High Martial: I Grind Professions

Chapter 406: Chapter 246: Massive Increase in Strength

Li Wen hovered in the air, his gaze locked on a towering black mountain several thousand meters away. The peak was shaped like a colossal sword, seeming to pierce the very heavens.

He didn’t draw upon a shred of his Primordial Spirit’s power, relying purely on his newly formed, Venerable Level True Aura.

At a mere thought, the vast True Aura within him—which had undergone a qualitative transformation—instantly began to seethe.

He swiped his spatial bracelet, and the Jinghong Saber appeared in his hand.

The blade hummed, resonating with its master’s intent.

He slashed through the air toward the thousand-meter-high peak!

SCHRRIIIP—!

There was no earth-shattering boom. Instead, a blade of violet-gold aura appeared from nothing. It was condensed to the absolute limit, as thin as a cicada’s wing, yet it seemed capable of slicing through space itself.

It silently tore through the void, crossing several thousand meters in an instant and streaking precisely across the mountainside of the colossal peak.

The next moment, a wave of energy erupted without a sound, kicking up a sky-spanning cloud of fine black dust.

As the dust slowly settled, a clear gash, about a foot deep, was all that remained on the mountainside of the black peak.

If not for the wisps of destructive lightning aura lingering at the edges of the gash, slowly eroding the rock, Li Wen might have thought he had missed entirely.

This seemingly harmless strike, however, made the experienced Venerable Ye Qin’s eyes flash as he blurted out in praise:

”Such pure destructive power! The energy is perfectly condensed, without the slightest leak. Based on the quality of that True Aura and his precise control alone, he has firmly crossed the threshold of an ordinary Venerable! His foundation is incredibly solid, far surpassing any typical newcomer!”

Li Wen’s expression remained impassive upon hearing this.

He took a deep breath, his gaze suddenly sharpening like a falcon’s.

”The second strike!”

Deep within his sea of consciousness, his 7th Layer Primordial Spirit Manifestation, which radiated a sacred majesty, trembled slightly.

A pure and boundless jade-colored power surged forth from his Primordial Spirit, like the celestial river of the nine heavens pouring down.

It instantly merged perfectly with the liquid violet-gold lightning True Aura flowing within him.

The two elements, despite their conflicting and complementary natures, now blended as seamlessly as milk and water, becoming one.

BOOM!

The aura around Li Wen skyrocketed once more!

A hazy and noble jade-colored halo now coated the outer layer of his blazing, violet-gold True Aura.

A terrifying ripple of power, one that could make the heart pound and seemed capable of freezing the very soul, spread out. The black rock beneath his feet fractured without a sound.

”Voidsever!”

He let out a low roar, a sound like a sudden thunderclap on the dead, silent planet.

The Jinghong Saber transformed into a torrent of violet-jade light that seemed to tear the heavens and earth asunder as he swung it with all his might!

VMMMM—RUMBLE!!!

A colossal blade of light—woven from pure, violet-gold lightning and noble, jade-colored Primordial Spirit power, condensed to an unimaginable degree—shot through the air.

Space warped and rippled violently wherever the blade of light passed.

It emitted a piercing hum, as though the very fabric of space was groaning under the strain, on the verge of being ripped apart.

With unstoppable momentum, the blade of light slammed viciously into the same spot on the peak as before.

A wave of destructive energy, several times more powerful than the last, erupted violently!

KRA-KOOM!!!

As Venerable Ye Qin, Venerable Gu He, and Xingxuan watched with pupils shrinking in shock,

the incomparably hard main peak seemed to undergo both the sharpest possible cut and the most violent annihilation where the blade of light made contact.

A terrifying crater, over five feet deep and with edges as smooth as a mirror, was left in its wake.

At the bottom of the crater, violet-gold lightning and jade-colored Primordial Spirit power danced and crackled like living things, hissing as they released devastating energy.

Even more terrifying was the hundred-meter-long, pitch-black spatial fissure.

It hung above the crater like a hideous scar, refusing to heal and exuding a terrifying, all-devouring aura.

”*Hiss...*” Venerable Gu He sucked in a sharp breath, his voice raspy with disbelief.

”’Primordial Spirit power perfectly fused with True Aura... The might of that attack is already approaching the peak Venerable Level! And he just broke through!’”

Xingxuan’s beautiful eyes shimmered, as if she were beholding the most exquisite work of art. She murmured,

”’The fusion was so seamless, so flawless. The power was condensed to its absolute limit, with nothing wasted or dispersed. His precision in controlling his power, and his depth of understanding of the Law... I fear he has already surpassed us!’”

Li Wen didn’t pause. He slowly closed his eyes, sensing the two powers surging within him.

Then, he unleashed his third strike.

”The third strike!”

He opened his eyes, and a divine, violet-jade light burst from them.

This time, the 7th Layer Primordial Spirit Manifestation in his sea of consciousness didn’t just channel its power; it ignited like an undying, divine flame.

The vast and pure power of his Primordial Spirit no longer simply fused with his True Aura.

Instead, it swept through every corner of his body like a burning, liquid, divine flame.

His muscles, bones, blood, and meridians... even every last particle that made up his body...

All of it was ignited, stimulated, and sublimated by this utterly pure power of the Primordial Spirit.

His body seemed to transform into a humanoid sun, burning with violet-jade divine flames.

An unimaginably terrifying wave of energy swept out like a storm.

The black rock ground beneath his feet silently caved in over a wide area, melting to form a lake of lava.

