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101: Chapter 101 Sword Intent 40%
He took a sharp breath, his chest heaving violently. The defeat in his eyes was rapidly replaced by a blazing Battle Intent, and his unwillingness ignited, transforming into an even firmer resolve.
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"Just wait. The advantage of a Technique Awakened is only temporary."
He roared inwardly, trying to convince himself with this understanding, to reconsolidate his belief. "Relying on the Realm insights gained from an innate Awakening for rapid advancement in the early stages... once that potential is exhausted, the speed of subsequent improvement will only get slower and slower. How high one can ultimately go depends on their Foundation and sustained effort. I, Jiang Lingyun, will definitely catch up!"
The car door opened gently, isolating all external sounds.
Li Wen leaned back against the soft, comfortable leather of the rear seat, his expression utterly placid.
The emotional fluctuations of Jiang Lingyun, that resentful whisper, held no significance for him whatsoever.
He couldn't even muster a sliver of interest in probing or mocking.
At this moment, what occupied his entire mind was the pale blue, semi-transparent panel that appeared before his eyes:
[Your Chinese language subject achieved excellent results in this weekly exam, scholar experience +60]
[Your history subject achieved excellent results in this weekly exam, scholar experience +60]
[Your geography subject achieved excellent results in this weekly exam, scholar experience +60]
[You achieved first place in your class in this weekly exam, scholar experience +140]
[Occupation: Scholar | Lv8 (1912 β 2232/12800)]
"Over ten thousand five hundred experience..." Li Wen stared at the long experience progress bar on the panel. The 12,800 points required to go from Lv8 to Lv9 still had a gap of over ten thousand.
His fingertips lightly tapped on his knee, a gleam of anticipation flashing in his eyes.
"The Provincial Second Mock Exam's cultural assessment, the province-wide ranking reward experience points... I hope they don't disappoint me."
Time flowed like sand through fingers, slipping away quietly.
The calendar turned to April 19th, Friday.
As the first faint light of dawn filtered through the gap in the curtains, Li Wen was already awake.
ββ
Without the slightest inclination to linger in bed, almost the instant his consciousness cleared, he silently recited in his mind: "Panel!"
Pale blue light and shadow unfolded before his eyes:
[Name: Li Wen]
[Age: 18 years old]
[Realm: Unranked (8.4 β 8.7 Rank)]
[Occupation: Scholar Lv8 (2232 β 4164/12800)]
[Techniques: Blade Technique - Momentum Realm (40%), Five Luminaries Heavenly Rainbow Art - Five Stances of Flowing Rainbow (Lueying Style 100%, Overlapping Waves Style 18% β 100%)]
[Cultivation Technique: Splitting Edge Golden Fiend Method (Perfection)]
His gaze swept sharply over each piece of information.
The past twelve days.
His Physical Body Rank continued to maintain an improvement speed that would leave the vast majority of Martial Artists dumbfounded, climbing from Rank 8.4 to Rank 8.7, drawing ever closer to that watershed between the mortal Rank and the Martial Artist Rank β Rank 10.
The most significant progress was undoubtedly in his technique Realm.
The [Overlapping Waves Style], which had only been at 18% mastery, had now been completely digested by him, refined to 100% Perfection.
The overall comprehension progress of his Blade Technique - Momentum Realm had also been propelled to a shocking 40%, as if riding a rocket.
Such a terrifying speed truly could only be described as "terrifying indeed."
"Finally completed." A weight lifted from Li Wen's heart. Mastering the Overlapping Waves Style to Perfection gave him a deeper understanding of the characteristics of stacking and unleashing his own power, its continuous and unending nature, and the advancement of his Momentum Realm followed naturally as water flows downhill.
And today, he would face a new challenge β the [Shou Que Style].
Tomorrow was the key battlefield that would determine whether he could obtain one of the three major pathways to an S-class contract β the Provincial Second Mock Exam's cultural assessment day.
The time left for him to comprehend the [Shou Que Style] was, at most, only today, plus the bit of time after the exam ended tomorrow night β a day and a half, extremely brief.
The morning cultural classes passed as routinely as ever.
Relying on the powerful passive of "One Proof, Eternal Proof" and months of frenzied accumulation, the cultural knowledge of the high school stage was already deeply imprinted in the depths of his mind. The classroom content could no longer offer him any sense of novelty.
The moment the bell rang, Li Wen didn't linger for a second. He directly boarded that eye-catching silver-grey limousine and once again arrived at the Xinhuo Hall Qingshi Branch.
