I Have Infinite Skill Points

"Medical staff, quick... medical staff," the referee teacher called out loudly, rushing over to Zhuang Haotian's side. "What's that smell? It stinks! Wang Lan, you didn't do anything to him, did you?"

"No, Teacher. I was very measured in my approach. He might have had an upset stomach, and when I punched him, he accidentally... well, soiled himself."

PUFFT— The referee teacher instantly stood up and took a step back.

"Wang Lan from Senior Three, Class One, wins."

"Successfully completed the first round of the preliminaries for Suzhou City's representative team. Awarded one thousand experience points and thirty skill points," a prompt sounded in his mind.

Wang Lan bowed to thank the referee teacher and turned to walk towards the stands.

Only then did sporadic exclamations of shock begin to erupt from the stands.

"Holy shit! What did I just see? Zhuang Haotian got one-shotted?"

"I swear, I didn't even blink! I didn't even see clearly how Zhuang Haotian fell!"

"Forget not seeing clearly, I still can't figure out how Zhuang Haotian went down! Isn't he at the Star Cloud Stage? A Star Cloud Stage cultivator getting one-shotted by a Star Shine Stage cultivator? I now have reason to doubt if Zhuang Haotian is even truly at the Star Cloud Stage!"

"Zhuang Haotian's Star Cloud Stage status is genuine, but I suspect Wang Lan's Star Shine Stage is some kind of mutant variant. Is this what a Star Shine Stage can do? A Star Shine Stage one-shotting a Star Cloud Stage?"

"Perhaps Wang Lan has already reached the Star Cloud Stage. Just look at that move earlier. Hey, Cheng, you're also at the Star Shine Stage, tell us, is that something a Star Shine Stage cultivator can pull off?"

"Screw off! I didn't even understand what happened. Maybe I'm a fake Star Shine Stage cultivator."

The match had started so unexpectedly and ended so abruptly that even though a new match had begun, the audience was still fervently discussing the previous one.

Wang Lan from Suzhou No.1 Middle School, hailed as the strongest at the Star Shine Stage—what stage was he really at to be able to one-shot someone at the Star Cloud Stage? If it hadn't happened right before their eyes, who would believe it?

Principal Zhang returned from backstage. Just as he got back to his seat, the match ended. It made Principal Zhang think he had inadvertently been away for several minutes, but when he checked his watch, it had been less than five minutes.

"Principal Yu, why do you look so grave?"

"Principal Zhang, I'm now somewhat convinced that this year's senior class truly has hidden dragons and crouching tigers. That student, Wang Lan, what's his family background?"

"What's wrong?"

"A peerless genius who has mastered composite Star Martial Skills while only at the Star Shine Stage! Such a genius is destined to reach at least the Galaxy Stage in the future. That young prodigy, Zhuang Haotian, didn't lose unjustly. Reaching the Star Cloud Stage in one's senior year of high school is indeed a mark of genius. But looking beyond just the national level, even within the entire Jiang Province, there are no fewer than fifty seniors at the Star Cloud Stage. However, finding a genius who can master the application of composite Star Martial Skills while at the Star Shine Stage is rare even nationwide."

"Hahaha... Is that so? It's truly rare to hear Principal Yu take back his words..." Principal Zhang's face was wreathed in smiles as he feigned nonchalance, but inwardly, he was utterly bewildered.

What are you talking about? Is it some alien language? A Star Shine Stage student who has mastered the practical application of composite Star Martial Skills? In my school? And I had no idea? Hahaha... He must have seen it wrong... Hehehe...

"By the way, you left earlier because..."

"Originally, our school's seeded contestants weren't supposed to meet in the preliminary rounds. I didn't expect Zhuang Haotian and Wang Lan to actually face each other in the first round. Sigh, it was an oversight on my part. One student had an incident and still hasn't reported to the school. So, I removed his name. After his name was removed, the original match pairings got misaligned. So... now with Wang Lan and Zhuang Haotian matched up like this, everything that follows is in disarray. I've had the backstage staff urgently re-sort the matchups."

