High Martial: I Grind Professions

Chapter 45: Chapter 27: Piercing the Sun

Faced with an attack from the yellow-clothed man, whose staff technique was on par with the entry-level of a top-tier skill, Li Wen made his move.

After all, his own saber skill had only just reached the entry-level of a top-tier technique.

Even after grinding in the training room last night, he had only managed to raise his Rainbow Light Saber Skill by 3 experience points, leaving him a long way from reaching Minor Achievement.

Therefore, facing this yellow-clothed man whose skill was also at the entry-level of a top-tier technique, he didn’t dare to be the least bit complacent.

However, he didn’t immediately activate [Absolute Focus]. He wanted to verify his own true strength when faced with an opponent of a similar skill level. ’Just how much is this ’entry-level’ truly worth?’

His figure flashed like lightning!

The Body Technique accompanying the Rainbow Light Saber Skill was displayed to its fullest. The swift shadow of the yellow-clothed man’s staff scraped past the corner of Li Wen’s clothes, striking nothing but air.

”So fast! It looks like Li Wen chose a top-tier saber skill that emphasizes speed.”

Watching Li Wen’s fluid, almost unnaturally graceful movements as he dodged the yellow-clothed man’s attacks on the virtual screen, the students of Class 21 easily came to this conclusion.

Xue Jun’s gaze sharpened slightly, while Deng Yuefei subconsciously clenched his fists.

At this point, everyone was certain of the fact that had been on the tips of their tongues: Li Wen’s saber skill had truly reached the entry-level of a top-tier technique.

Li Wen’s five-strike kill against the orange-clothed man, who represented complete mastery of an advanced technique, could have been a fluke. Perhaps he had simply mastered a few incredibly powerful killing moves from the Rainbow Light Saber Skill.

But now, in this high-stakes battle with its suffocatingly fast pace, his ability to continuously use his Body Technique to evade so perfectly and effortlessly, as if he had precognition, was absolutely beyond the level of someone with complete mastery of an advanced technique.

Without a solid foundation, the timing and angles of his evasions could never be so precise and perfect.

What did it mean to reach the entry-level of a top-tier technique?

It meant that one could stably and fluidly execute all of the saber forms, footwork, and Body Techniques. It meant one could apply the core essence of the skill, forming a rudimentary combat effectiveness. Only then could it be called ’entry-level’!

Otherwise, if one’s basic forms and Body Technique were inconsistent, to dare claim ’entry-level’ would just make one a laughingstock.

As if to confirm the crowd’s suspicions, after dodging several rounds of the yellow-clothed man’s tempestuous assault, Li Wen’s saber finally flashed to life.

SHING!

The clear cry of the blade cut through the air of the virtual space. One after another, Li Wen flawlessly executed the top-tier saber forms—sharp, unpredictable, and as fast as a Thunderbolt.

These were no longer just scattered killing moves, but a complete system of offense and defense.

In an instant, the broadcast screen was consumed by a blinding flurry of saber light and staff shadows.

The clang of metal on metal rang out as densely as popping beans. With each collision of their energy, tiny halos of light scattered.

They fought fiercely for several minutes. The longer Li Wen fought, the brighter his eyes grew, like a fire fed with fresh kindling.

Since awakening his innate memories, this was the first time he had unleashed the Rainbow Light Saber Skill without reservation, holding nothing back.

The exhilarating feeling was something his usual practice against thin air or holographic projections could never compare to.

The life-or-death pressure from the virtual opponent instantly forced him to test techniques and methods that had previously existed only in theory or imagination.

The subtle adjustments in angle and force with every clash of saber and staff; the shifts and dodges of his Body Technique at extreme range; the delicate correspondence of his internal energy flowing in sync with his saber forms...

All the details he had struggled to grasp or master through contemplation were now being forged under the high pressure of real combat, as if by an invisible hammer—constantly tested, refined, and solidified.

To the onlookers, Li Wen had initially seemed to have an almost imperceptible stiffness and hesitation in the transitions between his moves while facing the yellow-clothed man’s frenzied assault.

However, as the battle raged on, that stiffness began to fade, bit by bit.

His movements grew increasingly fluid and natural. His saber light became more harmonious, and the transitions between offense and defense lost their rawness at a visible rate.

However, very few people in the entire plaza could clearly perceive and understand this transformation.

In all of Class 21, only Xue Jun was able to perceive it. His own skill had long ago reached the Minor Achievement realm—and he was more than halfway to the next stage. Relying on a level of insight that far surpassed his peers, he keenly detected this subtle yet critical transformation in Li Wen.

Xue Jun’s eyes twitched slightly, but he said nothing. He had encountered a similar situation when he was pushing for the Minor Achievement realm himself.

Martial Dao techniques were meant to be honed in real combat like this. It was the only way to make the greatest progress in the shortest amount of time, to truly transform techniques learned from books and videos into bodily instinct.

A trace of resignation flickered in the depths of Xue Jun’s eyes. ’It’s just that for us Unranked students, our everyday control over our physical strength is too crude.’

Combined with their weak physical bodies, they didn’t dare engage in such intense live sparring, where a single mistake could lead to crippling injury.

It was too easy to get injured, and any injury was a setback to their training progress.

For this very reason, everyone from the teachers to the students cherished every single Martial Dao skill assessment.

It was a precious, almost unique opportunity for them to cast aside their worries and physical limitations, to fight to their hearts’ content and unleash everything they had learned without restraint.

Immersive combat virtual pods cost hundreds of thousands, even millions, of Huaxia Coins. How could an ordinary family possibly afford one? Besides, owning a pod only granted basic access to the virtual world.

The truly precious and core components were the intelligent virtual opponents that could simulate martial techniques of various realms, and the sophisticated algorithms that could replicate the physical reactions and energy flows of a real battle with near-perfect accuracy.

Currently, only behemoths like the government, the education system, and the Four Great Factions had the authority to possess such a thing.

Even if an ordinary person sold everything they owned to buy a virtual pod, they could only use it to play games in the virtual world. They could never touch a feature that was practically a strategic-level resource.

The students of Class 21, most of whom had gotten in through connections, felt this with particular poignancy.

While the crowd in the plaza chattered on, each lost in their own thoughts, the battle between Li Wen and the yellow-clothed man on the platform was drawing to a close.

Even if Li Wen’s Rainbow Light Saber Skill was only a few experience points ahead of his opponent’s, it was an advantage nonetheless.

Especially since, through this combat trial, he had polished his entry-level skill, making it considerably more refined.

VMMMM—!

The crowd watched as Li Wen, on screen, suddenly exploded with a burst of speed even greater than before.

Just as the power of the yellow-clothed man’s wide sweep was spent, Li Wen used the ultimate speed of the Rainbow Light Saber Skill’s Body Technique to circle phantom-like into his opponent’s blind spot.

The next second, all the power and momentum in his cold blade seemed to be compressed to its absolute limit, before erupting with a deafening roar.

The final secret art of the Rainbow Light Saber Skill—Sunpiercer!