CHAPTER 160: CHAPTER 160: ARE YOU THE WOLF KING?

The carefree winter vacation flew by in the blink of an eye. While millions of schoolchildren were still immersed in the New Year festivities, the warning bells for the upcoming school term suddenly rang loud and clear.

Looking back, they realized the homework assigned by their teachers was still far from finished.

In the last few days, the students did their utmost to complete their assignments before school started. Alas, the sheer volume of work was overwhelming, and they could only step through the school gates with anxious hearts, full of regret.

"Did you finish your holiday homework?" This became the customary greeting among classmates who hadn’t seen each other for twenty days.

Those students who had dogs at home would exchange knowing smiles after greetings. The old excuse about dogs and homework never got stale; the only question was whether you actually had any unfinished work to use it on.

Compared to the overwhelming workload of regular classes, students at the Star Martial Arts Campus had a much easier time. At least their homework only required them to scribble furiously for a single day.

Companies reopened, schools started, the New Year’s atmosphere dissipated, and the calm of everyday life resumed.

Even the Tianjian Bureau, bustling with activity throughout the New Year, returned to its usual serenity.

For Wang Lan and other students in their final semester of senior high, the coming months would be the most challenging period of their lives.

While regular high school seniors were bombarded with papers and exams daily, those at the Star Martial Arts Campus engaged in daily sparring and practical combat drills. This training was no longer just hand-to-hand sparring; it now involved battles using Star Martial Skills.

Most students had yet to master any Star Martial Skills. Thus, the sparring groups were adjusted: those who had inherited Star Martial Skills formed one group, while those without practiced Basic Combat in another.

In Wang Lan’s class, fewer than twenty students possessed Star Martial Skills, the vast majority of which were D-grade or C-grade. At this point, the disparity between classmates became starkly evident to everyone.

Over the winter break, the number of experts at the Star Cloud Stage in Class One had risen to six. This included three from Star Martial Art families, plus Jiang Xinyu, Xu Xiangwen, and Gong Feiyu. These six students were perfect for three sparring pairs.

Among the other students possessing Star Martial Skills, seven were children from Star Martial families, and six came from wealthy, business-owning families. Almost all Star Martial Warriors from ordinary families could only look on with envy.

To them, classmates once considered to be of similar strength had suddenly become figures so lofty they seemed unreachable, beings they could barely aspire to.

Even a C-grade Star Martial Skill, once deployed, could likely defeat a classmate without such skills easily. However, there were two exceptions to this.

One was Xie Sisi, and the other was Wang Lan.

These two gave Liu Jie quite a headache. No matter how he divided the groups, it never seemed appropriate. Wang Lan alone could effortlessly defeat all Star Shine Stage classmates. Even the strongest among them, those who had mastered a B-grade Star Martial Skill, would be instantly defeated by Wang Lan.

On the fourth day of school, noticing his system skill points were depleted, Wang Lan brazenly challenged all students below the Star Cloud Stage. The result was rather stimulating; Mr. Liu, caught off guard, felt his blood pressure spike.

In less than ten minutes, relying solely on his dynamic vision, Wang Lan defeated every student below the Star Cloud Stage who had mastered Star Martial Skills. He proved with his strength that Mr. Liu’s grouping method was entirely meaningless.

Unfortunately, only a few students yielded skill point rewards; most did not.

Wang Lan had noticed this towards the end of the previous semester. He eventually deduced that defeating opponents much weaker than himself offered no experience or skill point rewards. By this logic, even if he defeated Mr. Liu now, he probably wouldn’t gain any skill points.

Xie Sisi’s situation was largely similar. At the beginning of the first semester, she was a kitten, a complete novice in practical combat. But by the end of the semester, she had suddenly transformed into a tigress.

Now, at the start of the new term, Xie Sisi often needed only a single move to leave her opponents on the ground, unable to get up.

