Master of Nine Stars

Returning to Songjiang Soul Martial University in the morning, Rong Taotao was once again enveloped in a pleasant atmosphere.

Even though Songjiang Soul Martial was also a world of white, with the city sealed by heavy snow.

But compared to the oppressive atmosphere of Hundred Corps Pass, which felt like "black clouds bearing down, threatening to crush the city," Songjiang Soul Martial exuded a sense of "warmth" from the inside out.

After all, this was a school for teaching and nurturing students, not a military camp at a pass with strict discipline.

After saying goodbye to his friends one by one, Rong Taotao stood at the school gate, unable to help but sigh with emotion.

"Coach Si, I’ll leave Taotao in your care," Yang Chunxi said with a smile, turning her head to look at Si Huan Nian.

"It’s nothing." Si Huan Nian waved her hand dismissively, placing her other hand on Rong Taotao’s head. "Hey, kid. You brave enough to be the night watchman all by yourself?"

Rong Taotao looked up at Si Huan Nian with a strange expression. "You really want me to be a night watchman? Would anyone actually dare to steal from the Martial Arts Hall? I was thinking... it’s not like there’s anything valuable in there, is there?"

Si Huan Nian said, "The weapons and equipment in the Martial Arts Hall are very valuable. Also, there are students who train in the outdoor Martial Arts Arena at night. You’ll be responsible for chasing them away."

"Huh?" Rong Taotao was bewildered. "But that just proves they’re training hard. Shouldn’t you be happy about that? Why would you want to chase them away?"

Si Huan Nian grabbed Rong Taotao’s head, turned him around, and started walking into the campus. Her casual reply carried her characteristic languor. "I’m a light sleeper."

"Eh?" Rong Taotao stumbled, barely managing to keep up with Si Huan Nian.

’Good grief, this lousy teacher. What am I, a piece of luggage?’

’First a scarf rack, then a bag holder, and now I’m luggage.’

’Could you at least treat me like a human being...’

The master and disciple walked on in silence. When they reached the second intersection, she gestured toward a supermarket on the right and said, "Go buy me a pack of candy. Just drop my name. You know the brand, right?"

Rong Taotao said meekly, "I... I don’t have any money on me."

"I didn’t bring any either," Si Huan Nian said nonchalantly. "Just put it on my tab. I’ll wait for you here."

Rong Taotao was speechless. "..."

’You’ve really got some nerve!’

’Making me go in and ask for credit while you wait outside...’

After putting a bag of Little Rascal candy on the tab at the supermarket, Rong Taotao learned that the old brand didn’t sell well. It was even difficult for the store to stock it. The supermarket actually ordered this specific candy just for Si Huan Nian.

Each munching on a Little Rascal candy, CRUNCH, CRUNCH, the master and disciple duo made their way to the northernmost Martial Arts Arena of Songjiang Soul Martial.

In the outdoor Martial Arts Arena, university students were sparring in more than a dozen different training areas. Seeing Si Huan Nian return, they all stopped and greeted her respectfully, "Coach Si!"

"Coach Si is back!"

"You didn’t come out to chase me away last night, and it felt so weird! I thought you’d slept like the dead..."

With a casual wave of her hand, Si Huan Nian summoned a Snow Dragon Tornado out of thin air!

"I was wrong! I was wrong, Coach Si, have mercy... Ahhh..."

The rapidly spinning vortex of wind and snow swept up the student, flinging him far, far away, forcefully blowing him right out of the Martial Arts Arena...

Si Huan Nian snorted and said, "That’s for last night."

"Haha."

"Hahahahaha!" Bursts of roaring laughter erupted as everyone’s eyes followed the student who had been sent flying, looking toward the area outside the arena...

The student, who had been forcefully swept outside the arena and slammed into a snowdrift, was completely dazed and confused. It took him a long while to get back up.

"From now on, seeing him is the same as seeing me." Si Huan Nian patted Rong Taotao, who was beside her. "If you don’t cooperate when he’s carrying out his duties, don’t blame me for dealing with you personally.

Go back and tell this to all the students who frequently come to the Martial Arts Arena to train, understand?"

"Ah..."

"Understood."

Everyone looked at Rong Taotao curiously. The little puppy on his head was quite peculiar and rare, sometimes shattering into mist and other times coalescing into a solid form, which looked rather magical.

They already had their guesses about Rong Taotao’s identity. After all, the news that Songjiang Soul Martial University was establishing a Junior Class was already widespread.

This young man before them was probably one of the selected students.

’Does this mean that from now on, at Songjiang Soul Martial University—or at least within this Martial Arts Arena—I’m second in command?’

’In that case, if I see an upperclassman using an impressive Soul Skill, it wouldn’t be asking too much for them to teach me a thing or two, would it?’

’Tsk tsk... This job is simply amazing~’

’It’s time to drain all these Songjiang Soul Martial University students dry!’

The master and disciple entered the Martial Arts Hall. Si Huan Nian gestured to a reception room on the right. "Yang Chunxi had someone put your things in there. You’ll live here for now. The university will assign you a new dorm room after the semester officially starts."

Rong Taotao: "Oh."

Si Huan Nian said, "I live in the lounge on the east side of the second floor. Keep an eye on the time. At 11:30, go to the cafeteria and bring me back a meal."

