High Martial: I Grind Professions

Chapter 418: Chapter 258: The Final Paper

The Primordial Spirit Manifestation, already vast enough to touch the heavens and majestic as a mountain range, now radiated an unprecedentedly brilliant light.

Its original height was already a staggering fifty thousand feet.

But now, the manifestation had somehow reached a height of sixty thousand feet!

And it was still growing taller and more solid at a rate visible to the naked eye!

Sixty-five thousand feet!

Seventy thousand feet!

The Primordial Spirit Manifestation’s growth didn’t slow in the slightest, as if it had shattered some invisible shackles.

A more condensed Primordial Spirit power, imbued with the rhythm of the Laws, flowed around the vast manifestation.

The pressure it radiated made the entire sea of consciousness tremble.

”So this is... a breakthrough born from introspection?”

Li Wen’s consciousness was immersed in his sea of consciousness.

He murmured to himself, sensing the miraculous yet inevitable transformation.

He had never imagined that simply accompanying his parents on a trip back to Bluestone County...

...and experiencing the simple joys of mortal life and newfound peace, would allow his mind to relax and settle, triggering such a dramatic reaction in his sea of consciousness.

Of course, he knew.

This seemingly coincidental breakthrough was, in fact, inevitable.

The years of life-and-death battles and the crushing pressure of shouldering the Human Race’s survival had been like a constantly compressed spring.

The brief period of peace and spiritual liberation that came from purging the Demon Race from Blue Star and refining its control core...

...along with the last two months spent deliberately slowing down, being with his family, and consolidating his gains, was the trigger that finally released the spring.

All his accumulated experience, insights, and mental tempering...

...had culminated in this moment, bursting forth to open the gates to a higher Primordial Spirit Realm.

In his sea of consciousness, the magnificent Primordial Spirit Manifestation finally stabilized at an astonishing height of over seventy thousand feet.

Its light became restrained, yet it seemed to hold a mighty power capable of tearing the Star River asunder.

The manifestation grew sharper, its brilliance dazzling.

Li Wen gazed at the even more powerful Primordial Spirit Manifestation, a realization dawning in his mind.

’A Primordial Spirit over seventy thousand feet tall... Once my Scholar class reaches Lv. 20 and I receive the immense feedback of Spiritual Power from the upgrade,’

’my Primordial Spirit’s power will surely undergo another qualitative transformation, allowing me to break into the 9th Layer in a single step! At that time...’

He didn’t let the thought continue, but his deep eyes already reflected the magnificent vista of the Peak of Saint Realm.

With firm anticipation for the future, Li Wen’s consciousness slowly withdrew from his sea of consciousness and returned to the real world.

Outside the window, dusk was falling.

He didn’t get up. Instead, he immediately began to formulate his final, crucial paper in his mind.

He was now just one step away from reaching the Scholar class’s max level of Lv. 20.

The paths of knowledge and power intertwined perfectly at this moment.

He needed a masterwork that could perfectly summarize his current understanding of high-dimensional energy, the Space Law, and even the Life Origin.

A foundational paper, one that would shake the very theoretical framework of the Human Race and open a new door to the future.

The night passed quietly as Li Wen remained completely absorbed in his deductions and writing.

The next morning, when the first rays of sunlight, like a gentle golden powder, pierced the window lattice and softly fell across the study floor...

...Li Wen finished his final meticulous review of the paper, halting the flow of his thoughts.

”Haaaah—”

He let out a long, slow breath, one that seemed to carry the weight of his intellect and effort, as if shedding an invisible burden.

His gaze shifted to the holographic screen floating quietly beside him. With a light tap of his finger, the screen instantly lit up, connecting to the core of the Human Race’s four most authoritative academic platforms.

Without the slightest hesitation, Li Wen published his masterwork—the culmination of all his current wisdom—to all four platforms.

The moment the paper was published, it was like a depth charge dropped into the silent ocean of academia.

...

「Yanjing City, in a classical study.」

A white-haired old scholar was hunched over a mahogany desk piled high with ancient tomes and scrap paper.

He was a highly respected senior who had dedicated most of his life to the field of theoretical physics.

Suddenly, the personal terminal on his wrist began to vibrate, emitting a soft but persistent alert.

He frowned, reluctantly setting down his magnifying glass to look at the terminal’s screen.

A prominent notification popped up on the screen:

”Scholar ’Li Wen,’ whom you follow, has just published a new paper on the Firewood Library.”

”A new work from Venerable Li Wen?!” Elder Tang’s cloudy eyes instantly brightened. His exhaustion vanished, and he looked ten years younger.

He fumbled, his fingers trembling as he tapped the link.

The Firewood Library interface expanded instantly, and the title of the paper, which seemed to radiate with wisdom, leaped into view.

He began to read eagerly. He started by quickly scanning the abstract and introduction, and his breathing immediately grew ragged.

Then, he began to pore over the core arguments, word by word, at times slapping his desk in excitement and shouting his praise.

”Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! So the entanglement between high-dimensional folds and the Origin Law can be deconstructed this way!”

At other times, he would fall into deep thought, his fingers unconsciously tracing complex formulas on the desk as he muttered:

”...The coupling effect can actually reverse-influence the transition threshold of life energy? This... this is a completely revolutionary perspective!”

