High Martial: I Grind Professions

Chapter 452: Chapter 290: Extreme Combat Arena

Li Wen paused in thought.

On his home world, he was revered as the ”Changning Saint Venerable,” a title that carried the respect of the Human Race and honored his achievements in purging the demonic scourge.

”ID: Changning,” Li Wen said calmly.

”Appearance: Minor adjustments to my real body. No major changes needed.”

A soft screen of light unfolded before him, displaying a projection of himself.

With a mere thought, Li Wen transformed his ordinary clothes into a simple, dark-colored training uniform, better suiting his current identity as a Martial Artist.

He kept his facial features the same, only tempering the sharp glint in his eyes slightly.

”Appearance confirmed. ID [Changning] has been successfully registered. Master, you may now formally enter the public areas of the Virtual Cosmos.” Star Pivot’s voice faded.

The moment he confirmed, the scenery of the initial space rippled like water and dissipated.

One moment, Li Wen was in the quiet initial space; the next, he appeared on a massive street, teeming with clamoring voices and intersecting lights.

A wave of cacophony washed over him!

It was an incredibly wide street, flanked by towering virtual buildings of various styles that scraped the clouds.

Holographic billboards flickered, displaying all sorts of strange weapons, battle armor, Cultivation Technique manuals, cultivation resources, and even travel advertisements for distant Star Domains.

Streams of light occasionally streaked across the sky—clearly users with higher privileges or those using vehicles.

Most eye-catching of all were the ”pedestrians” on the street, shoulder-to-shoulder and of all different shapes and sizes.

Most of them retained the basic features of their native races.

Some had skin covered in scales, some had compound eyes or antennae, some were as large as small hills, while others were petite and delicate.

The diversity of races far exceeded what Li Wen had seen at the Lain starport.

However, these beings of various forms were all dressed with surprising uniformity.

Almost without exception, they wore the simplest style of white robes or short shirts.

This simple sea of white instantly became the dominant color of the street.

So, when Li Wen suddenly appeared in the crowd wearing his simple, dark training uniform...

...the exclusive, understated yet extraordinary cosmetic effect automatically granted by his Star River Premium account...

...immediately made him a conspicuous and dazzling focal point in the sea of white.

Countless gazes shot over, filled with astonishment, scrutiny, and... an envy so thick you could cut it with a knife.

”A Purple-Gold Star-Patterned Robe... That’s the highest-level Star River Premium account.”

A Marquis Level alien with four arms and rock-like skin had eyes full of envy.

Five hundred Primordial Stones a year for an account fee! To him, that was an astronomical sum!

”My gods! It really is a Star River Premium! It took me three years of saving Primordial Stones just to get the lowest-tier basic account!”

A humanoid creature next to him, with thin wings on its back and only half Li Wen’s height, gasped in a low voice, its eyes practically popping out as it stared at Li Wen’s attire.

The gazes of envy, awe, and curiosity were almost tangible as they focused on Li Wen.

In this public area, dominated by low-spending users, the appearance of a Star River Premium user was like a crane standing among chickens.

That virtual attire, representing a 500-Primordial-Stone annual fee, was a silent testament to wealth and status.

It formed an incredibly jarring yet captivating contrast with the cheap, uniform white clothes of everyone around him.

Li Wen’s expression was calm, and he ignored the surrounding stares.

He briefly assessed the strength of this virtual body and the degree to which it simulated his Primordial Spirit’s power, nodding in satisfaction.

”Star Pivot,” he sent a thought, ”take me to a place suitable for honing close-quarters combat and raising my Martial Dao rank.”

”Understood, Master. The Virtual Cosmos’s ’Extreme Combat Arena’ is the best choice. Plotting a course for you now...” Star Pivot’s voice responded immediately.

Watched by countless complex gazes, Li Wen’s figure vanished from the bustling street, pulled away by his will.

He left behind only a faint ripple of energy and the lingering gasps and discussions that did not fade for a long time.

His journey in the Virtual Cosmos had officially begun.

Under the envious and curious gazes of the crowd on the street, Li Wen’s figure transformed into a soft white light and vanished on the spot.

The next moment, Li Wen found himself in a completely different place—the exclusive space of the Extreme Combat Arena.

The moment he landed, an ancient, iron-blooded, and murderous aura washed over him, as if he were standing on the ruins of an ancient battlefield.

Beneath his feet was a massive plaza with a dull metallic sheen, covered in fine scratches. The plaza was so vast its edges were nearly out of sight.

Overhead was not a blue sky, but a deep, boundless dome dotted with the projections of countless stars. The starlight that showered down added a chilling touch.

The most striking feature was the sculpture of a broken sword standing in the center of the plaza, piercing the heavens.

It was impossible to tell what material the broken sword was made of. Its entire body was a dark red, as if forged from the congealed blood of billions of living beings.

The body of the sword was immense, its jagged break bearing the scars of a fierce battle.

Even as a mere projection, it exuded a heart-stopping pressure and a tragic will to fight to the death, never admitting defeat.

This was the most iconic symbol of the Extreme Combat Arena—the Sword of Sundered Realms!

It silently spoke of the cruelty and glory of this place.

Around Li Wen, flashes of white light appeared continuously. Figures materialized out of thin air and quickly headed toward the interior of the arena.

