CHAPTER 50: CHAPTER 50 A-LEVEL STAR MARTIAL SKILL: FLAME SWORD

Watching as Xu Shiyun was forced into a constant retreat and about to be pushed out of the ring, a sudden surge of Star Power erupted from his body, overpowering Wang Lan with its raw force.

"Star Cloud Sword Dance, break!"

Xu Shiyun, leaning on the baseball bat and panting heavily, looked at Wang Lan in front of him. At this moment, the arrogance he had displayed before was nowhere to be seen; instead, there was a sense of gravity and recognition.

Although Wang Lan was only in the early stages of the Star Shine Stage, and Xu Shiyun had reached the mid-phase of the Star Cloud Stage, it was impossible for someone who could achieve the Star Shine Stage at such a young age to be limited to just the Star Cloud Stage in the future.

Luckily for him, Xu Shiyun had no idea that Wang Lan had only awakened a mere fifteen days ago; otherwise, he might have very well knelt.

"He’s cheating like that, and you’re not going to do anything about it?" Wang Lan asked, pointing at Xu Shiyun while addressing the camera. "It was agreed that he wouldn’t use any Star Martial Skills."

"Not using Star Martial Skills doesn’t mean not using Star Power. What’s the issue?"

"Is there a difference?" Wang Lan retorted.

"Did you ever go to school? You don’t know the difference between Star Power and Star Martial Skills? Without using Star Power, could my strength and speed keep up with you? Without Star Power, I’m just an ordinary person. How could I possibly fight you, a Star Martial Warrior?"

"Sorry, never been to school," Wang Lan said, raising the battered Octagonal Han Sword in his hand. Goodness, this sword is pitted and can’t be used anymore.

"Kid, you do have some skills... Use whatever tricks you have. It would be a pity to fail the assessment after all this effort."

"Alright then, Captain Xu, watch out!" Wang Lan’s eyes suddenly sharpened. He held the Octagonal Han Sword in front of him, his body surrounded by swirling Star Power that instantly formed a rotating starwheel halo.

"It’s a fake, right?" In the monitoring room, Li Weixin from the Action Department didn’t even notice his coffee spilling as he stared, eyes wide, at Wang Lan’s seemingly still yet dynamically powerful aura.

"Is this also a move from the Star Cloud Sword Dance? Wang, how come I’ve never seen you use it? This must be an advanced technique of the Star Cloud Sword Dance, right? Are you sure this guy isn’t a Demon? Maybe... we should take him back for research?" He MingXue asked in a harsh tone.

"Ah... That can’t be right... I don’t even know this technique." Wang Qianfeng was utterly baffled. He definitely never learned it before... It can’t be wrong; it’s impossible he learned it from someone else... He’s only been learning for one day... One day... Impossible... Even with a high IQ... I don’t even know this technique myself, and the Star Cloud Sword Dance is my family’s legacy! How could there be techniques I don’t know? Did he develop it himself? That can’t be right, only one day... This...

At this moment, Wang Qianfeng was utterly lost in a philosophical quandary, questioning who he was, where he was, and whether the world around him was illusion or reality.

In the visual feed, Wang Lan’s figure turned into numerous afterimages, his footsteps taking positions in each corner of three-dimensional space; even the void acted as his platform.

Xu Shiyun’s face was filled with seriousness. Suddenly, the metal baseball bat swung fiercely. Not being able to use Star Martial Skills was a huge disadvantage, especially against a Star Shine Stage opponent like Wang Lan, whose actions couldn’t be predicted with common sense.

At this moment, Xu Shiyun had only one thought in mind: WTF, is this the Star Shine Stage? His fundamentals are too solid, right? Almost none of the typical weaknesses of the Star Shine Stage are present; the lower and upper limits of his strength almost entirely overlap.

Fortunately, Xu Shiyun also had an advantage: Star Power! The Star Power of the Star Shine Stage was several times that of the Starlight Stage, and the difference in Star Power between the Star Cloud Stage and the Star Shine Stage was like night and day.

