Master of Nine Stars

"A win! A decisive win!" Dai Liunian shouted, watching the situation unfold on the field. "Both sides dueled with martial arts alone, as agreed before the match, but it’s clear that Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei were a cut above!"

Su Wan looked as if she was still shaken, one hand over her heart. "Yes, especially Gao Lingwei. Her presence is so intense. I couldn’t even bring myself to look at her close-ups, couldn’t look into her eyes. It’s truly...

It’s hard to imagine what was going through Lin Xiaoxiao’s mind when she faced Gao Lingwei."

Dai Liunian laughed. "And Rong Taotao is impressive too, isn’t he? He seized one opportunity and slowly snowballed it into a massive advantage. He’s not just good at seizing chances, his performance is also incredibly consistent!"

By the time Gao Zehua attempted a desperate, all-out counterattack, it was already too late.

"When we watched the Outer League, we never saw anyone who could overcome the Heaven-piercing Halberd in Rong Taotao’s hands. It looks like his record remains unbroken!"

"That’s right. During the match, I said that when it comes to Rong Taotao’s Heaven-piercing Halberd, one opponent isn’t enough, and two aren’t that many," Su Wan said, trying to calm her nerves by shifting her focus to Rong Taotao.

She continued, "Finally, we have proof. In a pure contest of martial arts, even though Rong Taotao is young, his skill is second to none!"

Dai Liunian suddenly said, "Do you remember something Rong Taotao said during his interview on *Soul Martial Peak*?"

Su Wan asked, "Oh? What did he say?"

Dai Liunian recalled with a sigh, "I asked him why he didn’t wait two more years to compete, since you can only participate in this tournament once in your life. And Rong Taotao’s response was..."

Su Wan nodded at once. She had, of course, seen the show—she’d even helped produce *Soul Martial Peak*—so she remembered his response vividly.

Su Wan finished his thought, "He said that if he participated two years from now, it would be unfair to the other contestants?"

Dai Liunian smiled and nodded. "It seems now that while his words were a bit Arrogant, he wasn’t lying!"

The two commentators’ voices were broadcast into thousands of homes.

Instantly, the Huaxia Main Channel’s livestream chat was flooded with a sea of comments:

"Pride comes before a fall! Hmph! Just you wait and see!"

"This one’s called: Rong Run Tu and Gao Zecha~"

"’A Treatise on the 3,600 Uses of the Heaven-piercing Halberd’"

"Never lost? Heh, don’t get ahead of yourself. Today’s the day..."

On the bench at the edge of the field, Yang Chunxi leaped to her feet. She clenched her fist and gave it a small pump, her beautiful face alight with excitement.

"Come on, over here." Yang Chunxi stood at the edge of the field, beckoning to her two apprentices.

Yang Chunxi’s heart swelled with joy at seeing her kids achieve so much.

After all, Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei weren’t just her apprentices. They were also her little brother-in-law and... uh, sister-in-law-to-be?

As Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei came up to her, Yang Chunxi placed her hands on their shoulders. "Excellent. Two more matches! Only two left!"

Two more matches, and they’d make the national team. It seemed Yang Chunxi had her eyes on that prize all along.

Rong Taotao, however, gave Yang Chunxi a suspicious look. ’Something’s a little off with my dear sister-in-law, isn’t it?’

’When we won the Outer League, she wasn’t this excited.’

’Could it be... she really thinks Gao Zehua and Lin Xiaoxiao’s Martial Arts are that good?’

’To be fair, Gao Zehua really is a beast. If we’d given him the slightest opening, who knows what would’ve happened.’

Behind them, Xia Fangran was slouched on the bench with his arms crossed. "See? I told you," he said. "Those two were dying for a pure martial arts duel. It was practically a bloodless victory."

As he spoke, Xia Fangran also stood up. "But that other pair wasn’t bad. They stuck to the rules they set for themselves and didn’t use a single Soul Skill, right to the end."

Rong Taotao pursed his lips and muttered under his breath, "It’s not like Da Wei and I gave them a chance to. You think they could’ve just used them whenever they wanted?"

Xia Fangran’s voice rose. "What was that?"

Rong Taotao chuckled. "Nothing, nothing. Let’s go, quick, before they make us do another interview."

