Master of Nine Stars

”Interesting.” Cha Er took the thin snowflake slice, pinching a corner between his fingers and turning it over. He then raised his hand, holding the snowflake slice up to the window outside.

Sunlight streamed through the window into the room, passing through the exquisite patterns and casting strange markings on Cha Er’s face.

Rong Taotao saw the curious look on Da Wei’s face in the doorway and created another Frost Flower Snowcake. Pinching it between his fingers, he flicked it toward Gao Lingwei as if he were throwing a playing card.

Gao Lingwei reached out and caught the spinning snowflake slice between two fingers. The more she looked at it, the more delighted she became. Regardless of the Soul Skill’s function, its appearance alone was so exquisite it could be sold as a product.

”Come in. Close the door,” Si Huan Nian said, then beckoned to Gao Lingwei.

Although reluctant, Gao Lingwei obediently handed the snowflake slice to Si Huan Nian.

”It’s fine, there are more.” Rong Taotao made two more, one in each hand, and passed them both to Gao Lingwei.

Si Huan Nian: ”...”

”How did you create this?” Cha Er asked.

Rong Taotao said, ”Your paper states that all things have their own form. We are not creating Soul Skills, but rather discovering things that already exist in this world and exploring the inherent rules of the universe.”

”Hm?” Cha Er glanced up at Rong Taotao. His words weren’t difficult to understand. What Cha Er had never expected, however, was that Rong Taotao would actually use that concept as a guiding principle to develop a Soul Skill.

Rong Taotao continued, ”So I thought, since I wasn’t allowed to make a Frost Snow Shield, I should consider what a snowflake is supposed to be. I just had to follow their ’will,’ so to speak, and act according to their rules.

”And as it turns out, their shape is indeed very regular. I couldn’t make a round shield, but condensing and compressing the frost into a single large snowflake was possible.”

Fanning himself with the snowflake slice in his hand, Cha Er said, ”So you extracted your own methodology directly from my worldview?”

Rong Taotao replied, ”Your what?”

Cha Er explained, ”With the same words, I was expressing how I view the world, but you used them to manipulate and solve problems within the world.”

Rong Taotao said, a bit uncertain, ”That’s... uh, philosophy, right?”

Si Huan Nian commented dryly, ”I’ll talk to Chunxi. We’ll add a high school politics class for you next semester.”

Cha Er looked at his palm and tried to create a snowflake slice using Rong Taotao’s method, but then said, ”No, something’s missing.”

Rong Taotao said quickly, ”Empathy. This Soul Skill requires a heartfelt connection. You need to activate the snowflakes, seek their protection, and gently guide them, compressing and solidifying them as they spread.”

Cha Er nodded, looking at his palm in silence.

Rong Taotao added urgently, ”Think about Si Huan Nian! Imagine she’s about to kick you and you desperately need protection!”

Si Huan Nian: ???

And in the time it took Rong Taotao to say that, layers of frost had already spread across Cha Er’s palm.

Rong Taotao exclaimed, ”Teacher Cha, you learn so fast!”

Gao Lingwei: ”...”

’That’s a bit modest, isn’t it? It’s not like you’ve ever been a slow learner, Rong Taotao...’

A frisbee-sized snowflake slice appeared in Cha Er’s hand. He tossed it up and down a little before handing it to Rong Taotao with a smile.

”What’s this?” Rong Taotao took the large snowflake. ”Whoa! How is it so heavy?”

Cha Er chuckled. ”The heavier it is, the more snow is compressed into it. And that means its defensive power is higher, doesn’t it?”

”Right, right!” Rong Taotao nodded eagerly. ”That makes sense!”

As he spoke, he held the heavy snowflake in his left hand and once again gathered frost in his right.

’Tighter, tighter... Compress it! Harder! The sturdier, the better!’

’No, that’s not right! This is the wrong approach!’

’It’s useless for me to just *tell* you to compress. It’s about my state of mind—I need to feel a more urgent need for protection!’

Rong Taotao instantly grasped the key point. And the moment he figured it out, he felt a surge of admiration for Cha Er.

’Only by experiencing it firsthand can you truly understand the trick to it.’

’An outsider, after all, can only ever watch from the sidelines.’

Fueled by his desperate yearning for protection, the once-light Frost Flower Snowcake grew heavier and heavier. It was still thin, but it was now approaching the weight of a discus!

’So that’s what the ”cake” in Frost Flower Snowcake meant. I thought it was a pastry, not a discus!’

’It’s so thin, but it has to weigh 2 kilograms, right?’

