Master of Nine Stars

”Sis?” As Shi Lou left the arena, Shi Lan hurried to her side. ”Are you okay?” she asked, her voice full of cautious concern.

”I’m fine. What could be wrong?” Shi Lou said casually. But then she happened to notice two ice pillars standing at the edge of the fighting grounds, far from the crowd. Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei were on top of them, watching the arena.

To be precise, they were looking at Shi Lou.

Shi Lou stopped in her tracks. Looking at Rong Taotao from afar, she raised an eyebrow slightly, a probing expression appearing on her spirited face.

Rong Taotao stared blankly at Shi Lou and murmured softly, ”If Da Wei wasn’t right next to me, I’d totally blow you a kiss.”

Gao Lingwei: ”...”

Inevitably, as Shi Lou was the center of everyone’s attention, her every move was watched.

The spectating students followed Shi Lou’s gaze, turning to see Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei standing on the ice pillars.

For a moment, the first and second-year students in the crowd couldn’t help but be secretly amazed.

Were Shilou and Shilan fierce? Incredibly fierce!

But then they looked at the two on the ice pillars... Holy cow!

The Junior Soul Class was simply overflowing with elites!

Shilou and Shilan had only dominated the Junior Class ranking matches, but those two on the ice pillars... they had fought their way to the top of the entire school!

Rong Taotao slid down the ice pillar, just in time to see the severely injured Ji Qingmei being placed on a stretcher and quickly carried out of the Martial Arts Arena.

”Heheh.”

Gao Lingwei slid down too. Smiling at Rong Taotao, she asked, ”Feeling better now?”

”Mhm.” Rong Taotao nodded repeatedly. ”Our Junior Soul Class really is one big, happy, and supportive family.”

Shi Lou and Shi Lan happened to walk over just then. Hearing his comment, Shi Lan laughed and said, ”Juanjuan, are you all healed up?”

”All better.” Rong Taotao turned, nodded with a smile, and looked at the silent Shi Lou. ”You two fought really well. Your teamwork was perfect!”

”Impressive.” A male voice sounded from beside them.

Zhao Tang, Jiao Tengda, and Lu Mang walked over from the side. The speaker, surprisingly, was the normally silent Lu Mang.

He not only praised the Shi Family Sisters but also extended a fist toward Shi Lou.

Shi Lou smiled but said nothing, simply meeting Lu Mang’s fist with her own in a gentle bump.

A small gesture like that could easily lead one to believe they had some sort of secret agreement...

If it had been Jiao Tengda, the gesture would have clearly been one of encouragement and praise for a teammate.

But coming from the cool and aloof Lu Mang...

Rong Taotao watched them with a suspicious expression, his gaze flicking between their faces.

Lu Mang, however, just shrugged nonchalantly and admitted openly, ”A shame. Our team was exempt from the tryouts. Shi Lou did what I wanted to do.”

Gao Lingwei: ”...”

Rong Taotao: !!!

’Truly a team full of villains!’

Shi Lou looked at Lu Mang and huffed softly. ”Yeah, a shame. Coach Si blew the whistle too fast.”

Jiao Tengda suggested cautiously, ”Maybe we should go? It’s not great being surrounded and watched like this. We can just watch from our dorm windows.”

Gao Lingwei, of course, had also realized they’d become the center of attention. Many people were pointing and whispering. She gave a slight nod. ”Let’s go.”

The group skirted the edge of the arena and headed toward the Martial Arts Hall.

The spectating first and second-year students were one thing, but the students from the Martial Arts Class looked at the Shi Family Sisters with a mixture of shock and anger—but mostly, with fear and apprehension.

The Martial Arts Class students in the Shi sisters’ group were likely terrified by Shi Lou, their hearts filled with despair. Some were probably even considering dropping out of the competition...

It couldn’t be helped. The difference in strength was plain to see. More importantly, the sisters weren’t pulling their punches anymore. Anyone who tried to use them as a stepping stone would end up just like Ji Qingmei.

”Taotao.”

”Huh?” Rong Taotao turned his head to look, but found no one there.

The rest of the group looked at Rong Taotao curiously, but he instantly realized who was speaking to him.

Rong Taotao gave the group an apologetic smile. ”It’s nothing, nothing.”

As he walked, he asked in his mind, ’What’s up, Bro?’

Rong Yang’s voice, tinged with admiration, replied, ’I just learned the Soul Skill you created. Every snowflake is unique and exquisitely detailed.’

’Heheh.’ Rong Taotao thought, scratching his head. ’Coach Si said this kind of Defense Soul Skill will help countless Snow Realm Soul Martial Artists, and your Snow Burning Army too.’

’It will,’ Rong Yang agreed admiringly. ’Not everyone is as gifted as we are, with so many Soul Slots. The vast majority of Snow Burning Army Warriors don’t have a Soul Slot on their chest.’

’The Snow Burning Army’s biggest weakness is a lack of defensive options, and your skill can be mastered through self-study. A Soul Skill like this is a godsend.’

’It doesn’t occupy a Soul Slot, which frees up the shoulder and elbow slots for our Warriors. Plus, the snowflakes offer impressive defense, are easy to carry, and provide a flexible, non-rigid form of protection. It’s truly...’

Rong Yang suddenly fell silent, leaving only a sigh of admiration.

Rong Taotao grinned. ’Keep going! Praise me more! Put some feeling into it! And here I thought you graduated from a prestigious university. You can only manage a few compliments before you run out of things to say?’

Rong Yang: ’...’

