High Martial: I Grind Professions

Chapter 185: Chapter 142: Peak Selection

Galactic Calendar, Year 226, July 12th.

Another ten days had passed since Li Wen consumed the last Holy Body Golden Pattern Fruit and pushed his physical body to the peak of a High-level Martial Artist.

Their batch of Year 226 freshmen were once again gathered in the core area of the Kindling Ancestral Vein—Enlightenment Peak Plaza.

Today, the most important event concerning their Martial Dao foundation, and even their future path, would take place—Peak Selection.

Peak Selection meant choosing the God-Demon Art they would major in for the future.

At Kindling University, each of the twelve peaks represented one Super Grade God-Demon inheritance art and multiple Upper Grade God-Demon arts. Once chosen, it would determine the foundation and direction of their Super Martial Artist stage.

Its importance far surpassed any previous assessment.

By the time Li Wen followed the crowd to Enlightenment Peak’s massive plaza, which resembled the training grounds of an ancient sect, the place was already buzzing with activity.

It wasn’t just the two hundred freshmen gathered there. The plaza was already surrounded by numerous senior disciples dressed in the unique attire of their respective peaks. Each one had a profound aura and sharp gaze, and they were sizing up the newcomers with great interest.

What was even more eye-catching was a group of a dozen or so powerful individuals gathered in an area to the side of the main stage with an excellent view. Their auras were as deep as the sea, but they didn’t deliberately release any pressure.

But their mountain-like presence alone was enough to make the air feel heavy. These were the Marquis Level God-Demon experts of Kindling University who didn’t have any urgent missions.

This was a long-standing tradition at Kindling University. During the new disciples’ Peak Selection, some senior experts were invited to observe the ceremony, both to show the importance placed on the freshmen and to bestow the ancient blessing of ”passing the torch.”

Li Wen walked straight toward the area where the small group from Jiangnan Province was gathered.

Thanks to the tireless efforts this past month of Wang Shuo, the resident social butterfly and gossip monger, Li Wen, Fang Chenghong, Chu Feng, and Nangong Xue had gradually started hanging out with him, forming a small five-person group with Li Wen at its core.

In this unfamiliar environment, it was normal for freshmen to band together for warmth and share information.

Similar small groups were common among the two hundred freshmen, mostly formed by people from the same province, country, or with similar backgrounds.

”Brother Wen, over here!” Wang Shuo, with his sharp eyes, immediately waved at Li Wen with a smile.

Beside him, Fang Chenghong, Chu Feng, and Nangong Xue also nodded to Li Wen in greeting.

”Brother Wen.”

”Li Wen.”

”Mm,” Li Wen responded with a gentle smile, walking over to stand with the four of them.

As soon as Li Wen had steadied himself, Wang Shuo immediately sidled up to him, lowered his voice, and jutted his chin toward Du Yun, who stood out from the crowd like a crane among chickens, surrounded by others.

”Hey, Brother Wen, see that? Over by Du Yun. Did you hear? That guy actually broke through to the Intent Realm yesterday. The freshmen group chats are going crazy. Everyone’s saying he’s the first in our year to reach the third realm, the ’Realm of Intent.’ He’s totally stealing the spotlight. Tsk tsk, it’s pretty funny when you think about it...”

Wang Shuo couldn’t help but purse his lips, a mischievous look on his face.

”If this overly excited bunch knew that you, Brother Wen, entered the Blade Intent realm over half a month ago, right when the college entrance exam results came out, I can only imagine the looks on their faces, haha!”

That’s right. The fact that Li Wen had comprehended Blade Intent was currently only known within their small five-person circle.

To everyone else, Li Wen was still the top freshman with ”peerless” Spiritual Sense, the one whose tenth blade strike in the comprehension assessment was earth-shattering, and whose combat power crushed all competition. But as far as they knew, he had not yet reached the Intent Realm.

Li Wen himself had never actively publicized it.

Hearing this, Li Wen just smiled calmly. With a slight shift in his thoughts, a thread of pure Primordial Spirit power spread out silently like a ripple in water.

In an instant, the faint whispers of the surrounding conversations became clear.

Just as Wang Shuo had said, people all over the crowd were quietly discussing the same name—”Du Yun”—and his even more remarkable achievement: ”comprehending Spear Intent.”

Their words were filled with amazement, envy, and even a faint sense of awe.

A few of the experts in the Marquis Level viewing area also let their gazes linger on Du Yun from time to time.

”You should worry less about empty fame,” Li Wen said with a laugh, shaking his head as he quietly retracted his Primordial Spirit power.

This level of discussion could no longer affect his state of mind in the slightest.

”True. You’re the real number one, and you’re not in a hurry to show off, so why should I be anxious for you?” Wang Shuo shrugged, taking it in stride. ”Besides, being number one, you certainly don’t lack for this bit of glory.”

The five of them chatted casually for a bit longer, mainly exchanging their thoughts on the twelve peaks and their inheritance arts.

Time passed quickly, and the official start time for the Peak Selection ceremony was fast approaching.

Just then—

VMMMM!

As if space itself was humming, an invisible but immense pressure enveloped the entire plaza.

Everyone instantly fell silent, their heads turning involuntarily toward the main stage.

The twelve Peak Masters had arrived!

They seemed to step out of the void, one after another, as if following some ancient order, their figures materializing silently on the main stage.

The appearance of each Peak Master was met with a huge wave of cheers from the disciples of their respective peaks.