Saying this, Rong Taotao grabbed Gao Lingwei’s arm and bolted for the player tunnel.

The couple of reporters who had already gathered were stunned!

’What... what’s going on?’

’We were waiting for you all to finish your little teacher-student chat, and you just bolt?’

’What ambitious young person doesn’t want to get in front of the camera, drop a few tough-sounding lines, and get some more exposure?’

’But you two are something else. Spoiled rotten, I guess? You don’t need the clout, huh?’

The truth was, that was probably right. Rong Taotao didn’t just have enough clout; other people had to leech off of his...

Watching her two apprentices bolt, Yang Chunxi just smiled and shook her head, her expression full of affection.

She glanced at Xia Fangran, thought for a moment, then turned to the reporters. "I can take the interview. Coach Xia, why don’t you head back first."

Xia Fangran: "..."

’Honestly, that kind of hurts,’ he thought. ’She won’t even let me say anything...’

Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei quickly returned to the locker room, packed their bags, and got ready to head back to the hotel.

BZZZT... BZZZT...

Chewing on an Energy Bar, Rong Taotao curiously picked up his phone from his locker and saw a new WeChat message.

Ye Nanxi: "Are you an idiot? Why did you agree to a martial arts duel? Gao Lingwei is decked out in Soul Pearls and Soul Skills; even I get scared just looking at her. You have your Lotus Petal, too, and you just jumped right into their trap?"

Rong Taotao smirked. ’This girl... she’s as foul-mouthed as ever.’

He tapped away at the screen and replied, "Hey, watch your mouth! Da Wei was the one who accepted the challenge."

Ye Nanxi: "Er, don’t you dare tell her I said that."

Rong Taotao let out a mischievous laugh and replied, "What’s wrong? Scared?"

"Scared? When have I ever been scared of anything? I just... haven’t met Da Wei in person yet. I want to make a good impression..."

Reading Ye Nanxi’s reply, Rong Taotao chuckled and typed, "Don’t you have a match?"

"I do. It’s this afternoon..."

"What are you smiling about?" Gao Lingwei’s voice came from beside him.

Rong Taotao turned to see Gao Lingwei taking off her white jacket and stuffing it into her backpack.

Even though it was early November, the temperature in Imperial Capital City was quite pleasant, regulated by the Starfield Vortex’s "air conditioning." For people like Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei, who spent their years in the northern Snow Realm, this felt no different from summer.

An idea sparked in Rong Taotao’s mind. He handed her the phone. "Here."

Gao Lingwei took the phone and glanced at the screen, a slight arch to her eyebrow. "This girl really doesn’t have any friends, does she."

Rong Taotao: "..."

’Ouch, Da Wei. Right in the heart.’

Gao Lingwei said, "She cares about you a lot. And she cares a lot about your friends, too."

With that, Gao Lingwei handed the phone back to Rong Taotao.

Gao Lingwei and Ye Nanxi had never met in person, only chatting occasionally on WeChat.

"You’re also the descendant of a Soul General, yet you seem to have a lot of friends," Gao Lingwei said with a smile, plopping down onto the long bench.

"Well, that’s her own fault, isn’t it?" Rong Taotao said with a pout. "And you shouldn’t call her ’girl.’ She’s two years older than you."

Gao Lingwei said, "Her match is this afternoon. We could go and cheer for her."

Rong Taotao: "Huh???"

Gao Lingwei crossed her legs and tilted her head at Rong Taotao. "It’s not good that we’ve never met. I’ve chatted with her on WeChat, so I know her general situation.

She’s being so proactive, repeatedly reaching out and extending an olive branch. That means she’s already swallowing her pride and truly considers you a friend. It’s not right for you to keep acting so distant."

Rong Taotao said, "It’s not as complicated as you think. We spent three months fighting side-by-side in the Starfield Vortex. A bond like that doesn’t just break. It’s fine. We can just meet up whenever our matches are at the same venue."

Gao Lingwei’s heart skipped a beat. "Like how we fought in the Corpse Tide for three months?"

Hearing this, Rong Taotao scoffed. "Are you kidding? The Starfield Vortex, even with its unknown risks out in the wild, is ten thousand times easier than the Corpse Tide."

