CHAPTER 72: CHAPTER 72: BREAKING THROUGH IN EXCITEMENT

Eight punches a second was an outstanding punch speed among Star Martial Warriors. Hu Qing, with his rapid hand-chop speed of ten times a second, was unbeatable on the Star Martial Competition’s field.

At least until now, among the many participants in the Star Martial Competition, Hu Qing had the fastest hand speed, with others at best managing about eight punches a second.

Wang Lan’s display of such rapid punch speed did not surprise the audience much. Perhaps their expectations of Wang Lan were too high, as they wouldn’t be amazed no matter how much more ability he demonstrated.

However, when Wang Lan instantly knocked An Wei off the stage and sent her flying towards the stands with such a ruthless move against a lady, it indeed plunged the venue into a deathly silence.

But soon, An Wei quickly got up from where she landed. She looked up at Wang Lan, who was facing her on the stage, a flash of embarrassment and annoyance in her eyes, snorted coldly, and turned to leave.

"It seems... though Wolf appeared to strike very hard, he was actually using controlled force. His goal was just to knock An Wei off the stage," the host quickly said, lightening the atmosphere and breaking the silence.

"Good—"

"So manly—"

In the stands, the audience, understanding everything, cheered enthusiastically. Although this battle was not as intense and exciting as the previous one, could they blame Wang Lan? He didn’t want the opponent to be too weak, after all.

"Successfully advanced to the third round. Reward: 2,000 experience points and 150 skill points."

Backstage, Hu Qing came up to him. "Congratulations!"

"You’ve finished your matches, haven’t you? Why haven’t you left?"

"The next round is from twenty-five down to thirteen, so we have to draw lots in advance. There will also be one bye slot."

"So, I can’t leave before tonight ends?"

"Just wait. There’s only one match left."

The match ended half an hour later. Following the host’s emotive speech, the entire audience sent off the contestants eliminated in the round of fifty to twenty-five with warm applause.

"Next up is the drawing for the third round, which will narrow the field from twenty-five contestants down to thirteen. The organizers have stipulated that every contestant who successfully enters the fourth round—the top thirteen—will be awarded a cash prize of 100,000 yuan each. This is the organizers’ recognition of the contestants’ strength and an encouragement for their exciting performances. However, before the drawing for the matches to go from twenty-five to thirteen, a lucky contestant who will receive a bye will be drawn. This contestant will advance to the top thirteen competition without a fight and will also easily receive the 100,000 yuan cash prize from the organizers. Who will this lucky contestant be? Please look at the big screen!"

The photos of the contestants flashed quickly across the big screen.

"Stop!"

The big screen froze. The image of Wang Lan, wearing a mask, appeared in the center.

"Wow—"

"Wolf! Wolf—"

"It’s contestant Wolf! Congratulations to contestant Wolf for directly advancing to the top thirteen with a bye!"

Wang Lan himself was stunned. During the draw, he really hadn’t expected the bye to be his. But it just confirmed the saying: "Good things come when you least expect them." Some people buy lottery tickets every day without winning, while others buy a ticket just to get change and end up winning a big prize.

This world, isn’t it annoying?

"Successfully advanced to the fourth round of the Star Martial Competition. Reward: 3,000 experience points and 200 skill points."

After the contestant with the bye was decided, the system suddenly displayed another prompt. The moment the prompt appeared, a warm current flowed through Wang Lan’s entire body. It was as if he were basking in an ocean of Star Power; Star Power surged through his limbs and every fiber of his being.

At this moment, the big screen was giving Wang Lan a close-up. At the same time, his body suddenly radiated intense Star Energy Fluctuations.

If it weren’t for Wang Lan’s restraint, he would have inadvertently opened his Star Palace.

But! Is that the point?

Backstage, all twenty-five contestants—including those participating today and the victors from previous rounds—were gathered.

Could the surge of Star Power around Wang Lan escape their eyes? Such a familiar scene of Star Energy Fluctuation—a live breakthrough!

At that moment, everyone realized Wang Lan’s true Star Power level.

It wasn’t the late stage as speculated, nor was it the mid-stage as officially announced. Damn it, he was actually in the early stage? The early Star Shine Stage? Only now has he broken through to the mid-Star Shine Stage.

Wang Lan quickly immersed himself in his Spiritual Sea of Consciousness to check the system. "Character: Wang Lan! Level: Star Shine 4. Experience: 300/50,000."

In my mind, Star Shine 4 should still be considered an early stage, right? After all, I’m not even at the midpoint yet. But do regular Star Martial Warriors have such clear and detailed distinctions? Early, mid, and late stages are just vague judgments based on how far one is from the next breakthrough.

Exiting his Spiritual Sea of Consciousness, Wang Lan looked up.

The world was so quiet. Everyone around him was staring, their eyes wide as if they were wooden carvings.

"Uh? Did it freeze?" Wang Lan asked, a hint of mischief in his voice.

"Hahaha..." In the spectator stands, upon hearing Wang Lan’s disarmingly innocent remark, the audience burst into laughter.

"Uh, Wolf, did you... make a breakthrough?" Hu Qing asked, stuttering slightly.

"Ah? No, not really. A breakthrough isn’t that easy. It was just a minor gain."

"Brother Wolf, you can’t just lie like that to our faces!" a burly man pointed at Wang Lan, his face a mask of aggrieved indignation. "You clearly just broke through from the early Star Shine Stage to the mid-Star Shine Stage!"

"Yeah, that Star Energy Fluctuation doesn’t lie. We always thought Brother Wolf’s Star Power level was in the late Star Shine Stage, and that the official announcement of mid-stage was a deliberate attempt to hide your true strength."