The surrounding space no longer merely warped; it began to shatter into pieces, revealing the deep void beyond.

A pressure potent enough to make stars tremble and freeze souls instantly enveloped the entire surface of the Black Rock Trial Star.

”Starfall!”

Li Wen’s voice seemed to resonate with the rhythm of the cosmos.

He executed the most condensed and domineering single-target attack from the Venerable Level saber technique he had created.

The Jinghong Saber swung. An unprecedented blade of violet-jade light, one that seemed to pierce the primordial cosmos and contain the condensed power of a dying star, soared into the sky.

This blade of light was so pure, so condensed, that its brilliance outshone the distant stars.

Carrying the will to extinguish all existence, it ripped through the sky, its target still the battered black peak.

KRA-CHACK—

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!

The moment the blade of light struck, the entire Black Rock Trial Star seemed to shudder violently.

A massive chasm, dozens of feet deep and hundreds of meters wide, instantly tore through the entire mountain peak like a hideous scar carved by a god.

The rock walls on both sides of the chasm were vitrified, melted instantly by extreme heat before rapidly cooling into a glassy state.

More terrifying still, the violent lightning and domineering Primordial Spirit power contained within the blade of light had not dissipated.

Like billions of frenzied lightning dragons and jade-colored divine chains, they rampaged through the massive chasm, roaring and colliding in mutual annihilation.

The deafening roar of the unending energy torrent threatened to turn the entire landscape into scorched earth.

Furthermore, where the blade of light had passed through the sky, space had been completely torn asunder, forming a colossal spatial fissure several miles long that hung above the great chasm.

The fissure was pitch-black and profound, its edges flickering with unstable spatial turbulence.

Like a hideous, unhealable wound in the void, it radiated a despair-inducing, all-consuming power.

The power of this single strike was truly world-shaking, enough to shatter stars and sunder the cosmos.

”’This... This...’ Even with Venerable Ye Qin’s composure and vast experience, he was utterly speechless.”

His face was a mask of utter shock, his lips moving slightly but failing to produce a sound.

He could clearly sense that the power unleashed in that instant was enough to pose a mortal threat to him.

Venerable Gu He’s throat went dry. His eyes were wide as saucers, and it took him a long moment to force out in a hoarse voice,

”’This... This is already approaching the power of a peak Venerable.’”

His heart pounded wildly as he stared again and again at the destructive aura lingering in the chasm and the terrifying spatial fissure in the sky.

Xingxuan gazed at the terrifying chasm that cut through the earth, still radiating destructive aftershocks, and at the colossal spatial fissure in the sky, which looked like a scar upon the heavens.

Her red lips parted slightly, a low murmur filled with endless astonishment and complex emotions finally escaping,

”’Approaching... a peak Venerable.’”

On the desolate and silent Black Rock Trial Star, the violent storm of energy gradually subsided.

All that remained was the crackling lightning in the chasm and the flickering spatial turbulence at the fissure’s edge, testament to the world-destroying power of the previous strike.

Li Wen slowly retracted the terrifying aura that could eclipse the very stars.

He hovered above the massive chasm, the divine violet-jade radiance receding from his eyes, leaving them once again calm and profound.

He calmly gazed at the scene of destruction below—a sight he had single-handedly created, one that would make any Venerable’s heart leap with fear.

He felt the majestic, unceasing power surging within him, a power that felt capable of tearing apart the Star River and the cosmos.

An unprecedented sense of control and powerful confidence welled up within him.

He reached out, his palm facing the miles-long spatial fissure in the sky.

At a mere thought, the Power of the Space Law flowed forth. The hideous fissure smoothed over as if caressed by an invisible, giant hand.

It began to close rapidly, eventually vanishing without a trace, as if it had never existed.

Having done this, Li Wen’s gaze turned toward the deep cosmic void, toward the direction where the phantom of the Demon Realm lay.

A smile, filled with absolute confidence and a chilling battle intent, slowly spread across his lips.

This test of his strength had not only shocked Ye Qin and the other two; Li Wen himself was pleasantly surprised by his massive improvement.

...

「Changning City, Li Wen’s private courtyard.」

Dusk settled, and silence filled the courtyard.

Having just returned from the Trial Star, Li Wen eagerly sat cross-legged in the center of his cultivation chamber.

The excitement thrumming within him came from his Scholar Panel, where his experience points had long since overflowed.

Over the past three months, the ten papers he had uploaded to the four major authoritative platforms had detonated in the academic world like ten super-bombs dropped into the deep sea.

A tsunami of downloads, citations, and discussions had brought him what could only be described as an astronomical amount of Scholar experience.

It had long since filled his Lv. 18 experience bar to the brim and overflowed.

With a mere thought, the immense power of his Primordial Spirit spread out from his sea of consciousness like the most intricate of nets.

It silently enveloped the entire courtyard, cutting it off from all outside observation and interference.

With all preparations complete, Li Wen focused his mind and summoned the illusory screen only he could see.

[Name: Li Wen]

[Age: 37]

[Realm: Venerable Level]

[Class: Scholar Lv. 18 (21,345,442 / 13,107,200) MAX!]

[Skills: Saber Art - Venerable (Voidsever 100%, Starfall 100%, Lightning Prison 100%)]

[Cultivation Technique: Shocking God Stab - 7th Layer (100%)]

His burning gaze locked onto the [Class] entry.

Li Wen took a deep breath and focused all his will upon it.

’Level up...’

The silent command was issued in his sea of consciousness.

[Class upgrading...]