High Martial: I Grind Professions

Chapter 458: Chapter 296: Holy Radiance Race

The moment he stepped onto the spacious bluestone floor of the courtyard, Li Wen keenly sensed over a hundred gazes instantly fix upon him from every corner.

The gazes were filled with curiosity and scrutiny, along with undisguised evaluation and a hint of indifference.

There were already quite a few people in the courtyard, at least a hundred by a rough count.

They had naturally formed small circles, some sitting and some standing, scattered by the rockeries, beside the flowing water, and under the eaves of the corridor.

Some circles were lively, deep in conversation. Others were relatively quiet, their members meditating with their eyes closed, their auras heavy and condensed. And still others were clearly exclusive, coldly sizing up the newcomers.

Li Wen remained impassive, his calm gaze sweeping over the entire scene, taking in the appearance and aura of everyone in the courtyard.

He could feel that almost everyone gathered here was at the peak of the Venerable Realm.

Moreover, each one possessed a strong aura and a condensed spirit, far beyond the ”frauds” he had encountered in the Extreme Arena.

Worthy of being elite reserve members selected by the Source Net from across the vast Star Domains.

”Huh?” A slightly surprised voice came from a circle of five or six people near the east wing.

One of them was the first to lock his gaze firmly on Lorne Meck, a trace of surprise and amusement in his eyes. ”Deep purple hair, ice-blue eyes... Those markings. Is he from the Meck family?”

”The Meck family? The one that ranks in the top ten in the Moluo Empire?” a tall, long-eared female member beside him confirmed, her tone carrying a hint of gravity.

”That’s right. Judging by the hair and eye color, his bloodline purity isn’t low. He must be from the direct line,” the first person affirmed. A grin spread across his face, as if he were looking forward to a good show.

”Tsk, tsk, now things are getting interesting. Wasn’t there a kid from the Monroe family who arrived a few days ago? The two families are old rivals.”

As he spoke, his gaze drifted, intentionally or not, toward a young man in ornate silver battle armor, surrounded by a few others under the western corridor.

The young man in silver armor seemed to sense something as well. His gaze, which had been on the members he was talking to, snapped over, sharp as a hawk’s.

It pierced straight toward Lorne Meck, his eyes filled with undisguised coldness and hostility.

Lorne Meck also immediately sensed the hostile gaze.

The gentle smile on his face vanished in an instant. His ice-blue eyes met the stare, equally cold and unyielding.

Their gazes clashed silently in mid-air, and the atmosphere suddenly grew tense.

The surrounding chatter died down, and many people watched the scene with interest.

However, the anticipated conflict did not erupt immediately.

The young man from the Monroe family merely stared coldly at Lorne for a few seconds before the corner of his mouth curled into a disdainful arc.

He was the first to retract his gaze, resuming his conversation with the people around him as if nothing had happened.

Lorne Meck also slowly withdrew the coldness from his gaze and regained his composure, but a hint of gravity lingered deep in his eyes.

”Tch, they didn’t fight. How boring,” the member who had been expecting a show pouted.

Everyone’s attention quickly shifted from the abortive conflict, and they continued to size up the new arrivals.

Soon, many gazes fell upon Li Wen, who stood beside Lorne Meck with a relatively ordinary aura.

”Who’s this guy? He came in with the kid from the Meck family?”

”What race is he? His appearance... standard human lineage, but I don’t think I’ve seen any Strong Race with these features.”

”Definitely not from one of the well-known Strong Races; the features don’t match. Probably some lucky genius who popped up in a remote star system from a weak race,” a voice dripping with superiority rang out.

The speaker was in a small circle near the central rockery. The group wasn’t large, only seven or eight people, but they were subtly centered around one person.

The one who had spoken was a young man to the right of the leader.

He was tall with a cold, stern face, but his most prominent feature was on his left cheek.

Stretching from the corner of his eye to his jaw was a patch of fine, scale-like markings that shimmered with a dark golden metallic luster.

The markings were complex and arcane, as if they contained some kind of power.

These markings were a symbol of high bloodline concentration in his race—the Maka Race.

As a fifth-ranked existence among the human races, the Maka Race was known for their formidable bodies and domineering bloodline power.

This Maka Race genius, Pato Ironscale, was clearly extremely proud of his heritage, and his gaze toward Li Wen was filled with undisguised contempt and disdain.

”Heh, the Source Net’s external deacons have worse and worse judgment these days. Some piece of trash from a garbage race that crawled out of a backwater corner is worthy of training with us?”

Pato Ironscale sneered. His voice wasn’t loud, but everyone present was an expert and could hear him clearly. The barb was aimed directly at Li Wen.

He even looked down on the members of his own race with low bloodline concentration, let alone someone from an unknown race.

The atmosphere in the courtyard immediately became a little strange.

Many people looked at Li Wen, wanting to see how he would react.

”Pato.” A calm yet undeniably authoritative voice spoke up. It was the central figure of Pato’s small circle.