Rong Taotao: "Ah..."

Just as Rong Taotao’s face filled with reluctance, he heard Si Huan Nian add, "Remember to go to the second floor of the cafeteria, to the Teacher’s Cafeteria at the very back. You can eat there too. Just mention my name, and they’ll give you the same meal as me."

Hearing this, Rong Taotao instantly perked up.

The food in the Teacher’s Cafeteria was completely different from the student cafeteria. From the dishes to the chefs’ skills, they were on two different levels.

Si Huan Nian’s meals, in particular, were different from those of all the other teachers!

Due to Si Huan Nian’s physical condition, the Soul Martial chefs always prepared her meals separately. Her food wasn’t pre-made; whenever she wanted to eat, she would go over, order, and have it cooked on the spot. It was filled with many special "ingredients" that were highly nourishing!

Rong Taotao immediately nodded in agreement! Another sweet gig!

Suppressing his delight, he stepped into the reception room and saw his personal belongings.

It was just the clothes he had changed out of before the assessment, his toiletries, and the like.

The most important thing was his phone.

Rong Taotao immediately plugged his phone in to charge, boiled a kettle of water, and leisurely began his career as the "Lord Gatekeeper."

Having been isolated from the world recently, Rong Taotao had so many things he wanted to look up. He turned on his phone and connected to the internet.

For a moment, Rong Taotao didn’t even know where to begin his search...

"Hmm... Let’s start with Gao Lingwei!"

Just as Rong Taotao opened Weibo, a notification popped up at the top of his phone screen: "Friend request accepted."

Not on Weibo, but on WeChat.

Rong Taotao almost wanted to cry. He had sent a friend request to Si Huan Nian what felt like a million years ago, and she was only accepting it now?

’Si Huan Nian really is something else. It’s amazing she could even find the request...’

Rong Taotao was just thinking about what to say to her when a WeChat message from Si Huan Nian was shoved in his face: "Remember to get the food."

Rong Taotao was so annoyed that he replied with a single "smile" emoji.

Si Huan Nian sent a "smile" emoji back.

About ten minutes later, Rong Taotao put on his coat, grabbed his barely-charged phone, opened Weibo again, and pushed the door to go outside.

As he walked, his expression suddenly froze.

On Gao Lingwei’s Weibo, her latest post was a photo of the main gate of Songjiang Soul Martial University.

The large, gilded characters were written in a flamboyant, graceful script.

Her tall, slender figure stood at the school gate; it was a photo of her with the gate.

The caption above read: "Songjiang Soul Martial, may I be worthy of your name."

There were over 30,000 comments below, mostly congratulatory messages. Ahem... mixed in with a large number of love confessions.

There were also many comments from verified users. It was clear that Gao Lingwei’s circle of friends mostly consisted of contestants from the national high school competition, who were now scattered all over Huaxia, having been admitted early into various universities.

’She chose to come to Songjiang Soul Martial?’

This Weibo post was from the day before yesterday...

Ah!

Rong Taotao pursed his lips. ’How can I "accidentally" run into her?’

’This is my first time chasing a girl. It’s actually a little exciting.’

’And she’s already made a name for herself and won tangible honors, while I’m still a nobody. That’s pretty depressing...’

’Well, I should see her in person first. See if there’s any chemistry before I decide anything.’

Rong Taotao scrolled through Weibo as he walked toward the cafeteria.

As he scrolled, Rong Taotao discovered that news of Songjiang Soul Martial’s new Junior Class had already spread widely.

Especially after the members of the Junior Class were confirmed, the news swept across Huaxia with explosive speed.

After all, Songjiang Soul Martial was one of the top universities in Huaxia. Such a major move was unprecedented and would pave the way for all other Soul Martial universities.

Rong Taotao couldn’t find any recordings of the Snowfield assessment, but he did find his name on the list of students.

First Echelon! And ranked near the top!

Junior Class, Soul Class.

Ranked Second: Rong Taotao!

’Does this mean I can get verified too? Is... uh, is this considered an achievement?’

’Will this close the distance between me and Gao Lingwei a little?’

Ugh... Rong Taotao thought about Gao Lingwei’s three million-plus followers and sighed in despair.

He was quite certain that even if he dominated the competition, won the Outer Region championship, and placed third nationally, he probably wouldn’t get three million followers. After all... this was a society that judged people by their looks.

His mind racing with random thoughts, Rong Taotao entered the cafeteria and went up to the second floor. He walked past stalls for milk tea, burgers, cake, and coffee, heading toward the very back of the floor.

As he walked, Rong Taotao suddenly stopped. Had he discovered something incredible?

Holding his phone, Rong Taotao took two steps back, returning to the front of the coffee shop, and slowly turned his head.

Through a glass window, Rong Taotao saw her. In a seat by the window, a long-haired girl with a graceful, beautiful, and captivating figure was sitting on a sofa, one leg crossed over the other. She was holding a paper cup and looking at the person across the table.

Rong Taotao quickly looked over and was greatly relieved to find that the person sitting across from her was also a girl.

Rong Taotao shifted his gaze back to the long-haired girl. Gao Lingwei!

’We "accidentally" met just like that?’

’But... but I’m not ready yet...’

’Damn it, what’s a polite way to start a conversation?’

’Is it too late to look up an answer on Quora?’