I Want to Lay Low Too

He tossed the empty bottle casually toward the wastebasket; the fine glass clinked sharply against the bin's rim as Li Wen slumped into the hard wooden chair in his room, every bone in his body feeling like it had come apart.

In just one short hour of practicing the Fracture Edge Gold Sha Method, the results were astonishing, yet it had nearly drained all the physical strength and energy from his flesh.

He sat slumped in the chair for a full four or five minutes before his ragged breathing gradually steadied, and the sore, limp sensation eased slightly.

Only then did he have the focus to concentrate, sinking his intent into his sea of consciousness and opening the information panel that no one else could see.

Four fresh lines of text were clearly laid out before him:

[You focused on cultivating the Fracture Edge Gold Sha Method for one hour. Fracture Edge Gold Sha Method experience +10]

[Technique: Fracture Edge Gold Sha Method · Basic (Minor Success 30→40/100)]

[Your Flesh Level has increased by 0.1]

[Realm: Unranked (6.1→6.2)]

Li Wen's gaze lingered on the [Flesh Level] entry for a long time.

The last time his flesh level had risen was the morning after a training session; this time, it had increased immediately upon finishing. This confirmed his earlier speculation—his body had already been at the critical threshold of breaking through to 6.2, and that hour of extreme focus and high intensity had been the final straw that broke the camel's back, successfully shattering that invisible barrier.

"That means, after a deep rest and my body's adjustment and digestion tonight, my flesh level should see another decent boost by morning..." Li Wen calculated silently. "Jumping straight to 6.3 might not be realistic, but I'll be very close."

The principle behind strengthening the flesh was the same as muscle growth—only after extreme stimulation, paired with ample blood energy and energy replenishment, could rapid gains occur. The effect of this single training session was definitely worth five days of his usual hard training without any medicinal aids.

Given that his body urgently needed recovery now, forcing another session would only backfire, even damaging his foundation. The martial path demanded a balance of tension and release—Li Wen understood this well.

He gripped the chair back, slowly stood up, and walked toward the washroom with slightly unsteady steps.

After a full day of training, sweat had soaked through his clothes countless times, wet then dry, dry then wet, leaving obvious salt stains on the fabric. Peeling off the sticky garments, he adjusted the water temperature to a comfortably warm level and let the dense spray from the showerhead pound down over his head and face.

The fine curtain of water quickly enveloped him, then gathered into clear streams that wound down his increasingly defined and smooth physique, washing away fatigue and grime.

The next morning.

The chill of the winter dawn hadn't fully dissipated when Li Wen opened his eyes right before the alarm went off. His deliberate early sleep the night before had left him feeling exceptionally refreshed and alert.

He bent his legs, rolled lightly out of bed, and landed steadily on the floor with swift, silent movements.

[Realm: Unranked (6.2)]

His gaze swept over the number on the panel—just as he'd expected, it hadn't jumped to 6.3 overnight. Still, the sensation of being only a single step away from a breakthrough was even stronger.

"Tonight, I'll take another blood energy potion and pair it with training. By morning... I'll definitely reach 6.3." He silently sensed the slightly denser strength within him, his clenched fists whitening at the knuckles. After a moment, he headed to the washroom.

"Dad?" As soon as he pulled open his room door, Li Wen was surprised to see his father, Li Hong, sitting upright on the old sofa in the living room, holding a steaming enamel mug.

"Up already, Ah Wen." Li Hong turned at the sound, a warm smile on his face. "Go wash up—I made your favorite corn potstickers."

"Oh, okay!" Li Wen suppressed his curiosity—his father would normally have left for work by now. But the familiar, mouthwatering aroma of toasted corn instantly shifted his focus. He took three quick strides across the narrow hallway and finished his morning routine in no time.

"Dad, do you have the day off today?" Li Wen pulled out a chair at the dining table and sat down, eyeing the golden, tempting potstickers in the bowl.

"Yeah, there's not much heavy work at the factory these days, so the boss let us old-timers rest at home for a few days." Li Hong nodded with a smile, his chopsticks moving steadily as he added two more crispy, golden potstickers to Li Wen's bowl. "Eat up—martial training takes a lot out of you."

"That's good. You really should rest." Li Wen didn't think much of it. He picked up a potsticker, bit into it—crispy and fragrant. "Delicious! Just like before!"

"Haha, if it's good, eat plenty!" Li Hong's smile deepened, and he kept piling potstickers into his son's bowl, almost half a piece at a time.

"Dad, don't just keep giving them to me—you eat too." Li Wen's heart warmed, and he quickly pushed his father's share back.

The warm father-son breakfast passed quickly. Of the full plate of corn potstickers, nearly nine out of ten ended up in Li Wen's stomach.

"Dad, I'm off to school now." Li Wen wiped the grease from his mouth with a tissue and grabbed his backpack from the sofa.

"Mm, watch out for traffic." Li Hong got up to see him to the door, his gaze following his son's figure until it disappeared around the stairwell corner.

Click~

The door closed again.

After the soft thud of the door shutting, the house fell into a brief, dead silence.

