High Martial: I Grind Professions

Meanwhile, at the Fire Hall University headquarters, inside the Fire Hall's Information Management Center.

After sending the encrypted data to Li Wen, Wang Kang meticulously recorded an entry in the backend operations log: "Per the request of Changning King Li Wen, provided detailed information on users who purchased a specific paper."

He then initiated standard procedure, taking the operation log, along with a note about Li Wen's two abnormal requests for backend data, and uploaded them together to the Fire Hall's highest-level supervision system.

This was his duty. Any abnormal operations by high-ranking individuals, especially those involving access to private user data, had to be reported as a precaution.

Almost at the exact moment the record finished uploading, in the core area of Fire Hall University, Principal Ye Qin, who was surrounded by several light screens displaying urgent military intelligence reports and resource allocation requests, had a low-priority notification pop up in the corner of his vision from his AI assistant:

"Report from Firewood Library: Abnormal Operation Log - Changning King Li Wen (Accessed backend user information x2). Associated paper: *On the Essence of Speed and Will Breakthrough*, author: Li Wen."

Having just finished dealing with a report about intensifying energy fluctuations from the Demon Realm's projection, Principal Ye Qin's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

He waved his hand to temporarily dismiss the other light screens and said to his AI assistant, "Pull up the full text of the paper Li Wen published."

"Yes, Principal." The AI's response was concise and efficient.

The next second, the full text of *On the Essence of Speed and Will Breakthrough* appeared clearly on the light screen before Venerable Ye Qin.

At first, he just skimmed it with a critical eye.

But after only a few breaths, the hand stroking his beard paused.

The calm in his eyes was replaced by surprise as he began to read line by line with focused attention.

"...speed is not merely the rate of spatial displacement, but a unified manifestation of energy transmission, will extension, and rule mastery...

The focus of one's will can break through the inherent resistance of the spatial medium... The true meaning of speed is that where the mind goes, the body and spirit arrive..."

"Brilliant! Truly incisive!" Venerable Ye Qin couldn't help but praise in a low voice, a sharp light glinting in his eyes.

'This kid... not only is he exceptionally talented in saber techniques and the Primordial Spirit, but even his philosophical speculation and theoretical construction on the origin of speed are so profound and thorough?

The insight and logical rigor of this paper are more than enough to qualify him as a top professor at the university!'

He was truly shocked by the level Li Wen had demonstrated in both literary and theoretical aspects.

However, after the surprise, a deeper doubt surfaced in his mind.

Venerable Ye Qin leaned back slowly in his high-backed chair, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the armrest.

'Strange... The Demon Realm's projection hangs overhead, and the exploration of the Star Domain has just concluded. This is a critical moment when he should be focusing on his cultivation, consolidating his King Realm, and striving for a higher Domain Realm in his saber techniques.

Why would he distract himself to write such a top-tier academic paper? And why is he so anxious about the buyers' information...'

His brows furrowed as he fell into deep thought.

From what he knew of Li Wen, the boy was definitely not the type to neglect his duties or chase empty fame.

Everything he did was bound to have a deeper meaning and was usually directly related to increasing his strength.

'Could it be...' A flash of inspiration struck Venerable Ye Qin as he recalled an ancient method of study.

'Is he trying to learn by teaching? By systematizing and theorizing his own insights, writing them into a paper to teach others, he could in turn deepen his own understanding of 'speed,' 'will,' and the 'Saber Dao,' seeking a new breakthrough in his comprehension of the Laws?'

This learning method was not uncommon among theoretical researchers.

The more Venerable Ye Qin thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.

Li Wen had always pursued the path of extreme speed, and the core of this paper was a definitive analysis of the essence of speed.

The process of writing the paper was, in itself, a deep review and re-evaluation of his own path.

As for his concern about the buyers, perhaps he wanted to see if his theories could be understood and accepted by high-level scholars, thereby verifying their universality and depth?

"Forget it." Venerable Ye Qin finally shook his head, temporarily suppressing the doubts in his mind.

The mountain of report light screens in front of him lit up again. An alert about an abnormal gathering of the Demon Race at a spatial weak point was flashing with a harsh red light.

'There's more urgent military intelligence to handle right now. This little fellow has always had his own ideas, so let's let him try. If he can truly forge a new path, it will be a blessing for our Human Race.'

He waved his hand, closed Li Wen's paper interface, and refocused his energy on the imminent threat from the Demon Race.

He temporarily categorized Li Wen's unusual behavior as a special kind of cultivation experiment, to be observed later.

Meanwhile, atop the watchtower in Changning City, Li Wen closed the light screen displaying the massive number of 600,000. He took a deep breath of the cool morning air, his heart surging with excitement.

He tapped his finger in the empty air before him, and a new document light screen instantly unfolded, a cursor blinking in the title bar.

He was already starting to brainstorm his next high-quality paper—one that would have scholars scrambling to buy it and could also pass the system's inspection.

A chain reaction, woven from knowledge and driven by experience, was quietly accelerating and spreading from Li Wen's hands.

Where it would ultimately lead, no one knew, but its vast potential was already bursting forth like the morning light.

...

