High Martial: I Grind Professions

Inside the exclusive palace on Alka Star, the atmosphere was somewhat oppressive.

With a flash of light, Naraku’s figure re-materialized after being forcibly ejected from the battle in the Virtual Cosmos.

His signature Dark Cloak still shrouded his body.

But the two points of scarlet light beneath the cloak’s hood were now completely dim, leaving only a hollow, deathly gray.

He lowered his head and said nothing.

The pride he once held over lesser civilizations, the superiority he felt in his own bloodline—

all of it had been ruthlessly ground to dust beneath Li Wen’s dark-gold finger that annihilated all things.

That single finger had become a terrifying, lingering nightmare deep in his soul, freezing his confidence solid.

The other geniuses in the palace exchanged complex glances.

As internal members of the Source Net and top prodigies of the same cohort, the time they had spent together had fostered a degree of camaraderie.

Seeing Naraku looking so completely crushed, for a moment, no one knew how to comfort him.

The air was thick with an unspoken oppression and a chilling sense of shared vulnerability.

"Hm? He accepted my earlier challenge." Just as the silence threatened to congeal the very air, Raymond, who carried a greatsword on his back, suddenly spoke. His deep, clear voice shattered the stillness.

SWISH!

All eyes instantly focused on Raymond, as if they had found an outlet for their pent-up emotions.

"Raymond, be careful of that last finger attack," Sisko Shadowblade was the first to warn, his tone grave.

"That’s right. That Primordial Spirit Secret Skill is indeed powerful," Kane Flame said, his earlier disdain giving way to a somber tone. "However, a Secret Technique with that much power must have an astonishing energy cost. Without the aid of a special Primordial Spirit Dharma Artifact, there’s no way he can use it twice in a short period. As long as you can withstand the first attack, you can strike when his Primordial Spirit is depleted. That will be your chance to win in a single blow!"

"Exactly! Raymond, your defense and power are top-tier among us. Block that finger, and he’ll have nothing left!" someone chimed in.

One after another, they all chimed in, quickly analyzing Li Wen’s "strengths" and "weaknesses."

Their core theory was that Li Wen’s stunning "All Things Return to Ruins Finger" had a significant cooldown, and this was the critical flaw they could exploit to defeat him.

The will to fight blazed in Raymond’s eyes. He nodded heavily. "Good! Just watch how I break him!"

Before his voice had even faded, his figure vanished from the palace, teleported to the Extreme Combat Arena.

Almost at the same instant Raymond vanished, Naraku, who had kept his head bowed the entire time, suddenly looked up.

A faint but stubborn spark seemed to ignite within his hollow eyes.

It was the thirst for revenge, the hope of seeing Li Wen defeated.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he chose to spectate.

Seeing this, the others quickly followed suit.

They all wanted to see their theory tested with their own eyes.

To see for themselves if this human from Blue Star, with a bone age of only forty, who was already causing such a stir, could truly be defeated by exploiting his weakness.

...

「The Extreme Combat Arena.」

On the vast Star Sea arena, the environment had changed.

It was no longer a platform in the void, but a simulation of the surface of a desolate, lifeless supergiant planet.

The ground was a dark, rusted color, covered in bottomless canyons and fissures, along with bizarre stone forests formed by eons of wind erosion.

The distant horizon was vast and curved, revealing the planet’s immense size.

Two massive suns hung at opposite ends of the distant sky, casting a cold, pale light.

It stretched the shadows of the jagged megaliths out to extreme lengths, creating an atmosphere that was desolate, empty, and oppressive.

Li Wen’s figure hovered silently above the jagged rocks, his black combat attire standing out starkly under the light of the twin suns.

The space opposite him rippled.

Raymond, built like an iron tower and carrying a greatsword on his back, slowly coalesced into view.

Immediately after, Naraku appeared in the spectator seats, his expression complex and his Dark Cloak billowing slightly.

He was followed by Kane, Sisko, Isabel, Ares, and the rest of the geniuses from the Alka Empire.

Raymond’s gaze locked onto Li Wen with physical intensity as he slowly drew the greatsword from his back.

The instant the greatsword left its sheath, an aura as heavy as a mountain and as violent as a thunderclap erupted from him.

It was so powerful it caused the very dust in the air to tremble.

He held the sword in one hand, its tip angled toward the ground. His voice had a metallic, clanging quality.

"I admit you’re not weak. Defeating Naraku proved your strength. But... you shouldn’t have chosen me as your next opponent!"

"Oh?" Li Wen raised an eyebrow, his tone perfectly level. "Do all of you love to spout nonsense?"

"Hmph. So sharp-tongued!" A flash of anger crossed Raymond’s face. He abruptly raised his greatsword, pointing it at Li Wen from a distance. A dull glimmer of lightning crackled faintly along its edge.

"If that finger attack just now was your strongest move, then I’m sorry to say you’ve already lost this round! Your undefeated legend ends here!"

His violent aura surged with every word, as if an ancient behemoth were awakening.

"We’ll see about that soon enough," Li Wen said, the corner of his mouth curving into an enigmatic smile.

VMMMM—!

The hum of the countdown hitting zero sounded, and the battle erupted in an instant!

"ROAR!" Raymond let out a heaven-shaking bellow and shot toward Li Wen like a cannonball, carrying with him an unstoppable momentum.

He didn’t immediately swing the greatsword in his hand; instead, he gathered terrifying power as he charged.

The lightning crackling on his blade grew increasingly intense, faintly stirring the surrounding Laws of Power and Thunder.

Heaviness and ferocity intertwined, creating a suffocating pressure.