High Martial: I Grind Professions

Arcs of purple lightning, born of his high-speed Blade Intent, crackled violently along the blade.

Faced with this killing blow, Li Wen chose not to retreat or dodge. Instead, he pushed his speed to its absolute limit.

A burst of electricity exploded under his feet. He shot upward against the attack, threading through the gaps between the claw shadows by a hair's breadth.

His longsword became a streak of purple lightning tearing through the sky, aimed straight for a vital spot beneath the Thunder Wing Demon King's ribs.

"You're courting death!" The Thunder Wing Demon King was enraged. Not only did Li Wen refuse to flee, but he dared to meet the attack head-on, even attempting a counterattack on his vitals.

He felt immensely humiliated and laughed in fury.

The trajectory of his claws didn't change, but his left wing suddenly flapped, sending a thick Thunder Whip lashing viciously toward the light of Li Wen's blade.

CLANG—BOOM!!!

Blade and claw clashed as the Thunder Whip collided with the blade's energy.

A terrifying shockwave of energy surged outward like a tsunami, seeming to agitate even the distant thunder.

Li Wen's entire body trembled violently, his blood roiling within him. He felt as if he'd been struck by a meteorite.

He was sent flying back several hundred meters before he managed to stabilize himself. The webbing between the thumb and forefinger of his right hand had split open, seeping blood.

The direct clash revealed the enormous disparity in their strength.

However, the savage sneer on the Thunder Wing Demon King's face instantly froze, replaced by utter shock and disbelief.

"How is that possible?!"

His furious strike... although the opponent's bladework had deflected some of its force, and that strange thunder wing had blocked and neutralized a good deal of the impact...

...how could a mere Human Race warrior of the Baron Realm only be knocked back and injured? Why wasn't he torn to shreds, his bones shattered, just as he'd expected?

'The strength of that physical body, the skill in deflecting force, the finesse of his bladework... It completely shatters my understanding of what a human in the Baron Realm is capable of.'

"So fast! So strong!" Li Wen suppressed the roiling in his chest. His eyes, however, burned even hotter with the excitement of meeting a worthy opponent.

"You're the perfect whetstone for my blade!"

Although he had been at a disadvantage in that clash, it had allowed him to clearly perceive the nature of his opponent's power and their method of wielding lightning. This was far more intuitive than solitary meditation.

"Arrogant!" the Thunder Wing Demon King roared. His wings vibrated wildly, and he transformed once more into a violent shadow of lightning, lunging to kill.

This time, he held nothing back, striking with both claws.

Streaks of claws that tore through space, combined with lightning spears and Thunder Whips fired from the beat of his wings, formed an inescapable net of death that completely enveloped Li Wen.

"Bring it on!"

Li Wen wasn't alarmed; he was thrilled.

He pushed his Body Technique to its absolute limit. A series of afterimages flickered and dodged rapidly within the confined space.

His true form moved like a slippery eel, weaving impossibly through the gaps between the claw shadows, lightning spears, and Thunder Whips.

Every evasion incorporated the insights he had gained over the past month into the jumps, turns, and bursts of lightning, pushing his speed and agility to new heights.

'Faster! Faster! Even faster!'

he screamed inwardly. The light of his blade clung to his foe like a persistent shadow.

He would viciously thrust his blade forward at every opening—in the lulls between his opponent's attacks, or in the precise instant when one move ended and the next had yet to begin.

Though unable to inflict a fatal wound, the light of his blade, infused with his high-speed Blade Intent and the sharpness of lightning...

...still left charred gashes on the Thunder Wing Demon King's tough, thunder-patterned skin.

The wounds were shallow, but they stung fiercely, constantly chipping away at the Demon King's Demon Power and his protective lightning.

During the battle, Li Wen frantically integrated every insight he had gained over the past forty-odd days into his fighting.

His evasions were no longer simple linear accelerations or sharp turns. He began to imitate the twisting, unpredictable zig-zagging of a lightning bolt.

At times he slithered along the ground like a thin snake; at others, he soared into the sky like an enraged dragon. His movements became cryptic and unpredictable.

His bladework was no longer just about speed. When he drew his blade, it was like gathering thunder, power contained but not yet unleashed.

When he struck, it was with the explosive crack of a thunderclap. The light of his blade tore through the sky in an instant, carrying an unstoppable force.

When he withdrew his blade, it was like lightning vanishing without a trace, gathering power for the next strike.

He also stopped launching his Spiritual Power attacks at random.

Instead, he watched for moments when the Demon King's focus wavered with anger or surprise.

At other times, just as his opponent was about to unleash a powerful attack, he would suddenly launch a perfected Shocking God Stab.

Although it couldn't seriously injure the Demon King's powerful Demon Soul, it always managed to cause a moment's hesitation or distraction.

It was enough to interrupt his opponent's charge or create a precious opportunity for himself to dodge and counterattack.

The longer the Thunder Wing Demon King fought, the more alarmed he grew.

This human Baron's speed was absurd, but what was worse was that his bladework was visibly improving and transforming in the heat of battle.

With every clash, his opponent's blade seemed to grow a little faster, a little more cunning. The essence of lightning it contained grew a little richer.

He found it increasingly difficult to lock onto his opponent. Instead, he was constantly thrown into disarray by that bizarre blade and the sudden stabs of spiritual pain.

What frustrated him even more was that his opponent was clearly far weaker, yet he was leveraging extraordinary speed, exquisite force-deflecting techniques, and a protective layer of nascent Domain Realm Blade Intent.

It made him feel like a tiger trying to eat a hedgehog: there was simply no way to get a bite in.

His own lightning attacks, his pride and joy, were seemingly being used as a whetstone for his opponent to sharpen his skills.

