Over a month passed quietly, and Wang Lan’s study life became remarkably regimented. Throughout this past month, aside from occasional phone calls with Jiang Xinyu, he spent almost all his spare time in the library. He had cast aside concerns like his Star Power level and skill points. He studied every Basic Skill he thought might be useful in the future, without missing a single one. Yet, even so, Wang Lan couldn’t manage to trigger the detoxification skill he most wanted to learn. Despite relying on his exceptional memory and unique study method to master a vast amount of detoxification theory, he still couldn’t trigger it. 「In the Medical Department, Director Sun Li’s office.」 Director Sun Li was still wearing that bright red dress with a white coat over it like a windbreaker. Her loose, wavy long hair was both sexy and charming. She leaned against her desk, her eyes teasingly sweeping over Wang Lan. "Are you saying... you want to learn Universal Decomposition?" "If you know about Universal Decomposition, then you should be aware... that Universal Decomposition is actually classified as an S-grade Star Martial Skill, and the conditions for learning it are extremely harsh. Only three people in the world have mastered this Star Martial Skill!" "Teacher, I believe I should be able to learn it successfully." When it came to learning Star Martial Skills, Wang Lan dared to point at everyone else in the world and say they were all insignificant. With the system as his cheat, Wang Lan, who normally disliked showing off, possessed absolute confidence. "Are you misunderstanding my words? Am I talking about whether you have the ability to learn?" Director Sun smiled slyly, gently sweeping her long hair aside. "What makes you think I would pass an S-grade Star Martial Skill to you? Is it because you’ve made outstanding contributions to the medical field, or have you become my man?" Wang Lan’s heart skipped a beat at her last remark. Although he knew Mrs. Sun Li’s personality was somewhat unreliable and she lacked the decorum expected of a teacher, he was still thunderstruck by her words. He still remembered what a senior had earnestly told him on his first day: "Our teacher... is somewhat different from other teachers. If she says something strange, you must never take it seriously. The biggest problem with our teacher is that she’s boy-crazy; she can’t help teasing good-looking guys. But remember, she can tease you, but you can’t respond to her. Otherwise, you might not be able to take care of yourself for the rest of your life." Wang Lan always objectively considered himself quite handsome, meeting popular aesthetic standards, so he had always held firm to his principles. No matter whether Director Sun’s teasing was through her eyes or words, Wang Lan managed to stay composed, unless he truly couldn’t help it. "Teacher, I feel that if I can learn Universal Decomposition, I can definitely make outstanding contributions to the medical field. As you know, Teacher, I am renowned in the martial arts world as a ’Demon,’ exceptionally talented and with an impeccable reputation." "Do you know what I appreciate most about you?" Director Sun suddenly smiled tenderly. Slowly approaching Wang Lan, she gently reached out and patted his cheek. "Your shameless demeanor. It completely wastes that handsome face of yours." KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK— Someone knocked on the office door. The door opened. The person who entered was not a researcher or student from the Medical Department, but Professor Zheng Gong from Spiritual Engraving. "Professor Zheng, what brings you here?" she asked in surprise. "I’m here for him. He actually skipped my Spirit Engraving class this morning. Mrs. Sun, elective courses are scheduled for the afternoon, right?" "Professor Zheng, you’re mistaken. I haven’t been detaining Wang Lan; he’s only been in my office for half an hour. I won’t take the blame for this." Instantly, Professor Zheng’s sharp gaze turned towards Wang Lan. Wang Lan’s heart trembled; Professor Zheng never called the roll in his class. Truthfully, the number of students skipping his lectures had been increasing. So many students skip class and you don’t care, but the one time I miss a class, you come chasing after me? Do you have some particular issue with me? Although he complained inwardly, his face showed deep recognition of his mistake and profound remorse. "Professor Zheng, I was wrong... I’ll definitely attend class tomorrow." "Tomorrow? Tomorrow I’ll be teaching different content. You missed yesterday, so I thought you would attend today, but I didn’t expect you to miss today as well. Do you have any idea how important today’s topic was? Today’s lecture was on the cultivation and manifestation of spiritual images. That’s a crucial step for our Spiritual Engraving. Students who usually skip class were all present today, yet you, who never skips, missed the most crucial lesson. Forget it. Come to my office after all classes are over today, and I’ll give you a make-up lesson." At these words, even Director Sun, who had been watching from the sidelines, looked astonished. In college... is there really a precedent for professors giving students make-up lessons? At Star Martial Academy, professors started their classes on time. Whether students chose to learn or skip was up to them. Anyone who failed the exams would naturally receive a failing grade. Professor Zheng, in particular, was known for his sage-like attitude. Normally, he was the students’ favorite type of teacher: no roll calls, no pop quizzes, no running class overtime. He was never sneaky like some teachers who would skip roll call for a while then suddenly take it, even docking Academic Credits. But when it came to exams, he was merciless. The passing standards were incredibly strict; at most, only one-third of a class managed to pass without needing a retake. "That’s... not necessary, right?" Wang Lan asked