I Have Infinite Skill Points

On the sports field of the Star Martial Arts Campus, the artistic performances on stage were even more spectacular and appealing than yesterday, with the audience in the bleachers periodically letting out bursts of screams. These students were no strangers to live performances, having frequented them regularly.

In a corner of the bleachers, in the preparation area for the third round of the top twenty competitors, Jiang Xinyu slightly furrowed her brows as she put down her phone, her fingers pressing hard against the phone screen.

"Not answering calls, not answering calls... How can he not answer calls at a time like this? Could something have happened?"

"How could it?" Xu Xiangwen immediately shook his head in denial. "Xinyu, stop worrying needlessly. Have you forgotten that Lanzi has the Phoenix Form? Even if he encountered some trouble, he wouldn't be in danger. Maybe... he was too excited after yesterday's victory, couldn't sleep at night, and overslept this morning."

"Did you oversleep?" Jiang Xinyu looked at Xu Xiangwen coldly.

"No, I got up at five o'clock."

"If even you didn't oversleep, how could Wang Lan possibly oversleep? Since the first grade of elementary school, Wang Lan has always arrived at school half an hour early, never once being late."

Jiang Xinyu's words caused Xu Xiangwen's expression to change. Wang Lan's steady-as-a-rock pattern meant the chances of a mishap were incredibly slim, especially on such an important day. There was no reason for him to be late.

Could something really have happened?

In the preparation area sat the twenty contestants scheduled to compete today. However, apart from Wang Lan, whose absence worried Jiang Xinyu, Xu Donghai's no-show seemed to garner little attention.

"Ziqi, the call isn't going through!" Shui Miao whispered into Duan Ziqi's ear.

"Whose call isn't going through?"

"Donghai's. He hasn't shown up yet, and it's not that no one is answering his phone; it's out of the service area..."

"Didn't he leave the club a week ago? Once he left, he was no longer our brother, so why bother about him?"

"After all, we were brothers for three years. Is our bond just gone like that?" Shui Miao frowned slightly, seemingly dissatisfied with Duan Ziqi's lack of sentimentality.

"Bond? Once camaraderie is gone, so is the bond. Have you forgotten what he said before leaving the club? That he achieved his current success entirely through his own efforts, and that it had nothing to do with the club?

"The club's mission is to enable us, through hard work, to catch up with those students from wealthy families who have abundant resources. Working hard is natural; without it, you're just a salted fish.

"But without the jobs I found for him, could he have made a million or two in a year? Could he have afforded a Soul Bead? Would his hard work have meant anything without the club's support? Now that graduation is on the horizon, he's thinking of going solo? Does a thankless wretch like that deserve to be our brother?"

Shui Miao sighed softly and slowly set down his phone.

At that moment, Liu Jie, carrying a list of names, approached with a swaggering gait.

Since yesterday, Liu Jie's walk had become incredibly cocky. After two rounds, his class boasted seven students in the top twenty of the grade—a staggering statistic. Considering there were ten classes in the senior year, his Class One stood out as the sole luminary.

Although Class One had always been the most outstanding, class assignments usually aimed for balance, with Class One only slightly outperforming the others. Yet, Liu Jie took great personal credit for transforming a slightly leading class into a lone standout.

Thus, when the dust settled on the second round yesterday, Liu Jie's gait had become noticeably more buoyant, causing the Star Martial Art teachers of other classes to look on with teeth-gritting envy.

"Are all twenty contestants for the third round here?" Liu Jie glanced around casually as he spoke. In his mind, it was a rhetorical question.

Who would be late for such a crucial third preliminary round? If he'd had such an opportunity twenty or thirty years ago, he would have arrived on time even if it meant staying up all night.

But as his eyes swept over the area, his heart suddenly skipped a beat.

His gaze swept back again.

Two missing? In fact, in that instant, Liu Jie had already identified which two.

"Wang Lan, Donghai! Where are they? Did they go to the restroom?"

"Teacher, I'm here!" a voice rang out. Instantly, Wang Lan's figure appeared beside Liu Jie like a fleeting shadow. "Sorry, I'm late."

"What's going on? Why are you only arriving now? The competition is about to start; take your seat. And what about Donghai? Hasn't he arrived yet? Ziqi, do you have Donghai's phone number? Call him and ask what he's up to. There are only five minutes left; if he doesn't make it before the competition starts, he'll have to forfeit."

"We just tried calling. Donghai's phone is out of service. We don't know what happened to him either."

"Is that so? I'll go report it upstairs. Anyone who needs to use the restroom, do it quickly. The first match is starting soon, and no one knows who will be facing whom."

Having said that, Liu Jie walked away, whistling, with one hand in his pocket.

Is he really that pragmatic? one student thought. When Wang Lan hadn't arrived, Instructor Liu Jie looked like he was ready to eat someone. But now that Donghai hasn't shown up, he just casually reports it?

He's not his kid, so why should he care? another mused.

"Hey, Duan Ziqi, are you guys in the Commoner Genius Association always this heartless?" a scion of a wealthy family from the back row asked jokingly, crossing his arms.

For three years, the scions of wealthy families had been consistently overshadowed by the Commoner Genius Association. It wasn't that the wealthy children didn't compete; it was just that they were outnumbered by the sheer volume of commoner students. With fewer numbers, the wealthy children couldn't match up.

Using their families' power was out of the question, primarily because their parents wouldn't allow it. So, for the past three years, the wealthy young scions had adopted a cold-shoulder approach. You can say what you want; I'll just treat it as hot air.

