I Have Infinite Skill Points

Although Gong Jian spoke casually and with ease, Wang Lan knew that this was a special trip abroad made by the Vermilion Bird Squad just for him, destroying an International Hunter Organization merely to collect a suitable Star Martial Skill for him.

"Thank you!" Wang Lan stretched out his hand, caressing the metal box, and said with some gravity.

"Don't be so sentimental if you're a man. Who made you such a freak? You're clearly at the Star Shine Stage, yet you can master A-rank Star Martial Skills so well. You're clearly Fire Attribute, yet you also manage to learn Thunder Attribute.

Fortunately, you do have one normal aspect: a deficiency in Star Power. That's a shortcoming, limiting the Star Martial Skills you can learn. Thunder Snake involves highly concentrating Thunder Attribute Star Power. During its execution, your body will seem as if entwined by a Thunder Snake. When you unleash it, striking with the Thunder Snake, this Star Martial Skill has potential for further development. Discover it on your own."

"A Thunder Snake?"

"If it could only manifest a single Thunder Snake, would it even qualify as an A-rank Star Martial Skill? The number of Thunder Snakes depends on the strength of your Star Power. This Star Martial Skill has high potential for growth and is very controllable. Honestly, I'm even tempted by it."

"Thank you." Wang Lan lifted the metal box and stood up.

"Hey? Haven't you forgotten something?"

"What?"

"Paying the bill! Do you think A-rank Star Martial Skills are free? That'll be 8,000,000. Thank you for your patronage."

Regarding money, Wang Lan didn't feel too strongly about it. He didn't even know how many zeros were in his bank account; having one more or one less didn't matter to him. Besides, his money seemed to have the ability to reproduce itself—the more he spent, the more he seemed to have.

Leaving the Star Martial Hall, he headed straight for the Star Mansion.

After parking the car, Wang Lan jumped out impatiently and opened the metal box. As expected, the A-rank Star Martial Skill was contained within an intermediate Soul Bead. Holding the Soul Bead in his palm, with a gentle absorption, a mass of Star Power mixed with a stream of spiritual information surged into Wang Lan's mind.

"Discovery of learnable Star Martial Skill, would you like to expend 100 skill points to learn?"

Did he even need to ask? Even after using the Phoenix Form twice, Wang Lan still had 2,000 skill points in reserve; learning another A-rank Star Martial Skill wasn't a problem.

He added 100 skill points, and on the Star Martial Skill page, the icon for Thunder Snake lit up. It depicted a cobra formed from lightning—fierce and cruel, with chilling fangs.

Wang Lan didn't continue to add points, instead reflecting on the unique aspects of this Star Martial Skill. How should he put it? Thunder Attribute Star Martial Skills and Fire Attribute Star Martial Skills are as different as apples and oranges. Both fall under the same broad category, yet they're fundamentally different. The characteristic of the Fire Attribute is ferocity: Star Power colliding and annihilating to release immense energy. Yet, the Thunder Attribute is all about concentration—compressing Thunder Attribute Star Power, a terrifying compression. How much Star Power would be left to execute a Star Martial Skill after such compression? I dare not guess; it might be disappointingly small. For comparison, using the same amount of Star Power to execute a Fireball could produce one as big as a wheel. But to execute a Thunderball? One might only manage something the size of a ping-pong ball.

I finally understand why Thunder Attribute Star Martial Warriors deplete their Star Power so quickly! Unless they possess Star Power storage skills or have an exceptional natural talent, it's common for Thunder Attribute Star Martial Warriors to lack stamina in the world of Star Martial Arts. The Thunder Attribute basically says, 'Apart from the Wind Attribute, everyone else here is trash.' Then the other attributes can immediately retort, 'You only last three seconds! After those three seconds, if I'm not dead, you will be!' But typically, the Thunder Attribute seldom fails to achieve results after that initial burst of power.

Previously, I didn't understand. I thought it was some kind of divine fairness—giving the Thunder Attribute unparalleled speed and destructive power but forgetting to endow its Star Martial Warriors with abundant Star Power. Now I finally understand: it's not that the Star Martial Warriors lack Star Power, it's that the Thunder Attribute consumes so much of it! The incredible speed and explosive power of the Thunder Attribute make perfect sense now. Concentration is essence. If, after all that compression, there wasn't frightening speed and immense destructive power, then Star Martial Warriors of that attribute might as well end themselves to apologize to the world! After understanding this, I could finally comprehend that saying: Glory is what others see; only the one experiencing it truly knows what lies behind it.

Wang Lan arrived at the training arena, activated his PS Armor, and began channeling Star Power towards the target armor mounted on the wall.

Instantly, Star Power flickered around Wang Lan, and the sound of electrical arcs crackling began to circulate around him. As more and more arcs appeared, his body gradually became enveloped in blue electricity, visible currents flowing around him like tiny streams.

SSSS—

Suddenly, a sharp thundering noise resounded, and a Thunder Snake, as thick as an arm, slithered over Wang Lan's body. He raised his arm and instantly activated the Star Martial Skill.

The Thunder Snake burst forth from Wang Lan's arm, shooting toward the PS Armor in front of him.

BOOM—

"Twenty energy points."

Wow, it truly lives up to being a Star Martial Skill that consumed nearly a third of my Star Power! To think it could deal twenty energy points of damage at only the Silver One stage. Even Crescent Arrow, without using a composite skill, only reached this damage output at Silver Seven. So, A-rank Star Martial Skills, even if they are of the same rank, can have vastly different outcomes depending on their focus. The Thunder Snake's activation speed, Star Power consumption, and damage output weren't entirely satisfactory. However, considering this was only at Silver One and I'd just learned to execute it, it wasn't too surprising.

