Master of Nine Stars

The day’s classes ended quickly, and the moods of the other young Soul students gradually stabilized.

Rong Taotao felt that their attitudes toward him had improved somewhat. Hmm... with the exception of Li Zi.

Beneath this outwardly improved behavior toward Rong Taotao were all sorts of emotions: admiration, acceptance, and more.

At this moment, Rong Taotao’s and Fan Lihua’s statuses were more or less equal. But more interestingly, Fan Lihua was incredibly grateful to the guy who had saved her life, which elevated Rong Taotao’s standing to a somewhat transcendent level.

To what extent was it transcendent?

So transcendent that... he actually wasn’t rooming with the other students!

The Soul Class classroom was on the west side of the second-floor hallway, while the dorms were on the east side.

Si Huan Nian had her own private room. Across from her room, two dorms were designated for the Soul Class students.

One for boys and one for girls. Both had four loft beds with desks underneath, and the interior was furnished far better than a typical student dorm.

After class, Rong Taotao naturally followed the other boys back to the dorm. Just as he was wondering which bunk they had saved for him, he saw the door to the room opposite theirs open, and Si Huan Nian walked out.

"Coach Si!"

"Coach Si!" The group of students quickly stopped and greeted her properly.

Rong Taotao was slightly taken aback. ’Look at that aloof Li Ziyi, how sweetly he said that. And look at the silent Lu Mang, how loudly he shouted... This doesn’t make any sense, does it?’

’Just how badly had Si Huan Nian abused these kids from the Soul Class while I was gone?’

"Mm," Si Huan Nian grunted noncommittally, then raised her hand and snapped her fingers. SNAP.

Seeing Rong Taotao’s gaze, Si Huan Nian pointed to the room behind her and said, "You’re staying in my room."

Rong Taotao: ???

And at that exact moment, nearly every student in the Soul Class shot Rong Taotao a look of pity.

"I... why... uh, what did you say?" It took Rong Taotao a good while to react, his brain clearly having short-circuited.

Si Huan Nian, who was leaning against the doorframe, turned slightly to make way for Rong Taotao. She then addressed the other students, "Go on back. Practice your Martial Arts early. Lights out on time tonight."

Gone. The respect from before was gone. The unity and camaraderie were gone, too.

Hearing Si Huan Nian’s words, the boys scurried back to their dorm without a single glance back.

Rong Taotao stood at the doorway, staring dumbly at Si Huan Nian. He held it in for a long time before finally managing to say, "Teacher, I’m almost 16, you know. It’s not appropriate for me to cohabitate with a female teacher..."

"You manage to twist even good intentions into something else." Si Huan Nian snorted coldly, took a step forward, and kicked Rong Taotao into the room.

Rong Taotao stumbled into the room and took in the decor.

Strictly speaking, more than half of the Martial Arts Arena had been rebuilt, and this room was probably part of the reconstruction.

The room was huge, probably around 60 square meters.

Directly opposite the door was a sofa, a coffee table, and a potted plant. Surrounding this small area were a coat rack, more plants, and other things, giving it the look of an office.

Rong Taotao turned his head to the right and saw that the inner part of the room looked more like a living area.

There were two beds, spaced far apart. One was by the window, and the other was against the wall adjacent to the hallway.

Between the beds stood two desks side by side. One had a computer on it, while the other was piled high with all sorts of snacks.

"Clear off the snack desk. You’ll use that one from now on," Si Huan Nian said as she closed the door, walked over to the sofa, and plopped down.

Rong Taotao pressed his lips together. "Why can’t I stay in the boys’ dorm?"

Si Huan Nian shrugged. With a wave of her hand, a Lotus Petal glowing with a blue-green light appeared, dancing nimbly between her slender fingers.

Rong Taotao scratched his head. "They’ll find out sooner or later, won’t they? There’s no need to hide it from comrades I’ve been through life and death with, right?"

However, Si Huan Nian didn’t refute him. She simply said, "For now, just follow the school’s arrangement. I’m just following orders. You think I want to share a room with a little brat like you?"

"And I don’t want to share a room with a dorm matron, either," Rong Taotao grumbled.

Si Huan Nian: ???

Strictly speaking, Si Huan Nian really was the "dorm matron."

Except, she didn’t deserve such a Divine title. After all, her temperament was completely off, and she had the face of a nation-toppling beauty...

Rong Taotao walked over to the desk and started cleaning up the snacks. From among the rich assortment, he picked out crumpled candy wrappers and other small snack bags.

Rong Taotao: "From now on, throw your wrappers in the trash can when you’re done."

Si Huan Nian looked impatient. Sitting on the sofa, she leaned forward and tossed the Lotus Petal weaving between her fingers into a white porcelain cup.

In an instant, a faint frosty mist drifted out of the cup. Si Huan Nian picked it up, tilted her head back, and took a sip of the icy slush, chewing it with a CRUNCH, CRUNCH.

The scene was rather magical.

"By the way, Coach Si, I’ve always had a question."

Si Huan Nian: "Mm."

Rong Taotao: "You said its name is the Nine-Petaled Lotus, which means there are nine petals in total, right?"

"Yes." Si Huan Nian nodded. "The name of this Supreme Treasure came from the Snow Realm Soul Beasts. In reality, we don’t know how many Lotus Petals there are in total. The one you have is the third one we’ve confirmed to have appeared in this world."

