Master of Nine Stars

After seeing Rong Yuanshan, their lives returned to normal. They were still in the middle of the tournament, after all, so they couldn’t relax too much. Once they returned to the hotel, Rong Taotao resumed his diligent training in the Starfield Soul Technique, awaiting the day of the draw.

In the single-elimination bracket, with seven teams advancing to the final four, one lucky team would receive a bye and advance directly to the semi-finals.

The timing of this bye was interesting. It came in the round immediately after the national team selection, which gave people the feeling that ’the big picture was already decided’.

In the third round, you had to fight tooth and nail to earn a spot in the top eight and the right to represent the country.

But the fourth round... well, you’ve already made the national team, so it doesn’t really matter. A randomly drawn team gets a free pass as a bonus!

That morning, Rong Taotao and Xia Fangran went to Yang Chunxi’s room as planned. Following their tradition, they gathered to watch the drawing results together.

The atmosphere in the room, however, was not relaxed, mainly because of Yang Chunxi.

She sat on the sofa, her expression grave, staring at the six stacks of files on the coffee table. She muttered to herself, "This one’s no good, the Starfield team is too strong. Hmm, this Molten Rock one is also a no-go. They’re the top seed, after all. It’s best if we don’t run into them..."

Rong Taotao sat beside her. Watching his sister-in-law’s obsessive behavior, he couldn’t help but say, "What if we get the bye? We could just waltz into the semi-finals, right?"

Hearing this, Yang Chunxi turned and shot Rong Taotao a look. "Don’t get your hopes up for something like that. The good thing is, we’re already in the top seven. We can accept a win or a loss."

"Tch~" Rong Taotao, holding a Cloud Dog, shifted his butt and settled into the corner of the sofa. "Three Starfield, two Ocean, one Molten Rock. The probability of getting an even match against an Ocean Soul Martial Artist isn’t that low."

"No." Yang Chunxi shook her head. "The remaining two Ocean teams are no pushovers. Wake up, Taotao! This is the top seven! There are no easy opponents left!"

"Especially that brother-sister duo from Modu Soul Martial, Li Jin and Li Ning. Look at their list of Soul Skills."

Rong Taotao craned his neck to look. As his eyes scanned the list... Tsk. He had thought Gao Lingwei’s list of Soul Skills was intimidating enough, but this...

"Nine Heavens Great Waterfall?" Rong Taotao raised an eyebrow. "That Soul Skill name sounds pretty poetic, huh?"

Yang Chunxi said, "You won’t find it so poetic when you’re the one getting hit by it."

Rong Taotao asked hastily, "How so? Is it like the ’Galaxy Falling from Nine Heavens’?"

Yang Chunxi explained, "It summons all the water within a certain range, which then crashes down from the sky like a waterfall to strike the target.

"With your current physical condition and repertoire of Soul Skills, you probably couldn’t even dodge it. Its area of effect is just too large.

"At the Elite-tier, it can basically cover a quarter of the arena."

Rong Taotao was speechless.

Gao Lingwei said, "The Iron Snow Armor should be able to withstand it."

Yang Chunxi replied, "You could withstand it, but Taotao... if that massive waterfall came crashing down on him, his body would probably be crushed."

Rong Taotao looked pained and said weakly, "I know I’m fragile, you don’t have to keep reminding me..."

Yang Chunxi said, "What you’re seeing is just their standard damage output. Now look at their Eye Illusion Soul Skills..."

As she was speaking, Yang Chunxi stopped. The drawing ceremony had begun. The first group was "East China Region" + "1".

The East China Region was a major economic powerhouse. Its provinces and major cities were certainly not short on money. And in this world, some rules are fairly universal: if you have money, everything becomes much easier...

For a moment, everyone in the room held their breath, waiting for the man to draw the second ball.

"The North China Region?" Rong Taotao blinked. "How many teams are left from North China?"

Yang Chunxi replied, "One from the Imperial Capital, one from Yan Zhao. It’ll be one of those two."

"Whoa~" Rong Taotao let out a soft gasp. "1!"

