Master of Nine Stars

Yang Chunxi’s heart softened. She leaned forward, resting an elbow on the lectern and cupping her cheek with her hand. Her long, black hair cascaded down, a breathtaking sight.

She looked at the older sister, Shi Lou, in the last row and said, "So, you’re the same as her."

Shi Lou stood up and nodded, her gaze unwavering and completely resolute. "Yes, Teacher."

"Sit down, sit down. You must work hard, alright?" Yang Chunxi said with a smile, then turned her head to look at Lu Mang, who was in the first seat of the third group. "What about you?"

Lu Mang remained expressionless. After a moment of silence, he said, "I just wanted to seize the opportunity. Songjiang Soul Martial University is a top-tier institution, better than any high school."

Yang Chunxi’s smile seemed to hide a story. It was clear she had information the other students didn’t. Lu Mang’s reasons for coming here all the way from Shanghai weren’t that simple.

But Yang Chunxi didn’t press Lu Mang. Instead, she looked at Jiao Tengda behind him. "You’re from Sichuan and Shu. Why did you come here?"

"Ah, haha, Teacher." Jiao Tengda chuckled, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "My reason is the same as Lu Mang’s. A top-tier university starting a Junior Class... who wouldn’t be a fool to not give it a shot? And I actually made it, haha~"

Yang Chunxi: "..."

"Hehe," Jiao Tengda added, perhaps getting too excited and letting his regional accent slip. "Plus, I don’t have to go to high school. No five years of college entrance exam prep and three years of mock tests. Ah~ it’s just the best..."

Yang Chunxi shot Jiao Tengda a smiling glare and looked past him to Xu Taiping, who was sitting in the very last row.

When her gaze fell upon Xu Taiping, her expression involuntarily grew complex. "Last year, the school approached you once. We were even going to send a teacher to give you one-on-one private instruction. You flatly refused back then. Why did you choose to come to Songjiang Soul Martial University this year?"

Xu Taiping looked at Yang Chunxi, his face impassive, and spoke quietly, "Something happened last year that gave me a goal."

Yang Chunxi: "Can you tell us about it?"

Xu Taiping’s gaze darkened. "I’m an outlier in human society. Throughout my life, everyone has looked at me differently."

"I’m also well aware that countless Soul Martial Artists have wanted to take the Soul Pearl from my head countless times."

"Until one day, someone told me that while I am indeed different, I could also become a bridge for communication between humans and the Snow Realm Soul Beasts."

"Perhaps, someday in the future, I can reduce the devastation on the northern battlefield and save the Snow Realm Soul Beasts from being slaughtered by humanity."

His words left everyone in the classroom with a bitter taste in their mouths.

Xu Taiping’s perspective was entirely that of the Snow Realm Soul Beasts.

But war was a two-way street. Humans wanted the Soul Pearls of the Snow Realm Soul Beasts and to acquire Lifebound Soul Beasts, while the Snow Realm Soul Beasts wanted the human world’s living environment—its land and food resources.

This long war had begun the moment the Vortex bloomed in the sky. It had raged on and off for decades, and it was long past the point of telling who was right and who was wrong.

Yang Chunxi deftly changed the subject and her target, looking at Li Ziyi, who was also sitting in the back row. "Your turn."

A fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy is at that fearless age where he’s afraid of nothing. Or perhaps it was just Li Ziyi’s personality that he didn’t mind speaking his true thoughts.

Li Ziyi simply tilted his head slightly, gesturing toward Sun Xingyu sitting in front of him. "She came here, so I came here."

Sun Xingyu lowered her head, a little shy.

Yang Chunxi couldn’t help but smile. She looked at Sun Xingyu warmly and asked, "And you?"

Sun Xingyu: "My parents met while on a mission in the Snow Realm. I thought... maybe the two of us could be like my mom and dad..."

Directly in front of Sun Xingyu, Rong Taotao’s muttering could be heard, "What the hell is wrong with me? I actually sat through their whole story..."

"Hehe~" Yang Chunxi finally couldn’t hold it in and laughed out loud. She turned to Rong Taotao. "And you?"

Rong Taotao smacked his lips and sighed. "Ai, that’s a long and sad story..."