Rong Taotao raised an eyebrow slightly. "You have one, I have one. Where’s the other one that appeared?"

Si Huan Nian smiled. "Guess?"

Rong Taotao: "..."

Si Huan Nian said, "You’ve worked the night watch here before. You know the rules."

Rong Taotao pursed his lips. ’What Martial Arts Arena rules? Aren’t they just *your* rules?’

Though he was complaining inwardly, Rong Taotao said aloud, "Ah, don’t worry, I won’t disturb your rest. By the way, I saw there are only eight desks in the classroom. Isn’t the Soul Class going to accept more students?"

Si Huan Nian shook her head. "The school has no such plans for now. I don’t know if they’ll pull anyone up from the Martial Arts Class in the future. The school was very satisfied with your Soul Class’s performance during the crisis. I’m afraid... it’ll be very difficult to find anyone your age who’s qualified to enter the Soul Class."

Rong Taotao: "Then what about the three-person teams? It’s just Lu Mang and Jiao Tengda now, only two of them."

Si Huan Nian: "During this special period, the entire Soul Class will be taught together. The other students are easy to handle, but we need to find a separate teacher for your Heaven-piercing Halberd skills. He should be arriving soon."

A thought struck Rong Taotao. "Who? Teacher Xia Fangran?"

"He’s the only top-tier Heaven-piercing Halberd instructor there is. Others... probably can’t teach you, can they?" As she spoke, a faint smile played on her lips. "Even someone as proud as the champion of the Outer Region said he couldn’t teach you."

"Ah, haha." Rong Taotao scratched his head, a goofy smile on his face.

Si Huan Nian snorted coldly. "Your strength isn’t high, but your Martial Arts are certainly up there."

"Oh, right, Coach Si!" Rong Taotao suddenly remembered something. He strode over to the sofa and sat down, a well-behaved look on his face.

"What is it?" Si Huan Nian leaned back against the sofa, draping her arm over the backrest. She tilted her head to look at Rong Taotao, wondering what kind of mischief the little guy was up to now.

Rong Taotao said in a low voice, "Um... I, well... after I absorbed the Nine-Petaled Lotus, I feel like... Anyway, after sleeping for a month, I feel like my Soul Technique level has improved quite a bit."

"That’s right. While the Lotus Petal causes you trouble, it also increases your Soul Technique Cultivation to a certain extent. The same thing happened when I absorbed mine," Si Huan Nian nodded.

Rong Taotao’s face lit up. "I can learn new Soul Skills!"

"Mm." Si Huan Nian seemed to be infected by his joy and replied, "When your teacher gets here, he’ll teach you all of them."

"Aiya, you teach me!" Rong Taotao said hurriedly, too impatient to wait to improve his strength. "Teacher Xia’s teaching style is like some kind of metaphysical master—it’s all up to you to figure it out on your own. ’Applause if you understood!’"

Si Huan Nian looked at Rong Taotao with a beaming smile. "Oh?"

Rong Taotao recalled his days as an auditing model at Hundred Corps Pass and continued, "But you’re different! You’re the kind who spoons food into your students’ mouths, one bite at a time. You’re considerate, meticulous, and responsible. Listening to your classes is so comfortable."

Si Huan Nian’s expression turned a little strange. "You’re quite the smooth-talker, aren’t you? Your mouth is as sweet as honey. How come you couldn’t get Gao Lingwei to stay the other day?"

Rong Taotao: "..."

’This vicious woman, does she just have to twist the knife in my heart?’

Seeing Rong Taotao’s indignant expression, Si Huan Nian couldn’t help but chuckle. She placed a hand on his head and ruffled his hair with a smile. "Alright, tell me. What do you want to learn?"

Rong Taotao immediately snapped out of it. ’Chasing girls? How is that more interesting than learning Soul Skills?’

He declared, "Everything you know, everything I can learn!"

In response to Rong Taotao’s words, Si Huan Nian, who had always been picky and demanding, showed not a single shred of doubt.

From their first meeting at the Martial Arts Arena, to fighting with all his might against the Poachers in the snowy night, to the Little Hungry Ghost who now carried a Lotus Petal...

The master and disciple had known each other for less than four months in total, and that included the month Rong Taotao had spent in a coma. But what Si Huan Nian herself found hard to believe was that she was already starting to trust this kid.

Si Huan Nian extended her palm. Upon the faint lines of her palm, a layer of frost and snow abruptly appeared. The next moment, snowflakes gathered, and specks of shimmering light danced out.

However, the activated, happy snowflakes no longer glowed with a white light, but a golden one.

Snow Realm Soul Skill: Luminous Lantern Paper Cage!

The advanced version of the White Lantern Paper Cage. It was brighter, had a larger area of illumination, lasted longer, and was even more beautiful.

Si Huan Nian said nonchalantly, "Your Coach Yang once said that whoever learns Luminous Lantern Paper Cage first would become the Soul Class monitor. Do you want the position?"

Rong Taotao’s gaze, however, passed through the fluttering Luminous Lantern Paper Cage to land on Si Huan Nian’s face.

’Excellent! Perfect!’

’If I don’t drain you of every skill you have, I’ll be letting down our days of cohabitation.’