, but his Inner Soul Map gave no notification that he had successfully learned the Soul Skill.

This thin layer of frost and snow on his palm apparently wasn’t up to standard; it didn’t meet the requirements for mastering the Soul Skill.

’Where did I go wrong?’

’Was the collision not intense enough when the two streams of Ice and Snow Soul Power intertwined?’

’Si Huan Nian did say this was the hardest part. It’s difficult to get the balance just right. The fusion can’t be too forceful, nor can it be too weak... Hmm...’

Rong Taotao pulled a Little Rascal candy from his pocket, unwrapped it, and popped it into his mouth, all while frowning in deep thought.

In a daze, Rong Taotao suddenly felt... had the fierce sounds of sparring around him disappeared?

’What’s going on?’

’Why did everyone stop training?’

Astonished, Rong Taotao glanced left and right, only to see that the students from the Soul Class had all stopped and were now looking curiously at the space behind him.

Even Sun Xingyu, her face covered in sweat, was standing on her tiptoes and whispering something to Li Ziyi.

Curious, Rong Taotao turned to look and saw a tall figure.

The lights of the Martial Arts Arena illuminated a strikingly heroic face and long, jet-black hair that danced in the wind.

She wore the standard-issue training uniform from Songjiang Soul Martial University—a snow camouflage with a mix of blue, white, and gray patterns. Despite the heavy military boots on her feet, she didn’t leave a single footprint in the snow.

"Uh..." Rong Taotao faltered. "Gao... Uh, hello. Are you here to train at the Martial Arts Arena?"

Gao Lingwei gave a slight nod, then shook her head. "I’m looking for you."

Rong Taotao: "Hm?"

Gao Lingwei said, "Three-star Soul Technique user. Haven’t learned Snow Dance yet."

Rong Taotao was stunned. "You advanced your Soul Technique to three-star? When?"

Gao Lingwei nodded slightly. "Last night."

Rong Taotao: "..."

Gao Lingwei raised an eyebrow slightly, a small smile playing on her lips. "Your idea wasn’t bad. Before I learn Snow Dance, our power levels are indeed the closest they’ll ever be, relatively speaking."

An embarrassed look crossed Rong Taotao’s face. "I didn’t send that message."

"Oh?" Gao Lingwei looked at Rong Taotao with amusement. "What, you need an advisor to help you chase girls? You’re full of clever little tricks. What’s his name? I’d like to meet him."

"Uh," Rong Taotao stammered, "S-Si Huan Nian."

Gao Lingwei: "..."

Rong Taotao asked, "You want to meet her? She’s just upstairs. I can go get her for you?"

’Meet Si Huan Nian? As if! If she told me to stand here all day, I wouldn’t dare utter a single "no"!’

Gao Lingwei collected herself and abruptly changed the subject. "I’m here. So?"

Rong Taotao scratched his hair in frustration, further tangling the short curls that had already been messed up by the cold wind.

Seeing Rong Taotao’s troubled expression, Gao Lingwei nodded. "In that case, I’ll go train over there."

With that, Gao Lingwei turned to leave.

"Did I say you could leave?"

Gao Lingwei stopped in her tracks. Rong Taotao’s voice came from behind her.

She turned her head in surprise, looking at Rong Taotao, whose attitude had just done a complete one-eighty. "Changed your mind?" she asked, intrigued.

Rong Taotao grimaced. "You’ve already come all the way to my doorstep. Winning or losing is another story, but there’s no way I can back down now, is there?"

Gao Lingwei hesitated for a moment before replying, "I’m here as promised, giving you a chance to challenge me. I’m not provoking you at your doorstep. You need to get that straight."

Rong Taotao adjusted the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow slung across the small of his back. "Let’s go. You don’t need to give me an out."

Gao Lingwei: "Are you sure?"

Rong Taotao nodded heavily. "I’m sure."

’So what if I lose? The chance to fight an expert like her is rare, even if I’m defeated!’

’Besides... Rong Taotao trains with the Heaven-piercing Halberd! He can be humbled by reality, but there’s no room for cowardice before a fight!’

Gao Lingwei watched Rong Taotao in silence. After a few seconds, the corners of her lips curved up slightly. She reached into her pocket, pulled out a red hair tie, and held it between her teeth.

She then brought her hands behind her head, gathering her long black hair. She deftly tied it into a ponytail, taking the red band from her mouth to secure it. Once she was done, her once-friendly eyes suddenly became incredibly sharp.

Gao Lingwei said in a low voice, "I will take this seriously."

Rong Taotao crouched down, pressing his hands into the snow on the ground. The moment he stood back up, he had already drawn a Heaven-piercing Halberd from the frost-covered floor of the Martial Arts Arena.

However, he paused for a bit too long; he had pressed both hands to the ground, but was holding the halberd with only his right hand.

In the distance, Sun Xingyu stomped her foot in excitement and hurriedly slapped Li Ziyi on the arm. "Quick, run back to the dorm and get my phone! Hey! Why are you just standing there gawking? Go!"

"Oh, right..." Li Ziyi scrambled toward the Martial Arts Hall, while the Shi Family Sisters hurried over with Fan Lihua in tow.

On the sidelines, Jiao Tengda sighed helplessly. "She’s the Outer Region champion... Is my Tao’Er out of his mind? He just woke up a few days ago. Does he want to fall into another month-long coma?"

Beside him, the usually silent Lu Mang wore a solemn expression. Though typically indifferent to others, he never held back his words when it came to Rong Taotao. "She might say she’ll be serious, but she definitely won’t go for a lethal blow."

"Sigh..." Jiao Tengda sighed again in resignation. "They say the Junior Class is full of top-tier geniuses, but here at Songjiang Soul Martial University, even the first-year students have a full three years of training on us.

"We in the Junior Class are always being compared to students who are at least three years ahead of us. It’s so depressing.

"We’re supposed to be top geniuses, but we’re constantly being overshadowed by the older university students. It’s rough~"

While the spectators whispered amongst themselves, Gao Lingwei spoke up on the arena floor. "We’ve fought before."

Rong Taotao: "And?"

Gao Lingwei: "With your mastery of Soul Skills, you shouldn’t need to draw your Heaven-piercing Halberd from the snow on the ground."

As she spoke, Gao Lingwei pushed off the ground, her body shooting sideways in a sudden burst of movement.

Rong Taotao’s expression changed. The instant Gao Lingwei dodged, three thorny vines covered in Ice Spikes erupted from the spot where she’d just been standing, but she had dodged them perfectly.

As Gao Lingwei dodged to the side, her jet-black ponytail whipped through the air. Her aura was simply explosive!

She instantly plucked a Heaven-piercing Halberd from the wind and snow with her right hand and hurled it viciously at Rong Taotao, her attack unbelievably fierce. "This is for last time! I’m returning it!"

’It’s only proper to return a gift, right?’

’Just great!’

’FUCKING HELL!’