Master of Nine Stars

March 3rd, Imperial Capital City.

The international airport was bustling with people. A young man with a backpack followed the crowd and made his way out of the arrivals gate.

Instantly, a wave of warmth washed over him. Most people on the street were wearing single layers or short sleeves, which made Rong Taotao, still in his down jacket, seem a little out of place.

It was truly as warm as spring, with a pleasant climate.

"Heh..." Rong Taotao took a deep breath, but instead smelled a whiff of smoke. He turned his head and saw travelers gathered around a nearby trash can, all smoking and borrowing lighters right after getting off their flights...

A century ago, Imperial Capital City wouldn’t have been a scene of blossoming spring in early March. The tail end of winter would likely still be lingering, and the weather would still be cold.

But ever since the Starfield Vortex appeared, everything was different.

The eternally spring-like Starfield Vortex acted like a giant thermostat, keeping Imperial Capital City perpetually warm. Even in the dead of winter, the temperature here mostly remained above freezing, and snowfall was a rare sight.

Rong Taotao gazed into the distance and saw it on the far horizon—the massive Starfield Vortex.

"Mommy, look! Wow..." a little girl cried out in alarm. "The sky has a big hole in it! We have to find Nuwa quickly."

For a moment, everyone around them looked over with a smile. The mother, clearly a tourist, picked up her child and comforted her softly.

In fact, Rong Taotao had already seen the massive Vortex from the plane. It was both stunning and terrifying.

If that Vortex were to fall straight down, it would probably swallow the magnificent city below whole.

"Whoa..." Rong Taotao sighed in amazement, raising his phone to take a picture of the distant horizon.

Rong Taotao had spent more than half a year in the northern Snow Realm, but he had never even been inside the Second Wall, let alone seen the Snow Realm Vortex.

Yet here in Imperial Capital City, he could easily see the Starfield Vortex.

Layers of white clouds circled clockwise around the edge of the Vortex, moving slowly. From time to time, one could even see tiny figures falling out of it. It would probably look even more stunning up close.

"Taotao," a man’s voice suddenly called from the side.

Rong Taotao turned and saw a middle-aged man in a casual suit, white shirt, and black leather shoes.

Fortunately, he wasn’t wearing a tie; otherwise, he would have looked a bit too formal.

Rong Yuanshan strode forward and looked his son over carefully, a hint of approval on his face. He gently patted Rong Taotao’s shoulder and said, "You’ve gotten taller. More mature, too."

Hearing this, Rong Taotao tried to puff out his chest, but it didn’t make much of a difference.

His father and his older brother, Rong Yang, were almost the same height at 185 cm, while Rong Taotao was shorter than them by half a head.

The real difference was in their build, which was quite significant. After all, Rong Taotao was still a sixteen-year-old with a somewhat slender frame.

Rong Yuanshan helped lift the strap of Rong Taotao’s backpack and said, "Take off your jacket first."

As he spoke, Rong Yuanshan glanced behind Rong Taotao, smiled, and nodded.

"Hm?" Rong Taotao turned to look. In the bustling exit area, he did see two or three people meet his father’s gaze, nod slightly, and then go their separate ways.

"You know them?"

Rong Yuanshan smiled at the silly boy before him. "They’re the ones who escorted you all the way here."

"Oh." Rong Taotao slipped off his down jacket. Rong Yuanshan opened the backpack, intending to put the jacket inside, only to find it stuffed full of candy and chocolate bars.

He had previously heard from Yang Chunxi that as a host of the Lotus Petal, Rong Taotao had very pronounced symptoms of hypoglycemia. Now, Rong Yuanshan completely understood. His son’s "illness" was quite serious...

"Come on, let’s go back to the hotel first and change. You must be hungry, right?" Rong Yuanshan asked teasingly.

"Hunger is my default state," Rong Taotao said, walking behind his father.

’It was nice. His father was still tall, and his back wasn’t stooped.’

The two of them got into a business van. As Rong Yuanshan drove, he kept glancing at his son in the passenger seat. They hadn’t seen each other in over half a year, and to be honest, the atmosphere was a little awkward.

Several times, Rong Yuanshan seemed about to speak but stopped himself. Rong Taotao, meanwhile, just stared out the window at the passing streetscape, lost in thought.

Rong Yuanshan finally broke the silence. "I heard you found a suitable partner, someone who’s also from a family of generals."

From a family of generals!?

Rong Taotao froze for a second, then turned to his father. "Gao Lingwei is from a family of generals?"

Now it was Rong Yuanshan’s turn to be surprised. "You didn’t know? Your little friend is the one who won the Outer Region championship last year, right?"

Rong Taotao: "Yeah."

Rong Yuanshan nodded. "Then that’s her. Her father was an officer in the Snow Burning Army, and a high-ranking one at that. He retired later due to an injury."

Rong Taotao frowned slightly. "She never told me..."

"Haha," Rong Yuanshan chuckled. "It’s good that you get along like that. It’s pure."

"Oh, right, where’s my teacher?" Rong Taotao asked curiously.

"I took leave, so no one else gets any," Rong Yuanshan laughed. "Before I left, she specifically reminded me to check if your Heaven-piercing Halberd techniques have gotten rusty."

"A bodyguard?" Rong Taotao raised an eyebrow, curious. "That old gentleman must be very high-ranking, right? I mean, even someone as strong as my teacher is his bodyguard."

