Princess Aier didn't linger long in Wang Lan's dormitory. Although she wanted to, Wang Lan's businesslike and distant attitude made her leave with a heavy heart.

The dormitory once again became quiet. Wang Lan returned to his bed and sat cross-legged. He had ascended to the Galaxy Stage, finally catching up with his peers.

Wang Lan held himself to extremely rigid standards, a fact evident from his pursuit of the "Scholarly God" title. While activating the system was a reason, it was merely an excuse. If it were someone else, even with a reason, could they muster such self-discipline? Most people might persist for a month, but persevering for five years is a different matter entirely.

In terms of raw power, he had caught up with, and even surpassed, his contemporaries—the so-called geniuses—half a year ago. But Wang Lan aimed to catch up in all aspects, to be at least on par with Jiang Xinyu.

My conventional strength has reached the Galaxy Stage.

*You're only at the Star Cloud Stage.*

I possess the Phoenix Form; at full combat power, I can contend with those at the Star Sea Stage.

*You're only at the Star Cloud Stage.*

The Star Cloud Stage is still just the Star Cloud Stage. No matter how high one's combat power, the cultivation level itself remains lower.

But now, with the first semester of his freshman year not yet over, breaking through to the Galaxy Stage placed him among the small elite at the very top of all first-year students. As far as Wang Lan knew, only seven freshmen in his year had reached the Galaxy Stage.

The advancement brought not only a qualitative change to his Star Power but also an explosive increase in its reserves. In terms of quality, the Star Power consumed by the same Star Martial Skill was now about half of what it was during the Star Cloud Stage. This wasn't because the Star Martial Skill required less Star Power, but because the quality of his Star Power had improved. As for his reserves, they had surged by about threefold from their previous base. Factoring in the tenfold increase he had already experienced due to his The Whirlpool Clan bloodline, Wang Lan now possessed enough Star Power to unleash Star Martial Skills without restraint. This held true even if all these Star Martial Skills were S-rank.

He could now launch Earth Surge Lava fifty times consecutively. And if fifty times weren't enough? What then? Heh... Who could even withstand fifty volleys to begin with?

The surge in Star Power filled Wang Lan with an unprecedented sense of plenitude. However, he now needed to complete another kind of transformation. Advancing to the Galaxy Stage meant the metamorphosis of his Star Power was only half done; the other half lay in the evolution of his Star Martial Skills.

Closing his eyes, Wang Lan immersed his consciousness into the system, immediately opening the Star Martial Skill panel and focusing on his Talented Skill, Song of Life.

Upgrading Song of Life from Gold LV1 to Gold LV9 had been no easy feat. Ordinary Gold-rank Star Martial Skills might only require 10,000 skill points for a significant upgrade, but Song of Life had needed a whopping 55,000 experience points to reach this stage. Especially now: Song of Life, Gold LV9 (0/10,000).

The 10,000 skill points required for the next upgrade pained Wang Lan so much that he hadn't invested in it for a long time. He had accumulated 30,000 skill points in the last five days, which, added to his previous savings of 50,000, totaled 80,000. Eighty thousand skill points. It sounds like a lot, but in reality... it isn't. Upgrading Song of Life to Platinum-rank now wouldn't even leave enough to push it all the way to Platinum LV9. Besides, there are so many other skills waiting for upgrades. Just having enough to get my main skill to Platinum-rank would be a good start.

After a brief hesitation, Wang Lan began allocating points to Song of Life. Although previous upgrades to Song of Life hadn't yielded new abilities, Wang Lan had always sensed it was nurturing something. This feeling was difficult to articulate, much like a pregnant woman struggling to describe the sensation of carrying a child. Unfortunately, even after reaching Gold LV9, that indistinct nurturing process hadn't completed. Yet, Wang Lan had a strong premonition it was close. Once upgraded to Platinum-rank, his Talented Skill would undergo a completely new transformation.

After 10,000 skill points were invested into the Talented Skill, a dazzling white light instantly filled Wang Lan's vision, so brilliant it momentarily blinded him. Gradually, the light faded, and Wang Lan's first true Platinum-rank skill appeared before him. It had a white, metallic texture, shimmering with golden light, resembling a gemstone embedded in the skill interface.

"Life Light: A Star Martial Skill evolved from Song of Life.

1. Self-Repair (Passive): Automatically triggers when the practitioner sustains critical, life-threatening injuries, rapidly repairing fatal bodily harm.

2. Spiritual Awakening (Passive): Automatically activates when the host receives fatal injuries. Induces a state of absolute clarity, granting immunity to all mental attacks, self-protective unconsciousness, and paralysis. Doubles the speed of thought processes.

3. Life Transfer (Active): Fires ten Life Lock Chains to connect with a target, transferring Life Force through the chains to heal the target's physical damage. Characteristics: Cannot be interrupted, cannot be distorted. Range: Thirty meters.

4. Substitute Rebirth (Active): Cultivates an Original Life Orb within the heart using Life Force. When a fatal blow is received, the Life Orb, carrying the soul, can detach from the physical body. Once detached, the Life Orb immediately uses Life Force to stimulate growth, regenerating a completely new body within thirty seconds. Note: Substitute Rebirth is akin to a complete rebirth. Using this skill consumes 90% of Star Power. It is recommended that the host hide the Life Orb in a concealed location during activation to avoid a secondary attack."

