High Martial: I Grind Professions

Chapter 402: Chapter 242: Li Wen’s Speed

His tone was calm, devoid of any intention to flaunt his power or usurp the Celestial Martial King’s position. It was purely a matter of increasing efficiency.

Upon hearing this, the Celestial Martial King showed no displeasure at having his thunder stolen. Instead, his eyes lit up with sincere joy and relief.

He stopped what he was doing and laughed heartily. ”Since Junior Brother Li is willing to take over, it’s a blessing we couldn’t have asked for!

It’s only right. Let us witness your incredible speed!”

The Celestial Martial King’s magnanimity and undisguised delight were infectious.

He had never seen Li Wen as a competitor.

Acting entirely as a senior, he was genuinely thrilled that such a pillar of support had emerged for the Human Race.

In his eyes, Li Wen surpassing him was a victory for the Human Race, a glorious moment for the legacy they were sworn to protect.

Seeing the Celestial Martial King’s response, Li Wen no longer demurred. He nodded slightly. ”In that case, I will do my best.”

Before the words had even left his lips, a silvery-blue power—far more profound and vast than the Celestial Martial King’s own domain, as if imbued with the primordial chaos from the dawn of the universe—instantly radiated from Li Wen.

It was his Cosmic Domain.

But compared to a year ago, empowered by the immense and minutely precise force of his Seventh Layer of Primordial Spirit, the Cosmic Domain had undergone a quantum leap.

The moment the domain expanded, it precisely enveloped the entire Human Race contingent, including all the Kings and Marquis Level experts.

The Celestial Martial King and the others felt their bodies enveloped by a gentle yet irresistible force.

There was no sense of oppression; instead, it was strangely comfortable, as if they were merging with space itself.

Then, a truly shocking scene unfolded!

With no excess fluctuation, the vast Cosmic Domain covering the entire contingent suddenly accelerated, transforming into a veritable stream of cosmic light.

Its speed was far beyond anyone’s imagination, at least ten times faster than when the Celestial Martial King had been leading them!

”This...!” The Heaven-Dominating King’s eyes widened as he watched stellar debris and the glow of Laws streak past his vision, blurring into bands of light.

Even with all his experience, he couldn’t help but gasp in shock.

This speed was far beyond what any King could comprehend. It was even more terrifying than the all-out bursts of many Venerables!

”So fast! At least ten times faster than before!” a King exclaimed.

Being inside the domain, the feeling was particularly profound for them.

The friction between the domain’s edge and the void stirred up visible spatial ripples, as if an invisible galleon was cleaving through waves on an ocean of Law.

Yet within the domain, it was exceptionally stable, without the slightest tremor, demonstrating that Li Wen’s control over his power had reached the Transformation Realm.

’To control a domain with such finesse, carrying dozens of us and still reaching such a terrifying speed...’

The Myriad Phenomena King muttered, his eyes filled with indescribable shock as he gazed at the calm, upright figure standing before them.

He finally understood just how laughable his initial doubts about Li Wen had been.

Li Wen had long since walked a path beyond their comprehension, reaching a height they could only gaze up at in awe.

The other Marquis Level geniuses were stunned into silence by this miraculous speed, their admiration for Li Wen soaring to its zenith.

The long journey across the Star Domain, which had taken eight hours on the way in, became incredibly short in Li Wen’s Cosmic Domain, which was empowered by his Seventh Layer of Primordial Spirit and pushed to its absolute limit.

After only half an hour, the chaotic region marking the edge of the Star Domain, where the energy of the Laws grew thin, appeared in the distance.

The silvery-blue light subsided, and Li Wen brought the entire contingent to a stable halt in the void at the edge of the Star Domain.

Ahead lay chaotic spatial turbulence, which separated the Star Domain from the normal universe where Blue Star was located.

By convention, this was when the Celestial Martial King, the expert with the greatest mastery of spatial arts, was supposed to use a Secret Technique to sense Blue Star’s coordinates.

Then, he would expend a certain amount of time and energy to carefully open a relatively stable path for their return.

However, Li Wen did not wait. He closed his eyes, and the vast, majestic Perception Power from his Seventh Layer of Primordial Spirit instantly spread out, capable of discerning microscopic particles and sensing the vibrations of energy strings.

The chaotic folds in space, the raging Void Energy, and even the faint, familiar life-force fluctuations from a planet far beyond the Star Domain...

All this information was reflected in his sea of consciousness as clearly as the lines on his own palm.

Almost instantly, Li Wen pinpointed the coordinates of Blue Star—coordinates deeply etched into his very soul and recorded by a Fire Hall Crystal Stone.

He opened his eyes, which seemed to contain the birth and death of a Star River.

There were no complex Spells, no prolonged gathering of energy.

Li Wen simply faced the chaotic void, raised his right hand, clenched his fist, and threw a straight punch.

RUMBLE—!

It wasn’t the sound of a world-shattering explosion, but the deep, muffled roar of space itself being forcibly torn and folded.

A massive rift, several meters wide, appeared. Its edges crackled with silvery-blue lightning and roiled with deep spatial turbulence.

It was as if an invisible giant had violently ripped it open right before their eyes.

On the other side of the rift, sunlight streamed through, illuminating lush greenery. The familiar silhouette of Enlightenment Peak and the scenery of its rear slopes were clearly visible.

The passage was incredibly stable, far more so than any the Celestial Martial King had ever opened.

This feat—opening a stable passage so effortlessly and instantly—made everyone’s heart pound in their chest once more.

