Xinhuo Hall

"Good! Good!... Good!" It was not until Li Wen cleared the bowls and chopsticks and prepared to return to his room that Li Hong seemed to awaken from a dream. His face was instantly suffused with a huge flush, and he said "good" three times in a row.

The exhaustion from before had actually been swept away by this intense joy, leaving his whole person with a long-lost vigor.

"Good, in just a couple of days! I'll wait and see exactly how much you scored, brat!" he laughed heartily. Though his voice still lacked some strength, it brimmed with hope.

He would soon see the report card, and he did not doubt his son's words in the slightest. The certainty in his son's eyes was like starlight on a frigid night—dazzling and real.

"Then I'm going to study." Li Wen nodded and turned to walk into his room.

The door closed softly. The clamor was shut outside. Studying was the only main theme now.

With no teacher watching over him and no classroom restraints, self-discipline became the most powerful force.

School had let out for winter break, so he could only continue his journey at home. Outside the window lay the cold winter holiday; inside were the rustle of pen over paper and the storm of thoughts racing through his mind.

Go to the county library? There was no need. The scraps of time wasted traveling back and forth were enough for him to tackle a few more difficult problems or memorize several more chapters.

If the school had not required attendance, and if it did not offer precious chances to take exams, he would even have been willing to spend the entire semester like this—alone, in a little world that belonged to him, charging tirelessly toward that goal.

Within his concentration, time seemed to be compressed without end.

The crisp flutter of turning pages, his murmurs while thinking, the swift calculations traced by his pen across scratch paper... they made up Li Wen's entire world.

The daylight outside shifted from thin gray-white to bright brilliance, then quietly climbed high overhead.

At last—

[You studied diligently for 6 hours. Scholar Experience +36]

Pale blue light flickered across the virtual panel, announcing the end of his morning journey.

[Profession: Scholar lv3 (268→304/400)]

His gaze swept over the panel. Before he knew it, his accumulated Scholar Experience had already crossed the three-quarter mark.

Even though his final exam academic results had not yet been released, at this rate, if he kept studying at such intensity for another three days, he would steadily climb to the heights of lv4.

Lv4... a forty percent boost to comprehension!

At the thought, Li Wen's heartbeat quickened involuntarily.

The thirty percent at lv3 had already allowed him to swiftly dissect the profound truths of the Rainbow Light Blade Art under [Absolute Focus], even breaking down his opponents' attacks in actual combat.

If it became forty percent, what kind of insight would that bring?

If he practiced the [Fracture Edge Gold Sha Method] in that state, would he find the path to the next Greater Accomplishment realm even faster?

And would studying more profound knowledge become as easy as reaching into one's bag for something?

Yet heavy pressure followed close behind. A powerful increase in comprehension meant a more terrifying drain on his brain.

The backlash of [Absolute Focus] at lv3 had already been like a storm battering a dam, with dizziness and stabbing pain following him like a shadow.

If he advanced to lv4, the burden brought by that overclocked operation...

"Raising my Flesh Rank is imminent..."

Li Wen muttered softly. A formidable spiritual will required a body sturdy enough to carry it.

Level 6.3 was too low. It was like a battery with too little capacity, unable to support ultra-high-power output.

Without a matching Flesh Rank, no matter how high his comprehension was, it would collapse the moment it was activated, perhaps even backfiring into injury. The Fracture Edge Gold Sha Method had to advance faster.

Grrr... The rumbling in his belly sounded at just the right moment, pulling his thoughts back to reality. He decisively shut the books on his desk and stacked them neatly.

He did not need to practice blade arts or the Fracture Edge Gold Sha Method in the morning, so his energy expenditure was low. That hearty breakfast was enough to sustain high-intensity mental exertion until noon.

But the afternoon and evening... were entirely different.

In the afternoon, he had to temper the peerlessly sharp Rainbow Light Blade Art; at night, he had to endure training in the Fracture Edge Gold Sha Method, which felt as though it were tearing apart his sinews and bones.

Every heavy, forceful slash, every surge of Qi and blood caused by driving the method to its limits, came with astonishing energy consumption.

Simple rice and vegetables were nowhere near enough to support such high-intensity bodily overloading.

He needed energy—massive quantities of pure energy.

He had to consume huge amounts of high-calorie, high-protein food—like feeding firewood into a furnace—to provide enough fuel for the extreme training to come.

Only then could he recover quickly at the edge of utter exhaustion, supporting himself through another charge, and then another.

Otherwise, after only two or three rounds of blade practice, or several cycles of circulating the method, his body might fall into fatigue that could not be relieved, perhaps even suffer depletion.

Without fuel, even the most powerful engine could only stall. This was also one of the roots of the Li family's financial hardship.

His crazed, nearly self-torturing grind not only required an iron-hard will, one so tenacious it could be called abnormal, but also required his family to burn themselves up to provide him with financial support.

Just the two meals at school—lunch and dinner—needed to meet the demands of high-intensity training cost far more than ordinary students' meals, often exceeding a hundred New Coins.

On the path of martial arts, where was there not a gold-devouring beast?

Qi-Blood Potions, training resources, high-energy foods to replenish consumption... this was the true meaning of "the poor pursue literature, the wealthy pursue martial arts," a heavenly chasm stretching before countless children from poor families.

Poverty and the desire to grow stronger were like invisible giant hands, tightly choking Li Wen's throat and bending his father's back.

Only breakthroughs! Faster breakthroughs!

Li Wen grabbed the faded old backpack that had long been prepared beside him, slung it neatly over his shoulder, and strode out of the room. "Dad, I'm going to Xinhuo Hall."

He called out toward the living room, deliberately keeping his voice calm.

"...Oh, okay!" Li Hong's voice came from the kitchen. He seemed to pause, his tone carrying a trace of barely perceptible worry and understanding. "Be careful! Come back early."

"Got it."

Creak—the old apartment door shut.

Li Wen's figure swiftly merged into the crisp air of a deep-winter afternoon, his steps firm and urgent as he headed in his predetermined direction.

Twelve thirty in the afternoon.

Cold but not bleak winter sunlight spilled over the somewhat empty streets of Qingshi County.

After turning a familiar street corner, a majestic building appeared at the end of his sight.

Like a slumbering giant beast, it was built entirely from dark-gray special alloy. Its lines were cold, hard, and simple, without any unnecessary ornamentation, yet it radiated the weathered aura of countless battles and the rock-solid sense of security of an immovable boulder.

Before the building lay a vast, level plaza. Several enormous stone sculptures symbolizing different weapons stood on either side, silently telling tales of battle and protection.

Above the massive main entrance hung an incomparably heavy plaque that glimmered with metallic luster and faint energy ripples. Carved upon it were three ancient characters, majestic and grand, as though hot blood burned within them: Xinhuo Hall