Master of Nine Stars

The class, which had always had a relatively relaxed and pleasant atmosphere, changed completely after Mei Hongyu left his calligraphy on the blackboard.

There were four classes in the afternoon, but ever since the first open class ended, the classroom had been shrouded in a grim silence for the entire afternoon.

Whenever Fan Lihua went to erase the blackboard after class, she didn’t dare wipe away the poem on the far right.

Of course. Who would dare?

Forget Yang Chunxi; even the God of the Martial Arts Arena, Si Huan Nian, probably wouldn’t dare erase it!

Yang Chunxi saw the students’ behavior and grew anxious. This couldn’t continue. The pressure from Principal Mei was just too immense. To put it nicely, it was an exercise in handling pressure. To put it bluntly, however, it was doing more harm than good.

Yang Chunxi had faith in her students’ strength and potential and believed they could certainly break free from these constraints. But her "doting mother" attribute was too strong; seeing her students so dejected, she truly felt a pang of heartache.

When it came to her own kids, she had to force herself to put on a stern face and scold them, let alone...

"What’s wrong, Sister-in-law? Is something bothering you?" After class, Rong Taotao asked curiously, seeing the gloomy look on Yang Chunxi’s face.

"Mm, it’s nothing." Yang Chunxi stood at the lectern, gathering her books. She sighed internally. ’She hadn’t even had a chance to comfort her students, and here was Rong Taotao worrying about her instead.’

Instinctively, Yang Chunxi, books in her arms, glanced at the text on the side of the blackboard.

Rong Taotao also glanced at it before looking away. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Principal Mei is truly a powerful Soul Martial Artist. Even the calligraphy he left behind is enough to intimidate all the scoundrels."

Hearing this, Yang Chunxi smiled and shot Rong Taotao a look. ’Who insults themselves like that?’

An idea sparked in Rong Taotao’s mind, and he said tentatively, "How about I erase it?"

"No, don’t erase it yet. I’ll go find Principal Mei. After all, it’s affecting our classes. Si Huan Nian already puts enough pressure on you all; there’s no need to pile on any more." Yang Chunxi shook her head and led Rong Taotao out of the classroom.

"Huh?" Rong Taotao had a strange expression on his face. "Is the principal that imposing? To erase a blackboard, you have to go find him personally and get his permission?"

Yang Chunxi slung an arm over Rong Taotao’s shoulder. "You’re still young. In your mind, the divisions between the strong are still blurry. In the future, the farther you walk down this path, the more you’ll understand what it means to show reverence."

"Even setting aside the Soul Martial Artist aspect, he is the principal of our school. Others beg for a piece of his calligraphy and can’t get one. How could we just erase it on our own?"

"You don’t have to go either. Leave this to me," Rong Taotao said suddenly.

"Hm?" Yang Chunxi raised an eyebrow slightly. Then, as if realizing something, she forced a stern expression. "Are you planning to erase it secretly? No funny business!"

"Don’t worry, I won’t erase it. I wouldn’t dare," Rong Taotao said with a grin, leaning close to Yang Chunxi’s ear and whispering, "My practical skills teacher is Xia Fangran."

Yang Chunxi: "..."

Yes, Rong Taotao’s practical skills teacher was Xia Fangran. The very same Xia Fangran who was always calling the principal "Old Mei" one moment and "Old Ghost Mei" the next...

Xia Fangran himself was living proof of what Principal Mei had said before: Not a single person who wields a Heaven-piercing Halberd is ever well-behaved...

The moment Rong Taotao said the name "Xia Fangran," Yang Chunxi was suddenly freed from the constraints of her age. It was as if she had returned to her high school days, a time of pulling pranks and causing mischief with her classmates.

’Yes, Xia Fangran is a good teacher. He’s indeed very suitable for taking the fall... er, for erasing the blackboard.’

After the students returned to their dorms to rest for a bit, they went to the cafeteria in groups. Yang Chunxi didn’t seem to have much of an appetite and didn’t go downstairs.