'Damn it! What kind of monstrous Baron is this?!' the Thunder Wing Demon King roared internally.

He realized that if this went on, even if he could suppress his opponent, there was no way he could kill him quickly.

'A lone Human Race Baron daring to be here must mean there are other powerful humans nearby!'

'The longer this drags on, the more unpredictable it gets!'

'What if I attract a terrifying Human Race King...'

At this thought, a trace of fear and resolve flashed in the Thunder Wing Demon King's eyes.

BOOM!

He suddenly folded his wings, unleashing a burst of lightning far more violent than before and temporarily forcing back the advancing Li Wen.

"Human brat! Consider yourself lucky!"

The Thunder Wing Demon King stared daggers at Li Wen, his eyes filled with resentment and killing intent, his voice bone-chillingly cold.

"The next time we meet, I will take your life!"

Before his voice had even faded, the thunderous wings on his back vibrated wildly once more, and he transformed into a streak of lightning even faster than when he'd arrived.

Without a moment's hesitation, he fled away from the world of lightning, disappearing over the horizon in a flash.

Li Wen didn't give chase. He stood his ground, sword in hand, panting lightly.

His battle armor was damaged in multiple places. Several gashes, deep enough to expose bone, were slowly knitting themselves back together thanks to his powerful body's regenerative abilities. Blood stained the tatters of his clothes.

His face was also pale, a result of the intense consumption of his Spiritual Power and withstanding the force of his opponent's attacks.

But the hand gripping his sword was as steady as a rock.

And his eyes were as bright as the stars!

Gazing in the direction the Thunder Wing Demon King had vanished, Li Wen slowly raised his longsword.

The arcs of purple lightning from his Blade Intent had not dimmed. In fact, they were more condensed and active than before the fight, brimming with a spiritual energy that felt on the verge of breaking through to a new level.

The tip of the blade trembled, letting out a clear hum, as if it yearned for more intense battles and more powerful opponents.

"A top-tier Great Demon King... the perfect whetstone, indeed."

Li Wen muttered to himself, a cold smirk playing on his lips. His eyes burned with an unprecedented fighting spirit and a thirst for power.

"Just you wait. Next time... it won't be a draw."

He sheathed his longsword but didn't immediately sit down to recover. Instead, he stood his ground and closed his eyes.

The recent, ferocious battle—a dance on the very edge of life and death—replayed in his mind like a film.

Every detail of his evasions, the feel of every clash of blades, the subtleties of his opponent's lightning manipulation, the insights from his own mid-battle breakthroughs...

...all of it was repeatedly deconstructed, analyzed, and absorbed under the enhancement of [Absolute Focus].

He had gained more from this single battle than from a whole month of solitary training.

He sat down cross-legged once more, consuming a potion to restore his Spiritual Power and a Healing Elixir.

He opened a book, his eyes falling on the text, but his mind sank deep into his sea of consciousness. He began to digest and consolidate the precious gains from this life-or-death battle.

Thunder continued to roar overhead, as if playing a battle hymn of growing stronger for the young Guardian who sharpened his blade in the face of desperation.

In the Star Domain, crisis and opportunity coexisted. After the tempering of this battle, Li Wen's blade had undoubtedly grown sharper.

...

「Galactic Calendar, Year 244, August 1st.」

Li Wen sat cross-legged at the border where void turbulence and lightning intertwined.

Faint electrical arcs flickered around Li Wen. His Blade Intent was restrained but ready to be unleashed, as if he had become one with this violent world of lightning.

A year of secluded cultivation in the Star Domain had given him a deeper understanding of how to fuse the Law of thunder with the true meaning of "high speed" in his bladework.

His Domain Realm Blade Intent had become more complete and condensed.

Suddenly, he sensed something. His closed eyes snapped open, his sharp gaze piercing through the dissipating lightning to look into the distance.

He saw the Celestial Martial King, clad in a long white robe, leading Ling Feng, Sun Rui, the King of the Nine Netherworld, and a host of other King and Baron-level experts. They were flying at high speed toward his position.

Among the group, the geniuses from Red Flame Star, Ice Soul Star, and Cangwu Star had calm, restrained auras. They had clearly reaped great rewards over the past year, but their faces also showed a hint of fatigue that comes from reaching one's limit.

Li Wen understood instantly.

The year was up.

The agreed-upon time limit for their expedition into this chaotic yet opportunity-rich Star Domain was exactly one year.

The reason was simple: comprehending the Laws was like drinking from an ocean. There was a limit to how much one could absorb in a short period.

With the exception of Li Wen—an anomaly who possessed the "once comprehended, eternally known" talent—the other Baron-level geniuses...

...had reached their saturation point for comprehension months ago. They had spent the remaining time digesting their gains and consolidating their foundations.

Even Li Wen, who could constantly turn his insights into tangible improvements thanks to his talent, had begun to touch the limits of his current stage after a year of high-intensity training and combat.

He could clearly feel that if he tried to force any more comprehension, his efficiency would drop drastically.

He now urgently needed to let everything he had gained over the past year settle, to digest and absorb it all. Only then could he accumulate the power to break through to the next realm.

'Besides, stay here alone?' Li Wen didn't even dare to entertain the thought.

This Star Domain was a land of opportunity, but it was also a meat grinder for the geniuses of the Demon and Human Races.

Without a peak King-level expert like the Celestial Martial King—whose combat strength could match a Venerable—to act as a deterrent,

...those peak Great Demon Kings lurking in the shadows, whose power was infinitesimally close to that of a Demon Saint, could emerge to slaughter them at any moment.

With his current strength, he might be able to hold his own and escape from one of them. But if he were besieged by several, even nine lives wouldn't be enough to save him.