Master of Nine Stars

The Ultimate Battle! Dajiang Soul Martial vs. Pine Soul Soul Martial! Molten Rock vs. Snow Realm! Who Will Claim the Doubles Crown?

Singles: Starfield vs. Ocean. Triples: Starfield vs. Starfield! With everything playing out as expected, is this just the way of the world? The Doubles Match screams, "NO"!

Dajiang Soul Martial’s Wanqi Siblings are crushing it, Pine Soul Soul Martial’s Gao-Rong duo is unstoppable! The two teams hand-picked by the Huaxia Main Channel for the opening match have lived up to the hype! It’s a breakout year for doubles teams! World Cup, here we come!

In the evening, inside a bustling lamb spine hot pot restaurant in Imperial Capital City, Xia Fangran was fiddling with his phone, clicking his tongue in admiration. "These headlines are really something. They definitely make you want to click and read, don’t they?"

Beside him, Rong Taotao was wearing disposable gloves, holding a piece of lamb spine, and devouring it with absolute delight.

The Cloud Dog was also yipping happily. It was perched on the table with a huge bone in front of it, one that was almost half the size of its own body...

The Cloud Dog wagged its little tail, circling the bone and gnawing away. Its little head was completely smeared with sauce as it frolicked with glee~

As master and pet feasted on the heavenly delicacy, Rong Taotao would occasionally shoot a pitying glance at Xia Fangran.

’With food this good, how can you still be on your phone?’

When someone is still fiddling with their phone while eating lamb spine hot pot... it just means they really, really love their phone.

Xia Fangran looked up at Rong Taotao’s stuffed cheeks and grinned mischievously. "Your opponents are from Dajiang Soul Martial, the Wanqi Siblings. You know that, right?"

"Mhm," Rong Taotao nodded, tearing a piece off the bone. He slurped all the meat and sauce off it before tossing the clean bone into a plastic container nearby.

Xia Fangran continued, "Any thoughts?"

Without even looking up, Rong Taotao gave a thumbs-up. "Delishush~ Sho good~"

Xia Fangran said irritably, "I wasn’t asking if the meat is delicious!"

"Ah." Rong Taotao grinned, glancing at Gao Lingwei, who was eating silently beside him. He then looked across the small square table at Yang Chunxi and noticed that she once again had a worried expression.

’Geez, we just won this morning, and the excitement didn’t even last that long. It’s only dinnertime, and Yang Chunxi is already worrying about the next match.’

’Good thing this is the last match. She won’t have to worry for much longer.’

An idea sparked in Rong Taotao’s mind. He looked at Yang Chunxi and said with a smile, "Sis Chunxi, you can’t be like this."

"In two years, when the entire Junior Class is competing, you’ll probably have to lead the team as their head teacher. Are you going to be too worried to eat or sleep every single day then?"

"Oh, you." Hearing that, a smile finally appeared on Yang Chunxi’s face. She chuckled and playfully scolded him, "Just eat your meat. I’m counting your bones, you know."

Rong Taotao’s expression froze. He subconsciously reached out and nudged the plastic container of bones toward the edge of the table...

But the small, square table was only so big. Where could he possibly move it that she wouldn’t see?

Yang Chunxi finally chuckled. It was these little, unconscious actions from Rong Taotao that reminded her he was still just a kid.

On the competition grounds, or even on the battlefield, both Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei were overly serious, at times even exceptionally ruthless.

But that couldn’t be helped.

After all, Soul Martial competitions were different from most other sports. This was real, live combat.

Even in high-contact sports like boxing or ultimate fighting, contestants wore gloves to protect themselves as well as their opponents.

But in a Soul Martial competition... Wear gloves? Protect your opponent?

You’ve got to be kidding. Both sides were coming at each other with blades, guns, hammers, and axes...

That was why Yang Chunxi particularly cherished this side of Rong Taotao that he showed in his daily life.

Once you entered the Soul Martial profession, the world was no longer as wonderful as you might have imagined.

"Sis Chunxi, look! Da Wei has been throwing her bones in this container too. You have to subtract the ones she ate!" His first ploy having failed, Rong Taotao stared at the plastic container and began counting meticulously.

"Right! And the Cloud Dog! It ate a lot too!" Rong Taotao hastily added.

The Cloud Dog lifted its little head from behind the giant bone, blinked its beady black eyes, and looked at Rong Taotao in confusion. "Yip?"

Gao Lingwei shot Rong Taotao a look. "Be careful when you’re eating. Don’t accidentally eat the Cloud Dog while you’re at it."

Rong Taotao: "..."

’The Cloud Dog is so small, and it’s covered in sauce, so... uh...’

Hearing this, the Cloud Dog tilted its little head. ’What did I just hear? My mistress wants to eat me?’

It turned and sniffed its own little body. ’Would I... uh, be tasty?’

Gao Lingwei took a sip of her Sprite and also noticed Yang Chunxi’s lack of appetite.

Sharp as ever, she knew what Yang Chunxi was worried about and couldn’t help but say, "Sis Chunxi, please eat something. Don’t overthink it. For tonight, let’s just celebrate."

"Mm." Yang Chunxi nodded slightly. She picked up her chopsticks and looked at the dishes on the table, but made no move to eat.

