Master of Nine Stars

After the Nine Little Souls were taught a lesson, all the students returned to the real world and woke up in the stone classroom.

That time, Rong Taotao and the others had been thoroughly messed with, even suffering some lingering side effects. For the next few days, everything felt unreal, and they were constantly under the illusion that they might be sent back to the stone classroom at any moment.

For a moment, the two on the sofa wore grave expressions, lost in deep thought.

Rong Taotao suddenly spoke up. "You can activate your Frost Fearful Face and hit me with a Mental Shock. In the Illusion World, I can change any factor, but the one thing I can’t affect is the target themself."

"If you use a Mental Shock on me, my Illusion Technique will definitely be affected, and the entire Illusion World might even collapse."

"Yes, I’ll definitely be me. That’s a given." Gao Lingwei nodded lightly. "But how can I be sure that you’re really you?"

"What if the one I hit with a Mental Shock is just an illusion you constructed? Just like Coach Si earlier."

Rong Taotao: "..."

Gao Lingwei said in a low voice, "I should just detonate the Soul Pearl on my forehead. That’s the safer option."

Holy shit!

Rong Taotao jumped in alarm. "Whoa, Da Wei, don’t be crazy."

Rong Taotao knew her personality all too well. ’Someone as intense as her is really capable of anything.’

"Heh." Gao Lingwei’s face suddenly broke into a smile. She curled a finger and gently tapped Rong Taotao’s forehead. "Alright, alright, I’ll stop. I trust you."

Whether intentionally or not, when she tapped Rong Taotao’s forehead, her palm blocked his left eye.

Rong Taotao: "It’s over, it’s all over."

Gao Lingwei: "What is?"

Rong Taotao sighed, leaning back against the sofa with a look of utter lament. "How long have we been together? And you’re already starting to distrust me. You even covered my eye..."

Rong Taotao’s earlier thought had been correct. Gao Lingwei... was indeed a woman with a fiery temperament.

With one hand, she squeezed Rong Taotao’s cheek and turned his face toward hers. Her eyes stared straight into his left eye for a good two or three seconds before she spoke. "Is this trusting enough for you?"

CLICK!

The door pushed open and Si Huan Nian strode in. She froze in the doorway at the sight.

Si Huan Nian was utterly dumbfounded!

The way the two were positioned was baffling enough, but what truly stunned Si Huan Nian was that Gao Lingwei didn’t react at all!?

Gao Lingwei simply maintained her position, as if she couldn’t care less that Si Huan Nian had arrived.

Rong Taotao’s expression changed instantly. He said hurriedly, "Let go, let go! This isn’t one of my illusions!"

Only then did Gao Lingwei let go, nodding apologetically at Si Huan Nian. "Coach Si."

Si Huan Nian looked at the two of them pensively and said, "It’s a good Soul Skill, but don’t get carried away. Also, Taotao."

"Yes?" Rong Taotao looked up at Si Huan Nian.

Si Huan Nian said, "You never went to high school, so you’ve probably never heard the story of ’The Boy Who Cried Wolf’."

Rong Taotao was dumbfounded.

’Is she insulting me again?’

’Is ’The Boy Who Cried Wolf’ from a high school textbook?’

Si Huan Nian waved her hand dismissively. "Go on, have Ling Wei tell you the story. Now you two little rascals, get out of my sight."

Rong Taotao grabbed the trash bag from the coffee table and hurried out, quickly making his way downstairs and out of the Martial Arts Hall.

The sky was still dark, but the lights of the Martial Arts Arena were already on, with numerous students sparring enthusiastically. As Rong Taotao went to the dumpster at the corner of the building to throw out the trash, he also spotted the field where the Little Souls were.

The weather had been great for the past few days. It was a little cold, but with no wind or snow, the visibility was wide open.

Rong Taotao also spotted the team of Li Ziyi, Sun Xingyu, and Fan Lihua.

The trio was out on one of the fields. Under the lights, their movements were perfectly synchronized as they thrusted and swung their spears upward, clearly drilling their fundamentals.

