Thick Accumulation, Thin Release

The dying rays of sunset painted the training hall in a warm golden hue, yet they could not dispel the silence brought by emptiness.

The door to Class 21's training hall opened and closed several times, the voices gradually thinning out.

In a matter of moments, only Li Wen remained in the vast training ground.

The sounds of equipment clashing and heavy breathing that usually filled the space had vanished, leaving only the occasional chirping of birds from outside the window and the soft sound of his own footsteps echoing in the emptiness.

This was precisely the moment Li Wen had deliberately waited for.

He walked to his usual corner and gripped the standard-issue fine steel blade that had accompanied him for so long. The cold touch of the metal sharpened his focus.

Scanning the area to confirm no one was watching, Li Wen took a deep breath, calmed his mind, and silently activated the core skill of [Scholar].

"Activate—[Absolute Focus]"

Hmm~!

An invisible ripple, perceptible only to Li Wen himself, spread silently from his body.

In an instant, the world seemed to have its mute button pressed. The distant, indistinct bird calls, the faint vibrations of the window frame, even the subtle sounds of blood flowing within his body were all sealed off.

His gaze suddenly turned as clear and pure as the deep waters of a cold pool. All stray thoughts, fatigue, and emotions were washed away by this overwhelming concentration.

At this moment, his world contained only—the blade!

Under the state of Absolute Focus, every detail of his earlier practice of the Tiger Guard Blade Art, every successful adjustment, every imperfect hitch, replayed in his mind like high-definition footage.

An unprecedented clarity enveloped his understanding of the blade art.

"So the key to smoothly transitioning into this move, 'Golden Roc Spreads Wings,' lies in the subtle rotation of the shoulder blade..."

"After the blade slashes out, the power should recoil at the wrist, not the elbow, to create the optimal starting posture for the next move, 'Spirit Snake Swishes Tail'..."

"If the step distance is refined by just a fraction more, the impact force can be perfectly converted into killing power..."

Countless sparks of inspiration burst in his mind. The bottlenecks that had plagued him for days melted away like snow and ice.

He no longer needed to strain to recall the diagrams. His body, guided by his focus, naturally sought the optimal lines of force.

His wrist turned lightly, his feet shifted, and the sound of the blade cutting through the air became smoother, carrying an indescribable sense of rhythm and power.

He was immersed in it, forgetting the passage of time, forgetting the drain on his body, devoting himself entirely to the performance of the blade art.

Slash, chop, lift, thrust, parry, block... The twenty-six basic moves were broken down and reassembled. Each swing contained his newfound understanding, with efficiency far surpassing the self-directed practice of the afternoon.

Blade light flickered and danced around him, weaving a net of strength and skill that grew denser and sharper by the moment.

Within the humming world of focus, Li Wen's movements grew faster and more precise.

Whoosh—!

But just as another sharp blade light tore through the air, attempting to complete a difficult spinning slash, the mysterious state supporting him abruptly and without warning cut off!

The humming stopped instantly.

As if suddenly thrown from warm water into an icy, bone-chilling pool, the stark contrast caused Li Wen's vision to go black. An overwhelming wave of immense fatigue and emptiness crashed over him like a tsunami.

The surging power within him was drained completely. His arms felt as heavy as if filled with lead, and the strength to even grip the blade vanished in an instant.

Clang!

The standard-issue fine steel blade slipped from his hand and crashed heavily onto the floor, producing a piercing metallic sound that echoed far across the silent training hall.

Li Wen braced himself with his hands on his knees, barely managing to keep from collapsing.

Beans of sweat, like a broken string of pearls, poured down from his forehead and temples, splattering onto the floor and forming a dark, damp patch.

His body felt as if it had been completely hollowed out and wrung dry. Every cell cried out in agony.

This sudden weakness from being drained was several times more intense than the fatigue from practicing on his own that afternoon!

Using a high-level skill in conjunction with unleashing a mastered blade art consumed an utterly terrifying amount of energy.

Time seemed to freeze.

After a full four or five minutes, his ragged breathing finally began to calm slightly, and the overwhelming dizziness gradually receded.

