I Have Infinite Skill Points

"So, the one who fought me before was you?"

"Yes! If you're asking what I am, medically speaking, I am indeed her second personality. But I don't see it that way. I am her Guardian Angel. My purpose in appearing is to protect her from harm. She's actually very smart; she learns the teacher's movements almost instantly. But in combat, she's overwhelmed by intense nervousness and fear. In that state, she can't even move her body, which is why she performed so poorly."

"Is the strength you displayed her true strength?" Wang Lan asked curiously.

"Not entirely. I am both her Guardian Angel and her subconscious. So, there are many moves I can perform that she can't. Theoretically, though, anything I can do, she should be able to do as well. Originally, I shouldn't have appeared and met you. But... I hope you can help her."

"Huh?" Wang Lan looked teasingly at Xie Sisi's second personality before him. "Why? Can't you help her? You could just show up during combat. In that case, Xie Sisi would definitely become one of the top students, right?"

"I am me, and she must always be herself. I can help her for a time, but not forever. Besides, if she one day gains the strength to protect herself, I will disappear. I appeared to protect her, and I will vanish when she no longer needs protection. She likes you!"

Suddenly, the Xie Sisi before him looked earnestly into Wang Lan's eyes and said this.

"What?"

"She likes you, ever since your first day of school. That time you saved her, she wasn't actually unconscious. She was aware of everything. Since that day, she has liked you, liked you a lot. But we both understand that this affection is destined to be unrequited. That's why I hope you can help her. If you help her, she will undoubtedly help you with all her might in the future. Everyone needs a few trustworthy people in life, right?"

"You think I don't have any?"

"You do! But you wouldn't mind having more, would you?"

"Then... I want to know what exactly happened tonight? Why did she get shot?"

"She already told you what happened; she didn't lie. But it all started when you parted ways at the bus stop. Anyway, it's better if she tells you about that herself. By the way, don't tell her what I've told you. She doesn't know I exist."

Before Wang Lan could agree, Xie Sisi's eyes suddenly became vacant again.

If the change in her eyes was purely acting, then her skill was truly superb. To instantly adopt a dark persona with just a look in her eyes is something most people can't achieve without exceptional talent and professional training.

"Wang Lan... where were we? Oh, right, pretending? I wasn't lying to you, I really wasn't. I practice well at home, but when it comes to an actual fight, I just... I just... panic. It's embarrassing to admit, Wang Lan, but on the first day of school, I specifically bought tranquilizers and took them before the test. But when it was my turn, I... I completely lost my composure."

"Alright, let's not dwell on that. What happened to you? Why were you drugged?"

"I..." Xie Sisi suddenly drew her legs up, hugging her knees.

Good thing that pose was hidden under the covers; otherwise... who could bear it?

"I wanted to go to the training ground with you all, but I didn't have a million. My parents' combined monthly salary isn't even fifteen thousand. My brother earns a bit more as a chef... but it's still far from enough. Later, when my brother's boss learned about my situation, he suggested an idea: I could perform Star Martial Skills at his restaurant. My grades for Star Power form manipulation are excellent, and I'm a Water Attribute Star Martial Warrior. While customers ate, I would use water to create many beautiful things to attract them. But I never expected that scumbag to have such wicked intentions...

"At first, he paid me two thousand yuan per day as an appearance fee. Although this was a lot of money, even at two thousand a day, it would take two years to earn a million. Later, a customer asked me to drink with him. I wasn't willing. That customer then pulled out twenty thousand on the spot for me to have just one glass. I... I drank it."

As she said this, Xie Sisi suddenly buried her face in her knees and began to sob.

"Wang Lan, do you also think I'm a shameless woman? Drinking with a customer for twenty thousand yuan? I feel so ashamed of myself..."

"Well... just one drink isn't that big a deal, is it? Celebrities do commercial appearances... if people pay them to sing and dance, they do it. It's a kind of job... yours should count too, right?"

Although Star Martial Skills weren't meant for performance, using them for entertainment was a Star Martial Warrior's prerogative. It wasn't illegal, and Wang Lan genuinely didn't look down on Xie Sisi's reasoning.

In other words, if he could earn five hundred skill points for singing a song, Wang Lan would probably kneel and belt out 'Conquer.' If just singing wasn't enough, he could even bring himself to dance to 'Paradise.' Anything to earn skill points; what was dignity in comparison? By the same logic, if Xie Sisi could get twenty thousand for one drink, then drink it. Why be so pretentious?

"That boss was very generous. He just had someone film it with a phone and didn't make any other unreasonable demands. I was already performing Star Martial Skills for money; I'd long since stopped caring about face. Later, thanks to me, the restaurant's business boomed, and many customers generously tipped me. In a little over a month, I'd already saved five hundred thousand. If this continued, earning a million before winter break wouldn't be particularly difficult.