"Haha." Nearby, Xia Fangran, who had been fiddling with his phone, looked up at the TV screen. "Imperial Capital Soul Martial versus Modu Soul Martial!? A fated showdown, haha! It’s time to prove who’s truly the top of the four great Soul Martial High Schools!"

Rong Taotao gave Xia Fangran a look of disgust. "What’s that supposed to mean? Did you just kick our Songjiang Soul Martial out of the running?"

Xia Fangran shrugged, looking quite self-aware. "Our school relies entirely on favorable government policies and support. Whether you’re talking about attracting talent or the quality of our student pool..."

Xia Fangran didn’t finish his sentence, but his meaning was crystal clear.

He continued, "Still, this year’s Junior Class at Songjiang Soul Martial was very well done. They recruited promising seedlings from all over the country, skipping high school and snatching them right from their middle school graduation’s awakening ceremony, haha."

Yang Chunxi’s expression softened slightly. "This year’s Junior Class is indeed very high-quality. Whether it’s the Soul Class or the Martial Arts Class, none of them have fewer than five Initial Soul Slots.

"Especially the Soul Class. Sun Xingyu is the only one with Five Soul Slots; everyone else has six. They’re all young people with boundless potential.

"But in the future, I’m afraid we won’t have such a good crop of students. The Imperial Capital also started a Junior Class this year, and we didn’t start another one."

Xia Fangran said, "I actually think Old Ghost Mei made the right choice. It’s better to focus on nurturing this current class first.

"Look at the Pine Soul Four Seasons and the Pine Soul Four Rites. All the big names are revolving around this Junior Class. They’ve thrown all the famous teachers at them. If they started another class... Yo, isn’t that the pair who provoked you?"

Xia Fangran abruptly changed the subject, looking at the TV. With the air of someone who just loves to watch the world burn, he chanted, "Pick them! Pick them!"

Rong Taotao also saw the "Huazhong Division" + "1" combination. In fact, they didn’t even need the "1," as there was only one team left from the Huazhong Division in the top seven.

"The Southern China Region..." Rong Taotao’s expression was strange. They didn’t need to draw a number for the Southern China Region either, because they also had only one team left.

This team from the Southern China Region was also formidable, no less impressive than Modu Soul Martial. Nanyue Soul Martial University was also a top contender among Ocean Soul Martial Artists.

’No way,’ Rong Taotao felt a flicker of excitement. Only three teams were left.

North China·Yan Zhao Soul Martial, Northwest·Dajiang Soul Martial, and Northeast·Songjiang Soul Martial.

There was no need to draw numbers anymore; they just had to draw the regions.

"The Northwest Division!" Rong Taotao clenched his fists, eagerly watching the man on TV.

In that moment, Rong Taotao finally understood why games like loot boxes and lotteries were so popular.

This was so thrilling!

The team predicted by the public to be this year’s champions, Wanqi Wu and Wanqi Yan from Dajiang Soul Martial University... their opponent was...

"The North China Region!" Rong Taotao shot up from the sofa, his arms raised high. In his jubilant celebration, he even forgot about the Cloud Dog in his arms...

"YELP~!" The Cloud Dog cried out in surprise. Thrown from his arms, its short legs flailed frantically as it whimpered in panic.

The next moment, the Cloud Dog suddenly stopped crying. Because... it seemed to remember that it could fly...

And just like that, the Cloud Dog flapped its large ears and hovered in mid-air. It turned to look at its celebrating owner. A moment ago it had been disgruntled, but now its mood followed its master’s.

It was still young and didn’t seem to understand the situation at all. It just saw Rong Taotao’s joyful expression and joined in the celebration, flapping its cloud-shaped ears and flying in circles around him, barking, "WOOF WOOF"...

"Holy crap, you lucky bastard, you actually pulled it off!" Xia Fangran looked aggrieved as he muttered, "I gotta say, the name Old Rong gave you is pretty damn fitting!"

Well now, after just one drinking session, Rong Yuanshan had already become "Old Rong" to Xia Fangran.

The joyful look on Rong Taotao’s face didn’t fade as he turned to Xia Fangran. "Huh?"

