CHAPTER 58: CHAPTER 58 HOW HAVE YOU SURVIVED ALL THESE YEARS?

Ever since then, Wang Lan’s life seemed to have returned to its former routine. Although Wang Lan was not a talkative person, he was very approachable and easy to get along with.

In his previous class on the neighboring campus, which was full of academic powerhouses, there was fierce but veiled competition. Yet, Wang Lan managed to get along very well with every student. He could shoot the breeze with the top students and the strugglers alike.

Now that he was in Class One of the third year of the Star Martial Class, Wang Lan quickly navigated various social circles like a fish in water. They were happy to engage with Wang Lan, and he was just as happy to be on good terms with them—all except for Song Bo’s group of four.

On the tenth day of school, Wang Lan found himself in an academic crisis.

The revered "Academic God" unexpectedly failed to secure first place in the initial exam, bested by the Ice and Snow Queen.

That day, the sky was exceptionally clear; that day, Jiang Xinyu was particularly haughty.

That day, the way Jiang Xinyu looked at Wang Lan, as if he were her personal property, sent a shiver down his spine. It was just one win; was it necessary to be so smug?

After class, Wang Lan stared blankly at the question before him: "Please provide a detailed analysis of the rules of change and the operational formula for the transformation of Star Power forms, and specify the seven key points.

Please provide a detailed analysis of the operational formula for the changes in the properties of Star Power, the three major protective measures to ensure property attributes do not backlash, and the three key points..."

Such specialized Star Martial Art knowledge questions could be easily answered by those who knew them. Even those with a half-baked understanding could try to bluff their way through. But for someone like Wang Lan, who was clueless, all he could write was "Solution:".

"Wang Lan, don’t worry, relax and don’t overthink things. Even if you didn’t come first, you still ranked fifth, right? It’s fine; Jiang Xinyu’s past performance wasn’t beneath yours, and she was only a few points behind you in each test. This time, it was a Star Martial Art category exam. You didn’t have the home-field advantage, so it’s natural that you lost..." Mingyue Wucheng said consolingly, wrapping an arm around Wang Lan’s shoulder.

After all, being revered as an "Academic God," losing the first test after transferring schools must have been tough, so Mingyue Wucheng came to offer comfort.

However, why did seeing Wang Lan fall from his pedestal feel so incredibly satisfying? No, I must hold back the laughter. But what if I can’t help it?

"The question wasn’t beyond the syllabus, was it?" Wang Lan was still bothered. Logically, he had skimmed through the Star Martial Class’s high school textbooks in a month. Even if he hadn’t mastered everything using his self-devised learning method, he shouldn’t be completely clueless. Even if he didn’t know the answer, he should at least have some impression. But when it came to the transformation of Star Power forms and properties, Wang Lan was at a complete loss.

"It wasn’t beyond the syllabus; this is a practical Star Martial Art course!" Jiang Xinyu said proudly, lifting her head. "It’s not in the textbooks, but the Star Martial Art teacher covers it. Plus, they said it would definitely be on the college entrance exam."

"Wang Lan, if you don’t know, I’ll demonstrate for you. Don’t underestimate these two knowledge points; they are prerequisites for learning Star Martial Skills. If you can’t master the transformation of Star Power forms and properties, you won’t be able to learn ninety percent of Star Martial Skills. For form transformation, the most important thing is control over Star Power. To put it simply, Star Power in your hands should be as malleable as playdough," Mingyue Wucheng explained.

As he spoke, Mingyue Wucheng spread out his hand, and a mass of Star Power slowly took shape in his palm.

"The key is to extend from the theoretical knowledge of Star Power. The source of Star Power is cellular energy, and we can control Star Power because we have spiritual power. By mixing spiritual power with Star Power, allowing them to completely fuse, one gains control over the Star Power. The more thorough the fusion, the stronger the control. For beginners, the ratio of spiritual power to Star Power is generally one-to-five; a better one is one-to-three. This requires training. The optimal fusion ratio is one-to-one. Of course, a true master can achieve a ratio where the spiritual power component is even less than one. Once fusion is achieved, look..."

