High Martial: I Grind Professions

The cold man’s saber skills grew increasingly unpredictable.

His initial application of Laws became more adept, effortlessly employing effects like spatial imprisonment, time acceleration, and deceleration.

Li Wen, on the other hand, relied on his absolute focus for precise analysis and the enhanced perception granted by his Primordial Spirit.

Time and again, he narrowly averted disaster, clashing head-on with his Long Saber Skill and Blade Intents like Void Rend and Meteor Fall.

However, after dozens of fierce exchanges, Li Wen’s heart began to sink.

Even after infusing his physical body with the power of his Primordial Spirit, boosting his combat strength to a level approaching the Late-stage Saint Realm, he was still no match. The tide was gradually turning against him.

The cold man’s saber technique was flawless, its harmony with the Laws so high it was as if he were a part of the Laws themselves.

’It’s practically impossible to kill him in my current state!’

’It seems I’ll have to rely on a Primordial Spirit Secret Skill after all.’

He violently parried his opponent’s attack with his saber, using the momentum to create some distance.

Facing the terrifying blade light that rushed him again—one that contained the dual intents of spatial folding and time freezing—he held back no longer. He thrust his right index finger forward!

This time, he poured all his comprehension of spatial compression, matter annihilation, and energy returning to ruin into this single finger.

"All Things Return to Ruins Finger!"

The vast Primordial Power and immense Primordial Spirit energy within him frantically condensed and compressed, following the profound trajectory of the "All Things Return to Ruins Finger" technique.

BZZZZ—!

A colossal, phantom finger, deep and dark gold in color, materialized from the void!

Its length was wreathed in countless tiny spatial rifts, and its tip condensed into a core of annihilation that seemed to devour all light.

An aura of destruction so potent it made the chaotic void tremble erupted forth!

The cold man tried to block it with his saber, but the giant, dark-gold finger’s speed transcended spatial barriers.

Before he could react, the core of annihilation at its tip had already gently tapped his chest.

There was no earth-shattering explosion.

Only absolute annihilation.

The cold man’s body began to silently disintegrate and dissipate from the point where his chest was touched.

It was as if he had been cast into a millstone of nothingness, completely erased at the particle level.

Along with the faint mark on his forehead and his gray long saber, he turned to dust and vanished completely into the chaos.

"7th Layer, middle section, passed." A notification sound echoed, carrying a hint of an imperceptible fluctuation.

The chaotic energy gathered once more, and the cold man reformed for a third time.

This time, the mark on his forehead was no longer a simple dark silver. It had become a brilliant dark gold, like a star embedded in his brow.

A vast, immense, and terrifying aura, seemingly capable of collapsing the void itself, descended with a BOOM.

Peak of Saint Realm!

Moreover, it was a Peak Level that was infinitely close to the Star Lord threshold, one that had pushed the power of the Saint Realm to its absolute limit!

This time, no words were needed.

The man simply raised the newly reformed long saber in his hand.

Its blade was no longer covered in a gray halo; instead, tangible fragments of Space Law and threads of Time Law flowed across its surface, intertwining and emitting a heart-pounding fluctuation.

The entire latter section of the 7th Layer’s chaotic void trembled slightly under this pressure.

Li Wen took a deep breath, feeling an unprecedented amount of pressure.

’Peak of Saint Realm. This is definitely the strongest enemy I’ve ever faced in reality.’

He didn’t rush to activate his berserk mode. Instead, he heightened his senses to their absolute peak, fully activating his Scholar class abilities to analyze every trace of the Laws pulsating from his opponent.

SWOOSH!

The cold man moved.

There were no flashy moves, just a simple, straight thrust.

But this one thrust seemed to freeze time and fold space!

The long saber appeared instantly before Li Wen, the cold glint at its tip containing the will to pierce stars and end all creation!

This was a terrifying manifestation of a Peak of Saint Realm expert’s understanding of the Laws!

Li Wen’s pupils contracted sharply as he instinctively blocked with his long saber.

CLANG—!!!

It was like two stars colliding!

Li Wen felt as if he’d been struck by lightning, sent flying backward by an irresistible force.

His protective aura vibrated violently. A sweet taste rose in his throat, and a trickle of blood escaped the corner of his mouth.

A single blow had injured him.

’So strong!’ Li Wen’s expression turned extremely grave.

He no longer hesitated. With a low growl, he once again used his strongest Primordial Spirit Secret Skill. "All Things Return to Ruins Finger!"

The dark-gold giant finger reappeared!

But this time, the spatial rifts on its surface were denser and deeper.

The core of annihilation at its tip was no longer a mere point, but a slowly rotating miniature black hole that seemed to devour all light.

An intent of destruction and finality far surpassing the previous one spread out.

The cold man sensed a fatal threat, and the dark mark on his forehead flared with brilliant light.

His saber’s momentum instantly shifted to a defensive stance. Layers upon layers of gray blade light formed a barrier that seemed capable of sealing off space and time.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG...

The cold man’s saber was like a torrential storm, its blade light endless.

After being weakened by layer after layer of defense, the All Things Return to Ruins Finger could no longer inflict much damage.

After blocking Li Wen’s attack, the cold man went on the offensive again.

The battle between the two grew more and more intense.

Ultimately, however, Li Wen had the greater advantage, thanks to his dual cultivation of body and Primordial Spirit.