Even if I can’t suppress you with Star Martial Skills, I can still bulldoze you with Star Power. Once your Star Power is depleted, that will be my chance to kick you while you’re down... Huh?

Suddenly, Wang Lan’s body transformed into a rapidly spinning drill, hitting Xu Shiyun with the ferocity of a demonic gust.

"Thinking of a desperate, all-or-nothing move? Too naive!" Star Power erupted around Xu Shiyun, and the alloy baseball bat suddenly burst with starlight.

BOOM—

The impact exploded, and a fierce wind swept outwards. The hats of the staff around the testing area were instantly sent flying into the sky.

Xu Shiyun’s body continuously moved backward, his feet planted firmly like stakes, gouging two deep trenches in the ground.

Just as he was about to be pushed out of the circle, Wang Lan’s Star Power was exhausted, and the Gale Wolf Fang Kill dissipated into a gentle breeze.

"Heh heh heh... What a pity... So close..."

"Inch Strength Fist!" Suddenly, Wang Lan, landing from the air without any pause, rushed towards Xu Shiyun the moment his feet touched the ground.

Facing a Wang Lan devoid of Star Power, Xu Shiyun was arrogant. With no Star Power left, how could you hope to defeat me with just weak punches? Even if I just stand here without moving...

UGH—

Even though Xu Shiyun was protected by Star Power, Wang Lan’s Inch Strength Fist could shatter even a junior Demon Soldier with a single punch. The Inch Strength, having advanced to the silver level, had long transcended the traditional scope of Inch Strength. Even Huang Feilong, who had taught Wang Lan Inch Strength, couldn’t comprehend the level his Inch Strength Fist had reached.

Star Power alone could not stop the force of the Inch Strength Fist.

So, Xu Shiyun, overly confident, took Wang Lan’s punch directly and doubled over like a shrimp.

In the monitoring room, Wang Qianfeng wordlessly smacked his forehead.

How embarrassing. This is my Intelligence Department’s key player, the squadron captain of the Intelligence Department, Xu Shiyun? To actually... actually... make such a foolish, low-level mistake. If it weren’t for overconfidence, if he hadn’t tried to meet force with force, even if he didn’t dodge and countered with a martial skill, he wouldn’t have been so embarrassingly defeated, right? The man convulsing on the ground, vomiting bile—is he still worth keeping?

"Assessment passed!"

"Defeating an opponent of a higher rank: reward 100 experience points and 10 skill points! Completing the test assessment: reward 500 experience points and 50 skill points."

The announcement and the system alert sounded almost simultaneously. Wang Lan breathed a sigh of relief. "Brother Xu, are you alright?"

"Don’t call me Brother Xu... I’m not the least bit frail... Call me... Brother Shi... Ouch... Your punch... That was an ancient martial art, right? Unexpected... I was careless..."

As for whether you’re frail or not, isn’t that obvious from the current situation? Wang Lan thought.

Wang Lan curled his lips slightly and reached out to help Xu Shiyun up, guiding him to a nearby seat to rest.

"You, come with me!" Unnoticed, Wang Qianfeng had arrived at the testing ground. He didn’t even spare a glance at Xu Shiyun, who was moaning.

Wang Qianfeng led Wang Lan to the personnel department, where he received a special smartphone, a work ID card, two sets of military uniforms, and two sets of civilian Zhongshan suits.

Wang Lan opened his work pass: Tianjian Bureau Intelligence Department employee. Employee ID: Su E*****.

Seeing this seven-character ID, Wang Lan’s mouth twitched. "A license plate number?"

"No! It’s just a bit similar. ’Su’ is the regional designator, and ’E’ followed by the five digits is your specific number in Suzhou City."

"Oh!"

"Come with me!"

Wang Lan had thought that after the processing was complete, he would be asked to leave. Unexpectedly, he was taken to Wang Qianfeng’s office. Inside, another man was gracefully preparing tea.

Wang Lan found the man’s appearance strangely familiar.

"He Lao’er, did you pick the lock on my cabinet?"