Ever since his Blade Technique broke through to the Momentum Realm, Li Wen's afternoon classes had been fixed in the exclusive martial arts area of the Kindling Hall.
The ordinary equipment and venues at school could hardly withstand even the wind pressure from his swinging blade, let alone allow him to practice destructive Martial Skills in actual combat.
If not for the fact that after the Provincial First Mock Exam, the Flying Star Class began to enter the sea-of-questions tactical mode for cultural subjects, with high-frequency weekly exams and mocks that allowed him to steadily harvest nearly a thousand precious scholar experience points each week, he probably wouldn't have bothered showing up even for the morning classes.
In the martial arts room on the 14th floor of the Kindling Hall, exclusively his, he first finished the high-energy nutrition meal he had ordered in advance.
Li Wen didn't hesitate for a moment. He immediately entered the virtual world and summoned the intelligent assistant: "Enter the [Cultivation Technique Legacy World], comprehend the 'Five Luminaries Heavenly Rainbow Art - Flowing Rainbow Startling Magpie Chapter'."
[Transmission beginning β 54 β 32 β 1!]
An intense pulling sensation instantly enveloped his consciousness.
When Li Wen opened his eyes again, he was already in that peculiar training space from last time.
The surroundings were no longer walls or a starry sky, but slowly flowing, thick, viscous gray energy like liquid mercury.
A virtual light and shadow figure with a heavy, mountain-like aura stood in the center.
Unlike the swiftness of the Lueying Style or the continuous, domineering nature of the Overlapping Waves Style, the moment this Virtual Mentor raised his hand, what Li Wen felt was an indescribable sense of *steadiness*.
The hand moved not quickly, even appearing somewhat slow and sluggish, yet it traced a perfectly smooth, flawless arc in front of him.
In that instant, a heavy, thick, earth-like Intent that could bear all things erupted forth.
The flow of gray energy seemed to encounter an invisible dam, halting abruptly half a meter in front of the mentor, naturally diverting and flowing around, outlining a faint golden energy barrier with a visible, perfectly circular contour.
The space inside the barrier was like the eye of a storm, appearing exceptionally calm.
The barrier itself exuded an indestructible, impregnable Concept, as if it could withstand all sharp impacts in the world.
"Shou Que, guarding a single gap, smooth as a shield, unmoving as a mountain."
The Virtual Mentor's low, resonant voice echoed in the space. "Calmly observe the enemy's momentum, wait for the opportune moment to act. The heart like still water, the Intent like bedrock. Watch closely!"
As he spoke, the mentor manifested a long blade in his hand. But what he executed was not a slash, but blocks,
deflections, redirections, and seals.
The long blade in his hand transformed into a constantly flowing, changing shield.
The gray torrents that originally impacted the barrier were guided and dissipated by the long blade, like massive waves crashing against an ancient reef, splashing up ripples, while the reef remained unmoved.
Even at certain moments, the mentor would use the opponent's force against them, erupting from extreme stillness with astonishing energy to counterattack.
Li Wen held his breath and concentrated, activating [Absolute Focus].
The 80% Comprehension Ability boost brought by Lv8 Scholar instantly ignited, his spirit highly concentrated.
He greedily absorbed every detail demonstrated by the mentor, the principles of mechanics contained in each movement trajectory, and that unique defensive essence.
[Primordial Spirit Power] also silently extended, like the most precise scanning instrument, capturing every subtle activation of muscle fibers, every tiny pulsation of energy nodes in movements that seemed sluggish yet were precise to the extreme.
Especially how that perfectly smooth, flawless Concept was expressed in specific actions, being mapped, analyzed, and imprinted deep within his Sea of Consciousness by the Primordial Spirit Power without the slightest error.
However, the core essence of the Shou Que Style lay in "unmoving," in "defense," in "striking only after the enemy has struck."
This ran completely counter to Li Wen's nearly instinctive offensive blade path, the swift-as-wind [Lueying Style] and the domineering, continuous [Overlapping Waves Style].
This wasn't merely a difference in technique; it was a massive conflict in combat philosophy and instinct.
When Li Wen tried to imitate the mentor's movements, practicing according to the perceived force operation methods, his body's instinct involuntarily wanted to charge forward, to substitute offense for defense, to seize the momentary gap to tear through.
