I Have Infinite Skill Points-Chapter 540: Another Year of the Star Martial Art Tournament
The next day, Wang Lan brought Hu Feifei to the Tianjian Bureau. Naturally, he couldn’t avoid exchanging pleasantries with his comrades there. Aside from Xu Shiyun and a few others with whom he had previously been close, the rest of his comrades clearly regarded Wang Lan with a newfound awe. After all, Wang Lan was now a Titled Strongman, and his status was evident.
Hu Feifei had blossomed into a tall, slender young woman with a refreshing cap of short hair. Her short hair didn’t hide her feminine beauty; instead, it added a touch of heroic spirit. She had grown quickly; at only thirteen, she was already one meter sixty centimeters tall. If not for the lingering childishness in her face, her silhouette wouldn’t betray her youth.
After Jiang Xinyu’s reminder yesterday, Wang Lan sensed that Hu Feifei’s feelings for him seemed to exceed certain boundaries. Therefore, Wang Lan dared not show any overtly affectionate gestures toward Hu Feifei. Instead, he offered her serious advice on her combat deficiencies.
Even if Wang Lan scrutinized Hu Feifei with a critical eye, she remained so flawless that he could hardly find any faults. Hu Feifei was now at the peak of the Star Shine Stage, but her strength was far greater than Wang Lan’s at the same stage. The Bone Hardening Talent bestowed upon Hu Feifei unparalleled defensive power, offensive capability, strength, and Self-Healing ability. Coupled with her extraordinary Star Power and proficient use of Star Martial Skills, Wang Lan estimated that even if she went to the intermediate training field alone, she could still come out victorious with ease.
Wang Lan couldn’t bring himself to say anything against his conscience; he had to acknowledge that Hu Feifei had indeed put in a tremendous amount of effort and possessed extraordinary talent over the years. Therefore, Wang Lan gave her the A-rank Star Martial Skill, Thunder Snake, as a reward. Wang Lan could have taught Hu Feifei the Star Cloud Sword Dance and Crescent Arrow, both of which are Form Changing Star Martial Skills. However, Hu Feifei wasn’t skilled in using weapons for combat, inheriting Hu Qing’s advantages in boxing techniques instead. Besides, the Crescent Arrow had some overlap with her Phalanx Gun, and overlapping Star Martial Skills were not worth the time to learn.
After training Hu Feifei for a day, Wang Lan’s expression finally melted under her sorrowful gaze. Ultimately, Wang Lan couldn’t be too hard-hearted to bid farewell; being cold and heartless was not his nature. In the end, he reached out and tapped Hu Feifei’s forehead. "You did well, better than your brother. Ten years from now, I’ll be waiting for you at the peak. Make sure you come."
Hu Feifei then turned her sadness into joy and earnestly made a ten-year pact with Wang Lan. The peak that Wang Lan referred to was not simply the peak of the Star Sea Realm, but the ultimate pinnacle of mastery that Wang Lan currently occupied. In ten years, when Hu Feifei would be twenty-three years old, it shouldn’t be a problem.
After sending Hu Feifei home, Wang Lan went straight to his place, where he saw Jiang Xinyu sitting on the sofa, idly channel surfing through TV dramas.
"Do you have any plans for tonight?"
"Not really. Shall we go watch a movie?" Wang Lan suggested.
"The movies nowadays are all about fighting the Demon God. In reality, we haven’t done much to the Demon Clan, but in movies, they’ve been annihilated thousands of times over. It would be good if the demons were as foolish as they are depicted in the movies..."
"Why don’t you wish that in movies, Star Martial Warriors are invincible and the hero never dies? Wouldn’t that be great?"
"Giggle... Isn’t that just like you? You seem to fit right into the movie archetype. Wang Lan, there’s been a snippet about you circulating online recently. I wonder which busybody concocted it."
"What is it?"
"Mediocre Fighter Wang Lan."
"Mediocre Fighter? Who came up with that? I’ve been labeled as mediocre?" Wang Lan was immediately indignant. Considering his strength, who among the younger generation could challenge him? He was already the strongest power just below the Five Emperors!
