Master of Nine Stars

Soon, the group returned to Qianshan Pass. After bidding farewell to Niu and Ma Mian, they went back to their special two-story stone building.

"Phew... I’m dead tired," Xia Fangran muttered as he went up to the second floor. Standing in front of his dorm room door, he reached into his pocket for his keys.

"Coach Xia," Rong Taotao called out from behind him.

"What is it?" Xia Fangran’s heart dropped. "Don’t tell me your brother mentally connected with you and gave you another mission!"

"No, no," Rong Taotao said, rubbing his nose sheepishly. "Can we borrow your phone? Your satellite phone. Da Wei wants to call her parents."

Hearing this, Xia Fangran’s expression turned a bit more serious. He had been with the two students all night and had witnessed everything firsthand. He had seen the usually valiant Gao Lingwei on the verge of breaking down.

Of course, Xia Fangran had also seen Gao Lingwei’s resilience—how she quickly adjusted her mindset, composed herself, and continued with the mission.

Xia Fangran said, "It’s already very late."

Gao Lingwei said softly, "I’m sorry to trouble you, Coach Xia."

"It’s no trouble, not at all," Xia Fangran said casually. Seeing how insistent she was, he pulled a small black brick of a phone from his pocket and handed it to Gao Lingwei. "Here."

"Mm," Gao Lingwei nodded and walked toward her own dorm room.

Rong Taotao followed her in, switched on the light, and then took off his coat, shaking off the frost and snow.

It was indeed very late, almost two in the morning, but Gao Lingwei... she really couldn’t wait.

Although she always appeared calm and composed while on missions or during her training, she was, in the end, just a second-year college student. The news she had learned tonight was simply too much of a shock.

Rong Taotao changed out of his clothes and into his pajamas, then headed to the bathroom. Just as he picked up his toothbrush to squeeze some toothpaste on it, he heard Gao Lingwei’s gentle voice from outside, "Dad."

Emmm...

It was true what they said about daughters being sweet on their fathers. Rong Taotao found it hard to imagine Gao Lingwei’s voice could be so gentle.

’Damn it!’

’Even I’ve never heard her speak so gently!’

’What did he do to deserve... Oh, right, you’re her dad. Never mind then...’

Rong Taotao shook his head vigorously. ’What the hell? That definitely wasn’t my own thought. I must have been possessed by Li Ziyi’s spirit!’

’Yes, that must be it...’

’Damn you, Li Ziyi, you persistent pest! I’m going to give you a piece of my mind when I get back!’

"Mm," Gao Lingwei’s soft hum of affirmation came from the dorm room. "Yes, he and I are at Qianshan Pass. We’re with Coach Xia Fangran and Coach Li Lie. I’m sorry for disturbing you so late."

Rong Taotao stuck the toothbrush in his mouth and stood motionless, eavesdropping...

"I heard something just now. That things aren’t very safe for you at home. You... Mm-hm... Yes, we just got back from a mission, arresting poachers from the Qian Organization."

"Cold Flower told me."

"He’s dead. I killed him."

"It’s fine, I wasn’t injured. He, the two coaches, and I—the four of us fought them together."

In the bathroom, Rong Taotao pretty much understood. ’This "he" she keeps mentioning... sounds like it’s reserved exclusively for me, doesn’t it?’

"What are you doing in the bathroom being so quiet?"

Rong Taotao froze. Hearing Gao Lingwei’s voice, he couldn’t figure it out for the life of him. ’Why did the conversation with her dad suddenly switch to this? Where did that even come from?’

But then, Gao Lingwei added, "Rong Taotao?"

"Ah!" Rong Taotao yelped, startled. He snapped back to his senses, realizing she was talking to him. He hurriedly started brushing his teeth.

"I was thinking... if possible, I want to bring you to live in Songbai Town," Gao Lingwei said, finally getting to the point.

A long silence followed.

Rong Taotao quickly finished washing up. It wasn’t until he walked out of the bathroom that he heard Gao Lingwei’s reply, "Okay. You should get some rest."

With that, she hung up the phone and sighed deeply.

"How did it go?" Rong Taotao asked.

Gao Lingwei’s expression was downcast as she sighed. "This trouble started because of me, yet for my own peace of mind, I’m bringing them to this bitter, cold land. It feels a bit selfish."

Hearing this, Rong Taotao fell silent as well.

Fundamentally, this wasn’t Gao Lingwei’s fault. It was that the world was full of sickos.

But from an outside perspective, that’s how it appeared. She probably blamed herself, feeling she wasn’t being a good daughter.

Rong Taotao didn’t know how to comfort her; he’d never experienced anything like this. After a long moment of thought, he said, "Actually, Songbai Town is pretty nice. It’s bustling and lively, no different from a regular town, except that it’s always winter. Lu Mang’s father is there too..."

Seeing his clumsy attempt to comfort her, Gao Lingwei gave a helpless smile. "I’m more familiar with it than you are. After all, I spent three years of high school there."

Rong Taotao sat on his own bed, looked at Gao Lingwei opposite him, and said, "There are three paths."

A little surprised, Gao Lingwei asked, "What three paths?"

Rong Taotao thought for a moment before saying seriously, "The first path: kill all the poachers. Or, use such ruthless methods to slaughter them that they become terrified and never dare to try anything crooked again."

In fact, this was the exact approach Gao Lingwei’s sister had taken, and from the looks of it, her cruel methods seemed to have been effective.

