2 Chapter 2 The Awakening That Came 2 Years Late

The Star Martial Arts Campus of Suzhou No.1 Middle School was just a wall apart from the main campus area of Suzhou No.1 Middle School.

As one might expect, the Star Martial Arts Campus was the place where students who had awakened their Star Martial Warrior talents studied. The origin of Star Martial Warriors has mystified humans for thousands of years, and tracing it back, one might have to go as far as the Mythical Era.

Humans appeared around seven million years ago, while Homo sapiens emerged approximately three hundred thousand years ago. The existence of Star Martial Warriors seemed to have accompanied human evolution from the very beginning.

Some historians believe that the emergence of Star Martial Warriors is related to the opening of Different Dimensional Spaces, but biologists think that Star Martial Warriors are a product of human evolution. The gene of a Star Martial Warrior hides within human DNA, making it possible for any person to awaken it and become a Star Martial Warrior.

Star Martial Warriors are just a part of the complex machinery that is human civilization, evolved specifically to ensure the continued existence of humanity.

From the legends of the Mythical Era to the histories of feudal dynasties to more recent times, Star Martial Warriors have never been separated from the mainstream of human civilization.

In the past, the awakening of Star Martial Warriors was entirely up to destiny. But since the invention of the Soul Resonance Instrument two hundred years ago, humans have been able to use Soul Resonance Stimulation to ensure that every individual who might awaken the talent of a Star Martial Warrior would do so successfully.

And the best age for undergoing Soul Resonance is between fourteen and fifteen. Therefore, every middle school student in Jade Country undergoes uniform Soul Resonance Stimulation right before graduating from junior high. Those who awaken as Star Martial Warriors are admitted into the Star Martial Arts Campus, and those without the talents continue their studies at the main campus.

Even with the aid of the Soul Resonance Instrument, the number of people who awaken as Star Martial Warriors remains scarce; it's rare to find one among a hundred students.

Individuals with strong Star Martial Warrior talents generally do not wait until the Soul Resonance ritual to awaken; they usually awaken during puberty. For instance, the Ice and Snow Queen of the Star Martial Arts Campus awakened at the age of nine in her second grade.

Theoretically, Wang Lan should have awakened his Star Martial Warrior talent at the age of eight, but his talent was a bit special: he awakened a system.

Every self-aware Star Martial Warrior has a natural ability, and Wang Lan's natural ability was likely the Destiny System, and moreover, it was a very childish and stupid system.

This appraisal was something Wang Lan had firmly maintained over the years because dammit, a system awakening is an awakening, but what's with the assessment? Sure, others undergo assessments, but who's heard of one assessing oneself?

You are my Star Martial Talent, just like my own hands. Is there any sense in slapping my own face?

Because of this, despite having awakened his Star Martial Warrior talent, Wang Lan had been forced to hide it for eight years and even failed the Soul Resonance awakening ceremony in junior high, being determined to have no Star Martial Warrior talent.

But he knew what was up with himself; he just hadn't completed the system activation task yet.

"Dinner's ready——"

Ah, the teenage boy's particular obsession with food. At that age, no matter how much you eat, it never seems enough to get you to the next meal, and the last half-hour will definitely be endured in hunger.

With the ringing of the bell, all sixty-two students in the class whooshed out of the classroom, leaving Wang Lan behind putting down his phone from ordering takeout.

Promises had been made to treat the whole class to milk tea, and a man's word is his bond.

"Xinyu, let's go, time to eat," invited a sweet-looking girl, hugging Jiang Xinyu's shoulder in the Star Martial Arts Campus class two-11 classroom.

"No thanks, not feeling hungry."

"Why? You've scored 450, a great achievement. Second in the whole city, you've totally outclassed all the other second-year high school students. Why are you not in a good mood?"

"Despite thrashing all the second-year students in the city, she received a ruthless whipping from that man. Sigh, the Ice-Snow Queen has been dizzy with honor since childhood, winning awards until her hands grew weary—well-known as the perfect genius.

But over the past seven years, that man has whipped her over eight hundred times. He seems to have become Xinyu's persistent cloud. After entering senior high, we in the Star Martial Class will no longer take unified exams with the ordinary classes. This was Xinyu's last chance to challenge the academic god.

But reality is cruel, with a gap of ten points... Once you're above four hundred points, each additional mark is incredibly hard to achieve... Tsk tsk tsk..."

This tone was quite cheeky, sorely tempting someone to slap it right off the speaker's face. But those who knew them understood it was just banter between close friends.

Xu Xiangwen, Gong Feiyu, and Jiang Xinyu were not only classmates but also best friends. Only amongst themselves could they jest like this; anyone else? Come on, let's have a spar on the battle stage.

"Xu Xiangwen, it's fine to have a sharp tongue, but at this time? Aren't you asking to be killed?" reminded a sunny boy with a smile from behind Xu Xiangwen.

"What does it matter if I'm killed? Wang Lan should be the one to die. He's harbored thoughts of both loving and killing Xinyu for so many years, never once giving ground. That guy's intentions aren't pure; he means to suppress Xinyu forever. If it was me, I couldn't stand it. Xinyu, why don't we go finish him off?"

"Cough cough cough..." The girl who had invited Jiang Xinyu to eat ran out of the classroom in a panic; their way of talking was too frightening.

"Bang!" Jiang Xinyu suddenly slammed the desk forcefully and strode out of the room.

"Xinyu, where are you going?"

"To the neighboring campus!"

