I Have Infinite Skill Points-Chapter 521 Fishing
While Wang Lan was joking around with Xu Xiangwen and the others, a female voice suddenly spoke. "Long time no see, Wang Lan."
Wang Lan turned around. "Xu Ruo, it’s been a long time."
"Congratulations. Although I always knew you would be amazing one day, I didn’t expect you to be *this* amazing. I was going to call you ’Greedy Wolf Crown,’ but I think you’d prefer that I call you Wang Lan."
"Of course. Forget ’Greedy Wolf Crown.’ That’s what strangers call me; we’re old friends, after all." As he spoke, Wang Lan’s gaze inadvertently swept over Xu Ruo again.
"Is there something wrong with me? I feel like you’re looking at me with a bit of doubt." Xu Ruo looked down at herself, wondering if there was anything amiss.
"No, I was just wondering if you’ve been injured before, Xu Ruo..."
"Eh?" Xu Ruo suddenly remembered that Wang Lan was not only powerful but also peerless in his Medical Star Martial Techniques.
As a Star Martial Warrior, and a late-stage Galaxy Stage warrior at that, how could I not have been injured in battle? Could I have an undetected internal injury that Wang Lan discovered?
He truly is the top medical Star Martial Warrior in the Jade Country, to notice problems even I hadn’t detected.
"We warriors are no strangers to injuries, are we?"
"Ah... indeed! Don’t feel sad; I shouldn’t have pried. It’s just that when I saw you, it seemed like you’ve gotten shorter... Actually, you shouldn’t have given up like that. Why didn’t you contact me back then? Your mom should have my contact information..."
At first, his words seemed sensible, but gradually Xu Ruo felt Wang Lan was saying something peculiar. By the time Wang Lan finished speaking, Xu Ruo felt like she was going to crack.
What does he mean, ’gotten shorter’? What does he mean, ’giving up’? Is he implying I’ve had an amputation? I...
Xu Ruo’s complexion immediately darkened. She turned away in silence, ending their friendship then and there.
"Hey? Xu Ruo, you don’t look well... What’s wrong?"
"It’s nothing. I have other matters to attend to. We can chat another time." Xu Ruo walked away without looking back.
Wang Lan was still confused. "What happened to her? Something isn’t right."
"Wang Lan, what on earth did you say to Squad Leader Xu?" Xie Sisi curiously leaned in.
"Nothing much. I just asked if she’d ever been injured before and had a section amputated. I thought she seemed shorter than during the provincial martial arts competition, so I just expressed concern... Who knew she would suddenly react like that."
"PFFT..." Suppressed, uncomfortable laughter suddenly erupted from Xu Xiangwen, his face turning beet red.
"Wang Lan, at Jin City Star Warrior Academy, no one dares to joke about Xu Ruo’s height. The fact that she just scowled at you today means you got off easy. Squad Leader Xu hasn’t suffered any injuries; her height just hasn’t increased much since her senior year of high school. Wang Lan, it’s not Xu Ruo who got shorter; it’s you who got taller."
"Uh... that’s awkward. In my memory, Xu Ruo was about the same height as Xinyu... Anyway, I need to apologize."
"Apologize now? Isn’t that just adding fuel to the fire? Do you really think she wouldn’t dare to take a swing at you? Forget it, I’ll apologize to her for you. We have a good relationship," Xie Sisi quickly said, covering her mouth.
Although I’ve heard that girls mature earlier than boys and stop growing sooner, isn’t it a bit much for her to have stopped growing at seventeen, fixed at 1.5 meters? I’ve grown fifteen centimeters myself. Even Jiang Xinyu has grown ten centimeters.
Soon, the group took a military transport vehicle from the Capital to the Northwest Pioneer Space. On the three-hour journey, Wang Lan wanted to apologize in person several times but never got the chance. After arriving at the Northwest Pioneer Space, the students from various academies were once again scattered.
The students were immediately assigned to their posts, leaving only the four-person team of Wang Lan, Jiang Xinyu, Xu Xiangwen, and Xie Sisi. Their team leader then led the group to the headquarters of the Northwest Pioneer Space.
"Lord Greedy Wolf, I’ve long admired your name." Bai Shaoying, the commander of the Northwest Pioneer Space, greeted them enthusiastically.
"Hello, Commander."
"Alright, cut out the formalities. I didn’t expect to get you here, but once I knew you were on the support list, my mind was greatly eased."
"Commander Bai, you’re too kind."
"Are you acquainted with the situation? Let’s hear your thoughts."
Nobody treated Wang Lan like a greenhorn anymore, despite his exceedingly young age; his achievements were too intimidating. So Bai Shaoying never underestimated Wang Lan, instead regarding him as an important advisor.
"It’s too early for me to express any opinions. Have you not captured even a single attacker? Are you still unable to confirm their identity?"
"Truth be told, we only realized the truth of the matter a month ago. Although reports of Pioneer Teams being wiped out kept coming in, and investigations confirmed they were destroyed by Exotic Beasts, we initially thought we were just encountering overwhelmingly powerful beasts. But as the number of annihilated teams grew, we had to re-examine everything.
A month ago, it was confirmed that people were hiding among the Exotic Beasts. These individuals are very strange; they are clearly human, yet the Exotic Beasts act as if they don’t exist. They follow the Exotic Beasts, hiding in the shadows to avoid detection, and then launch surprise attacks when a battle reaches a stalemate.
