Who's in favor? Who's against?

In the Snowfield, three young men and women walked steadily through the snow-covered 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 watched the tall, alluring figure ahead of him and continued listening to her detailed explanation of her personal information.

Of course, this personal information had nothing to do with her measurements. It was about combat.

"Two Bronze and five Silver. My Bronze Star Skills are Green Glow and Endurance. I'm not a freak like you, able to socket two Star Skills into a single Star Slot." Xia Yan spoke up. With no one around, her voice was much louder.

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

"You think I'm a freak like your sister?" Xia Yan turned and glared at Jiang Xiao without stopping, continuing, "There's nothing normal about you siblings."

Jiang Xiao said, "What do you mean?"

"Star Power levels limit the quality of Star Skills one can absorb. An Awakened at the Star Dust Stage has no chance of absorbing a Gold Quality Star Skill. Even for an Awakened at the Star Cloud Stage, the probability of absorbing a Gold Quality Star Skill is very low. Under normal circumstances, only Awakened at the Star River Stage are qualified to possess Golden Star Techniques." Xia Yan shook her head. "For a normal person like me, the best I can have during the Star Cloud Stage is Silver Quality Star Skills. I'm nothing like your sister, an unparalleled genius who absorbed a Gold Quality Star Skill as soon as she reached the Star Cloud Stage."

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

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

"Here, Scorching Flame." Xia Yan did not explain it verbally. Instead, she demonstrated it directly for Jiang Xiao. She drew her greatsword and dragged it along the ground as crimson lines of flame suddenly ignited in her fair palm.

The surging lines of flame resembled agile fire snakes, rapidly crawling up the length of the greatsword and dyeing its heavy blade red. In the end, they transformed the greatsword into a flaming greatsword.

"The damage is pretty decent." As Xia Yan spoke, she reined in the lines of flame in her hand. The flaming greatsword slowly returned to a cold blade before being placed back on her back.

"You've seen Flame Arc before, too. Combined with my weapon, it can fling out an arc of flame. But that's only the exterior being wrapped in fire. The true damage comes from the energy beneath the flames, and that's determined by how much Star Power I release." Xia Yan patiently explained it in detail.

"Exploding Flame overlaps with your sister's Star Skill. That can't be helped. The Star Pearl of the Flame Ghost contains two Star Skills. I only wanted Scorching Flame, but the one I absorbed first was Exploding Flame."

"But who told me to have so many Star Slots? My margin for error is naturally higher." The smug tone of Xia Yan's voice sounded especially irritating to Jiang Xiao.

"As for Exploding Flame, I use it very rarely. After all, I can't throw my blade. I only use it occasionally to provoke enemies, call for help, or when my arms aren't long enough." Xia Yan added one last sentence. "My body isn't as tough as you imagine. I'm at the front of the team because the two of you have more fragile bodies. Remember that."

Jiang Xiao nodded and said, "When your arms aren't long enough?"

"I mean attack range. What exactly is in that little head of yours? Do you really have to ask?" Xia Yan turned her back to the two of them, raised her right hand, and extended her slender, fair fingers. "Aren't these long enough?"

"Fine, yours are long. The longest." Jiang Xiao muttered.

Xia Yan happily withdrew her beautiful hand, but after a while, she began to feel that something was off.

Jiang Xiao asked, "What about Severe Injury and Berserk?"

"Severe Injury is a passive Star Skill. Every attack I make deals some additional damage. It's a strange feeling. I can sense some power that doesn't belong to me helping me." Xia Yan explained. "As for Berserk..."

Jiang Xiao said, "Hm?"

"Xiaopi, you won't want to see this Star Skill. If I ever use it, I hope you can wake me up." Xia Yan smiled as she spoke.

"It greatly increases all her physical attributes. The price is losing her reason." Han Jiangxue spoke calmly.

Xia Yan pouted without responding.

Since she wanted Jiang Xiao to join the team, Han Jiangxue did not hide anything. She spoke up, "Two Bronze, two Silver, and one Gold. My Bronze Star Skills are Green Glow and Endurance."

