High Martial: I Grind Professions

Chapter 546: Chapter 336: Li Wen Takes the Stage

In the blink of an eye, the fourth day arrived.

As the final melee concluded, the match list for the ten battles on the fifth day was updated on the official website for the Source Net’s Alka Division.

Li Wen’s name was listed prominently at the top of the roster for the first match of the fifth day.

The news instantly ignited the enthusiasm of countless spectators.

On the morning of the fifth day, when Li Wen’s figure appeared in the prep area, he immediately became the center of attention.

”Look! It’s the God of Slaughter, Li Wen!”

”He’s finally taking the stage! We’ll see if his third-place rank from the first stage was well-deserved, or if it’s like the rumors say...”

”I wonder what his style will be in a melee. A complete domination like Hua Sha, or...?”

”His bone age is so young. I wonder if his foundation is deep enough. This match should reveal his true colors.”

Inside the prep area, the atmosphere grew tense.

The top-ranked figures who had long since left had actually gathered once again.

Blood Slaughter Barton’s iconic, blood-red figure appeared quietly in a corner, maintaining his usual aloof and unapproachable demeanor.

His appearance immediately caused a small stir and a series of low gasps.

So far, he had only come to watch two people fight.

Hua Sha on the first day, and Li Wen today!

This was undoubtedly the highest form of acknowledgment of Li Wen’s strength.

Immediately after, Demon Hand Hua Sha also arrived.

His cold eyes swept across the prep area before finally landing on Li Wen with a hint of scrutiny.

Saphis and the others from the top ten also appeared one by one.

”Li Wen, you got this!” Ares’s booming voice rang out as he, Isabel, and Raymond strode over.

Isabel looked at Li Wen, her cheeks slightly flushed, and whispered, ”Be careful.”

Raymond, on the other hand, clapped Li Wen firmly on the shoulder. ”Wipe the floor with them.”

Li Wen nodded to his companions, his expression calm.

Soon, a system notification chimed.

In an instant, Li Wen and the other nine hundred ninety-nine contestants vanished from the prep area.

They reappeared on a massive, ring-shaped stage reminiscent of the ancient Roman Colosseum.

Surrounding the stage was an endless void dotted with floating spectator stands.

The moment they landed, a deafening wave of noise crashed in from all directions!

”God of Slaughter! God of Slaughter!!”

”Li Wen! Invincible!!”

”Long live the Lain Empire! The God of Slaughter is mighty!!”

”The Moluo Empire supports you! Go, Li Wen!!”

The cheers came in waves, not just from the spectators of the Lain and Moluo Empires, but also from a large number of neutral audience members who had been won over by Li Wen’s performance in the first stage.

They fanatically chanted the name ”God of Slaughter,” the sound waves threatening to overturn the virtual space itself.

However, mixed within this massive tide of ”Li Wen” chants was another name. Though slightly weaker, it was still quite loud:

”Carlos! The Golden Armor War God!!”

”Lord Carlos! It’s all up to you!”

The object of these shouts was a burly man standing at the other end of the arena—Jin Rock Carlos, clad in magnificent golden battle armor and wielding a massive warhammer.

A Tier One Star Lord who had ranked twelfth overall in the first stage.

Carlos listened as the roar of cheers for Li Wen clearly drowned out his own.

When he saw Li Wen’s calm and composed expression, as if he deserved all this attention, a strong sense of indignation welled up in his heart.

’Hmph! God of Slaughter? He’s just a guy who knows how to slaughter trash!’ Carlos sneered inwardly.

He had repeatedly studied the combat footage of Li Wen from the first stage.

Because Li Wen had never used the power of a Primordial Spirit Star Lord, the strength he displayed had always remained at the Saint Realm level.

In his eyes, Li Wen’s third-place ranking was full of hot air.

’I’m a genuine peak early-stage Tier One Star Lord. My Metal Element Law is perfect for both offense and defense. How can a mere early-stage Saint Realm possibly compare to me? No matter how strong the Time Law is, its power is limited without the support of Star Lord Level Primordial Power!’

’I’ll use you, the so-called ’God of Slaughter,’ as my stepping stone and show everyone who the real powerhouse is!’ A vicious glint flashed in Carlos’s eyes as he instantly locked onto the figure in the center of the stage.

He made up his mind. The moment the countdown ended, the first person he would crush was this so-called ”God of Slaughter,” Li Wen, who was unworthy of his title!

[3... 2... 1... BATTLE START!]

