Who opposes?

In the Snowy Plains, three young people were walking steadily through the snowy world.

Xia Yan led the way, walking ahead of the other two, while Jiang Xiao and Han Jiangxue walked side-by-side behind her.

Jiang Xiao looked at the tall, alluring figure in front of him, still listening to her detailed explanation of her personal information.

Of course, the personal information here was not about bust, waist, and hips, but about combat.

"2 Brass, 5 Silver. My Brass Star Techniques are Cyan Glow and Endurance. I'm not a freak like you, able to equip two Star Techniques in one Star Slot," Xia Yan said. With no one around, her voice was much louder.

"I've always wanted to ask, since you're so rich, why don't you buy some useful Golden Star Techniques?" Jiang Xiao inquired.

"Do you think I'm a freak like your sister?" Xia Yan turned and glared at Jiang Xiao, but didn't stop walking, continuing, "Neither you nor your sister are normal."

Jiang Xiao: "What do you mean?"

"Star Power level restricts the absorption of Star Technique quality. Awakened individuals in the Star Dust Stage simply cannot absorb Golden Quality Star Techniques. Even Awakened individuals in the Star Cloud Stage have a very low probability of absorbing Golden Quality Star Techniques. Normally, only Awakened individuals in the Star River Stage are worthy of possessing Golden Star Techniques," Xia Yan shook her head. "Normal people like me, at the Star Cloud Stage, would at most possess Silver Quality Star Techniques. Unlike your sister, a top-tier genius, who absorbed a Golden Quality Star Technique right at the Star Cloud Stage."

"Let's not talk about that, it's annoying," Xia Yan waved her hand and said, "My five Silver Star Techniques are Scorching Flame, Exploding Flame, Flame Arc, Severe Injury, and Rampage."

Jiang Xiao looked at Xia Yan curiously, waiting for her explanation.

"Here, Scorching Flame." Xia Yan stopped explaining verbally and demonstrated it for Jiang Xiao. She drew her Great Blade and dragged it on the ground as she walked. Lines of scarlet Flame suddenly ignited in her fair hand.

The surging Flame lines, like agile fire snakes, quickly climbed onto the long Great Blade, drenching its heavy body, and finally turning the Great Blade into a Flame Great Blade.

"The killing effect is quite good," Xia Yan said, retracting the Flame lines. The Flame Great Blade slowly returned to its cold state, and she sheathed it on her back again.

"You've seen Flame Arc before. Combined with my weapon, I can swing out a Flame Arc. But that's just the exterior being wrapped in Flame. The real damage comes from the energy beneath the Flame, which is determined by how much Star Power I release," Xia Yan explained patiently and in detail.

"Exploding Flame overlaps with your sister's Star Technique, which is unavoidable. Molten Ghouls have dual Star Techniques in their Star Beads. I only wanted the Scorching Flame Star Technique, but I absorbed Exploding Flame first."

"But it's a good thing I have so many Star Slots; the fault tolerance is high." Xia Yan's smiling voice sounded particularly irritating to Jiang Xiao.

"I use the Exploding Flame Star Technique very rarely. After all, I can't throw my sword. I only use it occasionally for provocation, calling for help, or when my reach isn't long enough," Xia Yan added. "My body isn't as tough as you think. In this team, I walk at the front because you two are more fragile. Remember that."

Jiang Xiao nodded and said, "Not long enough reach?"

"Meaning attack range. What's in that little head of yours? Do you even need to ask?" Xia Yan, with her back to them, raised her right hand and extended her slender, fair fingers. "Isn't this long enough?"

"Okay, you're long, you're the longest," Jiang Xiao mumbled.

Xia Yan happily retracted her beautiful hand, and after a moment of thought, felt something was off.

Jiang Xiao: "What about the Severe Injury and Rampage Star Techniques?"

"Severe Injury is a passive Star Technique. Every attack I make will add some extra damage. It feels very strange; I can feel some power that doesn't belong to me helping me," Xia Yan explained. "As for Rampage..."

Jiang Xiao: "Hmm?"

"Xiao Pi, you wouldn't want to see this Star Technique. If I ever use it, I hope you can wake me up," Xia Yan said with a smile.

"It will greatly increase all physical attributes, at the cost of losing consciousness," Han Jiangxue said calmly.

Xia Yan pouted and didn't respond.

Since she wanted Jiang Xiao to join the team, Han Jiangxue didn't hide anything and said, "2 Brass, 2 Silver, 1 Gold. My Brass Star Techniques are Cyan Glow and Endurance."