"But... we were still wrong. The officials did indeed hide your strength, but we never expected you to actually be at the early Star Shine Stage."

"You only broke through to the mid-Star Shine Stage now, yet you’ve already defeated three opponents at the late Star Shine Stage. Brother Wolf, you don’t need to be so modest! A breakthrough is a breakthrough; what’s there to deny?"

"Cough, cough, cough..." Wang Lan recoiled slightly. "Everyone, I’m really not being modest. An improvement within the Star Shine Stage... does that even count as a breakthrough? I always thought a ’breakthrough’ meant advancing an entire Star Power rank."

Backstage, silence fell once again.

Everyone looked at Wang Lan with a mixture of disbelief and astonishment.

Suddenly, a large hand clapped down on Wang Lan’s shoulder. It belonged to a two-meter-tall, powerfully built man who looked as if he were forged from steel.

Wang Lan tensed up instantly. "Zhu, what... what can I do for you?"

"Brother Wolf, do you have any idea how many Star Martial Warriors in the Star Martial Warrior world get beaten to death each year for showing off? At least five hundred! They were just too full of themselves, completely disregarding whether others could take it or not. Now... I really want to hit you. But if you tell me how you managed to break through under these circumstances, I’ll let you off. How about that?"

"Yeah! Otherwise, I’ll get the organizers to change the rules, and in the next match, we’ll all gang up on you!"

"Exactly! Exactly!"

Everything happening backstage was being broadcast live, without omission, to the audience out front. The five hundred spectators in their seats immediately showed knowing smiles, watching with great interest.

To ordinary people, Star Martial Warriors were mysterious, mighty, and serious figures. Most of their exposure to Star Martial Warriors came from movies and the internet. Even if there were Star Martial Warriors around them in real life, ordinary people couldn’t understand their lives or how they interacted with each other.

Now, seeing Star Martial Warriors interact just like ordinary people—joking around, playing pranks, teasing each other, and making sarcastic remarks—the warriors backstage underwent a true transformation in the audience’s eyes.

They are also human, ordinary folks just like us, the audience thought. Not solemn ascetics who are meticulous to a fault. Not brutal savages who resort to violence at the slightest provocation.

They also crack jokes, brag and show off, and engage in heated meme battles. Maybe that keyboard warrior you argued with online for three thousand rounds is actually a famous Star Martial Warrior you know of.

"Should I... really tell them?" Wang Lan hesitated. But at his words, everyone’s eyes brightened.

Could there actually be a way? they wondered.

They were only joking, trying to lighten the atmosphere and get closer to Wolf.

Wolf was different from them. They had reached their limits. Unless they used Soul Beads, further improvement was practically hopeless. Most of them were nearing thirty or even forty years old; any further extraction of cellular energy would be slow suicide.

But Wang Lan was different. The fact that he could still break through meant he was still in his growth phase. Maybe, just as the rumors said, he was someone with a significant background. Perhaps his participation in the Star Martial Competition was genuinely just for fun.

Hearing the hint in Wang Lan’s tone, the twenty-odd Star Martial Warriors backstage all pricked up their ears.

"Actually, it’s just... I was lucky enough to get a bye just now, and I even pocketed a cool hundred thousand yuan. A hundred thousand! Man, I don’t even make that much in a year. I was so excited! Finally, I can afford to eat meat! The moment I thought about it, my blood surged, and I instantly broke through the governor and conception vessels..."

"Fuck! I can’t listen to this anymore! Where’s my greatsword? Damn it, where’s my greatsword?!"

Wang Lan’s figure flashed, and with a WHOOSH, he vanished.

"I’ll be off then! See you at the official match—" His voice still lingered backstage, but Wang Lan himself was long gone.

After Wang Lan left, the show’s recording also drew to a close.

While Wang Lan was enjoying a nice shower and then a good night’s sleep, news about him quietly started trending online.

"Shocking Reveal: Wolf’s True Strength Exposed! Turns Out, He’s Merely at the Early Star Shine Stage!"

"Got a Bye, Snagged 100,000 in Prize Money! Wolf So Excited, He Broke Through on the Spot!"

"What Made Wolf the Public Enemy of the Star Martial Competition? Too Good at Showing Off, Nearly Caused a Riot!"

One intriguing headline after another, along with spoiler-filled articles, hooked the audience members who were anxiously awaiting the Star Martial Competition broadcast, sending them into an excited frenzy.

With bloodshot eyes, they clicked on each spoiler post like ravenous wolves, devouring the content.

"Wolf is only at the early Star Shine Stage? Hahaha... I told you he was all show and no substance! He deserves to be eliminated."

"The commenter above is obviously a professional keyboard warrior who just spouts nonsense. Didn’t you read the content? Wolf thrashed his opponent and advanced to the next round!"

"It’s long been said in the world of Star Martial Warriors that true powerhouses can disregard differences in Star Power ranks. Wolf, with his early Star Shine Stage in Star Martial Art, overwhelmed many enemies in the late Star Shine Stage. He undoubtedly proved this principle."

"So, even Star Martial Warriors like to show off, huh? Now I’m wondering... that troll I had a 300-round flame war with online last night, could he be a Star Martial Warrior?"

"A moment of silence for the commenter above..."

"Prayers for the commenter above..."

"Lighting incense for the commenter above..."

"What do you all mean by that? Are you jealous that I went head-to-head with a Star Martial Warrior online?"

"Poor kid. If you had a 300-round argument online and the other party was really a Star Martial Warrior, and they decided to track you down via your internet connection to ’pay you a visit’ in real life... how many rounds do you think you’d last then?"

"Not much time left for the commenter above..."

"Yeah, really not much time left for them..."