117: Chapter 117 The Pinnacle of Blade Power, Marquis of Jiangling

The eyes of every student and teacher who saw him focused on him in unison.

It was no longer curiosity or scrutiny, but a heartfelt sense of awe, worship, and enthusiasm.

“Senior Li Wen!”

“Brother Wen!”

“Good morning, Student Li Wen!”

Greetings rose and fell one after another, their faces overflowing with sincere smiles.

Many lower-grade juniors were even so excited that their cheeks flushed red.

“Se—Senior! Could I trouble you for an autograph?”

A junior girl with a ponytail, who looked to be in her first year of high school, mustered up great courage and ran over. Her hands trembled as she handed over a signing pen and a brand-new notebook, her eyes filled with hope and nervousness.

Li Wen was slightly taken aback, then smiled gently. He took the pen and notebook and signed his name fluently.

This simple act caused the junior girl's face to instantly turn crimson. After taking back the notebook, she clutched it to her chest, thanked him in a low voice, and then ran away as fast as a startled rabbit, leaving behind envious gazes from those around her.

By now, he was no longer an obscure, ordinary student of Qingshi No. 3 Middle School, nor was he merely a Genius student.

He was the acknowledged king of the high school circles in the entire Jiangnan Province, a top-tier Prodigy holding an S-Rank Core Seed Contract, and an unprecedented legend of Qingshi No. 3 Middle School and even the entire Qingshi County!

His name itself was a shining gold brand.

Surrounded by countless gazes, Li Wen walked into the teaching building with a composed pace.

The cultural subject assessment of the Provincial Third Mock Exam held almost no challenge for Li Wen.

As the exam papers were handed out and his eyes scanned the questions, the answers were already flowing from the depths of his brain.

Without needing to activate Absolute Focus, he completed the vast majority of subjects in less than half the allotted time with smooth precision. Turning in his papers early had already become a habit for him.

Only when solving the final, most difficult math problem did he slightly mobilize a trace of mental concentration to verify the complex logical deductions. Even so, he still walked out of the exam hall half an hour early for every session.

Such an effortless examination process left many proctors and fellow candidates, who were secretly monitoring Li Wen's answering speed, with nothing but wordless admiration and despair in their hearts.

The next day was the decisive practical combat skill assessment day.

Hundreds of thousands of candidates across the province engaged in a large-scale, free-for-all melee according to complex regional rules.

However, for Li Wen, who had reached the Late Stage of the Momentum Realm, a melee of this level held no suspense at all.

Wherever he went, whether it was the vast number of ordinary candidates at the Peak of the Unity Realm or the few provincial Prodigies who had also stepped into the Momentum Realm, they were like snow encountering lava.

The brilliant and lethal Rainbow Absolute Domain constructed by the Drooping Heaven Stance swirled around him, and his field control reached a level that inspired despair;

The fast blades of the Lueying Style tore through the air; the heavy strikes of the Overlapping Waves Style split mountains and cracked stones; the iron wall of the Shou Que Style was flawless—

He wielded the four perfected stances of the Blade Technique with ease, displaying a level of skill that had completely surpassed his self from the second provincial mock exam.

Every activation of his Blade Intent and every substantial burst of blade light clearly signaled that he was only one step away from that final Concept.

Whether in one-on-one crushing victories or when surrounded by multiple people, Li Wen displayed absolute dominance.

With an unstoppable posture, he swept through the entire assessment field.

The brilliance of all the candidates in the entire Jiangnan Province was inevitably overshadowed by him alone.

A few days later, the total results of the Provincial Third Mock Exam were announced.

Overall Ranking for the Third High School Cultivation Mock Examination of Jiangnan Province:

First Place: Li Wen (Third Middle School)

Second Place: Chu Feng (Provincial Capital No. 1 Middle School)

Third Place: Nangong Xue (Provincial Capital No. 2 Middle School)

Below the list, there was dead silence, followed by an overwhelming uproar.

With an indisputable score, he thoroughly secured the throne as the number one student among the high school seniors of Jiangnan Province, welding himself firmly into that top seat.

Back when Li Wen had taken first place in the skill assessment of the second provincial mock exam, some had sourly thought he was just lucky,

that it was a one-time burst, or that he was only specialized in skills while his Physical Body held him back.

Now, looking at Li Wen still ranking first in the skill assessment, they were completely silenced.

They opened their mouths but could no longer make a single sound of doubt.

Only murmurs of "monster" and "inhuman" circulated silently among the shocked crowd.

The hierarchy of the high school seniors in Jiangnan Province was thus settled.

Time flew by like a white horse passing a crevice, and in the blink of an eye, it was May 31st.

In the early morning, the faint sunlight was like golden threads, quietly slipping through the gaps in the curtains and landing precisely on Li Wen's eyelids.

His thick eyelashes fluttered, and he slowly opened his eyes.

There was no trace of post-slumber haze; his deep eyes instantly regained their spirited clarity.