"Pfft..."

"Hehe." The Shi Family Sisters, Fan Lihua, and the others who didn’t know the situation snickered. They meant no harm, of course; they just found Rong Taotao a bit mischievous.

Yang Chunxi nodded lightly. Of course, she couldn’t ask something like, "So where did his mother go?" since she already knew.

Rong Taotao’s response was interesting and quite frank, answering Yang Chunxi’s question with a playful, clownish remark.

Yang Chunxi said, "Alright, quiet down."

Yang Chunxi clapped her hands. "Yesterday, student Sun Xingyu came to see me privately and told me an amusing story."

"Huh?" Shi Lan was slightly surprised. ’Rong Taotao didn’t even answer the question, but Teacher Yang Chunxi is just letting him off the hook?’

Yang Chunxi continued, "During the Snowfield assessment, Li Ziyi, Sun Xingyu, Rong Taotao, and Lu Mang formed a team and named themselves the ’Fruit Platter’."

"The students corresponded to Plum, Apricot, Peach, and Mango."

As she spoke, Yang Chunxi gestured to Lu Mang’s group, pointing at Jiao Tengda and Xu Taiping. "Banana, Apple."

Yang Chunxi then looked at the Shi Family Sisters and Fan Lihua. "Two Pomegranates, and one Pear."

Fan Lihua blinked. ’I’m a Pear?’

’I have a codename? And it was given to me by the famous Yang Chunxi?’

’How many people would be jealous if they heard about this?’

Yang Chunxi said, "I’m telling you this to foster a sense of collective honor among you."

"The Songjiang Soul Martial University Junior Class has enrolled dozens of students, but there are only nine of you in the Soul Class."

"Although the class is divided into three small groups, I want you to clearly realize that you are an inseparable whole."

"I don’t want to see a single piece of fruit fall behind and get kicked out to the Martial Arts Class in the assessment a year from now."

"I hope that the nine of you in the Soul Class can help each other, get through these four years of university together, and graduate smoothly."

"I even hope that for the rest of your lives, you can become the closest of comrades and friends, facing this bizarre and motley world together."

Yang Chunxi continued, "Songjiang Soul Martial University is full of crouching tigers and hidden dragons. As you all know, those incredibly powerful Soul Martial Artists all have codenames."

"These aren’t codenames they pick for themselves. Some are bestowed by powerful, experienced Soul Martial Artists, while others are publicly recognized and named by the masses."

"For example, the supervising teachers for your Group 1 and Group 3 are members of the Pine Soul Four Rites."

Yang Chunxi’s gaze swept over the students, all bursting with talent, and she said softly, "My own qualifications are still shallow. The codenames I’m giving you are obviously not enough to gain society’s recognition."

"But I hope that one day in the future, you will earn the recognition of the masses for this team through your own formidable strength."

Rong Taotao stared blankly at Yang Chunxi. "The Pine... Pine Soul Fruit Platter?"

Yang Chunxi gave Rong Taotao a playful glare. "You are the first class of the Songjiang Soul Martial Junior Class, and you are the best students of the Soul Class. In my eyes, you are the ’Nine Little Souls of Songjiang’."

"Er..." Shi Lou hesitated slightly. For someone like her, with her domineering aura and determination to carve a path through the Snow Realm Vortex, a title like "Little Soul" didn’t seem to sit well.

Yang Chunxi continued, "This codename is a gift from me, your head teacher. But recognition is something you must earn for yourselves."

"Work hard, for yourselves and for the honor of the entire team."

"That’s all for tonight’s evening class. You’re all dismissed. Be back in the classroom tomorrow at 7 PM sharp. We will officially begin our lessons then."

As she spoke, Yang Chunxi was already walking through the classroom, opening the door and stepping out.

Clearly, she wanted to give the students time to privately build friendships and get to know one another.

Rong Taotao scratched his head. "What’s wrong with ’Pine Soul Fruit Platter’? With pomegranates and plums, it fits perfectly."

"Hmph." From the back, Li Ziyi’s signature cold snort was heard. "When you’re seventy or eighty years old, you’ll still be called the ’Pine Soul Fruit Platter’? Have you no shame?"

