High Martial: I Grind Professions

It was not as ferocious as a waterfall, but possessed a will that was gentle and silent, yet utterly inescapable.

Innumerable, infinitesimally fine rays of rainbow light intertwined, collided, and refracted before him, forming a lethal, iridescent domain several meters in radius.

The rainbow light flowed ceaselessly within it. Though it appeared incomparably beautiful, it was filled with a heart-palpitating aura of annihilation.

It was as if any object that entered, tangible or intangible, would be utterly shredded and dissolved by this unceasing vortex of light. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

This was not a violent, frontal assault, but a terrifyingly precise form of area control and continuous destruction.

Li Wen’s pupils contracted slightly. The last time he had watched the Heaven-Dropping Form, he had been more stunned by the sharp edge of the will it contained.

Now that he had entered the Potential Realm and perfected the first three forms, his understanding of the Heaven-Dropping Form’s mysteries was much deeper.

Its ability to weave a killing domain of rainbow light over a wide area perfectly compensated for his previous shortcomings in dealing with multiple enemies or large-scale battlefields.

"The Heaven-Dropping Form is named for the concept of a rainbow hanging from the nine heavens, its light birthing a domain of annihilation. It emphasizes the continuity of its potential, controlling the enemy within a small space and destroying them unseen. It is an excellent technique for clearing the field, dividing enemies, and trapping foes. Its difficulty lies in the rainbow light being as fine as silk and ever-changing, allowing the domain to form with but a thought."

The virtual mentor’s impassive voice sounded, and with a flourish of its wooden blade, it clearly demonstrated the condensed trajectories of rainbow light, imbued with the unique rhythm and spatial sense of constructing a "domain."

Li Wen took a deep breath, collected himself, and threw his entire focus into it.

He tried to imitate the trajectory for constructing the "rainbow light domain," activating the potential within his body.

At first, the rainbow light he swung was like a thick whip, moving clumsily, devoid of any aesthetic or coherence.

The "domain" he constructed was even more fragmented and broken, unable to form an effective field of destruction.

But he was not discouraged. Activating his lv9 [Absolute Focus], he watched the virtual mentor’s demonstration again and again, and he, in turn, tried, corrected, and reconstructed again and again.

The 90% boost to his comprehension, combined with the powerful Perception Power and control granted by the second layer of his Primordial Spirit, was on full display.

He focused on the condensation of each tiny ray of rainbow light, the precision of its trajectory, and the mysterious way they interacted and coordinated with one another.

Time flew by in his state of concentration.

Li Wen was completely immersed in the world of his blade technique, as if the passage of time in the outside world had stopped.

An unknown amount of time passed in the virtual space. When Li Wen swung his blade again, things were different.

Streams of seven-colored blade light, as condensed as silk, flowed from the tip of his blade. They were no longer scattered, but under the guidance of his will, they began to weave into a web of light that covered a two-to-three-meter area around him.

Although it was still far from the perfectly natural and self-forming domain of the virtual mentor, one could already feel a binding force and a thread-like cutting power as the web of light circulated. The initial signs of area control were beginning to show.

This was the entry level of the Heaven-Dropping Form.

When he finally awoke from that state of complete self-forgetfulness and his consciousness withdrew from the virtual space, the evening lights were already twinkling outside his window, and countless stars were embedded in the night sky of Bluestone County.

"Hoo..." Exhaling a long breath, Li Wen’s sharp gaze softened, but he couldn’t hide the mix of exhaustion and excitement in his expression.

The profundity of the Heaven-Dropping Form far exceeded his expectations. The intense mental focus required for practicing it for the better part of a day had been quite taxing.

He exited the virtual pod and closed his eyes to recuperate, making use of the residual effects of the Starlight Concentration Liquid he had drunk that afternoon, which had not yet been fully depleted.

When he opened his eyes again twenty minutes later, more than half of his depleted Spiritual Power had been restored.

He didn’t continue practicing his blade technique, but instead began to circulate the Splitting Blade Golden Killing Skill.

His qi and blood began to circulate at high speed. The intense pain that should have accompanied it—a sensation of flesh and meridians being torn apart—was now greatly mitigated after his Primordial Spirit reached the second layer.

The clarity and strength of his Primordial Spirit had elevated his control over energy and the minute workings of his physical body to a new level.

His once-turbulent qi and blood now seemed to be enveloped in a flexible yet powerful film of will, flowing and tempering his body more smoothly and efficiently according to his intentions.

Two hours later, his cultivation session ended.

A more refined qi and blood settled into his limbs and bones, and his physical strength had increased by another minuscule amount.

He picked up an entire Tier-2 Qi and Blood Potion that he had prepared earlier, tilted his head back, and downed it in a few gulps. GULP, GULP.

Ever since his physical body broke through to level 9.0, his digestive and absorption capabilities had undergone a qualitative change.

The immense power from a Tier-2 Qi and Blood Potion, which he previously had to consume in multiple doses, could now be fully absorbed and converted within a single day, without the slightest bit of waste.

And even this was not yet his limit.

Setting down the empty bottle, Li Wen carefully took a fruit from a beautifully decorated, sealed box made of star-patterned ironwood.

The fruit was blood-red, emitting a rich life energy and a faint, exotic fragrance. Fine veins were faintly visible on its skin, and it pulsed slightly, like the heart of a living creature.

The Blood Essence Dragon Scale Fruit, a treasure of heaven and earth specifically used to raise the level of one’s physical body. Its potency was so great that it was considered a treasure among Exotic Fruits.