Habitually rubbing his eyes, with a slight thought, the familiar azure panel quietly unfolded in his consciousness:

【Name: Li Wen】

——

【Age: 18 years old】

【Realm: Elementary Martial Artist (Rank 9.9 → 10.3)】

【Class: Scholar Lv9 (8514 → 22314/25600)】

【Skills: Blade Technique · Momentum Realm Five Stances of Flowing Rainbow (Lueying Style 100%, Overlapping Waves Style 100%, Shou Que Style 100%, Drooping Heaven Stance 100%, Penetrating Mountain Stance 100%)】

【Cultivation Technique: Splitting Edge Golden Fiend Method (Perfection)】

Carefully scrutinizing the information on the panel, Li Wen's heart was calm, yet it carried a faint joy of completion.

Another ten days of bitter Cultivation had yielded remarkable results.

His Physical Body Rank had finally broken through the Rank 10 barrier that had once deterred countless Martial Artists.

The leap in life level brought with it a surging power like the rivers and seas flowing through his veins; he had officially stepped into the Realm of a "Martial Artist."

In terms of skills, his rate of progress was still considered appalling.

The final stance of the Five Stances of Flowing Rainbow, the "Penetrating Mountain Stance," which contained the true Intent of a crushing mountain and fierce, peerless strength, took him a mere week to completely master and reach Perfection.

At this point, the five core Blade Techniques recorded in the Flowing Rainbow Startling Magpie Chapter—Lueying, Overlapping Waves, Shou Que, Drooping Heaven, and Penetrating Mountain—had all reached 100% mastery.

His Blade Technique Momentum Realm had also been pushed to an unprecedented 99% Peak.

He was just one step away from the legendary Saber Intent Realm where "the blade precedes the thought" and "all methods return to the source."

His scholar experience also climbed steadily during his daily unceasing reading and reflection, leaving him only three thousand-plus experience points away from the enticing Lv10.

That would mean double the Comprehension Ability!

Whenever he thought of this, Li Wen was filled with a clearer expectation for the future—"the future is promising."

Today was a very special day.

Tomorrow would be the sacred assessment day for the new batch of students at the highest martial arts academy of the Human Alliance—Kindling University.

To ensure nothing went wrong, almost all candidates qualified for the assessment would choose to set off today to travel to the location of Kindling University in a distant province.

Li Wen, as the pride of Jiangnan Province, was naturally no exception.

Breakfast was a warm moment shared with his parents.

In Father Li and Li Wen's Mother's eyes, there was both reluctance and a deep-seated pride in their son's success.

They gave him detailed instructions, and Li Wen responded with a steady smile.

After a simple and warm breakfast, Li Wen bid farewell to his parents and headed straight for the Xinhuo Hall Qingshi Branch.

Ever since he learned more about the truth of the world from Fang Chengwu—that humans defended cities and designated hunting zones, and what they guarded against so strictly were not the Yao Beasts born on the Blue Star.

They were kept only because they were an endless source of meat and Materials, and even more so, an indispensable whetstone for the growth of low-level Martial Artists.

The true enemies of humanity were those alien Yao Race who tore through space, invaded Earth, and attempted to turn the Blue Star into a colony and hunting ground.

This cruel truth made Li Wen understand more deeply the weight of the word "Kindling" and the mission of Legacy.

While waiting at the branch hall, Li Wen did not waste a single moment.

He once again locked himself in the familiar and private exclusive martial arts room on the 14th floor.

He practiced the Five Stances of Flowing Rainbow with single-minded focus, his figure pulling out trails of afterimages in the room. The blade light was sometimes like a startling rainbow flash, sometimes like a mountain suppressing the world, and sometimes like the overlapping waves of a vast sea.

As his blade tip danced, he did not miss any opportunity that might fuse the five distinct yet same-sourced Concepts into one, hoping to touch that final 1% and condense his own Saber Intent.

He knew very well how profound the shackles of this final step were.

Otherwise, it wouldn't trap ninety-nine percent of Flying Star Rank experts outside the door for years, over a decade, or even decades, until their blood and Qi began to decline from their Peak before some managed to luckily break through.

There were even those who spent their entire lives until their fall without ever catching a glimpse of the doorway to the Concept.

This chasm from the Momentum Realm to the Concept Realm had buried the ambitions of countless geniuses.

Regarding this, Li Wen's mindset was peaceful and steady.

With his current strength as the number one in two provincial categories, an S-Rank contract holder, at the Peak of the Blade Technique Momentum Realm, and having just entered the Martial Artist Realm, stepping into Kindling University was already a certainty.

It would be good if he could break through to the Saber Intent Realm early, but if it required time to polish, he was also composed.

Especially when he thought that before long, his Scholar level could break through to Lv10 and grant him double the Comprehension Ability, that would surely be the best opportunity for him to attempt the Fusion of the five stances and charge toward Saber Intent.

