High Martial: I Grind Professions

Chapter 296: Chapter 174: Mid-stage Great Sun Realm, 7th Layer of the Shocking God Stab

The Chapter of the new year had been turned, but the duty to protect was eternal.

...

「May 1st, Year 233 of the Galactic Calendar.」

Faint morning light filtered through the exquisitely crafted lattice of a window in a detached villa in the suburbs of Changning City, scattering mottled specks of light within the meditation chamber.

Li Wen slowly roused himself from a state of deep meditation.

With a faint stir of thought, an azure system panel silently unfolded within his consciousness:

[Name: Li Wen] ℯℯ𝑙.

[Age: 25]

[Realm: Early-stage Great Sun Realm (Level 53.2→53.9)]

[Class: Scholar lv14 (296040→344640/819200)]

[Skills: Saber Technique · Soul Realm (99%), Profound Sky Five Forms (Star Rush 100%, Thunderstrike 100%, Celestial Gate 100%, Star Core 100%, Soul Abyss 100%)]

[Cultivation Technique: Shocking God Stab · 6th Layer (100%)]

Another three months had passed since New Year’s Eve.

On the panel, his physical realm was clearly stalled at level 53.9, just 0.1 away from the threshold of the Mid-stage Great Sun Realm.

He had long since accumulated enough power, and the feeling that success was inevitable was incredibly strong.

’Today is the day I break through,’ Li Wen thought with conviction.

Once he entered the Mid-stage Great Sun Realm, his sea of consciousness would expand once more, allowing him to contain an even greater and more profound Primordial Spirit.

More importantly, his expanded sea of consciousness would be able to bear the crucial next step: inscribing the runes for the 7th Layer of the Shocking God Stab.

The power of a fully mastered 7th Layer Shocking God Stab would be enough to severely injure, or even kill, an expert at the ”threshold Marquis” level.

With such an ace up his sleeve, he would have more room to maneuver even against a peak Marquis.

As for King-level fiendgods? As long as it wasn’t a King who specialized in speed, he could escape even if he couldn’t win. It wouldn’t be impossible to hold out until reinforcements arrived.

This upgrade would be of immense significance for the defensive line he was assigned to.

He calmed his mind and focused his spirit. Time flowed by imperceptibly as he regulated his breathing.

The sky outside turned from light to dark. Streetlights began to flicker on, eventually blending into the deep night.

This was the time when his body and mind were in perfect harmony with the energies of the world.

Li Wen sat cross-legged at the core of a specially-made Gathering Array. He took out a pill the size of a longan, its surface swirling with dark golden patterns.

The pill melted the moment it entered his mouth, transforming into a scalding but incomparably pure torrent that coursed down his throat, instantly igniting the True Essence throughout his entire body.

’Nine Heavens Divine Body, Great Sun Sutra... begin!’

He immediately began to circulate the secret Cultivation Technique, which had been specifically optimized for breaking through in the Great Sun Realm.

The already vast and surging True Essence within him accelerated with a ROAR, as if a raging sun had been injected into his very being.

His meridians ached under the deluge of immense energy, yet they were constantly being repaired and widened by the powerful regenerative properties and resilience of the Nine Heavens Divine Body.

The Cultivation Technique guided this majestic power along a predetermined, complex path, causing it to wash over the invisible barrier of his realm again and again.

With every Grand Circulation, the barrier grew a little fainter.

The pure True Essence, mixed with the pill’s power, continuously seeped into his muscles, bones, flesh, and even deep into his cells. Every inch of his body greedily absorbed the light and heat, growing more solid and resilient, as if it were evolving into a more perfect form of life.

At the same time, his sea of consciousness trembled slightly as the Cultivation Technique ran its course. Its formless boundaries were repeatedly battered and stretched by this power that stemmed from his very Life Origin.

Several hours passed. The True Essence in his body now roared like a tempestuous sea.

The barrier between level 53.9 and 54 was now as thin as a cicada’s wing.

’Break!’

Guided by Li Wen’s precise will, the power he had accumulated to its absolute limit surged forth without reservation.

It wasn’t a violent explosion, but an unstoppable tide. With irresistible force, it completely submerged and washed away the final obstruction.

HUM—!

A deep rumble, one only he could perceive, echoed from the depths of his body.

An aura far stronger, more condensed, and more scorching than before suddenly erupted from Li Wen, only to be swiftly drawn back in.

Mid-stage Great Sun Realm!

The moment he broke through, it was as if a whole new world had opened up to him.

His body transformed. Majestic True Essence, like surging golden sunlight, instantly flooded his newly widened meridians, flowing with greater ease and freedom than ever before.

His muscle fibers, bone density, and even his internal organs had all been tempered and strengthened once more.

Every movement now contained enough power to shake mountains.

His skin grew more sensitive to fluctuations in energy, and his surface Defense Power increased in tandem.

Almost at the exact moment his physical body broke through, his sea of consciousness suddenly expanded in all directions. The spot where the miniature Primordial Spirit had once stood now seemed vast and empty.

The newly expanded region of his sea of consciousness was a chaotic void, like parched earth desperate for rain.

Sensing the world-altering changes within his body and the newly expanded sea of consciousness, Li Wen immediately focused his awareness inward.

An even purer, denser Primordial Spirit now surged around the miniature version of himself. Although the expansion made the area feel empty, the spirit itself was more condensed than ever.

He roughly estimated that the total quantity and quality of his Primordial Spirit had just barely reached the minimum requirement for inscribing the complex runes of the Shocking God Stab’s 7th Layer.

’It’s possible, just as I expected.’ Li Wen’s mind was set at ease.

All that remained was to wait for his newly expanded sea of consciousness to be naturally refilled by his own profound Primordial Spirit. Then, he could begin inscribing the crucial 7th Layer runes.

He did not rise. Instead, he sank back into deep meditation. Like a dry sponge, he tirelessly drew Spiritual Power from the void, transforming it and pouring it into the nascent, empty expanse of his sea of consciousness.

...

「The next morning.」

The last wisp of chaos was filled and replaced by pure Spiritual Power.

The expanded sea of consciousness was now completely filled with a magnificent, condensed, silvery-white Primordial Spirit.

The seven-foot-tall miniature Primordial Spirit sat at the center of his sea of consciousness. Its radiance was restrained, exuding a harmonious, unadorned aura. It was far more solid and stable than before his breakthrough.

Without hesitation, Li Wen’s will took command. His vast and intricate Primordial Spirit immediately began to shift within his sea of consciousness, arranging itself according to the runic diagram of the Shocking God Stab’s 7th Layer, which was branded upon his mind.

The inscription began.