Song of Life evolving to Platinum-rank and deriving so many abilities left Wang Lan stunned, his heart pounding uncontrollably in his chest. Platinum-rank skills were equivalent to Ultra S-rank Star Martial Skills in the Star Martial Art world's hierarchy. Of course, the classification beyond Ultra S-rank was quite vague; any skill stronger than S-rank was generally termed Ultra S-rank. However, this Life Light undoubtedly held a significant place even among Ultra S-rank skills.

Two new abilities had emerged. One was immunity to all Illusion Technique attacks. Illusion Techniques had always been Wang Lan's Achilles' heel; he still smarted from the memory of how a mere glance from someone in Mingyue Wucheng had nearly killed him. Although I now have methods to counter Illusion Techniques, many sophisticated ones can ensnare you without your even realizing it. If you're unaware, you naturally won't think of breaking free. And if you can't break free, you could die without ever knowing how. The only drawback is that it's a passive skill, and it only activates upon suffering life-threatening injuries.

And the final ability is incredible—essentially a simplified version of Blood Droplet Rebirth!

Wang Lan's Self Healing Star Martial Skill was already formidable. He could fight, endure, and even regrow a shattered heart in seconds, with severe injuries healing rapidly. But my biggest worry has always been: what if my head gets chopped off? What if I'm killed so instantly that Self Healing doesn't even have time to react? Now, there's a solution! With Substitute Rebirth, even decapitation isn't a death sentence! If my head is severed, I can still launch the Life Orb, and a brand-new body will regenerate within thirty seconds! What's that saying? 'Kill one of me, and thousands more will rise...' Something like that. No wonder it's my Innate Ability; it always gives me exactly what I need!

Suppressing the urge to spend another 20,000 skill points on upgrading Life Light, Wang Lan turned his attention to his other Star Martial Skills. The Phoenix Form, still grey and inactive, made him wince. Now that I've reached the Galaxy Stage, I should have been able to convert Phoenix Form into a regular skill. Heaven knows how many skill points this blasted skill has devoured over the past year and a half! Those points should have been enough to upgrade Phoenix Form to Platinum or even Diamond rank by now. But because it merged with the Dragon Emperor Form, Phoenix Form directly evolved past its second stage, meaning it can only be converted at the Star Sea Stage. The Star Sea Stage... it feels like an eternity away.

Glancing over his numerous Gold-rank Star Martial Skills, his gaze finally settled on the Immortal Cloud Mysterious Green Record. Unlike the other skills, which were focused on increasing damage output, the Immortal Cloud Mysterious Green Record directly influenced his cultivation speed. To progress through the entirety of the Galaxy Stage and reach the Star Sea Stage would require over 50,000,000 experience points—a truly terrifying amount! All the experience points I've earned so far are just a tiny fraction of that. Relying solely on completing missions, I'd probably have to save the entire galaxy to earn that much experience, right? Currently, the Immortal Cloud Mysterious Green Record is at Gold LV2, and it needs 8,000 skill points to upgrade. It's painful, but I have to upgrade it.

Every skill point spent on the Immortal Cloud Mysterious Green Record felt like a piece of his own flesh being carved away. Soon, all 8,000 skill points were invested. Another flash of white light, and his second Platinum-rank skill lit up, bright as a newly born star in the heavens.

"Immortal Cloud Mysterious Green Record Qi Cultivation Chapter, Platinum LV1 (0/20,000). Perfection: Gain 100 experience points per minute."

One hundred experience points per minute? That's more than I expected! At this rate, it's 6,000 per hour. I've already mastered conscious control, so I can keep the Immortal Cloud Mysterious Green Record active anytime. Except during combat and sleep, I can cultivate while walking, eating, studying, or working. It takes 2,000,000 experience points to go from Galaxy Stage LV1 to LV2. Practicing eight hours a day, I could level up in less than three months. Even advancing from Galaxy Stage LV1 to the Star Sea Stage is estimated to take less than three years! In other words, just by relying on the Immortal Cloud Mysterious Green Record, I could potentially break through to the Star Sea Stage before finishing my senior year of university. And that's not even counting experience points from other sources! If I factor in developing the Star Martial Toxins Vaccine, the experience gain could double. It's a pity the Immortal Cloud Mysterious Green Record only provides experience points. Otherwise, why would I even bother with missions? Just quietly cultivate until graduation, reach the Star Sea Stage, and then venture out... that would have been perfect, wouldn't it?

The Immortal Cloud Mysterious Green Record had solved the biggest bottleneck for his explosive growth phase. The prime period for strength development for all Star Martial Warriors was between the ages of eighteen and thirty. If other students surged ahead rapidly during this period while my own initially explosive growth started to slow, it wouldn't look good. I'd inevitably be labeled as a talent who had peaked too early. With the Platinum-rank Immortal Cloud Mysterious Green Record, advancing from the early Galaxy Stage to the Star Sea Stage in three years isn't slow at all. Reaching the Star Sea Stage by twenty-one would truly live up to the 'genius' moniker. That would still leave me nine years to strive for the rank of one of the Five Emperors. Excellent!

Upgrading just two skills to Platinum-rank had cost him nearly 20,000 skill points. What should I upgrade next? After some thought, Phantom Tracer is essential. It's the top choice for ambushes and escapes.

He invested 10,000 skill points, upgrading Phantom Tracer to Platinum-rank. As the white light faded, Phantom Tracer's name changed.

"Dance of the Dark Butterfly?"

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