Chapter 648: Laurel Wreath

In a period of utter darkness, time seemed to stretch on endlessly.

Even so, June arrived quietly.

Paradoxically, the punctual guard shifts became the soldiers’ antidote, at least letting them know that another three days had passed…

SWOOSH~ A Snow Arrow silently appeared. Wreathed in dense Soul Power, it tore through the wind and snow as it shot down from the towering walls of Wan’an Pass. It flew with the speed of a shooting star, embedding itself deep into a Snow Ghost’s skull.

“Advancement! Archery Mastery, Two-Star, High-Tier!”

A message appeared in his Inner Soul Map. Rong Taotao pursed his lips and lowered the Snow-made Longbow in his hands.

By now, his archery skills had progressed beyond the basics. He could now use his Snow Soul to craft bows and arrows, which would be a great help in future battles.

“I guess I really am cut out for archery,” Rong Taotao muttered to himself, looking at the Snow Ghost corpse below the city wall through his Snowball Cat’s vision.

Interestingly, when this group of Snow Corpses and Ghosts saw a companion’s head pierced by an arrow, they swarmed it and devoured their former ally.

What a truly ferocious and brutal race.

At his side, Gao Lingwei stood with her hands clasped behind her back, and she also heard Rong Taotao’s quiet muttering.

Unfortunately, they only shared one Snowball Cat, so Gao Lingwei couldn’t see the results of Rong Taotao’s diligent practice.

But she had been watching him train every single day.

For three full months, Gao Lingwei had watched the Longbow in Rong Taotao’s hands transform into a Snow-made Longbow. She had also watched him grow more and more adept at drawing his bow and nocking arrows.

Rong Taotao had indeed grown a lot in those three months. Standing atop the magnificent walls of Wan’an Pass, he trained his archery during his guard shifts, and the vast landscape outside became his natural shooting range.

During his breaks, Rong Taotao would occasionally visit Xiao Ziru. More often than not, however, he and Gao Lingwei would head to the training grounds to spar relentlessly.

Rong Taotao’s Heaven-piercing Halberd Mastery had reached Six-Star, Mid-Tier, and it was time to add more Potential Points. After all, the current Potential Value cap for this skill was only six stars.

Meanwhile, his Sword Mastery had reached Four-Star, High-Tier, a significant improvement.

Gao Lingwei, his sparring partner, had also benefited immensely.

The environment truly can change a person. In these dark and difficult times, they were completely devoted to honing their Martial Arts.

To be honest, not everyone could endure the extremely harsh weather of the Extreme Night blizzards.

People take their daily dose of sunlight for granted, but after several months without seeing the sun, it’s common to develop psychological issues.

In this environment, Gao Lingwei and Rong Taotao used their grueling training as an antidote to pass the days. With their intense focus, their rate of improvement was naturally astounding.

What was even more exciting was that Gao Lingwei felt that she was on the verge of breaking through her Soul Power’s bottleneck.

One more breakthrough, and she would reach the peak of the Soul Captain rank.

Even First-class Soul Martial Students typically only reached the peak of the Soul Captain rank over four years of college.

Gao Lingwei, on the other hand, had gotten a late start. She had only met Rong Taotao in her first year, and now, merely in the first semester of her Second Year of College, she was already in the late stage of the Soul Captain rank and on the verge of another breakthrough.

That rate of growth was terrifying to even think about…

In the four months since New Year’s Eve that they had been stationed at Wan’an Pass, it was less a bitter vigil and more of a four-month-long trial.

It was a trial that honed not only their individual strength but also their mental fortitude.

However, this Extreme Night blizzard was different from the last. During that one, the Soul Beast Army had launched the Battle of the Three Cities, causing humanity to suffer countless losses.

This time, however, aside from Rong Taotao’s group encountering a Soul Beast Army at the Bailing Tree Maiden Village, there had been no sign of them in the days since.

And just as Rong Taotao had suspected, things were quiet along China’s Third Wall, but something had happened in the Russian Federation. A major incident, by all accounts…

“Let’s go. Time for the shift change.” Cheng Jiangjie’s voice came from behind. He seemed to remember something and added, “There’s a surprise for you when you get back.”

“Oh?” Rong Taotao raised an eyebrow, turning to look at Cheng Jiangjie.

‘A word like “surprise” isn’t one you hear often here at Wan’an Pass.’

Rong Taotao gave a friendly nod to the City Wall Guard Army soldiers arriving to relieve them. He fell in step behind Cheng Jiangjie and asked, “Is it my brother? Did he bring me snacks again?”

Ever since Rong Taotao had shattered the Soul Pearl on his forehead in front of the Bailing Tree Maidens, the two brothers had gone through a “cold war” phase.

But later, after Rong Taotao brought Xiao Ziru back, Rong Yang took the opportunity during a mission to the Third Wall to visit Rong Taotao in person.

That meeting… well, it went pretty well.

His brother didn’t lose his temper; he just did a little more lecturing than usual.

And ever since that meeting, Rong Yang had become Rong Taotao’s personal quartermaster. Traveling frequently to the Third Wall, Rong Yang would bring Taotao a bag of snacks every time he stopped over at Wan’an Pass…

He remembered one time when Rong Yang came with Fu Tiance. Fu Tiance had fumed at Rong Taotao, saying, “I’m leading an elite spec-ops team here—the best of the best—not some logistics crew or a takeout delivery service!”

Rong Taotao had just meekly agreed with a few “yes, sirs,” and after Fu Tiance was done venting, Rong Yang delivered the snacks anyway…

‘What was I supposed to do?!’

‘My little brother’s practically starving to death. As his big brother, I can’t just stand by and watch, can I?’

It was also worth mentioning that Rong Taotao had replaced his forehead Soul Pearl. With his new Pine Snow’s Silence Soul Skill, he was once again mentally linked with Rong Yang.