High Martial: I Grind Professions

Huang Hao’s pupils constricted, and cold sweat instantly beaded on his forehead.

The blade aura had erupted a mere ten-odd meters away. The terrifying aura of death brushed past his body, and he could even feel his skin sting from the residual Blade Intent.

He gripped his twin axes, muscles tensed to the absolute limit. He instantly retreated from the central area, pressing himself tightly behind a massive stone pillar of the arena, his eyes filled with utter terror.

"Oh?" A flicker of interest finally broke through the indifferent gaze of Li Wen, who was spectating from the void.

The blade aura had erupted without warning, and the concentration of its power far surpassed a casual strike from someone who had just entered the Power Realm. Although it was still imperfect, its force feeling somewhat scattered, its power was already terrifying enough in a melee like this.

Clearing out dozens of people in an instant—this efficiency and deterrence perfectly showcased the terrifying dominance of the Power Realm in a melee.

His gaze was instantly captivated. With a slight shift of his will, Li Wen pierced through the lingering energy ripples and precisely locked onto the source of the blade aura’s eruption.

It was a tall, slender youth with a cold and arrogant expression.

He held a long, narrow battle blade that shimmered with a cold, dark luster. He gave it a casual flourish, his posture so nonchalant it was as if his last strike had merely swatted away some annoying flies.

What made Li Wen look twice was the number following the "eye" icon hanging over the man’s head: a staggering "11287".

And the number was still climbing rapidly, meaning the attention of over eleven thousand spectators was focused on him alone.

This enormous disparity in viewership was a direct reflection of the man’s terrifying reputation and strength.

His curiosity piqued, Li Wen shifted his will and instantly switched his spectating target from Huang Hao to this cold, arrogant bladesman.

The moment his perspective shifted, it was like being dropped into a stadium packed with tens of thousands of roaring fans.

A torrent of discussion, screams, and fanatical cheers, like rolling thunder, instantly flooded his ears:

"Profound God! Profound God! He cleared the field in one strike!!"

"So damn cool! Is this the power of Lin Xuan, one of the top ten in Jiangnan?!"

"He was tenth in the last provincial mock exam! Lord Lin Xuan! This melee mode is practically tailor-made for you!"

"Lin Xuan, over here! Crush everyone!! Let’s go!!"

’Lin Xuan? Tenth in the provincial mock exam?’ Li Wen’s eyes narrowed as he repeated the key information he had distilled from the tsunami of voices.

’I have a vague memory of that name. I saw it on the ’Jiangnan Prodigy Rankings’ after the provincial mock exam.’

His gaze returned to the impassive Lin Xuan on the arena floor.

With just a single, casual strike, he had cleared out a radius of tens of meters, creating a forbidden zone of death that no one dared to enter.

In the tens of meters of the arena surrounding him, he now stood alone and aloof. All the other contestants had scrambled to the edges, their eyes filled with terror.

Even some skilled contestants who had reached the Unity Realm were being exceptionally cautious, not daring to get anywhere near his blade’s edge.

Lin Xuan seemed to have lost interest in the ant-like opponents around him. His gaze, filled with a hint of appraisal, swept over the contestants cowering at the edge of the arena like startled birds. A disdainful smirk seemed to touch the corner of his lips.

He slowly raised his blade, its tip pointing toward a contestant in another corner who also had a powerful aura.

The targeted contestant immediately looked as if he was facing a mortal enemy. His face turned deathly pale as he cursed his rotten luck.

’I thought with my strength at the late-stage Unity Realm, winning the first few rounds wouldn’t be a problem,’ he thought. ’I never imagined I’d run into a Power Realm monster in the very first round.’

...

Holding his long blade, Lin Xuan seemed to have transformed into the cold Grim Reaper himself.

He wasted no words. His figure blurred, and the long blade in his hand executed a simple horizontal sweep.

However, the immense power channeled into the blade’s edge was like a giant boulder thrown into a calm lake—it suddenly exploded outward.

VMMMM—!

An incredibly condensed, grayish-white blade aura, screaming as it tore through the air, suddenly expanded like an invisible ripple of death, instantly sweeping across nearly half the arena.

"Aaargh!"

"Pfft!"

"No—!"

Terrified screams mingled with the sounds of shattering weapons and tearing armor.

With a single strike, more than twenty contestants—their skills ranging from master-level techniques to the late-stage Unity Realm—were unable to even mount a proper defense before dissolving into motes of light. They were mercilessly ejected from the virtual battlefield, half their points instantly wiped out.

Huang Hao felt an irresistible, terrifying pressure slam into him. Every hair on his body stood on end as a chill shot from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.

Acting on pure survival instinct, he used every ounce of his strength to desperately tumble backward, narrowly scraping past the edge of the rampaging blade aura.

The cold Blade Intent washed over him, making his skin burn. His virtual armor let out a pained groan, its durability instantly plummeting.

Still shaken, he lay on the ground and looked up. A huge section in the center of the arena was now completely empty, as if it had been scoured by a hurricane.

