Second

Their presence was like a lodestone, drawing in the battlefield's energy and compelling the other examinees to wisely steer clear.

To martial artists who had yet to reach Grandmastery, a peak Grandmaster was an insurmountable obstacle.

Li Wen, however, did not steer clear.

His gaze was like lightning, as if piercing through the chaos of the battlefield, locking precisely onto those three cyan figures.

"What... what is he doing?" someone on the grand plaza exclaimed.

The three peak blade Grandmaster cyan Virtual Humans simultaneously sensed Li Wen's battle intent and provocation.

Three long blades were drawn in an instant, weaving together into an airtight, dense cyan blade net suffused with brutal Sha Qi, converging from three treacherous angles to slaughter him.

The force of this strike was enough to instantly rout someone like Xue Jun, who was barely past peak Minor Mastery.

In that critical moment!

Hum—An invisible domain of force expanded instantly with Li Wen at its center!

lv6 Absolute Focus!

His vast mental energy elevated his thinking speed, perception, and computational reasoning to an inconceivable level.

Under the sixty-percent boost to his comprehension, the lightning-fast trajectory of the blade net, its weak points, the fluctuations of qi and blood flow... were all instantly analyzed and dissected.

At the same time, he felt the greatly enhanced control over his physical body.

Li Wen did not retreat; he advanced!

The seemingly ordinary standard-issue long blade in his hand seemed to come alive in that moment.

The blade light no longer pursued sheer speed but traced profound, minuscule arcs of the utmost mystery.

Chi! Chi! Chi!

Three blade cries, so faint they were nearly drowned out by the blade net, rang out.

Li Wen's blade tip struck with pinpoint precision at the three most critical nodes of that seemingly perfect blade net—which, in his eyes, was riddled with cracks.

Like popping three enormous bubbles, the ferocious combined blade net instantly collapsed, scattered, its force routed.

The cyan Virtual Humans' attack was broken, their forms momentarily frozen.

Li Wen's blade moved!

Fast!

Faster than any time before!

The blade light blurred into a streak of afterimages!

Puff! Puff! Puff!

Three heads flew into the air!

The cyan figures exploded into shards of light.

His score surged abruptly—

Time had passed... only three seconds!

"Holy shit!!!!!" The grand plaza erupted in deafening shouts!

"He one-shot them?! Three peak Grandmaster cyan figures, and he one-shot them?!"

"How is that possible?! What was that blade technique?!"

"Peak Grandmaster! Li Wen is also a peak blade Grandmaster?!"

"One month... he really... did it? Even Jiang Lingyun took two or three months!!"

Deng Yuefei, already eliminated long ago, stood frozen as if struck by lightning, staring dumbfounded at the figure on the screen calmly sheathing his blade.

His cheeks burned, as if slapped by an invisible hand, his lips trembling, unable to speak.

Peak Grandmaster... Li Wen had crossed the chasm they claimed was impossible in just one month!

Their mocking words from moments ago still echoed in his ears, now turned into the most piercing ridicule.

A sense of absurdity and immense shock left their minds blank.

On the screen, after killing the three, Li Wen did not pause. He transformed into a sharp whirlwind, sweeping toward the remaining Virtual Humans in the area.

Under the dual enhancement of peak blade Grandmaster and lv6 Absolute Focus.

Against those advanced Beginner, Minor Master, and Grandmaster black, white, and red Virtual Humans, as well as the higher-tier peak Beginner and Minor Master yellow and green ones, he was like a tiger among sheep.

The blade light was like the scythe of death, each flash precisely reaping lives.

He avoided high-level targets above peak Grandmaster, instead efficiently weaving through the battlefield.

He sought out peak Grandmasters or groups of peak Minor Masters and elite advanced-zone targets as his main prey, maximizing score efficiency while ensuring safety.

For the entire latter half of the assessment, the crowd on the grand plaza was almost completely captivated by Li Wen's performance.

He became the most precise war machine, guided by the supercomputing power of Absolute Focus, always finding the optimal hunting path and minimizing wasted time.

On the leaderboard, his name shot up like a rocket, rapidly overtaking one ranked player after another, charging straight toward the top five, then the top three...

Finally, at the very peak of the leaderboard—the territory originally firmly held by Huang Hao and Zhao Feng—he tore his own name into place.

The 90-minute countdown ended. A flash of light passed, and all participants exited the virtual battlefield.

The massive total scoreboard exploded across the central screen:

[Sharpening Battlefield Selection Final Rankings]:

1, Class 1, Grade 12—Huang Hao: 2352 points.

2, Class 21, Grade 12—Li Wen: 2288 points.

3, Class 3, Grade 12—Zhao Feng: 1246 points.

21, Class 21, Grade 12—Xue Jun: 652 points.

Xue Jun's rank had fallen out of the top twenty.

Dead silence! A deathly stillness fell over the square!

Thousands of eyes stared fixedly at the towering leaderboard, at the name that had shot up like lightning to second place, second only to Huang Hao—Li Wen!

Then, like a tsunami, a roaring wave of shock swept across the entire square.

"S-s-second?!"

"Li Wen?! A 7.1-level physical body, second overall in the Flying Star Class selection?!"

"My god! He really is top-tier Grandmaster! One month! Blade Art Grandmaster in one month!"

"Wasn't he first in the culture exam yesterday?! First in culture, second in technique?!"

"This... this is making history! The lowest physical body score ever for a Flying Star Class seed in No.3 High School! No... not a seed! He's top two!"

The teachers' observation area.

A "crack" sounded from Wang Hu's teacup. He had crushed a fissure into it with his bare hand, warm tea spilling through his fingers without him even noticing.

His eyes were locked onto that shining name on the leaderboard and the terrifying score in second place, the muscles in his face twitching slightly.

Shock, ecstasy—his inner conviction grew even stronger: Li Wen was definitely an Awakener!

He was about to hit the jackpot!

At the center of the main stage.

Principal Huang, who had sat as steady as a mountain with an expression as calm as an ancient well, suddenly sharpened his deep gaze into that of a hawk!

His brow furrowed almost imperceptibly as he stared at the name "Li Wen" and the glaring data of "2288 points," as if trying to brand them into his retinas.

A trace of the faintest astonishment, like a pebble dropped into a deep pool, rippled across his composed face for an instant before vanishing.

Yet, his left index finger, which had been resting lightly on the armrest in apparent relaxation, twitched slightly, betraying the turmoil within.

The Virtual Pod door slid open silently.

Li Wen slowly sat up, his gaze still calm and undisturbed.

The surging sense of power in the virtual world and the overwhelming stares and uproar from the square failed to stir even a ripple in his heart.

Top-tier Blade Art Grandmaster was merely a solid step on the path to his goal.

The limits of the future lay far beyond the stars.

He returned to the great square, bathed in countless gazes of admiration, awe, curiosity, and fervor, walking calmly toward his own place.

The doors of the Flying Star Class had already burst wide open for him.

And this earth-shattering second place was merely a signal he sent to the world before he truly ascended to the peak.