"The bonfire party was pretty nice after you left last night, so don’t worry." Gao Lingwei followed Rong Taotao’s gaze and saw Sun Xingyu and her teammates as well.

"Yeah." Rong Taotao scratched his head, looking troubled. "How can we get Xing’Er to catch up with the main group?"

Sun Xingyu was studying and sleeping in the Martial Arts Hall, and she was also constantly benefiting from Si Huan Nian’s Lotus Petal.

It wasn’t that she couldn’t keep up because she wasn’t working hard enough; the gap in their natural Talent was just there for all to see.

Gao Lingwei said, "It will just take time, and she’ll have to rely on herself. But it’s not necessarily a bad thing."

Rong Taotao: "What do you mean?"

Gao Lingwei began to explain, "This is a setback for her, but it’s also a trial that will temper her character."

"I was trying to console Xingyu last night. Out of the ten of us in the Soul Class, nine are all having the same experience. She’s the only one going through this. From another perspective, you could even see it as a blessing from the heavens."

"I believe that once she gets through this, she will have gained more than anyone else."

But Rong Taotao said, "What you’re saying reminds me of that opponent from the national competition, Chen Muge."

Gao Lingwei recalled for a moment before saying, "The one who said, ’Everything I experience in life, good or bad, is a gift from the heavens that I must experience thoroughly and embrace with all my might’?"

"Something like that. On the field, as his opponent, I scoffed at it. But thinking about it more off the field, his theory is actually pretty interesting."

Rong Taotao nodded and continued, "Even when he was on the field, winning or losing didn’t seem to matter. For him, life is just a journey of experiences."

Gao Lingwei remained noncommittal, simply saying, "You could try to use that to console Xingyu."

Rong Taotao grimaced. "I just think the theory is interesting, it’s not like I actually believe it myself. How am I supposed to convince Xing’Er with it?"

"Maybe I should get on Weibo, contact Chen Muge, and have him brainwash... er, persuade her?"

Gao Lingwei shot Rong Taotao a speechless look.

"Heh heh. Chen Muge has a much grander perspective; I’m not that enlightened," Rong Taotao said, scratching his head. "When I step onto the competition field, I’m there to win. There’s something Coach Xia said that I really identify with."

"What’s that?"

Rong Taotao said, "Life isn’t just a battle; it’s a constant, never-ending fight."

Though she agreed with him in her heart, she asked, "So, your life is just to fight, and fight, and then fight some more?"

"Yep." Rong Taotao took Gao Lingwei’s hand, holding it in front of his face as he said with mock-seriousness, "This is what I fought for and won. Let me tell you the story. It was a cold dawn, the sky was just beginning to lighten..."

While holding Gao Lingwei’s cool, soft hand, Rong Taotao used his other hand to point to a distant field. "It was on that very field where I carved out a girlfriend for myself with a single slash—huh? Hey!?"

Rong Taotao had been standing at the corner of the Martial Arts Hall to throw out the trash. Now, he felt a fierce gust of wind envelop him. His world spun as he was sent flying straight toward the small grove of trees north of the Martial Arts Arena.

Gao Lingwei had stomped a foot on the ground—the power of her Snow Wind Charge was astounding!

𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

WHUMP... Rong Taotao plunged into a thick snowdrift.

"Hah!" In the otherwise empty grove, Rong Ling was diligently practicing his fundamentals, his tiny Heaven-piercing Halberd whistling through the air with every swing.

Hearing the sound, Rong Ling turned his head just in time to see his master plunging headfirst into the snow.

Rong Ling was instantly displeased. It scampered over, its Shuangxue body buzzing as it shouted, "Enemy attack!"

Rong Ling placed itself in front of Rong Taotao, but just as it struck a fighting pose, it saw Gao Lingwei striding toward them.

Rong Ling paused for a moment. The candle-flame eyes on its face flickered, and then it immediately turned around and scurried away again.

Gao Lingwei waved a hand in front of her face. As the light of her White Lantern Paper Cage spread out, she saw Rong Taotao lying in the snow and couldn’t help but laugh as she scolded him, "Get up! Stop playing dead. Time to practice your calligraphy!"

"Alright, alright..."