Master of Nine Stars

Getting along with someone always takes time.

That’s why, when Rong Taotao went to visit Gao Lingwei the next day, he didn’t follow through with his previous plan.

Alright, he just chickened out.

But on the third day, Rong Taotao felt the time was right. After all, Gao Lingwei’s attitude toward him was quite good. She seemed to appreciate him, even if she didn’t show it much.

That afternoon, Rong Taotao picked up three meals from the Teacher’s Cafeteria and headed to the school hospital. He navigated the familiar path to room 401A, where Gao Lingwei was waiting hungrily, along with the freeloader girl, Gan Lin.

Ever since Rong Taotao had started bringing food from the Teacher’s Cafeteria, Gan Lin had also started tagging along enthusiastically, beginning her days of enjoying gourmet meals.

Rong Taotao skillfully summoned his Cloud Dog, handing it to Gan Lin and letting her feed the puppy as well.

"Hee hee." A delighted Gan Lin took the Cloud Dog. Holding the palm-sized puppy in one hand, she swooped it up and down through the air, taking it for a "roller coaster" ride.

But the Cloud Dog wasn’t afraid of heights at all. In fact, it wasn’t scared in the slightest—it even seemed happy...

Flying?

How could a Cloud Dog be afraid of flying? It was made of clouds to begin with.

Honestly, if Gan Lin moved her hand up and down a little faster and the Cloud Dog flapped its big ears in time, it would look just like it was dancing to the beat at a club. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Rong Taotao walked to the bedside and handed out the lunch boxes, and the trio began to wolf down their food.

Even the patient, Wei, ate quickly. Rong Taotao felt it was about time for her to be discharged. Her recovery speed was just too fast; that Pine Soul Four Seasons: Winter really had a few tricks up its sleeve.

According to Gao Lingwei, Coach Dong would use Sea Prayer Radiance to help heal her wounds every morning. His professional skill and dedication were truly impeccable.

Being a glutton, Rong Taotao finished first. He devoured his meal like a storm sweeping through clouds, tossed the empty lunch box in the trash, and went to the bathroom to wash his hands. When he returned to the room, Gao Lingwei was still eating, while Gan Lin was feeding a small piece of rib to the Cloud Dog.

"Nnn~" The Cloud Dog squinted its small, dark eyes in bliss. It was so content~

Rong Taotao sat on the edge of Gao Lingwei’s bed. He watched this lovely scene for a moment before propping his elbow on the bed, resting his chin in his hand, and muttering quietly, "I’m already sixteen, and I’ve never even held a girl’s hand. I wonder what it feels like."

"PFFT..." Gan Lin, who had just finished feeding the dog and had taken a single bite of her own food, turned her head and spat it out.

Gao Lingwei’s movements froze for a second. She shot Rong Taotao a subtle glance but had no other reaction, resuming her meal in silence.

"Haha, hahahahaha." Gan Lin couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

Rong Taotao: "..."

A while later, amidst Gan Lin’s intermittent giggles, the other two finally finished their meal. Gan Lin picked up their lunch boxes and walked toward the trash can, while Gao Lingwei...

Leaning back against the headboard, Gao Lingwei rested her hand on the edge of the bed. She tilted her head, her beautiful eyes resting quietly on Rong Taotao. A faint smile played on her lips, carrying a hint of a challenge.

Hm?

Rong Taotao couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.

Gao Lingwei glanced down at her own hand, then looked back up at Rong Taotao.

Rong Taotao immediately reached out. His movement was quick yet cautious. His thumb and index finger touched her fingers, and he gently squeezed the pad of her fingertip.

’Wow, so soft.’

"Heh, is that all you’ve got?" Gao Lingwei remarked casually, just as she noticed Gan Lin turning around after throwing out the lunch boxes.

Seeing Rong Taotao playing with her best friend’s fingers, Gan Lin was completely flustered. "You! You, you..."

’How is this ’all I’ve got’?’

’Who are you looking down on?’

