Master of Nine Stars

「The next morning.」

A crowd of students, drenched in sweat, filed into the classroom. With their limited training time, they had to race against the clock. Arriving just as the bell rang wasn’t because they were slacking off, but because they were truly training hard.

Of course, the Martial Arts Arena had no bell, so watches and phones became necessities.

They also had to be especially careful about wearing watches. At their current stage, their mastery of Soul Skills was still unrefined, and it was easy for a burst of Soul Power from their wrists to shatter a watch.

Rong Taotao plopped down in his VIP seat and plugged in his electric blanket. He then summoned the Cloud Dog from within his body and placed it in its little dog bed.

Just as Rong Taotao bent down to boil water, preparing to brew some wolfberries, Yang Chunxi’s figure appeared at the doorway. The students in the classroom fell silent.

In the next moment, all the students turned to look toward Rong Taotao’s seat.

Because... behind Yang Chunxi stood another tall figure. And the students of the Junior Class were all too familiar with that strikingly valiant silhouette!

Yang Chunxi stood at the lectern and beckoned toward the doorway. "Come on in, both of you."

Gao Lingwei, however, seemed not to have heard her. It wasn’t intentional; her gaze was locked on the blackboard at the back of the classroom.

After class last night, Rong Taotao had texted Yang Chunxi to tell her about the solution Xia Fangran had provided. Yang Chunxi had then worked overnight to move the front blackboard to the back wall.

This both ensured the principal’s calligraphy remained in the classroom and maintained a normal class atmosphere for the students. As for facing the script herself, she didn’t mind.

Gao Lingwei seemed to have entered another world.

She stared at the two columns of Slender Gold-style script on the right side of the blackboard. It was highly distinctive, a style all its own.

An expert can see the artistry, but even as a "calligraphy expert" herself, Gao Lingwei didn’t dare to casually judge such script. Although it was all broadly termed calligraphy, the variety of internal styles was immense, with vast differences between them.

Gao Lingwei could only feel an immense sense of pressure, so much so that it made her forget she was standing at the classroom door, forget everything and everyone around her.

’What... is this...’

Recall the soaring ambitions of youth,and the vow once made to be First-class in this world.

’Despite its somewhat free-spirited style, why does it feel so unsettling, like spikes on my back? This... this...’

"Gao Lingwei." A deep, muffled voice came from behind, and a hand gently pushed her shoulder. "The teacher is calling for you."

"Ah." Gao Lingwei snapped back to her senses, took a long stride, and walked into the classroom.

The students, of course, had also seen the hand that pushed her and couldn’t help but grow more curious.

Yang Chunxi had said, "Come on in, both of you," which meant there was someone else behind Gao Lingwei.

Following Gao Lingwei inside was a tall young man.

The male students of the Soul Class were instantly stunned.

’A familiar face!?’

’It’s that freshman who came to the Junior Class dorm looking for a sparring match... Zhao Tang!?’

All the boys in the Soul Class knew Zhao Tang, and most of the girls knew of him as well. Shi Lou and Shi Lan, who were also from the Northwest, certainly knew of this famous champion student!

The Northwest champion, ranked fifth in the nation!

Although he was young, he already had the air of a true man from the Northwest.

Tall, powerful, and valiant... Wait!

Everyone’s gaze shifted to Zhao Tang’s left arm.

Zhao Tang’s visible physical Talent was no exaggeration. He had a large frame and long arms, but right now, the cuff of his left sleeve was empty and dangling.

’This...’

Yang Chunxi began, "There have been some adjustments to the Soul Class roster. We couldn’t find any students in the Junior Martial Arts Class qualified to join the Soul Class. Therefore, the school has selected two students from the freshman year to be placed directly into the Soul Class."

With that, Yang Chunxi gestured to the two students. "The 2010 Outer Region champion, Gao Lingwei, and the 2010 Northwest champion, Zhao Tang."

Although they already knew their identities, hearing Yang Chunxi announce it still sent a shiver down everyone’s spines.

’What the hell... Does Principal Mei really think we kids in the Soul Class are at that level?’

’Throwing these two into the Soul Class to train... Just how high are they trying to raise the ceiling for the Junior Class?’

"Also, as you can see, Student Zhao Tang..." Yang Chunxi paused, turning to the tall young man. "Can you tell them yourself?"

"It’s fine, Teacher." Zhao Tang’s smile was casual and open as he spoke. "During the night of the Soul Beast invasion, my left forearm was eaten by a Soul Beast, and my Lifebound Soul Beast was killed."

"Don’t think of me as the Northwest champion. Right now, I’m just a Soul Martial Artist starting from scratch."

*Hiss...*

"Holy shit!" A series of shocked gasps erupted. No one could have imagined that the great Northwest champion would be entering the Soul Class in such a state.

He had lost his left forearm and even all his Soul Power and Soul Techniques.

The death of a Lifebound Soul Beast meant a Soul Martial Artist’s strength had suffered a devastating blow.

You have to understand, a Lifebound Soul Beast becomes one with a Soul Martial Artist in a symbiotic relationship.

Once a Lifebound Soul Beast perishes, all of the Soul Martial Artist’s Soul Power is lost, and the Soul Techniques they worked so hard to cultivate are almost completely shattered.

All that remains for the Soul Martial Artist is their combat experience and their own Martial Arts.

’This...’ 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Rong Taotao stared blankly at Zhao Tang, the image in his mind flashing back to that day: Zhao Tang standing at his dorm room door, clenching his fist, eagerly challenging him to a fight.

Back then, the look in Zhao Tang’s eyes had been so fiery, his laughter so hearty. "If I were afraid of losing, I wouldn’t be a Martial Artist!"