Master of Nine Stars

”Besides, the students from the Starfield and Ocean High Schools... well, they live a life of comfort.”

Rong Taotao nodded. Having been to the Starfield Vortex once, he knew just how comfortable it was to train there. The Star Candle soldiers had even designated training grounds, clearly stipulating which ranks were allowed to enter and train. There were also dedicated supervisors. You could start training the moment you stepped onto the grounds, and the Pasture Houses served as restaurants and rest areas. Every aspect was meticulously arranged, leaving the students with virtually nothing to worry about.

And right below the supposedly dangerous Starfield Vortex, there was actually a Starlight Amusement Town with a cheerful and peaceful atmosphere. Can you believe that?

If this were the Snow Realm Vortex, there probably wouldn’t be a single soul for dozens of miles, and even a Soul School wouldn’t dare to venture near...

Yang Chunxi turned her gaze to Rong Taotao. ”In the past year, you’ve probably faced more life-or-death battles than any other student on this list.”

”A Soul Martial Student who has been tested by life and death is fundamentally different from one who has only ever competed in tournaments.” As she said this, her eyes filled with tenderness, and she gazed quietly at Rong Taotao. ”Perhaps that’s why you and Gao Lingwei were able to win the school qualifiers.”

”Sister-in-law, they drew our names,” Gao Lingwei said suddenly.

”Hm?” Yang Chunxi quickly turned to look. A man in a sharp suit was holding a small, opened ball with the words ”Pine Soul Soul Martial - Gao Lingwei, Rong Taotao” written on it.

Yang Chunxi pursed her lips. It had been a long time since she’d felt this nervous.

As the man on the television twisted open a second ball, Yang Chunxi murmured, ”Liao Camp Sea Doctor...”

”Mm,” Gao Lingwei hummed softly.

Rong Taotao asked, ”So? What’s the verdict?”

Yang Chunxi’s expression relaxed. ”Liao Camp Sea Doctor Soul Martial Academy is considered a second-rate school. Our luck is pretty good. It’s a shame, though; drawing a third-rate school would have been even better.”

Rong Taotao: ”...”

Yang Chunxi continued, ”Ocean Soul Martial Artists and Snow Realm Soul Martial Artists don’t have any Attribute advantages against each other. But Ling Wei, you still need to be careful. After all, Ocean Soul Martial Artists can cultivate the Starfield Heart. Even if it’s not their main focus, just knowing a couple of its Soul Skills is enough to... Huh? A Starfield Arena? Excellent!”

Following Yang Chunxi’s voice, Rong Taotao turned to the television and saw that the man in the suit had drawn a ball from another box. On it were the words ”Starfield Arena.”

It seemed the battlefield was set. Neither side had gained an advantage.

”Come on, let’s look at their files. Memorize which Soul Pearl Soul Skills they have embedded.” Yang Chunxi quickly pulled out the documents. ”You’re both familiar with the standard Soul Skills an Ocean Soul Martial Artist can learn on their own, right?”

”Yes.” Gao Lingwei nodded slightly. ”We just need to watch out for their Water Prison Whip. The Starfield isn’t our home turf, but it’s not theirs either.”

The one-star Soul Skills available to Ocean Soul Martial Artists include ”Little Bubble Water Lung” for breathing underwater, ”Water Element” for walking on water, ”Water Cannon” which can be compressed in the palm and fired, and ”Ocean Lamp” for underwater illumination.

The two-star Soul Skills include ”Water Soul,” which forms weapons out of water droplets; ”Riding the Waves,” which summons a current to let the Caster swim rapidly; ”Continuous Pearl Water Bomb,” which fires small water pellets from the fingertips; and the Core Soul Skill, ”Sea God’s Protection.”

Sea God’s Protection can increase the concentration of the surrounding Water Element, scattering a spray of water droplets. If the Soul Skill reaches a high enough level, it can even create a vast ocean on dry land...

It was a Core Soul Skill, after all, not much inferior to the Jade Dragon Gift.

The three-star Soul Skills were the ones to watch out for.

Water Curtain allows the Caster to summon a wall of water out of thin air for defense. Its drawback... is that the wall’s defensive capabilities aren’t great.

Spring Water Surge summons a high-impact pillar of water from underground to launch an opponent into the air and disrupt their formation.

Water Dragon Tornado is the truly terrifying Soul Skill. The Caster can summon a rapidly spinning vortex of water to trap enemies. This vortex is incredibly violent, possessing none of water’s usual gentleness; it will only strive to tear apart any target caught within it.

And finally, the Soul Skill that required the most attention: Water Prison Whip.

This Soul Skill is very subtle. A Caster can set a trap by burying three small Water Balls in the ground or hiding them in water. If a target unwittingly enters the trap’s radius, the three balls will release three water whips, binding the target tightly.

