11: Chapter 11 Scholar Level 3

Time flew by, and five days had already passed.

January 6th, Galactic Year 226.

In the faint light of dawn, the biting cold wind outside the old building's window remained sharp.

"Mmm..." Just before the alarm clock's piercing buzz was about to erupt, Li Wen suddenly opened his eyes and instinctively reached out to silence it.

The bedroom fell silent again, with only the steady thumping of his heart in his chest and the faint, minute sounds of his bones stretching reminding him of the start of a new day.

With a slight shift in thought, the familiar light blue panel clearly materialized deep within his consciousness:

[Name: Li Wen]

[Age: 18]

[Profession: Scholar Lv2 (188 / 200)]

[Realm: Unranked (6.1 Rank)]

[Skill: Blade Technique - Advanced (Major Achievement 99 / 100)]

[Cultivation Technique: Splitting Edge Golden Fiend Method (Minor Achievement 30 / 100)]

Five days had slipped away under nearly frantic self-exertion.

The numerical display for his Physical Body Rank stubbornly remained at "6.1," but Li Wen could clearly feel the power within him slowly and steadily moving toward "6.2," with every circulation of Qi and blood bringing a subtle sense of fulfillment.

The Splitting Edge Golden Fiend Method, benefiting from the stability of the Minor Achievement Realm and the understanding gained from the new Realm, had been pushed up to 30 points since breaking through from Entry Level, and the cultivation feedback from the increased efficiency was tangible.

However, the fastest progress, without a doubt, was in the scholar experience that represented his core potential—188 / 200, only one step away from the 200-point threshold for leveling up.

Perhaps today would bring double happiness.

The Scholar promotion to Lv3, and the Blade Technique Perfection Bottleneck, which had troubled him for five full days—seemingly thin as a cicada's wing yet harder than refined steel—would be broken through in one fell swoop.

An indescribable heat rose from his chest, mixed with intense anticipation and determination. Li Wen quickly got up, his movements for dressing quick and precise.

Cold water splashed on his face, bringing a brief moment of clarity. In the living room, the familiar purple-brown empty medicine box lay quietly on the table, a delicate note from his mother pressed under its edge: "Have a good day! — Mom."

Warmth swept through his heart. He carefully put the note away, quickly finished the breakfast Mother Li had kept warm, slung his worn but sturdy canvas schoolbag over his shoulder, and plunged into the winter chill, his destination—Qingshi No. 3 Middle School.

...

In the cultural classroom of Grade 12, Class 21, history class was in session.

On the podium, the history teacher, approaching fifty, adjusted his reading glasses. His voice carried the flavor of accumulated years, yet he could not hide the seriousness within it:

"... This class will focus on reviewing the origins of the New Martial Era. This knowledge point is tested every year! Students must engrave it into their very bones and blood!"

He pointed to the projection screen behind him, where a massive timeline marked key nodes:

"... Before the first year of the Galactic Calendar, that was the long Dark Era. Human civilization once struggled in the Universe's barren wastes, deficient in Spiritual Energy.

It wasn't until 226 years ago that our Milky Way finally exited the 'Spiritually Poor Zone' while revolving around the supercluster, merging into the 'Low-Concentration Spirit Energy Band' of the surrounding Star Domains—this was the iconic 'Spiritual Energy Tide'!

The teacher's voice suddenly rose: "It was this great and perilous turning point that announced the dawn of Spiritual Energy's recovery! The martial potential of humanity, suppressed for a thousand years, could finally be unearthed..."

He paused, a trace of solemnity flashing in his eyes, "But this was also the beginning of disaster! Because the savage speed at which the Yao Beasts absorbed and converted Spiritual Energy far surpassed our fragile Physical Bodies!

They welcomed the terrifying 'Awakening Tide' and underwent swifter transformations than humans. What we lost was not only the peace of the old era but also countless lands essential for our compatriots' survival..."

The history teacher explained in great detail, meticulously analyzing and eloquently recounting the tragedy and opportunity of the era.

However, the response from the students below the podium was sparse. In a class of over forty students, less than half were truly listening intently.

Students focused on martial arts had long since drifted off, thinking about the afternoon's martial arts class and the final martial arts test, which was only three days away;

Even those focused on academics, like Wei Wu, mostly viewed history class as a tedious set of knowledge points that required rote memorization, rather than a record bearing the weight of civilization.

The teacher on the podium seemed long accustomed to this scene and did not get angry, only a barely perceptible sigh crossing his eyes.

Under the structural weight of the Martial Arts College Entrance Examination, history's proportion of the score truly struggled to capture the interest of most hot-blooded youths dreaming of breaking the heavens with martial prowess.

