Master of Nine Stars

The two went to their respective dorms, but their rooms were close, just diagonally across the hall.

When Rong Taotao opened the door to Si Huan Nian’s dorm room, Coach Si was sitting on the sofa, brewing tea.

She glanced up at Rong Taotao, but then suddenly raised her hand and beckoned toward the doorway. "You come in too."

Gao Lingwei stopped in her tracks, turned, and walked into the room as well.

"SLURP..." Si Huan Nian took a light sip of her hot tea. Looking at the students standing so formally before her, she couldn’t help but smile. "No need to be so stiff. What, after more than a month of being soldiers, you stand ramrod straight now?"

"Hehe." Rong Taotao rubbed his head and chuckled. "It’s a habit from sentry duty. If you weren’t standing straight, the captain would just walk up and kick you, no questions asked."

At his words, Gao Lingwei nodded in solemn agreement. ’Fu Tiance didn’t care if you were a man or a woman; under his command, you were his soldier. During the first few days the squad camped out in the Snowfield, she had been kicked by Fu Tiance a couple of times herself...’

"Have a seat." Si Huan Nian gestured downward with her hand, then leaned back against the sofa and crossed her legs. "In two weeks, the school’s team tournament will be held. It’s to select the teams for the national competition. Are you two signing up?"

"We’re not," Gao Lingwei said, placing a hand on the back of Rong Taotao’s to signal him to keep his cool.

Rong Taotao was stunned for a moment. The news had come out of nowhere, and he hadn’t fully processed it yet.

"Hmm, that works too." Si Huan Nian draped her arms over the back of the sofa, tilting her head to look at the hand Gao Lingwei had placed on Rong Taotao’s. "Thinking of participating in next month’s?"

Gao Lingwei withdrew her hand and asked, "A semester is four months. Following past conventions, is there a selection tournament every month?"

"That’s right." Si Huan Nian nodded. "Before the summer break in July, the university will organize four selection tournaments, one per month. We take the first-place team from each, for a total of four teams to represent Soul Martial University at the national competition."

Gao Lingwei immediately nodded. "For the two of us, the later we enter the selection tournament, the better. We can choose to participate in the May or June selections.

The true seeded teams will have already claimed the top spots and qualified in March and April. And once a team qualifies, they can’t compete in the selection tournaments again."

Rong Taotao, having understood the tournament rules, thought for a moment and said, "That logic checks out. Our cultivation speed is faster than the other students, after all, so the longer we delay, the more of an advantage we’ll have.

If we catch the last train and compete in the mid-June tournament, that gives us almost four more months of training time. But..."

Si Huan Nian asked, "But what?"

Rong Taotao’s expression was a bit odd. "Are there any really cunning seeded teams that avoid going head-to-head with others and deliberately choose to compete in the last two months of the tournament?"

"Haha, now that’s a matter of tactics and strategy," Si Huan Nian said. "Which team competes in which tournament is only announced on the day it starts. Before then, the practical skills instructors keep it strictly confidential."

"Don’t worry too much about it," Gao Lingwei said softly. "The competitors are all third-years and seniors. They’ve been fighting among themselves for years, so they know each other inside and out.

For them, that means they have to firmly seize every one of the four opportunities they get.

The selection tournaments in the first two months should produce the two strongest teams. Anyone who tries to time their entry based on other teams isn’t a top-seeded contender to begin with.

Facing them would be the best-case scenario for us anyway."

Si Huan Nian chimed in, "In reality, very few teams adjust their participation based on their opponents. Most just sign up first and see how the fights play out.

If they do run into an unbeatable opponent, they’ll either conserve their strength and forfeit immediately, or just go through the motions to avoid serious injury, and then wait for the next month’s opportunity.

I wouldn’t advise you to compete in the final month, though. While three strong teams will have already emerged from the first three months, the fourth selection tournament will be a madhouse. It’s the last chance, so no one will hold back. Everyone will be fighting desperately.

Representing Soul Martial University at the national competition is an unimaginable honor. And besides... Pine Soul Soul Martial is loaded."

"How so?" Rong Taotao’s eyes lit up as he asked eagerly.

Si Huan Nian shrugged. "As long as you qualify to represent the university, you get a reward. To help you perform better in the national competition, you can apply to the university for a Soul Pearl reward after qualifying.

You can even specify the location for the reward Soul Pearl—for example, a forehead Soul Pearl."

Hearing this, Rong Taotao couldn’t help but grin. ’They really are loaded. The level of support is incredible, isn’t it?’

’It’s just... with all this support, how come they haven’t won a national championship in such a long time?’

’Hmm... perhaps the support from Imperial Capital Soul Martial and Modu Soul Martial is just even stronger...’

"How are you two coming along with your Soul Pearl inlays?" Si Huan Nian asked, leaning forward to pick up her teacup.

Rong Taotao replied, "I’m just a Soul Warrior. My three Soul Slots have been full for ages."

Gao Lingwei said, "I’m short one chest Soul Pearl."

"Hmm?" Si Huan Nian raised an eyebrow slightly, looking at them. "So that month of soldiering wasn’t a waste, huh? I remember you both have forehead Soul Slots? And Ling Wei, you have an eye Soul Slot too?"

"Yes." Gao Lingwei reached out and tapped her forehead. "Songxue Wise Elder - Pine Snow’s Silence."

As she spoke, her finger slid down to her right eye. "Ice Crystal Squirrel - Ice Crystal Evil Face."