Master of Nine Stars

The teachers knew what had happened today, but the kids in the Soul Class had no idea.

Apparently, Jiao Tengda thought he and Gao Lingwei were having relationship problems.

Rong Taotao smiled. "Da Wei and I are fine, don’t worry."

As he spoke, Rong Taotao bumped Jiao Tengda’s shoulder and grinned. "Did you see the silver necklace she’s wearing?"

Jiao Tengda shook his head. "I didn’t notice."

Gao Lingwei was wearing a white, round-collared cashmere sweater today. The necklace was tucked inside, so of course you couldn’t see it from the front, but you should have been able to see the chain at the nape of her neck.

Rong Taotao gave Jiao Tengda a disbelieving look. "I’d believe it if you said others didn’t notice, but you?"

"Heh heh," Jiao Tengda chuckled. "So, you gave it to her, huh?"

"Of course! It would be a problem if someone else gave it to her!" Rong Taotao said matter-of-factly. "Rest assured, we’re fine."

"Oh, that’s good..." Jiao Tengda said, nodding. In fact, he had long regarded Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei as the leaders of the Soul Class, and to him, the Junior Soul Class was like a family.

Jiao Tengda was thinking about things that a student in their Second Year of College probably shouldn’t have been.

Besides, he was a second-year in the Junior Class, not in college.

To Jiao Tengda, this group was inseparable. They were the nation’s first pilot Junior Class, isolated in the northern Snow Realm, and because of this, Jiao Tengda had a pretty good idea of what his future held.

This became even clearer in his mind after he learned that Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei had joined the Snow Burning Army.

Also, to be pragmatic, Rong Taotao was the descendant of a Soul General, which was the very reason Jiao Tengda had sought him out to team up during the Junior Class entrance exam.

Now that they were classmates—and in a small, close-knit class at that—Jiao Tengda had every reason to stick with Rong Taotao.

Moreover, he hoped to unite this "family" and bind their futures together. They would rise and fall as one.

This was beneficial for everyone, both individually and as a group.

Especially a top-tier fighter like Gao Lingwei. She would likely be the most brilliant member of their group, perhaps even its future standard-bearer.

’By comparison, romantic feelings are unreliable. If we treated each other like family, like brothers and sisters, then throwing a tantrum or having a spat would be much easier to resolve.’

Jiao Tengda smiled. "At dinner, when Xing’Er smeared frosting on your face, that was when you smiled the most. You only started to loosen up after that."

"Ah." Rong Taotao leaned one hand on the stone railing, a towel in the other, and messily ruffled his naturally curly hair. "We ran into some trouble on the way back. Ran into that group from the Qian Organization."

"Poachers?" Jiao Tengda’s brow furrowed. "Them again? Because of the Frost Night Xuerong?"

"Yeah." Rong Taotao let out a soft sigh. "They said Da Wei isn’t letting them live, so they don’t plan on letting us live either."

After a moment of thought, Jiao Tengda said, "Looks like we’re locked in a life-or-death battle with the Poachers from now on."

Rong Taotao glanced at Jiao Tengda and patted his shoulder. "Don’t overthink it for now. We’re still students, after all. We still have at least two and a half years until graduation. The way Coach Xia handled things today also taught me a lesson."

Jiao Tengda: "How so?"

Rong Taotao: "He simply had us flee. Even with army reinforcements available, Xia Fangran still took us back to school and showed no intention of joining the pursuit.

"It was clear he was showing Gao Lingwei and me through his actions that chasing Poachers isn’t our job right now."

A thought struck Jiao Tengda. "Lu Mang did say that you two were on a mission with the Snow Burning Army at Hundred Corps Pass for over a month during the New Year. The main targets were Poachers."

"That’s true," Rong Taotao nodded. "As far as Coach Xia is concerned, I’m his student from Pine Soul, someone he has to protect. If we were with the Snow Burning Army, the soldiers would have probably taken Gao Lingwei and me to hunt the Poachers."

They both fell silent.

After a long silence, Rong Taotao asked, "How’s everyone doing? Their power levels?"

Jiao Tengda laughed heartily. "While you two were away from the Snow Realm, we’ve been catching up. I bet Fan Lihua, Lu Mang, and Li Ziyi have probably surpassed you."

Rong Taotao: "Is that so?"

’Of course, everyone who got into the Junior Class has exceptional Talent. Even with my two Lotus petals, it’s no use if I can’t actually control them yet.’

’Si Huan Nian only has one Lotus petal, but they can make full use of its effects. The bonus to their training speed is definitely no slower than what I get from my two petals.’

Moreover, Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei had gone to Fengtian for the Outer Region placement matches and then to the Imperial Capital for a major tournament. Having been away from the Snow Realm, Rong Taotao’s training had indeed fallen behind.

’My classmates have probably only caught up in Soul Power level. As for Soul Technique level, I’m absolutely confident they can’t even see my taillights...’

Jiao Tengda: "Basically everyone is at the Peak of Soul Warrior. Fan Lihua, Lu Mang, and Li Ziyi are a step ahead and are about to cross into the next Major Rank."

Rong Taotao nodded.

’An ordinary genius would take all three years of high school just to reach the Peak of Soul Warrior.’

’And this group from the Junior Class... they haven’t even finished the first semester of their second year, and they’re already about to become Soul Captains. That’s just terrifying...’