Master of Nine Stars

With a peculiar expression, Rong Taotao handed her the phone, taking the chocolate stick back in the same motion. "Take a look. Be careful when you’re out and about from now on. Don’t let your eyes wander, or you’ll get yourself into trouble."

"Hah." After looking for a moment, Gao Lingwei couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle and casually tossed the phone back to Rong Taotao. "They’re not even worth a second glance."

"Ooh, playing it cool, are we?"

"Wu Yan and Cheng Mo lost," Yang Chunxi suddenly said from the seat behind them.

"Hm?" Rong Taotao froze, turning his head to see Yang Chunxi holding her phone, her expression grim.

Rong Taotao remembered Wu Yan and Cheng Mo. Pine Soul Soul Martial had sent a total of four doubles teams to compete. Wu Yan and Cheng Mo were also one of them—a couple, which was a rare sight, not a pair of twins.

Yang Chunxi looked at her phone again, unable to stop a sigh. "For Pine Soul Soul Martial, only Yuan Tianri and Yuan Tiancheng’s team is left... and yours."

Rong Taotao: ???

Gao Lingwei asked, "Weren’t there four teams? What about the other ones?"

Yang Chunxi pursed her lips and looked up. "The other two teams both lost. They fell in the round of 16. It’s such a shame. They were just one step away from getting tickets to the national tournament.

Sigh... You two ran into the only third-tier team, while the other two ran into top-level opponents."

Rong Taotao asked, "Starfield cadets?"

"No, one was from Starfield, and the other was from Ocean," Yang Chunxi said, shaking her head.

"Ocean!?" Rong Taotao was stunned. If she’d said their opponents were Starfield Soul Martial Artists, he would have understood. Fighting at an attribute disadvantage was incredibly difficult. But Ocean Soul Martial Artists...

Yang Chunxi said, "Yes. The siblings Bai Ming and Baishan from Fengtian Soul Martial University. And the brothers Guan Cang and Guan Qiong from Baishan Soul Martial University."

Rong Taotao’s brow furrowed. ’What happened to the stories about how upperclassmen in previous years could always fight their way up, even with an attribute disadvantage?

How could it be that only the brothers Yuan Tianri and Yuan Tiancheng were left?’

A thought struck Gao Lingwei. "Bai Ming and Baishan... are they that sibling pair with a full set of Soul Skills for their forehead, eyes, and chest?"

"Yes, that’s them." Yang Chunxi nodded. "They’re hailed as this year’s top Ocean team."

Gao Lingwei suddenly asked, "If my Ice Crystal Evil Face went up against the sister Bai Ming’s Sea Demon Gaze, what would happen?"

Even as an Illusion Master, Yang Chunxi couldn’t give a definitive answer. Instead, she said, "Barring any surprises, both of your Eye Illusion Soul Skills are elite-grade.

When two elite-grade Illusion Soul Skills clash, the one backed by stronger Spiritual Power will have the upper hand. The weaker person will eventually be dragged into the stronger person’s illusion, completely at their mercy."

Gao Lingwei nodded, murmuring, "Spiritual Power..."

Xia Fangran suddenly spoke up, finally acting like a teacher for once. "It’s different from your Snow Prison Arena. It’s not something you can overcome just by having strong willpower.

Spiritual Power is very difficult to train. You can think of it as a hard stat, not a soft one like internal will or character.

Spiritual Power only increases with age and grows slowly with the number of times you use Spiritual or Illusion-type Soul Skills."

Gao Lingwei said softly, "So this time, we’re the ones who can’t look our opponent in the eyes."

Without a doubt, Bai Ming, a senior, was about three years older than Gao Lingwei. She would have started using Illusion Soul Skills much earlier and thus would have used them far more often.

Yang Chunxi offered some comfort. "You both have forehead Soul Pearls. Even though they aren’t defensive types, they have a hidden benefit: greatly enhanced resistance to Spiritual Soul Techniques. Bai Ming might have a slight edge on you, but it’s impossible for her to subdue you with just the Sea Demon Gaze.

Worst-case scenario, if you accidentally look into her eyes, just focus all your attention on breaking free. Use your Soul Power to stimulate your brain. She won’t be able to trap you for long."

Unquestionably, for a Soul Martial Artist, the forehead Soul Pearl is the most difficult one to unlock.