Rong Taotao was quite displeased. He reached forward and grabbed Gao Lingwei’s fair hand, holding it with both of his.

’It’s soft, cool, and kind of comfortable.’

"How dare you!" Gan Lin stomped her foot. In truth, her real inner thoughts were: ’Where is my boyfriend? Why hasn’t he shown up yet!? Even a battle maniac like Gao Lingwei, who only thinks about fighting, can get a boyfriend! What about me? Aren’t I more of a normal person than she is?’

"Here’s the puppy. I’m going to take a nap," Gan Lin said dejectedly. She placed the Cloud Dog on Rong Taotao’s head, then left, shaking her head and sighing.

After Gan Lin left, the room became much quieter.

Perched on his head of natural curls, the Cloud Dog tilted its head curiously. Its small, dark eyes stared at the girl in front of them, and who knew what was going on in its little puppy brain.

Rong Taotao fiddled with her long, slender fingers, squeezing the pads. But to be honest, the little paw pads of the Cloud Dog felt even better to squeeze.

Gao Lingwei reached over with her other hand, took the Cloud Dog off Rong Taotao’s head, and did something unexpected.

She... actually squeezed the Cloud Dog’s little paw pads, as if trying to experience what Rong Taotao was feeling.

This scene almost made Rong Taotao die of laughter. The ’gap moe’ was his greatest weakness...

"By the way."

Gao Lingwei: "What is it?"

Rong Taotao: "Setting aside duels and just talking about training, I think we’d be a great match. We could train together and grow together."

Gao Lingwei nodded in agreement. "You’re right. I’ve never felt that my skills were superior to yours; I just have the advantage in physical conditioning. In our very first sparring match, you taught me how a weaker person should fight when facing a stronger opponent."

Rong Taotao: "..."

’You sure have a way with words!’

’How could someone like you ever find a boyfriend?’

’Oh, right. I’m the one pursuing you. Never mind, then...’

Rong Taotao paused for a moment before saying, "Then come train with me at the Martial Arts Hall from now on. We can set a regular time."

Gao Lingwei didn’t overthink it and nodded directly.

Wearing a troubled expression, Rong Taotao said, "I don’t really fit in with my group. My teammates are a couple. They practice with spears and swords, while I use a saber and a halberd. We can’t really practice together."

"Besides, my Soul Techniques are a higher level than theirs, and we’re learning different things, so now we don’t even do our daily training together."

"I even feel like... I don’t have any teammates at all. I’m still on my own."

Gao Lingwei nodded lightly. ’Geniuses have different tiers, too.’ For someone like Rong Taotao, it seemed difficult to find suitable teammates among his peers, which was why he had set his sights on her.

Rong Taotao continued, "I did some research. In the current global Soul Martial System, there are many ways to form a team. Although three-person cells are the mainstream, two-person teams also have their niche."

"Many organizations, police squads, military units, and even our school use this team format."

"And you’ve only been in your group for less than a month, so it can still be adjusted. You said it yourself, our fighting styles are complementary."

This was true. However, most two-person teams consisted of twins, like Shilou and Shilan, and they were most likely twins who had opened a Soul Slot on their foreheads.

In such cases, other team members would have a hard time keeping up with the twins’ pace, often just getting in the way and holding them back.

From the perspective of school life and student competitions, competing as a duo was no easier than in a traditional trio—in fact, it might even be harder.

This was because those twins all had unparalleled synergy, having grown up together and being further enhanced by their forehead Soul Slots. For a non-twin pair to fight their way to success in that "quagmire" was exceptionally difficult.

Hearing this, Gao Lingwei was taken aback. This was unexpected. Rong Taotao was actually inviting her to form a two-person team?

’How would that work? A cross-year team?’

’Well, that’s not quite accurate. After all, a normal four-year university program and the Junior Class are in different categories, but...’

Rong Taotao: "I respect your opinion, which is why I’m bringing it up."