He tried to move his fingers, but they still carried an indescribable sluggishness and weakness.

Struggling to stand, his steps were so unsteady it felt like walking on cotton. He staggered to the rest area beside the training hall and collapsed onto the cold bench.

It took a while before he could fumble through his old schoolbag, which lay discarded at his feet, to retrieve a high-energy compressed energy bar and a small bottle of electrolyte water.

His fingers trembled as he tore open the packaging. Li Wen practically wolfed the energy bar into his mouth.

That hard, solid mass with its specific sweetness and high-calorie oil was his only salvation at that moment.

He chewed urgently, his throat bobbing as he swallowed it down with water.

The intense hunger was temporarily suppressed. A faint warmth began to spread from his cold stomach, slowly flowing through his body.

Only after half the energy bar was down, along with most of the electrolyte water, did the feeling of being on the verge of fainting finally recede somewhat.

Though his body was still sore and heavy, he at least had the strength to move.

Leaning against the cold wall, Li Wen focused his mind, and the familiar pale blue panel silently appeared:

[Name: Li Wen]

[Age: 18]

[Profession: Scholar lv1 (36/100)]

[Realm: Unranked (Level 6.1)]

[Skill: Rending Gold-Sha Method: Basic (Entry 87/100)]

[Technique: Blade Mastery · Advanced (Mastery 0→50/100)]

"Hiss..." Though he had anticipated improvement, when he saw the clear numerical jump in the [Technique] column, Li Wen still couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath, then the corners of his mouth uncontrollably curled into a tired yet excited grin.

Fifty points! From the starting point of Mastery, a direct leap to 50/100!

This was the effect of absolute focus cultivation at its most extreme!

This was the fruit of his nearly obsessive hard work over the past two years, a thick accumulation bursting forth!

Of course, the ten percent insight boost provided by lv1 Absolute Focus had played a decisive catalytic role in it.

Without it, this accumulation might have taken several times longer to fully ignite.

The cool sensation of the rest area seeped through his back, giving his sore muscles a trace of relief.

Feeling that his stamina was finally enough to support him leaving, Li Wen put away the remaining energy bars and water bottle, picked up the standard-issue quick-blade that had fallen to the floor, and inserted it back into the weapon rack.

Time was already late; outside the window, only a dark red glow remained at the western edge of the sky.

He locked the door to the martial arts room and headed toward the campus cafeteria. The vast cafeteria was now mostly empty, brightly lit but sparsely populated.

Only one serving window was still lit, where a few aunties in white uniforms were busy cleaning and washing, moving heavy stainless steel food trays away.

Li Wen walked up to the only open window, his voice carrying a tired rasp: "Auntie, is there still food?"

Behind the window, a kind-faced middle-aged auntie looked up. Seeing Li Wen's unusually pale complexion from overexertion, his sweat-dampened bangs, and his thin, slight frame, a flicker of barely noticeable sympathy passed through her eyes.

She glanced at the meager leftovers and replied, "There's still some, just enough for one portion."

With that, she picked up a tray, her ladle scooping noticeably fuller than usual, even deliberately adding a few extra pieces of braised pork and some greens on top of the rice.

"Thank you, Auntie!" Li Wen quickly expressed his thanks, taking the generously portioned tray.

Most of the seats in the vast cafeteria were empty. He casually found a table by the window and sat down, looking at the unusually lavish meal on his tray, a faint warmth rising in his heart.

He didn't have much time to savor it; the urging of his stomach and the weakness of his body drove him to wolf it down almost at a "clearing" speed.

He needed to recover his strength as quickly as possible, because tonight, there was still important "homework" to do.

That's right, after finishing dinner, he turned back and returned to the martial arts classroom he had just left.

He had gone home early after yesterday evening's physical test because that day was his crucial eighteenth birthday, with his parents' cake and dinner waiting.

Normally, especially now with only a few months left until the college entrance exam sprint, he would choose to quickly eat dinner in the cafeteria and immediately return to the martial arts classroom for evening self-study.