"It’s from the official national Titled Strongman guide, officially judged," Jiang Xinyu explained. "Wang Lan, Titled Greedy Wolf, the youngest Titled Strongman of Jade Country. An all-attribute Star Martial Warrior with multiple super S-rank Star Martial Skills. Versatile in combat, excelling in both speed attacks and area control.
"Wherever he goes, demons are routed and scattered, leaving a trail of corpses.
"Attack Power, five stars; Defense Power, six stars; Star Power reserve, five stars; Growth potential, seven stars; Survival ability, seven stars.
"From this star-rating analysis, it’s concluded that Greedy Wolf Crown is actually a defensive type Star Martial Warrior, with extraordinary survivability but mediocre combat power."
"COUGH. COUGH. COUGH..." Wang Lan was beyond words, but the officials weren’t wrong. Even if his power was negligible in front of the Demon Clan’s Drulu, Drulu indeed had no way to kill Wang Lan; Wang Lan’s life-saving abilities were nearly foolproof. When compared like this, he did seem to have mediocre fighting power.
"By the way, what were you saying about plans for tonight? Shall we go see the Star Martial Arts Supreme Competition?"
"The Star Martial Arts Supreme Competition? Isn’t it over yet?"
"It’s been rebranded and rescheduled. Starting from last year, the Star Martial Arts Supreme Competition is held every October, lasting two months. Now it’s just in time for the top six battle. Want to go?"
"It’s about to start, right? There’s no way there are any tickets left by now." Wang Lan was admittedly tempted. His own rise to prominence started at the Star Martial Arts Supreme Competition.
"Have you forgotten that the biggest investor in the Star Martial Arts Supreme Competition is our Jiang Group?" Jiang Xinyu said with a smile.
"Well then, let’s go!"
「The Star Martial Arts Supreme Competition had improved with each edition since its third and was now in its sixth. The venue had also moved from a regional stadium to the Suzhou City central sports stadium. The huge arena covered an entire football field, and the surrounding stands could accommodate tens of thousands of spectators watching the live event. Drones patrolled the skies, and a gigantic electromagnetic protective barrier enveloped the entire combat stage like an inverted bowl. The host, speaking with the rapidity of an engine, rattled off the sponsored brand advertisements for the sixth Star Martial Arts Supreme Competition, mentioning over a dozen sponsors in sixty seconds. His speed was truly astounding.」
"Now, let us welcome the first combatant of the first match with the warmest cheers and most enthusiastic applause, the anonymous contender, Mudaoren!"
ROOOOAR—
The atmosphere in the venue instantly skyrocketed. Feeling the fiery ambiance, Wang Lan felt his blood heat up as well. Was it nostalgia for the old days... wait, I’m still young. Where’s this nostalgia for my past coming from?
"Mudaoren’s strength is evident to all," the host continued. "Since the preliminary rounds, he has been cutting through opponents, invincible in every match. The longest match lasted nine minutes, the shortest thirty seconds. Mudaoren’s style is stable. No matter the opponent, none can touch even the hem of his garment, and no opponent can withstand even his lightest touch.
"We’ll see if tonight Mudaoren can continue his legend. Let’s wait and see. Now, please welcome the second contestant of the first match, the most mysterious, the most talked-about, and the girl with the fiercest wolf-like spirit, the anonymous fighter, ’Chasing Waves’!"
AWOOOOOO—
This time, the roaring cheers were even louder, causing Wang Lan’s eardrums to tingle with pain. What’s going on? Is all this really necessary?
But when Wang Lan saw ’Chasing Waves’ appear, he instantly understood why the crowd was howling like wild wolves in heat.
This ’Chasing Waves’ was actually a girl with long, sleek legs, wearing a sexy and enchanting tank top. Although she revealed a large expanse of her snow-white skin, it did not give off a sexy or flirtatious feel but rather a vibrant youthful energy. ’Chasing Waves’ wore a mask, but her healthy, energetic figure was enough for people to ignore it. A girl with such a good figure couldn’t possibly be unattractive. After all, makeup can be applied to a face, and surgeries can alter it, but a body like this is innate.
