After seeing this announcement, Gu Zhen understood the general rules of the Grand Combat Competition. It would still follow a one-on-one, very much in line with the typical practices of star warriors.
Compared to the weekly competition, there weren't many significant changes, so there was no need to overthink it.
Gu Zhen carefully analyzed his current strength.
He had offensive skills, but he lacked long-range attack methods—a gap he couldn't address for now.
As for the fusion of Iron Fist and Qi Palm, he had made preliminary progress. With continued practice, he could fully merge them, so he wasn't lacking in offensive capabilities.
He also had movement skills, but they were insufficient, limited to short bursts of speed.
Although Gu Zhen physical realm had improved twice, reaching the advanced stage of Realm 1, and he could now use Instant Step three times in a row, it still wasn't enough.
Gu Zhen was confident that if he could get close to an opponent, even someone like Gu Lingling would fall to him.
However, addressing the issue of movement speed was proving to be a challenge.
Among physical star skills, there weren't many good options for rapid movement, which gave Gu Zhen a bit of a headache.
But he was never short of creative ideas. Since the academy star skills library didn't have what he needed, he decided to find a few different star skills, take the best parts of each, and fuse them into a new one himself.
Fortunately, Gu Zhen happened to have a high-grade star skill card, which allowed him to select a skills from the second floor of the star skill library.
"If only I could find a few different movement-type star skills to study," Gu Zhen sighed, murmuring softly to himself.
At that moment, Li Qin, who was secretly observing Gu Zhen, read his lips and understood his intent.
This made him suspicious—had Gu Zhen noticed something and deliberately said this to test him?
Although Gu Zhen appeared to be alone in his dorm, muttering to himself with somewhat unclear lip movements, as if he were just venting, Li Qin understanding of him over this period suggested otherwise.
Unless absolutely necessary, Gu Zhen rarely spoke at all.
For someone like him to be talking to himself in his dorm—Li Qin found it hard to believe.
This led Li Qin to suspect that Gu Zhen might have already discovered his surveillance.
After a moment of thought, he smirked disdainfully.
So what if Gu Zhen knew? He was just an F-grade experimental subject. Even if he was aware, what could he do about it?
Gu Zhen ultimate fate was to obediently fall into his hands—there would be no exceptions.
However, Li Qin was somewhat curious about Gu Zhen talent. Could he really take the strengths of different skills and fuse them together? This was a perfect opportunity to test him.
Without seeing the actual results, it was hard to discern the specific skills used in physical star skill just by observing their execution.
Moreover, since Gu Zhen avoided causing significant harm in the academy, he didn't showcase his star skills in the practice area, so Li Qin wasn't sure if Gu Zhen was truly capable of fusing different skills.
This was a good chance to thoroughly test Gu Zhen potential.
"Since you want it, I'll give it to you. Don't disappoint me, Gu Zhen…" Li Qin lips curled into a cold smile.
He knew Gu Zhen was trying to manipulate him, exploiting his arrogance to fish for a reward.
But he didn't care.
Confidence built on absolute strength—that was Li Qin foundation.
After sensing that faint, lingering gaze disappear, Gu Zhen finally relaxed.
That comment earlier was indeed meant for Li Qin to hear, with the goal of obtaining new star skills.
He had already seen all the star skills in the academy library, and none met his expectations.
High-grade star skills were hard to come by, and for the current Gu Zhen, finding a suitable one was challenging.
Additionally, he wanted to test Li Qin attitude toward him and figure out what the man was planning, so he deliberately spoke as if muttering to himself.
As for whether Li Qin would realize that Gu Zhen had noticed his surveillance, he was certain Li Qin would.
But so what if he knew? Li Qin had been spying on him for so long with some grand scheme in mind. If he wanted to abduct Gu Zhen outright, he would have done so already.
Since he hadn't, it was clear he wanted to do something discreetly.
Even if Li Qin knew he'd been discovered, he wouldn't care and would likely stick to his original plan.
With Li Qin strength, he wouldn't take a mere Realm 1 star warrior with an F-grade superpower like Gu Zhen seriously.
This was an absolute disparity in power.
It was like an adult fighting a month-old infant. Even if the infant held a spoon, what threat could it pose to the adult?
If Li Qin truly lost his temper and decided to come after him, it would only mean accelerating the timeline—nothing to worry about too much.
For Gu Zhen, this was a gamble, betting on Li Qin confidence in his own strength.
As for the outcome of the gamble, he'd find out tomorrow at the star skills library.
Li Qin had been watching him for so long and was clearly very interested in him. Perhaps he'd take this chance to test Gu Zhen further.
The next day arrived quickly.
Gu Zhen took his high-grade star skill card to the second floor of the star skills library and began selecting a skill.
This time, Gu Zhen discovered a star skill that hadn't been there before:
[Shadow Fist]
Gu Zhen examined it and found that it was a B-grade star skill—a fist-type skills.
After a moment of silence, he quickly pieced things together.
He had asked for a movement-type star skill, and Li Qin had given him an extremely fast fist skill.
This was clearly a test of his talent.
While Gu Zhen could easily abandon this skill and exchange it for a movement-type one, letting such a good opportunity slip away didn't align with his personality.
After just a brief moment of consideration, Gu Zhen decisively chose to take this star skill.
Since Li Qin wanted to test him, he'd let him see what he was capable of. If his talent could spark a sense of appreciation in Li Qin, he might have a chance to survive.
If he backed out now, Li Qin would likely look down on him, and the outcome wouldn't be favorable.
After absorbing the insights from the skill card, Gu Zhen promptly left the library and returned to his dorm, where he began carefully studying the execution method of [Shadow Fist]
Meanwhile, Li Qin used his superpower to observe Gu Zhen. Upon learning of Gu Zhen choice, he was very satisfied.
"I hope you'll give me an even more spectacular performance next…" Li Qin muttered.
After studying the usage of Shadow Fist, Gu Zhen gained a clear understanding of the skill.
Overall, it was a fist skill focused on extremely fast strikes. At its mastery, it was said to be faster than one own shadow—hence the name Shadow Fist.
But Gu Zhen knew this was an exaggeration. He didn't buy it nor he was naive to believe it.
If the skill was truly that overpowering, Li Qin would've already used it to crush all rivals, not linger in a second-rate academy as a mere director.
Still, upon deeper analysis, Gu Zhen noticed something strange.
The skill felt…incomplete.
Some elements had clearly been deliberately removed.
While it wouldn't affect his training or execution, it piqued his curiosity.
Why would someone strip part of a skill before handing it over?
What exactly was being hidden?