I Have Infinite Skill Points

After Xu Xiangwen dropped him off at Star Mansion, Wang Lan once again cautioned Xu Xiangwen to be very careful and never reveal himself. The consequences would be unimaginable if he were exposed.

However, Wang Lan's worries also stemmed from his excessive concern for Xu Xiangwen, who was not one of those students without actual combat experience. Xu Xiangwen had gone through real battles in the trial field and was born with a strong sense of perception. Jiang Xinyu and the others had been able to anticipate danger so many times largely thanks to Xu Xiangwen's indispensable contributions. Moreover, Xu Xiangwen was, after all, at the Star Cloud Stage cultivation level, a strength not considered the lowest tier in the Tianjian Bureau. Even the individual they encountered this evening, who was responsible for surveilling Duan Ziqi, might not necessarily be stronger than Xu Xiangwen.

Objectively speaking, Gujian's predicament was more perilous than Xu Xiangwen's. After all, Gujian could no longer secretly monitor Duan Ziqi.

After returning home and freshening up, Wang Lan lay in bed, his head resting on the pillow.

Although they had found signs of the Demon Clan spy's activities this time, they still did not know what the Demon Clan was planning. The only action revealing the Demon Clan's purpose was their attempt to stop Wang Lan from participating in the provincial martial arts competition. Whether this was the Demon Clan's primary goal or just a way to incidentally antagonize Wang Lan remained unknown.

Unconsciously, he drifted into a daze.

Suddenly, Wang Lan's phone vibrated.

Startled awake, Wang Lan snapped his eyes open and reached for the phone on his bedside table. To his surprise, it was Xu Xiangwen calling.

"Hello, Xiangwen, what's up?"

"Lanzi, Duan Ziqi just sneakily left his house."

"You started surveillance tonight? Didn't you say you were going to buy a house?"

"It wasn't much trouble. I got a room at an express hotel, just three hundred meters away—perfect for surveillance. I just saw Duan Ziqi leaving suspiciously. Lanzi, I want to follow him."

"Share your location with me. You must maintain a distance of over three hundred meters and retreat immediately if anything seems off."

"Understood."

After hanging up, Wang Lan quickly got out of bed and dressed, simultaneously calling Xu Shiyun.

"Hello... Ah..." Xu Shiyun sounded out of breath when he answered the call, but he quickly masked it.

"Xu, is there any update from the team surveilling Duan Ziqi?"

"Nope... What's up? You sound anxious. Why aren't you sleeping in the middle of the night? Don't worry, I'll inform you immediately if Duan Ziqi makes any move. Nothing else, right? If not, I'm hanging up."

"Xu, it seems you won't be the one notifying me... I'm the one notifying you. Duan Ziqi just left his house, acting suspiciously. My friend is secretly following him, and I plan to go too."

"What? Are you sure?"

"Would I joke about something like this?"

"What's going on with Gujian? Why hasn't he reported that the surveillance target left?"

"Don't alert Gujian's team yet. I even suspect they're under counter-surveillance. Duan Ziqi slipping away in the middle of the night means he's either fleeing or meeting someone. Bring some people to back me up."

"Alright! Keep your work phone with you. I can locate you at any time."

Xu Shiyun swiftly rolled out of bed. "Honey, I..."

A stunningly beautiful woman with a cold demeanor sat against the headboard, clutching a snow-white pillow and glaring at Xu Shiyun. "How many times do you owe me?"

"Ten times, I guess?"

"Say that again!"

"Twenty times!"

"Go. If you don't make them up by next week, don't even think about leaving the house."

"You're too kind, dear!" he said, quickly pulling open the wardrobe and getting dressed. While dressing, he dialed a number. "Louzi, gather the team. Head toward my location. Remember, this is our Dark Night Action Department's first operation, so everyone be sharp."

"Understood!"

Wang Lan drove his rugged SUV, roaring out of the underground garage and speeding into the distance. In just twelve minutes, he arrived at the Ancient City District.

Jumping out of the car, he tapped on Xu Xiangwen's Penguin avatar, checking the location information Xu Xiangwen had shared.

"Xiangwen, where are you now?"

"Right here." Xu Xiangwen emerged from behind a stone pillar of a shopping mall and quickly walked over to Wang Lan. "Duan Ziqi just went into Yage Garden up ahead. He's still wandering around in the residential complex."

"Let's go. We'll follow him and see what he's up to."

Meanwhile, Xu Shiyun was also speeding toward Wang Lan's coordinates in his car, frowning deeply. He turned on the car phone.

"Hello, Captain Xu, what are your orders?"

"Are you still watching the target?"

"Yes! Target's status is normal."

"Normal? What is the target doing?"

"The target is reading under a desk lamp. He does this every day: returns from training at eleven, studies under the lamp, and turns off the lights to sleep at one o'clock."

"Got it. Keep a close watch."

"Understood."

Hanging up the phone, Xu Shiyun's expression was incredibly grim. He knew Wang Lan wouldn't joke about serious matters. If Wang Lan said Duan Ziqi had disguised himself and left, then he must have. Yet, his own subordinates responsible for surveillance were still unaware, reporting everything as usual.

Are my men too incompetent, or is Wang Lan's friend too skilled? Wait, why would Wang Lan even think to ask a friend for surveillance? Doesn't he trust my team?

Inevitably, Xu Shiyun's thoughts began to run wild.

Wang Lan and Xu Xiangwen arrived outside the Yage Garden residential complex, finding a spot without surveillance cameras.