After adding 100 skill points, Thunder Snake instantly advanced to Silver Two.

Upon casting it again, the activation speed was noticeably faster, and the Star Power consumption was slightly less than at Silver One. The Silver Two Thunder Snake also shot out more quickly, making it somewhat more effective.

He continued adding points, reaching Silver Three.

By Silver Three, the Thunder Snake could change direction mid-air. After all, it wouldn't live up to the 'Snake' in its name if it couldn't perform serpentine attacks. After unleashing it, Wang Lan had one opportunity to alter its trajectory. At this stage, the Thunder Snake Star Martial Skill was quite polished.

Casting Thunder Snake now only took three seconds, matching the speed of most Star Shine Stage Star Martial Warriors when launching their Star Martial Skills. But this level was still not enough for me. Whether it was Flame Sword or Star Cloud Sword Dance, I could cast them instantly. Even Crescent Arrow, I launched within two seconds. I need to add more points!

When Thunder Snake reached Silver Five, the casting speed had been reduced to under two seconds. But this is already the limit at the Silver level; any further reduction in casting time will be very difficult.

At Silver Five, Wang Lan could cultivate two Thunder Snakes simultaneously, launching them from both hands. He could also cultivate a single Thunder Snake as thick as a thigh, with a destructive power of fifty energy points.

This destructive power is comparable to the weakest Fire Arrow. But for Thunder Snake, this level of power is just the starting point. As for its ultimate potential, I, at the Star Shine Stage, have no chance to experience it yet.

What truly brought Wang Lan a pleasant surprise was that, like Crescent Arrow, Thunder Snake also came with an auxiliary ability.

Or, to be more precise, it's not exactly a Star Martial Skill, but a derived ability that manifests when Thunder Snake is cast. It's a state every Thunder Attribute Star Martial Warrior dreams of achieving: physical activation!

Physical activation is the first clear milestone for Thunder Attribute Star Martial Warriors. Controlling Thunder Attribute Star Power isn't easy, but as the saying goes, resourceful people always find a way; there are always more solutions than problems.

No one knows when it started, but Thunder Attribute Star Martial Warriors became dedicated to wrestling control over the Thunder Attribute.

'You won't let me control you? I'll control you no matter what! A huge blob that's hard to control? No problem, I'll just fragment it to make it manageable, right?' Such was their thinking. How do you make a mass of metal flow? One method is to melt it. But melting requires extremely high temperatures; can a normal body withstand that? So, another method is to break the metal down into tiny steel beads. Sand flows based on this principle, so this seemed like the only feasible way to control the Thunder Attribute. But another problem arose: the Thunder Attribute is characterized by concentration. If it's divided into fine grains, can it still truly be called the Thunder Attribute?

Then, some madmen turned their attention to human cells.

'Look at how dense and compact human cells are! If we could use cells as conduits for our Thunder Attribute Star Power, wouldn't that be wonderful?' they thought.

After a heavy price was paid, the first Star Martial Warrior capable of Thunder Activity appeared. For a time, he became the most dazzling figure on the battlefield, transforming into arcs of electricity and moving at lightning speed, instantly stealing the spotlight from Wind Attribute Star Martial Warriors.

The Thunder Attribute Star Martial Warriors are the most unyielding among all warriors; when in doubt, they charge ahead, and when facing difficulties, they power through. One person's success led others to follow suit, and various methods of achieving physical activation were developed. Whether or not one could achieve physical activation thus became the measure of how far a Thunder Attribute Star Martial Warrior could advance.

After all, whether one can hit a target with a Thunder Attribute Star Martial Skill is debatable, but it definitely can't hit a Star Martial Warrior whose body has undergone physical activation. With physical activation, one's speed and strength reach terrifying levels, and they also become immune to most lightning and electrical damage.

Take Zhuang Haotian, for example. Why was he so confident his Thunder Activity ability would let him shine? With speed that fast, exceeding all limits, what would you fear if even Star Martial Skills couldn't catch up to you?

Although Thunder Snake wasn't a Star Martial Skill specifically for Thunder Activity, it could derive the Thunder Activity ability. This is the value of high-rank Star Martial Skills: even if their primary function isn't a particular ability, they inherently possess it.

It's like smartphones: their main features are internet browsing and gaming, but they still retain camera functions, right? I might be able to counter Thunder Activity in others, but that doesn't mean the ability isn't strong. Honestly, I was so envious my eyes turned red. If I had dynamic vision combined with super-fast reflexes, I can't even imagine how conceited I might become! Besides, countering Zhuang Haotian's and Xu Xiangwen's activation abilities wasn't a big deal. It would be truly remarkable to counter someone like He MingXue. But I could only dream about it; I saw what happened that day. When He MingXue fully unleashed his Thunder Attribute, even in my Phoenix Form, I couldn't keep up with half his speed.

If Silver Five was just barely touching upon Thunder Activity, then at Silver Six, Thunder Activity could genuinely be activated. After just three seconds of activation, Wang Lan felt his body become a terrifying sieve, Star Power leaking out from countless pores all over him.

Frightened, Wang Lan quickly deactivated Thunder Activity. Damn, this Star Power consumption... it's terrifying! I finally understood Zhuang Haotian's frustration. To have a Star Martial Skill with such terrifying consumption, only for its incredible speed to be countered and defeated in seconds? If it were me, I'd probably start doubting life itself.

At this point, Wang Lan no longer hesitated and upgraded Thunder Snake directly to Silver Nine.

BOOM— It was as if a quantitative change had triggered a qualitative one; Wang Lan felt his mind explode with new understanding.

At that very moment, the system's prompt echoed in his mind, "Combinable Star Martial Skill detected. Do you wish to spend 1,000 skill points to combine?"