In the midst of fierce combat, even a slight disturbance can reverse the situation, let alone a surprise attack. A small surprise attack from them is enough to completely annihilate a Pioneer Team.
We also tried to capture them, but they are extremely cunning. There are Brain-eating Worms hidden inside their heads. Once captured, the Brain-eating Worms immediately consume their brains. To date, not a single one has been taken alive."
"Brain-eating Worms... No Demonization?"
"No."
"So they’re not spies of the Demon Clan, but Star Martial Warriors controlled by Demon Clan spies, or perhaps people from Paradise Bird..." Wang Lan speculated.
"Commander Bai, are these Star Martial Warriors able to control Exotic Beasts?"
"Currently, there’s no indication of that. It seems they just accompany the Exotic Beasts and then look for opportunities to launch surprise attacks. If they could control the Exotic Beasts, the beasts’ combat power would at least double. However, the frequency and direction of the Exotic Beasts’ attacks are very methodical, as if they are being instructed, which makes it hard to say they *can’t* control them. If I had to say whether the Exotic Beasts are being controlled... I can only say it’s a preliminary level of control."
"So they avoid detection and attack from Exotic Beasts, and merely accompany them..." Wang Lan’s eyes sparkled with insight as he roughly formed a judgment.
"That’s actually good news. As long as they can’t control Exotic Beasts, the pressure on us isn’t as great."
"You call this ’not much pressure’? In these three months, Exotic Beasts have already pushed us back nearly a hundred kilometers! Wang Lan, a hundred kilometers! Have any of the five major Pioneer Spaces ever lost so much territory without a major disaster occurring? The Ministry of Defense not recalling me for dismissal is already them showing leniency. You must help me out, brother. Otherwise, even if the Ministry of Defense doesn’t transfer me back, I won’t have the face to stay in the Northwest Pioneer Space."
"The Demon Clan’s intentions are somewhat elusive. We not only have to face the current difficulties but also need to figure out what the Demon Clan is up to. Are they really planning to take down the Northwest Pioneer Space with this kind of tactic? That’s impossible. Tactics are rigid, but people are adaptable. Flaws in this kind of tactic will soon be found. I now have two speculations about the Demon Clan’s intentions."
"What are the two speculations?"
"One is a diversionary tactic. The Demon Clan wants to use the northwest to draw me away, then secretly prepare to activate the Time-Space Gemstone. You’ve heard about the Time-Space Gemstone, right?"
"Of course, I know about the big uproar it caused. Yes, you’re the only one who can deal with the Time-Space Gemstone, so why are you here?" Bai Shaoqi suddenly realized and asked anxiously.
"I’ve already prepared for that diversion. I have Message Bees hidden on me. Soon, a hummingbird will arrive at the entrance to the Pioneer Space. If the Time-Space Gemstone’s whereabouts are discovered, the hummingbird will immediately relay the message to me."
"Space-time Star Martial Technique?" Bai Shaoqi’s eyes immediately lit up. Even as a Titled Strongman, he had only heard of Space-time Attributes. Space-time Attributes are too rare and too powerful.
"Hmm! My second guess is similar to what happened in the Cloud Sea Pioneer Space: there’s something in the Northwest Pioneer Space that the Demon Clan needs, which is why they are stirring up Exotic Beasts to counterattack."
"The Time-Space Gemstone?" 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺
"That’s a possibility. But whatever it is, we first need to figure out how this group of people got here and how they’ve been operating in our Pioneer Space. I plan to personally lead a team to lure out those ambushers."
"You, a Titled Strongman, going to lure them out? What can you possibly catch? If they see you, who would dare to show themselves?"
"Your words remind me..." Wang Lan suddenly had a thought. "Inform all the experts who have come for this ’luring’ operation: until the targets appear, they should all conceal their strength to blend in with the surrounding Pioneers. They should only take action after the enemy takes the bait."
"Good idea. I almost forgot that as well."
Wang Lan’s four-member team was also assigned to a small Pioneer Team with twenty members. Despite its size, this Pioneer Team was not weak; their average strength was at the Star Cloud Stage, and their leader was a Galaxy Stage master.
Generally, the leader of a Pioneer Team in the Pioneer Space would barely be at the Star Cloud Stage. A team with two or three Star Cloud Stage members and the rest at Star Shine Stage was considered a good configuration.
Wang Lan’s Star Martial Art level might seem to have skyrocketed, but in fact, eighty percent of Star Martial Warriors enjoy one significant advancement, and then further progress becomes an incredibly drawn-out affair.
As age increases, the shackles of one’s cultivation stage become more solidified. The speed of absorbing Star Power can’t keep up with the increasing difficulty of breaking these shackles, making breakthroughs a luxury. Even if one is lucky enough to break through, the shackles of the next stage are even tougher. Thus, the best time to overcome these obstacles is before the age of twenty-five. That period marks the transition from physical development to the body’s peak, after which it gradually begins to decline.
Breakthroughs are best achieved early.
The Pioneering Legion didn’t know much about the identities of Wang Lan’s four-person team, but they were somewhat aware that these were experts dispatched specifically to lure out those unpredictable Shadow Assassins.
These ambushers had earned the moniker ’Shadow Assassins’ among the Pioneers.
After the academy reinforcements arrived, the command to counterattack was issued from headquarters. For months, the Northwest Pioneers had been retreating layer by layer, building up considerable frustration. With the command given and experts hidden in their ranks, what were they waiting for? It was time to fight.