Without exception, each of these people wore a small, special badge on their chest.

The main design on the badge was a miniature version of the ”Sword of Sundered Realms.”

But below the hilt of the sword, another, smaller symbol was inlaid.

These small symbols varied in form: some were a solid black pentagram, others a silver crescent moon, and still others a full golden Sun...

A few extremely rare ones even bore more complex and brilliant designs.

Evidently, these were the rank emblems Star Pivot had mentioned.

The different patterns represented the rank a holder had achieved within their respective cultivation realm.

”Look! Over there! An Extraordinary-rank big shot just arrived in the Silver Moon area!”

”HISS—it really is the Extraordinary rank! And his realm is listed as Venerable Level! My gods, to think I’d get to see an Extraordinary-rank expert at the Venerable Level right here in the Lain Empire homeland?”

”What’s the big fuss! I know him! That’s the current prodigy of the Luke Clan, Raleigh Luke! He’s widely acknowledged as the number one expert in the Venerable Realm across the Lain star system cluster!”

A series of irrepressible gasps came from not far away, and the crowd’s gaze immediately focused near the Silver Moon area’s teleportation point.

A young man stood there, dressed in a tight-fitting silver outfit, his face cold and his eyes holding a trace of aloof arrogance.

The badge on his chest was particularly striking.

Below the Sword of Sundered Realms hovered a complex crown pattern composed of countless tiny stars that emitted a faint starlight—this was the symbol of the Extraordinary rank.

The material of the badge itself and the energy fluctuations it emitted far surpassed those of the Black Star and Silver Moon rankers around him.

Raleigh Luke was long accustomed to the fervent discussions and awestruck gazes of those around him.

His expression didn’t even flicker as he indifferently took a step.

He walked straight toward the entrance tunnel to the arena’s interior, which resembled the maw of a giant beast.

His figure soon disappeared into the shadows.

’Extraordinary? Sounds pretty impressive,’ Li Wen thought.

”Master,” Star Pivot’s sweet and gentle voice immediately sounded in Li Wen’s sea of consciousness, explaining clearly,

”The Extreme Combat Arena is a colossal virtual competitive platform that covers the territories of all humanoid races in the known universe, encompassing every sentient humanoid species.

”In the Venerable Realm alone, the number of registered Cultivators is so massive it can’t be measured in ’billions’; it can only be vaguely estimated in the ’trillions upon trillions.’

”For Raleigh Luke to stand out from such a terrifyingly large population and reach the Extraordinary rank at the Venerable Level...

...means he has already surpassed more than 95% of all Venerable Realm Cultivators in the universe in terms of skill.”

Star Pivot paused, then added, ”As you can see, Master, above Extraordinary are the ranks of Master, Grandmaster, and King.

”But the higher the rank, the difficulty of promotion increases exponentially, and the number of slots is extremely scarce and fixed. For the King rank, there are only 20,000 slots in the entire universe for the Venerable Realm;

”for the Grandmaster rank, there are only 500,000. Compared to the total number of Venerables in the universe, which is as vast as the sands of the Ganges, the proportion of these two ranks is so minuscule it’s almost negligible.

”Therefore, calling Raleigh Luke the number one Venerable in the Lain Empire is no exaggeration.

”With his Extraordinary rank, even if he were placed on the Imperial Capital Star of the vaster Moluoke Intermediate Empire, he would absolutely be considered a top-tier Venerable combatant.”

After hearing Star Pivot’s detailed explanation, a flickering flame finally ignited in the depths of Li Wen’s calm eyes.

A long-lost excitement, a desire to clash with truly strong opponents, quietly arose within him.

He was eager to find out just where he would rank in the Venerable Realm arena of this vast universe.

”Let’s go.” Li Wen delayed no longer. He strode forward with a hint of anticipation, also heading toward the solemn and imposing entrance of the arena.

As a newcomer to the Extreme Combat Arena, Li Wen first needed to complete ten placement matches to determine his initial rank.

[BEEP! Identity confirmed: Li Wen (Lain Empire Citizen ID: Changning). Realm assessment: Perfected Physical Body Venerable Realm.]

[Matchmaking in progress... Match successful!]

[Entering: Venerable Realm - Newcomer Placement Match (1/10)]

[Opponent Information: Charon Race - ’Rockcrusher’ Doge (Rank: Black Star, 4th Tier)]

The space before his eyes shifted, and Li Wen appeared in a standard circular arena about a kilometer in diameter, its floor made of incredibly sturdy Obsidian.

Across from him stood a humanoid creature nearly three meters tall, with skin like gray rock and gnarled, bulging muscles.

He wielded a massive metal hammer even larger than his body, its head covered in vicious spikes.

When the Charon Race member’s ochre eyes saw that Li Wen’s chest was bare, a trace of cruelty and contempt immediately flashed within them.

”Heh heh, a newbie? A little chick with no rank? Perfect. I’ll use you for a warm-up!”

Doge let out a guttural laugh like grinding stones, sneering as he swung his giant hammer without any flourish.

It tore through the air with a dull WHUMP, crashing down on Li Wen’s head like a collapsing mountain.

The power was ferocious, the momentum terrifying—a standard burst of strength from a Perfected Venerable-level physical body.

In Li Wen’s eyes, however, this attack was... far too crude!