Jiang Lingyun of No.1 High School

Li Wen gathered his thoughts and quickly got off through the rear door.

Winter sunlight shone upon the grand, imposing plaque reading "Xinhuo Hall Qingshi Branch," lending it a weighty air. He strode toward the doors that represented limitless possibilities.

Just then, a tall, well-proportioned boy with a neat, crisp buzz cut stepped down from another bus nearby and headed briskly toward the entrance of Xinhuo Hall with steady strides.

The boy's expression was calm and reserved, and he carried himself with an unhurried composure as he walked.

"Look! It's Jiang Lingyun from No.1 High School! Wow, he's even more handsome in person!" Two girls nearby let out low cries of surprise.

"Jiang Lingyun?" Li Wen's steps paused slightly. He had long heard that name—Qingshi County No.1 Martial Arts Middle School's publicly acknowledged genius. Rumor had it that Xinhuo Hall had signed him in advance, and it was even a well-compensated B-level Contract! Li Wen had not expected to meet him here.

He subconsciously took another look. The other boy's bearing truly was exceptional; that confidence radiating from within had clearly been built upon strength.

"Still, if we're talking about being handsome..." The corner of Li Wen's mouth unconsciously curled into a faint smile.

Shaking his head to scatter that subtle urge to compare, Li Wen continued toward the entrance.

As he passed the two girls, he vaguely caught another remark drifting over. "That boy over there with the backpack is handsome too..."

The other voice replied, "He is pretty handsome, but he's a little too skinny. I still think Jiang Lingyun has more style..."

For some reason, his mood brightened a little more. A barely perceptible smile on his face, Li Wen strode into Xinhuo Hall's spacious, brightly lit first-floor lobby.

Following the old routine, replenishing his energy at the second-floor cafeteria was the way of kings.

On the upward escalator, he habitually glanced toward the higher floors, his gaze settling in the direction of the twelfth floor—there seemed to be an area reserved for the branch's upper management or contracted members.

Just now, he seemed to have seen Jiang Lingyun disappear into an elevator leading upward.

"The twelfth floor..." Li Wen withdrew his gaze. He had never gone above the third floor, nor did he know the specific layout or what kinds of rooms were up there.

It was a world utterly cut off from his current "temporary access."

A subtle sense of distance welled up in his heart, only to be replaced by an even firmer resolve. I'll get up there—by climbing up with my own solid strength!

There still were not many people in the second-floor cafeteria.

Li Wen skillfully swiped his temporary campus card and carried away a massive basin of high-energy food, enough to make an ordinary person gape in disbelief.

Finding a seat, he began intently and swiftly "refueling."

When the final mouthful of meat mixed with specially prepared grains slid down his throat, Li Wen let out a satisfied burp. The heat from the food made him feel strength gathering inside his body.

After sitting briefly to digest, Li Wen picked up his backpack, went down to the first floor, and headed straight for the Top Technique Exclusive Training Area.

The area remained sparsely populated. In the vast space, the whistles of several different weapons tearing through the air echoed continuously. With a glance, he saw that there were only five or six people total, including himself.

They stood far apart without disturbing one another, each immersed in his own martial world.

Having just eaten his fill, it was not suitable to engage in intense exercise immediately. Li Wen walked over to a bench in the corner rest area, set down his backpack, and reclined halfway.

His gaze moved through the training room as he quietly observed the other practitioners.

One person was practicing Peak Sword Art at Initiation. His sword light flickered and surged uncertainly, and his transitions between moves were somewhat stiff. Clearly, he was still far from Minor Accomplishment in Peak Sword Art.

Another was practicing spear art, still at the Initiation stage of Peak Spear Art. His long spear swept, shifted, and spun with considerable momentum, but his control over explosive points and rhythm still lacked polish.

There was also someone wielding a long staff. Shadows of the staff whirled through the air, its force fierce and powerful, but upon closer inspection, many of its changes lacked refinement. He was likewise at the Initiation stage... After carefully observing them all, Li Wen understood.

Those who could enter this Peak Technique area truly were no mediocrities, but without exception, they were all still struggling at the threshold of Initiation.

Not to mention Greater Accomplishment or Perfection—there was not even a single person who had truly reached Minor Accomplishment.

Within Xinhuo Hall's first-floor Top Technique Exclusive Training Area, blade light flashed like rainbows, weaving and flickering.

Li Wen's figure shifted and darted through the center of the empty area. The Standard Quick Blade in his hand ripped through the air, producing sharp cries.

The moves of Rainbow Light Blade Art were broken apart and reassembled by him, growing increasingly smooth and seamless through repeated tempering.

Time sped by beneath his focus. Mental exhaustion silently spread like a parasite gnawing at the bone, yet the light in his eyes only burned brighter.

This was his path to becoming stronger; every drop of sweat bore the imprint of his hopes for the future.

The punctual chime of six in the afternoon pierced through the hall's clamor like an invisible switch.

Li Wen's movements abruptly halted, and the blade light surrounding him instantly withdrew.

He exhaled a long breath of foul air carrying a metallic sharpness. The aching tightness in his muscles and the weakness from overclocking his mind surged up at once.

"Done," he murmured, sheathing the quick blade steadily back onto the weapon rack beside him. Sweat had long soaked the Training Suit beneath his clothes, while dense beads of perspiration covered his forehead and temples.

After his mental attribute increased, the burden of [Absolute Focus] had relatively eased, but blade training at this intensity still placed no small strain on his body.

He silently calculated his plans for the evening.

"Once I buy the medicine, I'll have to start using [Absolute Focus] tonight to push the Basic Method." This "windfall" he had just received was the fuel for his rapid advancement over winter break.

"Blade art is the foundation, but Flesh Rank... can't fall too far behind either. At the very least, it has to meet the application threshold for top martial universities." After weighing it for a moment, he made his decision.

"I'll reduce [Absolute Focus] time for blade art by half an hour and give it to the Basic Method tonight. No more than that. Skill realm is the true trump card that will let me turn my life around!"

He believed this without the slightest doubt. A powerful skill realm would bring resources and status, making up for the temporary lack in his fleshly body.

Focusing his mind, he summoned the translucent panel visible only to himself:

[You practiced blade art for three hours. Rainbow Light Blade Art +1]

[You focused on practicing blade art for one hour and twenty minutes. Rainbow Light Blade Art +6]

[Skill: Blade Art · Peak (Initiation 38→46/100)]

"The panel's 'obsessive-compulsive disorder' is acting up again." Seeing the notification jump by 8 experience points while only displaying an increase of 7, Li Wen helplessly tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Either the panel was not precise enough to display decimals, or it simply insisted on rounding things into whole numbers before showing the increase.

He had long grown accustomed to this "stingy" display style. Aside from the damned 6.3 Flesh Rank, all other experience values always hid away a fraction here and there.

Casting aside those thoughts, Li Wen wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, picked up the old backpack beside the bench, and turned away from the training area without hesitation, heading straight for the second-floor cafeteria.