Master of Nine Stars

The next morning, carrying the well wishes of all their classmates, Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei walked out of the school gates with Yang Chunxi and Xia Fangran, heading toward Songbai Town.

The two teachers led the way, while Rong Taotao followed behind, a backpack on his shoulders. Inside, he had not only candy but also two scarves made from the mane of a Snow Lion Tiger.

This was all thanks to his sister-in-law; ever since the two returned to school from Qianshan Pass, Rong Taotao had taken the Snow Lion Tiger pelt to Yang Chunxi.

When Yang Chunxi heard that Rong Taotao wanted to give a gift to Gao Lingwei's parents, she was of course very supportive. She quickly crafted two scarves for him. The specially treated Snow Lion Tiger fur was incredibly soft and snow-white.

Rong Taotao was sure Gao Lingwei's parents would love them...

At that moment, Rong Taotao was sitting on Hu Bugui's back, right behind Gao Lingwei. He leaned forward, resting his cheek against her back, and closed his eyes to rest, fantasizing about the moment he would meet her parents.

As Hu Bugui galloped onward, Gao Lingwei's body bounced up and down. She did her best to keep her balance, giving Rong Taotao a more stable support. "Feeling better?"

Rong Taotao was half-asleep, his eyes still closed. "What?"

Gao Lingwei: "You were throwing up for a long time last night. We could hear you from our dorm room."

Rong Taotao replied casually, "Ah, it's nothing. Just Soul Slot Opening..."

It was worth mentioning that the panel on Rong Taotao's Inner Soul Map had changed!

Late last night, after Rong Taotao had successfully completed his Soul Slot Opening and advanced to the Peak of Soul Warrior, he had specifically checked his Inner Soul Map and was met with a pleasant surprise!

"Soul Power: Peak Soul Warrior (Potential Value: 7 Stars)!"

Rong Taotao's potential had actually increased from the previous 6 stars to the current 7 stars!

In the past, Rong Taotao's body had been somewhat fragile, unable to support the opening of a seventh Soul Slot. But over the past year and a half, he had built an incredibly solid foundation, which led to today's results.

To his delight, his Lifebound Soul Beast, the Cloud Dog, had also improved along with the increase in his Potential Value!

"Lifebound Soul Beast: White Clouds and Grey Dogs (Excellent Level, Potential Value: 7 Stars)!"

Not only that, but as the Cloud Dog's Potential Value increased, the Potential Value of its Soul Skill: Thousand Transformations increased as well!

"Soul Pearl Skill: Thousand Transformations (Excellent Level, Potential Value: 7 Stars)!"

'Multiple gains from a single event. Even though I threw up half the night, it was totally worth it!'

'If I could get this many rewards just from throwing up once, I'd be willing to do it every day!'

Then again...

Rong Taotao was a man who possessed Potential Points! He could increase his maximum Potential Value!

'Does this mean...'

'If I dump my Potential Points into the "Soul Power" section and raise the Potential Value from 7 stars to 8, will it immediately open a new Soul Slot?'

'Whoa, that would be incredible!'

At least in the Soul Power category, Potential Value was directly linked to the number of Soul Slots. Increasing potential meant increasing the number of Soul Slots!

Rong Taotao fought the urge, but in the end, he didn't put the Potential Points in. After all, Potential Points were hard to come by. Besides, he was only at the Peak of Soul Warrior. Even if he reached the Soul Captain Stage, he could only utilize a maximum of six Soul Slots, so an additional one would be useless for now.

It was common knowledge that the Soul Soldier Stage allowed the use of one Soul Slot, the Soul Warrior Stage allowed two, the Soul Captain Stage allowed three, and so on.

This meant that Rong Taotao would only be able to use the seventh Soul Slot and any beyond it once he advanced to the Soul School Rank.

"Hmm, it's a pity it opened in your knee," Gao Lingwei sighed softly.

Like the elbow, the knee Soul Slot was considered the lowest tier, not even as good as the shoulder Soul Slot.

First, the variety of Soul Pearl Skills for the knee and elbow locations was limited. Second, Gao Lingwei had never heard of any particularly powerful Soul Skills coming from Soul Pearls in these two spots.

In comparison, it would have been better to open Soul Slots in the wrists or ankles. Not only was there a rich variety of Soul Skills for those locations, but their effects were also extremely powerful.

Snow Burst, Snow Fury, Snow Ghost Hand, Wind and Snow Blade, and so on, were all from wrist Soul Slots.

For both humans and Soul Beasts, hands and feet were used far more often than elbows and knees.

"Enough, it's plenty good," Xia Fangran's voice came from the front. "Do you have any idea how many people start with only two or three Initial Soul Slots? They can't even reach the Soul Captain Stage, and the Peak of Soul Warrior stage doesn't grant Soul Slot Openings to those with low aptitude. They're stuck with just two or three Soul Slots for their entire lives."

"Hehe," Yang Chunxi said with a smile from the side. "Seven Soul Slots is already a lot. If he keeps growing at this rate, Taotao will definitely be able to open another one when he reaches the peak of the Soul Captain stage."

"Dammit," Xia Fangran muttered. "Eight Soul Slots! That's enough to qualify for a shot at the Soul General rank. It just depends on whether he can train his way up there in the future."

Yang Chunxi was very optimistic, saying, "Taotao's Talent and work ethic are both strong, he's intelligent enough, and he has a close bond with his Lifebound Soul Beast, White Clouds and Grey Dogs. His condition is ideal."

Listening to the two teachers' idle chat, Rong Taotao snuggled his cheek against Gao Lingwei's back and comfortably closed his eyes. He cultivated his Soul Technique while continuing to daydream...

'A Soul General?'

'Sounds pretty tempting~'

'Tsk tsk... What a sweet dream. Let me dream a little longer...'

Gao Lingwei: "Put your hood on."

Rong Taotao: "Hm?"

"The hood on your down jacket. Don't catch a cold."

"Oh."

...

Around noon, the group of four—two teachers and two students—arrived in Songbai Town, where they were greeted by a bustling and lively scene.