"Duan Ziqi moved to the east gate and entered the property management office. If he's in there, they have access to all the surveillance cameras in the complex. We need to approach while avoiding all camera coverage," Xu Xiangwen said gravely.

"You stay here and report the camera locations to me. My colleagues will be here later to provide backup. You stay here and meet up with them."

"But... are you sure you'll be alright?"

"You know my strength, don't you?"

Xu Xiangwen recalled the scene where Wang Lan, in his Phoenix form, had obliterated the Star Cloud Stage Spider King with a single punch. Right... there really wasn't much to worry about.

Wang Lan patted Xu Xiangwen's shoulder lightly, then his figure flashed as he jumped into the residential complex.

"There are five cameras ahead: one in the top-left corner, one three meters up on the external wall of Building 15, one on the streetlight opposite, and one hidden in the tree canopy..."

Xu Xiangwen's voice came through the earpiece, and Wang Lan instantly located all five cameras.

Speaking of which, I also possess Pupil Skill-type Star Martial Skills now, but even though they're both eye-based, there's a huge difference. My eyes are only for dynamic visual capture and locking onto distant targets. The magnification is really just how my brain processes it; in essence, it's still about locking on.

Xu Xiangwen's eyes, besides farsight and X-ray vision, must also have the ability to categorize and lock onto targets. Otherwise, how could he have found the camera hidden in the tree canopy so precisely and quickly?

There are so many strange and varied senses in this world, leading to the evolution of numerous eye-based Star Martial Skills and Inborn Talents of the Bloodline. Xu Xiangwen's Heavenly Eye is undoubtedly a very powerful ability among the many functional Pupil Skills.

Thanks to Xu Xiangwen's flawless guidance, clearing all blind spots, Wang Lan silently crept to the wall outside the property management office where Duan Ziqi had entered.

"Do you know how important the provincial martial arts competition is to me? If I don't participate, I can't possibly get into one of the Four Great Academies! If I can't get into one of the Four Great Academies, then the value you saw in training me will be gone! Isn't establishing a foothold for me in the human race our mutual goal? Why are you stopping me?"

Just as Wang Lan pressed himself against the corner of the wall, Duan Ziqi's furious voice roared from inside.

"You shouldn't have come." After Duan Ziqi's roar subsided, a slightly hoarse, androgynous voice replied from inside.

"You've said that three times now. But I need an explanation! If you don't give me one, we'll fight to the bitter end!"

"Fight to the bitter end?" the other party retorted mockingly. "With what? Have you forgotten something? Without my Divine Clan, you would be nothing. You're just an orphan, abandoned at the doorstep of an orphanage like trash by your parents.

"Even though you awakened your Star Martial Warrior talent at eight, you were still nothing. It took you six years just to crawl from the initial stage to the middle stage of the Starlight realm.

"Without my grooming, you wouldn't be the Duan Ziqi you are today. Fight to the bitter end? You're just a dog I raised, and not the only one. If you don't obey, I don't mind replacing you."

The chilling aura instantly made the hair on Duan Ziqi's back stand on end, fear flickering deep within his pupils.

Seeing the fear in Duan Ziqi, a flicker of satisfaction appeared in the speaker's eyes. "I've told you, you possess infinite potential. But potential is merely potential. Until you convert that potential into actual strength, you have neither the right nor the power to resist me."

Duan Ziqi fell silent, despair etched across his face.

"I'm fed up with struggling at the bottom! If I can't get into one of the Four Great Academies, I'd rather die!"

"Don't worry. You'll definitely get into one of the Four Great Academies. In fact, I can even secure you a guaranteed admission spot. But, you have to be obedient."

"Is that why you won't let me defeat Wang Lan? Your previous instructions were to prevent Wang Lan from participating in the provincial martial arts competition."

"No! I'm not letting you defeat Wang Lan for your own safety. That foolish plan of yours not only failed to achieve its objective but also successfully alerted the Tianjian Bureau.

"If you reveal your intent to ambush Wang Lan again, you'll be completely exposed, and my five years of effort will be wasted. Do you understand? Although you can be disobedient at times, I'm reluctant to destroy you unless absolutely necessary."

"You think I can't defeat Wang Lan? Or that he might even kill me?"

"Of course, you can't defeat Wang Lan. More than one elite of my Divine Clan has already died at his hands. Also, I never expected you to use such a stupid method as framing Wang Lan. He's a Red Captain in the Tianjian Bureau; your attempt to frame him was a meaningless act of walking into a trap."

"Ah?" Duan Ziqi let out an involuntary cry of astonishment, his eyes wide with disbelief.

He could accept Wang Lan being slightly better than him, but not *much* better. According to his superior, even ten of him combined couldn't compare to Wang Lan.

How could he accept this?

"Impossible... right? Wang Lan is only at the Star Shine Stage."

"A person's power isn't just about raw strength. If strength alone determined superiority, the Divine Clan would have dominated all the realms ages ago."

Meanwhile, outside Yage Garden, seven or eight cars screeched to a halt at the entrance of the residential complex. "Wang Lan! Wang Lan—"

Xu Shiyun had made several calls to Wang Lan on the way, but they all went unanswered, giving him a bad feeling. The only consolation was that Wang Lan's location was still clearly indicated here.

"Don't move! There's a camera here—" Xu Xiangwen suddenly exclaimed.

"Who's there?" Instantly, several terrifying auras pressed down on Xu Xiangwen.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! The urgent blare of an alarm also sounded from the property management office.