Half a Month Later

As time passed, Li Wen's breathing grew ragged, an unnatural flush spreading beneath his skin as sweat beaded and rolled down, leaving dark stains on the mat.

The blood qi within him churned like a pot of boiling water stirred without cease, evaporating and consuming itself. This time, he held on for a full half hour!

"Hah... hah..." When the last shred of strength was drained along with his blood qi, Li Wen finally ended his stance, stumbling and nearly falling.

He hunched over, gasping for air, heat steaming off his body. As it met the cool air, white mist rose from his head and shoulders like a freshly opened steamer.

Overwhelming fatigue drowned him.

Standing still for several minutes, he barely managed to steady his frantic breathing before dragging his nearly broken body to the table. He grabbed an ordinary energy drink and chugged it down in one go.

"Shh—hah!" The icy liquid, mixed with cheap artificial flavoring, rushed down his throat, bringing a brief moment of relief and release.

Tossing the empty bottle precisely into the corner trash can, Li Wen sat cross-legged on the floor, closed his eyes, and regulated his breath, focusing all his energy on recovering his strength.

Over ten minutes crawled by. His numb limbs finally regained some sensation, and his depleted blood qi faintly began to regenerate on its own.

Though far from full, the heavy fatigue had at least receded by half.

Li Wen opened his eyes, his gaze calm. He stood again, bare feet stepping onto the mat. This time, without a shred of hesitation, he focused his mind.

Absolute Focus, LV5, activate!

Whoosh!

In an instant, his slightly tired, vacant black pupils were replaced by razor-sharp concentration and clarity.

He once again assumed the starting stance of Fracture Edge Gold Sha Method, his movements faster than before by more than a notch, as if every joint angle had been instantly recalibrated by the most precise instrument.

Under the boost of this comprehension bonus—a terrifying fifty percent increase—the blood qi within him surged like a turbocharged engine, its circulation speed abruptly rising by several tenths.

The thin, elusive cosmic energy particles in the outside air, normally hard to grasp, were now greedily pulled and absorbed, flooding into his meridians like a dried-up riverbed.

Muscle fibers, scoured by blood qi and stimulated by cosmic energy, were tempered like iron being hammered a thousand times, their strength rising bit by bit amidst the pain.

Time ticked past the preset twenty-minute "safe zone."

Yet, deep within his body, the familiar warning of exhaustion had yet to sound. He could clearly sense that, under the control of that transcendent awareness, the blood qi's circulation, though fiercely consuming, still hadn't bottomed out.

"Keep going! The limit lies ahead!" The "free will" that served as a buffer between his main consciousness and the overclocked instinct let out a silent roar.

His will was as firm as a rock, the blue light of [Absolute Focus] burning continuously on the spiritual level.

Twenty-three minutes... twenty-five minutes... twenty-eight minutes...

Finally, the familiar stabbing pain deep in his brain struck like a red-hot needle. At almost the same moment, the surging river of blood qi within him declared its exhaustion.

The blue light went out. Consciousness returned.

Thud! Li Wen, as if an invisible force had yanked the tendons from the back of his neck, went limp at the knees and crashed heavily onto the mat.

His face was pale as if pulled from an ice cellar, cold sweat soaking his collar in an instant. The violent spiritual backlash brought waves of tinnitus and dizziness.

Yet, beneath the agony and weakness, a faint smile of satisfaction crept onto his lips.

In his vision, the pale blue panel only he could see silently updated:

[You practiced the basic method for half an hour. Fracture Edge Gold Sha Method +1]

[You focused on practicing the basic method for half an hour. Fracture Edge Gold Sha Method +5]

[Skill: Fracture Edge Gold Sha Method (Minor Success 76→82/100)]

"Just barely... the time squeezed from the limit... is enough," Li Wen panted, making a difficult assessment.

"Using the two time slots I estimated this afternoon separately, I can squeeze out another... ten to twenty minutes... too bad there's no break during the day..."

The residual tearing sensation in his spiritual layer reminded him of the cost of this overtime challenge.

But looking at the panel's jump of a full six points, every bit of effort felt worth it.

"Tonight... I'll still need it to save me." Li Wen struggled, crawling on hands and knees toward the desk.

He picked up the prepared Level 1 Blood Qi Potion, brought it to his lips, and without hesitation bit off the rubber stopper with his teeth.

Pop!

Then he tilted his head back and downed the slightly warm, faintly metallic-tasting liquid in one gulp.

A weak but warm current quickly flowed into his stomach, spreading through his limbs and bones.

The seed of returning strength had been quietly planted in the soil of exhaustion.

Outside the window, the myriad lights of the city seemed to illuminate his solitary figure trudging through the cold night.

The morning sun of New Year's Eve streamed through the window, carrying the crisp chill unique to winter.

Li Wen woke on the familiar hard bed. Almost the moment his consciousness returned, he habitually summoned the personal panel only he could see.

[Name: Li Wen]

[Age: 18]

[Realm: Unranked (Level 6.3→6.8)]

[Occupation: Scholar lv5 (740/1600)]

[Skill: Blade Art · Top-Tier (Minor Success 30/100)]

[Technique: Fracture Edge Gold Sha Method (Major Success 44/100)]

The cold data burned his heart like scorching coals.

Half a month—a full half-month of ascetic training!

Fifteen precious Level 1 Blood Qi Potions had transformed into this seemingly rigid number on the panel—6.8!

Finally, finally, he was nearing the minimum physical threshold for applying to a martial arts university.

His gaze dropped, and the line [Rainbow Light Blade Art (Minor Success 30/100)] stirred his heart with surging emotion.

Minor Success! No longer just Initiation!

Every day, drenched in sweat, repeating thousands of slashes in the icy training room of Xinhuo Hall, even countless times enduring the suffocating sensation of his spirit being drained when [Absolute Focus LV5] was activated—all of it was for this moment of qualitative change.

He could clearly feel that the cold iron sheet in his hand had now truly become an extension of his body's will, the sharpness and fluidity contained in its swings far beyond what it was half a month ago.

The progress bar of [Fracture Edge Gold Sha Method (Major Success 44/100)] also brought him comfort.

This foundational technique, which tempered the body and circulated Blood Qi, could now be gritted through for nearly fifty minutes even without relying on the precious [Absolute Focus].

Only the final sprint remained to reach the ultimate stage of "Perfection."

Once the technique was perfected, his control over Blood Qi and its absorption efficiency would soar, and the saved [Absolute Focus] time could all be poured into the supreme realm of the blade art... That day was within reach.

"Mm~" He let out a long breath of stale air, as if trying to expel the fatigue of half a month, rubbed his slightly messy hair from waking early, and rolled out of bed.