But Rong Taotao, the Little Hungry Ghost, and Si Huan Nian, the Big Hungry Ghost, couldn’t wait. They hurried to the cafeteria and wolfed down a full meal of six dishes and a soup. Once he was stuffed, Rong Taotao went contentedly to the supermarket, bought a few bags of snacks, and returned to the Martial Arts Arena.

It was time for evening training again. At 6:00 PM sharp, Xia Fangran was squatting by a practice field in the arena, watching some upperclassmen spar while waiting for Rong Taotao to arrive.

Ever since Xia Fangran had been transferred to the Third Wall, Yang Chunxi had taken full responsibility for Sun Xingyu, Li Ziyi, and Rong Taotao. Whether it was the long spear or the short sword, Yang Chunxi’s Martial Arts proficiency happened to perfectly cover the couple’s weapons.

This also led to the appearance of an odd one out like Rong Taotao.

And so Xia Fangran, who had only returned to the university a few days ago, had taken Rong Taotao aside for one-on-one lessons.

Seeing Xia Fangran squatting at the edge of the practice field, Rong Taotao snickered. An idea came to mind. Holding two pieces of Little Rascal candy, he walked over to Xia Fangran’s side. Just as he was about to speak, he heard Xia Fangran muttering and cursing again.

Xia Fangran was squatting by the edge of the Martial Arts Arena. Despite his extraordinary aura, his Asian squat was very down-to-earth. He mumbled, "What kind of garbage fighting is that? Is that how you’re supposed to lift your leg?"

"All you know is how to charge forward blindly. Have you never learned to retreat in order to advance? And you call yourself a second-year student? A middle schooler is better than you! Did you just sleep through your two years at this university?"

On the practice field, the second-year student, who was being cursed out relentlessly, was on the verge of tears. It was hard to tell if it was because he couldn’t take the verbal abuse or because he was too exhausted, but even his form had started to fall apart.

Seeing this, Xia Fangran trembled with rage!

Perhaps he truly thought of Songjiang Soul Martial University as his own home. Seeing a product of his "home" perform at such a dismal level, Xia Fangran was about to spit blood.

"Teacher, Teacher, good evening!" Rong Taotao came to Xia Fangran’s side with a well-behaved look on his face, squatted down, and offered him a piece of Little Rascal candy.

A big one and a small one, two people in an Asian squat appeared right at the edge of the fiercely contested practice field. The scene was quite peculiar.

"Hm, you’re here." Xia Fangran gruffly took the Little Rascal Cubed Sugar. He already knew about Rong Taotao’s specific situation, so he didn’t stop him from eating snacks.

Rong Taotao even had a "get out of jail free card" now. Even during lessons, whenever he wanted to eat candy, Xia Fangran would never stop him...

Rong Taotao whispered, "By the way, Teacher Xia, isn’t it boring to just teach me? How about I find you another apprentice?"

"Hm?" Xia Fangran turned his head to look at Rong Taotao squatting beside him, a curious expression on his face.

To be honest, after watching the other students’ matches, seeing Rong Taotao’s face now made Xia Fangran feel much better.

It seemed all crows in the world were indeed black!

Any teacher’s attitude towards a top student versus a failing one would be completely different.

Xia Fangran chuckled. "What? You think the university hasn’t given me enough work? Now you’re trying to find more for me, kid?"

Rong Taotao snickered. "Don’t worry, I guarantee she’ll meet your standards! The second apprentice I’ve found for you is none other than Gao Lingwei!"

Xia Fangran raised an eyebrow slightly. "Who?"

"Uh." Rong Taotao scratched his head. ’Xia Yinyang really must have just gotten back from the Third Wall; he doesn’t know anything.’

’Then again, it’s only normal for someone at Xia Yinyang’s level not to know about the small fry.’

Rong Taotao said, "She’s the champion of the Outer Region and placed third in the nationals. She uses a Heaven-piercing Halberd, is way stronger than me, and her style is closer to yours. You’re both the heroic and domineering type."

"Well now, you’re getting better and better at flattering people, kid," Xia Fangran said, crunching the Cubed Sugar. "I can make the decision to accept an apprentice, but the Outer Region champion? Isn’t she in the Junior Class?"