Rong Yuanshan: "..."

"Right?"

Rong Yuanshan composed himself and said, "Yes. But the person we’re protecting can’t be judged simply by rank. Ever since the great Vortexes descended, Huaxia has been able to enjoy its current, relatively stable environment, and that’s thanks in part to this old gentleman.

"A person like him can be called a pillar of the nation. All we can do now is provide him with a safe and stable environment to live out his later years in peace. However, he’s still working, so we have no choice but to travel all over with him."

"No wonder... you’re so busy..." Rong Taotao nodded thoughtfully. "And how you got me a Cloud Dog so easily."

"Haha." Rong Yuanshan seemed to recall something and couldn’t help but laugh. "That was all because of your reputation."

Rong Taotao: "Huh?"

Rong Yuanshan: "When I said I needed to arrange for you to study Starfield Soul Skills, the old gentleman personally granted me three months of leave without a second thought. Even if I wanted to go back now, I wouldn’t be allowed through the gate..."

Rong Taotao: "Oho? You got abandoned too? Well, then we’ve got something in common to talk about."

Rong Yuanshan: "..."

"You little rascal. We haven’t even been talking for five minutes and you’re already taking jabs at me." Rong Yuanshan laughed heartily. But this was good, too. It saved them from the awkwardness.

"My teacher is Xia Fangran, after all. I can’t let his traditional craft die out."

Rong Yuanshan: "Xia of the Pine Soul Four Seasons?"

Rong Taotao: "Yep..."

"When it comes to the Heaven-piercing Halberd, he’s certainly made a name for himself in the Snow Realm," Rong Yuanshan said with a nod. "I heard you got your second Lotus Petal with his help?"

"Coach Xia is a True Divine General! Even though he doubted my abilities, he never once thought of abandoning me while we were being hunted. He was ready to die to protect me." Rong Taotao’s tone turned serious. "I didn’t really have a strong connection with him before, but that night, he truly amazed me."

Rong Yuanshan: "He’s been a practical skills teacher for over twenty years and has protected countless students. You’re probably the one who’s given him the biggest headache, aren’t you?"

"I guess so. We were chased by a Frost Beauty, plus Smoke of the Pine Soul Four Rites as its servant. The two of them were chasing us for our lives, and we ran like hell, but in the end, it was still Imprisoned by the Lotus." As he spoke, Rong Taotao felt hungry again. He turned to the back seat and grabbed a handful of candy from his backpack.

Watching the boy frantically eating candy, Rong Yuanshan couldn’t help but sigh.

Who would have thought that in just half a year, this child, who had just begun his Soul Martial Life, would already possess two Lotus Petals?

The Snow Realm Treasure, the Nine-Petaled Lotus—something countless people dreamed of—and a child had obtained two of its petals.

"The Snow Realm isn’t the only place in the world with a Supreme Treasure," Rong Yuanshan said suddenly.

"Huh?"

Rong Yuanshan: "A Supreme Treasure once appeared in the Starfield Vortex, too, but it manifested in the form of fragments. We don’t know exactly how many fragments there are.

"But there’s no doubt that these fragments don’t occupy a Soul Slot. They merge into a Soul Martial Artist’s body and provide an accelerated cultivation effect."

Rong Taotao, chewing on a Little Rascal candy, couldn’t help but blink. "You’ve seen it? In fragment form?"

’So it’s different from the one in the Snow Realm? Not in the form of a flower?’

"I’ve seen the person, and I’ve seen the fragment," Rong Yuanshan said. "It’s no secret in our circles that this person possesses a Star Fragment. And with its help, she rose rapidly to become a renowned Soul General."

As he spoke, Rong Yuanshan looked at Rong Taotao and said, "I feel like I’m looking at your future."

Rong Taotao grinned. "That’s not a good idea. She’s got her fragment, minding her own business, and I’m just supposed to go and snatch it? How could I do that? A gentleman does not take what another covets.

"Coach Si even wanted to give me her Lotus Petal, and I righteously refused.

"Who do you think I, Rong Taotao, am? Huh? I’m the most handsome young man in all of New Danxi and the surrounding villages! If I’m going to look human, I’ve got to act human."

Rong Yuanshan: ???

’Are we even talking about the same thing?’

Rong Taotao lowered his voice. "Besides, if I really did snatch a Great Soul General’s fragment, could you even take a single punch from her?

"Don’t let her smack you to pieces. You can’t handle the fallout from this. We’d have to get your wife to come protect me..."

The corner of Rong Yuanshan’s mouth twitched awkwardly. ’If my wife showed up, that Soul General probably wouldn’t be able to handle it either. There are gaps between Soul Generals, and they’re no smaller than the gaps between those at the Soul School level!’

’Even if one is a Snow Realm Soul Martial Artist and the other is a Starfield Soul Martial Artist, with absolute power, you can crush your opponent even with an Attribute disadvantage... Wait a second.’

’No, that’s not right. How did we suddenly get on the topic of robbery?’

’I never said you should go steal her Star Fragment, did I?’

Rong Yuanshan immediately snapped back to reality and said, "What I meant was that you should work hard! You have two Lotus Petals! Your future achievements will be limitless!"

"Yeah, yeah," Rong Taotao said, chewing on a Little Rascal sugar cube. "I get it, I get it. Why are you yelling so loud..."