"Ever since you became famous, the number of anonymous participants in the Star Martial Arts Supreme Competition has been increasing," Jiang Xinyu remarked. "By the fifth and sixth editions, there even emerged a meme: ’Fear not the strength of your opponent, fear the opponent who wears a mask.’ Hey, what are you looking at? Just because she has a good figure, do you need to gawk like that?"
"What’s that ’Chasing Waves’’ real name? Do you have any information?" Wang Lan blurted out instinctively.
Hah? Give him an inch and he takes a mile? He’s actually asking for her information directly? Does he want to add her as a friend and try to flirt with her or what?
Seeing Jiang Xinyu’s scrutinizing gaze, Wang Lan suddenly realized he had been very inappropriate, and quickly laughed it off. "I’m guessing that ’Chasing Waves’ is Feifei."
"Who? Feifei?" Jiang Xinyu asked in surprise, eyes wide. "How old is she to dare participate in the Star Martial Arts Supreme Competition? From the fourth edition to this current sixth edition, the top sixteen have basically all been at the Star Cloud Stage.
"The Star Martial Warriors remaining within the urban circle rarely have the chance to enter the finals. Those who make it to the finals are geniuses from Star Martial High Schools in various cities. Feifei is only in her second year of junior high this year, right?"
"I trained with Feifei all day today, and I felt that her practical combat experience is very shrewd," Wang Lan said. "It’s not just her killing techniques; her battle experience is also ample. I was thinking Hu Qing has done a good job training her, but considering Hu Qing’s strength... he might not necessarily be Feifei’s match. Now I see it. This girl has been training in the Star Martial Arts Supreme Competition."
"A competition that lasts only two months?"
"Don’t underestimate just two months. Even a single match can result in great progress for some. After four or five matches, their combat experience can become quite proficient."
Jiang Xinyu nodded slightly at Wang Lan’s words, understanding his point. She then picked up her phone to make an inquiry.
Having hung up, Jiang Xinyu revealed a bitter smile. "It really is Feifei."
"I knew it was her. Now let’s see what kind of surprise the genius girl Hu Feifei will bring us."
Soon, the two on the stage began clashing fiercely. Surprisingly, Hu Feifei didn’t use her Talented Skills in the attack but engaged her opponent in intense combat with ordinary Star Martial Skills and combat abilities. Wang Lan assessed that Hu Feifei’s combat strength was at the peak of the Star Cloud Stage. Even without her Skeletal Talent, she had at least the late-phase strength of the Star Cloud Stage. And her opponent, though ostensibly at the early Star Cloud Stage, also possessed peak Star Cloud Stage combat strength.
The ability to fight above one’s level has always been the privilege of super geniuses. Even talents like Jiang Xinyu didn’t have this ability before they cultivated the Sunlight Sword Skill and ’Supreme Goodness Like Water’. Since when were super geniuses so common?
As the fight intensified, Wang Lan and Jiang Xinyu began to discern some tricks. This Mudaoren’s got something special!
Mudaoren’s Star Martial Skills were attacks launched from his fingers, targeting the human body’s meridians—the pathways where Star Power flows. Moreover, Mudaoren’s movement technique, defense, and offensive Star Martial Skills were all unified. This was not simply in the realm of Star Martial Skills but belonged to that of a Cultivation Technique.
The Star Martial Skills currently passed down among humans are all individual abilities, but a Cultivation Technique is a superior system capable of evolving Star Martial Skills. Wang Lan possessed only three Cultivation Techniques: Phoenix Form, Infinite Fire Skill, and Sunlight Sword Skill. All three are super S-rank Cultivation Techniques, powerful enough to reach the Star Soul Realm. The Cultivation Technique displayed by Mudaoren was much weaker in comparison, but still, even the weakest was unmistakably a Cultivation Technique.
