Master of Nine Stars

To be honest, Rong Taotao had always respected and revered a teacher like Si Huan Nian.

But Si Huan Nian didn’t give a damn about that.

Rong Taotao had spent a full month hanging around with the "Great God" level Twelfth Corps, so he’d definitely seen a thing or two. To ensure her student’s mentality was in the right place, Si Huan Nian didn’t go easy on him in this sparring match.

Much of this was unspoken. Si Huan Nian had no intention of establishing her authority, but she did hope Rong Taotao would come back down to earth.

Especially after seeing Rong Taotao’s military officer certificate, Si Huan Nian was even more determined to make sure the boy faced campus life with the right attitude.

Si Huan Nian wanted to teach him a lesson, and Rong Taotao was happy to cooperate. This match was bound to head in the desired direction, much to everyone’s delight.

Well, it’s just that on the way to this "delightful" outcome, Rong Taotao’s hand was a little numb, his chest felt a bit tight, and his butt was a little sore...

"Hahh..."

On the cold concrete floor, Rong Taotao’s body, sent flying by yet another kick, slid to a stop.

He held the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow in a reverse grip with his right hand, blocking in front of himself, but he didn’t even have time to stand up before Si Huan Nian appeared, standing over him with her saber at the ready.

’Which side?’

’Left or right?’

Rong Taotao’s eyes were locked on the blade in Si Huan Nian’s hand as he kicked off the ground repeatedly, scrambling backward.

Si Huan Nian, however, remained where she was, not pressing her advantage. A slight smile touched her otherwise serious face. "Not bad. You really haven’t let your Martial Arts get rusty."

"Uh." Rong Taotao stopped scrambling and cautiously got to his feet. "Are we done?"

"Heh, your little girlfriend is here. I’ll let you save some face." Si Huan Nian casually tossed aside her Snow Saber. "Your Sword Technique is a little one-sided. Have you only been focusing on drawing and sheathing your blade?"

"Er..." Rong Taotao scratched his head, embarrassed. "You know, my main weapon is the Heaven-piercing Halberd. I basically only use the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow when someone gets in close and I’m forced to defend myself, so..."

"Hmm." Si Huan Nian nodded thoughtfully. "Fine, you could call it a form of Specialized Training, but you can’t go on like this. For a while, I’m going to give you some intensive training to make your Great Xia Dragon Sparrow skills presentable."

’Presentable?’

’That’s a long way off!’

’My Heaven-piercing Halberd is already at Four-Star, High-Tier, while my Great Xia Dragon Sparrow is only at Two-Star, High-Tier. That’s a full two Major Ranks apart! If I really mained the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow, the damage to our team’s overall performance would be huge.’

"Go on. She probably needs to talk to you about something," Si Huan Nian said casually, clasping her hands behind her back as she walked toward the Martial Arts Hall.

The students watching automatically parted to make a path for her. The sight of it... Honestly, Rong Taotao was incredibly envious of that kind of presence.

’When will I be able to walk somewhere and have the crowd automatically part for me? How cool would that be?’

Rong Taotao looked around, and following everyone’s gazes, he saw Gao Lingwei waving from the edge of the arena.

’Geez, I’m dating one girl and the whole school has their eyes on her. Is this really necessary?’

’There are over a billion people in Huaxia, and plenty of other women in the world. Can’t you guys find another target? Why cling to such an unrealistic fantasy?’

Gao Lingwei was wearing a white down jacket and holding another one in her hand. As Rong Taotao approached, she reached out, patting the Shuangxue from his clothes. "Cafeteria?"

"Sure," Rong Taotao agreed instantly.

’Doesn’t matter what time it is—morning, afternoon, or the middle of the night—if you ask me to go to the cafeteria, we’re the best of friends!’

’For Rong Taotao, hunger wasn’t just limited to mealtimes.’

’It was a 24-hour, nonstop...’

Rong Taotao put on the down jacket and quickly left the Martial Arts Hall with Gao Lingwei.

"That was way too scary..." Rong Taotao couldn’t help but mutter.