「A month passed in a flash.」

The date was February 4th, 245 of the Galactic Calendar.

Throughout Changning City, the streets and alleys were adorned with festive red decorations.

Strings of bright lanterns hung from the roadside trees and eaves.

Paper cuttings of auspicious clouds and mythical beasts were pasted on bright windowpanes.

The air was filled with the distinct festive scent of firecracker smoke and the steaming aroma of food.

Last night's snow had draped a soft, white, velvety blanket over the city, which had endured the ravages of war and was now tenaciously recovering.

Set against the sea of red, it was especially crisp and warm.

Dawn had not yet broken, the sky just beginning to lighten.

In the core district of Changning City, Li Wen, who was in his meditation room, opened his tightly closed eyes.

With a slight thought, he habitually opened his personal panel, which only he could see:

[Name: Li Wen]

[Age: 36]

[Realm: King-level]

[Class: Scholar Lv. 16 (3,276,600/3,276,800)]

[Skills: Saber Arts · Domain Realm (34%)]

[Cultivation Technique: Shocking God Stab · 7th Layer (100%)]

In one month, his Scholar experience points had once again neared the threshold for a level-up, just a mere 200 points shy of advancing.

This was all thanks to the four high-level papers he had continuously published over the past month on the Firewood Library and similar platforms on three other planets.

His topics were no longer limited to the essence of speed, but extended to cutting-edge fields such as energy conversion efficiency, microscopic disturbances of spatial ripples, and the correlation between the Law of Lightning and will resonance.

These four papers were like giant boulders thrown into a calm lake, causing the name "Li Wen" to create a monstrous wave throughout the human scientific community.

Their brilliant arguments, tight logic, and unique insights left countless old professors, who had been immersed in academia for decades, breathless with admiration.

In the circles of top scholars in their ivory towers, the name "Li Wen the Scholar" was so dazzling that it even faintly threatened to overshadow the legend of "Li Wen the Changning King" in the Martial Dao.

Many professors privately remarked that if the author's name on the papers weren't confirmed, they would have suspected it was ghostwritten by some reclusive academic master.

The Changning King's achievements in the Martial Dao were awe-inspiring, but the academic prowess displayed in these four papers inspired heartfelt admiration and respect.

It was precisely this pure academic recognition that drove over thirty percent of subscribing scholars to unhesitatingly "subscribe to all" four of his great works.

This provided him with over three million precious Scholar experience points.

During this month, Li Wen had also completely figured out the ironclad rules for gaining Scholar experience points recognized by the system.

The person purchasing and downloading must be a "scholar" recognized by the system, meaning they must hold the title of associate professor, professor, or an equivalent senior research position granted by a formal academic institution.

Furthermore, the purchase must be based entirely on the buyer's own volition, free from any form of coercion, inducement, deception, or benefit-bundling (such as bonus resources, mandatory tasks, etc.).

Finally, it had to be an official download with a completed payment process.

The rules were clear and cold, eliminating any possibility of finding a loophole.

If not for these restrictions, given his current status and position, he could have even issued a direct mandatory order through the Fire Hall, requiring all high-level intellectuals who fit the definition of "scholar" to download his papers.

He believed that in the interest of maximizing every bit of potential for a key combatant like himself, Venerable Ye Qin and the others would have supported such a small cost without hesitation.

After all, compared to having scholars sacrifice themselves on the battlefield, the cost of a download and a read was truly insignificant.

Unfortunately, all such potential loopholes had already been sealed by those invisible rules.

Li Wen wasn't too vexed by this; he felt more of an understanding.

'It just means it will take a few more years, that's all.' He was calm inside.

The full descent of the Demon Realm's projection was still at least a decade away; he had enough time.

Given his current speed and quality of writing papers, attracting a portion of the more than two million scholars in the Human Race to continuously subscribe was enough to make reaching Scholar Lv. 20 a certainty.

For him, this process was not difficult at all. It was just a matter of writing papers in his spare time and then waiting for the experience points to flow into his panel like a trickling stream.

He closed the panel, temporarily suppressing the temptation to level up.

Today was New Year's Eve, a day for family and festive cheer.

The Scholar level-up was within reach; it could wait a day. Cultivating his Domain Realm saber techniques also required a balance of tension and relaxation.

He stood up and walked out of the quiet room, and a warm, homey atmosphere washed over him.

His mother, Wang Juan, was busy in the kitchen. The clatter of the spatula against the wok and the enticing aroma of food were the most beautiful overture to the holiday season.

His father, Li Hong, was sitting in the living room, swiping his fingers on his personal terminal with a relaxed smile on his face, probably looking at holiday news or well wishes from friends and family.

"Dad, Mom," Li Wen greeted with a smile.

"Ah Wen, you're up? Quick, go wash up. Breakfast is almost ready!" Wang Juan's voice was full of joy.

"It smells amazing, Mom. Thanks for all your hard work." Although he had long since reached a state where he no longer accumulated dirt, Li Wen still did as he was told and went into the washroom.

The face in the mirror had already lost its youthful immaturity.

His features held the gravity of a King-level expert and the maturity brought by time, but right now, his eyes held only the warmth of being home for the New Year.