High Martial: I Grind Professions

Deep within his sea of consciousness, the vast ocean of Spiritual Power was once as boundless as a Star Sea.

Now, it was almost completely dry, leaving only a shallow layer, like a candle about to burn out.

The light of his Primordial Spirit Avatar had also dimmed considerably, emanating waves of exhaustion.

However, at this critical juncture, just as his Spiritual Power was on the verge of complete depletion, under that extreme pressure and concentration—

RUMBLE!

Li Wen’s tightly shut eyes snapped open. It was as if a billion bolts of lightning had just exploded within them.

Every deduction, every attempt, every impasse—it all clicked into place at this very moment.

A brand-new, incomparably tyrannical Blade Intent erupted from him, soaring toward the heavens.

"Thunder Prison! Forged!"

With a low, sharp cry, he gripped the Startling Swan Saber with both hands. Gathering the last dregs of his Spiritual Power and all his bodily strength, he unleashed a ferocious slash into the void before him!

This was not the speed-focused Void-Sever, nor the highly condensed Meteor-Fall.

As he unleashed the slash, the blade hummed, resonating with the very Laws of Heaven and Earth.

The blade’s edge was not aimed at a single target, but at the entire expanse of space itself.

BOOM—CRACKLE!!!

The tranquil, hundred-meter "sanctuary" around him was shattered in an instant.

The moment the blade’s light shot forth, it was as if an invisible fuse had been lit.

The raging lightning within a several-kilometer radius, as if obeying a supreme command, suddenly intensified more than tenfold.

Countless terrifying, bucket-thick Thunder Serpents, deep violet in color, no longer followed their natural trajectories as they struck down.

Instead, they frantically converged and compressed toward the space indicated by the edge of Li Wen’s blade.

In an instant, a "domain" over a kilometer in diameter, composed entirely of pure destructive lightning, materialized out of thin air.

Within this "Thunder Prison," it was no longer a simple bombardment of lightning strikes.

Instead, it was a perfect fusion of lightning and countless fine motes of blade light, each imbued with the Power of Law of severance and annihilation.

They intertwined, spun, collided, and erupted, forming a deathly storm of absolute destruction.

Space was violently torn and twisted, groaning under the unbearable strain. At the edge of the Thunder Prison, fine spatial rifts flickered in and out of existence.

Turbulent torrents of energy swept in all directions, forcefully repelling and annihilating the ordinary lightning on the outskirts.

An aura of destruction permeated the depths of the lightning region, as if the apocalypse had arrived.

This terrifying scene lasted only a few breaths. With Li Wen’s Spiritual Power completely depleted,

the Thunder Prison lost its core support and slowly began to dissipate like a phantom.

All that remained was the ravaged void, where space still fluctuated violently.

Residual arcs of electricity jumped and flickered along the edges of the black rifts, clinging to them like maggots on a bone.

They lingered for a long time, a silent testament to the world-shattering power contained in that single move.

"Haaaah..." Li Wen exhaled a long, turbid breath laced with sparks of electricity.

His face was slightly pale, but his eyes were filled with the sharp satisfaction that came from creation and breakthrough.

With a thought, he recalled the Startling Swan Saber to his storage bracelet.

’The first three techniques are complete, and the foundation of my Venerable-level blade arts is now solid. I can work on deducing the final two after I’ve perfected my Path of the Scholar; there’s no rush.’

He muttered to himself. His voice carried a hint of fatigue, but it was overshadowed by his firm resolve.

He glanced around at this world of lightning, a place that had once brought him countless insights.

In his eyes now, it seemed he had completely exhausted the true meaning of the Laws it contained.

Even with a formidable talent like [Eternal Attainment], it would be difficult to absorb any new nourishment here in the short term.

’It’s time to head back.’

Without hesitation, Li Wen immediately sat down cross-legged, his palms and soles facing the sky.

A technique used exclusively for restoring Spiritual Power began to circulate silently.