"Heh." Gao Lingwei smiled. "The stronger you get, the quieter they’ll become."

"Yeah, you’re right. This selection tournament is a good opportunity to make a name for myself," Rong Taotao nodded in agreement.

Gao Lingwei turned her head, her beautiful eyes gazing at Rong Taotao. In a rare display, she took his hand. "You don’t have to be in such a rush. When I didn’t have a boyfriend, they all kept their distance. Now that I have one, they suddenly have courage? Heh..."

’Tsk, so domineering!’

Rong Taotao smacked his lips and couldn’t help but say, "You know, that might actually be true! Because they found out that even someone like *me* could win you over..."

The hand Gao Lingwei was holding Rong Taotao’s with suddenly tightened, giving it a squeeze that was neither light nor heavy. "Say that again."

Rong Taotao immediately changed his tune. "Who else could you possibly fall for besides me?"

"Mm, that’s more like it."

...

The two arrived at the cafeteria. It was 10:00 AM, not yet lunchtime, so there weren’t many people inside.

They went up to the second floor. Before they’d taken more than a few steps, they saw someone peeking around from the front of that familiar coffee shop in the distance, looking toward the stairwell.

When she saw the two of them coming up the stairs, Gan Lin’s face lit up with delight and she hurried over.

"Whoa! Da Wei!"

"Linlin, Happy New Year," Gao Lingwei said with a smile as she walked forward. Her smile was much warmer when she was with her best friend.

But to her surprise, Gan Lin showed no signs of slowing down. She threw her arms open and, with a little leap, pounced right on her.

"Whoa!" Gao Lingwei caught Gan Lin by the waist, the force of the impact making her take a step back.

Rong Taotao never would have expected a tall, long-legged young woman like her to be capable of such a ’fledgling returning to the nest’ kind of pounce.

Gan Lin, now in Gao Lingwei’s arms, even kicked her legs up, as if waiting for Gao Lingwei to pick her up and spin her around. However...

Gan Lin had miscalculated. Gao Lingwei leaned back slightly and set her down. "You seem a little heavier. Did you eat well over the New Year?"

Gan Lin: ???

Gan Lin immediately cried out in protest, "I’ve been training like crazy! It’s solid muscle, okay?! Look, I’m not fat."

With that, Gan Lin actually did a full spin right in front of Gao Lingwei.

Rong Taotao gave a timely wave. "Hello."

"Hmph." Gan Lin’s smile vanished instantly. She shot Rong Taotao a cold snort, then clung to Gao Lingwei’s arm and turned toward the coffee shop.

Rong Taotao scratched his hair helplessly and followed them.

"I saw a message in the class group chat saying that little brat was back and sparring with Coach Si in the Martial Arts Arena, so I knew you must be back too." Gan Lin clung tightly to Gao Lingwei’s arm. After entering the coffee shop, she went to their usual window seat and plopped down on the sofa.

"I just got back this morning. I’ve been away training. How about you? Are your parents doing well?"

"They’re great, of course they are! Their daughter got into Songjiang Soul Martial University, my mom and dad couldn’t be happier.

Weren’t they living in Songbai Town for the past few years to be near me while I studied? They just moved back to our hometown, Liaolian, this year, and now they brag to everyone they meet, especially over the New Year holiday!

So many relatives came to visit, and they all made me perform my White Lantern Paper Cage technique or something. It reminded me of when I was four or five and had to perform for relatives by singing or reciting poetry... Ugh, it was so embarrassing!"

Gan Lin chattered on and on. Never mind Rong Taotao sitting across from them, even Gao Lingwei could barely get a word in...

"Da Wei, where did you go to train over the break?"

"Da Wei, did you get hurt? Stand up, let me hug you and see if you’ve put on any weight."

"Oh, right, Da Wei, I went to see your parents over the New Year. They’re both doing great. They seem to be in good spirits and are very healthy."

Gao Lingwei looked at Gan Lin beside her, her heart warming at her friend’s words. "Thank you," she said softly.

"What’s there to thank? Our families used to go see the lanterns together on the first and fifteenth of the New Year, didn’t we? Now that your parents and my parents are both back in Liaolian, they have each other for company. Although..."