softly, hesitating. "Hmm?" Professor Zheng frowned. Had I misjudged him? Is this a slacker with no ambition? "I’ve actually already mastered the manifestation of spiritual images..." "Hmm?" Professor Zheng’s tone changed significantly. Today, he had only discussed theory, not practical application, and the gap between theory and practice was vast. Mastering the manifestation of spiritual images was a final exam topic for the end of the latter semester; the first semester focused mainly on theory. But Wang Lan’s words seemed to imply... Without further ado, Wang Lan slowly opened his palm. Instantly, Star Power surged, and a hazy white light emanated from it—this was an image projection space. As Wang Lan manipulated his spiritual power, he projected a memory fragment in his palm. It was the classic battle scene of Wang Lan versus Xiao Zi from the Provincial Martial Arts Tournament. The dazzling combat visuals, with the glamorous special effects of Star Martial Skills, would surely earn a spot on a premium video channel if paired with some background music. But... this was not the focus of the two teachers’ attention. A Star Martial Warrior’s proficiency is directly reflected by their Star Martial rank and skill levels. The quality of an image is represented by its resolution. Image projection was one of the final exam topics for the latter half of the first year. The requirement was simply to successfully project an image and maintain it stably for thirty seconds to pass. Clarity wasn’t a requirement. Achieving a high-resolution projection required at least an advanced level of Spiritual Engraving, a standard most students might not reach by graduation. The clarity of the image projection Wang Lan had just displayed was comparable to an ultra-high-definition picture. What did this mean? It meant that Wang Lan had not only truly mastered it, but his spiritual power had reached a professional level, and his control over Spiritual Engraving was at an elite level. "Have you... studied Spiritual Engraving before?" After a long pause, Professor Zheng Gong finally looked up and asked incredulously. "No, not at all! My first class in Spiritual Engraving was taught by Professor Zheng. Professor Zheng is the only teacher I’ve had for this subject." Wang Lan delivered the compliment as smoothly as flowing water. The implication was, I’m your student; please go easy on me. "When did you master image projection?" I mastered it after the first class, Wang Lan really wanted to say. I’ve not only mastered image projection but also Spiritual Engraving and even Skill Imprinting. Looking at the Silver-level Spiritual Engraving on his skill panel, Wang Lan felt that imprinting Star Martial Skills into someone else’s mind wouldn’t be too difficult now. The main issue was that he couldn’t imprint Gold-level techniques. After some thought, he decided not to provoke the old professor. He’s getting on in years; what if he gets too agitated and his blood pressure spikes? "It was about... a week ago, I guess." "No, that’s not right! It’s impossible to achieve such stable and clear image projection after only mastering it a week ago." "I mean, I reached this current level a week ago." "Urgh—" Professor Zheng Gong took a deep breath, one he almost failed to draw in. After a long while, he looked at Wang Lan with a complex expression. "You can now imprint Star Martial Skills, right?" "You know that?" Wang Lan looked at Professor Zheng Gong in surprise. Professor Zheng Gong’s pupils contracted sharply, but his face remained calm. "What level of Star Martial Skill can you imprint?" Professor Zheng Gong knows? He knows nothing! This question was merely a spontaneous probe on his part. Having mastered such refined image projection, Wang Lan already met the conditions for Spiritual Engraving. Professor Zheng Gong guessed Wang Lan must have attempted it. However, he didn’t believe Wang Lan could have succeeded. He was waiting for Wang Lan to describe the difficulties encountered while imprinting Star Martial Skills, so he could then play the role of a mentor and instill in him the idea that even someone exceptionally talented still requires a teacher’s guidance. However, Wang Lan’s reply instantly derailed Professor Zheng Gong’s plan for an unscripted lecture. "Silver." Thɪs chapter is updated by 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹•𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖•𝗇𝗲𝘁 "No, I mean, a Grade-B Star Martial Skill." "Director Sun, do you have a Soul Bead here? Let him try it." Director Sun reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a low-grade Soul Bead. "I only have this one low-quality Soul Bead. My daughter used it to play marbles, and I just happened to pick it up." Wang Lan looked at Director Sun in surprise. Using Soul Beads for playing marbles? Could this be the real world of the wealthy? Professor Zheng Gong took the bead and handed it to Wang Lan. "Now, imprint a skill into it. Don’t tell me you don’t have a Grade-D skill." How could Wang Lan tolerate Professor Zheng’s disdainful look? He immediately took the Soul Bead, closed his eyes, and began to copy and extract a culinary skill from his mind. Instantly, Wang Lan’s body shimmered with Star Energy Fluctuation, the energy rippling like a gentle breeze across a lake. In the blink of an eye, a cyan cloud of spiritual power materialized between Wang Lan’s eyebrows. The cloud transformed into cyan smoke, which seemed to be drawn into the Soul Bead as if inhaled. The Skill Imprinting was completed in less than ten minutes, yet the Soul Bead showed no change at all. "Did it fail?" Director Sun asked curiously. "No, it was a success—a perfect one." Professor Zheng’s composure finally broke. "Then why didn’t it change color? A Soul Bead should display the color corresponding to the Star Martial Skill’s attribute after imprinting." "Mrs. Sun, that’s because I didn’t imprint a Star Martial Skill, but a Level 2 Culinary Skill."