High Martial: I Grind Professions

A cool, refreshing energy instantly surged into his sea of consciousness, soothing his mental fatigue and emptiness.

Then, he would take out the thick, heavy tome that recorded the fundamental Laws of the universe and quietly begin to read.

The sound of turning pages, nearly inaudible against the deafening backdrop of the thunderstorm, became an anchor for his spiritual world.

The text and diagrams in the book corroborated with the living Law of Thunder before his eyes, often sparking new flashes of insight.

Occasionally, when inspiration struck, he would abruptly rise, draw the long saber from his waist, and begin to practice at the very edge of the thunderstorm.

The gleam of his saber flashed. At times, it was as swift as a lightning strike, mimicking the path of a thunderbolt;

At other times, it was heavy and dense, like thunderclouds gathering energy;

And at others, it burst forth with explosive power, demonstrating the destructive might of thunder.

With every practice session, he integrated his new insights into his saber techniques, making the prototype of his "Thunder Domain of the Blade" more stable and its range show faint signs of expanding.

Though the days were simple, repetitive, and dull, Li Wen was completely immersed, relishing every moment.

He could clearly feel his understanding of "speed" deepening and his affinity for the Law of Thunder growing stronger.

His saber mastery was steadily advancing deeper into the Domain Realm, and his physical body, tempered by wisps of lightning, grew tougher and more coordinated.

This feeling of growing stronger with every passing moment was a pleasure beyond compare.

「Ten days passed in a flash.」

At the edge of this world of thunder, there was only the eternal roar and the faint sound of Li Wen turning his pages.

He was immersed in a passage discussing "energy transitions and spatial ripples," correlating it with the phenomenon of lightning tearing through space before him, his focus absolute.

Suddenly!

Five vicious, greedy auras crashed into the area like giant boulders thrown into a calm lake.

Five massive, variously shaped figures sped in from the distant sky.

Brimming with undisguised killing intent and sinister grins, they locked onto the tiny human figure at the edge.

In their eyes, this Human Race marquis, who was simply "spacing out" all alone, was a plump, delicious meal that had served itself up on a silver platter.

"A Human Race marquis, daring to be here all alone? Your life and your treasures belong to us now!"

The scaled Demon King in the lead roared, its massive claws tearing through the air as it lunged forward first.

The other four Demon Kings also shrieked, each unleashing their own techniques. Their energy attacks formed a multicolored torrent of death, threatening to completely submerge Li Wen.

In the instant before their attacks could land,

Li Wen, who had been looking down at his book the entire time, merely furrowed his brow almost imperceptibly as two cold words escaped his lips:

"Too noisy."

His voice wasn't loud, but it seemed to possess a strange penetrating power, cutting through the violent roar of the thunder to reach the five demons' ears with perfect clarity.

Before the words had even faded,

Li Wen's figure had already vanished.

In his state of [Absolute Focus], he integrated the insights he had gained from the thunder over the past ten days to push his speed to its absolute limit.

He left only a faint, almost-dissipated ripple of electricity in his wake.

He had started later, but he arrived first!

He instantly appeared beside the Demon King leading the charge—a massive Poison Scorpion Demon King.

The Demon King's menacing mandibles were still clacking, its compound eyes not even having had time to register Li Wen's full image.

A silent flash of saber light, condensed to its absolute limit and crackling with destructive arcs of lightning, sliced into the gap between the plates of its toughest dorsal armor.

At the same time, an invisible, needle-like [Shocking God Stab]—a Spiritual Power attack—bypassed its physical defenses and pierced directly into its sea of consciousness.

PSHHH!

The saber light flashed past!

The Poison Scorpion Demon King's massive body suddenly stiffened, the vicious light in its eyes instantly freezing before dissipating.

Before Li Wen's fatal strike—a fusion of ultimate speed, precision targeting, and a spiritual assault—its vaunted defense was like paper.

Its enormous head was cleanly severed, spraying foul blood and viscera as the massive demonic corpse crashed to the ground.

"What?!" The remaining four Demon Kings were aghast, their forward momentum screeching to a halt.

It had all happened too fast, too suddenly.

But Li Wen's slaughter was not over.

Body Transformation into Nine Heavens, activate!

His body instantly transformed into lightning, causing the four demons' attacks to miss completely.

He moved like a phantom weaving through thunder, his speed surpassing the limits of their perception.

Each flicker of his movement was accompanied by a stunning flash of saber light, one that contained both high-speed Blade Intent and the power of thunder.

The first strike severed the thick arm of a giant ape Demon King as it tried to block, the blade continuing on to slice into its throat.

The second strike, coming from an impossibly acute angle, pierced through the tough scales and right into the core of the Ant-Eating Demon King as it tried to burrow into the ground.

The third strike, like a bolt of purple lightning falling from the sky, cleaved a bat demon in two mid-air as it flapped its fleshy wings, trying to escape!

The last one, the scaled Demon King, was scared out of its wits and turned to flee.

But Li Wen was faster!

A flash of saber light seemed to transcend space itself, catching up from behind and bursting out of its chest. The destructive power of thunder instantly annihilated its life force.

From start to finish, it had taken no more than three breaths of time!

