High Martial: I Grind Professions

With his current, terrifying speed that surpassed even conventional King-level experts, his location within the city was irrelevant. He could provide immediate support to any of Changning City’s defensive lines the moment an alarm sounded.

In the past, he had more often stood guard at the city gates, mostly for the convenience of his cultivation.

Today was his birthday, and he chose to go home to be with his parents.

Pushing open the door, he saw gift boxes and bags of all shapes and sizes piled up like a small mountain in the corner of the living room.

This boisterous scene made Li Wen pause, his footsteps halting at the doorway.

’It’s been ten years...’

The thought flashed through his mind in an instant.

It was on this very day, ten years ago, that he had awakened the memories of his past life and activated his personal information panel.

Memories surged—the image of a poor young man who had pinched every penny to save up for a single, low-grade Level 1 Qi and Blood Potion, struggling to advance on the Martial Dao.

It formed an incredibly sharp contrast with the gifts piled up in the living room before him, symbols of his current status and the responsibility of his guardianship.

From a clueless youth who worried about his livelihood and basic resources to the God and Demon Captain who now held the safety of a city in his hands and struck fear into the hearts of the Demon Race.

That path had been forged through blood and fire, sweat and solitude, accompanied by the elation of breakthroughs and the grief of comrades lost in battle.

Scene after scene flashed before his eyes.

Making his first mark in Bluestone County, the bloody battles in Nanzha County, the life-and-death struggles in Antai County, the forbearance and eruption at Rock City Pass, the defense and breakthroughs in Changning City...

Ten years passed in the blink of an eye, yet they had completely changed the trajectory of his life and burdened him with a heavy responsibility.

"Ah Wen, what’s wrong? Why are you just standing there in a daze?" His mother, Wang Juan’s, gentle voice pulled him back from his long train of thought.

Only then did he realize he had been standing at the door for over half a minute.

"It’s nothing, Mom." Li Wen snapped back to reality, a gentle smile on his face. He waved his hand and walked inside. "I just... suddenly remembered some things from ten years ago."

"Ten years ago..." Wang Juan murmured, her gaze growing distant as she looked at her tall, imposing son.

"Yes, it’s gone by so fast. In the blink of an eye, Ah Wen, you’ve already..."

Her voice was filled with emotion, as if she couldn’t find the right words to describe the earth-shattering changes in her son.

The boy who once needed her to worry about his food and clothing and urge him to practice his martial arts had now become a towering tree that others had to look up to, one who guarded the peace of an entire region.

His father, Li Hong, walked out from an inner room. He looked at his son with unconcealable pride, but beneath that pride was a hint of an indescribable, complex feeling.

The higher their son stood, the more the distance between them seemed to grow, and the intimacy of an ordinary family was inevitably diluted by a sense of awe and reverence.

He patted Li Wen’s shoulder, his voice as simple and honest as ever. "It’s good that you’re back. You must be tired. Let your mom make you something good to eat."

"Yeah, okay," Li Wen replied with a smile. The cold, stern aura of the God and Demon Captain quietly faded, replaced by the gentleness of a son returning home.

He proactively rolled up his sleeves. "Dad, Mom, let me cook today. I’ll show you what I can do."

The cheerful clatter of pots and pans soon echoed from the kitchen, the range hood hummed, and the smell of a home-cooked meal filled the air, temporarily shutting out the pile of gifts in the living room that symbolized honor and responsibility.

The family of three sat around the small dining table, chatting about family matters and neighborhood gossip, deliberately avoiding the heavy topics of war and unreachable realms of power.

Outside the window, Changning City was bathed in the warm winter sun, peaceful and orderly.

This moment of peace was what Li Wen had earned through a decade of blood and fire, and it was what he would continue to protect with the blade in his hand.

...

Galactic Calendar, Year 236, January 27th.

It was New Year’s Eve once again.

Nearly four years had passed since Li Wen arrived in Changning City. The city, which had grown more prosperous due to a strategic consolidation, was now immersed in a rich, festive atmosphere.

The streets were lined with festive electronic lanterns and Chinese knots. The roadside shops were bustling with people, and pedestrians wore relaxed smiles, enjoying the rare tranquility.

This peacefulness was a stark contrast to the tension of the migration more than three years ago. Li Wen’s presence acted like an anchor, bringing a sense of security to the citizens of Changning.

Over the past month, the peace in Changning City had not caused Li Wen to let his guard down.

He maintained a high-speed cultivation pace, his physical realm steadily improving under constant refinement. He was now just a hair’s breadth away from the Peak of Great Sun Realm.

He estimated that in another two months, he would naturally reach the limit of his physical body.

This meant that the critical threshold for breaking through to the Marquis Level was just around the corner.

...

In the early morning, the thin mist had not yet completely dispersed.

Li Wen’s figure could be seen, as usual, moving through the streets, alleys, core districts, and suburban borders of Changning City.

His senses were like an invisible net, meticulously sweeping over every inch of space, catching any unusual fluctuations.

It was with this almost obsessive vigilance that, over the past month, he had rooted out one after another of the Shadow Organization’s carefully disguised spies who were trying to infiltrate the city.

Unfortunately, the captured spies knew very little and failed to provide much intelligence on the core intentions of the Demon Race or the Shadow Organization.

However, the frequency of their appearance made Li Wen’s nerves quietly tighten.

The number of spies captured in a single month had actually exceeded the total for the entire previous year.

This unusual level of activity was a silent signal that a storm was coming.

Li Wen did not dare to be negligent. He immediately reported the situation and his analysis to the chancellor of Spark University.