[You study diligently for ten minutes, scholar experience + 1]

[Profession: Scholar Lv2 (199 → 200 / 200)]

[Upgrading...]

[Profession: Scholar Lv3 (0 / 400)]

Just as Li Wen became immersed in his book again, silently organizing the knowledge points along with the teacher's voice, the panel notification popped up without any warning.

An invisible wave instantly swept across his Sea of Consciousness.

Buzz!

A feeling of coolness, far stronger and more condensed than when advancing from Lv1 to Lv2, suddenly cleared the canyon of his thoughts, like a mountain stream thawing in early spring.

It was a strange sensation of his mind being completely washed, broadened, and optimized. It was as if dusty glass had been polished bright, mental stagnation dissolved, and the entire world instantly became clearer and brighter.

[Scholar Lv3]—Achieved!

"Hoo..." Li Wen couldn't suppress a very slight exhalation of stale air in his seat, quickly concealing the sharp glint that instantly erupted in his eyes.

He quickly glanced up at the electronic clock at the front of the classroom—thirty-seven minutes left until the bell.

Without the slightest hesitation, and even with a solemnity akin to pilgrimage, Li Wen's thoughts raced: "Activate—[Absolute Focus]!"

The moment the thought landed, an invisible force, even more condensed and thorough than before, enveloped him. Lv3's [Absolute Focus] was nearly perfectly seamless upon activation.

Li Wen only felt the world before him abruptly shed all irrelevant colors and sounds.

The rustling sound of his deskmate Wei Wu turning history notes, the whistling of tree branches scraped by the cold wind outside the window, the suppressed yawns of the students in front of him... all the clamor was instantly stripped away and shielded.

Within his field of vision, there was only the incredibly complex historical time nodes, network analysis diagrams, and key term explanations in the book, and—what he had deliberately placed under his history textbook—a copy of 'Advanced Mathematics Problem Solutions'.

The history teacher was still narrating the 'Great Calamity triggered by the first appearance of the Yao Beast King, the Sky-Splitting Black Lion,' but at the core of Li Wen's consciousness, these crucial historical events were rapidly analyzed, categorized, and branded, forming solid memory modules.

Simultaneously, those few mathematical problems that had caused him to frown deeply and rack his brains in vain yesterday while reviewing were now like gemstones unveiled from mist, their internal logical chains clearly exposed.

A thirty percent increase in Comprehension Ability—this was a qualitative leap!

In the past, when he was Lv2, details of force application, key nodes of power transmission, and subtle angles for linking Moves when practicing the Blade Technique still required repeated pondering... Now, the flood of information pouring into his mind was like being enlightened and refined by an invisible Grandmaster.

Countless sparks of inspiration crackled in his mind, colliding, combining, and verifying frantically.

The twenty-six Moves of the Tiger Guard Saber Technique, the application scenarios for every Move and every variation, the hidden changes, the extreme angles, the secret knack for resonating power with the Splitting Edge Golden Fiend Method, this metal-attribute foundational Cultivation Technique... were like scattered puzzle pieces rapidly assembling toward the most perfect 'Seamless Integration' under this terrifying mental deduction.

The 99-point Bottleneck that had troubled him for five full days, that seemingly impenetrable thin film, now began to emit faint groans of unbearable strain under the continuous, precise scraping of the 'mental carving knife' formed by Absolute Focus stacked with a 30% Comprehension Ability increase.

Sword light traversed his mind; his spiritual world was undergoing a silent yet earth-shattering transformation.

Thirty-odd minutes—in the eyes of ordinary people, it was half a tedious review session. For Li Wen, it was the storm of thought ignited deep within his Soul burning fiercely.

Every high-speed collision of thought was accompanied by an infinite approach toward the 'Perfection' Realm of the Advanced Blade Technique.

Time lost its measure in Absolute Focus.

"Jingle-ling-ling—" The piercing sound of the dismissal bell exploded like a thunderclap.

Buzz! The transcendent field of focus enveloping Li Wen suddenly receded like the tide. The world's noise and colors violently rushed back into his senses.

"Hiss..." A violent dizziness and immense mental emptiness instantly struck him.

Li Wen groaned softly, instinctively pressing both hands heavily onto his temples, fingers tightly interlocked, rubbing hard in an attempt to alleviate the throbbing pain that felt like his head was about to split open.

Lv3 Absolute Focus consumed several times the Mental Energy of Lv2.

His body, especially the 'hardware' supporting computation—his brain—was finally sending him strong warning signals.