Five ordinary Great Demon Kings, who were considered a core force among the Demon Race, had all been slain.

The world of thunder continued to roar, as if all that had happened was the crushing of a few noisy insects.

Li Wen sheathed his saber, his expression calm and unruffled, as if he had just taken care of a trivial matter.

With a wave of his hand, his spatial bracelet flashed, and he collected the five massive Demon King corpses, along with their scattered weapons and materials.

They were all cultivation resources, as well as proof of his battle achievements.

After finishing, he didn't spare the carnage a single glance before sitting down cross-legged once more.

He nonchalantly reopened the heavy book of Laws, as if the bloody slaughter moments before had never occurred.

Only the lingering scent of burnt flesh, blood, and faint ozone in the air testified to the terrifying, lightning-fast massacre that had just taken place.

...

「Nearly another ten days passed in a flash.」

Li Wen's comprehension entered a state of flow; his understanding of the Law of Thunder deepened, and his saber mastery improved steadily.

His Spiritual Power was once again on the verge of depletion. He was just drinking a potion, preparing to recover by reading his book.

Without warning, a powerful aura began to rapidly approach from another direction.

This aura was far more tyrannical than that of the previous five ordinary Demon Kings. It carried a natural pressure and... a faint rhythm that seemed to harmonize with the surrounding thunder.

Li Wen instantly snapped mostly out of his [Absolute Focus] state, remaining on high alert as he looked up.

He saw a figure wreathed in lightning, hovering in mid-air several miles away.

The newcomer was tall and powerfully built, his face demonically handsome. But his most striking feature was the pair of enormous wings on his back.

The wings weren't made of feathers, but were woven from pure, crackling, deep-blue lightning.

Every gentle flap stirred up a fine web of crackling electric arcs and emitted heart-pounding energy fluctuations.

A peak Great Demon King!

Li Wen's heart tightened, his mind instantly on high alert.

He felt an immense threat, especially from the opponent's wings of thunder.

'To dare travel alone through this perilous Star Domain, especially here at the edge of a world of thunder... this demon is no ordinary character.'

Li Wen instantly reached a conclusion.

'This demon isn't just powerful. His speed, especially his short-range bursts and agility, is probably his most terrifying attribute.'

This was precisely the type of opponent he needed to be most wary of.

Against a strength- or defense-oriented peak Demon King, he could rely on his speed to escape if he couldn't win. But facing an opponent who was likely just as fast, the situation was far more dangerous.

However, something strange happened.

The peak Great Demon King with the thunder wings merely swept an indifferent gaze over Li Wen.

It was as if he were looking at a speck of dust. Then, his attention was completely captivated by the vast, boundless world of thunder before him.

An indescribable obsession and desire erupted in his demonic eyes, his entire being seemingly immersed in comprehending the Law of Thunder.

He even subconsciously flew a little closer, spreading his arms to let the violent particles of thunder energy wash over his body and his wings, which hummed in seeming satisfaction.

'He's not attacking? Is he immersed in comprehension?' Li Wen was slightly taken aback, then relaxed a little.

The other's state was quite similar to his own when he was immersed in [Absolute Focus].

Since the other party showed no hostility for the moment, Li Wen was happy to let things be.

With his current strength, it was nearly impossible to kill a peak Great Demon King alone. It was best to avoid a fight if he could.

He sank most of his mind back into his comprehension, leaving only a sliver of awareness to watch the other party.

And so, the human and the demon, separated by several miles at the edge of this world of thunder, each immersed themselves in comprehending the Law of Thunder, creating a strange and delicate balance.

Time trickled by in this strange standoff.

...

This fragile peace lasted for a whole month.

On this day, the aura of comprehension surrounding the Thunder Wing Demon King suddenly retracted.

The obsessive look in his eyes was replaced by his usual cold brutality, and an even more tyrannical aura began to radiate from him uncontrollably.

Clearly, his month-long session of comprehension had reached its limit; he would not be able to gain any new insights for the time being.

Since his comprehension had stalled, it was time to clean up the unsightly Human Race bug nearby.

"Hmph!" A cold snort filled with killing intent rang out.

The thunder wings on the Thunder Wing Demon King's back pulsed.

KRAK!

With a blinding flash of lightning, his entire figure vanished.

This wasn't spatial teleportation, but pure, unadulterated speed.

All that remained in his place was a ring-shaped sonic boom cloud and the vacuum tunnel formed by the instantly displaced air.

He appeared above Li Wen's head as if he had teleported, his right hand forming a claw.

His fingernails instantly shot out, transforming into five terrifying blades wreathed in destructive black lightning.

Tearing through the air with a scalp-numbing shriek, they slashed viciously down at Li Wen's head.

This attack not only contained the terrifying Demon Power of a peak Great Demon King but was also imbued with the destructive might of the Law of Thunder. It was the epitome of fast, precise, and ruthless.

Li Wen, who had constantly maintained a thread of vigilance, reacted the instant the cold snort sounded.

The consciousness within his [Absolute Focus] instantly switched from comprehension to combat.

His left hand swiped over the spatial bracelet on his wrist, and his long saber was drawn with a resonant ZING.