Rong Taotao followed the others to the second floor of the Martial Arts Hall. The students all went back to their rooms, preparing to watch the rest of the matches from their windows. Gao Lingwei, however, stayed behind, quietly remaining by his side instead of returning to her room.

Rong Taotao led Gao Lingwei back to Si Huan Nian’s dorm, plopping down on the sofa. Rong Yang’s voice sounded in his mind again. ’Chunxi told me you qualified to represent the school. When you have a chance, you should call Dad and tell him yourself.’

’Ah, no problem.’

’Captain Fu also knows what you’ve been doing at school, and he’s thrilled that you’ve mastered Frost Flower Snowcake. After all, you’re both reserve members of the Twelfth Squad.’

An idea sparked in Rong Taotao’s mind. ’That’s right! I’m a reserve member of the Twelfth Squad. I created such a highly functional Soul Skill that will be a huge benefit to the Snow Burning Army. Shouldn’t the Twelfth Squad give me some kind of reward for that?’

Rong Yang: ’Hmm...’

Rong Taotao’s mind started racing. ’If you don’t ask, you don’t get!’

’Not only should the school give me a reward, the Snow Burning Army should too!’

’And for creating a game-changing Soul Skill like Frost Flower Snowcake, I’m perfectly justified in demanding a reward!’

Rong Yang mulled it over. ’Since you created a skill like this, your Iron Snow Forearm doesn’t seem that useful anymore.’

’Pine Snow’s Silence, which allows me to communicate with my brother in real-time and share his body, isn’t something I use every day, but it’s an absolute lifesaver in a crisis. There’s no way I can replace that.’ Rong Taotao thought to himself.

’Besides, Rong Yang had gone to great lengths for my sake, even using a Blast Pearl to embed a lower-level Soul Pearl just so he could watch over me. I couldn’t just cast him aside.’

’Of my two remaining Soul Slots, I’m quite fond of the tricky Big Mute Hammer. That leaves only the Iron Snow Forearm on my right elbow as a candidate for replacement.’

At this thought, Rong Taotao looked over at Gao Lingwei, who was sitting beside him on the sofa.

She had her legs crossed and was fiddling with her fingers, looking bored.

’She has Iron Snow Armor now, too...’

”What?” Sensing his gaze, Gao Lingwei turned to look at him.

Rong Taotao thought for a second before saying, ”So, you know that Soul Skill I created? Captain Fu is thrilled about it. I was thinking I could ask the Twelfth Squad for a new Soul Pearl to use in the Outer Region ranking competition.”

Gao Lingwei’s eyes lit up, and she nodded at once. ”Replace your Iron Snow Forearm. You hardly ever use it.”

Rong Taotao nodded and replied in his mind, ’Bro, could you help me apply for an elbow Soul Pearl? The Outer Region ranking competition is coming up, and I want to get some better gear. Can you see what might suit me?’

Rong Yang: ’What’s your Soul Technique level? Are you close to four-star?’

Rong Taotao: ???

’Do you think I’m a god?’

’I’m about to reach the mid-tier of three-star, but I haven’t broken through yet,’ Rong Taotao replied, a hint of grievance in his tone.

Rong Yang hummed, sounding slightly disappointed. ’Hmm...’

Rong Taotao felt a pang in his chest. ’I’m already growing at this ridiculous speed, and you’re still not satisfied?’

’Haha.’ Rong Yang chuckled. ’With that Lotus inside you, nothing you achieve would be surprising. Tell you what, I’ll discuss it with Captain Fu and see what we have in the inventory.’

’But don’t get your hopes up too high. The Soul Skills contained in elite-grade elbow Soul Pearls aren’t as powerful as those from other Soul Slots. The Iron Snow Forearm is already considered one of the more useful ones.’

Dejected again, Rong Taotao replied, ’In that case... how about getting me a decent Soul Pet? Even if I can’t use it in matches, that’s better than getting another not-so-useful Soul Skill.’

’A Soul Pet?’ Rong Yang sounded taken aback. ’Did Chunxi mention something to you?’

Now it was Rong Taotao’s turn to be baffled. ’Say what? I haven’t seen her at all today. Besides, you’re the one who contacted me, aren’t you?’

’Hmm...’ Rong Yang mused for a moment. ’A few days ago, we did in fact confiscate a Soul Pet cub from a Woxue Mian member.’

Hearing Rong Yang’s tone, Rong Taotao was already exploding with joy internally!

Rong Taotao hastily asked, ’My Frost Flower Snowcake created so much value for the Snow Burning Army—is that enough to apply for that Soul Pet!?’

Was it enough?

It was more than enough!

Rong Taotao didn’t seem to understand the significance of creating such a Defense Soul Skill for the Snow Burning Army.

Rong Yang said, ’I’ll ask Captain Fu for you. About this Soul Pet... even though our squad has a lot of autonomy, a request like this still has to go through the proper channels.’

The more he heard, the happier Rong Taotao became!

The harder it was to apply for, the more precious the Soul Pet must be!

What’s more, his brother Rong Yang had said it was a Soul Pet cub seized from ”Woxue Mian”!

That put it in a completely different league!

Something confiscated from a Free Person versus something confiscated from Woxue Mian—could the Quality possibly be the same?

Rong Taotao asked cautiously, ’Can you tell me what kind of Soul Pet cub it is?’

Rong Yang: ’A Snow General Candle.’

GULP. Rong Taotao swallowed hard. ’A... a Legendary Level Soul Beast cub? And a Humanoid Soul Beast cub at that!?’

’The Woxue Mian Organization really drops some damn good loot!!!’

...