Reading a particularly brilliant section, he couldn’t help but gesture wildly, tears of joy streaming down his face.

”A genius! A true genius! Several key conjectures that have puzzled me for decades have been perfectly proven and expanded upon in this paper! The Human Race is truly fortunate to have Venerable Li!”

Having read the entire paper in one go, Elder Tang was so overwhelmed with emotion he could barely contain himself.

With a trembling hand, he opened a group chat with his old friends called ”Truth-Seekers.”

The group was filled with like-minded old scholars around his age. He immediately initiated a group video call.

Soon, several holographic figures appeared before Elder Tang. They were all white-haired and, though dressed differently, exuded a scholarly air.

”Old Tang, what’s the rush so early in the morning?” asked an elderly man in a training uniform who had been practicing Tai Chi.

Elder Tang’s voice trembled with excitement.

”Stop your slow-motion boxing! Quick! Go to the Firewood Library! Venerable Li Wen! Venerable Li... he... he’s published a new paper!”

”What?!”

”Really?”

”What’s the title?!” his old friends clamored, gathering closer. Even Old Sun, the Tai Chi practitioner, immediately stopped his routine.

”’On the Coupling Effects of High-Dimensional Topological Stability and Origin Law Mapping and Their Implications for Life Energy Tiers’!”

Elder Tang enunciated every word, his eyes glinting with a fanatical light.

”My friends, believe me, drop everything! Now! Immediately! Go and read it! This paper... it,

it’s more than a breakthrough. It’s a grand highway leading us to a higher hall of knowledge!

I’ll wager that for the next hundred years, the very foundation of the Human Race’s theoretical physics will be reshaped by this paper!

Go! We’ll discuss it after you’ve read it. I’m too excited to speak coherently right now!”

Without waiting for a response, he closed the call and immersed himself in the paper once more, muttering nonstop.

”A genius... an unparalleled genius...”

...

「Meanwhile, on the rear mountain of Enlightenment Peak at Firewood University.」

In an elegant pavilion shrouded in mist, the aroma of Spirit Tea filled the air.

Venerable Ye Qin and Venerable Xingxuan sat facing each other, several translucent light screens hovering before them.

The screens scrolled with important data streams from all over Blue Star: resource allocation, reconstruction progress, reports on promising new cultivators, border alert statuses...

They methodically processed the mundane affairs that kept Blue Star running.

Suddenly, a low but piercing ringtone echoed through the pavilion, shattering the tranquility.

Venerable Ye Qin set down his teacup and casually tapped a point in the air before him.

A larger light screen instantly unfolded, displaying a communication request flashing in red.

Venerable Ye Qin glanced at the name, a wry, knowing smile gracing his lips.

”It’s Fierce Lion. Looks like he’s here to rush Junior Brother Li Wen again.”

His tone held a familiar tolerance for his old friend’s hot-headed nature.

Venerable Xingxuan took a light sip of his tea, shaking his head with a chuckle.

”All these years, and his firecracker temper hasn’t changed one bit. To be fair, the Mercenary Alliance is under the most pressure.”

Stationed on Red Flame Star, which had the harshest environment and suffered the most frequent raids from the Demon Race, Venerable Fierce Lion’s anxiety was understandable.

Venerable Ye Qin tapped the ”Accept” button.

VMMM!

A clear holographic projection instantly took shape in the center of the pavilion.

The man who appeared was incredibly burly and powerfully built, with knotted muscles and short, crimson hair that stood on end like a blazing fire.

A prominent scar ran across his face, adding to his fierce and rugged demeanor.

It was the leader of the Mercenary Alliance, Venerable Fierce Lion.

His large, bell-like eyes swept over Ye Qin and Xingxuan, who were leisurely sipping tea in the pavilion. Then he noticed the administrative screens in front of them.

His thick eyebrows shot up, and an indignant roar boomed like muffled thunder.

”Ye Qin! Xingxuan! The two of you look quite relaxed! Drinking tea and handling domestic affairs, are we?

Don’t you know our three factions are in deep trouble, about to be devoured by those Demon Race whelps until not even our bones are left?!”

Venerable Fierce Lion’s projection gesticulated wildly, so animated it looked as if spit would fly from the hologram.

”Your Blue Star is safe and sound, but what about us?! It’s been three and a half months!

When the hell is Venerable Changning going to make time to visit my Red Flame Star and put out the fire of those Demon Race cubs?!”

”Fierce Lion, calm yourself,” Venerable Ye Qin said, setting down his cup. His tone was placid but held an undeniable firmness.

”Junior Brother Li Wen has already made it clear he needs a little more time to prepare. You know the saying: time spent sharpening the axe isn’t wasted.

A rescue operation is about efficiency and total annihilation, not just a simple display of force.”

”How can I not be in a hurry?!” Venerable Fierce Lion practically bellowed.

”Every day we delay, more of my Mercenary Alliance boys die! We’re bleeding out every single day!

You sent over some of Blue Star’s Kings, but there were less than twenty in total!

Split three ways, that’s six or seven for each of us at best! It’s a drop in the ocean!”