Gao Lingwei: "What is it?"

Gan Lin whispered, "Well, your dad is strict, but your mom talked to me privately and asked how busy you are. She also asked about the specific class schedule at Songjiang Soul Martial. I think she was trying to figure out when you might have time to come back to Liaolian."

Guilt filled Gao Lingwei’s heart. "I should be able to go back during summer break. The Outer Region placement tournament should be held in Fengtian, so I’ll definitely have time to go home."

"Outer Region placement?" Gan Lin froze, staring at Gao Lingwei in confusion. "You mean the university-level Outer Region placement tournament? The one for selecting the national seed teams?"

"Mhm." Gao Lingwei nodded. "Yes. Taotao and I are going to compete this year. In the doubles tournament."

The national tournament didn’t allocate team slots by university, but by region. Gao Lingwei was very familiar with this format, as it was the same as the high school league.

If Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei successfully represented Songjiang Soul Martial, they would first have to fight in the placement tournament for the Three Provinces Outside the Passes. Only if they were fortunate enough to make it into the top eight could they represent the entire Outer Region and advance to the national tournament.

Huaxia was divided into seven major competition zones. Each zone held its own eliminations and placement rounds, with the top eight teams from each advancing to compete for the final championship.

This regional system was actually quite good. Ranking in the top eight of the entire Outer Region would also come with Soul Pearl rewards, and maybe even Soul Pet rewards.

To improve their standings in the national tournament, the major competition zones invested heavily in supporting their students.

Hearing this, Gan Lin was dumbfounded. She stared blankly and said, "Are you crazy?"

Gao Lingwei: "..."

Gan Lin grew anxious. "Oh, my dear Da Wei, you can only participate in this competition once! You have to cherish that perfect record of yours! Why are you in such a rush to compete as a freshman?

Besides, even if you really want to compete, you should find a team of third-years or seniors to partner with! With your skill level, someone would definitely take you.

How can you take the lead yourself and bring along a student from the Junior Class?"

Rong Taotao spoke up weakly, "Ahem, Miss, I’m still here, you know. Sitting right across from you."

"You shut up!" Gan Lin glared at Rong Taotao, annoyed. "What kind of love potion did you give our Da Wei? Something’s wrong, something is very wrong... Whoa! So cute!"

As Gan Lin spoke, the anger on her face suddenly vanished, because Rong Taotao had just summoned his Cloud Dog!

Looking at the adorable Cloud Dog, Gan Lin’s eyes practically started sparkling. She quickly reached out and scooped it into her arms.

"Ooh," she cooed, making a sound like someone fawning over a baby. She rubbed her nose against the Cloud Dog’s and swayed her head from side to side. "We meet again!"

The Cloud Dog stuck out its little pink tongue, licking her nose and its own. "Mmm~"

Gao Lingwei couldn’t help but smile. Seeing her best friend’s worries instantly vanish, replaced by pure delight, she couldn’t resist shooting Rong Taotao a look.

Rong Taotao chuckled. "From now on, before a match, we should check our opponents’ profiles. If we find anyone with a particular weakness like Gan Lin’s—no resistance to cute things—we’ll just send out the Cloud Dog and kill ’em with cuteness."

Gao Lingwei raised an eyebrow slightly. After a moment’s thought, she lifted her long leg and rested her right ankle on her left knee.

WHOOSH...

The next moment, a beautiful ragdoll cat abruptly appeared on her ankle. It tilted its head back, looking up curiously.

Gao Lingwei reached out a finger and dotingly tapped its little head.

Gan Lin was completely floored!

She was left dizzy, bombarded by such a dense volley of "cuteness." She stared dumbly at the Frost Night Xuerong perched on Gao Lingwei’s ankle and said, word by word, "What! Is! THAT!?"

Gao Lingwei glanced at Rong Taotao, her right eyebrow arched in a rare, mischievous smile.

Rong Taotao, however, looked at the completely flustered Gan Lin and couldn’t help but put on a sorrowful expression.

’This poor girl... I’m afraid she’s really going to die of envy...’