"Wang, you had such good tea hidden away; that’s not generous of you. This tea is wasted in your hands. Come, taste my craftsmanship." As he spoke, he suddenly smiled at Wang Lan. "Wang Lan, don’t be shy, sit down."

This attitude made Wang Lan even more puzzled. He’s a lieutenant colonel, on the same level as Wang Qianfeng. If Wang Qianfeng was treating me politely because he admired my talent, then this man in front of me gave me the impression that I was very special in their eyes.

"Wang Lan, let me introduce you. His name is He MingXue; he’s the brother of He Jinze, whom you’ve met. He’s the director of the Law Enforcement Department of Suzhou City’s Tianjian Bureau."

"Greetings, Sir!" Wang Lan quickly snapped to attention and saluted.

"Alright, no outsiders here. Sit down." He MingXue said with a light smile. "Are you wondering if I know you?"

"Yes... a bit."

"I met you when you were very young. Wang Qianfeng and I are in Suzhou’s Tianjian Bureau because of you. Eight years ago, Wang and I were your mother’s subordinates."

A look of realization crossed Wang Lan’s face—it indeed had something to do with his mother.

"My mother... What exactly is her situation?"

"This is the second time you’ve asked this question, but I don’t mind telling you for the second time. We don’t know, and even if we did, we couldn’t say," Wang Qianfeng said indifferently.

"Then can you at least tell me whether she is alive or not?" Wang Lan called out, somewhat impatiently.

"She might still be alive."

"Might?"

"I can only say ’might’."

Alright then! Wang Lan gave up, realizing it was probably impossible to get anything out of these two.

"Do the two sirs have any orders for me? If not... may I take my leave?"

"We don’t really have any orders. It’s just to let you know that after joining the Tianjian Bureau, you have people looking out for you! If you have troubles or face any difficulties, you can speak to us, and we will take care of you. By the way, as a first-meeting gift, shall I give you a Star Martial Skill?"

"What? Sure—" After a brief moment of astonishment, Wang Lan readily agreed, not the least bit polite.

"Heh... quite straightforward?"

"As a soldier, there’s no need to beat around the bush."

"You adapt to your identity quite well. But remember, a soldier isn’t a soldier simply because he wears the uniform. Military attire, military bearing, military backbone, and military soul—all are indispensable. You have the fire attribute. The Star Martial Skill I’ll teach you is called Flame Sword. It’s a nature transformation of the fire attribute, released from your fingertips as a blade. The temperature of the flame can be increased through practice, and the Flame Sword can manifest in seven different colors of flame, each with its own unique power. It’s an A-class Star Martial Skill with significant power. Satisfied?"

"Satisfied..." Before he had finished speaking, He MingXue’s figure blurred, leaving an afterimage as he appeared in front of Wang Lan, his two fingers, posed like a sword, touching Wang Lan’s forehead. In an instant, the knowledge of how to cultivate the Flame Sword was imprinted into Wang Lan’s mind.

After an unknown amount of time, a prompt appeared in his mind: A learnable skill has been detected. Would you like to spend skill points to learn it?

Isn’t that a silly question? As if I could learn it without spending them.

He promptly spent the skill points, successfully unlocking the Flame Sword skill.

"Have you remembered it?" He MingXue asked with a smile.

"I have!" Wang Lan nodded.

"Have you mastered it?" He MingXue asked, as if on a whim, then immediately laughed at himself. How could one master it instantly? It’s not like an elementary school math problem where you see the answer at a glance.

Although the principle of the Flame Sword was simple, one needed to fully grasp the nature transformation of Star Power, be able to perfectly stabilize this transformation, and release it through the meridians in the hands.

Without a period of arduous training, forget releasing the Flame Sword, even just summoning a flame in one’s hand would be...

HISS!

Wang Lan held his fingers together vertically in front of him, and a jet of flame shot up from his fingertips. It wasn’t a blazing, rising fire, but rather like the flame from a flame-cutting torch. A foot-long, triangular, red Flame Sword formed in front of Wang Lan’s fingers.

CLACK—

That was the distinct sound of jaws dropping to the floor.