Moreover, Li Wen was also rapidly adapting and learning during the fight.

He used the powerful perception from his Primordial Spirit cultivation and the analytical abilities of his Scholar class to capture the trajectories of the Laws embedded in his opponent’s saber technique, integrating them into his own combat instincts.

At the same time, his Martial Artist passive kept his combat power at its peak.

His opponent’s condition, however, was steadily declining.

Finally, after another fierce clash...

Li Wen keenly detected an infinitesimally small gap in the ripples of Law within his opponent’s saber technique, a gap created by a shift in power!

"Now! All Things Return to Ruins Finger!"

A sharp glint flashed in his eyes. As he executed the All Things Return to Ruins Finger, he forcibly channeled his Primordial Spirit’s power to boost his speed to the absolute maximum.

His physical body and the dark-gold giant finger shot out simultaneously.

The long saber in his hand was no longer just for blocking; it transformed into a bolt of dark-gold lightning that tore through the chaos.

Following the fissure in the Law’s ripple, it moved at a speed beyond thought, stabbing directly at a spatial node behind the man, who was busy defending against the All Things Return to Ruins Finger.

This strike contained his most precise judgment of spatial weak points!

The cold man apparently hadn’t expected Li Wen to seize this fleeting opportunity, and his saber’s momentum faltered for a moment.

PFFT!

The dark-gold saber tip struck the spatial node with perfect accuracy.

The Space Law was forcibly disrupted. The space around the man’s wrist instantly collapsed, creating a powerful binding and tearing force.

"ROAR!" The cold man let out an inhuman roar for the first time, his arm’s movement forcibly slowed for an instant!

"All Things Return to Ruins Finger!"

How could Li Wen let such a golden opportunity slip by?

Ignoring the sharp pain in his left shoulder, he once again pointed with his right index finger, striking with the force of a thunderbolt.

It was still the Silent Extinction Finger, but its target wasn’t the man’s body. It was the brilliant dark-gold mark on his forehead.

BZZZZ—!

The dark-gold giant finger condensed, its core of annihilation spinning as it struck the center of the dark-gold mark with an aura of absolute finality!

KRAK...

A sound like shattering glass rang out.

Under the Silent Extinction Finger, the brilliant dark-gold mark was instantly covered in a web of cracks.

The cold man shuddered violently. His aura deflated rapidly like a punctured ball, and his coalesced body became illusory and unstable.

"It’s over!" Li Wen forced himself to take a breath. His long saber followed close behind, transforming into an arc of light that could sever a Star River as it flashed across the man’s neck.

The man’s head flew high into the air, dissolving into motes of light in the chaotic void.

His headless body disintegrated along with it.

"Congratulations! Heaven-Reaching Tower 7th Layer, cleared!" The notification echoed through the void, carrying a tone of confirmation.

A spatial rift leading to the eighth layer slowly opened before Li Wen.

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, the fighting spirit in his eyes burning like fire, and stepped through without hesitation.

...

「Outside the tower.」

On the massive light screen...

The speck of light representing Li Wen, after lingering on the 7th Layer for a relatively long time, suddenly leaped.

It jumped into the region that was like a myth or legend in everyone’s eyes—the eighth layer!

Dead silence!

Absolute dead silence fell over the entire assembly point!

Everyone tilted their heads back, staring fixedly at the speck of light in the region marked with the number "eight," as if they had been petrified.

The sounds of breathing and discussion all vanished, leaving only the heavy pounding of hearts drumming in chests.

"The... the eighth layer..." a cadet muttered as if in a dream, breaking the suffocating silence.

His voice was dry and hoarse, filled with disbelief.

The next moment, as if cold water had been dropped into a pan of boiling oil, the entire scene erupted.

"Heavens! The eighth layer! It’s really the eighth layer!"

"Am I dreaming? Someone from an intermediate empire’s training base actually made it to the eighth layer?!"

"This... How is this possible?!"

"The 7th Layer is already a Peak of Saint Realm level test, right? The eighth layer... is that Star Lord Level?! He... he can fight a Star Lord Level opponent?!"

Gasps and sharp intakes of breath rose and fell, and everyone’s face was a mixture of utter shock, bewilderment, and the excitement of witnessing history.

Many cadets trembled with excitement, their eyes filled with fanaticism and awe as they looked at the light screen.

Keynes Holy Radiance, from the third-rank Holy Radiance Race...

...the genius hailed as the king of this year’s newcomers, now had a face as pale as paper, devoid of his usual pride and composure.

His silver pupils contracted violently. The Star Cores swirling within them seemed to have stopped spinning as he stared intently at the speck of light in the "eight" region.

His own achievement of reaching the 5th Layer seemed so pale and laughable in the face of this fact.

His proud bloodline, his talent, and his past glories were all crushed to dust in this moment.

An unprecedented sense of defeat and... fear quietly crept into his heart.

In mid-air, Chief Instructor Blood Blade, who had maintained a stern demeanor the entire time, could no longer remain calm.

The muscles on his chiseled face twitched slightly, and an unprecedented brilliance erupted in his eyes.

"The... the eighth layer..." Blood Blade’s voice was tinged with a hoarseness and excitement he himself didn’t even notice.

As a Tier Five Centurion and the chief instructor of this training base, he knew better than anyone what it meant to reach the eighth layer of the Heaven-Reaching Tower!