In yesterday's battle, only three of the Twelve Vajra had advanced, one of whom was Duan Ziqi, consistently in the top three of their year. The three-year myth of the Commoner Genius Association had turned into a joke overnight. This gave the elite scions a sense of delightful vindication, as if a great weight had been lifted after five hundred years of suppression.

With such a good opportunity, they naturally took every chance to mock them mercilessly.

Duan Ziqi turned around coldly. A piercingly cold gaze shot from his eyes, and his potent aura surged like a flash flood toward the student who had spoken.

"Pray you don't draw me in the upcoming battle... Otherwise, I'll show you what a real joke is."

Ordinarily, the person would have retorted; with everyone watching, Duan Ziqi wouldn't dare do anything to him. But that look, it was like an arrow piercing his heart. In that moment, he felt that Duan Ziqi was truly terrifying.

Just as Wang Lan had taken his seat, Jiang Xinyu quietly shifted over. "What's going on with you? Why were you late today?"

"Xinyu, he's here now, so don't worry. Didn't I tell you Lanzi wouldn't have any problems? Lanzi, you have no idea, before you arrived, Xinyu kept trying to call you... Wait, why is your phone off?"

Wang Lan bent down quietly, and the four of them leaned in curiously.

"I turned off my phone on purpose. I arrived ten minutes ago and have been secretly observing today's third-round contestants."

"Observing? Is that necessary at this time?"

"That's a long story..."

"Dear teachers, distinguished guests, fellow students! The Jiang Province martial arts competition, Suzhou City representative team selection, third round—the top ten selection match—is about to begin! All contestants, please take your places. We're about to start the draw for the matches."

The broadcast suddenly interrupted Wang Lan. Everyone pricked up their ears and looked attentively towards the stage. Wang Lan also closed his mouth and said no more.

"Since Xu Donghai, a student from Senior Year Class Eight, is unable to participate in the competition due to an accident, one student will replace Xu Donghai's spot in the twenty-advancing-to-ten match. Following the school's decision, the student with the highest average score from previous comprehensive exams among those eliminated in the first and second rounds will be selected to take Xu Donghai's place."

As the announcement concluded, the big screen instantly lit up. Rankings from previous exams quickly scrolled by. Eventually, ten names appeared on the screen, with Zhuang Haotian at the top.

When the host mentioned selecting someone based on the cumulative academic results over the past three years from the eliminated contestants, Zhuang Haotian's selection was almost a certainty. If not for his misfortune of drawing Wang Lan, he would have undoubtedly made the representative team.

Therefore, while a few might have felt some resentment, most considered his replacement of Xu Donghai in the round of twenty to be a stroke of good fortune.

However, what the students present truly cared about wasn't Zhuang Haotian replacing Xu Donghai, but the reason Xu Donghai had forfeited such an important competition. After all, making the representative team meant bonus points for the college entrance examination. Many renowned Star Martial Academies had a clear criterion: whether an applicant had represented their city or school in major events.

Zhuang Haotian, beaming with joy, ran over from the distance to join Wang Lan and the other candidates. As his gaze swept across Wang Lan, Zhuang Haoran's expression changed abruptly; remembering yesterday's embarrassing incident, his face paled slightly.

"Move over a bit," Duan Ziqi commanded coldly.

"Why? Is this seat taken?"

Zhuang Haotian was from a Star Martial Art family and usually had no conflict with Duan Ziqi. The Commoner Genius Association, led by Duan Ziqi, hadn't targeted the children of Star Martial Art families. Suddenly being snapped at by Duan Ziqi, Zhuang Haotian's face also turned somewhat unsightly.

"Can't you smell the stench of crap on yourself?" Duan Ziqi taunted coldly, raising an eyebrow.

"You—" Zhuang Haotian exploded, raising his fist. Suddenly, a hand intervened between them.

Wang Lan, sitting right behind them, separated the two on the verge of conflict with a Flame Sword. "So many people are watching, and there are guests from other schools. Let's not embarrass our academy, okay? Student Zhuang Haotian, I'm really sorry about yesterday; I didn't do it on purpose.

"As for what Student Duan Ziqi said, don't take it to heart. After all, no one knows who made off with the pants you changed out of yesterday. Whether they stink or not, only someone who's 'tasted' them would know."

"PFFT—"

At his words, the group of top twenty senior year geniuses couldn't hold back their laughter. Those who had maintained stern faces instantly burst out, some almost rolling on the floor. Even Shui Miao's mouth twitched uncontrollably as he struggled to suppress a grin.

The only one who couldn't laugh was Duan Ziqi, his face turning from livid to purple with rage.

"Whether they stink or not, only someone who's 'tasted' them would know... Hahaha... Lanzi, are you serious? I'm dying of laughter... Lanzi, could you give us a heads-up before you tell a deadpan joke next time?"

"Would it still be a deadpan joke then? Hahaha... Wang Lan, your comment reminds me of someone from last semester, nicknamed Pi. You gave him that nickname, didn't you?"

"Shut up! Have you all laughed enough?" Duan Ziqi, trembling with fury, bellowed.

"The draw for the first match is starting."

"It's out! Senior Year Class One, Wang Lan, versus Senior Year Class Four, Duan Ziqi—"

"Am I up first?" Wang Lan looked at the screen in astonishment.

"Wang Lan, I hope you're resilient enough. I'd hate to accidentally kill you," Duan Ziqi said, slowly turning his face to give Wang Lan a chilling, grim smile.