"Hey, Li Wen, are you okay?" His deskmate Wei Wu was packing his schoolbag. Seeing Li Wen painfully pressing his temples, and glancing at the copy of 'Advanced Mathematics Problem Solutions' on his desk, which was only opened a few pages and covered in complex martial arts formulas, he instantly misunderstood. With a hint of teasing mixed with genuine concern,

“Damn it, bro, is it necessary to push yourself this hard? If you’re going to tackle math problems, don't pick History class! Look at you, your face is completely pale... If you really can't figure out the hard ones, start with the simple ones first, okay? Don't make yourself dizzy.”

“...Mm,” Li Wen slightly eased the motion of pressing his temples, glancing through his fingers at the difficult problem collection. He managed a smile that looked stiff due to exhaustion.

“It’s fine, just a bit of a headache... Yeah, I was just trying it out, didn't work,” he replied vaguely, not explaining the real situation.

It wasn't until the students from the preceding class had all left and the harsh bell for the third period Chinese class rang that Li Wen felt the throbbing pain slowly recede like a tide, and a bit of clarity returned to his mind.

He shook his head, dispelling the lingering heaviness, and his gaze sharpened once more.

Though the price was high, the harvest from that brief, frantic deduction just now... was immeasurable.

He almost solely relying on willpower to take out the corresponding books and place them on his desk, suppressing the urge to immediately rush to the Martial Arts Classroom. He continued to “diligently” study the book content—after all, every ten minutes was precious scholar experience value.

...Time slipped away amidst the rustling friction of pen tips against paper.

“Ding-a-ling—” The bell signaling the end of the morning session rang precisely on time.

[scholar experience + 24]

[Profession: Scholar Lv3 (0 → 24 / 400)]

Li Wen put down his pen, looking at the updated panel with deep anticipation mixed with exhaustion.

“400 points... Calculated at 36 experience points every six hours, the next level up will be in eleven days.” He frowned, then immediately relaxed, “However... it probably won't actually take that long. Next week's final exam is a unified test for the entire grade!” A thought flashed through his mind.

The core of acquiring experience for the “Scholar” profession is learning and mastering knowledge.

And exams are the most authoritative verification of learning outcomes! The larger the exam, the more people involved, and the higher the differentiation in difficulty, the richer the experience points gained from achieving excellent results.

This hidden mechanism was a crucial patch implemented by the game designers to balance the exponential increase in experience required for the Scholar profession in the later stages.

After all, the higher the professional Rank, the more experience points required increase exponentially. The total experience from Lv1 to Lv10 might be far less than what is needed just to go from Lv10 to Lv11.

If one relied entirely on burying their head in books, the speed of leveling up in the later stages would slow to a despairing degree.

Therefore, achieving top rankings in open and fair assessments became the necessary shortcut for high-level Scholars to advance their Ranks.

“The final exam... will be the first wave of experience acceleration after Lv3.” A calculating glint flashed in Li Wen's eyes.

He stretched his arms long, and his bones let out a series of faint cracking sounds.

The classroom soon emptied, the clamor fading away, leaving only the sound of the cold wind scraping past the window and the slightly old, motivational song melody playing on the campus broadcast.

Li Wen did not immediately get up. He sat quietly at his desk for about twenty minutes until the broadcast finished playing three songs and stopped completely, plunging the teaching building into midday silence.

The sense of physical strength had mostly recovered, and the mental fatigue was suppressed.

It was time to verify.

A strong impulse surged in his chest—under the Lv3 Absolute Focus, the thirty percent Comprehension Ability boost, what kind of sharpness would this brand new “Thought Carving Knife” display in real-world Blade Technique Cultivation? Could that sheer cliff blocking him for five days finally be... overcome?

Li Wen stood up and moved his neck and shoulders. Without any further hesitation, he quickly left the classroom and headed towards the cafeteria.

The goal was clear: the afternoon's Cultivation session must thoroughly pierce that final layer of thin paper blocking the Perfection Realm!

...After a simple, quick, yet energy-rich lunch, Li Wen was the first to arrive at the Grade 12, Class 21 Martial Arts Classroom.

It was not yet one o'clock.

The room was empty and quiet, filled with the familiar scent of equipment mixed with a faint smell of sweat. He did not immediately pick up his blade; the lunch needed time to digest.

The churning of energy in the stomach would interfere with the circulation of Qi and Blood and the precision of movements.

He walked to the resting bench in the corner and lay down directly on his back.

He closed his eyes, emptied his mind, and used only the physical sensation to guide the stomach's peristalsis, accelerating the digestion and absorption of the high-energy food.

He did not enter deep meditation, just the most basic rest.

Twenty minutes passed. The feeling of fullness in his stomach was finally replaced by a warm sensation of strength flowing towards every part of his body.

Li Wen opened his eyes. There was no trace of hesitation or confusion left in them, only pure focus and intense self-confidence.