The ball of Star Power in Mingyue Wucheng’s hand suddenly began to change shape. In a moment, it became a sphere, then it squared off. One second it flowed like water, the next it spun like a vortex.

"Impressive... Mingyue Wucheng, have you achieved perfect control over your Star Power?"

"How could it be so fast? I’m only at a one to one-point-five ratio now. To achieve perfection would take seven or eight years of dedicated practice..."

Suddenly, Mingyue Wucheng’s eyes bulged, and the other students watching his demonstration were all dumbfounded.

Actually, as soon as Mingyue Wucheng completed the demonstration of form transformation, Wang Lan suddenly realized he seemed capable of it. The Silver-rank Star Martial Skill, Star Cloud Sword Dance, was an application of Star Power form transformation—and an advanced one at that. The prerequisite for learning this Star Martial Skill was perfect control over Star Power form transformation.

Don’t underestimate this theory and control method. It might look simple, but actually doing it is very difficult. It’s a skill honed through meticulous effort, like performing surgery. Theoretically, it’s just a few steps: make an incision, separate or suture, and then stitch up. But try doing it yourself. It involves countless subtle operations, requiring understanding, experience, and muscle memory, all working in concert. For Mingyue Wucheng to achieve a one to one-point-five control ratio at his age truly earned him the title of a genius of a Star Martial Art family.

Wang Lan, on the other hand, had mastered Star Power form transformation solely by allocating points. Those initial one hundred skill points certainly hadn’t been wasted. He was the type who could do things but couldn’t explain the theory behind them. Now, after listening to Mingyue Wucheng, he instantly understood.

He spread his palm, and one mass of Star Power split into two.

The two masses of Star Power turned into two stick figures, which then, dammit, performed a blockbuster-level martial arts sequence right in Wang Lan’s palm.

The entire classroom... fell into dead silence.

SNAP!

The mass of Star Power in Mingyue Wucheng’s palm... burst.

Is this even the same concept? Is this a whole different realm? Mingyue Wucheng is just managing to roll Star Power into a ball, and you—dammit—are already using it to shoot blockbuster movies? It’s like I just invented the bicycle and was proudly announcing my genius, then you roll up in a Ferrari you invented!

"FUCK!" Someone, no one knew who, suddenly let out a deep-throated roar.

All the students snapped back to reality in an instant...

Jiang Xinyu glared at Wang Lan resentfully. "You did that on purpose, didn’t you?"

Did she even need to ask? Wasn’t it blatantly obvious? He could control Star Power form transformation to a level that made others despair, and he was claiming he couldn’t solve that problem?

Mingyue Wucheng currently wished he could just take off his shoe and smack Wang Lan with it.

I was sincerely teaching you, and you were there acting like a complete newbie, all humble and eager for guidance. Then you suddenly pulled a stunt that nearly threw out my back!

"Not at all..." Wang Lan said, his face a mask of innocence. "I really didn’t know the theory. But now that Mingyue Wucheng explained it, I get it. I could do it before, sure, but I just assumed it was something every Star Martial Warrior naturally grasped after awakening their Star Power. I had no idea that *this* was what ’Star Power form transformation’ referred to, you know?"

The moment these words came out, the number of students harboring murderous intent instantly skyrocketed tenfold.

Seriously? Is that something a human being would even say?

Mingyue Wucheng silently turned to leave, but just as he was about to go, Wang Lan grabbed his arm.

"Mingyue Wucheng, what about property transformation?"

A vein throbbed on Mingyue Wucheng’s forehead. You still want to ask about property transformation? Wasn’t being shown up once enough? You want to go through it again?

"Wang Lan, don’t be too much of a show-off... you’ll get beaten up!"

"I’m really asking sincerely. Look, I spent two years at the neighboring high school campus, so I’m two years behind on the Star Martial Class curriculum. Although I crammed for a month, there are still so many knowledge points I’ve never even heard of. Great Mingyue... please enlighten me..."

