Master of Nine Stars

”I’ll take the lead, Taotao! I’ll take the lead!” Gao Lingwei said, her expression serious.

Most people called Rong Taotao by his nickname, which was also ’Taotao.’ Only Gao Lingwei used the ’Tao’ from his given name. Since the two were pronounced identically, no one ever noticed the subtle difference.

Rong Taotao looked annoyed. ”They’re ignoring me! How dare they ignore me! I’m just going to mess with them out of spite!”

Gao Lingwei: ”...”

’Are they ignoring you? They don’t have the luxury of looking away—I have their full attention. They have no choice but to face me!’

Gao Lingwei took a deep breath, suppressing the roiling emotions within her, and said again, ”I’ll take the lead.”

”Got it, got it,” Rong Taotao said, rushing toward Gao Lingwei. ”Behind you!”

The pair of Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei cleared a path along the left baseline, instantly tearing through and sending two second-echelon teams out of bounds.

It wasn’t that their opponents were seriously injured, but they had all fallen out of bounds. Under the rules, they were definitively eliminated!

”Heh~ This young couple is pretty damn good! I totally misjudged them. That was insane!”

”Less than twenty seconds in, and two teams are gone. Can you believe it?”

”And from a duo of underclassmen, no less. It’s a good thing those two teams are graduating next month, or they’d be too ashamed to ever show their faces at school again...”

”Pfft...”

”Hahahaha!”

Even though there were multiple battles raging on the green field, including some with bona fide seeded contestants, at this moment, nearly every student’s gaze was fixed on Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei, locked on the southeast corner of the field.

Hearing Rong Taotao’s warning, Gao Lingwei immediately turned and stepped back, a Heaven-piercing Halberd materializing in her hands.

What came flying at her was a short, dark-gold scepter!

”CLANG!”

Gao Lingwei held her Long Halberd horizontally, blocking the spinning scepter. A tremendous force struck, making the web of her thumb go numb and forcing her to stumble back three steps!

”Hiss...” Gao Lingwei sucked in a sharp breath. Her arm felt sore and numb, almost unresponsive. ’What kind of power is this?’

Before her stood a pair of similar-looking twins, a brother and sister.

Judging from their stances, the scepter had clearly been thrown by the brother.

The male student, his face contorted with anger, severed the Soul Power Threads of his Snow Fury and flung another dark-gold scepter!

Gao Lingwei’s expression turned grave. She tightened her grip on her Heaven-piercing Halberd, preparing to defend.

Just then, a Snow Halberd darted out from her side, precisely striking the handle of the scepter.

Swift! Precise! Deft!

The handle of the straight-flying scepter was tapped by the Snow Halberd, sending it spinning. Its trajectory shifted slightly, and it flew past Gao Lingwei’s side with a gust of air that ruffled her long, black ponytail.

Rong Taotao once again stepped in front of Gao Lingwei, muttering under his breath, ”Oh, Da Wei... my dear Da Wei, you really do need me.”

Gao Lingwei was taken aback. Hearing his soft whispers and seeing him shield her, a warmth spread through her heart.

There on the tense battlefield, a faint smile actually appeared on her face.

Ever since becoming a Soul Martial Artist, she had always been the team’s leader. As captain, she was always the one others relied on, but now...

”What are you smiling at!? Are you mocking me!?” the twin brother roared, his face a mask of shock and fury.

’What did I just see? Did that Gao Lingwei actually smile?’

’Why is she smiling? Is it because my two attacks failed?’

Hearing this, Gao Lingwei raised her eyes. Her gaze passed over Rong Taotao’s shoulder to the charging twin siblings, and she saw the shocked and furious male student.

Gao Lingwei held her halberd with one hand, resting it on Rong Taotao’s shoulder to form a ”spiked iron barrel” Defense Formation. Gazing at the male student from afar, she said coolly, ”Don’t misunderstand. You’ve never even registered in my eyes.”

The male student’s expression was a sight to behold, his face shifting between shades of livid green and purple.

Since the start of the match, he and his sister had been running this way, constantly chasing after Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei.

And yet, right under their noses, Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei hadn’t paused for a single moment. They had charged from the goal line to the corner, tearing through half the field like a hot knife through butter.