He stood up and warmed up! Stretching, joint rotations, short basic pole stances to mobilize Qi and Blood... Every step was meticulously executed.

Once the warm-up was complete, Li Wen walked to the familiar weapon rack. His gaze swept over various weapons before landing precisely on the standard steel quick saber that already showed signs of being handled smooth from use.

“Clang!” The crisp sound of cold metal scraping echoed particularly clearly in the empty classroom. The hilt settled into his hand, heavy and cool, feeling like an extension of his arm bone.

He stood steady in the center of the open space, his toes slightly gripping the worn floor tiles, his body sinking slightly, his center of gravity as stable as bedrock.

He took a deep breath, as if trying to draw all the usable oxygen and stillness within this space into his lungs.

The next moment, his mind flashed like lightning and thunder.

“Activate—Absolute Focus!”

Buzz!

There were no external signs, and even the momentary extreme concentration in his eyes was almost perfectly hidden beneath his already extremely focused expression.

The world was instantly purified and reconstructed!

The howling of the cold wind outside the window, the noise from the distant sports field, the roaring sound of his own blood flowing internally, the last slight movement of his stomach... All irrelevant information was ruthlessly stripped away and isolated.

In his field of vision, only the quick saber, flashing with cold light in his palm, remained! In the Sea of Consciousness, only the phantoms of the twenty-six Moves of the Tiger Guard Saber Technique were frantically circulating, deducing, combining, and optimizing.

Thirty percent Comprehension Ability boost!

This “Thought Carving Knife,” suddenly sharpened by thirty percent, began to dissect, deconstruct, and then reassemble the Moves he had practiced tens of millions of times in the world of his consciousness, down to the micro-level.

Swish—!

A slash was fiercely executed!

The movement was not a simple repetition, but one imbued with the newly birthed “understanding” under the Lv3 Absolute Focus's blessing.

The sound of the blade light tearing through the air actually contained a sharper, piercing tremor than before—a direct manifestation of a more tricky angle, more concentrated power transmission, and swifter execution speed.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

The blade followed the heart's command, the body followed the blade's movement!

The first Move, “Tiger Roaring in the Forest,” began with the momentum of wind and thunder!

The roar was no longer a shout of brute force, but more like the low growl of a living beast about to pounce and kill, filled with the oppressive feeling of coiled power not yet unleashed.

The blade edge trembled, as if craving more air resistance to release the torrent of deep power it held.

The Intent of the blade had not yet finished, but his footwork was already stepping forward!

The moment his center of gravity sank, the second Move, “Fierce Tiger Descending the Mountain,” connected seamlessly!

This downward slash was no longer a simple vertical drop relying on inertia. The spiral force generated by Li Wen’s twisting waist and hips, combined with the precise inward rotation of his wrist, perfectly integrated into the basic force, instantly igniting the downward potential energy into an oblique cut.

The trajectory of the blade edge cutting through the airflow was smoother and sharper, like the fatal claw of a fierce tiger tearing at its prey’s throat when pouncing.

Not a single bit of power was wasted; every tensing and relaxing of muscle was under control.

The third Move, “Slithering Snake Flicking Its Tongue”!

That long, thin counter-flick, which used to cause a brief stiffness during the circular movement, now transformed into an afterimage of a viper striking instantly.

The “drilling force” led by the side of the little finger on the wrist was perfectly excavated. The tip of the blade vibrated and trembled like a snake’s tongue, suddenly expanding the range of angles to seal off, directly aiming for the opponent's hard-to-defend vital spot under the armpit.

The change was as swift as the thunderous strike of a viper instantly coiling its neck and then suddenly darting its head out.

With every slash executed, a fierce burst of inspiration accompanied it in his mind.

With every footwork shift, the timing for the center of gravity transition was polished to be even more seamless through deduction.

The blade was no longer a mere extension of the arm, but had become the convergence point, the core, of the entire body's flowing power.

Bottleneck? That membrane that had blocked him for five days?

Under the continuous scouring and compression of the terrifying “Thought Storm” formed by the Lv3 Absolute Focus stacked with a 30% Comprehension Ability boost, it was already covered in countless cracks.

Like a dam that had endured wind and rain for too long, it only awaited the final push of strength...

First repetition! The blade light was like a Dragon, the movements astonishingly fluid, leaving behind only extremely condensed afterimages that lingered for a long time!

Second repetition! Sweat instantly covered his forehead, but Li Wen's eyes were brighter than ever before, as if flames were burning within them! The memory of every inch of muscle was being overwritten and optimized by new comprehension! In his mind, the flawless radiance belonging to the “Perfection” Realm was already within reach!