Master of Nine Stars

Three days later, in the morning, at the school hospital.

Rong Taotao lay on the hospital bed, silently cultivating. Beside him, the Cloud Dog and Snowball Cat were frolicking and rolling around.

Gao Lingwei sat by the bed, her legs elegantly crossed, her eyes closed, quietly absorbing Soul Power.

However, these two seemingly quiet people were actually training silently on a battlefield in another dimension.

In the Snow Prison Arena, Rong Taotao was writing his name in the snow while Gao Lingwei practiced her Halberd Technique.

Knowing full well the horrors of the Snow Prison Arena, the two didn’t dare to touch each other, even keeping a great distance between them.

”DONG! DONG! DONG!” A knock sounded on the hospital room door, one that spelled out a teacher’s name.

The two of them opened their eyes and looked toward the door.

The two little critters, who had been rolling around in a ball beside Rong Taotao, also poked their heads out, cocking them to the side and barking toward the door.

”Woof~”

”Woof woof!”

Dong Dongdong walked in. Seeing the two diligently cultivating, he couldn’t help but smile. ”Sorry to interrupt your training.”

”Not at all! Hello, Coach Dong!” Rong Taotao propped himself up. He felt he was ready to be discharged. His bandages had been removed long ago, but the ever-responsible Dong Dongdong had stubbornly insisted he stay, forcing him to lie in bed for a whole week.

Dong Dongdong adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses. His refined, fair face wore a kind smile as he waved at the Snowball Cat and Cloud Dog. ”Hello, you two.”

”Woof woof~”

”Woof!” The two little critters panted, their small pink tongues lolling out, a sight that made Dong Dongdong chuckle.

”Let me heal you one more time, and then you can be discharged in a bit.” Dong Dongdong walked to the side of the bed and looked at Gao Lingwei, who had stood up to make space. ”You must be going stir-crazy. Has it been a while since you’ve stretched your legs?”

Hearing this, Gao Lingwei just smiled, nodded, and said nothing.

Rong Taotao, on the other hand, had a strange expression. In the Snow Prison Arena, he paused, turned to look at Gao Lingwei practicing her halberd in the distance, and said, ”Let’s go grab a bite later!”

In the distance, Gao Lingwei nodded slightly. ”Okay. My treat. We’ll get some soup dumplings.”

Back in the hospital room, Dong Dongdong saw that the two weren’t talking, so he didn’t say anything more either. A white glow covered his palm as he pressed it against Rong Taotao’s abdomen.

Little did he know that while Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei’s physical bodies remained silent, they were communicating in the Spiritual World...

The hidden benefits of this Soul Skill were simply terrifying!

In the past, Gao Lingwei possessed the Songxue Wise Elder Soul Pearl. And what was its Soul Skill for? Telepathy, of course.

But now, they could still communicate telepathically—and even do it face-to-face in another dimension!

The Snow Prison Arena, on the surface, appeared to be an arena for fights to the death.

But in the hands of Gao Lingwei and Rong Taotao, it could become a Spiritual World for barrier-free communication, as long as they were careful not to touch each other.

Of course, opening and maintaining the Snow Prison Arena required a vast amount of Soul Power. In this regard, Pine Snow’s Silence was much more suitable for telepathic communication.

But who was Rong Taotao?

With the help of the Lotus Petals inside his body, how could Gao Lingwei possibly be short on ice-and-snow Attribute Soul Power?

And for that very reason, Gao Lingwei could activate this incredibly draining Soul Skill whenever she pleased.

”That should do it. Go on home,” Dong Dongdong said with a smile, patting Rong Taotao’s stomach. ”Welcome back any time?”

”Heh,” Gao Lingwei let out a soft laugh.

Rong Taotao also gave an awkward laugh. ”Yeah, yeah, see you next time, see you next time. This place is my respawn point, after all. I’m sure I’ll be waking up here plenty more times in the future...”

Dong Dongdong stood up, asking curiously, ”Respawn point?”

”It’s nothing, nothing. The kid’s just delirious from hunger, always spouting nonsense,” Rong Taotao said, scrambling to his feet and taking the clothes Gao Lingwei handed him.

...

Once out of the hospital, Rong Taotao felt refreshed and invigorated. He and Gao Lingwei headed straight for the cafeteria.

A certain someone went into the cafeteria smelling of antiseptic, but by the time he came out, he was steeped in the aroma of worldly life.

A quick sniff... Tsk... And that worldly aroma was likely of beef and scallions.

”We don’t have to take the exams anymore,” Rong Taotao said with a grin, popping a piece of chewing gum into his mouth.

Gao Lingwei nodded. ”I was actually a little worried about your academic classes. After all, you were away for a full three months this semester.”

”Hey, I take issue with that,” Rong Taotao said, waving his hand dismissively. ”I’ve thoroughly studied Soul Martial history, my cultural knowledge is solid, and I have a comprehensive understanding of various Soul Beast species.

”Out of all these subjects, my Russian is the only one that’s a bit weak. The others are fine. It’s not like we study subjects like math, physics, or chemistry anyway.”

A faint smile appeared on Gao Lingwei’s face. ”I heard from Coach Si that they’re adding a philosophy class next semester. You’d better study hard—after all, they’re adding it especially for you.”

”Er,” Rong Taotao scratched his head. ”That was Pine Soul Soul Martial’s first time running the Junior Class program, so it wasn’t fully developed. Even without me, the Junior Class would have eventually gotten a philosophy course.”

”Mm,” Gao Lingwei said, ”Next semester, we’ll have classes like *Soul Martial Jurisprudence* and *Logic*. Pay attention in Logic. It involves some math, and if you don’t listen carefully, you might actually fall behind.”

”I know, I know.” Rong Taotao took Gao Lingwei’s hand and tucked it into his own pocket, habitually squeezing her soft fingertips.

Gao Lingwei smiled and said nothing more. Compared to regular students in the normal world, a much larger portion of a Soul Martial Student’s grade was based on their training and individual combat prowess.