High Martial: I Grind Professions

Chapter 466: Chapter 304: Ten Seconds

The massive, central head of the Sin-Dragon Beast suddenly threw open its colossal maw.

It didn’t breathe the usual fire or ice.

From deep within its throat erupted rings of dark-red, visible shockwaves.

VMMMM—!

The ripples spread out in an instant, and wherever they passed, space shattered piece by piece like fragile glass.

This wasn’t an energy attack, but a spatial detonation so violent it crushed everything in its path.

It was powerful enough to easily shatter the body of a peak-stage Venerable into dust.

At the same time, its body, so enormous it occupied nearly half the space, began to move.

Its speed was in stark contrast to its size.

A mountain of dark gold bore down on the tiny Li Wen.

All three heads locked onto their prey simultaneously, sealing off every possible angle of escape for Li Wen.

Power!

Pure! Absolute! Ferocious! Power that crushes all technique!

Confined space, a direct physical confrontation!

This was the ultimate trial of the Heaven-Reaching Tower’s 3rd Layer!

「On the light screen outside the tower.」

The white dot of light representing Li Wen remained stationary in the section for the 3rd Layer.

One second, two seconds... three seconds... Time itself seemed to stretch, pulled taut by an invisible hand.

Outside the tower, there was dead silence.

Everyone’s hearts were in their throats, their gazes glued to that single point of light.

Faced with this projection of the Sin-Dragon Beast—a creature that relied on brute force over finesse, one that was savagely, unreasonably powerful.

Would the astonishingly fast newcomer’s prized Body Technique and skills still be effective?

How long could he last? Ten seconds? Or would he be instantly defeated?

A faint, cold sneer even touched the corners of Pato Ironscale’s lips.

He seemed to be waiting for the exact moment the dot of light would be extinguished, signaling Li Wen’s ejection from the tower.

Ten seconds.

Just as the tenth second passed—

BZZT!

The stationary dot of light moved!

With the same unstoppable momentum, it easily crossed the boundary between the 3rd and 4th Layers.

3rd Layer, cleared!

Time elapsed: 10 seconds!

The time taken was even less than any of the previous layers!

”SHHH—HAAA—!”

A collective, sharp intake of breath instantly echoed outside the tower, merging into a bizarre and stunning wave of sound.

This time, they were too stunned to even cry out.

Everyone’s expressions were frozen, leaving only looks of utter shock and bewilderment.

Ten seconds?!

Against a projection of the Sin-Dragon Beast, a monster that could go head-to-head with an ordinary Early-stage Saint Realm expert?!

And it only took him ten seconds?!

’What in the world did he do?! Did he kill the Sin-Dragon Beast with a single strike?! How is that possible?!’

Keynes Huiyao’s face instantly turned ashen.

He vividly remembered his own brutal, bloody battle against the Sin-Dragon Beast’s projection on the 3rd Layer.

He had used his ultimate Secret Technique, pushed his Holy Radiance to its absolute limit, and fought a grueling battle for nearly ten minutes before barely managing to seize an opening and painstakingly destroy its energy core.

His ten-minute bloody battle versus this glaring ten-second clear... The immense disparity left him with a profound sense of defeat.

The cold sneer on Pato Ironscale’s face froze solid, replaced by utter astonishment and disbelief.

He stood with his mouth agape, as if he could fit an egg inside.

His large, bell-like eyes stared intently at the dot of light on the screen, which had already leaped into the 4th Layer.

Strange, guttural sounds, ”Hkk... hkk...”, escaped his throat, as if he were being strangled.

His earlier pronouncement that ”without enough power, speed is useless” now felt like a resounding slap across his own face, and it stung something fierce.

He felt as though all eyes on him were filled with mockery, making him wish he could find a hole to crawl into and disappear.

”Ten seconds... The Sin-Dragon Beast... This...” Pato finally found his voice, but all that came out was a dry, broken whisper, stripped of all its former arrogance.

His supporters beside him were also rendered speechless, their faces etched with shock and disbelief.

”Monster...” someone in the crowd managed to say, the word coming out like a groan.

That single word, however, perfectly captured what every witness outside the tower was feeling.

...

「Heaven-Reaching Tower, 4th Layer.」

Li Wen’s figure materialized within a void of primordial chaos.

Here, there was no up or down, no left or right—only swirling gray mist that gave off a mysterious and ancient aura.

Ahead, space rippled like the surface of a pond after a stone has been tossed in.

A figure slowly coalesced, shifting from a blur into a clear, solid form.

Black hair, black eyes, a stern face, and a reserved aura. He wore simple, practical clothes.

In his hand, he held an antique-style long blade that faintly emanated a fierce Blade Intent.

It was, shockingly, another ”Li Wen”!

’A mirror duplicate?’ Li Wen’s eyebrow twitched, and for the first time, a flicker of genuine interest appeared in his deep eyes.

He could clearly feel the aura emanating from his opponent.

Its physical strength, the sheer volume of its True Energy, and even its restrained Blade Intent were all virtually identical to his own.

Sure enough, the duplicate moved a second later.

Without a single wasted word or motion, without any flashy probing attacks, it struck with the very offensive pattern Li Wen knew best and was most skilled in using.

The flash of its blade, like a bolt of brilliant silk, instantly tore through the chaotic mist.

It was incredibly fast, the angle of attack cunning and ruthless, aimed directly at Li Wen’s vitals.

Fierce, swift, concise, and efficient!