And as they advanced to higher levels of competition, the opponents Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei would face in the future were bound to have forehead Soul Pearl Skills.

Yang Chunxi tried to comfort them again. "For now, don’t worry about it so much. You might not even have to face them."

Xia Fangran clearly had a different take. "There are only eight teams left, and every single one of them is an expert. I’m not trying to be harsh, but among these eight teams, you’re probably the weakest. There’s no question about it."

Seeing Rong Taotao’s silence, Yang Chunxi’s heart went out to him. She quickly added, "The good news is that we’ve already secured our tickets to the national tournament. It doesn’t start until November, and it’s only late July now. You still have three months to prepare and train."

"Hah." Xia Fangran, however, just laughed. He stood up, patted Rong Taotao’s shoulder, and said, "How about you two just withdraw from the competition now?"

Rong Taotao: "Huh?"

Xia Fangran shrugged. "You already have your tickets to the nationals, so your final ranking here doesn’t really matter. We can make a strategic retreat.

I’ll go back and have a talk with Old Ghost Mei and apply for the area north of the Second Wall to be your training grounds.

The Snow Realm Soul Beasts there are more ferocious, and the Snow Realm Soul Power is denser. I’ll take you two for three months of intensive training, and we’ll make a killer comeback at the national tournament!"

Hearing this, Rong Taotao turned to look at Gao Lingwei.

Gao Lingwei watched Rong Taotao in silence with her beautiful eyes. After a full five seconds, she said softly, "You’re tempted."

Rong Taotao, however, reached out and took her cool, soft hand. "Tempted by you, or by Coach Xia’s suggestion?" he whispered.

With a faint smile, Gao Lingwei nudged Rong Taotao’s shoulder in mock annoyance. "Be serious."

Rong Taotao hesitated for a moment. "No," he said. "I was just worried you might be swayed by his deceptive words, so I was just checking on you."

Gao Lingwei studied Rong Taotao’s face for a long moment. Once she was sure he wasn’t lying, the faint smile on her face slowly bloomed into a genuinely happy one, sincere and pure.

"I won’t be. Don’t worry," Gao Lingwei said softly, turning to look out the window.

And Rong Taotao...

...sighed internally.

’In truth, Gao Lingwei had been right.

Rong Taotao’s style had never been to charge ahead recklessly. As a proponent of defending and counterattacking, he knew you had to pull your fist back to throw a better punch.

So, Xia Fangran’s proposal was actually right up his alley.

Rong Taotao had lied to Gao Lingwei.

He knew she wasn’t the type to give up easily. Even with sound reasoning laid out before her, she wasn’t the kind of person who would agree to a strategic retreat.

But that was precisely why she was Gao Lingwei—the person he had chosen.

Everything was just as he’d expected. If he had insisted on a strategic retreat, Gao Lingwei might have actually relented and accommodated him, especially with their two coaches’ persuasion.

But with just one small test, he had seen the difference between her polite, forced smile and her sincere, happy one.

He had confirmed it again: Gao Lingwei was unwilling to compromise, unwilling to leave.

Well, feelings are a two-way street. Sometimes, you don’t need to say things out loud. It’s enough to just act on them quietly.

In that case... I’ll fight alongside her.’

As he thought this, Rong Taotao couldn’t help but squeeze Gao Lingwei’s hand a little tighter.

’Actually, this choice was a good one, too.

At least for Rong Taotao himself, being number one in the Outer Region... might even be more meaningful than being number one in the nation.

To others, first place in the Outer Region might not even be worthy of shining the shoes of the national champion.

But to Rong Taotao, this was a title he actually preferred.’

Seeing this unfold, a smile crept onto Xia Fangran’s face.

In fact, as a Soul School instructor—especially one whose fighting style aligned with Gao Lingwei’s—Xia Fangran was very pleased with their decision.

Logically, Xia Fangran knew which decision was the most sensible.

But emotionally, Xia Fangran loved seeing his two apprentices being so headstrong!

"Don’t listen to your elders, and you’ll pay the price~" Xia Fangran said with a chuckle, plopping back down into his seat.

Rong Taotao suddenly retorted, "Coach Xia, do you know why humanity keeps progressing?"

Xia Fangran raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

Rong Taotao tilted his head, glancing at Xia Fangran behind him out of the corner of his eye. "Mostly because the next generation doesn’t really listen to the one before it."

Xia Fangran: ???