High Martial: I Grind Professions

Chapter 260: Chapter 162: Li Wen Descends the Mountain (3)

Many familiar faces were in the crowd.

There was Su Yingxue, her demeanor now even more sharp and capable, her eyes filled with sincere respect for the strong.

Zhao Qiming, who had once distinguished himself on Enlightenment Peak, now wore an expression of excitement and utter adoration.

There was also Zhao Yue of Sky-splitting Peak, and the senior sister from Xingyan Peak with whom he had once clashed in a competition... One by one, they came forward for brief exchanges, offering words of caution, blessings, or simply their respect.

Finally, as all eyes watched with concern, Li Wen raised the special clear brew brought by an attendant and faced all the teachers and classmates who had come to see him off.

”Teachers, fellow students,” his voice wasn’t loud, yet it echoed clearly in everyone’s ears, carrying a steady strength that had been forged by time.

”Four and a half years ago, I entered Xinhuo University with a naive heart. Today, as I leave this mountain, I vow to use the blade in my hand to guard the peace of the Human Race, ensuring its flame is passed down through the generations.”

”Slaying demons, protecting our lands, and keeping our people safe is the duty of us, the God-Devils of Xinhuo. Though the path ahead is fraught with peril, my resolve only grows stronger. This cup of wine is to honor the university for its teachings,

to honor the kinship I share with my fellow students, and above all, to honor the heroic souls like Senior Lin Zhan, who shed their blood for our world! May the Human Race prosper for all time! May the flame of Xinhuo forever illuminate Blue Star!”

”Onward!”

The crisp liquor poured down his throat, its spiciness igniting a boundless, heroic passion in his chest.

As his voice faded, before the sorrow of parting could settle in again, Li Wen swept his gaze across the entire crowd. His eyes lingered for a moment on a few particularly familiar faces, and then he turned around resolutely.

Without any exaggerated movements, his entire being seemed to transform from within, becoming a beam of intensely condensed purple light.

WHOOSH—!

With a faint sound of displaced air, the immense purple light shot into the sky, carrying with it an unstoppable resolve and a razor-sharp edge.

In the instant before anyone could react, it pierced the heavens and vanished beyond the distant horizon, leaving only the subtle echo of thunder in the air as a silent testament.

A brief silence fell over the place of farewell.

Fang Chenghong stared blankly at the sky and muttered to himself, ”Just like that... he’s gone...”

A trace of melancholy surfaced in the young man’s eyes.

”He walks a path that is faster and goes further than ours,” Fang Chengwu said, taking a deep breath. His tone was complex.

’Beyond the consummation of the Ninth Layer... Could what he said be true?’

The information Li Wen had just revealed was like a seed that quickly took root and sprouted in his heart.

Sun Rui, however, clenched his fists tightly, staring in the direction the purple light had vanished. All traces of confusion were gone from his eyes, replaced by a blazing, almost tangible battle intent and the resolve to catch up. ”I will—I *will* catch up to you!”

「At the same time.」

On the quiet rear mountain of Enlightenment Peak, deep within a sea of bamboo.

The principal, his temples lightly frosted with grey, sat by a stone table, his profound gaze fixed on the direction the purple light had disappeared.

His fingers gently traced the rim of a stone cup. His face held the calm of one who had weathered many storms, yet a hint of gratification stirred deep within his eyes.

Along with it was an unspeakable worry, the kind a father feels for a son embarking on a long journey.

In the end, all these emotions melted into a silent sigh and a heavy weight of expectation.

Meanwhile, atop the main hall of the cloud-piercing Nine Heavens Peak, Peak Master Fang Qinghan stood alone in the cold wind, like an unsheathed, peerless spear of ice.

Deep within his eyes, which reflected the cold stars, an imperceptible glint of light flashed past, like the faint glow of roiling magma beneath the crust of a dormant volcano.

He was gratified that the world-class talent to come from Nine Heavens Peak had finally bloomed so brilliantly, yet worried whether this jewel of a genius could survive the bloody and cruel battlefield to reach his full potential.

Ultimately, all of it transformed into a sharp, unparalleled anticipation—anticipation to see how this divine blade, forged with the full might of Nine Heavens Peak, would truly unleash a radiance on the battlefield between the Human Race and the Demon Race that would make the very stars tremble.

The sky was vast, the road ahead endless.

The beam of purple light plunged forth without a second thought, heading for the wider, unknown world beyond the mountain, and turning a new page in Li Wen’s demon-slaying saga.

...

January 4, 231st year of the Galactic Calendar.

Bluestone County, dozens of li west of the city.

What was once a desolate wasteland was now covered by a small, sturdy fortress-pass.

Metal walls, dozens of meters high, rose from the ground on all four sides, tightly encircling the Stargate that hovered more than ten meters in the air, radiating spatial fluctuations.

The walls resembled the mouth of a giant well, trapping a rift to another world.

Outside the walls, various functional buildings were arranged in an orderly fashion, forming what was clearly a miniature but well-organized military fortress.

A little further from the outer walls was a living area built for the stationed personnel, forming a small town dependent on the fortress-pass.

Lining the inner perimeter of the walls were ten even more spacious, grand courtyards, each with its own private training ground, positioned at the four cardinal directions.

These were the residences for the ten Bright Moon Realm God-Devils and their support staff responsible for guarding this place.

In the quiet room of a courtyard on the northern side, a young man sat bolt upright at a desk.

His expression was calm, his gaze focused as he scanned every line of text in the ancient tome in his hand.

The only thing on the desk was a single cup of clear tea, its steam curling into the air, yet it did not distract him in the slightest.

This young man was none other than Li Wen, who had left Xinhuo University three days prior and had voluntarily chosen to return to his hometown area of Bluestone County to guard this Stargate.

Taking into account Li Wen’s personal wish to guard his home, as well as the needs of Blue Star’s overall defensive system,

he would be primarily responsible for this small-to-medium-sized Stargate, which had been expanding for a year and a half and whose threat level had been quietly rising.

The portal, which could initially only allow Late-stage Bright Moon Realm beings to pass through, had now grown in stability and size enough to support the passage of Peak of Bright Moon Realm Demon Race members.

Therefore, the garrison team had also been equipped with greater strength.

The captain was a veteran God-Devil at the Peak of Bright Moon Realm, and along with him, nine Late-stage Bright Moon Realm God-Devils and dozens of Flying Star Realm God-Devils were stationed here on rotation.