The Water Prison Whip is incredibly resilient and very difficult to tear or sever. Once caught, the best way to escape is with a highly explosive Soul Skill. Relying on pure physical strength, at least for a Soul Captain, makes escaping the prison nearly impossible.

The Water Prison Whip is a Soul Skill that Ocean Soul Martial Artists rely on heavily. Especially on an ocean battlefield, the three small Water Balls set by the Caster blend perfectly into the water, making them incredibly difficult to detect.

Rong Taotao spoke up, ”They give it a fancy name like Starfield, but isn’t it just a grassy field?”

In the Outer Region ranking matches, not only were the opponents different, but so were the arenas.

However, in the Outer Region Division, there were only three types of arenas: the Grassy Field · Starfield Arena, the Lightly Snow-Covered · Snow Realm Arena, and the Half-Water, Half-Land · Ocean Arena.

Of course, these were just thematic representations. The Ocean Arena wouldn’t actually make you fight in a swimming pool, nor would the Snow Realm Arena have snowdrifts three meters deep.

The arenas only provided a slight advantage or disadvantage to the students.

In reality, the truly unfair factor was the location of the event itself.

Fengtian City, in the grand scheme of things, was within the Starfield Vortex’s sphere of influence. So, strictly speaking, regardless of the arena type, this was Starfield home turf. It was, after all, saturated with Starfield Soul Power, and that was the most fundamental factor.

Yang Chunxi divided the files in two, handing them to Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei. ”Both brothers use Water Blade. When it comes to Martial Arts, I’m very confident in you two.”

Rong Taotao took the file on their opponents, his expression turning a little strange. ”Zhang Shen, Zhang Hai... Talk about on-the-nose names. One for ’deep’ and one for ’sea’.”

With that, he turned to Gao Lingwei. ”Maybe we should change our names, too. You can be Gao Shuang, and I’ll be Rong Xue.”

Gao Lingwei: ”...”

As Rong Taotao studied his opponents under Yang Chunxi’s guidance, he had no idea that from the moment the match-up was announced, his social media feed had already exploded.

”Liao Camp Sea Doctor... How good is that school? I wonder if Rong Taotao can prove himself. I’m so excited!”

”Heh, you can keep looking forward to it then. He’s used to being the king of the hill in the Snow Realm. He really thinks the whole world will coddle him and play along with his little Actor routine. It won’t even take one match before he’s exposed for what he really is.”

”I’m betting Rong Taotao wins. I’ve watched the Pine Soul Soul Martial recordings more than ten times. They’re so hype and explosive! That kid’s got a ruthless streak, no doubt about it!”

”Yes, yes, yes! We’ll just wait and see! My hubby is cute and he can fight, tee-hee~ I was the first to call him that, okay? Anyone else who calls him hubby from now on is just a concubine!”

Sea Doctor - Zhang Hai: ”Hello, Rong Taotao. It’s a great honor to meet you in the Outer League. I watched the highlight reel from your qualifying matches. It was truly blood-pumping and exhilarating. I do hope you’ll be able to display such a spectacular performance in our fight as well.

Don’t worry, I was fortunate enough to acquire an elite-quality Sea Prayer Radiance. Should any accidents occur, I will be happy to help heal you.”

Ye Nanxi: ”@Sea Doctor-Zhang Hai, who the hell are you taunting? What’s with all that Yin-Yang Strange Qi? You really think you’re somebody? You looking to die?”

...

It wasn’t until the afternoon that Rong Taotao saw his chaotic social media feed. Ever since Pine Soul Soul Martial had released the recordings of the qualifying matches, he had started to gain some real fans. Rong Taotao saw lots of comments defending him.

’Heh, things are slowly looking up. After this Outer League, even more people will support me, right?’

Ye Nanxi’s appearance also came as a bit of a surprise to Rong Taotao.

After thinking it over, he replied to Ye Nanxi, ”Long time no see, huh?”

Ye Nanxi: ”Ah, you can let that slide? Go fuck him up! Beat the shit out of him! All that Yin-Yang Strange Qi, it’s like he wasn’t born with a dick.”

’Whoa... such a potty mouth! So eloquent!’

’So this girl isn’t just a lawless tyrant in real life, she’s just as domineering and arrogant online, huh?’

’But I’ll give her this, her consistency is something to be admired.’

Rong Taotao held a moment of silence in his heart for Xia Fangran before tapping on his screen.

Nourishing People: ”Alright, alright. I’ll fuck him up. I’ll fuck him up tomorrow...”

Ye Nanxi: ”Mhm, love you~ *finger heart* ღ(´･ᴗ･`)”