This deeply troubled Mr. Liu. Xie Sisi had no Star Martial Skills to rely on, putting her at a significant disadvantage against those who did. Although they were all at the Star Shine Stage in terms of raw power, their actual combat capabilities differed significantly when Star Martial Skills were involved.

And what about Wang Lan? If word got out that a Star Shine Stage student was sparring with Star Cloud Stage students, who knows what kind of rumors would spread.

Shocking news! Suzhou No.1 Middle School’s Star Martial Class combat instructor actually made a Star Shine Stage student spar with Star Cloud Stage students! Is it a personal vendetta or an old feud? A grudge from the previous generation or a conflict of the current one?

Just thinking about such headlines was horrifying.

「On the fifth day of school, at one in the afternoon.」

Mr. Liu faced the neatly assembled students, his brow furrowed with worry and indecision.

"Xie Sisi, Wang Lan, you two step forward. The rest of you, form your usual groups," he directed.

The students shuffled quickly, forming three groups.

Nearly thirty students from ordinary backgrounds looked enviously at the other two groups. The stark difference in strength had caused them several sleepless nights recently.

Usually, everyone got along well. They would often boast and chat, sharing dreams of which Star Martial Academies they hoped to attend after the college entrance exams. Sometimes, they even engaged in a bit of over-the-top mutual praise.

"You’re the expert, I’m the novice. Your liberal arts scores are better than mine, but in combat, we’re evenly matched. You’ll definitely get into a better Star Martial Academy than me," one might say.

"No, no, your combat skills are definitely better than mine. My liberal arts scores are just a small component; they don’t really pull my average down," another would reply.

But in an instant, those past scenes felt like a resounding slap across their faces.

It turns out you were all playing possum, and I was the only real pig!

In the practical combat portion of the college entrance exam, hand-to-hand fighting wasn’t the only thing assessed; Star Martial Skills were also a key evaluation point. And though everyone was at the Star Shine Stage with roughly similar strength, students without Star Martial Skills weren’t necessarily incapable of defeating those who had them. However, the chances of victory... were actually not high. Unless, of course, one was an exception like Xie Sisi.

Xie Sisi didn’t possess any Star Martial Skills, yet every classmate would admit that within the Star Shine Stage, apart from that monster Wang Lan, there wasn’t anyone Xie Sisi couldn’t defeat.

"Alright, after careful consideration, Xie Sisi will join the second sparring group," Mr. Liu announced. "Students in the second group, Student Xie Sisi has not mastered any Star Martial Skills, so I expect you to be careful. Make sure you don’t injure her."

"Understood."

"Teacher, aren’t you being a little too cautious? We’re more afraid of being injured by the class president herself..."

"Exactly! With the class president’s strength, I bet she could rank in the top twenty of the entire grade even without Star Martial Skills."

"Just be careful, that’s all. Student Xie Sisi, what do you think?"

"No problem, Teacher. If they use Star Martial Skills against me, even if I can’t block them, I can still dodge," Xie Sisi replied confidently.

"That’s good."

"As for Student Wang Lan..." Liu Jie scratched his head. "You said you’ve mastered Star Martial Skills? What are they?"

At this question, the entire class fell silent for two seconds.

Indeed. From the very first day of the semester when groups were formed, Wang Lan had stood among the students who possessed Star Martial Skills. Yet, for four consecutive days, no one had seen him use any.

Wang Lan had relied solely on his flamboyant footwork to quickly close in on opponents and then knock them out with a single punch. From start to finish, he hadn’t used a single Star Martial Skill. Only now that Liu Jie had brought it up did the classmates suddenly realize this.

"Teacher, I’ve mastered two A-Level Star Martial Skills," Wang Lan replied dutifully. "One is Star Cloud Sword Dance, and the other is Flame Sword."

"Oh? A-Level Star Martial Skills? To what extent have you mastered them?" Liu Jie asked, his eyes gleaming.