This was a tacit understanding among the various schools, a common practice both principals were well aware of, so there was no need for concealment.

The subsequent matches indeed saw one dark horse after another emerge. Students who usually didn't stand out in school suddenly made a stunning impact in the battle arena. But no matter how stunning their performances, none could surpass Wang Lan's feat of, as a Star Shine Stage cultivator, instantly defeating a Star Cloud Stage opponent.

In half a day, the first and second rounds of the competition were completed.

Wang Lan's group of five all successfully advanced to the third round, the contest for the top ten. Xie Sisi, in particular, had exceptionally good luck, avoiding strong opponents in two consecutive rounds.

Conversely, the Commoner Genius Association, on which the school had pinned high hopes and which had been lauded for three years as being composed entirely of elites—with any one of its Twelve Vajra supposedly qualified to represent Suzhou City in the provincial martial arts tournament—suffered a rather pitiful outcome. After two rounds, only three members of the Twelve Vajra, including their leader Duan Ziqi, had made it to the third round. The chances of the remaining two making it into the top ten looked slim.

No matter how much they were hyped up, once put to the test, all that glitters is not gold. And those scions of wealthy families, who had been disparaged by the Commoner Genius Association for three years, finally had their moment of triumphant vindication.

Scions are just rich, right? Their strength is all bought with money. Without money to support you, you're all cripples, imbeciles!

Heh? But your betters are still your betters.

Didn't you also fail to make it to the third round?

Sorry, but I successfully took down one of the Twelve Vajra in the first round.

Hard work can indeed help one catch up to the resource-rich scions, but the question is, are you actually working hard? They were all commoners, yet Xie Sisi managed to overcome all obstacles, while the so-called Commoner Genius Association became a laughingstock in comparison to her.

After the first day of the school's selection tournament concluded, the posts and forums on the campus network were in an uproar. The Commoner Genius Association even earned a new nickname: the Commoner Joke Association.

At five o'clock, school dismissed on time. Wang Lan, shouldering his backpack, walked home along his usual route. His mind was immersed in the system. His character was at Star Shine Stage Eight, with progress around seventy-five percent. He had gained three thousand experience points from participating in two rounds today.

At this rate, reaching the Star Cloud Stage would likely require winning the provincial martial arts tournament. But could he win the championship without breaking through to the Star Cloud Stage? That was a practical problem.

Although his combined use of Crescent Arrow and Flame Sword made him no weaker than a typical Star Cloud Stage Star Martial Warrior, the provincial martial arts tournament saw many atypical Star Cloud Stage cultivators every year.

Previous provincial tournaments hadn't been public, so there was very little information available. However, Wang Lan had managed to gather some. It could be said that every year, there were contestants who appeared normal but were, in fact, monstrously strong. Some possessed powerful Inborn Talents of the Bloodline, while others had freakishly potent abilities. Against such Star Cloud Stage Star Martial Warriors, Wang Lan didn't stand a chance.

Two paths now lay before Wang Lan: either learn a widely applicable A-grade lightning-element Star Martial Skill that could successfully chain with another A-grade Star Martial Skill, or break through to the Star Cloud Stage and upgrade his skills to the Gold level.

Half a month has passed; why is there still no news from the Star Martial Hall?

Wang Lan took out his phone and logged into the Star Martial Hall's online store. In the Star Martial Skill section, only a few B-grade Star Martial Skills were listed; there wasn't a single A-grade Star Martial Skill in sight.

Wang Lan, who had skill points, could indeed upgrade lower-level Star Martial Skills to higher levels, but their growth potential was too low. Take the E-grade Star Martial Skill he currently mastered, electrical energy output; upgrading it to Bronze still kept it as, frustratingly, electrical energy output—it merely multiplied the amount of electricity produced several times over.

