Qi Palm

After that little episode ended, Gu Zhen quickly received his rewards for placing first in the weekly competition—along with the newly granted subsidy for being classified under a special-type superpowers.

The reward for ranking first in the weekly competition hadn't changed much: ten star power enhancement potions and a chance to select a star skills from the first floor of the Star skill library.

But Gu Zhen had no interest in the first-floor options. Instead, he traded that opportunity for a small pouch of star power crystals he had seen before.

He counted the contents—roughly a dozen crystals, with an estimated value of about 100,000 star coins.

The special-type superpower subsidy, on the other hand, was far more generous: fifty star power enhancement potions and one chance to choose a star skills from the second floor of the star skill library.

Even more enticing was that this subsidy would be distributed every month.

So generous it was...Gu Zhen couldn't help but feel suspicious.

He was increasingly convinced that Li Qin had ulterior motives.

After all, there wasn't much about Gu Zhen that stood out—apart from the fact that he had a special-type superpower.

Everything else about him was unremarkable.

It suddenly struck Gu Zhen: could Li Qin be targeting him for his superpower?

That was, after all, the only thing that set him apart.

Still, it was only a hunch.

Without concrete evidence, he couldn't be sure.

But one thing he was certain of: Li Qin definitely didn't have pure intentions.

Looking at the star skill card in his hand, He thought for a moment, then left his dorm.

Whatever the case, he'd use it first.

Even if it was a trap, he needed strength to breakthrough.

With limited information and average strength, no matter how sharp his mind, he couldn't defeat a Realm 3 expert like Li Qin.

Clutching the card, he soon arrived at the Star Skill Library.

After verifying his identity, the manager quickly let him in.

On the second floor, he went straight to the spirit-type star skill section within the elemental-type area, eager to explore the the new available skills.

But what greeted him was disappointment.

Even on the second floor, there were barely any advanced spirit-type skills.

Everything he found was either Grade D or Grade C— no Grade B, let alone Grade A.

Worse still, all the skills heavily relied on innate traits.

Their prerequisites required special characteristics Gu Zhen didn't possess.

He couldn't learn any of them.

Soul-type and Space-type star skills were even less visible—nonexistent, really.

Frustrated, He shifted to the Physical skill section.

Compared to the spirit category, this section was far more extensive—but still not amazing.

Most of the star skills here were Grade D.

Grade C skills were fewer in number.

Grade B ones were rare, and there were no Grade A at all.

After carefully browsing through the collection, Gu Zhen finally picked a Grade C star skills: Qi-Palm.

The available Grade B skills were all bottom-tier within their grade and didn't suit him.

One even used the tongue as a weapon.

Gu Zhen couldn't imagine which genius thought that was a good idea.

Besides, Grade B skills consumed more energy and were harder to master—not great for his plan to sell skills for profit.

With his choice made, he used the Star skills Card to retrieve the skill, absorbed the insights within it, and then quietly left.

Back at his dorm, he spent the following days honing his skills and cultivating star power.

The Qi-Palm was a curious one—designed specifically to deal with star beasts that had thick skin and tough hides.

It bypassed outer defenses and directly attacked internal organs.

Part of Gu Zhen motive for learning it was to counter someone like Zhou Xin.

Last time, his Iron Leg strike to Zhou Xin abdomen had kicked him straight off the stage and ended the match—but the damage wasn't as serious as he'd hoped.

With Wang Qinghe healing, Zhou Xin had bounced back like nothing had happened.

If Zhou Xin trained in a few defensive skills and improved his defenses further, defeating him next time would be a challenge.

With Qi-Palm, Gu Zhen could ignore defenses completely—one strike could knock Zhou Xin out of the fight entirely.

Better yet, if he could merge this skill with Iron Fist, the result would be devastating—one punch to rupture internal organs.

Even a healer might not be able to save him on the spot.

Still, while training, Gu Zhen constantly felt like someone was watching him from the shadows.

It was an eerie, indistinct feeling.

His guess? Li Qin was keeping tabs on him.

If the Gu family really had someone inside the academy, they wouldn't need to spy—they'd just kidnap him outright.

As long as no one caught them red-handed, nobody would care about a little nobody like him.

But what puzzled him most was why Li Qin was so intent on watching him.

Before long, the next weekly competition arrived.

Armed with the newly mastered Qi-Palm, Gu Zhen completely shut Zhou Xin down—giving him no opportunity to retaliate.

After a fierce battle, Gu Zhen—unsurprisingly—took first place once again.

Still, he could clearly feel Zhou Xin growing stronger.

The guy had already reached Realm 1, Level 3, while Gu Zhen was still stuck at Level 2.

Once Zhou Xin began unlocking the full potential of his superpower, the advantage might swing the other way.

After the competition, Gu Zhen returned to his dorm and began planning his next move.

He had fully mastered Iron Fist, Iron Leg, and Qi-Palm—it was time to make another sale.

The problem was, the Gu family might still be watching him.

Selling within the academy was a pain.

First, there was the issue of star skill stones. Second, the buyers here were either rich but uninterested or interested but couldn't afford his price.

It was frustrating.

Even if he found a buyer, there was no guarantee he would get what the skill was worth.

So it was better to sneak out and handle business outside—avoiding the Gu family eyes.

If it didn't work out, he wouldn't force it.

Two days later, after confirming he wasn't being followed, Gu Zhen quietly scaled the academy wall and slipped out.

His destination: Yunfan Chamber of Commerce.

Along the way, Gu Zhen remained calm and composed—not worried at all about the Gu family trying anything.

He figured that if someone was tailing him, it was probably Li Qin.

If the Gu family did snatch him, Li Qin definitely wouldn't just sit back and watch.

And if Li Qin somehow didn't notice he'd been taken, Gu Zhen had his backup plan: send him a message.

If Li Qin truly had designs on him, he wouldn't risk letting Gu Zhen fall into danger.

He'd gotten Li Qin contact info from his teacher, Xie Yanwen.

The entire way, Gu Zhen kept his phone clutched tightly—ready to text Li Qin at the first sign of trouble.

But nothing happened.

He reached his destination safely.

Only after entering Yunfan Chamber of Commerce did he finally breathe easy.

If the Gu family dared make a move here, they really were tired of living.

Thanks to previous visits, Gu Zhen navigated his way with ease and found Master Li—the one who handled star skills acquisitions.

Without much small talk, he went straight to the point, stating the type and grade of the skills he was selling.

Master Li quickly sensed Gu Zhen was in a hurry, so he didn't waste time either.

He immediately brought out a skill stone for Gu Zhen to transfer his insight into.

After testing it, he nodded.

"It's indeed a C-rank physical-type star skill, no issues. The market price for C-rank skills is around one million star coins, but since it's a physical-skill type, we're willing to offer 1.2 million star coins."