Ling Feng

The whole world seemed to have been muted.

The clamor, explosions, sobbing, and roars from a moment ago... all vanished.

Only the swirling dust remained, along with the dull sound of the enormous beast's head rolling across the ground.

Everyone—fleeing civilians, wounded people and security officers preparing to make a last stand, even those in the command center—stood frozen like clay statues, staring through the dust at the beast's corpse.

A figure was standing there, steady on his feet. No one knew when he had appeared.

A young man.

He stood tall in simple, practical clothes, looking neat and composed. The only thing that stood out was the badge pinned to his chest, embroidered with a cluster of kindling.

His expression was calm, with the keen edge peculiar to the young, but his eyes were remarkably steady. It was as though killing a Flying Star Stage Late Phase demon beast in an instant had been no more than brushing a speck of dust from his clothes.

He held a long blade at an angle in one hand. Its body was a deep blue, its lines sleek, and not a trace of blood stained the blade. It gave off only a faint, soul-chilling cold.

"Whew..." The Hall Master of the Xinhuo Branch Hall struggled to his feet amid the rubble and spat blood from his mouth. Looking at the young man, he asked in a voice full of doubt and undisguised shock, "M-may I ask who you are?"

The young man casually twirled his blade. With a soft swish, the deep-blue weapon slid lightly back into its sheath. The motion was effortless and fluid, as if it came naturally.

"Ling Feng, from Xinhuo University." His voice was not loud, yet everyone nearby heard him clearly.

After a brief silence, an uproar erupted like a crashing wave, mingled with the wild joy of those who had survived!

"We're alive! We're saved!"

"Thank heavens!"

"He killed the beast? Oh my god! He's incredible!"

"Xinhuo University? He's a student?"

"Xinhuo University! The top martial arts university on Blue Star!"

"My god, he looks even younger than me!"

"Ling Feng?! I know him! It's him!"

"Who? Tell us!" Countless people strained to listen.

"Our Jiangnan Province... no, our entire Huaxia Kingdom might not produce one peerless genius like him in decades! Blade Demon Ling Feng!"

"That's right! It's him! I heard he's only a fourth-year student! But he was already dazzling as soon as he enrolled. Back in high school, all four of the country's major martial arts powers had their eyes on him, and they fought to sign him to an SS-level Contract, no matter the cost! SS-level—that's one whole rank above S-Level!"

"SS-level?! No wonder... That's terrifying! A Flying Star Stage Late Phase demon beast, and he killed it with one slash! One slash!"

"A monster! Now that's what you call a true genius!"

Li Wen had rushed back, but he didn't join the crowd in cheering.

With his backpack on, he pressed himself against the cold side of a car, trying to calm his pounding heart, still racing from the shock and the lingering remnants of that unseen pressure.

His eyes were fixed on the young man called Ling Feng.

Ling Feng was speaking calmly with the Hall Master and the County Leader, who was barely managing to stand. He seemed not to hear the adoring chatter, the pointing fingers, or the gasps of amazement directed at him.

His composure, his effortless strength, stood in stark contrast to the wreckage all around him and the shaken crowd.

The terrifying might of a Flying Star Stage Late Phase demon beast, the pressure of its abyssal power... the helplessness of watching the county's two top experts be gravely wounded in an instant... and then there was Ling Feng.

That slash, descending from the sky, brilliant as a shooting star yet still as a mountain... and the words ringing through the crowd like rolling thunder, repeated over and over: "SS-level Contract!"

The information struck Li Wen's heart like one thunderclap after another!

His fingers tightened around his backpack straps until his knuckles turned faintly white.

The ladder of power and status had unfolded before him with startling clarity.

At one end, ordinary people struggled simply to survive. At the other stood P r i d e s of Heaven like Ling Feng, who could settle the fate of the world with one slash in a moment of crisis—and command the attention of thousands!

A gap? This could no longer be called a gap! It was a vast chasm, terrifying to behold yet fatally alluring!

Once, Jiang Lingyun from No.1 High School, who had signed a B-level Contract early, had seemed like an unreachable genius to Li Wen.

But now, a genius with an SS-level Contract had appeared before him in such an overwhelming fashion!

How wide was the gulf between B-level and SS-level? How many times stronger was the power Ling Feng had shown than the power Jiang Lingyun was rumored to possess?

"Xinhuo University..." "Fourth-year student..." "SS-level Contract..."

Those few keywords branded themselves into his mind.

It was as if a flame had caught in his chest! It wasn't envy or jealousy, but a clear, searing yearning! A fierce desire to refuse to sink into mediocrity, and to swear that he would climb to the summit!

The bus that would take him home eventually detoured under the guidance of rescue workers.

Li Wen sat by the window, watching the city lights rush past outside, gradually fading into darkness.

He remained silent, but his eyes had changed completely.

The setting sun bathed the bus in a warm orange glow, illuminating the unprecedented, rock-solid determination in Li Wen's eyes.

Power... Xinhuo University... SS-level...

The words echoed in his heart again and again, at last becoming a silent but unshakable resolve.

The sun sank in the west, but the flame in his eyes had only just begun to burn.

Time flew by. The final fifteen days of winter break passed in a blur of near-punishing training for Li Wen.

It was February 13.

In the early morning, faint light streamed through the window, illuminating the settled sharpness deep in his eyes.

[Name: Li Wen]

[Age: 18]

[Realm: Unranked (Level 7.1)]

[Profession: Scholar lv5 (1280/1600)]

[Skill: Blade Art: Peak (Minor Accomplishment 99/100)]

[Technique: Fracture Edge Gold Sha Method (Greater Accomplishment 99/100)]

A new status panel appeared clearly before Li Wen.

He had completely used up all 24 Level 1 Blood Qi Potions a few days earlier, raising his flesh rank to 7.1.

His progress with the Fracture Edge Gold Sha Method had been just as astonishing.

He was only one symbolic point of experience away from the crucial threshold that marked Perfection and a complete transformation.

Once he reached Perfection, he would no longer need to activate Absolute Focus when practicing the Basic Method.

But at that moment, what truly left Li Wen with a subtle sense of being "stuck" was his blade art.

Rainbow Light Blade Art seemed trapped beneath an invisible film at the limit of Minor Accomplishment 99/100.

No matter how he wielded the blade over the past few days, how carefully he studied every detail, or how many times he tried under Absolute Focus,

the final barrier leading to Greater Accomplishment remained stubbornly in his way, hard as the toughest Alloy.

His blade was already fast enough, its trajectory tricky enough, and his foundation solid enough.

In recent days, in the familiar top-tier Martial Arts Room at Xinhuo Hall, he had performed Rainbow Light Blade Art at the Minor Accomplishment level like a butterfly flitting through flowers, with an unnerving fluidity and a bone-chilling edge.

But he was still missing that tiny little something.