Gao Lingwei finally nodded, but then said, "The placement matches for the loser’s bracket are tomorrow and the day after. Our next match isn’t until the day after that, so we have plenty of time."

Rong Taotao’s expression was strange. "You really want to go see her match?"

Gao Lingwei replied, "Of course."

"Alright, then..." Rong Taotao replied, though he wasn’t so sure. ’Something feels off, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.’

’I wonder if we can even get tickets. I’ll have to ask my dear sister-in-law later, see if the main team can pull some strings.’

Just then, Xia Fangran pushed the door open and walked in. Rong Taotao peeked behind him but didn’t see Yang Chunxi.

"Taotao, post on Weibo."

Rong Taotao blinked. "Huh?"

Xia Fangran urged impatiently, "Quick, quick! It’s an emergency!"

’An emergency?’

’He’s acting like it’s actually serious...’

Rong Taotao said helplessly, "I won, so everyone’s just going to be praising me. Who are you going to find to argue with online?"

But Xia Fangran just smiled. "There are always more solutions than problems! I’ve had an epiphany."

Rong Taotao: "What is it?"

Xia Fangran explained, "When other people flame you, I’ll defend you and argue with them.

And when other people praise you, well~ I’ll start roasting you and argue with them instead.

What do you think? From now on, I’m your number one anti-fan!"

Rong Taotao: ???

’Xia Yinyang! That’s our Coach Xia, alright!’

’This way, you’re always on the winning side of an argument!?’

’Flip-flopping like that... you must be having the time of your life!’

Xia Fangran pressed, "Hurry up! Just post it when I tell you to. What are you dawdling for? Don’t want to listen to your teacher anymore?"

Rong Taotao shot Xia Fangran a resentful look. ’You call yourself a teacher?’

He reluctantly took out his phone, opened Weibo, and half-heartedly posted a single fist emoji.

Then, Rong Taotao put his phone away. "Alright, Coach Xia, go do your thing. The enemy troops will reach the battlefield in thirty seconds."

’Man, what is wrong with me? I actually posted on Weibo just to give you ammunition to trash me...’

On the side, Gao Lingwei was utterly dumbfounded as she watched the master and apprentice’s antics.

"Here we go!" Xia Fangran’s face lit up with excitement. It was a shame his hands were busy with his phone, otherwise he’d be rubbing them in glee. He read the comments as they came in. "Taotao, tell my wife to post a smiling selfie. She was so scary earlier, I’m still a little frightened..."

"Oh yeah?" Rong Taotao was instantly displeased. He grabbed his phone, opened the camera, and pointed it at Gao Lingwei. "Da Wei, Frost Fearful Face! I’ll show them what true psychological damage looks like!"

Gao Lingwei shot Rong Taotao a glare, though she was smiling. "Go on, get out of here."

"Da Wei, Da Wei..."

Unmoved, Gao Lingwei went back to organizing her backpack.

Rong Taotao directly summoned his Snow General Candle and placed the little fatty in Gao Lingwei’s arms. "Rong Ling, chant with me! Da Wei! Da Wei!"

The little fatty seemed a bit dazed, but if there was one thing it was good at, it was chanting names. Instantly, the frost covering its body began to tremble as if it were cheering. "Da Wei! Da Wei!"

But Gao Lingwei stopped packing her bag. She wrapped her arms around the little fatty’s Snow Armor, closed her eyes in comfort, and rested her cheek against its tiny Snow-made Helmet.

The world around her was noisy, but Gao Lingwei’s heart grew quiet.

’As expected,’ she thought. ’I still prefer the feel of frost and snow...’

’The world outside is wonderful, but I’m not used to it.’

Now, Rong Ling was truly dumbfounded.

Its pair of Ice Candle Eyes blinked over and over, as if about to shed tears. It looked a little wronged, yet also a little blissful.

’My strict mistress... she’s finally willing to hug me!’

CLICK!

Rong Taotao looked at the picture-perfect, tranquil scene on his phone and couldn’t help but say, "You should probably release a little frost every now and then. This is a divine-grade Soul Pet: Snow General Candle. You’re going to melt Rong Ling if you hug him too tight..."

"Shh... be quiet..."