The moment the countdown hit zero, the entire arena erupted like a lit powder keg, exploding with heaven-shaking battle cries and the roar of energy!

And Jin Rock Carlos, the burly, golden-armored warrior, shot forward like an arrow released from its bow, transforming into a blinding golden streak aimed directly at Li Wen!

His massive body generated a violent shockwave as he charged, and the warhammer in his hand glowed with the sharp, space-rending light of metal.

He unleashed the full, terrifying might of a Tier One Star Lord, bringing the hammer down on Li Wen’s head.

The force of the blow was so ferocious it seemed capable of smashing the entire stage, along with Li Wen, into dust!

”Carlos is going after Li Wen!”

”Heavens! He’s targeting the God of Slaughter right at the start?!”

”So fast! Such immense power! He’s a Tier One Star Lord, all right!”

”Li Wen’s in danger!”

This scene instantly captured the attention of more than half the audience.

In the prep area, Barton’s gaze sharpened, and Hua Sha lowered his folded arms.

A gloating smirk appeared on Saphis’s lips, while Ares and Isabel instantly clenched their fists.

Facing this menacing hammer blow, which seemed powerful enough to split mountains and part seas, Li Wen didn’t even move his feet.

He simply raised his head calmly, a silver glint flashing in his eyes.

VWOOM!

An aura far more condensed and vast than Carlos’s erupted from Li Wen’s body like an invisible tsunami.

This pressure carried the unique, boundless weight of time itself.

It was no longer at the Saint Realm level, but the true, genuine pressure of a Tier One Star Lord.

Carlos’s violent charge came to an abrupt halt. The savage grin on his face froze, replaced by utter, incredulous horror. ”A Primordial Spirit Star Lord?! Impossible!!”

He felt as if he had crashed into a pool of viscous, temporal sludge, and his speed plummeted.

The hammer strike, which held all his power, felt as heavy as a mountain, its descent slowed by an unseen force.

In the instant Carlos’s mind reeled from the shock, Li Wen moved.

There were no flashy moves, just a simple raising of his right hand.

In his palm, a silver phantom of the Time Dao Seed flashed, and wisps of the Time Law’s patterns instantly covered his arm.

He didn’t use any violent skills, merely mobilizing his Primordial Spirit Star Lord Level Wish Power and the blessing of the Time Law.

Forming a blade with his fingers, he swiped lightly at the side of the powerfully descending warhammer!

SKREEE—!!!

A piercing, ear-splitting screech of metal on metal resounded through the arena!

Time seemed to stretch in that moment.

Under the horrified gazes of countless spectators, the massive warhammer, containing all of Carlos’s power and glowing with a peerless golden light, began to show spiderweb-like cracks that spread from the head to the handle in an instant, as if cut by an invisible blade of time.

In the next moment, the warhammer shattered with a BOOM, exploding into a shower of metal fragments!

As if struck by a heavy blow, Carlos coughed up a mouthful of blood, his eyes filled with ultimate terror and bewilderment.

His famous Star Lord Level warhammer had been destroyed with a single blow by his opponent’s bare hands... no, by his fingers, which were wreathed in the power of time!

Utterly crushed! Absolute domination!

However, Li Wen’s attack wasn’t over.

The finger-blade that had shattered the warhammer continued forward. Its movement seemed slow, yet it appeared to transcend the limits of space.

”Temporal Fissure: Freeze.”

A pinpoint of silver light flared in Carlos’s terrified, widening pupils, instantly expanding to envelop his entire body.

He felt as if he were frozen in ten-thousand-year-old ice. His thoughts stagnated, his movements ceased, and even the Power of Law from the Metal Element inside him failed to circulate.

”Break.”

Li Wen’s quiet voice sounded like a death sentence.

His fingertip gently tapped the chestplate of Carlos’s incomparably tough, golden armor, his source of pride.

There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a soft ”SQUELCH.”

The golden armor, which was strong enough to withstand an attack from an ordinary Star Lord, was pierced as if it were made of paper by the finger strike, which was infused with temporal corrosion and Star Lord Level Wish Power.

A bloody hole appeared straight through Carlos’s chest, and the violent power of time instantly annihilated all his life force.

Jin Rock Carlos, the ambitious Tier One Star Lord who had intended to use Li Wen as a stepping stone, had his expression frozen forever in incredulous terror.

His massive body crashed to the ground and dissipated into motes of white light.

From the moment Carlos launched his thunderous charge to the moment he dissipated into white light and exited the stage, the entire process had taken only a few seconds!