"I'll choose that one."
Gu Zhen calmly pointed to the most unassuming Star skill book on the table.
Xie Yanwen blinked, visibly surprised by his choice. However, she didn't try to dissuade him further. Instead, she simply handed him the book.
Everyone had the right to make their own decisions. Gu Zhen was no longer a child—he could think for himself. There was no need to shelter him.
In the Twelve States, turning sixteen marked adulthood. That was the age of awakening, when one could become a Star Warrior and grasp power.
"Thank you, Teacher," Gu Zhen said with a nod of gratitude before turning to leave the office.
Among the three items, he first ruled out the bag of star power crystals. He still had several star power enhancement potions unused in his cabinet.
Plus, star power crystals weren't suitable for a Realm one star warrior like him—they were hard to absorb.
Star power crystals were mainly used by Realm two star warriors and above.
The second option—an enhancer that boosted mental activity—wasn't very appealing either.
His learning speed was already faster than most. Even with the aid of that enhancer, the gain would be marginal. It would be a luxury, not a necessity. And frankly, if he couldn't learn a skill on his own, then no potion would help him.
That left the third option—the Star skill book
It was an incomplete, spiritual-type Star skill. It had no prerequisites, didn't require a Spirit-type superpower, and could be cultivated by virtually anyone.
For Gu Zhen, it was perfect.
Even if he failed to learn it, the loss was negligible. But if he succeeded...
As Gu Zhen made his way back to the dormitory, three figures suddenly emerged and blocked his path.
"Gu Yi, right? The main family wants a word with you. Come with us."
The speaker stood tall and imposing—Gu Feng, a second-year from the Gu family. His tone was flat, but carried an unmistakable threat.
Gu Zhen narrowed his eyes and searched his memory. Gu Feng... yes, someone from the Gu clan with superpowers: E-rank Sandstorm. Still a first-rank warrior. He and the original Gu Yi had barely crossed paths, just passing glances.
So why now?
What did the Gu family want with him?
Gu Zhen didn't respond.
He stared at them in silence.
Gu Feng eyes darkened. Without warning, he stepped forward and reached out to grab Gu Zhen.
Gu Zhen reacted instantly, stepping back and out of range.
"You dare defy the family orders?" Gu Feng voice turned frosty.
What a joke
Gu Zhen didn't bother replying. He calmly walked around them and continued on his way.
Inside the academy, even the mighty Gu family of sunmoon City wouldn't dare act recklessly. The Star Martial Academy was under the jurisdiction of the Twelve-State Alliance—a branch of the official powers. No matter how influential the Gu Family was locally, they were nothing more than regional bullies here.
If they made a move on academy, sunmoon City "Three Great Families" might suddenly become two.
Gu Feng could only glare coldly and throw out a verbal threat.
"You better stay in the academy forever. Step outside once—and the family will make you pay, traitor."
Gu Zhen ignored Gu Feng threats. Anyone could talk big, but in the academy, Gu Feng wouldn't dare act.
As for outside the academy—that was another matter. Who would deal with whom then wasn't certain.
Brushing off the minor incident, Gu Zhen returned to his dorm and began studying Star Gathering book.
Brushing off the minor incident, Gu Zhen returned to his dorm and began studying Star Gathering book.
After some analysis, he roughly grasped its principles.
A spiritual-based Star skill with unique mechanics.
Unlike typical methods, which slowly used spirit power to draw ambient Star power into the body, Star Gathering skill burned through spiritual energy to generate a specific frequency—dramatically increasing the absorption rate.
It was a trade.
Standard skill used spiritual guidance, no cost. This one used direct consumption of spiritual force to yank the star power in.
It was a genius concept. Releasing spiritual force outward to manipulate Star power wasn't impossible—but without a proper affinity or spirit-type superpower, it was practically unfeasible and terribly draining.
But this skill sidestepped all that. It focused on efficiency at the cost of endurance.
Gu Zhen was intrigued. There are people in this world with minds that bend the rules... true innovators.
He couldn't wait.
With a clear approach, Gu Zhen began experimenting with the method described in the book.
After a dozen attempts, he failed every time, even exhausting his spirit strength.
Reluctantly, he stopped and shifted to cultivating star power.
Spiritual power wasn't easy to replenish. It wasn't like Star power—plentiful and freely absorbed. It required rare materials, special skills…all of which were expensive, well beyond his reach for now.
The next few days passed quietly. Gu Zhen continued his classes, studied the Star Gathering skill whenever he could, and encountered no more trouble from the Gu Family.
Then came the breakthrough.
Three days later, inside his dormitory, Gu Zhen sat cross-legged on his bed, eyes closed.
He slowly released his spirit power in accordance with the skill frequency. And then—
Whoosh!
The ambient Star power in the room quivered, then surged toward him like moths to a flame.
A stream of power flowed into his body—clear, precise, and strong.
Only when his spiritual power was fully depleted did Gu Zhen open his eyes.
A smirk curved his lips.
"Looks like this skill is far more valuable than I thought. Maybe I can even develop new Star skills using this as a foundation…"
His cultivation speed had skyrocketed.
Before, he was limited by how much power he could absorb from the environment. His Star Core could absorb more, but the intake speed from his surroundings was slow.
Now, with Star Gathering skill, that bottleneck was gone.
And beyond its current form, Gu Zhen saw potential. If he could grasp the deeper mechanisms, integrate its logic into other skills…
That would be true mastery.
For him, learning a skill wasn't the goal.
The key was understanding its principles, mastering them, and applying them to according to his abilities.
The only downside was its cost. Burning through spiritual power so quickly meant he couldn't use it often.
To use it sustainably, he would need to find a way to boost his mental strength.