It was like an arrow to the heart for all the classmates!

He spent a month catching up on three years of curriculum and still ranked fifth in the class... By his logic, everyone from sixth to fiftieth place should just commit seppuku out of shame. They had no right to live. This guy isn’t human; he’s an absolute monster!

Mingyue Wucheng slowly turned back, looking deeply into Wang Lan’s eyes.

"I’ve always had a question, and I hope Wang Lan can clear my doubts."

"Please ask, Mingyue Wucheng."

"Back at your old school campus, how did you even survive? Didn’t anyone there want to beat you to death?"

"How could they? We were all loving and caring classmates. Why would anyone think that..."

Wang Lan’s smile was as refreshing as the spring breeze, but the images flashing through his mind were...

"Wang Lan, go die!"

"AARGH—I can’t take it anymore! Don’t stop me! Let me beat this show-off to death! Consider it a noble sacrifice, enacting justice on behalf of the heavens!"

"Wang Lan, could you perhaps teach one how to synthesize highly controlled hazardous substances through chemical reactions using readily available materials?"

"Such as?"

"Elements in the fifth and sixth columns of the periodic table..."

"You should use nuclear fusion."

Come to think of it, how did he manage to befriend all his classmates? It was all for the sake of his own precious life!

"Mingyue Wucheng, I’m genuinely asking for guidance."

"Everyone has their own Star power attributes. My Star power attributes are water and lightning, so controlling property changes is a bit harder for me... I really envy you single-attribute types," Mingyue Wucheng sighed faintly.

Huh? Why does that tone sound so familiar? Wang Lan mused.

"To change the property of Star Power, you first need to isolate the Star Power of a specific attribute. Unless you have a 100% single attribute and can skip this step, everyone else needs to isolate their attributed Star Power. This also uses spiritual power for control. However, this time, instead of fusing spiritual power, you segment a portion of it to make these Star Powers collide. When Star Powers collide, they release attribute energy. This is Star Power property transformation."

As he spoke, Mingyue Wucheng spread out his hands. A ball of water suddenly appeared in his left hand, while electric arcs flashed in his right, emitting sharp crackling sounds.

Wang Lan tried to follow Mingyue Wucheng’s instructions, but he immediately ran into difficulty when trying to isolate his fire-attribute Star Power. The problem was, Wang Lan couldn’t sense his fire-attribute Star Power at all.

What’s going on? During the test, he was confirmed to have a 70% fire affinity; that definitely wasn’t faked. If he couldn’t sense it, it must mean he hadn’t mastered this yet.

All eyes were glued on Wang Lan. He extended his palm and strained for a long while, but there was no apparent change.

"Alas..." Suddenly, Wang Lan let out a long sigh. "Indeed, this property transformation is quite difficult. I’ll need to study it for a while longer."

Hearing this, Mingyue Wucheng’s expression visibly relaxed, and the entire class collectively sighed in relief.

If Wang Lan had managed this easily too, they would genuinely start questioning their existence. Being around such a Demon would eventually crush their spirits to the point of tears.

"Don’t worry, just practice more. You grasped form transformation so easily, Star power attribute change shouldn’t be too hard for you. Property transformation is actually simpler than form transformation. I mastered it in three days," Mingyue Wucheng said encouragingly.

Suddenly, Wang Lan realized something was off. He didn’t seem to separate attributed Star Power first before performing property transformations. After all, he had learned Flame Sword, and that was a Star Martial Skill based on property transformation. If he could learn Flame Sword, there was no reason he couldn’t master property transformation, right?

With this thought, Wang Lan stopped worrying about isolating attributed Star Power. Instead, he directly separated a mass of Star Power and made it collide using the same method he used for Flame Sword.

BOOM!

A gout of flame erupted from Wang Lan’s hand.

"Uh... it seems... I’ve learned it?"

"DAMN IT ALL!"

A forest of middle fingers sprang up.