Rong Taotao: "Nah, she’s a first-year. And crazy strong!"

"Oh! I remember now!" Xia Fangran suddenly looked as if he’d had an epiphany. "I was wondering why that name sounded a bit familiar. Isn’t she the girl you sent to the hospital a few days ago?"

"Er..." Rong Taotao gave an awkward laugh. "A misunderstanding. It was all a misunderstanding."

Xia Fangran snorted. "She’s your little girlfriend, isn’t she."

Rong Taotao: "Mhm... Mhm!"

Xia Fangran nodded. "No problem. It makes no difference whether I’m herding one sheep or two. Let her come and audit the class. Just make sure she coordinates her own schedule so it doesn’t interfere with her regular classes."

Rong Taotao whispered, "She and I are already a duo. The university has already decided it. From now on, the two of us will probably be training under you."

"Oh?" Xia Fangran looked at Rong Taotao in surprise. After a moment, he said, "I thought you were going to go the solo route. I was planning on turning you into a king of duels!"

"Your methods are pretty unorthodox. Couldn’t find a suitable teammate among your peers, so you just went and dug one up from the first-years?"

"And the university agreed?"

"Hehe, hehe." Rong Taotao chuckled and nodded.

Xia Fangran pursed his lips and snorted coldly. "Hmph. I guess that’s why they call you Rong Taotao. You really are good at digging people up."

"My, my, how impressive. You’ve just started in the Junior Class and you’re already calling the shots. I’m afraid I’ll have to rely on you in the future~"

’Xia Yinyang is back online!’

You might not believe it, but Rong Taotao found this burst of Yin-Yang Strange Qi to be very comforting.

It was as if Rong Taotao had already gotten used to Xia Fangran’s way of speaking. If a day went by without hearing that signature sarcastic tone of his, Rong Taotao would truly feel uncomfortable all over~

Rong Taotao suddenly said, "Principal Mei came to the Martial Arts Hall to observe a class today."

"Hmph." Xia Fangran nodded as if it were a matter of course. "You lot are the apple of Old Mei’s eye. Have you ever seen any other class of students get doted on by the Four Seasons and the Four Rites like this?"

That was true. Rong Taotao nodded, but then said, "Principal Mei also left us some of his calligraphy. Do you want to see it?"

"Not going. What’s the point of looking at that stuff?" Xia Fangran pursed his lips.

Rong Taotao said, "The sense of pressure is crazy strong. None of us students dare to look up at the blackboard anymore."

Xia Fangran: "Then just erase it."

Rong Taotao said in a low voice, "And you’d dare to erase it?"

Xia Fangran: "What did you say? That I wouldn’t dare?"

Rong Taotao: "Then why don’t you give it a try?"

Xia Fangran pouted. "Why would I erase that thing? I’m not your liberal arts teacher. It’s not like it’s taking up space on *my* blackboard."

Rong Taotao: "..."

’He’d seen cowards before, but today, Rong Taotao had finally met one who was all talk.’

Xia Fangran stood up. "Get up. Class is starting. Other kids go through puberty and have nothing to say to their elders. Why are you so chatty?"

Seeing the troubled look on Rong Taotao’s face, Xia Fangran couldn’t help but laugh out loud. "Are you stupid? Can’t you just switch out the blackboard?"

"Mount the current blackboard on the back wall of the classroom for the lecturer to see. Wait, no, your lecturer is Yang Chunxi..."

"Well, if that doesn’t work, just find a room and enshrine it. As long as you guys don’t have to look at it, problem solved."

"Whoa~ As expected of Coach Xia! The perfect combination of brains and brawn!" Rong Taotao immediately gave him a thumbs-up.

"Enough with the flattery. Get up and train!" Xia Fangran said with a laugh and a curse, kicking Rong Taotao in the butt.

Rong Taotao stumbled and staggered to his feet, pulling a Heaven-piercing Halberd from the swirling snow.

Xia Fangran: "Warm up first. Give me 1,000 forward thrusts! Start now!"

...