High Martial: I Grind Professions

The spear seemed to merge with space itself, carrying a terrifying, irresistible might. It transformed into a brilliant flash that tore through the void, thrusting straight toward Wang Shuo.

’Startling Flash!’ This was the very spear thrust that had made Chu Feng famous.

Wang Shuo roared, frantically unleashing the last vestiges of his power to resist the inescapable, fatal blow. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

However, this was a full-power strike from a furious Chu Feng. How could a spent force like Wang Shuo possibly block it?

Wherever the spear’s light passed, the protective aura Wang Shuo had gathered shattered like paper. The virtual arena’s rules instantly registered a fatal blow, and his figure dissolved into motes of light.

「At the same time.」

The very instant Chu Feng’s spear tip pierced Wang Shuo’s body, Nangong Xue, on the other side, made her move.

She didn’t defend. Instead, her body transformed into a streak of ice-blue light. Carrying a bone-chilling cold and astonishing speed, she shot toward the motionless Li Wen like an ice phoenix soaring through the sky.

Her objective was crystal clear: to take advantage of the precise moment Chu Feng finished off Wang Shuo—when his old power was spent and new power had yet to rise—and eliminate Li Wen, the greatest variable, with lightning speed.

’Snow Soul: Flash Assault!’

The blade, gleaming with a biting cold, moved at extreme speed, tearing through the air as it aimed straight for Li Wen’s throat.

Nangong Xue’s tactic was brilliant, exploiting the most subtle of openings in timing.

[Absolute Focus Lv. 8]! Activate!

Li Wen’s gaze suddenly sharpened, becoming as deep as an abyss.

His level-eight Absolute Focus state flared to life.

In his eyes, the world seemed to slow down countless times over.

Nangong Xue’s lightning-fast figure, the trajectory of her piercingly cold sword strike, the flow of every wisp of True Qi in her body, and every subtle fluctuation of icy energy on her blade—all of it was reflected in his vision with absolute clarity.

He didn’t dodge. He didn’t retreat.

Under Absolute Focus, the trajectory of the fatal ice sword seemed to be analyzed and frozen in place by an invisible force.

’Defensive Form: Mirror Reflection!’

The long saber in Li Wen’s hand traced an arc before him. It seemed slow, but was in fact incredibly fast, perfectly in tune with the fluctuations of space.

This was no simple block. It was the absolute pinnacle of the third form’s essence—the Defensive Form—from the Five Luminaries Celestial Rainbow Skill: Flowing Rainbow Shocking Magpie Chapter.

The momentum of his saber condensed into a flowing, illusory mirror that reflected the trajectory of Nangong Xue’s attack.

CLANG—!

A piercing sound of impact rang out as the ice sword struck the arcing, flowing blade with perfect precision.

But then, something bizarre happened!

The immense, ice-cold True Qi and the fierce momentum Nangong Xue had poured into her blade didn’t erupt as expected, neither knocking Li Wen back nor freezing him.

The flowing arc of the saber acted like a living vortex, using some profound principle to completely envelop, guide, and deflect the terrifying force of her attack.

Nangong Xue instantly felt her focused power lose its purchase. Worse, a powerful rebounding force surged back up her sword.

The moment they made contact, she completely lost control of her attack.

An opening!

It was a hair’s breadth of a moment: Nangong Xue’s initial force was spent, new force had yet to rise, and her internal energy had stagnated for a split second due to the backlash.

Li Wen’s Absolute Focus captured this fleeting weakness with unerring precision.

"Skimming Shadow!"

A flash of the saber, like lightning tearing through the sky!

No! It was even faster!

Empowered by both his Absolute Focus and Primordial Spirit, Li Wen’s saber truly became a phantom, moving beyond the limits of visual perception.

There was no magnificent beam of saber light, only a gray line, condensed to the absolute limit and so fast that thought itself couldn’t keep pace.

SHLICK!

The shadow of the blade passed with unerring precision through the side of Nangong Xue’s neck, a spot left vulnerable by her stagnated energy.

The regulatory light of the virtual arena instantly enveloped Nangong Xue’s stunned, beautiful face. Her figure, frozen in shock and disbelief, dissolved into countless motes of light and vanished completely.

An enormous number of points were instantly credited to Li Wen, and his real-time ranking skyrocketed.

BOOM!!!

A wave of sound a hundred times more intense than anything before erupted from the entire arena! The public viewing area was in an uproar!

"What?!"

"Oh my god! Nangong Xue?! The Nangong Xue who’s ranked second in the provincial qualifiers was one-shot?!"

"Did... did anyone see that? What the hell did Li Wen just do? He defended? And then... and then that cut?"

"It was too fast! I couldn’t see a thing! That’s terrifying!"

"That defense just now... did he block Nangong Xue’s Snow Soul: Flash Assault? And then counter-killed her?!"

The ordinary spectators were too shocked to speak coherently.

In the seating area for representatives of the four major powers, even the seasoned experts were in an uproar, their eyes glued to the young man standing with his saber on the light screen.

"Deflecting force, rebounding to break momentum?! That application... it’s sublime, perfect down to the finest detail."

A high-level observer from the Fire Hall shot to his feet, a brilliant light flashing in his eyes.

"It wasn’t just the defense. The timing, precision, and speed of that counter-attack were all at their peak. His understanding and control of combat are nothing like that of a high school student."

A representative from another major power said gravely, his voice filled with deep shock.

"His grasp of timing is too perfect. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to catch Nangong Xue’s single opening in a match that intense."

"His realm of skill is clearly lower than hers, but his saber arts are so bizarrely powerful... Are Technique Awakened really this unbelievable?"

In the prodigies’ viewing area, the atmosphere was frozen solid.

The pupils of Lin Xuan, Fang Yiming, and the others who had just advanced contracted. Any trace of ease or mockery had vanished from their faces, replaced by an intense gravity and a hint of hidden dread.

Lin Xuan’s gaze was sharp as a blade.

"...Such a fast counter. Such a wicked blade. His understanding of combat..."

The hand with which he gripped his own saber tightened unconsciously.

After eliminating Wang Shuo, Chu Feng stood his ground and looked back, his dark silver spear still trembling. He had just finished his own fight and hadn’t even had a moment to catch his breath when he witnessed the astonishing sight of Nangong Xue being eliminated right before his very eyes.