"My Silver Star Skills are Barren Wind and Exploding Flame. You've seen them both. Barren Wind can blow enemies away, rescue teammates, or help me enter the battlefield. It's a very practical Star Skill. Exploding Flame is the fireball I blasted into the White Ghost's face last time."

Han Jiangxue thought for a moment and said, "Exploding Flame's attack power is decent. If it hits the White Ghost's face precisely, it can't blow their heads apart directly, but it will still inflict Severe Injury."

"As for my Gold Quality Star Skill, it's Shattered Space. The internal space isn't very large, about the size of two coffins." After saying this, Han Jiangxue tugged up her white scarf.

She still dressed like a skiing enthusiast, which formed a stark contrast with the valiant female soldierly delinquent ahead.

With so many things she could have used as an analogy—even describing the volume of the space—why did she have to compare it to coffins? Jiang Xiao's expression turned strange. He said, "Are you two both at the Star Cloud Stage?"

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

Han Jiangxue had already pulled up her white scarf, so she did not respond.

Xia Yan's voice came from ahead. "Yes, we're both at the mid-stage of the Star Cloud Stage."

The mid-stage of the Star Cloud Stage?

People seemed to divide Star Power levels into only four phases: early, middle, late, and peak.

The reason they were divided into only four phases was that each one had a bottleneck. If one could not break through it, it would be difficult to continue cultivating.

Jiang Xiao's Star Power levels were more finely divided on the Inner Star Map, with ten minor levels in total.

For example, Jiang Xiao was currently at Level 3 of the Star Dust Stage, roughly equivalent to the early phase of the Star Dust Stage. He had already passed the early-phase bottleneck, and after advancing another minor level, he would probably reach the middle phase of the Star Dust Stage.

A trace of sorrow colored Xia Yan's voice. "Our total Star Power has been stuck here since half a year ago. We don't know how to break through this bottleneck. It's been a full six months without the slightest improvement."

"Your physical strength should be sufficient. Maybe you need a high-quality Star Pearl to break through your limits." Jiang Xiao analyzed the situation. "You only just started your senior year of high school, which means that, for me, reaching the mid-stage of the Star Cloud Stage in two years would count as excellent, right?"

Xia Yan ahead of him did not respond at all, still immersed in self-pity. "Those classmates chasing after us should be about to break through the Star Dust Stage, right?"

Jiang Xiao: "..."

Han Jiangxue finally could not listen any longer. She interrupted Xia Yan and lowered her scarf. "There are still some impressive students. Their total Star Power isn't inferior to ours."

"What level are the high school teachers training us generally at?" Jiang Xiao asked. This question would give him an objective understanding of the true strength of Awakened.

"A few are at the peak of the Star Cloud Stage, a few are at the late stage, and most are stuck at the mid-stage." Han Jiangxue spoke clearly and concisely, 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 little too high.

Ever since becoming an Awakened, the only Awakened Jiang Xiao had come into contact with were these two girls. Thus, he had never found Awakened with two Bronze and three Silver Star Skills particularly rare, nor had he thought the Star Cloud Stage was especially powerful.

"Xia Yan's concerns aren't unfounded. Some people improve very quickly at first, but they may get stuck at a certain point. Once they do, it might be for life." Han Jiangxue pulled up her scarf again.

Good grief, there were obstacles the entire way?

If that was the case, he couldn't spend his Skill Points recklessly!

Fortunately, Jiang Xiao had kept those three Skill Points. This exchange had benefited him immensely.

If every Star Power level had four bottlenecks, then Jiang Xiao's Skill Points should all be used at critical points.

One at Level 2, one at Level 5, one at Level 8, and another at Level 9.

For other people, a certain point might be a bottleneck they could never break through in their entire lives. But for Jiang Xiao, a single Skill Point could solve the problem. Right now, Jiang Xiao had broken through to Level 3 of the Star Dust Stage, so he had nothing to worry about for the time being.

In the future, he could use Skill Points to advance all the way without obstruction! Jiang Xiao rubbed his chin and thought to himself:

Physical strength determines total Star Power?

No such thing. I have Skill Points.

Just charge straight ahead! Who's in favor? Who's against?