Gong Feiyu let out a gentle sigh upon receiving the information, stood up, and poured himself a cup of coffee to calm his nerves. He took a small sip and suddenly chuckled. Wang Lan carefully went over the information, picked up a pen, and circled several names. Ordinary Star Cloud Stage combatants posed little threat to Wang Lan; the real threat lay in all-rounders like Jiang Xinyu and those who possessed secret techniques and an Inborn Talent of the Bloodline that she had circled. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ Nove1Fire.net "I’m still not strong enough... If I could master a Thunder Attribute A-class Star Martial Skill, I could double my power," she said, picking up her phone to log into the Star Martial Hall’s Star Martial Skill Trading House. There was still no news from Gong Jian, but the Trading House had several B-class Star Martial Skills. Wang Lan was considering whether she should buy a B-class skill as a stopgap. The Water Attribute wasn’t bad, and the Earth Attribute was decent too. However, after reading through the descriptions of these skills... the restrictions were quite limiting and unsuitable for use in the matches. Moreover, even with her system cheat, Wang Lan’s Star Power was still at the Star Shine Stage, and using these Star Martial Skills twice might deplete her energy. For now, Wang Lan was best suited for skills that were more concentrated, which required less energy and lasted longer. Area-effect Star Martial Skills would be better learned after reaching the Star Cloud Stage. Over the weekend, the five-person group continued with their unwavering training and exchanged opinions on the upcoming provincial tournament. Before the information was released, they were full of confidence, but once they received the reports from other cities, everyone turned pessimistic. 「On Monday, the Star Martial Arts Campus was aflutter with colorful flags.」 After a three-day delay, the final round of the city selection challenges was about to begin. The challenges aimed to select the strongest lineup of senior third-year students to the maximum extent possible. Even those eliminated in the preliminary rounds could still challenge the victorious ten-person team, and if successful in the challenge, they would replace the former and join the city’s representative team. So early in the morning, Wang Lan and the other nine winners sat at the pre-battle seats. Any of the preliminary round losers could register to challenge and then specify an opponent for battle until no challengers remained. But the candidates who made it into the top ten were essentially the strongest lineup already. Aside from Wang Lan’s group of four, the rest were one Star Cloud Stage and five Star Shine Stages. These five Star Shine Stages were naturally the primary focus of the challengers. The Challenge Match began, and Zhuang Haotian was the first to take the stage. This guy was securely one of the main lineup, but he was so unlucky it almost invited sympathy. He was defeated in the first round by Wang Lan, taken by surprise due to asymmetrical information. He managed to revive by replacing Xu Donghai, only to draw Jiang Xinyu as his opponent. Jiang Xinyu’s strength completely overwhelmed Zhuang Haotian. He couldn’t win in close combat nor at range. Jiang Xinyu could control and defend, focus on single-target attacks or opt for area attacks, and possessed slowing Star Martial Skills as well as restrictive ones. Zhuang Haotian was directly made to question his life due to Jiang Xinyu’s flurry of moves. Zhuang Haotian plunged into deep self-doubt these few days, always having been a favored child of the heavens. Even if he couldn’t match up to Jiang Xinyu and Mu Shaoyun, he was still firmly seated in the top ten of his grade, stable as an old dog. Beaten by Wang Lan, he admitted his defeat, but then he was crushed by Jiang Xinyu. Might my achievements be false? The problem was, if he could have put up a struggle before falling, he could have at least claimed a close defeat at Jiang Xinyu’s hands. But the reality was that he was instantly taken out by Wang Lan, and it wasn’t much better with Jiang Xinyu. Zhuang Haotian became disheartened, locked himself in his room for two days to ponder a question: Did he truly have talent, or had he always overestimated himself? If it weren’t for his uncle, the dean of instruction, coming to counsel him, he wouldn’t have had the courage to step out and challenge again. And Zhuang Haotian, who had faced two blows, no longer had the sharp gaze he once possessed; in his calm eyes, like a tranquil autumn pond. "I challenge student Zhang Xingcheng," he said. "What?" The students in the stands let out a collective gasp of surprise. Many couldn’t believe Zhuang Haotian was the one to challenge Zhang Xingcheng. Zhuang Haotian was such a proud person that even when challenging, he would choose the strong. For three years, Zhuang Haotian had always been like that, pushing his limits and choosing opponents of equal valor. It would make sense for him to challenge Gong Feiyu or Xu Xiangwen, but no one expected him to challenge Zhang Xingcheng, who relied on luck to enter the top ten. Always liking to gnaw on the hardest bone, he now suddenly picked the softest persimmon. "Zhuang Haotian is finished," Xu Xiangwen shook his head with regret, "He’s lost his edge. The Zhuang Haotian who would rather take the straight path than seek a crooked one is gone." "No, Zhuang Haotian has matured," Wang Lan disagreed. A man’s true growth is letting go of his burdens and learning to make choices. Despite the whispers of