However, Gao Lingwei still wasn’t at ease and wanted to move her parents to the heavily guarded Songbai Town.

Gao Lingwei nodded lightly, her interest seemingly piqued. "And the second path?"

Rong Taotao: "Soul Skills and Soul Pets. If everyone had a Snowball Cat, or if we could find other vision-enhancing Eye Soul Pearls, then your abilities wouldn’t be so special anymore."

Gao Lingwei: "Not only would my abilities become less special, but if things really went as you imagine, the entire way of life in the northern Snow Realm would change completely. The so-called poachers would have no room to survive."

Snowy nights are a necessary condition for poachers to exist.

Look at the Starfield Vortex. The Soul Beast and Soul Pearl resources inside are extremely rich, but does anyone poach there? Who would dare?

Gao Lingwei: "The second path is a complete fantasy. What’s the third?"

"Never mind, the third one is even more of a fantasy."

"Let’s hear it."

Rong Taotao thought for a moment. "Unravel the mysteries of the Snow Realm, or even close the Snow Realm Vortex."

Gao Lingwei: "..."

Rong Taotao suddenly said, "Da Wei, do you know how Frost Beauty and Xiao Ziru found me back then?"

Gao Lingwei: "Hm?"

Rong Taotao: "I’ve always believed the Prison Lotus has a tracking effect, or at least that it can sense the general location of the other petals."

"Otherwise, there would be no reason for Frost Beauty to cross the Third and Second Walls just to come to the First Wall. And how could she have accurately pinpointed my location in such a vast, white expanse?"

"In this world, finding someone else who also has a Lotus Petal is like looking for a needle in a haystack."

"And when my Prison Lotus saw Coach Si’s Lotus Petal for the first time, it also showed a desire to imprison it."

Gao Lingwei frowned slightly. "So?"

Rong Taotao explained, "I’ve always had this theory. Maybe after I advance to the rank of Soul Captain and can truly utilize the Lotus Petal, I’ll be able to use the Prison Lotus to find the other scattered Lotuses."

"The Nine-Petaled Lotus is called the Snow Realm Treasure; that has to mean something."

"In any case, once I’ve collected all nine petals, I believe I’ll gain a more comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the Snow Realm Vortex and the Snow Realm planet behind it."

"Mm... Mmm," Gao Lingwei mused for a moment, then nodded lightly. "Compared to the second path of Eye Soul Skills and finding a way to mass-produce Snowball Cats, I actually have more faith in the third."

After saying this, Gao Lingwei herself was taken aback for a moment.

Regardless of Rong Taotao’s current level of strength, there was no doubt that her trust in him was frighteningly high.

This kind of change, brought about by being unconsciously influenced by him, was indeed hard to notice at first.

Trust,

born from every little moment in their studies and daily lives,

born from every clash of weapons on their training journeys,

and born, even more so, from every detail he demonstrated and every decision he made on the battlefield of life and death.

Gao Lingwei watched Rong Taotao quietly. This train of thought led her to realize many things.

She didn’t know when it had started, but she had forgotten her role as the one in command.

Whether it was in a tournament, on the training grounds, or on a true battlefield, she had completely become the blade in his hands, and she wasn’t the least bit dissatisfied about it.

Gao Lingwei was not the type of person to be subservient to others, but looking back now, it felt as if everything had happened naturally, and she had accepted it all with a clear conscience.

"Hey, what are you thinking about?" Rong Taotao reached out and waved a hand in front of her eyes. "You’re staring at me so intensely, it’s making me a little nervous..."

"Ah," Gao Lingwei snapped out of her daze. "I..."

Before she could finish, her body stiffened. In the next moment, a dense wave of Soul Power rippled outward.

Rong Taotao’s face lit up. ’An advancement? Is she finally advancing?’

He hurriedly began to absorb the Soul Power, urging the Lotus Petal inside him to help.

But Gao Lingwei just stood up, took off her coat, grabbed her pajamas from the top bunk, and walked toward the bathroom.

Rong Taotao: ???

’Dude! What are you doing?’

’Of all times, you decide to go for a stroll?’

Gao Lingwei said, "Just leave it running. I’m going to wash up. It’ll be almost done by the time I get out."

Rong Taotao’s mouth hung open in an "O" shape as he stared dumbly at Gao Lingwei walking into the bathroom. ’Is... Is she really this calm about it?’

A moment later, the sound of the shower came from the bathroom, and Rong Taotao was completely dumbfounded.

’Gao Lingwei... uh, she was covered in bloodstains and needed to wash up, but this???’

Rong Taotao slipped on his slippers, walked up to the bathroom door, and knocked. "Your shower water is so hot, can the ice-attribute Soul Power even get close to you?"

"It’s just an advancement of a Minor Rank, not a breakthrough to a new major realm. No need to be so tense. It’ll be quick," came Gao Lingwei’s voice from behind the door.

Rong Taotao grinned wryly. He turned around, leaned his back against the bathroom door, and listened to the sound of the running shower, mumbling, "I wish I could be as nonchalant as you."

"Aren’t you also about to advance to the Peak of Soul Warrior?"

"Yeah, I should be able to force my way up there in the next couple of months."

"You’ll need to be more serious when the time comes. The transition from the Peak of Soul Warrior to the early stage of Soul Captain is when you can add a new Soul Slot. Whether or not you can force open an extra one all depends on that moment."

"Oh, so when can you force open a second new Soul Slot?"

"Shh... Be quiet. I’m advancing now..."

Rong Taotao: "..."