Master of Nine Stars

Chapter 569: Chapter 346: Dream

“3…2…1!”

“Woohoo! Happy New Year!”

“2012! Year of the Dragon! Year of the Dragon!”

The voices of tens of thousands counting down in unison, followed by the ringing of a bell, sent the Central Square of Songbai Town into a boil, transforming it into a sea of joy.

Rong Taotao sat on his bed, a smile spreading across his face as he replayed the scene in his mind.

He had already returned to the residential building with his family. He was now on the sixth floor, having just washed up and gotten ready for bed.

Gao Lingwei and her parents lived on the first floor, while his brother and sister-in-law had brought Rong Taotao up to their apartment on the sixth.

His brother and sister-in-law were naturally staying in the master bedroom, while Rong Taotao found himself in what used to be Gao Lingwei’s private room.

The walls of Da Wei’s room were covered with inspiring and stirring battlefield poems.

Ordinarily, Rong Taotao might have been greatly affected, easily drawn into a world of frontier battlefields by Gao Lingwei’s powerful, sharp calligraphy. But today, it didn’t matter. The atmosphere of the New Year’s fireworks celebration had simply been too wonderful.

In the living room, Rong Yang, who had just finished washing up, walked to the doorway. With one hand on the doorknob, ready to close the door for Rong Taotao, he said, “Go ahead with your breakthrough, Taotao. Your sister-in-law and I will stand guard.”

“Ah.” Rong Taotao burrowed into his blankets and looked at his brother at the door. “You don’t have to. You two should just go to sleep. It’s not like I don’t have experience. The breakthrough will be no problem!”

“Heh,” Rong Yang chuckled, closing the door for his younger brother. “Good night.”

Not long after Rong Yang returned to the master bedroom, he felt intense fluctuations of Soul Power coming from the small bedroom down the hall…

Advancing from the initial stage of Soul Captain to the middle stage—a breakthrough of a Minor Rank—wouldn’t take too long. However, as Rong Taotao gathered his Soul Power, he faintly sensed that something wasn’t quite right.

It seemed… it wasn’t just his Soul Power level that was about to break through its shackles. As the ice-and-snow Attribute Soul Power from the world surged into his body from all directions, his Four-Star, initial-stage Soul Technique also felt like it was on the verge of a breakthrough.

Rong Taotao was overjoyed!

‘This is what you call a double blessing!’

His Soul Technique level had always been one Major Rank higher than his Soul Power Realm!

But after leaving the Snow Realm to compete everywhere, he could only focus on cultivating his Soul Power level, and the training speed for his Soul Technique: Heart of the Snow Realm had fallen behind considerably.

However, this situation improved after he absorbed the Nine-Petaled Lotus: Huilian. With the help of the Lotus Petals, his Soul Technique level had once again caught up.

Tonight, advancing from early-stage Soul Captain to mid-stage Soul Captain, and from initial-stage Four-Star Soul Technique to mid-stage Four-Star…

‘A two-for-one special!’

‘Now *this* is what I call a fucking New Year!’

‘If he could, Rong Taotao wished he could live every day on New Year’s Eve. Hmm… or better yet, live in that perfect moment when there’s only one haw left on the candied hawthorn stick in his hand…’

While Rong Taotao was breaking through, sleep was impossible. Meanwhile, in the first-floor guest room, Gao Lingwei was also wide awake.

It was already past midnight. The lights in the house were all out, and this residence in the northern suburbs was far from the bustling downtown streets. Theoretically, the atmosphere should have been perfect for sleep, and yet…

Gao Lingwei lay with her eyes open, staring at the ceiling light. Her gaze was slightly unfocused as she was lost in thought.

“Mrow~” On her stomach, the Snowball Cat was curled up, its white body already drifting off to sleep. But it was startled when Gao Lingwei’s unconsciously kneading hand squeezed its tail a little too hard.

The Snowball Cat let out a whimper, opened its large, sapphire-like eyes, and stood up to look at its owner with an aggrieved expression.

“Heh.” Gao Lingwei gave an apologetic smile and smoothed its fur.

The Snowball Cat stood up, walked a few steps across her body, and came to her face. It tilted its head curiously, observing its sleepless owner.

‘The Snowball Cat… is really becoming more and more like a Cloud Dog.’

It watched for a good while before lowering its little head and licking Gao Lingwei’s cheek with its small, pink tongue. It seemed to have misunderstood, thinking its owner was troubled and was trying its best to comfort her.

Gao Lingwei did have something on her mind, but it wasn’t anything serious.

Finally, she gave up on trying to sleep. She sat up, lazily tousled her long, loose black hair, then reached back, propped her pillow against the headboard, and leaned against it.

“Open the curtains,” Gao Lingwei said softly, tilting her head toward the nearby window.

The Snowball Cat blinked its beautiful, big eyes, and with a nimble leap, it jumped over.

The Snowball Cat slipped behind the curtains, took the edge in its little mouth, and slowly pulled them open, walking along the windowsill with feline grace.

Instantly, a soft glow filtered into the dim room.

Through the window, Gao Lingwei could see the apartment building across the way. Red lanterns hung on every household’s balcony, left to shine through the night.

Gao Lingwei reached out and caught the Snowball Cat as it leaped back, settling it in her arms. She picked up one of its little paws, gently squeezing the soft pads with her fingers, and fell into thought once more.

Unbeknownst to her, a snowstorm had started brewing outside.

And the wind and snow grew stronger and stronger…

After an unknown amount of time, Gao Lingwei emerged from her contemplation. Seeing the heavy snow falling outside and hearing the howling of the cold wind, she couldn’t help but frown slightly.

She got out of bed, pulled the curtains closed again, and climbed back into her warm blankets, cradling the Snowball Cat. She finally allowed her eyes to close and slowly drifted off to sleep.