What's the use of that? Even if upgraded to the Gold level, it would probably only be able to maintain the power supply for a small residential area. A human power generator? Though, to say it's entirely useless wouldn't be quite accurate either. At least this Star Martial Skill has one ultimate move: Electrical Energy Self-Destruction. Hmm, instantly gather and expand the voltage within the body, then detonate it. The higher the Cultivation Level, the greater the explosive power. Damn it, I'm not Deidara; art isn't about self-destruction!

"Assisted in the annihilation of a cross-border Star Martial drug trafficking criminal group. Reward: twenty thousand experience points, eight hundred skill points."

Suddenly, a notification chimed in Wang Lan's mind, nearly startling him into dropping his phone. This alert left Wang Lan completely baffled. What the hell did I do?

Upgrading from Star Shine Stage Eight to Star Shine Stage Nine required eighty thousand experience points. He had originally been seventy-odd percent of the way there; this reward had suddenly pushed his progress to over ninety percent.

Seeing this progress bar, Wang Lan was both overjoyed and incredulous. I assisted? When did I assist?

Hurriedly, Wang Lan logged into the Tianjian Bureau's official website and navigated to the Intelligence Department's page.

Sure enough, a new announcement had appeared in the Intelligence Department section; it could be considered good news.

The Tianjian Bureau headquarters in Jin City, acting on information regarding drug traffickers apprehended by the Suzhou City authorities, had followed the clues. After a month and a half of planning, they successfully conducted a raid, dismantling a drug trafficking network that spanned nearly three provinces and seventeen cities. They arrested thirty-two Star Martial Warrior drug traffickers and an additional one hundred and twelve ordinary traffickers.

It seems Ye Feng's team was just a small part of the entire organization.

This was a major case, one that had sparked nationwide vigilance. This was because the drug trafficking group was led by Star Martial Warriors, something unprecedented. The state's control over Star Martial Warriors was very strict. Unless a Star Martial Warrior had never been registered in the first place, it was difficult for them to evade surveillance and engage in criminal activities. However, in recent years, there had been multiple reported instances across the country of Star Martial Warriors slipping from state control.

After understanding the full story, Wang Lan contentedly accepted the reward. He wasn't concerned about what future policies the country might implement regarding the management of Star Martial Warriors. That wasn't something he needed to consider right now. What he needed to think about was whether his next breakthrough, to Star Shine Stage Nine, was imminent.

He was still short over ninety thousand experience points. The alluring Star Cloud Stage was right before him, beckoning invitingly.

How he longed to conquer it.

「March 15th, clear skies.」

The temperature today was another five degrees Celsius higher than yesterday.

Wang Lan left his house with his schoolbag. Perhaps because it was gradually getting warmer, he saw many stylish city women with extraordinary resistance to cold already shedding their long coats, donning the short skirts commonly seen in summer.

Is it nearing that time of year again for crowded buses and people squatting at bus platforms? Wang Lan glanced at a bus so crammed its windows seemed almost deformed from the overcrowding, then decisively turned and started walking to school.

Wang Lan lived only one and a half kilometers from the school, his route taking him through the Star Sea Community Park.

There was still an hour before school started, so he had plenty of time. Wang Lan walked at a leisurely pace, occasionally overhearing the cheerful laughter and chatter of other students also walking to school.

Suddenly, Wang Lan stopped in his tracks. At the entrance to the forest park, three police cars were parked, and the periphery of the park had been cordoned off with police tape.

Outside the tape, a dozen or so elderly men, likely out for their early morning exercises, were passionately debating something, spittle flying.

Has there been a crime? Wang Lan thought, about to continue on his way to school, when he paused again.

"It seems a senior student from Suzhou No.1 Middle School died; they were wearing the school uniform."

"What was a kid from Suzhou No.1 Middle School doing here in the middle of the night instead of being at home?"

"Who knows? The police are already here. We'll just have to wait for the detectives to solve the case."

A senior from Suzhou No.1 Middle School. Wang Lan knew almost all of them, whether from the regular community or the Star Martial Arts Campus. Even if he couldn't recall all their names, he would recognize their faces.

Wang Lan turned, his figure flashing past the police tape as he moved towards the interior of the park.