"Are you sure your name is Rong Taotao? More like Rong ’Got-got’!" Xia Fangran leaned back on the sofa and chuckled. "You got yourself a girlfriend, you got yourself a Lotus, and now, out of everyone in the national tournament, you got yourself the only bye into the semi-finals..."

Rong Taotao: "Erm..."

Yang Chunxi was also beaming, clearly in high spirits. This was the national tournament; the difference between making the top seven and the top four was night and day. And you couldn’t just call it a fluke—luck was a part of strength, too!

Gao Lingwei and Rong Taotao had fought their way into the top seven, and that’s what had earned them the chance to draw a bye in the first place!

Rong Taotao was about to retort when the whimpering Cloud Dog drifted past his eyes. He scooped it up in one motion.

Nuzzling against its soft, cotton-candy-like body, Rong Taotao plopped down on the sofa. "Ahh~ I was just thinking we had to ’work’ tomorrow, and then suddenly we’re told we have the day off. This feels great~"

Rong Taotao’s schedule went from "work one day, rest two" to "work one day, rest five."

It was seriously awesome!

"Hmph." Xia Fangran snorted, displeased with Rong Taotao’s gloating expression. He grumbled, "Another three days cooped up in the hotel..."

Hearing this, an idea struck Rong Taotao. "I can ask my dad to take us to visit Starfield Town. It’s not good to be stuck in the hotel all the time."

Yang Chunxi and Xia Fangran were there to protect Gao Lingwei and Rong Taotao. To be frank, if the two hadn’t protected them all the way through the Outer League, the national tournament, and their travels back and forth, Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei would have probably been ambushed by the Poacher Organization countless times already.

Obviously, wherever Rong Taotao went, Xia Fangran had to follow, unable to leave his side 24 hours a day.

On competition days, Xia Fangran could at least get out to see the sun and other people. But if there was no match, he could only stay holed up in the hotel room with Rong Taotao.

Xia Fangran mumbled, "You should just focus on your training. I’ve got my phone."

But Rong Taotao said, "Actually, if we go to Starfield Town, the Starfield Soul Power is much denser there. I’d be able to train even faster."

Yang Chunxi: "Hmm?"

That did make sense.

Yang Chunxi thought for a moment, then turned to Gao Lingwei. "Ling Wei, have you replenished your Snow Realm Soul Power?"

"It’s replenished," Gao Lingwei nodded immediately.

As Snow Realm Soul Martial Artists, they clashed with Starfield Soul Power, making it difficult to practice Soul Techniques or even cultivate their Soul Power level.

If staying in Starfield Town for a couple of days would benefit Rong Taotao, then why not?

Of course, these were all Gao Lingwei’s thoughts, which she didn’t say out loud.

Yang Chunxi hesitated for a moment. "Let’s not trouble Rong. He’s very busy. We can take a cab ourselves. It’ll be good to relax."

Especially for Gao Lingwei, her time traveling for competitions as a student might be one of the few chances she’d have to travel in her life. In the future... she might be like Yang Chunxi and Xia Fangran, stationed in the bitterly cold Snow Realm for the rest of her life.

Rong Taotao turned to Gao Lingwei and said, "Let’s go ride the carousel! The last time Ye Nanxi asked me to hang out, I ignored her."

Hearing this, the corners of Gao Lingwei’s mouth lifted slightly, and she smiled. "Okay."

Rong Taotao said, "Coach Xia."

Xia Fangran: "What?"

Rong Taotao: "You shouldn’t ride the carousel. I mean, considering your age... you can stay on the ground and take a few pictures of Da Wei and me."

Xia Fangran said irritably, "And why would I be so happy to indulge you?"

Rong Taotao’s eyes darted. "What if I post the pictures on social media?"

"Oh?" Hearing that, Xia Fangran was immediately interested, perfectly demonstrating the meaning of ’eating his words’.

Xia Fangran quickly changed his tune. "Fine, fine, fine! I’ll take a bunch of pictures, and you post a bunch of them! Make sure you write good captions, okay? The more infuriating, the better!"

Gao Lingwei was speechless.

...

There was a bug in yesterday’s Chapter. When I was writing about the Attribute counters, I mixed up the list. It has now been corrected. Thanks, everyone, for the reminder.

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