Master of Nine Stars

”Is it over? My God, it’s already over! This is a result no one predicted before the match!” The male host, Li Gang, shot to his feet, looking at the green field and shouting in excitement. ”Clean and decisive! A flawless performance! From start to finish, it didn’t even take three minutes!”

”Yes, a complete and utter rout,” Yang Xiaoyang praised in a soft voice. ”The two brothers, Zhang Shen and Zhang Hai, were steamrolled from the start without even getting to use their signature Soul Skills. They had almost no power to fight back. One had a blade drawn across his throat, and the other could only reluctantly surrender...”

Li Gang flopped back into his seat at the commentary desk, unable to hold back his praise. ”Even though we all know Pine Soul Soul Martial University is the top dog in the Outer Region, but...”

”...Rong Taotao’s age is a factor that naturally leads people to underestimate him. Finally, Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei have proven themselves! They’ve proven that they are standing on this field through absolute strength!”

The words of Li Gang and Yang Xiaoyang were transmitted through televisions and computers to countless households.

Meanwhile, Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei stood in the center of the field, basking in the tidal wave of applause and cheers coming from all directions.

”It’s been years since I’ve seen anyone use a Heaven-piercing Halberd. Speaking of which, why use that weapon? Lu Bu has such a bad reputation...”

”Xue Rengui had a great reputation, why don’t you ever bring him up?”

”I told you Pine Soul Soul Martial aren’t idiots. They wouldn’t protect some good-for-nothing and send him out to compete.”

”He’s a Soul General now? That throat-slitting gesture, tsk tsk... now *that’s* what I’m talking about!”

Amidst the waves of applause, Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei acknowledged the crowd and quickly exited the field.

”Rong Taotao, hello, I’m Zhang Muyu, a reporter from the provincial station. May I interview you? It won’t take much of your time.” A tall and handsome older man quickly approached from the sidelines, followed by someone carrying a camera.

Rong Taotao stopped in his tracks. He looked up at the handsome, refined man, then tilted his head to look at Yang Chunxi and Xia Fangran, who weren’t far away.

After the two teachers nodded in approval, Rong Taotao said, ”Okay.”

Zhang Muyu’s question, however, was quite sharp. ”Congratulations on your victory. We all saw the process. For you, was this match too easy?”

”It wasn’t easy.” Beside him, Gao Lingwei suddenly spoke up. Having experience with major competitions, she’d been praised to the heavens by reporters and also viciously pushed into the abyss by them; she knew how to respond. ”Every opponent deserves respect, and every match deserves respect.

”In fact, you only saw what happened on the field. During the battle, we clashed with our opponents on other levels as well.”

Zhang Muyu was taken aback for a moment. As a journalist, he had done his homework. He knew Gao Lingwei was a former King of Guanwai and was very worldly.

”Yeah! It wasn’t simple at all! You’re not a Soul Martial Artist, are you?” Rong Taotao looked at the older reporter with a curious expression.

Zhang Muyu: ”Uh...”

”See? I told you. You didn’t understand the match.” Rong Taotao patted Zhang Muyu’s arm, and the overly familiar gesture left the reporter stunned.

Rong Taotao continued, ”Just now on the field, there were swirling undercurrents and hidden dangers everywhere. Both sides were giving it 120 percent. The slightest slip-up would have plunged us into an abyss of eternal damnation...”

”Ahem, ahem.” Zhang Muyu coughed hurriedly. He certainly hadn’t seen any swirling undercurrents or hidden dangers, but he had definitely gotten a taste of Rong Taotao’s motormouth.

Zhang Muyu held the microphone to Rong Taotao’s mouth and asked again, ”Just now, we saw you draw the back of your blade across your opponent’s neck and even lay him down on the grass.

”Without a doubt, a move like that will be included in this year’s Outer League highlight reel. It’s bound to attract a huge number of fans. That move was so full of character.

”What made you do it? Was it planned, or was it a spur-of-the-moment decision on the field?”

Rong Taotao waved a hand grandly. ”In this world, every coincidence is an inevitability. Uh... have you ever studied philosophy?”

Zhang Muyu’s expression was strange. ”I’ve dabbled a little.”

Rong Taotao said, ”Ah, never mind then. I haven’t studied it yet. Let’s talk about something else.”

Zhang Muyu: ???

Rong Taotao held up a finger, declaring righteously, ”Knowing when to stop is the greatest respect we Soul Martial Artists can show one another!

”As Soul Martial Artists, we are tempered in both body and mind. This match won’t cause our opponents any distress. On the contrary, it will help them reach the next level.

”You’re not a Soul Martial Artist, so you wouldn’t understand. In every match, all the hardships we put each other through are actually helping the other person achieve greatness!

”It’s love. A deeper kind of love. Do you get it now?”

Gao Lingwei silently lowered her head. Although she desperately wanted to put some distance between herself and Rong Taotao, she forced herself to act. She reached out, grabbed his arm, and quickly started to lead him away.

”Last question, one last one!” Zhang Muyu hurriedly followed them. He knew he’d run into a real character today!

’This is what it means to turn black into white! This is what you call a silver tongue!’

This Great God from the highlight reels had such a vivid personality in real life! With a performance like this, he was practically a headline-generating machine. ’I have to latch onto this guy!’