Xu Xiangwen turned in bewilderment, "What's Xinyu going to the next campus for?"

"Didn't you urge her to take care of Wang Lan? She's headed there now. Wang Lan likes to stand on the rooftop and catch the breeze. Xinyu sneaks up behind Wang Lan, a gentle push... and splat, utterly destroyed, flawless!"

"Damn, are you mentally disturbed? You don't think Xinyu will really go after Wang Lan, do you?"

"For sure, who else does she know at the next campus besides Wang Lan? But... my guess is she might have something to say to Wang Lan, like..."

Xu Xiangwen's eyes suddenly sparkled, "The more miserable the bullying, the deeper the love, the more the trampling, the harder it is to forget. I've always felt that Xinyu's feelings for Wang Lan aren't as simple as before, heh heh heh... Shall we go together?"

"Definitely."

"Destiny System activation complete, system startup! Trial mission accomplished, great perseverance. Reward: 100 skill points for activation!"

Atop the school building's rooftop, Wang Lan looked down at the joyful and relaxed students strolling around the campus and smiled knowingly.

Normally, this relaxed atmosphere would be absolutely impossible; Jiang Province's education system is notoriously brutal, and the pressure on high school students is a terrifying memory that those who have experienced it would not wish to revisit.

Today is the day students return to school after the end-of-term exams. Once the campus-wide cleaning is done in the afternoon, summer vacation officially starts. Free from the pressure of studies, with exam results already set in stone, the campus is filled with laughter and chatter during the lunch break.

Having waited eight years, Wang Lan couldn't wait to dive into the newly activated system.

Upon opening the system, what came into view was the character attribute interface.

Name, Wang Lan.

Character level, Starlight Realm Level 1.

Below were various data attributes of the character, with most figures between eight and nine, except for strength, which stood out at twelve.

At the very bottom was the experience bar, currently empty. In the bottom right corner was the skill point count, showing a value of one hundred. As previously hinted by the system, these were the activation skill points received after system activation.

Having read countless web novels, Wang Lan immediately deduced that these skill points were likely to be a crucial item in the future, possibly fundamental to his standing and survival.

Following the character attributes page was the list of skills, which was of the utmost concern to Wang Lan. For many years, having never doubted that he would become a Star Martial Warrior, he had spent a significant effort on grappling, physical fitness, and combat training since he was young.

Even if Wang Lan hadn't awakened as a Star Martial Warrior, his combat ability would still likely be at the peak of ordinary people. He could easily take down a dozen unarmed opponents.

The skill page was divided into Star Martial Skills and Basic Skills, each category splitting further into active and passive skills. Wang Lan's face darkened at the sight of the Star Martial Skills section.

The active skill column was empty, but in the passive skill column there was one passive skill. Self Healing, Black Iron LV1 (0/1)

Focusing spiritual power on Self Healing, the skill description popped up, "Rapidly recover from physical injuries."

Is this skill any good? Although it seems ordinary, it's extremely practical. In games, it's a Healing Skill. But this is not what Wang Lan wanted. He would be okay with being a mage, warrior, or assassin, but he did not want to be a tank.

Moreover, in history, who has ever been successful by taking the armored tank route? At best, they're called iron dummies, and at worst, they're called iron-shelled turtles. And the initial skill often dictates the future path.

Why does it feel like the future still looks bleak even after receiving the system?

Having just awakened the system and having no Star Martial Skill is normal, except for those with bloodline inheritances from Star Martial families, who could possess Star Martial Skills from birth. Most people need to learn to acquire Star Martial Skills.

Wang Lan immediately shifted his attention to the Basic Skills page. While playing games, basic skills might be overlooked, but here in the real world, the importance of basic skills is no less than that of Star Martial Skills.

A saying goes around in the world of Star Martial Warriors: Star Martial Skills determine the limit of a warrior's power, while Basic Skills determine the base. Even without Star Martial Skills, cultivating Basic Skills alone can make one a powerful warrior.

Extreme as this saying might be, it holds some truth.

Using Star Martial Skills requires consuming Star Power, which is like mana for warriors. Unless absolutely necessary, it's best to conserve mana. With proficient basic skills, one can still defeat an enemy with a single move.

Hand-to-hand combat, Black Iron LV8 (0/1)

Close Combat Sword Skill, Black Iron LV3 (0/1)

Movement Technique, Bronze LV1 (0/10)

Inch Strength Fist, Bronze LV3 (0/10)

Among the basic skills, two have reached the Bronze level, and the numbers in the parentheses must be the required skill points. Seeing this, Wang Lan was confirmed the purpose of the skill points. Whether he would feast or go hungry in the future mainly depended on how he could acquire more skill points.

Advancing a Bronze-level skill by one level would need ten points. By extension, improving a skill to Silver-level would likely require a hundred points, and going from level one to ten would mean a thousand points. For a Gold-level skill, it could be ten thousand...

Wow, it feels like an endless pit.

Inch Strength Fist, active skill, strike with a fist, unleashing triple the punching power.

These impressive numbers and skills are the results of Wang Lan's seven years of cultivation. Moreover, his progress had been slow in the earlier years due to his lack of development, with rapid improvement only in the last two.

A faint fragrance brought Wang Lan back from his contemplative state.

Without knowing when, a slender and graceful girl had appeared beside him.

"You're really here..." the words were filled with a sense of long separation.

Since Jiang Xinyu had started attending the Star Martial Arts Campus, this was the first time in two years that Wang Lan had seen her up close. The once naive child he remembered had unknowingly grown up.