"Cough... cough, cough... cough..." A suppressed, heavy, and violent coughing fit suddenly erupted, as if trying to expel everything inside his chest.

Li Hong hunched over, his right hand clamped tightly over his mouth, coughing so hard the veins on his forehead bulged.

There was no leader looking out for his rest... it was his body, drained dry by years of relentless toil, finally issuing its last warning and protest.

Qingshi No.3 High School, Senior Year 3, Class 21, culture classroom.

The morning chill was dispelled by the warmth radiating from dozens of young bodies.

The math teacher, wearing a pair of thick glasses, carried a large stack of white test papers up to the podium. Chalk dust clung to the cuffs of his dark coat.

"The day after tomorrow is the official final exam." He placed the papers on the podium, his voice not loud, yet it overpowered the faint murmurs below.

"So, for these two consecutive math classes this morning, we'll do a mock test using last year's final exam paper. Consider it a warm-up. Take it seriously."

"Note," he emphasized, his gaze sweeping across the classroom, "work on your own, no whispering. I'll grade these papers! You're all seniors now; you should know the rules."

A rustling sound of papers being passed spread like a tide washing over the sand.

Soon, every student had a paper spread before them, filled with formulas and problems—the Galactic Year 224 Qingshi No.3 High School Senior Year 3 First Semester Final Math Exam.

"Finally, a class test..." Li Wen took the paper, his palms slightly warm. "I wonder how much [Scholar] experience I'll get this time?"

A week had passed since his last Scholar level-up, and he'd never stopped grinding experience.

At the same time, he was curious how much his academic performance would improve after reorganizing his knowledge with the ability [Proof of All Proofs] these past few days.

How far was he from breaking into the top ten of the class and winning the scholarship? Thoughts flashed through his mind like lightning. Li Wen cast aside distractions, gripped his pen, lowered his head, and began writing rapidly on the paper.

The first half of the multiple-choice section went unusually smoothly. Thanks to the solid foundation from [Proof of All Proofs], he could confirm the correct answers almost without thinking.

However, starting from the second-to-last multiple-choice question, the difficulty spiked sharply.

Li Wen frowned slightly. After trying a few approaches with no success, he decisively marked it and skipped it for now.

Next came the fill-in-the-blank questions. The start was equally smooth, but the last few tricky problems combining geometry and algebra stumped him again.

So... he turned his attention to the calculation problems.

The first major problem: a classic function graph and extremum problem—a freebie, easily solved.

The second: testing the combination of sequences and inequalities, moderate difficulty. Li Wen spent some time writing out the steps clearly.

The third major problem: a comprehensive analytic geometry problem. Li Wen managed to solve the first sub-question.

By the time he reached the fourth and fifth major problems on solid geometry and derivative applications, the complex figures and symbols on the paper seemed to mock him—he had no idea where to start, and even the first sub-question felt like looking at flowers through fog.

"Ding-ling-ling~" The crisp bell rang like a lifesaver.

The first period ended.

"Those who need the restroom, go quickly. Others can continue answering." The math teacher took a sip of water and reminded them.

The classroom was dead silent. No one got up. Over forty heads remained buried in their papers, the scratching of pens on paper the only melody.

Li Wen looked up, his gaze sweeping discreetly around him.

The few classmates who also followed the martial path were in roughly the same situation—simple questions filled out, but helpless against the tough ones, leaving large blank spaces on their papers.

Even the ones who had written something mostly just piled up formulas randomly, hoping to hit a scoring point.

In contrast, the students specializing in the cultural exam were steadily advancing.

Especially his deskmate, Wei Wu—though the guy always joked that culture class was his "side gig," he was undeniably the top student in Class 21.

His paper was neat and smooth; he was already down to the second sub-question of the final, hardest problem.

"Bro wants to get along with you all as an ordinary person, but... strength won't allow it." Li Wen's lips curled slightly.

"Activate—[Absolute Focus]!" The moment the command was issued, an indescribable clarity swept through his brain.

It was as if the noisy world had been muted. The math teacher, his classmates, the sunlight outside the window... all external information suddenly receded, blurry and meaningless, like looking through thick frosted glass.

In his field of vision, only the white paper covered in numbers and symbols remained, crystal clear, occupying the core of his consciousness.

He could almost "see" the logical chains and knowledge nodes embedded in the problems. His brain began to operate and analyze with unprecedented efficiency and precision.

The tip of his pen touched down again on that tricky solid geometry problem. His thoughts seeped into the core of the question like ice water permeating.

"Ding-ling-ling—"

As the bell signaling the end of the second period rang again, Li Wen, immersed in the sea of test papers, was pulled back to reality as if by an invisible thread.

"Hoo~"

He let out a long, slow breath, releasing the pent-up tension in his chest. His taut nerves suddenly relaxed.

His gaze focused on the paper on his desk. The once mostly blank math sheet was now completely covered in neat, slightly hurried handwriting.

Under the relentless mental speed of [Absolute Focus], all the difficult problems had been forcibly conquered.

