Master of Nine Stars

「The next morning.」

In the parking lot of Starfield Town, a taxi slowly came to a stop.

Yang Chunxi paid the fare and had just pushed open the door when she saw Xia Fangran, who had gotten out earlier. He had his arms spread wide as if embracing the sun, and he let out a loud shout, ”Yoo-hoo~”

His happiness was back!

You have to understand, this wasn’t just some simple amusement park—it was an amusement ”town”!

Rong Taotao walked up to Xia Fangran’s side, a look of disdain on his face. ”Watch your image. You’re a Soul School teacher, and a famous one from Pine Soul, no less.”

”What the hell do you know!” Xia Fangran’s outstretched arms smoothly wrapped around Rong Taotao’s shoulders, shaking him back and forth. ”This is exactly when you have to let loose and play as hard as you can!

I’ve been teaching for 20 years, and I’ve only ever met apprentices like you and Ling Wei once.

At this rate, the next time I get to leave the Snow Realm will probably be another 20 years from now. I’ll be in my sixties by then. How am I supposed to run wild?”

Rong Taotao: ”...”

’It was clearly a joking response, but why did it sound so poignant?’

”Taotao! Da Wei!” As he spoke, the door of an SUV opened in the distance, and Ye Nanxi stepped out, happily waving at them.

Rong Taotao turned to look. The group had agreed to meet here, and he’d thought Ye Nanxi hadn’t arrived yet. It turned out she had been waiting in the car all along.

Rong Taotao hadn’t studied cars and didn’t know anything about brands, but that Jeep was certainly distinctive. It was huge and boxy, looking just like a block of black tofu.

As Ye Nanxi got out of the driver’s seat, the two Xiang Brothers, Xiang Li and Xiang Ming, also got out from the back.

The trio started walking toward them.

’Hot damn...’

The Xiang Brothers were already tall and powerfully built. With their beefy, scowling faces and their position flanking Ye Nanxi, they really did look like bodyguards...

”Congratulations!” Ye Nanxi linked arms with Gao Lingwei but tilted her head toward Rong Taotao with a smile. ”Your injuries healed up pretty fast.”

”But of course,” Rong Taotao replied casually, also greeting the Xiang Brothers.

”Bro, you’re a fucking badass!” Xiang Li grabbed Rong Taotao’s hand and shook it vigorously, laughing heartily. ”The last time my brother and I saw you, we were thinking that if we entered the doubles tournament, we’d definitely do better than you. But then I watched the competition and—holy shit!!!”

”My brother almost had a heart attack because of you,” Xiang Ming said with a grin. ”Especially when you were charging through the Fire Camel Array. My brother completely lost it...

I’ve heard him curse people out my whole life, but I’d never seen him stomping his feet while doing it, HAHAHAHAHA!”

Xiang Li gave his brother a vicious nudge. ”You’ve got the nerve to talk about me? You weren’t any better! Weren’t you just staring, completely stunned?”

Xiang Ming: ”Tch~”

”Hehe,” Rong Taotao chuckled, gripping Xiang Li’s hand and pumping it up and down in a frantic handshake. ”Don’t stop, keep going, don’t stop! Lay it on thick~ Praise me more!”

Xiang Li: ”Uh...”

”Sigh...” Xiang Ming let out a deep sigh, a surprisingly mournful look appearing on his beefy face. ”I originally thought, how strong could a kid who doesn’t even have Excellent Level Douxing Qi be?

For Nanxi’s sake, I reluctantly offered him a few pointers.

And look how that turned out! The competition ends, I get eliminated, and he becomes the Huaxia champion...”

’Turns out, I’m the clown?’

”Speaking of which, I really have to thank you two,” Rong Taotao said quickly. ”Come on~ I’ll treat you to a meal. There’s lots of good food in town, we can eat whatever you want!

You guys are huge, you must have massive appetites! We’ll eat our way from the east side of town to the west. We can’t miss a single bite!”

”My man!”

”It’s a deal then!”

Unexpectedly, Yang Chunxi’s voice came from nearby, ”You can treat them to a meal, but you can’t have any!”

Rong Taotao: ”Huh?”

Yang Chunxi had already seen through Rong Taotao’s little trick, her gaze stern. ”You just ate before we came!”

The Xiang Brothers jumped. Even though the two of them were big and burly like human-shaped beasts, the ”head teacher” aura coming from Yang Chunxi was just too intense...

Xiang Li shrank back, pulling Rong Taotao toward the entrance of Starfield Town. He whispered, ”Are your Pine Soul teachers always this strict?”

”Yep.” Rong Taotao pouted. ”It’s a Pine Soul specialty. You can get into fights, but you can’t eat! You can do the work, but you’d better put down those chopsticks!”

Xiang Li: ”Man, you have it rough. Thank god I didn’t go to Pine Soul Soul Martial.”

Xiang Ming: ”It’s fine, bro. We couldn’t get in anyway.”

Xiang Li: ”...”

The group entered Starfield Town. With so many attractions to see and enjoy, it was indeed the perfect place for a celebration.

Amidst the various rides and activities, Ye Nanxi and Gao Lingwei, who had been chatting together, finally separated for a moment.

At Rong Taotao’s urging, Gao Lingwei went to ride the pirate ship with his ”sister-in-law,” while Rong Taotao, who had his eye on Ye Nanxi’s popcorn, didn’t follow.

The others stood at a distance by the pirate ship’s railing. Seizing the opportunity while his ”sister-in-law” was gone, Rong Taotao secretly glanced at Xia Fangran beside him, then sneakily reached out and grabbed a handful of popcorn from Ye Nanxi’s bucket.

While messily stuffing it into his mouth, he asked, ”So, are you three a permanent team now?”

”Yeah, more or less,” Ye Nanxi said, leaning back against the railing and eating her popcorn. ”The three of us are joining the Star Candle Army after the new year. We’ll probably be assigned together. My mom arranged it. By the way...”

”Mmph?” Rong Taotao looked at Ye Nanxi, his cheeks bulging.