Regarding Rong Taotao's conditions for finding a partner...
A beautiful face surfaced in Yang Chunxi's mind.
Not many girls used a Heaven-piercing Halberd. There were two at Songjiang Soul Martial University in their junior and senior years, but Yang Chunxi didn't think they were suitable. After all, the age gap with Rong Taotao was too large.
As a teacher in the Songjiang Soul Martial admissions office, Yang Chunxi naturally paid special attention to the promising new Seedlings. It was her job.
At least for this year, whenever anyone in the entire Outer Region mentioned that particular cold weapon, the beautiful figure that came to mind was undoubtedly hers...
The only question was whether she would come to Songjiang Soul Martial or head to Modu.
Songjiang Soul Martial's only advantage was that she had always trained in the Heart of the Snow Realm.
However, more forward-thinking Soul Martial Artists often chose to train in two or more Soul Techniques to ensure they had Soul Skills of different Attributes to handle any situation.
If she went to a coastal region like Modu, Nanyue, Eight Min, or Qiongya to train in the Heart of the Ocean, it would be a perfectly reasonable choice.
After all, both the Starfield Heart and the Magma Heart countered Snow Realm Soul Martial Artists, dealing terrifying amounts of bonus damage.
While the Heart of the Ocean didn't counter Starfield Soul Martial Artists, it still dealt normal damage. More importantly, the Heart of the Ocean countered Magma Soul Martial Artists.
Therefore, for a Snow Realm Soul Martial Artist, training in the Heart of the Ocean in a coastal city—in addition to their own Heart of the Snow Realm—was a good choice to cover their weaknesses.
After all, as the champion of the Outer Region high school league and the third-place finisher in the national league, every top university was fighting to recruit her.
As for Imperial Capital Soul Martial and Dajiang Soul Martial, they were out of the question. Her Lifebound Soul Beast was a Snow Realm Soul Beast; going to the Imperial Capital to train in the Starfield Heart or to the great northwest to train in the Magma Heart would just be asking for trouble...
Even if she wanted to train, her Lifebound Soul Beast wouldn't stand for it!
'I'm covered in frost and snow, and you want to take me to train in lava? What are you trying to pull? You think I won't die fast enough?'
"Huh?" Sun Xingyu said, her beautiful, wide eyes blinking. "The Outer Region really produced a female War God this year. The one who uses the Heaven-piercing Halberd!"
"Hmm?" Rong Taotao turned to Sun Xingyu. "Who is she?"
Li Ziyi gave Rong Taotao a scornful look. "You want to become a Soul Martial Artist, but you don't even watch the Outer Region or national high school leagues?"
Rong Taotao shrugged. "You know why you lose to me every time we fight?"
Li Ziyi's expression stiffened.
Rong Taotao shot the same scornful look back at Li Ziyi. "While you were watching TV, I was keeping my Heaven-piercing Halberd company."
Li Ziyi's composure shattered in an instant!
Just as he was about to jump up, Sun Xingyu grabbed his arm with both hands, yanked him back down into his chair, and held on tightly.
Rong Taotao's composure shattered as well!
'Am I f*cking getting in you two's way or something???'
Yang Chunxi, Huaxia's model sister-in-law, was apparently still mulling over the issue of a potential wife for her "little brother." She hadn't noticed the turbulent undercurrents and simply said, "So you both watched the matches."
"Yup," Sun Xingyu said with a pout. "She's the classic 'neighbor's perfect kid.' My dad always uses her to lecture me, telling me to learn from her."
As she spoke, she nudged her head, which was resting on Li Ziyi's shoulder, against his cheek in mock annoyance, as if blaming him for not defending her during those lectures at home.
"So, what's her name?" Rong Taotao, feeling the sting of their PDA, turned to Yang Chunxi. He decided he wouldn't look at that shameless couple again.
"Gao Lingwei," Yang Chunxi replied. "She's graduating high school this year. I'm not sure if she'll come to Songjiang Soul Martial University."
In fact, Yang Chunxi's colleagues had already gone to recruit Gao Lingwei. Yang Chunxi had taken on the task of recruiting Rong Taotao herself because of her relationship with Rong Yang.
"Gao Lingwei..." Rong Taotao muttered the name to himself.
'Hmm, not bad.'
'That name is worthy of a Heaven-piercing Halberd!'
It was just the "Ling" in her name...
'Does it stand for overbearing arrogance, or for soaring to the highest peak?'
