Master of Nine Stars

"We won! We won!" At the Huaxia Main Channel, Dai Liunian revealed a rarely seen side of himself, his voice booming with excitement. "A miracle! This is nothing short of a miracle! And we are all witnesses to its birth!

Gao Lingwei and Rong Taotao, two students from the Pine Soul Soul Martial’s Junior Class, have actually defeated their opponent to claim the number one spot in the Outer Region rankings! They are at the true summit of the Outer Region!"

"Hah..." Su Wan breathed, one hand pressed to her chest. She watched the figures on the television screen, their clothes in tatters and hands covered in blood, and let out a deep sigh of relief. "Even at the very, very end, they still didn’t give up.

Gao Lingwei, heavily injured and on the ground, still activated the Snow Prison Arena at the last moment, slowing Guan Cang’s advance.

And Rong Taotao, in whom they had placed their final hopes, lived up to everyone’s expectations. With his saber and halberd, and that exquisitely beautiful Lotus Petal, he claimed the final victory."

Dai Liunian said, "Many sources indicate that Rong Taotao possesses a Snow Realm Treasure, a cyan-green Lotus Petal. Many people have personally witnessed him use it, and today, here in the finals, we’ve finally seen it for ourselves."

"That’s right," Su Wan agreed. "It’s hard to imagine what he’s experienced at such a young age, whether in the Snow Realm or during the Battle of the Three Cities. For us, it’s just a few brief lines in the history books, but for Rong Taotao, what kind of epic, heart-wrenching story must those lines represent?"

At her words, Dai Liunian nodded silently. It was an open secret, and there was public speculation to match. Based on Rong Taotao’s personal history, the only place he could have obtained a Snow Realm Treasure of such a high level was during the Battle of the Three Cities.

The supporting evidence was the fact that Rong Taotao’s name was singled out in the records. His very presence was hailed as the critical turning point of the Battle of the Three Cities!

Just moments ago, after winning, Rong Taotao had gazed at the returning Lotus Petal and whispered something, and those words now felt incredibly real.

He said, "This... was paid for with a life."

So... behind those few short sentences in the *Northern Snow Realm History*, behind those few lines of text, what kind of story had Rong Taotao actually experienced?

Dai Liunian’s emotions stabilized a bit, and he brought the topic back. "Throughout the entire match, the duo of Gao and Rong were constantly being suppressed. They were on the back foot for the whole fight! But they only needed one chance to take the match entirely..."

Su Wan added, "Their plan was thwarted, their bodies were injured, but no matter what, nothing could interfere with their determination to win! When you have an Outer Region champion like this, how can you not acknowledge them..."

[Meanwhile, on the arena floor in Fengtian City.]

’First Place in the Outer Region Ranking Tournament! Potential Points +3! Available Potential Value: 7.’

Rong Taotao ignored the message from his Inner Soul Map. He walked over to Gao Lingwei, only to find her lying on her back. The layer of Shuangxue that had covered her was shattered, and her clothes were crushed and wrinkled.

Her eyes were a little unfocused, staring blankly at the sealed stadium roof directly above.

"Da Wei?" Rong Taotao knelt beside her, calling her name softly.

"Hm?" Gao Lingwei’s eyes regained a sliver of focus. She gazed at the person blocking her line of sight, and after a long moment, the corners of her mouth lifted into a faint, strained smile as she laboriously raised her hand.

Rong Taotao remained still as her palm slowly came to rest on his cheek.

"Mmm..." Rong Taotao closed his eyes. In that instant, he was like a Snowball Cat, letting out a soft, contented hum and rubbing his cheek back and forth against her cool palm.

Seeing Rong Taotao’s look of pure enjoyment, Gao Lingwei couldn’t help but let out a small laugh, but the movement pulled at her heavily injured body. "COUGH, COUGH... COUGH..."

Rong Taotao quickly opened his eyes and saw the Soul Martial medical personnel gathering around.

He remained kneeling, watching as the medics lifted Gao Lingwei onto a stretcher and quickly carried her off the arena floor.

However, Rong Taotao had no idea that the camera had been locked on him the entire time, which led to...

In the Huaxia Main Channel’s live stream chat, a sea of bullet comments, thick as an ocean, continuously scrolled across the screen.

"HOLY SHIT!? Are you telling me this is the same ruthless Rong Taotao from a moment ago? What a sudden change in style! I’m totally dumbfounded!"

"Screenshot taken, sob sob sob... The injured Goddess Wei is so gentle, and Taotao closing his eyes to nuzzle her hand is so cute..."

"This has to make the highlight reel, right? Even though it’s not part of the fight, this scene is so wholesome... It has to be in the highlights, ahhhh, I’m dying..."

"A Snow Realm Treasure, the Cyan Lotus Petal... that’s amazing. The hosts had a point. No wonder Rong Taotao made it into the history books at such a young age. It must be related to the Battle of the Three Cities.

Sigh... While we’re eating and sleeping, people like him are out there, one step from death, fighting in battles against invading Snow Realm Soul Beasts. We can’t compare. We really, really can’t compare..."

"The Snow Realm is just too dangerous. No wonder there was a wave of students dropping out of Pine Soul Soul Martial last year. I always thought those students were so stupid. They worked so hard to get into one of Huaxia’s most elite academies, only to drop out just like that..."

"Where’s the Glory Squad? Listen to my command! Let’s get ’Outer Region’s Number One’ trending!"

"I, RONG TAOTAO! NUMBER ONE IN THE OUTER REGION!!!"

...

"Rong Taotao? Student Rong Taotao?" At the edge of the arena, Zhang Muyu didn’t dare step even half an inch over the boundary line. Amidst the tsunami of cheers and applause, she craned her neck and shouted.

Rong Taotao didn’t notice Zhang Muyu. In fact, only after the medics had carried Gao Lingwei away did he realize he was standing in the center of a "Vortex."

Applause, screams, and cheers rushed in from all sides, a tidal wave of sound that swept over him.

Rong Taotao stood up and slowly turned, looking at the jubilant crowd in every direction, at all the excited and thrilled faces.