Rong Taotao said, "It’ll depend on whose home arena we get."

Clearly, this was a topic both Xia Fangran and Yang Chunxi were more interested in. Although their attitudes differed, both were undoubtedly extremely concerned about the final match.

Looking very self-aware, Rong Taotao said, "If we can draw a Snow Realm Arena again, we’ll have a fighting chance. But if we get a Starfield, Ocean, or Molten Rock arena, things will get tricky."

Gao Lingwei nodded in agreement. She knew, of course, the depth of Rong Taotao’s understanding of Snow Realm Soul Skills and the kinds of tricks he could pull off. But all of that was predicated on having a Snow Realm home arena.

Without any frost or snow, if the two of them had to create it themselves...

An Ocean arena would be slightly better, but in a Starfield or Molten Rock arena, the difficulty would be immense. The Wanqi Siblings are no pushovers; they wouldn’t just let you terraform the arena at will.

Moreover, their opponents were Molten Rock Soul Martial Artists to begin with. A single blaze could burn all of Gao and Rong’s efforts to ashes...

Worried, Yang Chunxi said softly, "Don’t push yourselves too hard. You’ve both come far enough already. Your opponents not only have several more years of training, but they’ve also had similar experiences—even more of them than you’ve had."

"Whether in terms of Attribute or raw power, you’re both at a slight disadvantage."

As she spoke, Yang Chunxi placed her elbows on the table, leaned forward slightly, and looked at her two students with a solemn expression. "I only have one requirement for you: don’t lose your heads."

"Ah." Rong Taotao tilted his head to glance at Gao Lingwei. "We’ve both been pretty calm since the tournament started. Our expressions and words, our outward demeanor, might seem a certain way, but we’ve never lost control. We’ve always stuck to the game plan."

"That’s true." Yang Chunxi nodded, not denying his point. She continued to advise them, "If you have to, it’s okay to hold back. After all, you’ve already made the national team. There’s a much bigger stage waiting for you."

"Mhm, yeah, okay, I get it, I get it. We’ll protect ourselves," Rong Taotao nodded repeatedly, his voice trailing off until he finally muttered, "But... what if?"

"PFFT, ahem, ahem..." Xia Fangran, who was holding a beer, suddenly spun around and coughed for a long moment.

Rong Taotao gave Xia Fangran an annoyed look, thinking resentfully, ’What’s his problem?’

Xia Fangran casually set his beer on the table and went back to his phone. "You kids today... you’re definitely more ruthless than my generation was."

Rong Taotao: "Huh?"

Xia Fangran shrugged. "You even lie to yourselves."

Rong Taotao: "..."

’This damn teacher... from the start of the Outer League until now, has there ever been a single match where he actually wanted me to win?’

’Well... it’s probably because I kept winning, always winning, which forced Xia Fangran to constantly adjust his teaching plans and change his mindset.’

’But... for this match, I can clearly feel that Xia Fangran isn’t hoping I’ll lose with his usual teasing attitude like in all the previous matches.’

’Before, even though Xia Fangran was sharp-tongued, he was secretly confident and could always see a path to victory for me and Gao Lingwei.’

’But for these finals...’

’Xia Fangran is acting the same as always, but his attitude is unusually final. His tone is so decisive. It’s obvious he’s already decided the outcome in his mind.’

When your opponents outclass you in every single aspect, both tangible and intangible, the only thing you can hope for is a miracle.

Body, mind, wisdom, tactical acumen, and so on... going down the list, the only thing Rong Taotao had that wasn’t "enveloped" by his opponents were his two Lotus petals.

And at his current level, Rong Taotao couldn’t truly control the Lotus to fight his enemies. So, to Xia Fangran, and maybe even to society as a whole, the outcome of the finals was already a foregone conclusion.

"Oh? Wanqi Yan made a post?" Xia Fangran said suddenly, chuckling at the commotion. "This girl’s not bad. She’s strong, good-looking, and has a fun personality too, huh? She’s a good representative for their Melted Radiance Army."

’Sounds like Xia Fangran has a pretty high opinion of the Melted Radiance Army,’ Rong Taotao thought.

"Oh yeah? What’d she post?" Rong Taotao asked, curiously leaning over to look at Xia Fangran’s phone screen.

Wanqi Yan

Just now via Bai Chuan V3

It’s finally my turn!

I’m about to meet the Taoist God, I’m so excited! Anyone have anything you want to say? I can pass on the message for you in person!

Rong Taotao: "..."

"Heh heh." Xia Fangran scrolled through a pile of comments, unable to keep himself from laughing.

"Sis, be gentle... go easy on him..."

"Be careful, Yanyan! He’s the ’Zhan Mei,’ after all."

"Yan God, don’t let your guard down! That kid is crafty and has a few tricks up his sleeve. His style is totally unorthodox!"

Xia Fangran cracked his knuckles, his fingers starting to tap furiously on the screen.

Happy Life: "Just go for it, I’ve had enough of him for a long time! Yan God, don’t hold back! Get him! Hit him hard and show him what you’ve got!"

Wanqi Yan: "@Happy Life, hello, Teacher. I will do my best."

"Whoa!" Xia Fangran jerked backward, staring dumbly at his phone screen. ’Crap... I’ve been found out?’