“Buzz—”

Just as the twelve o'clock noon bell seemed to still be echoing over Qingshi County, a sharp and unique buzzing sound suddenly rang out in the martial arts room, precisely interrupting Li Wen's flowing blade stances.

It was a communication request from Chen Yuanfeng, the branch head of the Xinhuo Hall Qingshi Branch.

Li Wen connected.

“Li Wen, the lord from the Jiangnan Province headquarters is about to arrive! Get to the rooftop immediately!” Chen Yuanfeng's voice carried an irrepressible excitement and respect.

Li Wen sheathed his blade, a slight ripple appearing in his otherwise calm heart.

He quickly washed away the light sweat from his practice, changed into a silver-gray Martial Artist uniform specially made by Kindling Hall, and then, personally accompanied by Branch Head Chen Yuanfeng, took the special elevator directly to the top floor.

The elevator doors slid open silently, revealing the broad rooftop platform of the Qingshi Branch.

Five minutes later.

The early summer noon sun was somewhat fierce, but what attracted more attention was the massive object that had abruptly descended over the branch hall.

A streamlined, giant shuttle-shaped aircraft over fifty meters long was hovering about ten meters in the air above the branch, as still as a maiden.

Its entire body was covered in a strange metal that shimmered with starlight within deep black. Subtle blue-purple light patterns caused by energy operations occasionally flashed across the hull, forming mysterious circuits that silently displayed top-tier technology and boundless energy far beyond civilian vehicles.

The body lines were smooth and full of power, without any propellers or jet ports. Only a massive anti-gravity force field emitting a soft glow at the bottom held it steadily aloft, without even a single gust of air disturbing the building below.

Under the sunlight, it was like a crouching starry sky beast, exuding soul-stirring majesty and a sense of power.

Such a prominent existence suddenly descending on the small Qingshi County had already drawn countless citizens around to stop and look up, causing bursts of irrepressible amazement.

“Pshhh—” A hatch on the side of the aircraft slid down silently, forming a gangway.

Immediately after, a figure stepped out slowly from within.

He did not rely on any external devices and just steadily, step by step, “walked” down from the air over ten meters high.

It was as if beneath his feet was not the Void Realm, but solid ground.

An invisible aura spread out with his steps. It wasn't intentional suppression, yet it made Li Wen and Chen Yuanfeng on the rooftop feel their breathing stifle for a moment.

The newcomer looked to be about thirty or forty years old, with a regular face and sharp features like they were carved by a knife and chisel.

His eyes were deep as if they contained a sea of stars, with a sharp inner light when they opened and closed.

He wore a silver-edged black combat suit of a simple style but extraordinary material, and on his shoulder was a faint dark pattern shaped like the "Xinhuo Emblem."

As he walked, a majesty that could only be cultivated by long occupying a high position and holding the power of life and death inadvertently leaked out, carrying a steady temperament tempered by countless battlefields, blood, and power.

Just by standing there, he made the surrounding space seem to freeze slightly.

This was one of the rulers of Jiangnan Province, a giant who governed all Kindling Hall branches—a Marquis-level Expert, the Marquis of Jiangling, Marquis Lu Feng!

“Subordinate Chen Yuanfeng, Branch Head of the Qingshi Branch, greets the Marquis of Jiangling!”

Chen Yuanfeng bowed immediately, keeping his posture very low, his tone carrying a heartfelt awe.

“Student Li Wen greets the Marquis of Jiangling!” Li Wen also followed suit, offering his greetings according to etiquette, neither humble nor arrogant.

As early as when he received the notification, he knew the identity of the newcomer. He was a giant figure stationed in Jiangnan Province who managed all Kindling Hall branches in the province, a true Marquis-level super expert.

After the Marquis of Jiangling's gaze briefly lingered on Chen Yuanfeng, it fell entirely on Li Wen.

A warm smile appeared on his majestic face, like the first melting of winter snow.

“Li Wen, I have heard your name for a long time.” The Marquis of Jiangling's voice was mellow and powerful. “It is truly a blessing for a small county like Qingshi to produce a true dragon like you. Two consecutive titles in the provincial skill exams, and being able to slay a Middle-Rank Super Martial Artist Yao Beast before even reaching the Ranks—”

“These miracles you've created in Qingshi County would be enough to shine brilliantly even if placed on a national level. Very good! Kindling University needs seeds like you.”

The undisguised appreciation and affirmation in his tone caused even Chen Yuanfeng's face to flush.

Li Wen's face remained calm as he bowed slightly again: “The Marquis overpraises me. This student will certainly give his all.”

“Mm, it's getting late. Let's set off.” The Marquis of Jiangling nodded and was the first to turn toward the light ladder hanging from the hatch.

After Li Wen bid farewell to Chen Yuanfeng, he also followed quickly.

Stepping into the spacious and bright interior, Li Wen immediately saw several familiar faces.