"Today, that most lavish-spending regular came again. I always knew he had other intentions toward me, but to earn money, I endured it. But today, Zhang Zhiyun actually drugged me. During a break in my performance, he handed me a glass of water. After drinking it, I felt something was off. Soon after, I became dizzy and fell asleep. When I was startled awake, I was lying on a bed, my clothes stripped until only this much remained. That fat pig saw I was awake and still tried to force himself on me, so I... I hit him with a Star Martial Skill. What happened after that is what I told you before."

"So, Zhang Zhiyun is... that fat pig?"

"No, he's the restaurant owner."

This sequence of events... mostly added up. And it also explained Xie Sisi's recent changes. She went directly to the restaurant to perform after school, which was why she dressed so fashionably and well, and wore subtle makeup.

"I think I understand the situation now, and I should be able to help you. But I don't quite get why you're so fixated on going to the training ground. Many students like you don't go to the training ground before graduating high school."

"Fixated?" Xie Sisi lifted her tear-streaked face to Wang Lan, a sarcastic smile suddenly appearing. "Yes, to you, it must seem like a fixation.

"I come from an ordinary background. But no one like us, born ordinary, wants to remain ordinary their whole life. We also hope to make a name for ourselves.

"We are Star Martial Warriors, and for Star Martial Warriors, strength is what matters.

"I'm currently in the later phase of the Starlight Stage. In my class of fifty students, four or five are at the Star Cloud Stage, and nine are at the Star Shine Stage. The rest are at the Starlight Stage. My class rank is twentieth, right?

"What's the use of good academic scores? For the college entrance exam, academics only account for forty percent. The other sixty percent is Star Martial Art performance, where Star Martial level accounts for sixty percent of that score, and combat results for forty percent.

"My Star Martial level ranks around one hundred and fiftieth in the entire year. With such a rank, forget about top-tier universities; even average second-tier universities might not accept me.

"If I can't get into a good university, I might just drift through four years of college in mediocrity. Afterward, I'd either join the military or the Pioneering Legion. In the military, someone like me would never have a chance for promotion. If a war breaks out, people like me will be sent to the front lines.

"Due to insufficient strength, I could be killed in the first engagement. It's even possible my body wouldn't be brought back.

"Joining the Pioneering Legion would be much the same. Without strength or a degree from a prestigious school, I'd just be one of the many cannon fodder. This is almost my predetermined future.

"To change all this, the college entrance exam is my only chance.

"The college entrance exam changes the fate of ordinary students; how could it not also change the fate of ordinary Star Martial Warriors like us? Only by getting into a good Star Martial Academy can one access better Star Martial Skills, obtain more resources, and find more opportunities for advancement.

"I don't want my life to be a meteor that just streaks across the night sky."

Wang Lan looked at the girl before him in shock. He never imagined that this girl, whom he had always overlooked, possessed such mature thoughts.

"You... when did you start thinking about all this?"

"I suppose it was from the moment I awakened my Star Martial Warrior talent," she said, her voice regaining some composure. "I understood from a very young age how cruel this society is.

"I have seven maternal uncles. My grandmother was quite remarkable; all seven sons she bore awakened their Star Martial Warrior talent. Isn't that incredible?"

"That is indeed incredible. The country should have given your grandmother an award."

"They did... a long time ago. Do you want to hear what happened to my uncles?

"None of my seven uncles awakened naturally. They all awakened through Soul Resonance Awakening after graduating from middle school.

"Their talents weren't particularly high, nor particularly low. Like most of their peers, they got into third-rate or second-rate Star Martial Academies.

"Later, my eldest, fifth, and seventh uncles chose to join the military. My second, third, fourth, and sixth uncles chose to go pioneering.

"The year my sixth uncle had just joined the Pioneering Legion, the military sent back my eldest uncle's ashes. He was killed by Exotic Beasts during a mission, in a single encounter.

"My eldest uncle was posthumously honored as a martyr. Less than three months later, my second and third uncles died in a pioneering battle, their bodies never found."

In just two short sentences, three of her seven uncles were gone.

Wang Lan stared at Xie Sisi in horror. Three uncles dead, so tragically, yet she could speak of it in such a calm tone?

Wang Lan usually wasn't interested in matters unrelated to him. But now, he suddenly became interested. Xing Feng, as well as Lan Die, who had left a deep impression on him, seemed to be the ordinary Star Martial Warriors Xie Sisi was describing. They had taught Wang Lan a very vivid lesson, making him feel the weight and helplessness of ordinary Star Martial Warriors. Wang Lan had little contact with Star Martial Warriors; those he knew were either from his school or the elites from the Tianjian Bureau. But what Wang Lan heard more about was the Pioneering Legion; they were like adventurers venturing into different worlds. Wang Lan had heard many stories about the Pioneering Legion since he was young. In Wang Lan's eyes, pioneering in a Different Dimensional Space was both brutal and romantic. But in Xie Sisi's words, there was only brutality, no romance.