High Martial: I Grind Professions

Chapter 219: Chapter 155: 3rd Layer Shocking God Stab, Eighth-Layer Perfection, the Newcomer with Peerless Aptitude

”There was a real monster in the aptitude test that just finished.”

Li Wen nodded. ”Yeah, I heard some whispers. How are you guys doing?”

”We’re getting by. Sticking to the plan,” Fang Chenghong replied succinctly.

Under the immense pressure Li Wen represented, he, Du Yun, and the others never slacked off.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Li Wen parted ways with the two.

He walked to an inconspicuous corner at the very edge of the Nine Heavens Peak spectator area, found a seat, and suppressed his aura to the absolute minimum. He seemed like just another ordinary disciple, quiet and unremarkable.

But he could clearly sense several exceptionally focused gazes directed at him from Sky-splitting Peak, Xingyan Peak, and even from within the Nine Heavens Peak area itself.

The owners of those gazes were, without exception, the top senior disciples or well-known geniuses of their respective peaks.

His gaze swept calmly toward the center of the plaza.

The aptitude assessment was in full swing, with a massive, ring-shaped light screen separating numerous simulated combat arenas.

A new batch of two hundred young geniuses, having just finished their contemplation in the Enlightenment Rooms, was walking out, ready for the final verification of the techniques they had grasped.

Their young faces showed a mix of nervousness and excitement, along with a hint of fatigue and a dazed look from their recent deep enlightenment.

Just then, Li Wen felt the gazes of the vast majority of disciples in the surrounding stands—regardless of their peak affiliation—suddenly focus in unison on a single youth.

The youth was not tall, but with his fair skin and handsome features, he was exceptionally good-looking. His eyes, however, held a brightness and sharpness that far surpassed his peers.

”Look! It’s him!”

”That’s him! Two minutes! It only took him two minutes to enter a trance! The Enlightenment Incense had barely started wafting before he was in!”

”My god, I think the fastest last year was three minutes, right? This year’s batch is just ridiculous!”

A tide of discussion rose around Li Wen, all of it centered on the handsome youth.

Two minutes to enter a trance, an astonishing performance in the Enlightenment Room... words of high praise continuously reached his ears.

Among the chatter, last year’s record and the name associated with ”three minutes” were mentioned repeatedly.

For a moment, even Li Wen felt a flicker of interest.

His gaze, sharpened like a hawk’s by the tempering of his Primordial Spirit, also fell upon the youth in the center of the field who had instantly become the focus of the entire crowd.

Soon, it was this group’s turn to demonstrate the weapon techniques they had comprehended in the Enlightenment Room.

As the handsome youth, guided by an attendant, walked toward an empty circular demonstration platform, the gazes of the entire audience locked onto him like tangible beams of light.

The buzzing discussion grew louder, filled with curiosity and anticipation.

”Here he comes! Let’s see how many moves he can demonstrate!”

”Senior Brother Li Wen did ten moves last year! He entered the trance so fast, can he also reach ten?”

”I feel like it’ll be more... I heard the azure smoke reacted especially strongly after he entered his trance...”

”If he really surpasses ten moves, that would be heaven-defying...”

The youth walked with a steady gait to the center of the demonstration platform.

His eyes scanned the stands. When his gaze inadvertently swept past the quiet young figure sitting at the edge of the Nine Heavens Peak section, his pupils constricted slightly.

’Li Wen!’

A powerful emotion flashed through the youth’s eyes—the fervent desire of one who has found a clear target, filled with the sharp audacity of a newborn calf that fears no tiger and the will to chase down his benchmark.

The Third Layer of his Primordial Spirit granted Li Wen Perception Power far beyond that of an ordinary person. He clearly captured the instantaneous change in the youth’s eyes and the emotion it contained.

Li Wen’s expression remained unchanged. He simply regarded him as one would an outstanding junior, the corner of his mouth lifting in an extremely faint, almost imperceptible, good-natured smile.

’Catch up to me?’ Li Wen’s heart was as calm as still water.

’With the terrifying aptitude bonus from my current [Scholar] LV12, this youth before me might be exceptionally gifted, but if he wants to surpass me... that road will be long. Very long.’

The youth retracted his gaze, took a deep breath, and his expression instantly became solemn and focused.

His weapon was a saber. It looked like a standard-issue long saber, but in his hand, it seemed to come alive.

In that instant, a distinct aura of sharpness emanated from him!

The demonstration began!

SWISH! The first slash was clean and decisive, carrying a latent power waiting to be unleashed.

SWISH! The second slash followed seamlessly, as natural as flowing water.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH...!

One slash after another! His movements weren’t flashy, but they were exceptionally precise and swift, as if each cut was etched into his muscle memory, clearly interpreting the very essence of the saber techniques from the murals.

Three slashes, five slashes, seven slashes...

As he continued to execute the techniques, the cries of astonishment from the stands grew louder, like waves cresting one after another.

”Eight slashes! My god, how long has it been since he started?” someone cried out involuntarily.

Before his voice faded, the ninth slash was already unleashed!

The chilling glint of the blade left a faint silver trajectory hanging in the air above the demonstration platform.

”Nine slashes!”

”He’s tied the highest record from last year, besides Senior Brother Li Wen!”

WHOOSH—!

An even greater uproar exploded from the crowd.

But the youth’s movements didn’t falter in the slightest as he immediately followed with the tenth slash.

BOOM!

The entire plaza seemed to freeze for an instant, followed by a collective, irrepressible gasp.

”Ten slashes! It’s ten slashes! He’s tied... he tied Senior Brother Li Wen’s record from last year?!”

”But he just... this is...”

However, what made everyone’s thoughts come to a complete standstill was that after unleashing the tenth slash, the youth’s momentum didn’t wane. Instead, it grew even stronger.

The eleventh slash! The blade tore through the air with a decisiveness that seemed capable of severing anything.

GASP! In the stands, countless people subconsciously clapped their hands over their mouths, their eyes wide and round.