Learning A-Level Star Martial Skills typically required one to be at the Star Cloud Stage. Of course, exceptionally talented individuals might learn them at the Star Shine Stage. However, full mastery was only possible at the Star Cloud Stage.

It was acceptable for Wang Lan to have obtained A-Level Star Martial Skills. Xu Xiangwen, Jiang Xinyu, and Gong Feiyu all had them too. Inheritance wasn’t a prerequisite; as long as one had money, they could acquire good Star Martial Skills. One couldn’t very well complain that the world was unfair—there was plenty of unfairness to go around.

Besides, even if someone could afford to buy A-Level Star Martial Skills, they still had to possess the aptitude to learn them. Having seen a great deal, Liu Jie genuinely admired students like Jiang Xinyu and Wang Lan from the bottom of his heart.

They possessed resources and talent, and yet they worked even harder than those who lacked both. If they didn’t rise to prominence and leave everyone else in the dust, would there be any natural justice?

"To what extent have I mastered them? Well... it’s hard to say. Probably to a rather high degree?"

"Hmm... In that case, do you think it’s alright if I put you in the first group...?"

"Damn!" Suddenly, a cry of shock erupted from someone in the first group.

Liu Jie’s brow furrowed, his expression instantly darkening. Hadn’t he established enough authority in the first semester? How dare someone interrupt him with a shout? And with a "Damn!" no less?

"Shit!"

Before Liu Jie could reprimand anyone, another student from the second group stared at Wang Lan, his eyes wide as if he’d seen a ghost.

"Qin Hai, Ma Chengcheng, you two, step forward! Have you no discipline? Or do you have some objection to what I just said?"

"No, Mr. Liu! Didn’t you hear Wang Lan’s introduction just now? The Star Martial Skills he said he mastered?"

"I heard him. So what?" Liu Jie retorted. "Two A-Level Star Martial Skills? Is that something to be jealous about? Let me ask you, even if two A-Level Star Martial Skills were handed to you, could you learn them? The higher the level of a Star Martial Skill, the greater the difficulty. Do you think high-level Star Martial Skills are some kind of legendary scrolls that anyone can practice and instantly become a master?"

"No, it’s those two Star Martial Skills. One is called Star Cloud Sword Dance, and the other is Flame Sword," Ma Chengcheng quickly interjected.

"Yes, I heard him. What about it?"

"Don’t they sound a bit familiar to you, Teacher?"

"They do sound a bit familiar... Star Cloud Sword Dance... Flame Sword... Shit!"

Liu Jie leaped back several steps, his face a mask of shock as he stared at the still-smiling Wang Lan.

By now, most of the students had also realized the implication of those two Star Martial Skills.

Weren’t these the signature Star Martial Skills of the Wolf King?

Furthermore, both of these Star Martial Skills were quite obscure. Or rather, most A-Level Star Martial Skills were. After the Wolf King became famous overnight from a single battle, many people had scoured information about him, hoping to find clues that might reveal his true identity.

Star Cloud Sword Dance was a Family Secret Skill belonging to a small Star Martial family with the surname Wang. This skill demanded an exceptionally high level of control over Star Power and was generally learned only by those with a natural talent for such control.

Flame Sword wasn’t excessively rare, but unleashing its true power required formidable Basic Combat abilities. And since most fire-attribute Star Martial Warriors preferred long-range attacks, why would a fire mage willingly choose the path of a Close Combat Mage?

Initially, many speculated that the Wolf King belonged to that Wang Family. However, after thorough investigation and elimination, no one from the Wang Family fit the Wolf King’s profile.

The Wang Family had also stated that while Star Cloud Sword Dance was their Family Secret Skill, it wasn’t exclusive to them. Moreover, it had been submitted to the state long ago, so it was perfectly reasonable for someone outside the Wang Family to have learned it.

Liu Jie would have never imagined that the Wolf King, the very subject of the case studies he was preparing for the entire class, was actually one of his own students!