This caused his blade movements to be filled with irreconcilable contradictions and stiffness. His actions frequently distorted, making it extremely difficult to maintain that smooth trajectory, let alone construct a truly powerful defensive energy barrier.
"Guard the heart β guard the Intent β guard the momentum β" The Virtual Mentor's voice, like the evening drum and morning bell, struck Li Wen's heart with a peculiar rhythm. "The heart like a placid lake, reflecting all things without stirring a ripple. The Intent firm as a mountain, unmoved even if a thousand cliffs press upon it. Your Saber Intent, its edge is too exposed, its killing nature too heavy. It needs to be restrained, turned inward, smooth and adaptable."
The mentor's words were like a sudden enlightenment.
Li Wen abruptly realized the key issue. What he had comprehended was the Origin of a blade Intent that was sharp and exposed, unstoppable in its keenness.
This kind of Intent naturally carried a strong offensive nature and a sense of cutting.
Whereas the Shou Que Style required an Intent that was heavy, bearing, inclusive and unmoving like the earth.
There existed a certain fundamental conflict in nature between the Foundation of his Momentum Realm and the shield he now wanted to construct.
"This isn't a problem of skill, but of transforming the form of the Intent?" Li Wen instantly comprehended a deeper Bottleneck.
The Momentum Realm was not a singular, static Realm; it could possess different characteristics.
Time passed minute by minute, second by second. A sense of mental fatigue surged forth once again like a tide.
Fine beads of sweat appeared on Li Wen's forehead, and his breathing became slightly labored.
On the panel, the [Shou Que Style Mastery] painstakingly and agonizingly crept up from [0%] to [1%], like a snail crawling.
This insignificant 1% had consumed enormous mental effort and nearly overdrawn his spirit, far more difficult than when he first practiced the Lueying Style or Overlapping Waves Style by two or three times.
"Not enough yet..." Li Wen's eyes, however, grew calmer, filled with incomparable determination.
He deeply understood the strategic significance of the Shou Que Style for improving his overall combat power and compensating for his defensive shortcomings, especially at an important juncture like the upcoming Provincial Second Mock Exam's technique assessment, which had random rules and demanded comprehensiveness.
When the real-world time reached around 4 PM, a prompt came from his Sea of Consciousness:
[Shou Que Style Mastery: 1% β 2%]
[Mental Consumption Level: Severe (Recommend deep meditation for recovery)]
The light and shadow slowly dispersed. Consciousness returned to reality.
Li Wen opened his eyes. An indescribable sense of emptiness and exhaustion instantly assailed him, even causing his vision to darken for a moment.
This was the intense backlash from suddenly relaxing after excessive mental concentration.
His body swayed slightly, and he used a hand to brace against the floor to steady himself.
The sweat on his forehead had already gathered into fine streams, dripping down his cheeks.
"Huuββββ" Li Wen let out a long, deep exhalation, his chest heaving violently several times.
Only then did that sense of fatigue ease slightly.
But the harvest? A mere 1% increase in mastery!
Compared to his previous speed of mastering Martial Skills, this pace could be called snail-like.
However, there wasn't the slightest trace of dejection in Li Wen's eyes.
On the contrary, after this deep comprehension session, especially the mentor's words that pinpointed the key issue, his understanding of the Shou Que Style was no longer a vague haze. Instead, he had an exceptionally clear yet extremely difficult direction.
The direction was now laid out before him with crystal clarity.
What remained was how to use his unique methods, combining the [Scholar]'s Comprehension Ability boost and the [Primordial Spirit Power]'s insight and analysis,
to conquer this steep mountain Peak, to transform his sharp, peerless blade Intent into a form capable of both defense and adaptability, smooth and responsive.
This required time, required sweat, required a revolutionary reshaping of his past offensive instincts.
"Still as stagnant water, smooth and guarding the gap... So that's it. The dynamics of offense and defense, are they essentially just different expressions of 'Intent'?" Li Wen murmured to himself, his gaze deep and thoughtful.
Today, this heavily barricaded door had only been pushed open a tiny crack by him, but the path beyond it was now exceptionally clear before his eyes.
Sitting down cross-legged, he didn't immediately get up to leave. Instead, he picked up the starlight condensing spirit fluid placed beside him and poured it into his mouth in one gulp.
As the cool liquid slid down his throat into his stomach, he lay down once more.
Tomorrow's Provincial Second Mock Exam cultural assessment still required this body of his to unleash its Peak mental processing capabilities to compete for those crucial, massive amounts of scholar experience points.