The school's system was clear:

Morning cultural courses were mandatory for everyone;

Afternoon was martial arts training;

In the evening, students could choose based on their college entrance exam path—those aiming for top liberal arts schools would go to cultural classrooms for self-study;

Those choosing the martial arts path, aiming for martial arts universities, would almost all come to the better-equipped, more spacious martial arts classrooms for self-study. So at this moment, the martial arts classroom was not empty.

When Li Wen returned to the martial arts classroom, the scene inside was indeed different from when he had been alone in the late afternoon.

Though the number was far less than during the afternoon unified class, there were still twenty or thirty figures scattered around, most engaged in breathing and circulation cultivation of the basic method.

He went to the corner again, not immediately picking up his blade.

The afternoon's consumption had been too great, and after the massive improvement under Absolute Focus, he needed time to digest the results and let his body fully recover.

He silently observed these classmates who had chosen the martial arts path.

Many stood in various stances, their breaths long and steady, their blood and qi subtly churning beneath their skin.

From their slightly flushed skin and steady breathing, it was clear they could maintain this state for a long time.

This stood in stark contrast to Li Wen's state, where he could barely sustain cultivation for over ten minutes before faltering.

They didn't lack blood and qi potions to supplement, enough to support them running the basic method efficiently all evening, tempering their flesh.

That was the power of resources and capital.

Li Wen's gaze inadvertently swept over a figure at the other end of the classroom—Xue Jun.

The undisputed number one in the class! His fleshly body level had long surpassed 8.0, and it was rumored his spear technique had already broken through the bottleneck of Advanced Mastery, stepping into the Minor Success level of Top-tier Technique!

This meant Xue Jun had already touched the threshold of that future, awe-inspiring realm—the "Unity Realm."

The admission threshold for ordinary martial arts universities was that techniques must reach the Top-tier Entry level; first-rate martial arts universities required at least Top-tier Minor Success;

As for the four top-tier martial arts universities standing at the pinnacle of Huaxia, the minimum threshold was the Unity Realm!

Creating one's own unique secret technique—that was a realm Li Wen had once found extravagant even to look up to.

Yet now, gazing at that figure faintly wreathed in blood and qi, Li Wen's heart no longer held the despair and helplessness of the past, but instead an unprecedented calm.

His golden finger didn't directly boost his power, but it gave him the most crucial weapon—the key to breaking through every bottleneck.

The once-unreachable standards of a top-tier university were no longer cold, ironclad rules, but... goals he could strive to touch!

After more than half an hour of rest and digestion, feeling that his stamina had indeed recovered considerably, Li Wen stood up and gripped his blade again.

This time, he didn't activate Absolute Focus.

The skill's consumption and strain on his body were too great; he couldn't yet use it frequently within a single day.

But even so, after the afternoon's epiphany and the evening's extreme tempering, his control over the Tiger Guard Blade Art had risen to a new level.

Blade light flared once more.

His strikes no longer carried that frantic sense of "deductive" push from the evening's extreme focus, but instead gained a steadiness and fluidity born of solid foundation.

With a mastery base of 55/100 at the Greater Success stage, every movement flowed more naturally, every exertion of force was more precise and economical.

The trajectory of the blade cutting through air was no longer a rigid standard arc, but adapted to the situation, carrying a kind of agile prescience.

Slashes like thunderclaps, blocks like mountains, spins like flowing wind.

The twenty-six forms of the art seemed dismantled and scattered, yet naturally reconnected with every breath and transition, the shifts between moves becoming smoother and seamless.

He felt that the realm of "continuous forms, flawless and round" at the pinnacle of advanced blade arts was finally coming into view.

Immersed in this steady improvement, time flew by.

An hour later, Li Wen sheathed his blade and stood upright, a light sweat on his forehead, but his breathing was far more stable than at the end of the evening. His body was only normally tired.

[You practiced Tiger Guard Blade Art for one hour. Blade Art experience +5.]

[Skill: Blade Art · Advanced (Greater Success 50→55/100)]

Remarkable results! This autonomous training efficiency far surpassed any previous practice session. All thanks to the enhanced insight from merging two lifetimes of soul.

