High Martial: I Grind Professions

Chapter 242: Chapter 159: Scholar lv13, Descending the Mountain, Saber Soul

Once the Spiritual Power in his sea of consciousness had fully recovered, he got up, pushed open the door, and walked straight to the training grounds in the front courtyard.

Sunlight scattered across the green jade-paved grounds. In the corner of the courtyard, the Thunder Attraction Pillar faintly pulsed with a purple glow, resonating with the Thunder Attribute Spiritual Qi that filled the air.

Li Wen made a grasping motion with his palm, and a cold iron battle blade flew from the weapon rack into his hand with a SHING.

’Absolute Focus—on!’

At his mental command, his level 13 Scholar ability erupted with full force.

In an instant, the sound of the wind, the chirping of insects, and even the distant bells from the main peak all faded away. The courtyard’s flowers, plants, and the carvings on the stone pillars in his vision washed out like a fading ink painting.

All that remained in the world was the long blade in his hand—its spine’s forging patterns resembled veins of lightning, and the cold gleam of its edge flowed like a pouring Star River.

The immense Spiritual Power within his sea of consciousness transformed into invisible threads, precisely wrapping around every inch of the blade’s body.

With a light flick of his wrist, his basic chopping motions revealed a completely new realm under Absolute Focus.

The trajectory of the blade’s edge was no longer a simple arc, but was deconstructed with micrometer-level precision into countless spatial nodes.

Every change in direction pulled at the surrounding thunder-spirit particles, the humming sound condensing into tangible purple sparks that scattered with the blade’s light like a meteor shower.

He executed the Dawn Five Forms with casual ease.

The Daybreak Form turned softness into a taut string. Its blade qi spread like a morning mist, but shot out fine thunder needles from within its wisps.

The Thousand Radiance Form was a violent downward slash. The moment the blade’s light exploded, it split into twelve phantom images.

With the Silent Rainbow Form, he brought his momentum to a halt. Space distorted where the blade’s tip hovered, and the accumulated Thunder Fiend formed a vortex that voraciously pulled the scattered purple sparks back into the edge.

Within his sea of consciousness, his Primordial Spirit performed deductions in sync. The small, purple-gold figure swung its blade in the air, weaving the Blade Intent of the Five Forms into a net.

Previously stagnant nodes were forcefully broken through by bursts of violent inspiration. The explosive power of the Thousand Radiance Form was channeled into the concluding move of the Silent Rainbow Form, increasing the compression efficiency of the Thunder Fiend vortex by thirty percent. The suppleness of the Daybreak Form was woven into the Canghuang Form, making the blade qi’s trajectory as unpredictable and swift as a living snake.

Four and a half hours passed in a flash.

Li Wen was now enveloped in a spherical thunder domain ten meters in diameter, and ripples spread through space wherever his blade passed.

He unleashed the final form with all his might. A long dragon of blade qi, wreathed in Purple Sky Thunder Fiend as thick as liquid, blasted toward the sky.

"BOOM-CRACK—!"

The courtyard’s protective formation patterns flickered violently, and the shockwave sent the needles of a distant ancient pine tree rustling down like rain.

However, the moment he sheathed his blade, Li Wen’s brow furrowed slightly.

In his sea of consciousness, the movements of the Primordial Spirit figurine suddenly froze—that "membrane" leading to the Blade Soul Realm remained as tough as ever.

His Spiritual Power was nearly depleted. The luster of the purple-gold Primordial Spirit had dimmed, and the rotation of the spiritual core at the center of his brow had visibly slowed.

He stood leaning on his blade, thunder patterns faintly visible in his eyes.

Although he hadn’t broken through, he could already clearly sense the vast realm beyond the membrane, a state where intent gives birth to soul.

’I estimate that in another two or three months, I should be able to break through to the Blade Soul Realm smoothly.’ Li Wen gently caressed the humming blade, the sharpness in his eyes like dormant thunder.

...

「More than two months passed in the blink of an eye.」

「Galactic Calendar, Year 228, December 28th. Early morning.」

The chill seemed deeper than in previous years. Inside the meditation chamber of Courtyard A-1, in the core area of Nine Heavens Peak, Li Wen slowly opened his eyes. A stream of purple lightning flashed through their depths before vanishing.

Today was his twenty-first birthday. Two and a half years had quietly passed since he first stepped through the mountain gates of Firewood University.

Just as he did every time he woke up, he subconsciously looked at the information panel coalescing within his sea of consciousness.

All his stats showed steady improvement. Under the bladework section, he had stared countless times at the words "Realm Peak (99%)."

Just as he was lost in thought for a moment, the communicator on his wrist vibrated gently, displaying a familiar number.

"Dad, Mom." He answered the video call, and his parents’ kind faces appeared clearly in a holographic projection, carrying a warmth like the winter morning sun.

Their familiar birthday wishes reached his ears.

Time loses all meaning during cultivation. Immersed as he was in the vastness of the Martial Dao and the mysteries of the Primordial Spirit, Li Wen would have hardly remembered this day was his if not for his parents’ unfailing remembrance.

A feeling of warmth mixed with a slight pang of sorrow bloomed in his heart.

He quickly adjusted his posture and, with a touch of apology mixed with familial warmth, began to earnestly chat about everyday matters.

His parents asked with concern about his cultivation and life on the mountain, and he, in turn, asked in detail about how things were at home.

Half an hour slipped by in casual chatter.

Before hanging up, Li Wen’s gaze unintentionally swept over his parents’ temples. The new strands of silver hair there were like traces of frost, clearly visible, and they pierced deep into his heart, stirring a wave of bitterness.

He let out a soft sigh as a silent longing spread through him.

But the ironclad rule of Firewood University lay clearly in his mind: for disciples of exceptional talent and immense potential, the prohibition on leaving the mountain would not be lifted until their strength reached the Late-stage Bright Moon Realm.

Reuniting with his parents had become a goal that could only be achieved through several more years of hard training.

’Late-stage Bright Moon Realm... I’ll need at least two or three more years for that.’ A bitter smile touched Li Wen’s lips as he thought of the strict requirement.

It wasn’t that he failed to grasp the deeper meaning.

He was well aware of the purpose behind this seemingly heartless regulation.

Firewood Mountain was the cradle for all of Blue Star’s core geniuses, providing the purest, most undisturbed environment for growth.

Once he left this sanctuary and was assigned to the underground fortress-cities on the front lines against the Demon Race, he would face bloody battles that could erupt at any moment.

The Demon Race’s attacks were erratic. New Stargates could descend upon the world at any time like a dark cloud, making round-the-clock duty with barely a moment’s rest the norm.

Moreover, this prohibition was also for his own protection.

His halo of having a perfected Ninth Layer of the Nine Heavens Divine Body was a miracle in the human world, but in the eyes of the Demon Race, it was a fatal threat that had to be strangled in the cradle.

Even if the upper echelons of the Demon Race wouldn’t immediately dispatch a King-level existence to target a mere Flying Star Level cultivator, pursuit by powerful Marquis Level demons was practically a certainty.