BOOM!

In the center of his sea of consciousness, the majestic Primordial Spirit Avatar—towering thousands of meters high, its face identical to Li Wen’s, and its body shimmering with a faint golden divine light—suddenly opened its eyes.

An invisible, irresistible suction force erupted with the Primordial Spirit Avatar at its center.

At that moment, Li Wen seemed to transform into a tiny singularity at the center of the universe.

Within the vast, boundless cosmic void, endless stellar power, free-floating energy, and even the most fundamental cosmic radiation...

...all seemed to be drawn by a Supreme Law, crossing the barriers of space.

They transformed into torrents of energy—invisible to the naked eye, yet undeniably real—and rushed toward Li Wen’s sea of consciousness.

These torrents of energy converged around the Primordial Spirit Avatar.

The profound runes circulating around the avatar’s body swiftly refined and purified them, transmuting them into the purest, most fundamental Spiritual Power.

It was like a dry riverbed being inundated by a celestial river pouring down from the heavens.

The nearly depleted sea of consciousness began to fill and be nourished by this pure "spiritual water" at a visible rate.

The dimmed Primordial Spirit Avatar was as if being injected with a new source of life.

Its radiance quickly returned, becoming even more condensed and brilliant than before.

The majesty it emanated showed faint signs of touching upon an even higher level.

During this "gorging" process, the crystalline walls of his entire sea of consciousness also seemed to be imperceptibly reinforced, growing tougher and more stable.

This magnificent meditation continued for several hours.

When Li Wen opened his eyes again, they shone with a brilliant light, as profound as the starry cosmos.

All his fatigue was gone, and his vast sea of consciousness was once again filled with immense Spiritual Power. He was in even better condition than before.

He stood up, took one last look at this world of lightning that had helped him achieve his breakthrough but could no longer offer new insights, and his eyes held no trace of attachment.

’Senior Brother Celestial Martial and the others should still be in the River of Light region.’

His figure flickered, space rippled slightly, and Li Wen vanished from where he stood.

Only the endless thunder was left to roar in the depths of the Star Domain, a witness to the firm step a king of the Human Race had taken upon the path of the Martial Dao.

He transformed into a streak of light, nearly invisible to the naked eye, and sped toward the core of the Star Domain—the region where the magnificent River of Light flowed—beginning his journey home.

The Star River was silent. The after-effects of the Law slowly spread through the void like ripples.

Li Wen’s figure transformed into a nearly invisible streak of lightning.

In an instant, he crossed the vast distance between the lightning region and the River of Light, setting foot once more in the core region of the Star Domain.

The River of Light before him was as magnificent and vast as ever, flowing with the most fundamental mysteries of the universe’s Laws.

However, compared to a year ago, the place was now completely unrecognizable.

The auras of the many powerful Demon Race members who once lurked on the river’s periphery, watching like hungry tigers, had now vanished without a trace.

The entire core region was left with nothing but pure energy fluctuations and the auras of Human Race experts, making it feel exceptionally empty and... safe.

Just as Li Wen had sensed, the Celestial Martial King, Heaven-Dominating King, Myriad Phenomena King, and the other peak Kings, along with the Marquis Level geniuses sheltered within their domains, were already waiting there.

In fact, they had been ready to make the return journey for half a month.

There was a simple reason for this.

If even Li Wen, who possessed [Absolute Focus] and [Eternal Attainment], could no longer make new gains in the Star Domain, then there was certainly no hope for the rest of them.

As early as six months ago, most of them had already reached a saturation point in their comprehensions, making a longer stay pointless.

The complete absence of the Demon Race near the River of Light was the most direct consequence of Li Wen’s earth-shattering accomplishment one year prior.

Five peak Great Demon Kings, whose power was comparable to that of a Demon Saint, had fallen almost simultaneously in a very short time.