"Bullshit!" Rong Taotao stood up and looked at Li Ziyi in the last row. "So what? When you’re seventy or eighty, you’ll still be called one of the ’Nine Little Souls’?"

"Hmph." Li Ziyi pursed his lips. "If I’m seventy or eighty and still hanging around with you, you can call me whatever you want. At that point, my life will already be a complete failure."

"What the fuck!?" Rong Taotao blinked. "Give you an inch and you take a mile, huh?"

Li Ziyi shot to his feet. "You think I’m afraid of you!?"

"Hey! Hey! Hey!" Sun Xingyu quickly stood up. Sitting in the middle, she was perfectly positioned to block the two. But she also knew these two hadn’t fought in a long time and were clearly spoiling for one. Back in middle school, it was a long time if they went a whole week without fighting.

Sun Xingyu said hurriedly, "If you two are going to fight, go outside to the Martial Arts Arena! Don’t wreck the classroom."

"Hmph~" Li Ziyi immediately turned, grabbed a Long Spear from the weapon rack behind him, and was the first to push open the door and walk out.

"If I don’t give you a proper thrashing today, you won’t know what it means to be gifted in both mind and might!" Rong Taotao also rushed out, grabbing a Heaven-piercing Halberd and chasing after him.

Sun Xingyu looked at everyone apologetically. "Sorry, sorry. They don’t really hate each other, they just like to spar."

In the front row, Fan Lihua looked completely bewildered. ’What just happened?’

’Weren’t we supposed to stick together and work hard to earn everyone’s recognition?’

’How did a fight break out the second the teacher left?’

Xu Taiping suddenly stood up, pulled a longsword from the weapon rack, and was about to push open the door and leave.

In the front row, Lu Mang leaned back, resting on Jiao Tengda’s desk, and looked up at Xu Taiping.

Lu Mang’s voice was heard. "You’re going after Rong Taotao? You couldn’t handle him in a blizzard, what makes you think you can handle him in the Martial Arts Arena?"

"Lu Mang, you remember this. The day you throw away that crutch will be the day I make you pick it back up." Xu Taiping’s face was grim as he forced the words through his teeth. He shot Lu Mang a cold glance and walked out the door.

"Tch." Lu Mang scoffed, picked up the crutch beside him, and got up to leave.

"Ooh~" The younger sister, Shi Lan, looked on in admiration at the chaos that had erupted in the classroom after the teacher left. She giggled, "What a united and loving big family we are~"

As the only boy left, Jiao Tengda said with a smile, "Don’t you worry. We can be friendly first, and then we can go reform them."

Shi Lan proudly tilted her head. "I’m the woman who’s going to conquer the Snow Realm Vortex. Who wants to be all friendly with a blockhead like you~"

’I followed you two sisters around in the Snowfield for two days, and you barely gave me the time of day. Now we’re in the same class, and it’s still like this?’ Jiao Tengda was clearly frustrated.

Jiao Tengda muttered under his breath, "You don’t know shit... you silly fool~"

Shi Lan shot to her feet, her accent slipping out. "Wha’d you say?"

Seeing Jiao Tengda stay silent, Shi Lan turned to Fan Lihua in front of her. "What did he say?"

Fan Lihua was startled by the imposing, heroic face. She quickly averted her eyes, lowered her head, and said weakly, "I’m from Jiangnan... er, Ganpo. I... I don’t understand..."

"Huh?" Shi Lan was taken aback. Seeing Fan Lihua’s reaction, she couldn’t resist reaching out and placing a hand on Fan Lihua’s little head. "You look so well-behaved. It makes me want to tease you a little."

Unexpectedly, Fan Lihua didn’t pull her head away. Instead... she narrowed her eyes as if enjoying it, shook her head gently, and even actively nuzzled against Shi Lan’s slender palm...

"Whoa..." Shi Lan looked as if she had discovered a new continent, clicking her tongue in admiration. ’This little sister is so soft and cute.’

From behind, however, came her older sister Shi Lou’s ghostly voice, "Don’t forget, her assessment score was over 100 points higher than yours."

Shi Lan: "..."