doubt from the surrounding students, Zhuang Haotian’s face always wore a peaceful, mild smile, showing no shame, irritation, sorrow, or arrogance. Zhang Xingcheng shook his head with a bitter smile and stood up, "I forfeit!" Not to mention Zhuang Haotian at the Star Cloud Stage, he couldn’t win against any of the five Star Shine Stages present. To have made it this far was already far beyond his expectations. Zhang Xingcheng forfeited, and Zhuang Haotian advanced. Under the gaze of all those eyes, Zhuang Haotian slowly took his spot at the challenger’s bench, replacing Zhang Xingcheng. "Inviting the second challenger!" "I challenge Ye Yun." In the preliminary rounds, several dark horses emerged only to be cut down. It was only natural for them to participate in the challenge match. Everyone had only one chance to challenge, and for safety, they naturally focused on the five Star Shine Stage combatants. However, curiously, Wang Lan stood out like a bright torch in the night as a Star Shine Stage, yet no one stepped forward to challenge her. After five matches, three of the six Star Shine Stage members had been replaced, yet it was as if everyone had forgotten Wang Lan, not challenging her even once. "Next up, Duan Ziqi." The moment Duan Ziqi’s name was called, Wang Lan’s gaze sharpened instantly. As if sensing Wang Lan’s look, Duan Ziqi turned towards her and suddenly broke into a smile. "I challenge... Xu Xiangwen!" Wang Lan looked at Duan Ziqi with confusion. What do you mean by provoking me non-stop just now? "Lanzi, I’ve noticed a strange phenomenon. The people you beat up always seem to need me to beat them up again. What does that say? They’re asking for it, right?" "Maybe. Don’t hold back and don’t underestimate him. I guess he’ll use a flying Star Martial Skill, and once he does, you’ll be completely restrained." After the two of them entered the arena, Duan Ziqi turned his head back and gave Wang Lan a slight smile. Up to this moment, Duan Ziqi had not taken Xu Xiangwen seriously at all. As soon as the voice fell, Star Power surged around Xu Xiangwen, and within an instant, three Physical Clones appeared in the center of the arena. Star Power exploded around the four Xu Xiangwens, and in the moment of the Star Power burst, their figures turned into streaks of light rushing towards Duan Ziqi on the opposite side. It was only then that Duan Ziqi turned his head, revealing a grin at the approaching Xu Xiangwen. A gust of wind blew up, and almost instantly, Duan Ziqi’s figure swept past the middle of Xu Xiangwen’s four figures, just like a bullet piercing through. Suddenly, Wang Lan sprang to her feet, her face showing utter disbelief. "So fast——" All the classmates watching this scene had their mouths agape in disbelief. This Star Martial Skill was so fast that it was even twice as fast as the previous match with Wang Lan. This was also the reason why Wang Lan couldn’t help but stand up. If Duan Ziqi had shown such strength before, even Wang Lan with her dynamic vision might not have been able to keep up. Had Duan Ziqi been hiding his power before, or had his speed made a huge breakthrough in these three days? It must have been a breakthrough over these three days. Wang Lan quickly theorized. If Duan Ziqi had possessed such speed before, he would have had no reason to hold back when fighting me. This speed, it must have already reached the limit of Wind Travel Skill. Any faster, and it would be instant teleportation. A cloud of smoke lingered, and one Xu Xiangwen exploded into dust. Three more Xu Xiangwens still remained on the spot. A drop of cold sweat slid down Xu Xiangwen’s face. Duan Ziqi’s dagger had nearly grazed his throat. If it were not for Xu Xiangwen using the rebound from Exploding Fist to retreat thirty centimeters, Duan Ziqi’s dagger would have passed over his throat. The brush with death was not what truly scared Xu Xiangwen; rather, it was the unreasonable speed of Duan Ziqi’s attack. With the Pure Yang Skill activated, Xu Xiangwen’s eyes and reactions couldn’t keep up with Duan Ziqi’s attack speed. How could he even hope to counter Duan Ziqi’s next attack? Behind him, Duan Ziqi slowly turned around, his smile as refreshing as the spring breeze, yet it felt like the cold sunshine of winter ice and snow, bright but bone-chilling. "Will you surrender on your own, or die?" "I might lose, but I won’t concede defeat." As he spoke, a cloud of smoke once again enveloped him, and another Xu Xiangwen appeared by his side. "Next strike, I will pierce your throat." Instantly, a breeze once again enveloped Duan Ziqi. Meanwhile, the four Xu Xiangwens instantly stood back to back, forming a formation. Star Energy Fluctuations emerged from each of them, each with a slightly different fluctuation. "Pure Yang Skill, Thousand Hands Buddha!" Duan Ziqi’s form instantly turned into a streak of light charging at Xu Xiangwen, and in an instant, a barrier seemed to form around Xu Xiangwen. A ten-meter-high Buddha phantom enveloped Xu Xiangwen, and behind the Buddha, hundreds of arms extended. In the moment it formed, they turned into countless fists hammering down. "Holy cow, is it really a thousand hands? Xu knows this move?" "This move is the true form of the Pure Yang Skill. Xu must reach the Galaxy Stage to master it. But unexpectedly, Xu took a different approach, using four clones to cover different areas, and together, the four clones managed to complete a pared-down version of the Thousand Hands Buddha." "Wang Lan, that idea of drawing a circle with the left hand while drawing a square with the right suits Xu perfectly."