Master of Nine Stars

He’d become like this after just a few months.

For a moment, Zhao Tang’s carefree smile was jarring to Rong Taotao’s eyes.

’Putting aside the fact that his Martial Arts were crippled, if Zhao Tang’s Lifebound Soul Beast was dead...’

’That was the Lifebound Soul Beast that had been with him for years! His previous strength was undoubtedly because he and his Lifebound Soul Beast were true Soul Mates!’

’How heartbroken must Zhao Tang be, now that his Lifebound Soul Beast was dead?’

At that thought, Rong Taotao looked at the Cloud Dog on the desk. ’Forget a Lifebound Soul Beast of three or four years—if anyone dared to harm his Cloud Dog right now, he would fight them to the death!!!’

Yang Chunxi said, "Zhao Tang was injured while protecting his classmates. He saved the lives of at least three of them and has earned the respect of all the students and faculty."

"Likewise, I expect you to show him nothing but respect. No other emotions."

With that, Yang Chunxi turned to Zhao Tang. "A true Soul Martial Artist doesn’t need pity. That would be an insult."

Hearing Yang Chunxi’s words, Zhao Tang puffed out his chest.

Yang Chunxi turned to Li Ziyi. "From now on, Li Ziyi, Sun Xingyu, and Fan Lihua will form Soul Class Team 1. I will be your practical skills coach."

Sun Xingyu’s eyes lit up!

’One champion leaves, another arrives! This was Fan Lihua, after all! A genuine Great God dropping in out of nowhere.’

Fan Lihua trained with the long spear and the longsword, and Yang Chunxi’s expertise happened to cover all of her Martial Arts. It was like having a personally tailored coach.

Fan Lihua glanced back at Sun Xingyu, and the two beauties exchanged a smile. For a moment, no one could tell whose was sweeter.

Are pears sweeter, or are apricots? That was the question.

Li Ziyi, however, was floored. It wasn’t that he found Rong Taotao annoying; he found *everyone* annoying.

At least Rong Taotao kept his distance and didn’t intrude on their private world.

But this Fan Lihua... she was the kind of girl who could actually hold hands with Sun Xingyu, eat with her, sleep in the same room, and even go to the bathroom with her.

Li Ziyi felt like he was cracking apart on the spot!

Yang Chunxi announced, "To make things easier to manage, we’re rearranging the seating. Team 1, you’ll sit in the front row."

Everyone immediately got up and started shuffling their seats.

Yang Chunxi continued, "Team 2 will be Lu Mang, Jiao Tengda, and Zhao Tang. You’ll sit in the second row. Your practical skills coach is still Li Lie."

"Zhao Tang’s current Soul Power and Soul Techniques are comparable to yours, perhaps even a little weaker."

"But without a doubt, his experience and Martial Arts are in a league of their own. I hope you two will seek his guidance often and help him integrate back into the Soul Class family as quickly as possible."

Jiao Tengda immediately puffed out his chest. "Don’t worry, Coach Yang! This is Tang we’re talking about! When school first started, he even came to my dorm to make my bed for me! He got chased out by the dorm matron with a broom, though. Sigh..."

Yang Chunxi was a little baffled, revealing an adorable look of confusion that seemed out of place for her age. "Huh?"

The corner of Zhao Tang’s mouth twitched in embarrassment. "..."

Lu Mang, however, lowered his head. Usually expressionless, he was now struggling to hold back a laugh.

Lu Mang was already in the second row, so he didn’t move. Jiao Tengda and Zhao Tang carried their small desks over to the second row.

Yang Chunxi shot Jiao Tengda a puzzled look before setting the matter aside. "Shilou and Shilan, you’ll form a duo, Soul Class Team 3. Your instructor will be Si Huan Nian. You are one of the duos in the Soul Class, and Si Huan Nian will be especially strict with you."

"Don’t think that just because you’re first-years, the time to compete for honor is far off. You enjoy the training benefits of the Martial Arts Arena day and night. When the school calls on you, I expect you to be ready to deliver."

Shilou and Shilan nodded, seemingly aware of the world of pain that awaited them.

’Si Huan Nian... They were all too familiar with her. The woman was utterly terrifying.’