Gao Lingwei frowned slightly. She wasn’t sure if Rong Taotao was genuinely planning to pursue the two-person team route, or if he just wanted to spend more time with her. Or perhaps... it was both.

Switching from a mainstream three-person team to a relatively niche two-person team was a huge decision.

At least for someone like Gao Lingwei, who craved honor above all else, her academic career would diverge completely from her previously expected path.

The style of her opponents would change drastically, and her destiny would become tied to Rong Taotao’s.

Gao Lingwei was silent for a long time, pondering deeply. Suddenly, she asked, "Do you like me, or do you like the Heaven-piercing Halberd?"

The soul-crushing question!

Rong Taotao mulled it over for a moment, then said seriously, "I like... all the personality traits and qualities that the Heaven-piercing Halberd has given you. Strength, courage, pride, and confidence."

Gao Lingwei gently squeezed the Cloud Dog’s paw pads. For a Spearman, such an evaluation was high praise indeed.

Just as Rong Taotao dared to pursue this dazzling Outer Region champion and national third-place winner, his own weapon had a huge influence on him.

Anyone else might have developed feelings for Gao Lingwei, but they would have known their place and wouldn’t have acted on it.

But Rong Taotao didn’t just act. Even when faced with great difficulty, even after failing the first time, he wasn’t discouraged. He had simply made a promise for the future: Someday.

Gao Lingwei looked at Rong Taotao and said, "Have you thought this through? This isn’t child’s play. It’s a decision that could change our destinies."

Generally speaking, the more niche something is, the more exclusive its circle.

And unlike other niche circles, specifically within the Soul Martial Artist profession, those who dared to take the risk and dive into the two-person team format were the elite of the elite. The overall skill level was extremely high, and it was a scene that produced many Great Gods.

After all, honor is the ultimate goal; no one cares about the process of your painstaking training day and night. Any two-person teams who wanted to blaze a new trail and achieve success on this path were those who truly had the skill to back it up.

Gao Lingwei didn’t know if Rong Taotao yearned for student honors, but for her, at least, this was a difficult road.

Rong Taotao suddenly asked, "Why did you come to the Snow Realm?"

Gao Lingwei replied softly, "To get stronger."

Rong Taotao: "You can get stronger anywhere. Why Pine Soul Soul Martial? Why the Snow Realm?"

This time, however, Gao Lingwei didn’t answer.

She simply lowered her eyes, gently stroking the Cloud Dog’s soft fur with one hand, seemingly lost in thought.

The innocent and carefree Cloud Dog had no idea what was on the girl’s mind. It just knew it felt comfortable, so it squinted its eyes in bliss and whimpered softly, "Nnn~"

A silence fell over the hospital room. Gao Lingwei played with the Cloud Dog for a long time before she said softly, "I think I have a good idea why you came here."

"It’s exactly what you’re thinking," Rong Taotao said without hiding anything.

Rong Taotao continued, "I found a kindred spirit, a suitable partner. I want to grow with her, become stronger together—to become very, very strong."

"After that, I want to leave Songjiang Soul City with her. I want to pass through the endless snow and wind of the north with her, to cross the three great walls to the north."

"I want to stand on the banks of the famous Dragon River, directly beneath the Snow Realm Vortex, and see the place where the story began."

At that moment, Gao Lingwei suddenly understood what it meant for someone’s eyes to hold a light.

A fiery light burned in Rong Taotao’s eyes. This was his purpose for coming to the Snow Realm. It seemed... it was also his meaning in life.

This wasn’t an empty slogan, but a goal that he was already and resolutely pursuing.

Gao Lingwei’s fingers, which had been idly played with by Rong Taotao, suddenly tightened slightly, pressing against his palm.

She whispered, "Someday?"

Rong Taotao’s expression turned serious as he nodded heavily. "Someday!"

True companionship can hardly last if it’s based on one-sided pursuit and maintenance. A youthful appearance will eventually fade, and the money in one’s coffers may one day dwindle.

Only the qualities that draw two people to each other seem to be the sole antidote on the long journey of life.