"Alright, the test is over. Students in the last row of each group, please collect the papers." The math teacher on the podium put down his thermos and habitually glanced at the students in the back rows.

"Close call, just finished in time!"

"Ah—wait, I forgot to write my name!"

The classroom instantly shifted from tense silence to a sea of noise, voices of relief and frustration interweaving.

"Holy shit! The grindmaster actually filled the whole page?!" The student in charge of collecting papers in Li Wen's group walked up to his desk, swept his gaze over the densely packed answers, and couldn't help letting out a low, shocked exclamation.

This sound, in the chaotic environment, was like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, instantly stirring ripples.

"A god!" Another classmate nearby followed his gaze, sucked in a sharp breath, and blurted out.

As if triggering some strange signal, a wave of copycat voices emerged:

"God!"

"God!"

"God!"

A string of low but deeply impactful monosyllables spread through the classroom at a visible pace, echoing and converging into a uniform tide of whispers.

Several classmates who had been about to get up were drawn by the commotion, crowding around Li Wen's desk, craning their necks, scrambling to get a look at the math test paper being hailed as a "godly scroll."

"Hurry up and collect them, don't waste time! You'll have plenty of time to look when they're handed back!" On the podium, the math teacher, with a hint of helplessness and a barely perceptible smile, tapped the desk and raised his voice.

This urging shout acted like a switch, instantly breaking the brief pilgrimage scene. The gathered students scattered like startled birds.

The papers were quickly collected and sent to the podium.

Perhaps the small stir had caught the math teacher's extra attention; he deliberately set aside the papers from Li Wen's group and placed them on top.

Then, with practiced ease, he pulled out Li Wen's paper and, during the short walk back to the office, lowered his head to carefully flip through it.

His tightly furrowed brows gradually relaxed, and occasionally a flicker of surprise and appreciation passed through his eyes.

Ding!

Just about five minutes after the math teacher left the classroom, a familiar panel prompt abruptly popped up before Li Wen's eyes:

[You have completed a math test. Clear problem-solving logic, high answer accuracy rate. Comprehensive evaluation: Excellent!]

[Occupation: Scholar lv3 (24→74/400) Experience +50]

"So fast?" Staring at the information that appeared, a flicker of surprise crossed Li Wen's mind.

He had originally assumed that the experience settlement wouldn't happen until the papers were handed back and the scores and rankings were finalized.

Now it seemed the experience-gaining judgment mechanism was quite intelligent. As long as the paper was graded and a comprehensive evaluation was produced, the experience arrived instantly.

This was undoubtedly a huge boost in efficiency.

A full 50 points of Scholar experience poured in at once, instantly washing away the lingering sting from the high-intensity operation of [Absolute Focus]. Li Wen's spirits lifted.

"Just the raw score alone gives 50 experience. Once the rankings are finalized, I'll probably get another decent chunk of extra income."

Li Wen quickly calculated in his mind. Based on his experience from multiple past tests, the "Scholar" occupation's experience was usually settled in two installments after major exams:

One based on the test paper's score itself, and another based on the relative ranking of the exam results within the entire group.

Given the math teacher's grading speed, the exam rankings would definitely be announced by tomorrow morning's self-study session or before math class at the latest.

An ordinary classroom test yielding a total gain of nearly 100 experience points—that was almost equivalent to three or four days of his intense studying. This efficiency boost made Li Wen's heart burn even hotter.

"And this is just a regular test..." His eyes blazed.

"By the time midterms and finals roll around—the real big exams, especially in higher grades involving joint county or joint city exams, with their scope and competition intensity—the experience gain is probably going to explode!"

Just imagining that scene for a moment made Li Wen's heartbeat quicken involuntarily.

Powerful strength came from the accumulation of every little bit, and "experience points" were the most direct fuel driving his leap forward.

Exams... he had never looked forward to them so eagerly.

Carrying this bright hope for the future, a morning that felt both short and fulfilling flew by.

When the bell for the last class before noon rang, the Scholar panel before Li Wen's eyes once again popped up with a notification:

[Scholar Experience +27]

[Occupation: Scholar lv3 (101→400)]

Because the math test had taken up an hour and a half of study time, he had only actually spent about four and a half hours focused on studying this morning.

Even so, the experience bar steadily grew.

Calculating it out, in less than two days, the 400-point experience bar needed for lv3 had already been pushed a quarter of the way.

Neatly stuffing all the books and materials on his desk into the drawer, Li Wen didn't hesitate for a moment. He strode out and headed straight for the cafeteria.

Time was tight; every minute was precious.

After wolfing down his lunch quickly, Li Wen didn't return to the classroom or head to the martial arts hall for his usual midday basic training as he normally would.

His schedule needed a temporary adjustment—he went directly to the technique-specific training room on the top floor of the library.

The electronic calendar on the wall clearly displayed: January 8th.

And the date for the martial arts final exam was prominently marked: January 10th.

He only had two and a half days left.

His core goal was to reach the entry-level stage of the top-tier blade art—the Rainbow Light Blade Art—before the exam.