Now, the twin siblings, along with Team 11 behind them and Team 16 from the sideline, had all closed in, trapping Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei in the corner.

No matter how dominant Rong Taotao and his partner had seemed, or that they had eliminated two teams right before everyone’s eyes, the fact remained: at this moment, Team 13, with Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei, was surrounded by Teams 11, 12, and 16!

Three teams cornering one!

What’s more, that one team was in the corner-kick area, where they could easily be knocked out of bounds and eliminated.

But even in such a perilous situation, that Gao Lingwei had uttered such scornful words.

’Does she even see me as human?’

”Don’t look at her eyes! Don’t look! Even if you have a Spirit Soul Pearl Soul Skill, don’t look! Whatever you do, don’t look!” Outside the boundary, the two brothers who had just been knocked out like bowling pins were fuming, stomping their feet and shouting, ”Just throw long-range attacks into the corner! Don’t look at her eyes!”

”Silence!” Teacher #15 barked. ”Are you trying to interfere with the match? Do you still want your diplomas?”

The brothers’ faces stiffened, turning red as their chests heaved. They were clearly unable to swallow their anger, but Teacher #15 gave them a shove that made them stumble. ”Leave the field! Now!”

The two brothers were pushed and shoved off the green field. As they left, they kept looking back, as if wanting to personally witness the elimination of Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei’s team.

However, the duo stood firm in the corner.

Rong Taotao was in a solid horse stance, his Snow Halberd held horizontally before him.

Gao Lingwei stood behind him, her Heaven-piercing Halberd resting on his shoulder, her eyes scanning the three teams closing in.

Unfortunately for them, everyone averted their gaze, not daring to meet her eyes.

Normally, a forehead Soul Pearl is more precious than an Eye Soul Pearl. But over the past three or four years of their school life, having gone on many missions, they had all been equipped with forehead Soul Pearls with the school’s help.

This was a benefit they received as twins and a testament to Pine Soul Soul Martial’s responsible approach to training its students. The school could provide them with forehead Soul Pearls, but Eye Soul Pearls were something they had to find themselves.

This was why back then, near the Second Wall, after the Snowball Cat discovered the Ice Crystal Squirrel, Fu Tiance had remarked on the team’s luck. Rong Yang, however, had said it was all thanks to the Snowball Cat; without it, others could have walked right past the Ice Crystal Squirrel and never noticed it.

Furthermore, not everyone could even open an Eye Soul Slot.

If they had, they probably wouldn’t be second-echelon students, and they wouldn’t have ganged up to besiege Rong Taotao and his partner.

Gao Lingwei sneered and said coolly, ”Who’s first? Or are you all coming at once?”

Rong Taotao, gripping his Long Halberd, said, ”Just come at me together. I’m in a hurry.”

Gao Lingwei: ”Hm?”

Rong Taotao: ”I’m hungry.”

”Fuck!”

”How dare you!”

”Such shameless boasting!”

Rong Taotao’s simple ”I’m hungry” instantly ignited the battlefield in the corner!

But... as heaven is my witness!

Rong Taotao wasn’t trying to be the least bit sarcastic. He really was just hungry...

”What, I can’t even be hungry now?” Rong Taotao thrust his Long Halberd. Against an incoming Long Spear, he used a sticking technique, deflecting the glittering spearhead toward an enemy to the side. ”You upperclassmen are so bossy~”

Facing weapons hacking and stabbing from all directions, the Heaven-piercing Halberd in Rong Taotao’s hands began to spin in a blur of blocks, lifts, deflections, and parries, causing an uproar in the stands as buzzing discussions erupted.

”Wh-what is that?”

”Holy hell! Is he a... a spinning top? Ah, no, a little Fengxian!”

”Isn’t Gao Lingwei supposed to be the one who always charges forward? Did she change her style? Just standing in the back to mess with people? Whoa... don’t aim for the eyes!”

”It’s fine. They don’t dare look up at her anyway. Their eyes are useless either way...”

SMACK! Rong Taotao kicked his own Halberd Shaft, whipping it around like a club to strike the male student on the shoulder!

’1v1, I’m no good!’

’1v6?’

’Then you’ve really come to the right guy!’

...

Votes, please!