Master of Nine Stars

Zheng Qianqiu didn’t stop him. Instead, he lit a cigarette and took a deep drag. As if to calm himself and deliberately change the subject, he looked at Rong Taotao and asked, "What’s your Lifebound Soul Beast?"

Noticing the old professor’s interest, Rong Taotao politely replied, "White Clouds and Grey Dogs."

"Oh? A Cloud Peak Soul Beast?" Zheng Qianqiu had only asked casually, but upon hearing Rong Taotao’s answer, his interest was genuinely piqued. "Let me see?" he asked.

"Okay." Rong Taotao summoned his Cloud Dog, cupped it in his hands, and offered it to Zheng Qianqiu.

"Ngh..." The Cloud Dog whimpered. Its usual cute, smiling face was gone, and it seemed a little scared. Its solid-looking body even showed faint signs of breaking apart into mist. Its pair of small, glossy black eyes stared warily at Zheng Qianqiu.

With a cigarette dangling from his mouth, smoke curling upwards, Zheng Qianqiu squinted one eye against the smoke. He pinched the Cloud Dog’s large, cloud-like ear between his fingers, lifted it to take a look, and said, "You know its Soul Skill, right?"

Rong Taotao replied, "Ah, I do. Thousand Transformations."

"Mm." Zheng Qianqiu nodded. "You should play with it often to strengthen your bond. It’s your Lifebound Soul Beast, so as long as your compatibility is high enough, you’ll be able to make rudimentary use of its Soul Skill by the time you reach the peak of the Soul Captain rank."

"Oh?" Rong Taotao’s eyes lit up. This was the first time he had received such specific information.

His sister-in-law, Yang Chunxi, had searched high and low but couldn’t find a single Soul Martial Artist with a White Clouds and Grey Dogs as their Lifebound Soul Beast. Thus, she couldn’t give Rong Taotao any guidance, and he had to figure everything out on his own.

He never expected to get such valuable information from running into Professor Zheng today.

Zheng Qianqiu continued, "However, to truly master the White Clouds and Grey Dogs’ Soul Skill, you’ll need to advance to the Soul School Rank. Work hard. Its Soul Skill is quite good. Once you can use it, you’ll be able to evade the vast majority of physical attacks.

But the weakness of turning to mist is also obvious. Hmm... Tell you what, the day you can truly use Soul Skill: Thousand Transformations, give me a call. There are some precautions I need to tell you about."

"Okay, thank you, Professor Zheng!" Rong Taotao’s face lit up with joy, and he nodded eagerly.

Zheng Qianqiu grunted in acknowledgment, let go of the Cloud Dog’s big ear, and took the cigarette from his lips. He flicked the ash off and said, "The training grounds for the Cloud Peak Soul Technique exist only within the Arctic Circle. The situation there is extremely chaotic, a messy mix of powers from various countries. It’s very dangerous.

If you want to train there, you can ask Principal Mei for help. Otherwise, you’ll never be able to use Thousand Transformations."

Rong Taotao froze. ’That’s right!’

’To use a Cloud Peak Soul Skill, I have to pair it with a goddamn Cloud Peak Soul Technique?’

’I have to go to the Arctic Circle to train in the Cloud Peak Soul Technique?’

’Holy cow, from one Snow Realm to another. Looks like I’m stuck with "snow" for the rest of my life!’

Grumbling to himself, Rong Taotao unzipped his camouflage uniform, tucked the Cloud Dog inside against his chest, and carefully zipped it back up, leaving only the Cloud Dog’s little head peeking out.

"Let’s go have a look inside." A vortex of Shuangxue suddenly materialized in Zheng Qianqiu’s hand, instantly shredding the burning cigarette butt. He then strode into the cave.

"Can I go with you?" Rong Taotao asked.

"Come on, then," Zheng Qianqiu said casually, without turning his head. "Coach Xia, please guard the entrance in case anything unexpected happens."

Xia Fangran grimaced in annoyance but didn’t say anything.

Rong Taotao was quite curious. He didn’t know what the deal was. They were both part of the Pine Soul Four Seasons, but based on how they interacted...

’Why do I always get the feeling that this "Qiu" is a rank higher than "Xia"?’ 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

’This won’t do! I have to find a chance to ask Xia Fangran!’

’Where’s your Yin-Yang Strange Qi, huh?’

’Where are all your slick remarks, huh?’

’Cat got your tongue?’

’And your... Holy crap!’

Just as Rong Taotao was inwardly gloating and getting into it, he walked up a small slope in the middle of the cave and saw an exquisitely beautiful scene.

Deep inside the cave, Gao Lingwei was leaning against the wall, one leg bent and the other stretched out straight in a very cool-looking pose.