The blade practice came to an end. Li Wen didn't continue delving into the art. His gaze shifted to the classmates still circulating their basic techniques indoors.

He precisely returned the swift blade to the weapon rack and walked back to his mat.

Holding his breath, focusing his mind, he bent his legs slightly, sinking down, and formed the opening hand seal of the Rending Gold-Sha Method: Basic.

He didn't activate Absolute Focus—that skill was too extravagant now, consuming too much qi and blood, and he didn't have enough qi-blood pills to replenish it.

The familiar rhythm of breathing drove his qi and blood to circulate laboriously through his body.

Each deep inhale guided the thin qi and blood to surge toward his limbs and bones; each heavy exhale tried to expel the energy inevitably lost and wasted during circulation.

That familiar sharp, tearing sensation began to spread inside his body, stimulating his sinews and muscles, bringing a faint heat of improvement, but also accompanied by a violent... sense of depletion!

If the resource-rich classmates circulating their basic techniques were like "cruising on a flat highway with the AC on," then Li Wen's experience was like "pushing a broken-down, leaking old car up a steep, rugged mountain path."

Most of his qi and blood energy was irreversibly dissipated along the way, wasted because his understanding of the technique wasn't deep enough and his body control couldn't fully harness it.

The efficiency was frustratingly low.

His body began to heat up, sweat seeping out.

The pulling sensation in his joints and ligaments grew stronger, carrying an indescribable ache.

His breathing gradually became rapid and shallow, his heart pounding as if trying to burst through his chest.

The qi and blood inside him were like a nearly dry stream, slowing down more and more, resistance increasing.

"No... I can... hold on a little longer..." Li Wen gritted his teeth, the veins on his temples bulging slightly from the strain.

The limit was right in front of him; every muscle in his body was crying out, but the stubborn, fierce drive in his heart surged up, forcibly maintaining his nearly collapsing posture.

A faint sound like a bone shifting came from somewhere in his ligaments—the body's final warning!

Pfft... haah!!!

A large mouthful of hot, white turbid breath was violently expelled from deep in his chest, and his body suddenly went slack, as if all his bones had been pulled out.

The hand seal he'd maintained instantly collapsed, his legs weak and trembling, nearly causing him to fall. He staggered two steps before stabilizing himself with a hand on the ground, panting heavily. Each inhale felt like a knife scraping his burning throat.

He had only lasted about fifteen minutes before being completely drained of every last ounce of strength.

The energy and mental focus consumed in those ten-odd minutes felt no less than the overloaded Absolute Focus blade practice from the evening.

Sweat had long soaked through his training clothes, clinging coldly and stickily to his body.

Wiping the sweat from his face tiredly, barely holding himself up by sheer willpower to avoid collapsing, Li Wen struggled to pull up his panel:

[You trained the Rending Gold-Sha Method with difficulty. Technique experience +3.]

[Technique: Rending Gold-Sha Method: Basic (Initiate 87→90/100)]

Seeing the Initiate proficiency jump from 87 to 90 points, so close to the 100-point threshold for Minor Success, a complex expression of bitter smile mixed with relief appeared on Li Wen's exhausted face.

The improvement was real. After merging his souls, his clearer thinking had indeed helped with the initial stage of technique comprehension, but...

"Hah..." He let out a long, deeply weary breath, looking around at the classmates still training, their breathing steady and long, faint red glows of qi and blood circulating around them. His eyes grew deep.

"Today's speed of improvement... is ultimately because of 'accumulated release.' Once the dividends of that accumulation are spent, with my current resource situation, the pace will probably quickly return to that... pitifully low level."

Vast potential and the shackles of reality intertwined like ice and fire deep in his exhausted heart.

He clenched his fist, feeling the unwillingness beneath his weakness, then slowly released it.

The golden finger had been unlocked, the path lay beneath his feet. All that remained was to walk it... more fiercely, more wisely.

Outside the window, the night was as dark as ink, concealing the solitary figure of the youth and the heavy, yet fiercely burning, ambition in his heart.