Master of Nine Stars

November 23rd. Light rain.

Imperial City Stadium, Snow Realm Arena.

Two sets of opponents had drawn the Snow Realm Arena. One of them was a singles match, which also became the opening match of the day.

At the moment, the teachers and students were sitting in the locker room, distractedly watching the one-on-one match on the TV screen. Their main focus, however, was on the opponents they were about to face.

Chen Zhaowu and Chen Muge. Their damage output was explosive and their attack power was extremely high, but they weren’t invincible. The two brothers didn’t have Soul Slots on their chests, which left a hidden vulnerability in their combat style.

Rong Taotao sat on a long bench while Yang Chunxi patiently coached him from the side. "The Chen Brothers are rare among Starfield Soul Martial Artists for using weapons, let alone Two-Handed Greatswords.

"If you can use words to bait them into a pure contest of Martial Arts, the situation will be much better for you."

"Mhm, mhm." Rong Taotao nodded repeatedly. When necessary, he never held back on his trash talk. As long as it was effective, verbal interference was certainly part of the competition.

Yang Chunxi continued, "But during close-quarters combat, you must be careful of their Star Cross Slash. Don’t get carried away, and whatever you do, don’t try to block it head-on."

But Rong Taotao said, "I know how powerful Star Cross Slash is, don’t worry. Besides, just like Wind and Snow Blade, that Soul Skill has a fixed starting stance. The wind-up animation is pretty obvious."

Yang Chunxi was still a little worried. "And that Soul Skill, Engulfing Star Shattering! You have to be careful!

"Although they don’t have a full-body Defense Soul Skill, the three stars wrapped around their ankles, knees, and elbows are more than enough to serve as a defensive measure."

"Ah, don’t worry, Chunxi," Rong Taotao said with a smile. "I asked Ye Nanxi yesterday. She has Engulfing Star Shattering too, and she explained it to me very clearly.

"That defensive Soul Skill that isn’t really for defense looks intimidating, but it’s actually very passive. As long as we don’t touch the stars, they won’t detonate on their own. Even the Caster can’t detonate them himself."

As he spoke, Rong Taotao patted Yang Chunxi on the back reassuringly. "Including their Chaotic Star Shock at their feet and the Star Shield Charge at their shoulders—Da Wei and I already experienced those back in the Outer League.

"Weak Soul Martial Artists are each weak in their own way, but powerful Soul Martial Artists all seem to be powerful in the same way.

"Since this is a Snow Realm home field, my Snow Ghost Hand will have its chance to shine. Against opponents who lack a full-body Defense Soul Skill, Da Wei and I only need one opportunity. Just one is enough."

Yang Chunxi looked into Rong Taotao’s earnest eyes, and after a long moment, she finally nodded, letting out a deep breath.

She had done everything she could.

The key points to note, the important reminders, the duo’s tactics, their target for focused fire, a detailed breakdown of the opponents’ Soul Skill list—everything, absolutely everything—Yang Chunxi had prepared it all to the best of her ability. The rest...

’Do your best and leave the rest to fate.’

Nearby, Gao Lingwei sat with her legs crossed, leaning against a locker door. "It’s a shame about Nanxi," she said.

Rong Taotao turned to look at her, marveling inwardly.

’For the past few days, the two of them had been preparing seriously, and Gao Lingwei had been very solemn the whole time. But now, right before the match, she’d actually relaxed. Is this what it means to be a seasoned competitor?’

’The closer it gets to the critical moment, the calmer she becomes?’

"It is a shame, but..." Rong Taotao thought for a moment and said, "even though they didn’t make the top eight, they still ranked tenth. That group of troubled youths managed to make a name for themselves. I bet Nan Cheng will be very happy. The Xiang Brothers, on the other hand, probably aren’t."

Gao Lingwei asked, "Why?"

"Heh heh," Rong Taotao chuckled. "Wasn’t it because Ye Nanxi parachuted in and forcibly pulled the Xiang Brothers out of the doubles bracket to register for the trios competition? Otherwise, with the Xiang Brothers’ strength, they probably would have made the top eight in doubles."

Gao Lingwei, however, said, "They may not have made the top eight, but they forged a bond of camaraderie with the child of a Soul General and also made a connection with Lady Nan Cheng. The two brothers’ futures will benefit immensely from it."

"Hm... that’s true." Rong Taotao thought about it and nodded in agreement. Ye Nanxi was different from him. Her mother was an active Soul General serving right here in Imperial Capital City. While she couldn’t exactly move heaven and earth, arranging opportunities for two young men wouldn’t be a problem.

Besides, the Xiang Brothers weren’t incompetent. Their combat strength was plain to see. Perhaps their futures really would be bright.

They gave up their shot at the National Squad in exchange for a bright future on a different path. Whether that trade-off was worth it or not was ultimately for the two brothers to decide.

In the corner of the locker room, Xia Fangran, who had been fiddling with his phone, suddenly burst out laughing. "Taotao."

Rong Taotao: "Huh?"

Xia Fangran said, "Those twin sisters from Dajiang Soul Martial are blowing up your Weibo comments. They’re saying they’re back and they’re waiting to give you a piece of their mind~

"But while Li Zi is talking tough, Li Mu is actually thanking you. The two girls are arguing with each other in your comments right now. A lot of people are watching the drama unfold, HAHAHAHA!"

"Uh?" Rong Taotao scratched his head. "The sisters are fighting amongst themselves?"