Specks of White Lantern Paper Cage swirled around her, setting off her slightly aloof features and making her look devastatingly beautiful.

One of her hands rested on her knee, while the other was teasing the "ragdoll cat" in her lap.

The Calamity Xuerong, with its large, azure-blue eyes wide open, was sitting on Gao Lingwei’s outstretched leg. It looked up at the specks of light swirling above its head, its head turning left and right as it stared at the freely fluttering White Lantern Paper Cages.

’Man, she doesn’t even need a cat teaser toy...’

Seeing Zheng Qianqiu arrive, Gao Lingwei hastily moved to get up, but he stopped her.

Zheng Qianqiu gestured for her to stay down with one hand while slowing his pace. He walked over to Gao Lingwei’s side and asked, "Is the food all gone?"

"Yes. It’s being very obedient and hasn’t asked for more food. It seems to prefer the White Lantern Paper Cages; it’s been staring at them for a while now," Gao Lingwei said, but then her expression changed slightly.

The Calamity Xuerong on her leg suddenly did something utterly terrifying.

It was still looking up, one of its slitted pupils following the specks of light dancing above, while the other pupil had turned to the side, staring intently at Zheng Qianqiu!

Gao Lingwei had seen it do this before, but she could never get used to it...

"It probably doesn’t like the White Lantern Paper Cages as much as it likes this way of interacting with you. From the moment I first saw you two, I noticed it has a special affection for you," Zheng Qianqiu said as he walked to the wall, sat down at a distance, and took out a small notebook from his coat.

"WOOF!" From Rong Taotao’s collar, the Cloud Dog, flapping its large ears, suddenly barked.

The Calamity Xuerong, which had been sitting obediently, suddenly turned its head and looked curiously at the Cloud Dog.

"HAH... HAH..." The Cloud Dog grinned, revealing a cute smile. Its large, cloud-like ears flapped as it stuck out its small, pink tongue.

The Calamity Xuerong blinked its large, azure-blue eyes, as if pondering something.

The next moment, everyone was stunned!

The Calamity Xuerong, so gorgeous it was infuriating, suddenly revealed a goofy smile...

It also stuck out its small, pink tongue and panted, "HAHA," but unfortunately, its ears were a bit too short to flap.

Rong Taotao: "..."

Gao Lingwei: ???

’You’re a cat, so why are you trying to live like a dog?’

Nearby, Zheng Qianqiu nodded thoughtfully and jotted down in his notebook: "Strong imitation ability. Gentle, playful temperament. Not irritable or reckless. Good attitude toward smaller creatures..."

The Cloud Dog was clearly even happier!

It suddenly turned into a wisp of cloud and floated onto Rong Taotao’s head, its cloud-like tail wagging back and forth.

"Yip~" The Calamity Xuerong also broke apart into specks of frost and snow, reforming on top of Gao Lingwei’s head. Its long, fluffy tail swept from side to side, as if also showing off that it had a master.

The Cloud Dog bounced on Rong Taotao’s head, and the Calamity Xuerong bounced too...

Cloud Dog: "WOOF WOOF!"

Calamity Xuerong: "WOOF WOOF!"

Rong Taotao: "..."

Gao Lingwei: "..."

Zheng Qianqiu continued to write without looking up. "Give it a name," he said. "It helps strengthen the bond between a person and their pet."

Gao Lingwei lifted her gaze, though she unfortunately couldn’t see the little creature on her head. She said, "Its scientific name has ’Xuerong’ in it, so let’s just call it Xuerong. It sounds nice."

Rong Taotao said, "No way, that won’t do. I wasn’t here when you named Hu Bugui, but I’m here now. We have to give it a unique name."

Gao Lingwei glanced at Rong Taotao with a smile and repeated, "Xuerong."

Rong Taotao pouted and muttered under his breath, "Frost Night Xuerong sounds so much better. When it used its Soul Skill just now, its eyes turned into frost-mist. And that Soul Skill can see through Shuangxue and also grant night vision..."

"Frost Night Xuerong, that fits well. The name ’Calamity Xuerong’ is too subjective and its symbolic meaning isn’t accurate. It’s time for a name change." Nearby, Zheng Qianqiu stopped what he was doing and looked thoughtfully at the ragdoll cat on Gao Lingwei’s head. "Lass," he said, "what do you think of that for its scientific name?"

"Okay, Professor. I’ll listen to you. Its scientific name will be Frost Night Xuerong." As she spoke, she turned her head, her beautiful eyes silently watching Rong Taotao as she added, "Nickname: Xuerong."

"Mhm," Rong Taotao pouted. "Fine, I’ll listen to you. Whatever Da Wei says is right."

Cloud Dog: "WOOF WOOF!"

Snowball Cat: "WOOF WOOF!"