Master of Nine Stars

「Three days later, in the morning」 The Martial Arts Arena was a bustling sea of people, teeming with excitement.

Not only were all the students from the Junior Class’s Soul Class and Martial Arts Class present, but the exam had also attracted a crowd of upperclassmen.

After all, the Junior Class students spent all their time in the Martial Arts Hall and were mentored by top-tier instructors. These upperclassmen were curious to see the true strength of the Junior Soul Class.

It was worth noting that the group that took first place in this year’s Junior Class martial arts assessment would get a chance to challenge the first-year students of Pine Soul Soul Martial.

The school had set up this cross-level challenge for no other reason than to give the Junior Class students a rude awakening, ensuring they would remain humble and not grow arrogant or conceited.

Of course, none of this had anything to do with Rong Taotao. After all, he was exempt from the test... 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

He had just snuck in, weaving through the crowd and craning his neck to peer into the outdoor Martial Arts Arena, which was packed to the gills.

Oh?

He had arrived just in time to see Sun Xingyu, Li Ziyi, and Fan Lihua’s team facing off against another group of juniors. Rong Taotao didn’t know them, but they looked a little familiar. They were probably students from the Martial Arts Class.

"Hey! Juanjuan’s here!" a clear, lovely voice suddenly called out. Rong Taotao looked over, curious.

To be honest, Rong Taotao wasn’t particularly tall or short—around 175cm—the type to get lost in the sea of people at the bustling Martial Arts Arena.

’Who has such good eyes?’

’To have found the strongest person in the entire Martial Arts Arena just like that?’

Rong Taotao was curious, but his gaze was met by an ecstatic face.

Shi Lan pulled her sister’s hand, pushed through the crowd, and quickly walked over.

Instantly, the attention of many students shifted from the arena to Rong Taotao’s direction. After all... compared to him, the twin sisters were far too dazzling.

It wasn’t just their looks; what was even more frightening was their combat strength!

Rong Taotao didn’t know that Shi Lou and Shi Lan, as a two-person team, had fought their way into the final round against a host of three-person teams.

The sisters’ teamwork was flawless, their attacks viciously sharp. They carved a path of destruction through their opponents, an unstoppable force that swept aside all in their way!

It left the crowd of first and second-year students completely stunned...

This Junior Class final martial arts exam had been a group elimination tournament, with the last three teams entering a final, round-robin competition.

At this point, Shilou and Shilan had already made it to the finals, which meant they had secured their spots in the Soul Class. In the next semester, they would still be members of the "Fruit Salad" group.

"How are you? The teacher said you were seriously injured and hospitalized again. Are you okay?" The reckless Shi Lan raised a hand to slap Rong Taotao on the shoulder, but her sister, Shi Lou, stopped her.

"Huh?" Shi Lan looked at her sister, puzzled.

Shi Lou shot Shi Lan a look and tilted her head toward Rong Taotao. "You just said he was seriously injured and hospitalized. You should probably handle him with care right now."

"Oh, right. But look at him, he seems to be recovering well. Hehe, his complexion is great..." Shi Lan chuckled.

Rong Taotao had indeed eaten and slept well these past three days, and he’d recovered quite a bit. With the first Lotus petal as a foundation, the process of nurturing the second had been relatively smooth.

Of course, the most crucial part was that the Prison Lotus was more "well-behaved" than the Sinful Lotus.

Not only was the Prison Lotus well-behaved, but under its Imprisonment, the Sinful Lotus had also settled down considerably...

Shi Lan seemed to have a sudden thought. Her long, beautiful eyes lit up as she fumbled in her pocket, pulled out two hard fruit candies, and quickly unwrapped one, holding it to Rong Taotao’s mouth. "Here, eat up."

Rong Taotao: ???

As she spoke, Shi Lan even propped up Rong Taotao’s shoulder with one hand, as if she were afraid a gust of wind might blow him over.

Behind them, Yang Chunxi saw this and couldn’t help but shake her head and smile, her heart filled with emotion.

Although Rong Taotao was often away, he had always been an integral part of the Junior Class.

As long as he was anywhere near the Martial Arts Arena, she didn’t need to worry about him being lonely.

Rong Taotao didn’t stand on ceremony. He lowered his head and took the hard candy from her palm, chewing on it with a strange expression. "Seeing the murderous aura coming off your sister, I take it you two just finished a match?"

"Yep! We won! Woo-hoo!" Shi Lan, full of Vitality, pumped her fist excitedly, clutching the crumpled candy wrapper in her palm.

Rong Taotao’s expression grew even stranger. "You two go into a match with candy in your pockets?"

"Ah, yeah! We have to!" Shi Lan blinked earnestly. "Two weeks ago, Coach Si specifically instructed all of us in the Soul Class to carry candy, chocolate, and stuff like that with us at all times, just for you. From now on, if you ever want some, you can ask anyone. It’s an order from him. Anyone who doesn’t have snacks in their pockets will be kicked out of the Martial Arts Hall and have to live in the student dorms."

Rong Taotao: "..."

’Si Huan Nian! The eternal GOAT!’

He chewed the hard candy and said, a little embarrassed, "That’s a bit of an exaggeration. I’ll talk to Coach Si about it later."

Si Huan Nian really had overreacted a little. But then again, a single Lotus petal had already tormented Rong Taotao into such a wretched state. Now that he suddenly had a second one, it was only logical to assume his need for food would be even greater.