Yang Chunxi glanced at Rong Taotao, who was by the window boiling water, and said, "Shilou, Shilan, you two sit in the third row against the wall. Adjust the desks; we need to fit four people in that row."

The common room was quite spacious; it had more than enough room for six desks in a row, let alone four.

Yang Chunxi looked at Gao Lingwei, who was standing by the lectern. "You will form a duo with Rong Taotao, Soul Class Team 4. Your practical skills coach will be Xia Fangran. Train well under Coach Xia; he is the top Heaven-piercing Halberd instructor at Songjiang Soul Martial."

"Understood," Gao Lingwei replied.

Yang Chunxi nodded. "Alright, go on. Take a seat in the third row. There are spare desks and chairs in the back."

Gao Lingwei strode toward the back of the room. Notably, as she moved, her gaze subconsciously avoided the blackboard on the rear wall.

Rong Taotao watched blankly as Gao Lingwei walked right up to him, momentarily at a loss for words.

Gao Lingwei grabbed a small desk and a chair from the back of the room, set them up next to Rong Taotao’s desk, and plopped down.

Rong Taotao scratched his head as he saw Gao Lingwei turn to look at him.

Their eyes met. Rong Taotao subconsciously picked up his thermos and offered it to her. "Want some wolfberry water?"

Gao Lingwei was speechless. "..."

’Quite the gracious host, aren’t you!’

Rong Taotao seemed to remember something. "Weren’t you supposed to be in the hospital for another week?"

Gao Lingwei replied, "Coach Dong cleared me, so I checked out."

As she spoke, she planted one long leg in the aisle, rested her elbows on her knees, and leaned forward.

Rong Taotao leaned in curiously as well, and the two of them put their heads together in the aisle, whispering.

Gao Lingwei whispered, "I thought we were just forming a duo. You had me transferred to the Junior Class?"

She kept her head low, her eyes looking up from under her sharp, sword-like brows. The posture was surprisingly intimidating...

Rong Taotao’s face flushed, and he stammered, "I, well, I um... I just suggested to Principal Mei that I wanted to form a duo with you. Everything that happened after that was out of my control."

"Hm?" Gao Lingwei asked, puzzled. "You spoke with Principal Mei?"

Although it had been a chance encounter, strictly speaking, Rong Taotao really had spoken with Mei Hongyu—and face-to-face, at that.

Rong Taotao braced himself. "Uh... yeah!"

Gao Lingwei pressed, "What did you discuss?"

Rong Taotao said timidly, "Principal Mei said that Songjiang Soul Martial University hasn’t won a duo championship in a long time..."

"WOOF~ WOOF~" From its spot on the heating pad on the desk, the Cloud Dog stood up and gave Gao Lingwei an adorable smile, wagging its tail back and forth and sticking out its tiny pink tongue. It looked absolutely ecstatic.

Gao Lingwei’s expression softened. She reached out, gently patting the Cloud Dog’s little head. "No problem," she said. "The national competition is held every two years. We can aim for the 2013 championship."

Principal Mei’s words aligned perfectly with her own goals.

Hearing her encouraging him, Rong Taotao could only bite the bullet again. "We can’t wait for 2013. Principal Mei said he wants the next one. In 2011."

Gao Lingwei’s fingers froze mid-pat. ’Are you kidding me!?’

She was confident, but not blindly so.

’2011 is next year. Under normal circumstances, she’ll only be in her Second Year of College! Given that you’re only allowed to enter the competition once during your university career, everyone obviously competes in their Senior Year, right?’ 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

’Going in as a sophomore to compete against juniors and seniors? Are those students just pushovers? They’ll have a full one or two years of training over you. Why on earth would they lose?’

’And that was just from her perspective. From Rong Taotao’s, it was a difference of four or five years!’

"Hey now, Da Wei, don’t panic~" Rong Taotao reached out and gently patted Gao Lingwei on the head. The gesture was a perfect imitation of how she had just patted the Cloud Dog.

Rong Taotao lowered his voice and continued, "I have a treasure..."

Gao Lingwei stared at him with her beautiful eyes and said flatly, "I know. I was just discharged."

Rong Taotao was speechless. "..."

...