What made it even rarer was that it could complement a Qi and Blood Potion, their effects stacking without any conflict.

For this reason, a single Blood Essence Dragon Scale Fruit was worth as much as 200,000 Xinhuo Points.

This was already equivalent to the price of a Tier-3 Spiritual Power potion.

Even though Li Wen held an S-Class Core Seed Contract and enjoyed a massive resource quota, he still felt it was a bit extravagant each time he took out this fruit to consume.

The price was steep, but the effects were immediate.

The Blood Essence Dragon Scale Fruit melted in his mouth, transforming into a torrent of unimaginably pure and surging heat. Its Life Origin energy, more tyrannical and direct than that of the Qi and Blood Potion, erupted instantly.

It merged with the energy from the Tier-2 Qi and Blood Potion that was not yet fully digested in his body, forming a raging torrent.

Under the scouring, nourishing, and tempering of this torrent, his physical body, already at level 9.6, was once again advancing toward that crucial milestone—level 10.0—at a speed that defied all logic.

This was the power of money and resources. This was also the fundamental reason why Li Wen could continue to improve at an even more astonishing speed after his physical body reached level 9.0.

Every single day, he was burning through precious resources that would make countless ordinary Martial Artists despair.

「...」

Time flew by. Stacked with an almost insane amount of cultivation resources and his own efficient training, several more days slipped away quietly.

The calendar turned to May 20th.

This was a special day. For many young men and women, it was imbued with the romanticism of Valentine’s Day.

But for the hundreds of thousands of third-year high school students in Jiangnan Province, and especially for Li Wen, today held a more important meaning—it was the day of the academic portion of the third provincial mock exam.

In the early morning, Li Wen awoke from a deep and efficient meditation.

The sky outside was just beginning to brighten.

He didn’t get up immediately. With a thought, the familiar light-blue data panel quietly unfolded before his eyes:

[Name: Li Wen]

[Age: 18]

[Rank: Unranked (9.6 → 9.9)]

[Class: Scholar lv9 (8514/25600)]

[Skills: Blade Technique · Potential Realm (80%), Five Luminaries Celestial Rainbow Skill · Flowing Rainbow’s Five Forms (Shadow-Stealing Form 100%, Overlapping Waves Form 100%, Defensive Form 100%, Heaven-Dropping Form 100%)]

[Cultivation Technique: Splitting Blade Golden Killing Skill (Perfection)]

In just ten days!

His physical body’s level had soared from 9.6 to 9.9, leaving only the final 0.1 level before the threshold of a Martial Artist.

If word of this speed got out, it would be enough to leave countless aspiring Martial Artists, stuck at the peak of level 9 for months, utterly dumbfounded.

In terms of skills, the Heaven-Dropping Form had reached the Perfection realm through his diligent practice.

With this, the first four forms of the Flowing Rainbow Shocking Magpie Chapter—Shadow-Stealing, Overlapping Waves, Defensive, and Heaven-Dropping—were all perfected.

The progress of his Blade Potential Realm had jumped to an astonishing 80%.

The final form, the Guan Yue Form, was now within reach.

Li Wen knew with absolute clarity that once he cultivated the Guan Yue Form to Perfection and completely mastered the Five Forms, he could trigger their fusion and condense his very own—Blade Intent.

The Blade Realm!

Those two words weighed heavily on Li Wen’s mind.

This was a threshold that countless Flying Star Level experts could not touch in their entire lives.

It was precisely because this realm was so difficult to reach that they were trapped at the Flying Star Level, unable to glimpse the realm beyond.

But now, this path to the pinnacle of human martial skill had clearly unfolded at his feet.

Suppressing the scorching desire surging in his heart, Li Wen pushed open the door and joined his parents for breakfast as usual.

The atmosphere at the table was warm. His parents looked at their son with eyes full of pride and a hint of imperceptible nervousness.

Li Wen, however, was calm, even carrying a transcendent serenity.

Today was the third provincial mock exam. For him, the result was almost a foregone conclusion.

A month ago, at the second provincial mock exam, he had already crushed his peers with absolute strength. He’d taken first place across the province in both the academic and practical combat skill assessments. He only placed second overall because he was behind on points for his physical body’s level.

And after this month of frenzied sprinting?

Academic knowledge? He had long since mastered it, a part of his very instincts.

Combat skills? After defeating four top provincial prodigies who had all reached the Potential Realm to claim the top spot, who could possibly shake his confidence?

Physical body level? 9.9! A full level and then some higher than his 8.7 during the second provincial mock exam.

This meant the points he would receive for his physical body level would see a huge increase.

In contrast, Chu Feng, Nangong Xue, and the others had already maxed out their scores for their physical body level during the first provincial mock exam, leaving them no room for improvement.

As for surpassing him in the academic or skill assessments? They would have to possess a cheat-like ability like [Absolute Focus].

Therefore, for Li Wen, taking first place in the overall score for this third provincial mock exam was already in the bag. It was his for the taking, and the thought barely stirred any emotion within him.

The only thing that still interested him at this moment was the academic exam itself—it meant another 12,000 Scholar experience points would be his.

This would be a crucial step toward the 25,600 experience points needed for Scholar lv9.

After breakfast, his exclusive silver-gray levitating limousine arrived punctually downstairs.

The door slid open. Li Wen settled into the back seat, and the vehicle started silently, gliding smoothly toward Bluestone Third Middle School.

Familiar city scenes flashed past the window.

The vehicle soon reached its destination.

The door opened, and the moment Li Wen stepped out of the car, the atmosphere at the gate of Bluestone Third Middle School seemed to ignite instantly.