High Martial: I Grind Professions

In a mere instant, Li Wen completed his analysis.

He swung his long saber, instantly deploying a space-distorting barrier of blade aura around himself to deflect the Soul Thorn.

His footwork shifted with profound intricacy as the long-dormant Shocking God Stab shot out from his sea of consciousness.

The psychic impact of the Shocking God Stab wasn’t aimed at Isabel herself, but precisely struck several key psychic nodes within the Mind Fog.

He used the shockwave to forcibly tear open a channel of clear perception.

As for the Holy Light Shackles, he unleashed his immense Primordial Spirit Power, which was approaching the Peak of the Ninth Layer.

Combining it with the qi and blood of his physical body, he formed a shockwave of unrivaled ferocity, forcibly shattering them.

BOOM! SSSHHH! VMMMM!

Energy surged across the arena as psychic ripples radiated outward.

Li Wen, caught in the pincer attack of the three Secret Techniques, had narrowly avoided the brunt of the damage.

But the aftershocks of the Soul Thorn pierced his protective blade aura and tore the hem of his clothing, sending sharp pangs of pain through his Primordial Spirit.

Yet, an intense light erupted in his eyes.

It wasn’t from the injury, but from shock and a flash of insight!

The fluidity with which Isabel cast her Secret Techniques using the Magic Staff far exceeded his imagination.

The Magic Staff was like an extension of her Primordial Spirit, vastly simplifying the formation process of the Secret Techniques and compressing the casting time.

Moreover, the power of each Secret Technique was significantly amplified by the gem atop the Magic Staff, making them at least thirty percent stronger than if they were cast purely with her Primordial Spirit!

What’s more, casting powerful Secret Techniques in such quick succession placed an immense burden on the Primordial Spirit.

But Isabel used the Dharma Artifact to bear the brunt of the strain, allowing her own Primordial Spirit’s fluctuations to remain stable.

’So that’s it! This is the true purpose of a Primordial Spirit Dharma Artifact! It’s not just an amplifier, but a bridge and a stabilizer!’ The realization dawned on Li Wen.

He finally understood why Raymond and the others had misjudged him, believing he couldn’t cast the All Things Return to Ruins Finger in rapid succession.

For the vast majority of Primordial Spirit Cultivators, accomplishing such a feat without the aid of a Dharma Artifact was indeed next to impossible.

His own ability to do so previously relied entirely on the [Scholar]’s ridiculously overpowered passive, which forcibly stabilized the Secret Technique’s structure, but the cost was still immense.

With a suitable Primordial Spirit Dharma Artifact, not only could he reduce the cost, but the technique’s power would also reach a whole new level.

"Impressive!" Isabel couldn’t help but exclaim in sincere admiration. She saw that Li Wen had not only emerged unscathed from her carefully prepared combination of Secret Techniques, but even had a look of dawning comprehension in his eyes.

But her assault didn’t pause for a moment. Her Magic Staff traced an arcane trajectory through the air as she began to chant an ancient incantation.

The light from the gem atop the staff instantly became intensely radiant.

The starry backdrop seemed to dim as a terrifying power began to rapidly coalesce—a power that made even Li Wen’s Primordial Spirit tremble.

"Holy Judgment: Light Annihilation!"

A beam of white light, so pure it seemed capable of purifying and annihilating all spirit and soul.

It shot out from the tip of the Magic Staff at a speed that transcended thought.

This was one of her killing moves, containing the Power of the Law of Purification.

Faced with this unavoidable, fatal strike, the fighting spirit in Li Wen’s eyes soared.

He took a deep breath, and the Primordial Spirit Power within his sea of consciousness—already near the Peak of the Ninth Layer—began to surge wildly.

Combining his newfound insight into the power of Primordial Spirit Dharma Artifacts with his quietly activated [Frenzy] ability, he launched a fierce counterattack.

With a 70% boost to his combat power.

He formed a sword-finger and pointed it through the air at the annihilating beam.

"All Things Return to Ruins Finger!"

This time, the phantom of the giant, dark-gold finger was so solid it looked like a physical entity.

A faint, almost imperceptible, yet tangible sense of temporal lag swirled around its tip.

Under the 200% comprehension boost from [Absolute Focus], his understanding and mastery of the technique reached a new height.

RUUUMBLE—!!!

The giant dark-gold finger violently collided with the pillar of purifying light.

There was no earth-shattering explosion, only the silent annihilation of energy.

Pure Primordial Spirit Power and the Law of Purification clashed wildly in the void, eroding one another.

The blinding light forced even the spectators outside the barrier to shut their eyes.

The stalemate lasted but a moment.

SSSHHH!

Ultimately, the dark-gold finger was a cut above in quality, especially since it was infused with Li Wen’s indestructible will, a will forged and tempered a thousand times over.

It blasted through the center of the pillar of light, though it dimmed significantly in the process.

Its momentum undiminished, it instantly crossed the remaining distance and struck the void before Isabel.

VMMMM!

A shield of light, activated by the white jade Magic Staff and covered in countless tiny, flowing runes, instantly materialized and began to vibrate violently.

Cracks webbed across the light shield’s surface before it shattered explosively, a pale look on Isabel’s face.

The residual impact from the dark-gold finger forced a muffled grunt from her. Her body flew backward, leaving a long streak of light across the arena before she finally dissipated into motes of light.

The victor was decided!

Outside the barrier, there was a dead silence.

The geniuses of Alka Star watched as the light faded to reveal Li Wen still standing firm in the center of the arena, their gazes a mixture of complex emotions.

Even Isabel, a specialist in the Primordial Spirit who wielded a powerful Dharma Artifact, had been defeated.

And from the looks of it... he hadn’t even gone all out.

Li Wen ignored the stares from the outside world. He felt the 40 Martial Dao experience points appearing on his panel, a sense of calm in his heart.

With that, all the challenges from this batch of Kings from Alka Star were over.

He didn’t linger. His figure vanished from the arena, and he returned to his personal space.

...

Inside his personal space, the clamor of challenge notifications was incessant.

Li Wen blocked all challenge invitations from tiers below King, his gaze falling upon the light screen of the intelligent AI, Star Pivot.

His battle with Isabel—especially the powerful support effect demonstrated by her white jade Magic Staff—had piqued his interest in Primordial Spirit Dharma Artifacts.