The first to appear was the Peak Master of Nine Heavens Peak—a stern-faced, middle-aged man in a black robe with an ancient sword on his back, his Sword Qi soaring to the heavens and his gaze sharp enough to pierce through anything.

Although there were only a dozen or so disciples from Nine Heavens Peak, their cheers were exceptionally sharp and high-pitched, carrying a sense of aloof pride and disdain.

Next was the Peak Master of Sky-splitting Peak, a burly man built like a demon god, with crimson hair standing on end. The moment he appeared, the cheers from the Sky-splitting Peak disciples erupted like a tsunami, deafening and instantly drowning out all other sounds. There was a simple reason for this—Sky-splitting Peak had the most disciples.

After him came the Peak Masters of Xingyan Peak, Earth Peak, and so on... Each Peak Master had a distinct temperament—some profound, some fiery, some ethereal, some solid—but without exception, they all exuded a terrifying aura as vast as an ocean, one that faintly distorted the space around them. All of them were King-level experts.

The waves of cheers sparked by the appearance of the different Peak Masters clearly illustrated the current power dynamic among the peaks.

Sky-splitting Peak had the most people, the deepest foundation, and the greatest influence.

Nine Heavens Peak, on the other hand, was indisputably the peak with the fewest members.

However, when that black-robed figure stood there in solitary pride, not even the tsunami-like cheers from Sky-splitting Peak could mask the intense presence emanating from the disciples of Nine Heavens Peak.

Everyone understood that although the disciples of Nine Heavens Peak were few, anyone who dared to choose and successfully walk that perilous path was a true prodigy of their generation. The quality of their individual members was the highest among the twelve peaks.

The weight carried by those few individuals could not be underestimated by anyone.

When the final Peak Master, a graceful figure from Bibo Peak shrouded in a light mist, took her place, the lineup of twelve experts symbolizing Kindling University’s highest inheritances was complete.

Immediately after, a figure with hair as white as snow silently materialized in the very center of the main stage, appearing so naturally it was as if he had been there all along.

It was the white-haired principal, whose scholarly elegance was matched by an aura that seemed to overlook the entire Star River.

”Principal!!”

”Principal!!!”

The entire Enlightenment Peak plaza erupted.

Regardless of whether they were new or senior disciples, regardless of their cultivation level, everyone erupted into the most fervent cheers. The sound waves shot into the sky, blasting away the lingering wisps of mist.

This wasn’t just reverence for the powerful; it was faith in and aspiration for the Way of Kindling.

The principal wore a gentle smile, his gaze slowly sweeping over the young, energetic faces below, pausing for a moment on Li Wen and a few other outstanding freshmen.

His calm voice wasn’t loud, yet it clearly suppressed all the clamor and reached every corner of the plaza. ”Silence.”

As his voice fell, the plaza instantly became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

”The auspicious time has arrived. I declare the Kindling University Year 226 Freshmen Peak Selection Ceremony officially open!”

As the principal’s steady voice faded, the atmosphere of the entire venue was once again pushed to a climax. Countless nervous, expectant, and apprehensive gazes focused on the main stage.

The white-haired principal calmly swept his gaze over the crowd and announced the rules.

”Peak Selection is a matter of great importance to your Martial Dao foundation. As is tradition, to make your path of choice more solemn and to encourage friendly competition among disciples of the same year, this selection will proceed in reverse order of the final rankings on the freshmen selection’s Golden Roll.”

The moment these words were spoken, an astonished uproar erupted from the crowd below.

Reverse order?! This meant the 200th-ranked freshman would be the first to go on stage and choose their peak, while the number one ranked Li Wen would be the last.

Wang Shuo, who had been ”discreetly” standing beside Li Wen, instantly froze, his expression like he’d been struck by lightning.

He, Wang Shuo, just so happened to be... this year’s 200th place.

”Huh? Reverse order?!” Wang Shuo felt his vision go dark. His jaw dropped open wide enough to fit an egg.

All this time, he had been trying hard to downplay the embarrassing fact that he was ”dead last,” dreaming of being in the final group to choose his peak.

He figured that once the geniuses at the front were mostly done and the audience’s attention had waned, he could quietly pick a suitable peak and slip away without anyone noticing the guy in last place.

Who would have thought! He, the one in last place... was supposed to be the first one to go on stage and choose a peak?!

Under the watchful eyes of the entire audience?! Under the gazes of several hundred senior disciples, a dozen Marquis Level God-Demon experts, twelve King-level Peak Masters, and the principal?!

An immense sense of nervousness and embarrassment instantly enveloped him, almost suffocating him.

”Go on. Don’t keep everyone waiting.”

Li Wen’s amused voice came from beside him, and a long, strong hand patted his shoulder, offering both comfort and encouragement.

Wang Shuo swallowed hard. His face was pale, and fine beads of sweat had even started to form on his temples.

He looked at Li Wen’s calm, encouraging eyes, then felt the gazes from the crowd—a mixture of surprise, curiosity, and even a hint of amusement—as well as the stares from the main stage, which were powerful enough to make a planet tremble...

He understood there was absolutely no escaping this.

In a situation like this, he wouldn’t dare keep a host of King-level and Marquis Level experts waiting, not even if he had a hundred times the courage.

’I’ll just have to risk it all!’ Wang Shuo steeled himself, gritted his teeth, and braced himself. With a sense of tragic heroism, he shuffled out of the crowd, one step at a time, and headed toward the main stage.