Master of Nine Stars

”Ugh...” Rong Taotao let out a groggy sound.

He pried open his drowsy eyes and tried to observe his surroundings, but the room was pitch-black.

The moonlight outside wasn’t enough to illuminate the room. A vague thought surfaced in Rong Taotao’s mind. ’Is this my dorm room?’

’Why did I wake up in the middle of the night... Oh, right. I went to the stadium to test out the Lotus. A teacher must have carried me back.’

’Wow, Rong Taotao, look at you now!’

’You didn’t even wake up at a respawn point this time...’

As he thought this, Rong Taotao raised a hand to rub his eyes, only to find a needle stuck in the back of his right hand. ’An IV?’

His eyes followed the tube up to an IV stand, where a bag of nutrient solution was hanging...

’Nutrient solution? I was only out for a little while. Was this really necessary?’

Rong Taotao sat up and turned his head to the right. His gaze swept past a desk and, guided by the moonlight, fell upon the bed by the window.

It was empty.

”You’re awake,” a voice said from the darkness. At that same moment, Rong Taotao spotted Si Huan Nian.

He looked over and saw a figure sitting on a distant sofa. Although he couldn’t make out the person’s face, the way her feet were propped up on the coffee table told him it was undoubtedly Si Huan Nian.

In truth, he could have identified her even without seeing her posture.

After all, the Prison Lotus within his body was already beginning to stir.

Sitting on the crisp, new bedsheets, he whispered, ”Coach Si?”

”What.”

Rong Taotao asked curiously, ”My sister-in-law told me that in my current state, it wasn’t a good idea for us to live together.”

”Is that so?” As she spoke, the figure on the sofa stood up and swayed unsteadily toward him.

She casually dragged the desk chair over to the bedside, plopped down, and leaned forward with her elbows on her knees. ”You want to move out.”

In the dim moonlight, Rong Taotao could now clearly see her expressionless face.

For some reason, Rong Taotao suddenly felt a bit scared.

He quickly explained, ”No, it’s not that! It’s about the Lotus Petal. Because of the Prison Lotus, I’m afraid there might be an accident.”

”Mm.” Si Huan Nian hummed softly and leaned back in her chair. The oppressive atmosphere immediately lessened.

She crossed her legs. ”I’ve been watching over you for three days. There have been no accidents.”

”Oh, thank you, Coach Si—” Rong Taotao’s expression froze. ”Three days?”

’But I only used the Sinful Lotus for three seconds, didn’t I?’

’Does it work out to one day of recovery for every second of use?’

In the darkness, Si Huan Nian lazily smoothed her long, flowing hair and said nonchalantly, ”The Lotus Petal almost completely drained your Physical Energy.”

”That...” Rong Taotao was at a loss for words.

Si Huan Nian continued, ”It seems some of my theories were correct, and some were wrong.”

Rong Taotao asked, puzzled, ”What do you mean?”

Si Huan Nian said, ”Reaching the Soul Captain stage brought your physical condition to the point where you could connect with the Lotus Petal and use the Lotus. But your Lotus is different from mine. Mine isn’t so violent.

Back when I was a Soul Captain, I often used my Lotus Petal for defense, and it never once completely drained me.”

Perhaps this was the difference between an offensive Lotus Petal and a Defensive Lotus Petal.

Rong Taotao’s Sinful Lotus was indeed far too aggressive...

Rong Taotao nodded thoughtfully. After a moment of contemplation, he said, ”You’ve worked hard, Coach Si. Your sleep schedule must be a complete mess after these past few days.”

Si Huan Nian replied, ”Yes. I have to change your IV bag.”

Rong Taotao said, embarrassed, ”You could have just left me at the school infirmary and had them change it...”

Before he could finish, Si Huan Nian cut him off, her voice tinged with a stubborn pride. ”I wanted to.”

Rong Taotao was speechless.

Si Huan Nian asked, ”Does the Prison Lotus still have designs on me?”

Rong Taotao nodded. ”Yes. Constantly.”

”I see...” Si Huan Nian gazed at Rong Taotao and nodded silently.

In the dim moonlight, he could see the complex emotions in her eyes.

’What is she thinking? Why is she looking at me like that again?’

Feeling a little uncomfortable, Rong Taotao tried to change the subject. ”Coach Si, how did you get your Lotus Petal?”

As he’d hoped, the question seemed to pull Si Huan Nian from her thoughts. She said softly, ”Beneath the Snow Realm Vortex.”

Rong Taotao was stunned. ’Beneath the Vortex? Beyond the Third Wall?’

’Was Coach Si a soldier?’

’Oh... right. Pine Soul Soul Martial has close ties to the Snow Burning Army. The teachers here are all part of the reserve forces. Take Xia Fangran, for example. He’s a Pine Soul teacher who regularly helps the Snow Burning Army garrison the walls and operate in the various zones within the Third Wall.’

’But... that doesn’t add up.’

’Didn’t Coach Si say she was only a Soul Captain when she got her Lotus Petal?’

’The soldiers of the Snow Burning Army garrisoning the Third Wall are all Soul Captains at a minimum, that’s a given. But Si Huan Nian wasn’t a soldier, she was a teacher—a teacher representing Pine Soul Soul Martial!’

’At her rank back then, how could the school possibly have assigned her to a post like that?’

Seeing Rong Taotao’s bewildered expression, Si Huan Nian shook her head with a small smile. ”Everyone goes through a rebellious phase, don’t they?”

Rong Taotao was completely lost. ???

Si Huan Nian elaborated, ”To say I ’obtained’ my Lotus Petal isn’t quite right. It was more of a gift from the heavens. I was being chased by a Soul Beast, got separated from the comrades I was taking an assessment with, and became lost in a blizzard.”

Rong Taotao repeated, ”The comrades you were taking an assessment with?”

Si Huan Nian nodded. ”At the time, I was trying out for the Snow Burning Army’s special forces. As you can see, I failed. I joined Pine Soul Soul Martial after that.”

Rong Taotao realized his assumptions had been wrong. When Si Huan Nian got her Lotus Petal, she wasn’t a teacher at all. She was just a civilian. ’Maybe she had just graduated from university?’ he wondered.