Master of Nine Stars

Apartment 601 was filled with the warmth of a home-cooked meal once again.

Yang Chunxi took charge of the cooking with Rong Yang as her assistant. As the host, Gao Lingwei found herself with nothing to do. She played with the cat and dog, but seemed a bit restless.

She had already gone to the kitchen several times, wanting to help with something, but Yang Chunxi kept shooing her out.

"Hey, for you." Rong Taotao took out a crystal-clear Snow Jade Soul Pearl and handed it to Gao Lingwei. "I know the Soul Slot on your forehead is empty, but my brother gave this to me. He said it was for me to establish a spiritual link with him, so I never gave it to you.

He just said he’d apply for a new Soul Pearl, so you can have this one."

Gao Lingwei thought it over and didn’t refuse this time.

"This Snow Jade’s Quality isn’t high, so the range of the spiritual link is a bit small. But for a duo like us, we shouldn’t have any problem communicating on the battlefield, at least," Rong Taotao said casually.

The Snow Jade Soul Pearl has only one Soul Skill: to establish a spiritual link with a specific person for communication.

And since this Soul Pearl’s Quality was relatively low, Rong Yang felt it was perfect for a beginner like Rong Taotao, which was why he had specifically applied for it. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

For twins, a low-Quality Soul Pearl or Soul Skill didn’t matter. No matter how low the Quality, the rules of the world were such that the two could still communicate across dimensions and even slightly influence each other’s movements under special circumstances.

However, if it wasn’t embedded by twins, the effects of this low-Quality Soul Pearl wouldn’t be nearly as formidable.

"Quick, embed it and try." Rong Taotao’s face was full of anticipation. "Back then, Xu Taiping was always talking to me in my head, and he could even simulate the direction his voice was coming from. It was amazing."

Gao Lingwei didn’t stand on ceremony. Pinching the crystal-clear Soul Pearl between her fingers, she slowly pressed it to her forehead.

CRACK~

The Soul Pearl shattered, transforming into motes of Soul Power that merged into her forehead.

"Hah..." Gao Lingwei let out a deep breath and opened her eyes, looking at Rong Taotao.

"How is it?"

"Very good."

A voice suddenly came from behind his head.

Rong Taotao instinctively turned to look, only to realize that the voice belonged to Gao Lingwei, who was speaking right in front of him.

"This is really amazing!" Rong Taotao turned back to face Gao Lingwei and said, "You can do all sorts of tricks with a Soul Skill like this.

Think about it. While you’re fighting, you suddenly say something to your opponent, but make them think someone is speaking from behind them. Wouldn’t that create a perfect chance for a sneak attack?"

"Yes, that’s true. But it would only work on Soul Martial Artists below the rank of Soul Captain," Gao Lingwei said with a nod.

Rong Taotao raised an eyebrow slightly. "Oh? How so?"

Gao Lingwei began to explain, "Once you advance to the Soul Captain stage, your physical attributes will see an all-around improvement.

This isn’t just on a physical level, but a spiritual one as well. Even if you don’t have a Soul Slot on your forehead or any Spiritual Soul Techniques, you’ll still have a certain degree of resistance to them.

Of course, if an enemy’s Spiritual Soul Technique has a very high Quality and explosive output, a Soul Captain’s innate Spiritual Defense Power won’t be much use. The only way to withstand it is to embed a Spiritual Soul Pearl."

"Oh... I see." Rong Taotao nodded thoughtfully. "Then in the future, I’ll embed a high-Quality Spiritual Soul Pearl, preferably one that lets me talk. I’ll scare my opponents to death on the battlefield by startling them all the time."

Gao Lingwei: "..."

"Dinner’s ready! Everyone, go wash your hands," Yang Chunxi’s voice called from the kitchen.

The two of them quickly got up...

Rong Taotao washed his hands and, following the waves of fragrant aroma, hurried into the kitchen. Seeing the dishes on the table, he couldn’t help but give Yang Chunxi a thumbs-up. "You’re the one who really spoils me!"

"Haha." Yang Chunxi laughed and tapped Rong Taotao on the forehead. "Hurry up and eat. I’ll make you dumplings tomorrow."

"Ah, no need~ Da Wei said it’s her family’s tradition to go to the night market on New Year’s Eve to eat dumplings and watch the fireworks show." Looking at the table full of food, Rong Taotao didn’t have the heart to trouble Yang Chunxi any further.

There were only four people in the apartment, but Yang Chunxi had made a full twelve dishes!

She had probably looked up recipes online and made one of every common homestyle dish; the dining table could barely hold them all.

Rong Yang gave Rong Taotao a strange, disbelieving look and said, "Can you really eat that much? Can your stomach handle it?"

"What martial artist, especially a man, doesn’t eat meat by the mouthful and drink wine from a large bowl?" Yang Chunxi slapped Rong Yang’s shoulder, her eyes narrowing in dissatisfaction.

Rong Yang lowered his head, plopped down into a chair, and didn’t say another word.

’Coach Yang was just afraid of hurting your pride. She’s so considerate.’ A voice suddenly echoed in his mind—it was Gao Lingwei.

Rong Taotao glanced over at Gao Lingwei, only to find her calmly handing out chopsticks to everyone, looking as if nothing had happened.

Oh-ho?

’Already putting it to good use, are we?’

’That won’t do. If you’re going to praise someone, you have to say it out loud!’

Rong Taotao suddenly raised his hand and looked at Yang Chunxi. "Sister-in-law, Gao Lingwei says you’re gentle and considerate."

Gao Lingwei: "..."

Rong Taotao added, "Also, she called you Coach Yang again."

Gao Lingwei put down her chopsticks and pressed a hand to her forehead. Seemingly trying to hold something back, she muttered under her breath, "Rong Taotao, Rong Taotao..."

Her expression, like a volcano about to erupt, made Rong Taotao jump.

But unexpectedly, it was Yang Chunxi who erupted first. She turned to his brother, Rong Yang, and said, "Use your words."

Holding his chopsticks, Rong Yang kept his head down and, without a sound, silently picked up a piece of fish.