The surviving contestants were all deathly pale. They stared at Lin Xuan with a primal fear, as if looking at a ferocious beast choosing its next meal.

In the vast spectator space of the virtual colosseum, several figures exuding powerful auras occupied prominent positions, their attention fixed on the slaughter in Arena 3.

"Hmph. That guy, Lin Xuan. Still loves to stomp on newbies."

A young man with a buzz cut, dressed in fiery red combat gear, sneered, but his eyes were grave.

"But still, that blade’s power... It’s definitely fiercer than before. During last month’s provincial mock exam, he was stuck on the threshold between the early and mid-stages of the Power Realm. Judging by the control and blast radius of that last strike, he’s probably just a step away from the Mid-stage of Power Realm."

A woman next to him, her figure as ethereal as the wind and a cyan longsword strapped to her back, nodded slightly.

"He’s very close to the mid-stage. It was condensed, not scattered, with precise area suppression and a swift, explosive release. This level of mastery in Blade Intent should rank him among the top blade prodigies of his age in the entire country. It looks like he’s been training hard this past month."

"Hard work?" Another handsome young man, seated on a floating round stone, opened his eyes. His voice carried a trace of indifference.

"I heard he rejected early admission offers from several top Martial Dao universities in Kyoto and went all-in, entering secluded training for a month in the ’Blade Grave Secret Realm’ his father left behind. With that kind of drive and fortuitous opportunity, it’s only natural his strength would improve so quickly. He... must be itching for a fight with Chu Feng right now."

Their conversation revealed an acknowledgment of his strength, but it was also tinged with an undercurrent of rivalry.

Every one of them was a top-ten prodigy from the last provincial mock exam. Lin Xuan’s dominant performance had undoubtedly put pressure on them.

...

In a private area, isolated from the noisy public viewing sections and boasting a perfect line of sight, the atmosphere was entirely different.

It was much quieter and more solemn here, the air thick with an aura of professional evaluation and decision-making.

The regional directors of the Four Great Factions in Jiangnan Province, a representative from the Jiangnan Governor’s Office, and observers from all the top Martial Dao universities were all focused on a giant, floating screen before them, which was split into dozens of smaller displays.

Each small display corresponded to an arena in the midst of a fierce battle, with a sidebar scrolling through real-time data for every contestant: current points, status, basic information, and a system-generated threat index.

Right now, the display labeled "Arena 3" in the center was the clearest and most prominent, its border flashing with a conspicuous, pale-gold warning.

This was the system’s special marker for an individual with extremely high potential and immediate destructive capability.

The focus of the display was that same cold, arrogant figure, Lin Xuan, who stood one-handed with his blade, looking down on the entire arena.

"Lin Xuan’s performance shows significant improvement compared to his data from last month’s provincial mock exam."

A male observer wearing gold-rimmed glasses and a "Jiangnan Martial Dao University" badge pushed up his spectacles. His voice was calm, yet carried the tone of a professional analyst.

"His application of his blade’s power is more masterful, and his explosive force has increased by at least fifteen percent. Judging by his precise control over that wide-area blade aura, he must be touching the cusp of the Mid-stage of Power Realm."

A female observer from "China’s First Military Academy" added, her fingers rapidly tapping notes onto the light screen.

"Only one month... That rate of growth is truly astonishing."

The representative from the Governor’s Office crossed his arms, his gaze sharp. "Based on the power and potential he’s displaying, he should be able to challenge for a top-five spot in this second provincial mock exam."

"Indeed," another observer nodded in agreement. "His explosive power, speed, and control over the Power Realm are all well-balanced. His combat style is ruthless but efficient, with no obvious weaknesses. He’s a promising talent."

The representatives of the Four Great Factions were comparatively much more composed.

A faint, almost imperceptible smile played on Councilman Sun Zhenshan’s lips. His gaze did not linger on Lin Xuan for long; instead, it swept across the other arenas, as if searching for something.

The representatives from the other factions, such as the Mercenary Alliance, the Virtual World Corporation, and Galaxy Bank, all remained impassive.

To them, a prodigy like Lin Xuan—who had already been evaluated during the last provincial mock exam and had even signed a high-level contract—was a known quantity whose file was already on record at headquarters.

This time was more about observing the scope of his progress and seeing if his development met expectations; they didn’t need to record and evaluate him from scratch like the university observers.

Lin Xuan’s excellent performance merely validated their earlier judgment.

"He’s nearly met the criteria for an S-rank contract," the representative from Galaxy Bank whispered to the person beside him.

"Last time, we only gave him an A-plus resource package. If he can place in the top three this time, headquarters will likely reconsider granting him a formal S-rank contract."

"Actual combat ability is what’s key," a brawny, muscle-bound representative from the Mercenary Alliance rumbled.

"Watching him cut through these small fry is like slicing melons, but the real test of his S-rank potential will be whether he can maintain this overwhelming momentum when he runs into a truly tough opponent, like the others in the top ten."

"Mm. We can’t learn much from this melee round. The real show will be the later qualifying matches and the finals."

Councilman Sun Zhenshan finally spoke, retracting his gaze from the arena.