"My Silver Star Techniques are Barren Wind and Exploding Flame. You've seen both. Barren Wind can blow enemies away, rescue teammates, and cut into the battlefield; it's a very practical Star Technique. Exploding Flame is that fireball I detonated on the White Ghoul's face last time."

Han Jiangxue thought for a moment and said, "Exploding Flame's attack power is decent. If it hits a White Ghoul precisely in the face, although it won't directly shatter its head, it will still inflict Severe Injury."

"As for the Golden Quality Star Technique, it's 'Shattered Space.' The internal space isn't large, about the size of two coffins," Han Jiangxue finished, pulling up her white scarf.

She was still dressed like a skiing enthusiast, a stark contrast to the heroic female soldier in front of her.

With so many things to compare, even able to describe spatial volume, why use coffins as a comparison? Jiang Xiao's expression was a bit strange. "Are you both in the Star Cloud Stage?"

As the most basic form of Star Power, its levels were divided into Star Dust Stage, Star Cloud Stage, Star River Stage, Star Sea Stage, Starry Sky Stage, and possibly higher levels.

Han Jiangxue had already pulled up her white scarf, so she didn't respond.

However, Xia Yan's voice came from ahead, "Yes, we are both in the middle of the Star Cloud Stage."

Middle of the Star Cloud Stage?

The world seemed to divide Star Power levels into only four stages: early, middle, late, and peak.

The reason for only four stages was that each of these stages had a bottleneck; if you couldn't break through it, further cultivation would be difficult.

Jiang Xiao's Star Power classification was more detailed on his Inner Star Map, directly having 10 small levels.

For example, right now, Jiang Xiao was at Lv. 3 of the Star Dust Stage, roughly the early stage of the Star Dust Stage. He had already passed the initial bottleneck. If he leveled up slightly, he would likely be in the middle stage of the Star Dust Stage.

Xia Yan's voice carried a hint of lament. "Our Star Power has been stagnant here for half a year. We don't know how to break through this bottleneck. It's been half a year with no progress at all."

"Your physical strength should be sufficient, perhaps you need a high-quality Star Bead to break through," Jiang Xiao analyzed. "You're both just starting your third year of high school, meaning for me, two years to reach the middle of the Star Cloud Stage would be considered excellent?"

Xia Yan in front didn't respond at all, still lost in self-pity. "Those classmates chasing after us should be close to breaking through the Star Dust Stage."

Jiang Xiao: "..."

Han Jiangxue finally couldn't stand it anymore, interrupted Xia Yan, pulled down her scarf, and said, "There are still some powerful classmates. Their total Star Power is not inferior to ours."

"What level are the high school teachers training you?" Jiang Xiao asked. This question could objectively gauge the true strength of Awakened individuals.

"A few are at the peak of the Star Cloud Stage, a few are at the late stage of the Star Cloud Stage, and most are stuck in the middle stage of the Star Cloud Stage," Han Jiangxue's words were clear and concise, leaving Jiang Xiao completely stunned.

What was going on? Were the teachers too weak? Or were these two too strong?

Jiang Xiao realized a problem: his starting point was a bit too high.

Ever since he became an Awakened, the only other Awakened individuals Jiang Xiao had encountered were these two girls. Because of this, he didn't find Awakened at the Brass or Silver stages particularly rare, nor did he think the Star Cloud Stage was overwhelmingly powerful.

"Han Jiangxue's worries are not unfounded. Some people improve very quickly in the early stages, but they might get stuck at a certain point, and that's it for their entire life," Han Jiangxue said, pulling her scarf tighter.

Holy crap, this is serious.

Was the path ahead full of obstacles? If that was the case, he couldn't just waste his Skill Points!

Fortunately, Jiang Xiao had saved those three Skill Points. This discussion had benefited him greatly.

If each Star Power level had four checkpoints, then Jiang Xiao's Skill Points should be used strategically.

He could use one at Lv.2, one at Lv.5, one at Lv.8, and another at Lv.9.

For others, a certain checkpoint might be an insurmountable obstacle for their entire lives, but for Jiang Xiao, a single Skill Point could solve the problem. Now that Jiang Xiao had broken through to Star Dust Stage Lv.3 himself, he didn't have to worry for the time being.

Later on, he could just use Skill Points to breeze through everything! Jiang Xiao stroked his chin, thinking to himself:

Does physical strength determine total Star Power?

Not a chance, I have Skill Points.

Just charge straight ahead! Who agrees? Who opposes?