Although the details were not entirely clear within the Demon Race,

the fact that five Great Demon Kings of that caliber had been killed almost instantly was in itself an utterly terrifying signal.

A major incident had occurred in the core of the Star Domain—something capable of instantly obliterating a combatant close to the Demon Saint Level.

When combined with the fact that the Human Race’s expedition was deep within the Star Domain at that exact time,

even a fool could deduce that the Human Race was responsible. It was highly probable that some hidden, terrifying power of the Human Race had made a move.

As the news spread, fear ran rampant through the Demon Race like a plague.

Not a single member of the Demon Race dared to approach the core of the Star Domain, which was now regarded as a forbidden death zone.

"Junior Brother Li!"

"Senior Brother Li!"

"Changning King!"

The moment Li Wen’s figure appeared, he immediately caught everyone’s attention.

The Celestial Martial King and the others all rose to their feet, their faces filled with sincere respect and an unconcealable hint of awe as they greeted him enthusiastically.

Even an arrogant figure like the Heaven-Dominating King had a look of approval in his eyes.

They couldn’t help it. The memory of Li Wen’s invincible display from a year ago—effortlessly and instantly killing five peak Great Demon Kings—was seared into their minds like a brand.

It was a level of power sufficient to rewrite the balance between the races, and it was impossible for them not to feel deep respect.

Facing the crowd’s enthusiastic greetings, Li Wen maintained his usual gentle and humble smile.

He showed none of the airs of a mighty expert, nor any of the arrogance of a master at the Seventh Layer of Primordial Spirit, and he nodded to each of them in turn.

"Senior Brother Celestial Martial, everyone, sorry to have kept you waiting."

Just then, the Myriad Phenomena King stepped out from the crowd. With a look of clear apology and deep emotion on his face, he clasped his fists and said,

"Changning King, I... I misunderstood you in the past. My words may have been inappropriate at times. I thought your devotion to scholarly pursuits was... Ahem. I was shortsighted, like a frog in a well. I hope the Changning King can forgive me!"

He recalled the times he and some of the other Kings had privately gossiped that Li Wen was "losing his ambition to trivial hobbies."

Now, faced with Li Wen’s absolute power, he could feel his face burning with shame.

Hearing this, Li Wen casually waved his hand, his gentle smile unwavering.

"Myriad Phenomena King, you overstate the matter. It’s a trifle, not worth mentioning. Others’ opinions are like a light breeze on a mountainside to me; I’ve never paid them any mind."

With his powerful perception at the Seventh Layer of Primordial Spirit, his senses were incredibly acute. In the past, though the Myriad Phenomena King and others had shown misunderstanding and even mild disapproval,

they had never borne him any real malice. Their feelings stemmed more from concern for a genius of the Human Race and regret that their high hopes seemed to be in vain.

Li Wen could naturally sense their pure intentions. Now that the man was apologizing of his own volition, he certainly wasn’t going to hold a grudge.

Seeing how magnanimous Li Wen was, the Myriad Phenomena King felt a great weight lift from his shoulders.

The others who had harbored similar thoughts also breathed a silent sigh of relief, and their admiration for Li Wen’s magnanimity and character grew even deeper.

"Alright, now that Junior Brother Li has arrived, let’s begin our journey back!" the Celestial Martial King announced, his voice booming and breaking the brief interlude.

The group began to assemble.

Following the same method they used on the way here, the Celestial Martial King took the lead, deploying his powerful domain to envelop the Marquis Level geniuses. The other Kings prepared to fly using their own Body Techniques.

While the speed wasn’t slow for a King, carrying a group of Marquis Level cultivators placed a significant restriction on their overall pace.

After flying for some distance, Li Wen observed the group’s speed, pondered for a moment, and then spoke in a gentle tone.

"Senior Brother Celestial Martial, why don’t you let me take over? My domain is somewhat adept when it comes to speed. We might be able to go a bit faster and get everyone back to Blue Star to rest and recover sooner."