Zhang Muyu nearly shoved the microphone into Rong Taotao’s mouth and said hurriedly, ”There has been a lot of public doubt surrounding you. Is there anything you’d like to say about that now?”

’What do I want to say?’

’I want to say, ”Doubt my ass,” but I don’t dare say it out loud...’

Rong Taotao’s expression was strange. He looked up at Zhang Muyu, gestured to Gao Lingwei at his side, and said, ”You’ve got a tall goddess standing right here, and you’re really not going to give her a single glance?

”This is Gao Lingwei! The high school league’s King of Guanwai! And you’re asking me all three of your questions?”

”Hah...” Gao Lingwei let out a soft breath, as if she were desperately trying to control the emotions churning inside her. Her voice even trembled slightly. ”Speak properly. Answer the question properly, Taotao.”

’Tsk tsk, the tall goddess isn’t happy...’

”Oh.” Rong Taotao pouted and looked up at Zhang Muyu. ”What was your question again?”

The words had barely left his mouth when, before Zhang Muyu could repeat the question, Rong Taotao suddenly asked, ”Mister, are you going to keep interviewing me? Are you going to follow my journey through the entire Outer League?”

Zhang Muyu paused, looking at the earnest expression on the curly-haired boy’s face. He hesitated for a moment before saying, ”I hope so. I’m looking forward to it as well.”

Rong Taotao nodded, seemingly taking Gao Lingwei’s advice to heart. For once, he spoke properly.

Rong Taotao’s expression grew much more serious as he said, ”I want more people to hear my story.”

Zhang Muyu was stunned. The boy’s sudden change in tone almost caught him completely off guard.

Rong Taotao’s gaze was sincere. ”I’m serious.”

Zhang Muyu looked at the boy’s youthful face and nodded lightly.

The joking and cursing Rong Taotao was certainly a handful, but at the end of the day, he was just a sixteen-year-old kid chasing his youthful dream.

Gao Lingwei seized the opportunity to pull Rong Taotao toward Xia Fangran and Yang Chunxi.

Behind them, Zhang Muyu lowered his microphone, feeling a little moved.

When a flippant person suddenly gets serious, the effect is quite powerful—especially when that person is a young boy like Rong Taotao.

But the moment Rong Taotao followed the two teachers into the players’ tunnel, his true colors were revealed. ”What a crappy reporter. A total waste of a handsome face. All he thinks about day and night is trying to get a big scoop...”

Gao Lingwei: ”...”

’*Face Changing*?’

Although Yang Chunxi didn’t know the specifics of the interview, she smiled and said comfortingly, ”Of course they want something sensational. That’s how they attract eyeballs.

”How did it go? You two didn’t say anything out of line, did you? Next time there’s an interview, I’ll be by your side to help you handle it.”

”Tch.” Rong Taotao pouted, then nudged Gao Lingwei with his shoulder. ”Seriously, I’ve noticed that since the tournament started, it seems like no one pays any attention to you. They’re all coming after me.”

Both annoyed and amused, Gao Lingwei shot Rong Taotao a look. It was true. For the longest time, she had always been the center of attention; all eyes were always on her.

And yet, ever since the Outer League began...

Who was Gao Lingwei? It didn’t matter!

First, let’s figure out who that curly-haired kid next to her is!

Rong Taotao returned to the locker room, muttering to himself as he packed his things. ”There’s something wrong with this world. People don’t even care about looks anymore. This won’t do. I have to correct their skewed values!”

Rong Taotao slung on his backpack and followed the teachers out of the locker room. He pulled his phone from his pocket as he walked up beside Gao Lingwei.

”Hm?” Gao Lingwei raised an eyebrow, tilting her head to see herself on his phone screen.

CLICK!

Rong Taotao nodded in satisfaction, edited his Weibo post, and hit send.

**Nourishing People**

Just now from Daogu C8500

May more people hear our story.

[Image]

In the photo, only half of Rong Taotao’s smiling face was visible. The true subject was Gao Lingwei beside him, a bag slung over one shoulder. She was wearing a snow-white tracksuit, a faint smile on her lips.

It was a beautiful sight, so beautiful it was intoxicating.

Especially since they had just won their first victory, securing a strong start in the face of overwhelming doubt.

”Bro! Post the GIF of the throat-slitting move, hurry! I need it for a flame war!”

”You can even buy off the Liao Camp Sea Doctor? This match-fixing is a little too obvious, ha.”

”You won and you’re not even gonna trash talk? Are you trying to show off your damn self-restraint? You have the perfect chance, so let ’em have it!”

”Eeeeh~ I wish that cute guy would hold a blade to my neck and draw it across my throat, sob sob... I want it so badly...”

Rong Taotao was still scrolling through Weibo when he suddenly heard Gao Lingwei murmur from beside him, ”Love you?”

Rong Taotao: ”Huh?”

Rong Taotao stared blankly at Gao Lingwei. ”You’re finally coming around?”

But he saw that Gao Lingwei was also holding up her phone in front of him. On the screen was a comment from his most recent Weibo post.

She leaned in, propped an elbow on Rong Taotao’s shoulder, and tilted her head to look at his profile. Her beautiful eyes narrowed slightly. ”’Love you? Finger heart?’”

Rong Taotao: ”...”