”Excellent!” Cha Er exclaimed. It was a case of experts recognizing expertise; nothing more needed to be said. All of Rong Taotao’s Talent was on full display in this single Soul Skill!

”Hehe,” Rong Taotao chuckled, hefting the Frost Flower Snowcake in his hand. ”Let’s test its defensive power in a bit.”

”You’re only sixteen, and you’ve already created a New Soul Skill by yourself,” Cha Er said, patting Rong Taotao’s shoulder in quiet admiration.

Rong Taotao waved his hands dismissively. ”I only happened upon this Soul Skill by chance while following the guidance of your paper.”

But Cha Er just smiled. ”My paper never told you to make a heartfelt connection. And that connection is precisely the most important part of this Soul Skill.”

Rong Taotao smiled, not saying anything else.

Cha Er’s expression gradually grew serious. ”My paper was published in the Journal of Songjiang Soul Martial University. Every word in it, like ’world,’ for example—I was referring to the Soul Martial World, not the ordinary world.”

Rong Taotao: ”Huh?”

Cha Er continued, ”Remember this: you didn’t create this Snowflake Shield because snowflakes in the ordinary world have this shape.

”You created it because this is the form the Soul Skill inherently takes in the Soul Martial World.

”There’s a fundamental difference between the two.”

Rong Taotao: ”Ah? But...”

Cha Er said, ”You know the Snow Realm Soul Skill: Snow Trap and the Starfield Soul Skill: Star-Stepping Split. Tell me, by the rules of the ordinary world, what principles could possibly govern their existence?”

Rong Taotao blinked.

Cha Er held up both hands, gesturing to his left. ”The ordinary world.”

Then to his right. ”The Soul Martial World.”

Cha Er waved both hands. ”They are two completely different worlds with two different sets of rules. Perhaps some of them overlap, but most are different. You absolutely must distinguish between them.

”Take you, for instance. If you were a student in the ordinary world, no one would permit you to get into fights, and no one would let you date at your age.

”But the world you’re in is different. You are a Soul Martial Student. Your teachers will even help you find partners, letting you fight together, battle in arenas, hunt and kill Soul Beasts, and face life and death as one.

”Two worlds, different rules. Do you understand?”

Rong Taotao nodded thoughtfully, but then said something that stunned Cha Er. ”I noticed it when I was reading your paper. You’re very pessimistic.”

For the first time, in response to that single sentence, Cha Er regarded the boy as his equal.

Cha Er shook his head with a small smile, pushing the tea-colored sunglasses up the bridge of his nose. ”All the Soul Skills I’ve created shouldn’t be called ’inventions.’ They should be called ’discoveries.’ They already existed. I was just lucky enough to stumble upon them.”

Rong Taotao quipped, ”So, ’A masterpiece is a gift from heaven, discovered by a stroke of luck’?”

Cha Er shrugged, not responding, but his meaning was self-evident.

Rong Taotao scratched his head. ”You must have stumbled upon quite a few Soul Skills, then. Where do you usually go for your walks?”

Cha Er: ”...”

”Hah.” Si Huan Nian put a hand on Rong Taotao’s head and ruffled his hair roughly—it was unclear whether it was a scolding or a sign of affection. ”You get sidetracked after just a few words! Show some respect to Mr. Cha!”

’The man called you ’grandaunt’ the second he opened his mouth. How am I supposed to respect him?’

’The brilliant, larger-than-life image I had of him has completely crumbled, you know!’

Cha Er spoke up. ”After you graduate, you can apply to be my graduate student. In fact, you won’t even have to take the exam. With this one Soul Skill, your admission is guaranteed.”

”Sure, being a graduate student sounds great!” Rong Taotao nodded instantly. ”For so many years, there have only been a few self-created Soul Skills, and I just got here and whipped one up for you...”

”You shouldn’t even make me do a master’s. I’ll go straight for a doctorate!”

Cha Er said dryly, ”You can’t even understand the philosophy from a high school textbook...”

Rong Taotao shot back, ”Hey, I’ll be taking that class next semester, won’t I? Seriously... Everyone has their own specialty. I research Soul Skills. We’re both in the business of making ’heartfelt connections.’ It’s not like making me study advanced math would do any good!”

Cha Er teased, ”Your philosophy might be lacking, but your literary knowledge is solid. You’ve managed to quote several poems in just a few sentences.”

Rong Taotao smacked his lips. ”You should see my song repertoire; it’s even bigger. Back in the day, I was the ’Human Loudspeaker’ for the New Danxi No. 1 High School’s broadcasting club. By the way, do you know how to sing ’Forget-me-not’? The Pine Soul bully version?”