He stood at the edge of the rockery’s shadow. He wasn’t particularly tall, but his presence alone made him seem like one of the centers of the entire courtyard’s aura.

He had short hair that seemed to be made of liquid silver and a face so handsome it was almost demonic.

What was most striking were his eyes. His pupils were pure silver-white.

When he blinked, faint arcs of electricity could be seen flashing within them.

His skin was so fair it was almost translucent, and a faint, silvery-white halo swirled around him.

This halo wasn’t intentionally activated but was a natural manifestation of his race’s bloodline.

This person, Keynes Radiance, was a member of none other than the Holy Radiance Race—a powerful, third-ranked existence among the human races!

Keynes Radiance didn’t look at Pato. His gaze seemed to pierce through the courtyard and rest on the void, but his voice reached everyone’s ears clearly:

”The universe is vast. The strong are not born solely from noble blood. Bloodline rank is merely a reflection of potential, not an absolute measure of strength.

”Among lower bloodlines, there are also hidden true experts who can outshine the stars. Looking down on anyone could cost you dearly.”

His tone was flat, yet it carried a detached wisdom, as if he were looking down on all creation and seeing its true nature.

The arrogance and disdain on Pato Ironscale’s face froze instantly.

Facing Keynes, a genius of the Holy Radiance Race whose bloodline rank, power, and status were all far superior to his, he couldn’t muster even a shred of courage to retort.

He could only lower his head resentfully and reply, ”Yes, Keynes.”

The other companions around him also fell deathly silent.

The words of Keynes Radiance were like a stone thrown into a calm lake, sending ripples through the hearts of the many reserve members.

Some grew thoughtful, others remained unconvinced, and still others looked at Li Wen with a new hint of inquiry.

After all, to be mentioned by Keynes Radiance of the Holy Radiance Race with this ”a strong person might exist” reasoning was worthy of attention in itself, even if he came from a race no one had ever heard of.

Throughout it all, Li Wen’s expression remained calm, as if Pato Ironscale’s mockery and Keynes Radiance’s words had nothing to do with him.

He merely glanced calmly at the faint, Holy Radiance around Keynes Radiance as he spoke.

’Holy Radiance Race? A third-rank bloodline?’ a thought stirred in his mind.

’He’s indeed more than a cut above that Maka Race guy. His aura is condensed and restrained, carrying a kind of luminous pressure.’

He assessed them silently, his gaze then turning to the other circles in the courtyard, both prominent and obscure.

This seemingly peaceful courtyard was like a miniature cosmic battlefield, gathering geniuses from different Star Domains, different bloodlines, and different backgrounds.

An invisible competition with undercurrents had been quietly surging from the very first moment he stepped inside.

He retracted his gaze and looked toward the meditation room assigned to him on the south side, his heart as calm as still water.

’The real contest is far from beginning.’

’I need to familiarize myself with the environment as quickly as possible, and then... continue my saber practice.’

’Increasing my Martial Dao experience is the foundation of my standing.’

Keynes Radiance’s silver-white eyes, which seemed to contain swirling Star Cores, swept over Li Wen’s calm face once more, seemingly by chance.

A barely perceptible glint of inquiry flashed deep in his eyes and was gone.

...

Li Wen walked with a steady pace, his calm gaze sweeping over the crowd before finally stopping in front of the gate to his assigned courtyard.

Coincidentally, Lorne Meck was also walking toward the same courtyard.

”Looks like we’re neighbors, Li Wen,” Lorne Meck said, taking the initiative to greet him with a friendly smile.

His deep purple hair shimmered under the courtyard’s unique soft light.

”Quite a coincidence,” Li Wen nodded, returning the smile.

The two of them entered the courtyard together. The space inside was even more spacious than it appeared from the outside, with several independent training rooms surrounding a quiet little yard.

They naturally chose two adjacent rooms.

After setting down their simple bags, neither of them immediately went to their rooms.

Lorne Meck was clearly a warm-hearted person. He motioned for Li Wen to sit on a stone bench in the courtyard and began to explain things:

”Li, you just got here, so you probably don’t know much about this batch of ours, right? Let me tell you about a few people you need to pay special attention to.”

”I’m all ears.” Li Wen was very interested. This was a perfect opportunity to learn about his new environment.

Lorne Meck’s expression turned serious, and his gaze subconsciously swept toward the crowds gathered outside the courtyard:

”First, and the most dazzling one, is Keynes Radiance of the Holy Radiance Race. That guy... his strength is unfathomable.”

He paused, and to give Li Wen a more direct concept of his power, he dropped a bombshell: ”In the Extreme Fighting Arena’s Venerable Realm division, his rank is Master 9-Star!”

”Master 9-Star?” Li Wen raised an eyebrow, a flicker of interest in his eyes.

The Extraordinary rank is already a top-tier existence, surpassing over 95% of those in the Venerable Realm.

And 9-Star is the peak of the Master rank, just one step away from Grandmaster.