High Martial: I Grind Professions

It mustered the last of its strength, frantically channeling its bloodline power. Transforming into a streak of blood-red light, it fled recklessly toward the Stargate behind it, which pulsed with a sinister glow.

’How is this possible! The nearest fortress with a Marquis Level guardian is at least a thousand miles away! Even with the fastest flying craft, it would take four or five minutes at full speed to get here! It’s only been a little over a minute! How could he be here?!’

The Tiger Demon screamed frantically in its mind, filled with confusion and despair. ’Was he already lying in ambush nearby? No, that’s impossible. If he’d set up an ambush, he would have acted sooner! Could it be... he was just passing by?’

As a descendant of a Demon Saint, it had always been cautious. It strictly limited every invasion to under two minutes, never getting greedy or reckless, a firm believer that caution is the parent of safety.

In recent years, the Human Race’s battle lines had been stretched thin. The powerhouses responsible for mobile support often had to cover several cities at once. How could a Marquis Level powerhouse possibly appear here so quickly?

’Was the plan leaked? Or has some terrifying new variable emerged on the Human Race’s side?’

PFFT!

A cold glint of blade light, launched second but arriving first, easily overtook the desperate streak of blood-light and precisely pierced the center of the red-scaled Tiger Demon’s brow.

The horror, despair, and confusion in its eyes froze in an instant. Its body, like a puppet with its strings cut, fell limply from the sky, carrying a strong, scorched smell.

The indistinct figure took a single step and appeared before the heavily wounded turtle demon that lay on the ground.

The blade light flashed again, ending its life.

But the battle was not over.

The figure’s eyes were icy. With a mere thought, a strange domain that seemed to be composed of countless brilliant stars instantly spread out from him, completely enveloping the core battlefield of the underground fortress in Hongxi City!

Star Dome Domain!

Within the domain, stars swirled, gravity shifted, and even space itself seemed to twist slightly.

All the members of the Demon Race fighting the human warriors, regardless of their strength, suddenly found their movements becoming incredibly sluggish, as if they were trapped in a thick mire.

The next second, an invisible stellar power crushed down upon them.

POP POP POP POP...

A dense flurry of sounds erupted, like countless bubbles bursting.

Within the domain’s range, every member of the Demon Race—from the roaring behemoths to the stealthy assassins—froze in place. The life in their eyes faded rapidly, as if snuffed out in an instant by a giant, invisible hand.

Immediately after, the corpses of countless demons rained down like dumplings being dropped into a pot, falling from the sky, from behind cover, and from all over the battlefield to the ground.

It all happened too fast.

From the lightning-fast arrival and the thunderous slaughter of the five elites to the Star Dome Domain blanketing the field and wiping out the entire Demon Race force, everything was over in the space of a few breaths.

Inside the fortress, the human warriors who had been struggling to hold on hadn’t even had time to fully process what was happening before the battle was already over.

It was only when the terrifying star-filled domain enveloping the battlefield slowly receded that a clear figure was revealed atop the wall—a man in a crisp black combat uniform, his face young yet possessing an ineffable air of authority and calm.

”It’s Junior Li!”

”Marquis Changning! Marquis Changning is here!”

Cries of surprise rose one after another, filled with the ecstatic joy of survival and deep reverence.

Marquis Changning, Li Wen. His speed was unrivaled, a fact known to all!

Atop the ruined fortress wall, Li Wen’s gaze swept across the battlefield. After confirming there was no longer a threat from the Demon Race, his eyes fell upon the severely injured Ding Jun and the other human powerhouses.

A gentle smile touched his lips. ”Everyone’s safe now. Treat your wounds.”

Ding Jun, helped to his feet by his subordinates, gazed at the figure on the wall with eyes full of gratitude and lingering fear, the initial shock and intense pain having subsided.

He endured the pain and gave Li Wen a deep bow.

”Thank you for saving my life, Junior Li! If you hadn’t arrived like a godsend, I... would never have survived this day!”

...

Half a month ago, after Li Wen successfully attained the rank of Marquis in the Star Dome Caverns, the chancellor of Torchwood University had reassigned his duties.

Taking into account his terrifying, world-besting speed, the chancellor no longer stationed him in a single city. Instead, he was given a brand-new responsibility.

With Changning City as the center, he was to be responsible for emergency reinforcement missions for all cities within a ten-thousand-mile radius.

With the speed of his Body Transformation into Nine Heavens, even a distance of ten thousand miles was a journey of just over a minute.

However, this was an explosive Divine Technique, and it consumed an enormous amount of True Essence and Primordial Spirit. Using it continuously for long periods was not only inefficient but would also place a severe strain on his body, potentially even causing irreversible damage.

Therefore, when on a mission, Li Wen typically used intermittent bursts of speed—unleashing his Divine Technique at key points to instantly cross vast distances, then maintaining high-speed flight in between to recover his energy.

Even so, his average support speed far surpassed that of traditional flying craft or the travel speed of King-level powerhouses.

The surprise attack on Hongxi City happened a mere two thousand miles from Changning City.

For an ordinary peak King-level expert, that distance would take at least four to five minutes to cross.

But for Li Wen, who had mastered Body Transformation into Nine Heavens, the moment he received the alarm signal, he had decisively burst into motion.

With a few crucial bursts of acceleration, he became like a bolt of lightning tearing across the sky, crossing the vast distance in just over a minute to arrive on the battlefield and turn the tide.

...

「Galactic Calendar, Year 236, May 1st.」

In an unknown, abyssal depth beneath Blue Star’s surface lay the true core nest of the Shadow Organization.

Inside a great hall forged from a strange alloy, its style both bizarre and luxurious, a solemn atmosphere hung over a massive, ring-shaped conference table.

At this moment, the true upper echelon of the Demon Race hidden within the Human Realm was conducting their routine meeting, held at the start of each month.

Seated at the head of the table was the Wujing Demon Saint, still in the guise of a young human male. His expression held a hint of imperceptible laziness, masking a deeply hidden authority.

To his left were not physical beings, but several projected virtual images.

Seated to his left were the heads of the Shadow Organization’s various surviving divisions. They remained cautiously concealed, their heads shrouded in glowing masks that symbolized the different signs of the zodiac.