The power, speed, and technique of the attack all bore the unmistakable imprint of Li Wen’s own style; it was unsettlingly familiar.

’Interesting.’ A faint smile touched Li Wen’s lips as a spark of fighting spirit finally ignited in his eyes.

Facing the blade flash that split the chaos and arrived in an instant, he didn’t draw his own weapon to meet it.

With a subtle shift of his feet, just as the blade was about to strike, his form—like a reflection in water rippled by a faint breeze—bizarrely blurred and dissipated.

All that remained was a faint afterimage, torn apart by the blade’s energy.

The duplicate’s strike met empty air, its crimson eyes betraying no emotion.

With a flick of its wrist, the trajectory of its blade changed before the initial momentum was even spent.

The relentless flashes of its blade, like shadows clinging to bone, instantly formed an impenetrable curtain of deadly light.

Layer upon layer, it sealed off all of Li Wen’s possible escape routes.

Its anticipation of Li Wen’s Body Technique habits, the seamless flow of its attack rhythm...

...and its grasp of combat timing were all exquisite, reaching nearly ninety percent of the real Li Wen’s own proficiency.

On the light screen outside the tower, the dot of light representing Li Wen remained in the 4th Layer’s section.

Time ticked by, second by second...

Ten seconds... twenty seconds... half a minute...

The dot of light was as steady as a rock, showing no sign of movement.

”The 4th Layer is the ’Shadow of the Self’!” a veteran Trial Taker who had been through the Heaven-Reaching Tower said in a grave tone.

”This layer is divided into three phases: initial, middle, and final. The initial phase copies about ninety percent of a Trial Taker’s combat strength and intelligence. The middle phase is ninety-five percent. And the final phase... is close to a perfect ninety-nine percent!

”It possesses nearly all of your combat memories, instincts, and techniques. It can even anticipate your anticipations!

”It’s considered one of the most treacherous early levels! Many incredibly talented geniuses have fallen at their own hands!”

”Hmph! He’s finally slowing down, isn’t he?” Seeing the dot of light remain stationary for a noticeably longer time, Pato Ironscale seemed to regain a sliver of composure after the crushing blow to his ego.

Although his voice was still strained, he forced out a cold snort. ”Let’s see him try to speedrun this while facing a near-perfect version of himself! Techniques? When your opponent knows you inside and out, your techniques become your greatest weakness!”

Keynes Huiyao pressed his thin lips together. His expression was still grim, but his eyes were glued to the dot of light.

In the final phase of the 4th Layer, he too had been locked in a prolonged, grueling battle against a duplicate with ninety-nine percent of his strength. It had taken him nearly twenty minutes to barely scrape by with a victory.

He knew just how terrifying this level was.

In his mind, although the man had already proven himself extraordinary in the first three layers...

...there was no way he could possibly set another unbelievable speed record on this 4th Layer.

Time continued to pass... Forty seconds...

Just as everyone thought this ”battle against the self” would devolve into a longer stalemate, perhaps even ending with the dot of light being ejected—

VWOOOM!!!

On the light screen, the dot of light, which had been still for forty-five seconds, suddenly erupted with an unprecedentedly brilliant radiance.

With unstoppable momentum, it brazenly broke free from the confines of the 4th Layer.

It leaped into the band of light representing the higher-level challenge of the 5th Layer.

4th Layer, cleared!

Time elapsed: 45 seconds!

”For... forty-five seconds?!” Pato Ironscale sounded like a strangled duck, his eyes bulging as if they were about to pop out of their sockets.

Any further words were caught in his throat, leaving only a twisted, horrified expression on his face.

His last line of mental defense and the fragile facade of his pride were utterly crushed in that instant.

”Forty-five seconds... to defeat... a version of himself with ninety-nine percent of his strength?!” The veteran Trial Taker from before was completely at a loss for words, his voice trembling.

”Th-this... How is this possible?!”

”A monster! He’s an absolute monster!”

”How in the world did he do it?!”

Shouts of alarm, sharp gasps, and incredulous whispers erupted all at once.

The shock this time was far more intense than anything that had come before!

Forty-five seconds! To defeat an opponent that was practically a perfect ninety-nine percent replica of himself?!

That speed couldn’t just be called ’fast’ anymore. It was appallingly, outrageously fast!

So fast it defied their very understanding of combat!

Keynes Huiyao’s face was ashen, white as a sheet of paper.

The 4th Layer, which had taken him nearly twenty minutes to clear, this person had passed in only forty-five seconds!

This was no longer a gap; it was an insurmountable chasm!

The talent and strength of this unknown peer were so immense that they filled him with dread and despair.

Outside the tower, all eyes were fixated on the dot of light that had now entered the 5th Layer.

Their gazes were filled with shock, and a trace of bewilderment at the birth of this unknown, monstrously powerful figure.

No one dared to question it anymore. No one tried to explain it away with ”luck” or a ”favorable matchup.”

His absolute power was now seared into the minds of everyone present.

Like a thunderclap on a clear day, this unknown newcomer was destined to cause an unprecedented storm among the recruits of Elite Training Base No. 7.

Meanwhile, Li Wen, having just stepped into the unknown space of the Heaven-Reaching Tower’s 5th Layer, was completely unaware of the tidal wave of shock he had caused in the outside world.

His calm gaze swept over the even more profound and mysterious trial space before him.

Sensing the immense pressure and fluctuations of Law—far surpassing anything before—he slowly tightened his grip on the hilt of his blade.