Only then did Li Wen turn around. Wearing his familiar, humble smile, he spoke to the Celestial Martial King, who was just beginning to focus his mind to sense their location.

”Senior Brother Tianwu, I’ve found it. The way back is on the other side of this passage, leading to the rear of Enlightenment Peak at Firewood University. Is that correct?”

He didn’t just say, ’I’ve opened the path.’ Instead, he asked his senior, the Celestial Martial King, to verify and confirm, showing him the utmost respect.

The Celestial Martial King was taken aback for a moment, then strode forward, his powerful spiritual sense probing into the rift.

The familiar, rich aura of life on the other side, Firewood University’s unique Energy Field, the distinct rhythm of Enlightenment Peak... everything confirmed that Li Wen’s assessment was flawless.

The Celestial Martial King withdrew his spiritual sense and nodded, his eyes filled with relief and admiration.

”Excellent! Perfectly accurate! That’s the rear of Enlightenment Peak, alright!”

His words held no trace of embarrassment or jealousy at being surpassed by a junior, only the pure joy and pride of seeing the pillar of the Human Race grow stronger.

The Celestial Martial King’s graciousness and delight dispelled the last vestiges of distance the others felt due to Li Wen’s heaven-defying power, and the atmosphere became relaxed and lively.

”We’re home!”

”We’re finally back!”

Smiles spread across everyone’s faces. Carrying with them a wealth of new insights and the thrill of having witnessed the rise of a Human Race legend, they stepped into the incredibly stable void passage.

Li Wen stepped in last, his figure vanishing into the passage.

After he entered, the void rift torn open by his fist slowly sealed itself, as if it had never been there at all.

The Star Domain returned to silence, leaving only the lingering legend of their return.

...

「Firewood University, the rear of Enlightenment Peak.」

The void tore open as if ripped by an invisible hand, revealing a stable spatial passage.

Li Wen, who had entered last, was the first to step out.

His steps were calm and his aura was perfectly restrained, yet he possessed an imposing presence, deep as an abyss and firm as a mountain.

The Celestial Martial King, Heaven-Dominating King, Myriad Phenomena King, and the other peak Kings of the Human Race followed closely behind, along with the accompanying Marquis Level geniuses.

They filed out in succession, their faces showing a mixture of lingering awe and happy anticipation.

Almost as soon as the spatial fluctuations rippled outward, three imposing figures appeared silently above the rear of Enlightenment Peak.

It was the three Human Race Venerables: Ye Qin, Gu He, and Xingxuan.

Unlike the underlying worry and scrutiny they had displayed last time the group returned from the Star Domain.

This time, the three Venerables wore only faint, carefree smiles, their eyes holding a hint of expectation.

”You’re back,” Venerable Ye Qin said with a smiling nod.

”Yes. Thank you for your concern, Venerables.” Li Wen stepped forward and bowed slightly.

Behind him, the Celestial Martial King and the others also paid their respects to the three Venerables.

Compared to the tense atmosphere of their first return from the Star Domain, the mood on the mountain was exceptionally relaxed.

The three Venerables were already well aware that Li Wen had reached the Seventh Layer of Primordial Spirit. His combat power was now firmly on par with that of a top-tier Venerable.

With him present, a mere trip to the Star Domain could hardly go wrong. If anything, they were more worried about whether the Demon Race had been scared to death.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Li Wen nodded to the three Venerables, the Celestial Martial King, and the others. ”Everyone, I’ll be taking my leave.”

Before the words were out, his figure had already become a nearly imperceptible streak of light, vanishing in the direction of Changning City.

Seeing that haste, Venerable Ye Qin, who knew him well, couldn’t help but show a knowing smile.

...

「Changning City, a private courtyard home.」

Li Wen’s figure appeared directly inside the meditation room of the courtyard.

After a year away from Blue Star, the room remained spotless.

Without a moment’s delay, he connected to the virtual network.

He sank his consciousness into his mind, where ten academic papers were waiting—papers conceived, refined, and completed amidst the violent lightning and lonely starlight of the deep Star Domain.

Like perfectly polished diamonds, he swiftly retrieved them.

”A Decay Model for High-Dimensional Energy Flow within the Unique Spatial Structures of a Star Domain and Its Influence on Law Resonance”

”An Analysis of the Instantaneous Quantum Leap Trajectories of Thunder Law Particles Based on Cosmic Domain Observations”

”On the Critical Point of Spatial Pleating and Particle Annihilation under Primordial Spirit Power Interference—With a Discussion on the Energy Threshold of Venerable Level Attacks”

...

The title of every single paper targeted the cutting-edge and core problems in the Human Race’s current research into theoretical physics, energetics, spatial science, and even the Primordial Spirit.

Their depth, breadth, and groundbreaking nature were enough to cause a seismic shock in any top-tier academic journal.

With a flurry of taps, Li Wen unhesitatingly uploaded these ten masterworks simultaneously to the Firewood Library and three other of the most authoritative academic platforms.

”Upload complete!”

A great sense of satisfaction welled up in Li Wen as he read the notification on the interface.

He could already imagine it: once these papers were discovered and studied by the more than two million scholars—all at the associate professor level or higher—on Blue Star and the other three planets,

a massive flood of scholar experience points would pour into his status panel like a raging river.

The experience of leveling up at rocket speed while simultaneously pushing the frontiers of the Human Race’s knowledge was utterly intoxicating—even more so than the thrill of slaying a Demon King.