High Martial: I Grind Professions

Chapter 557: Chapter 342: Thunder God’s Fury

Barton’s voice was deep, possessing a strange, penetrating quality that carried clearly throughout the entire arena.

”Li Wen.”

Li Wen met his gaze directly, without the slightest hint of retreat.

”Your talent is the greatest of them all.” Barton’s voice was devoid of emotion, as if stating a simple fact.

”A Primordial Spirit Star Lord in your fifties, with a preliminary grasp of the Time Law, and walking a dual cultivation path... To have come this far in such a short life is quite impressive.”

He paused for a moment, a rare hint of acknowledgment for a true genius flashing in his blood-red eyes.

”Give you a few more decades... and perhaps you’d truly be worthy of forcing my hand.”

”A pity,” his tone shifted, tinged with regret, ”that as you are now, you’re just too young.”

In the end, Li Wen’s foundation and accumulated experience were far too lacking.

Li Wen listened without any sign of anger, instead giving a calm nod.

He acknowledged the truth in Barton’s words.

But that absolutely did not mean he would give up!

”Thank you for the assessment.” Li Wen’s voice was clear. ”But a battle is never decided by what’s on paper. Please, enlighten me!”

The countdown hit zero!

BOOM!

Two figures vanished from their spots in an instant.

Their speed surpassed the perceptual limits of an ordinary Saint Realm expert.

Barton moved.

There was no world-shaking explosion of energy, no dazzling display of a Law’s power—just the simplest, most direct step forward.

The crimson long saber in his hand thrust forward, silent and without fanfare.

Yet, within that seemingly plain and simple thrust—BOOM!!!

An unstoppable, terrifyingly murderous aura, potent enough to freeze the very soul, erupted.

The entire hundred-mile-wide arena was instantly stained a shade of blood-red.

The air grew as heavy as lead and mercury, and vision distorted and warped.

Countless phantoms of wailing, vengeful souls materialized in the air.

They bared their fangs and brandished their claws as they lunged at Li Wen, seeking to drag him into an eternal abyss of despair.

’Absolute Focus!’

’Berserk!’

At this life-or-death moment, Li Wen didn’t hesitate for a second, instantly activating his two strongest states.

Within his Dantian, the silver Time Dao Seed erupted with unprecedented, brilliant light.

In his sea of consciousness, the Primordial Divine Ring suddenly flared, and vast, golden Wish Power surged madly into his limbs and bones.

CHZZZT—!

A dazzling, two-toned flame of gold and silver instantly blazed across his body.

The light was so intense that it momentarily forced back the viscous, blood-colored aura around him.

The space around him twisted violently, letting out a mournful cry.

His aura skyrocketed under the terrifying 180% boost to his combat power.

CLANG—!!!!!!

A metallic clang, sharp enough to tear eardrums, exploded between heaven and earth.

Li Wen’s silver longsword, now wreathed in the brilliant silver glow of accelerated time and the furious blaze of solidified golden Wish Power, transformed into a streak of light that tore through spacetime, precisely parrying the blood-red blade that held the power to annihilate stars.

KRA-BOOM!

An unimaginable force surged wildly down the blade like a cosmic torrent.

The arena floor beneath Li Wen’s feet, built to withstand the fierce battles of Star Lords, shattered inch by inch.

He was sent sliding backward at high speed, completely out of control.

His feet plowed two bottomless, scorched trenches into the arena floor.

He slid for dozens of meters before he barely managed to stabilize himself.

A piercing pain and numbness shot through his arms. The web of his hand split open, instantly dyeing the hilt of his sword red with blood.

A single blow!

The vast disparity in pure strength, Law condensation, and crystallized killing intent was laid bare.

The bloody, baleful energy clinging to Barton’s blade continuously battered Li Wen’s mental defenses.

If not for his ”Eternal Heart,” Li Wen’s mind would have long since been compromised.

”Good!” The blood-red light in Barton’s eyes flared.

Li Wen had not only taken a blow that contained seventy percent of his power, but he had also kept his mind stable against the baleful onslaught that could shatter the psyche of a Star Lord of the same rank. This truly exceeded his expectations.

But more than that, a thrill of meeting a worthy opponent ignited in his cold blood.

His figure blurred again, becoming an afterimage that seemed to merge into a sea of blood.

The crimson long saber in his hand transformed into a venomous dragon seeking to devour its prey.

It came at Li Wen relentlessly from the most cunning and bizarre angles, accompanied by a shriek that tore through space.

Every strike was stripped of all flashy, impractical techniques.

All that remained was the purest will to destroy and a killing instinct honed through a thousand trials—simple, direct, and deadly!

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Li Wen pushed the Time Law to the absolute limit of what he could endure.

His silver sword became a blur of afterimages, so dense that not even a drop of water could pass through.

He struggled desperately to defend against the terrifying, unending assault that was like a crimson tide of fury.

On the arena stage, the gold and silver radiance clashed madly with the blood-red light—colliding, annihilating, and regenerating!

Shards of space constantly shattered and flew outward.

The two fighters’ figures had long since become indistinct blurs.

All that could be seen were two streaks of light, representing the apex of their power, constantly flashing and colliding within the hundred-mile space.

Each collision triggered deafening energy detonations and spatial collapses.

Every time Li Wen was sent staggering back by the overwhelming force, every time the blood-red saber-light grazed past his vitals by a hair’s breadth, an irrepressible gasp would erupt from the Lain Empire’s section of the spectator stands.

Countless spectators had their hearts in their throats, their palms slick with cold sweat.

Meanwhile, the sections belonging to the Murphy Empire and Barton’s fanatical supporters were like a cauldron of boiling lava.

Every time Barton gained the upper hand, every time Li Wen was forced into a desperate block by the crimson blade, it would set off a tidal wave of frenzied cheers that threatened to blow the roof off the Virtual Cosmos!

”Blood Butcher is invincible!”

Roars of ”Crush him!” were deafening, as if the victor’s crown was already within their grasp.

RUMBLE—!!!