41: Chapter 41 Jiang Lingyun of No. 1 Middle School

Li Wen collected his thoughts and quickly got off the bus through the back door.

The winter sunlight shone on the grand and majestic plaque of the "Xinhuo Hall Qingshi Branch," conveying a sense of profound weight. He walked briskly toward the gates that represented infinite possibilities.

Just then, a tall, well-proportioned boy with a clean-cut buzz cut stepped off another bus nearby. With steady steps, he walked quickly toward the entrance of Kindling Hall.

The boy's expression was calm and reserved, and he carried himself with an air of unhurried composure as he walked.

“Look! It's Jiang Lingyun from No. 1 High! Wow, he's even more handsome in person!” Two girls nearby exclaimed in low voices.

“Jiang Lingyun?” Li Wen's footsteps paused slightly. He had heard of this name long ago—the acknowledged Genius of the Qingshi County First Martial Arts High School. Rumor had it that he had already been signed by Kindling Hall in advance, and it was even a b-rank contract with generous benefits! He hadn't expected to run into him here.

He subconsciously took another look. The other's temperament was indeed outstanding; that internal confidence was built upon a foundation of sheer strength.

“But if we're talking about being handsome...” A small curve subconsciously formed at the corners of Li Wen's mouth.

Shaking his head to dispel that subtle competitive thought, Li Wen continued toward the gate.

As he passed the two girls, another sentence drifted over: “That boy over there carrying the backpack is also very handsome...”

The other voice replied, “He is quite handsome, just a bit too thin. I still think Jiang Lingyun has a better build...”

His mood somehow brightened another notch. With a faint smile on his face, Li Wen strode into the spacious and bright first-floor lobby of Kindling Hall.

According to the old rules, going to the second-floor cafeteria to replenish energy first was the priority.

On the escalator going up, he habitually glanced at the higher floors. His gaze fixed on a certain direction on the twelfth floor—that seemed to be an exclusive area for higher-level management or signed members of the branch.

Just now, he thought he saw Jiang Lingyun's figure disappear into an elevator leading to the higher floors.

“The twelfth floor...” Li Wen withdrew his gaze. To this day, he had never been above the third floor, and he wasn't even clear on the specific layout or what functional rooms were there.

That was a world isolated from his current "temporary permissions."

A subtle sense of distance welled up in his heart, only to be immediately replaced by a firmer resolve: I will go up there, climbing up with my own solid strength!

There still weren't many people in the second-floor cafeteria.

Li Wen skillfully swiped his temporary campus card and carried away a large basin of high-energy food that would leave an ordinary person dumbfounded.

He found a seat and began to focus on quickly "refueling."

As the last bite of meat mixed with specialized grains was swallowed, Li Wen let out a satisfied burp. The calories from the food made him feel strength gathering within his body.

After sitting for a moment to digest, Li Wen picked up his backpack, went down to the first floor, and headed straight for the Top-tier Technique exclusive cultivation area.

This area was still sparsely populated. In the spacious room, the whistling sounds of several different weapons piercing the air echoed. Glancing around, there were only five or six figures including himself.

They were far apart, not interfering with one another, each immersed in their own world of martial arts.

Having just eaten a full meal, it wasn't suitable for immediate strenuous exercise. Li Wen walked to a bench in the corner rest area, put down his backpack, and half-lay down.

His gaze began to Move around the cultivation room, quietly observing the other practitioners.

One person was practicing Entry-level top-tier swordplay. The sword light flickered inconsistently, and the transitions between Moves were slightly sluggish; clearly, they were still a long way from reaching Minor Achievement in top-tier swordplay.

Another person was practicing spear techniques. Their Realm was still at Entry-level top-tier spear technique. The spear moved and turned with considerable Aura, but the control over explosive points and rhythm was still lacking.

There was also one holding a long staff; the staff's shadows flew and the power was fierce, but upon closer inspection, many transitions weren't delicate enough. Likewise, they were at the Entry-level Realm... After a careful observation of the room, Li Wen understood.

Those who could enter this Top-tier Technique area were indeed not mediocre, but without exception, they were all still struggling at the threshold of the Entry-level Realm.

Forget Major Achievement or Perfection; there wasn't even a single person who had truly reached the Minor Achievement Realm.

...

Inside the "Top-tier Technique Exclusive Cultivation Area" on the first floor of Kindling Hall, blade light was like a rainbow, interlacing and flashing.

Li Wen's figure shifted and turned in the core of the empty area, the standard-issue fast blade in his hand tearing through the air, creating bursts of sharp whistling.

The Moves of the Rainbow Light Saber Technique were dismantled and reorganized by him, becoming smooth and mellow through repeated tempering.

Time flew by under his concentration. Mental fatigue spread quietly like a shadow following its object, but the light in his eyes grew increasingly intense.

This was his path to becoming stronger; every drop of sweat was engraved with his expectations for the future.

The 6:00 PM chime pierced through the hall's bustle like an invisible switch.

Li Wen's movements came to a sudden halt, and the blade light permeating his surroundings instantly vanished.

He exhaled a long breath of turbid air that carried a sharp metallic scent. The aching tightness of his muscles and the weakness following mental overlocking surged up simultaneously.

“Finished,” he whispered, sliding the fast blade steadily back into the weapon rack behind him. Sweat had long since soaked his inner practice clothes, and his forehead and temples were covered in fine beads of perspiration.

After his Spirit attribute increased, the burden of Absolute Focus was relatively lightened, but the load on his Physical Body from this intensity of Blade Technique cultivation was still significant.

He silently calculated his plans for the evening.

“I'll buy the potions in a bit. Tonight, I must start using Absolute Focus to push my Basic Method.” This “huge sum” of money he had just obtained was the fuel for his high-speed improvement during the winter break.

“Blade Technique is the foundation, but my Physical Body Rank... can't lag too far behind either. It must at least meet the application threshold for top-tier martial arts universities.” After weighing his options for a moment, he made a decision.

“I'll reduce the Absolute Focus time for Blade Technique by half an hour and allocate it to the Basic Method tonight. No more than that. Technical Realm is my true trump card for turning things around!”

He believed in this firmly; a powerful technical Realm would bring resources and status, compensating for temporary Physical Body deficiencies.

Concentrating, he summoned the semi-transparent panel that only he could see:

[You Cultivated Blade Technique for three hours, Rainbow Light Saber Technique +1]

[You focused on Cultivating Blade Technique for one hour and twenty minutes, Rainbow Light Saber Technique +6]

[Technique: Blade Technique - Top Tier (Minor Achievement 38→46/100)]

“The panel's 'OCD' is back again.” Li Wen looked at the notification that showed an increase of 7 points despite jumping 8 experience points, and his lips curled helplessly.

Either the panel wasn't precise to decimal points, or it insisted on rounding to an integer before displaying the increase.

He had long since grown accustomed to this “stingy” display method. Aside from that frustrating 6.3 for his Physical Body Rank, other experience values were always being hidden or withheld by a point or two.

Shaking off these thoughts, Li Wen wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, picked up the old backpack by the bench, and turned to leave the cultivation area without hesitation, heading straight for the second-floor cafeteria.