'If it's the 'Ling' in 'bullying', then she's definitely not someone I could marry.'
"Alright, whether she joins Songjiang Soul Martial isn't up to us." Yang Chunxi stood up and, with a smile, ruffled Rong Taotao's naturally curly hair. "But first, *you* have to get into Songjiang Soul Martial, you know."
"Are we leaving now?" Sun Xingyu's face fell. At the thought of a full four hours of riding ahead, she felt the warmth that had just returned to her body instantly turn to an icy chill.
"Let's go. Just hang in there for four more hours. Once we reach Songjiang Soul Martial, your phones will at least get a signal," Yang Chunxi said with a smile, offering a small incentive.
For kids these days, having no internet was practically a death sentence.
Even Rong Taotao, who wasn't particularly attached to his phone, had already wanted to search for information online twice. And that was nothing compared to Sun Xingyu, a true connoisseur of online drama.
"Hmm... true." That really did seem to motivate Sun Xingyu. She stood up and said to Rong Taotao, "Oh, by the way, that Gao Lingwei has a social media account. You can check her out ahead of time. When the time comes, I'll help you figure out how to woo her, hee hee."
"Whoa, let's not get ahead of ourselves. She might be famous, but if she's not my type, I'm not going to chase her," Rong Taotao replied nonchalantly as he buttoned up his down jacket.
"Oh? Isn't your standard for a partner a Heaven-piercing Halberd? I thought you were so special, but in the end, it still comes down to looks," Sun Xingyu said with dissatisfaction, patting Rong Taotao's shoulder.
Rong Taotao fell silent, feeling a bit stung.
Li Ziyi, on the other hand, was feeling smug. Incredibly smug, in fact~
After a long moment, Rong Taotao finally managed to retort, "Everything... everything comes down to first impressions. It's the same when you choose a Lifebound Soul Beast, isn't it?
"Besides, even if I take a liking to her, it doesn't mean she'll like me back. You guys said it yourselves—she's the Outer Region champion and national third-place finisher. I'm a nobody right now."
"Hmph," Li Ziyi sneered. "Glad to see you have some self-awareness."
Rong Taotao gave Li Ziyi a strange look, as if staring at an idiot. "You're my punching bag! If I'm trash, then you're worse than trash! It's been three years, how have you not figured that out yet?"
Li Ziyi: "I..."
Sun Xingyu paid no mind to their bickering; she was truly used to it.
Sun Xingyu, who loved to gossip, really enjoyed getting involved in this sort of thing. Following Yang Chunxi out the door, she bumped Rong Taotao's shoulder and said enticingly, "Gao Lingwei is super pretty."
Rong Taotao: "Everyone has their own standards of beauty."
Seeing how stubborn Rong Taotao was being, Sun Xingyu put on a serious expression and said, "I'm jealous of her."
Rong Taotao: "..."
"Er..." Rong Taotao scratched his head, muttering quietly, "If you're saying that, then she must be really beautiful."
Sun Xingyu: "..."
Rong Taotao was young and led a simple life. In his limited experience, Sun Xingyu was already an exceptionally pretty girl. At New Danxi No. 1 High School, at least, her looks were considered top-tier.
With the staff's help, they all mounted fresh Snow Night Shocks and prepared to set off on the next leg of their journey.
As he swung himself onto his mount, Rong Taotao felt surprisingly melancholic.
'He really hadn't expected to reach the point of needing a matchmaker at the tender age of fifteen.'
'As expected,'
'you have to find love early.'
'If you don't get together when you're still toddlers, you'll have to rely on introductions...'
The group of four set off again. For the three youngsters, this second four-hour leg of the journey would be the true ordeal.
After entering the Xingling Region, the terrain became a series of rolling hills covered in dense pine forests and heavy snow. The cold was one thing, but the real problem was that no matter how stable the Snow Night Shocks were, the violent jostling at high speeds was unavoidable.
Rong Taotao didn't even have the energy to absorb Soul Power!
With no need to control his mount's direction, he focused all his energy on enduring the rugged mountain path, terrified he'd be thrown off.
However, Yang Chunxi, on the lead mount, only picked up the pace. Consequently, the Snow Night Shocks carrying the three youngsters also began to run faster and faster.
Rong Taotao was in absolute misery.
'He had no idea what had gotten into his dear 'sister-in-law.'
'Why is she in such a hurry to get there?'
'Is she that anxious to see if Gao Lingwei has enrolled?'
'She really is the best 'sister-in-law'...'