Looking like he was loving every second of the drama, Xia Fangran laughed gleefully. "Yeah, Li Zi clearly hasn’t cooled off yet, but Li Mu... she’s actually very grateful that you taught them a lesson.

"You can tell from the comments below. In the losers’ bracket, the sisters ran into a few more teams that tried to use trash talk on them. This time, Li Mu had an epiphany and didn’t fall for it. Now she’s thanking you for helping her grow."

Rong Taotao blinked, pointing a finger at his own nose. "Me? I helped her grow?"

’There it is!’

’Rong Taotao, a boy who makes girls... grow!’

’Hmm... Something about that doesn’t sound right, does it?’

’Oh, that’s not quite right. It should be "a boy who makes *twin sisters* grow"!’

’Ugh...’

The losers’ bracket was also filled with experts, but it seemed the Li Family Sisters truly had the strength. They had actually broken out of the seven-team group, directly locking in the eighth-place spot in the doubles tournament.

You have to understand, the seven-team competition in the losers’ bracket had no byes. It was a round-robin tournament where every team had to fight every other team once, with the final rankings decided by points. This was to ensure the most rigorous selection process possible to pick the final member for the National Squad.

The Li Family Sisters had learned from their bitter experience. After getting a taste of Rong Taotao’s sharp tongue, they had truly matured a great deal. It was as if they’d had an epiphany. They no longer adhered to a philosophy of nonstop bombardment but instead did their utmost to control their emotions.

They were decisive when it was time to boost their fighting spirit, but when it was time to "cool their heads," they would remind each other and immediately pull back. This left the other students in the losers’ bracket crying in misery.

’That Rong Taotao could drive the Li Family Sisters crazy, making the two little lolitas lose their minds and be blinded by rage with just a few words. But how come when it’s our turn, the sisters are suddenly so mentally resilient?’

’Did they really learn from their mistake?’

"Indeed," Yang Chunxi said softly. "For those proud and powerful Soul Martial Artists, an opponent is the best teacher."

And that was the truth.

Geniuses, for the most part, have their own pride.

When your Attribute is a hard counter to your opponent’s, yet you’re still taken down in a clean sweep, the very existence of someone like Rong Taotao left a huge impact on the Li Family Sisters’ hearts. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it a devastating blow.

It wasn’t that the sisters had never lost before, but to lose so decisively, to be utterly dominated and have the floor wiped with them—that nearly "shameful" method of defeat truly dealt immense damage to their psyches.

It was precisely because of this that the two had the opportunity for a "rude awakening."

The sisters didn’t fall into despair. After their emotions stabilized, with the help of their coaching staff, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. They shed some of their arrogance and, in turn, became even more unbreakable...

The older sister, Li Mu, was grateful to Rong Taotao—whether it was sincere or not was anyone’s guess—but the coaching team at Dajiang Soul Martial was grateful to Rong Taotao from the bottom of their hearts!

The coaching team could also defeat the Li Family Sisters and forcibly teach them a lesson, but in terms of sheer effectiveness, it couldn’t compare to the educational results brought about by Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei...

Rong Taotao raised an eyebrow and said, "Looks like the top eight in the doubles bracket is three Starfield, two Ocean, two Molten Rock, and one Snow Realm."

"Mhm, that’s pretty good," Yang Chunxi nodded. "Although the Molten Rock teams stumbled a bit, at least two of them made it in. That’s very good."

Xia Fangran pouted and muttered, "And isn’t that only because two teams of once-in-a-generation geniuses showed up?"

Rong Taotao: "Two teams?"

"Yeah," Xia Fangran said grudgingly. "The Wanqi Siblings, plus you and Gao Lingwei. Both of your teams are students at First-class universities and also special forces Warriors from your respective regions. That’s something extremely rare in the history of this competition.

"You’d be lucky to see a team like yours even once a decade, yet two of them showed up in the same year.

"Why do you think this year’s national competition had your two teams fight in the opening match? Why give you the highest-level treatment?

"Before the Northwest Division qualifiers even began, the moment the siblings Wanqi Wu and Wanqi Yan confirmed their participation, they had practically already locked in the top spot for the Northwest Division.

"The regional ranking matches weren’t even finished yet, but in the eyes of the entire nation, those two were already the champions of this year’s national competition."

Rong Taotao hesitated for a moment. "You’ve... uh, gathered a lot of information, haven’t you?"

But Xia Fangran just waggled his phone. He, who should have been out of the loop, had managed to internalize all the information on the various competitors during his online arguments.

Xia Fangran continued, "The Wanqi Siblings’ reputation precedes them. They go on missions everywhere, not just domestically. They’ve even followed the Melted Radiance Army on expeditions to the Molten Rock Vortexes in Central Asia. It’s no exaggeration to say they have illustrious military records.

"The nature of your two teams is almost identical, but by comparison, their military careers are far longer than yours, and they’ve undertaken many more perilous missions."

Rong Taotao pressed his lips together and nodded silently.

’Da Wei said you have to look past a person’s actions to see their purpose. Is Xia Fangran saying all this... as a way to mentally prepare me for a potential future defeat?’

’Losing...’

’But... I haven’t even fought yet. Why should I be thinking about losing?’

Xia Fangran also let out a soft sigh.

If he were to set aside his identity as a Pine Soul Soul Martial teacher and speak purely as a Huaxia citizen, then this year would undoubtedly be an incredibly exciting and fortunate one for him!

Two top-tier squads, descending like gods from the heavens, had parachuted into the 2011 Huaxia National Squad. This meant that at the World Cup six months from now, everyone had every reason to expect so much more!

...

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