Scholar Lv. 2

Galactic Calendar, December 31, 225.

Early morning.

The sky was still dim, and little light filtered through the narrow windows of the old apartment building.

Mmm~

Li Wen opened his bleary eyes and stretched lazily in bed. His bones gave a faint series of crackles, carrying a more distinct sense of vitality than yesterday morning.

During last night's cultivation of the Fracture Edge Gold Sha Method, he had deliberately reduced the intensity by one round, allowing his body to recover better.

Sure enough, he woke up before the alarm today.

"The martial path values gradual progress, knowing when to tighten and when to loosen." He muttered softly, feeling the faint qi and blood within him, a little fuller than yesterday morning.

Before he had enough Qi-Blood Potions to replenish the qi and blood depleted by overexertion, he could only restrain himself like this. This was not only wisdom, but an inevitable choice if he wished to last.

After washing up, he picked up the warm buns and bowl of millet porridge Mother Li, Wang Juan, had prepared on the living room table. He wolfed them down in a few bites, slung the faded canvas schoolbag over his shoulder, pushed open the door, and stepped into the old district's uniquely chilly and bustling morning air.

Compared with the previous two days, Li Wen's steps were a little quicker today, carrying an indescribable anticipation. If nothing unexpected happened, he would grind Scholar up to Lv. 2 today.

When he activated Absolute Focus then, his comprehension boost would leap from 10% to 20%, and his control over his body would also improve considerably.

That would be a qualitative leap, an important pillar supporting his bid for one of the top sixty spots in the Flying Star Class.

Qingshi No.3 High School, Class 21, Grade 12 cultural studies classroom.

In the empty classroom, Li Wen arrived ten minutes earlier than usual.

He stuffed his schoolbag into his desk and, without the slightest hesitation, immediately pulled out the thick, abstruse copy of High-Energy Mathematics Fundamentals. Time was precious and could not be wasted.

There was one damnable thing about Scholar: even using Absolute Focus while studying books could not speed up the rate at which experience was gained.

Experience could only be earned through accumulated effective study time—one point every ten minutes, an unchanging iron law.

This was an artificial restriction imposed by the game's designers back then to balance learning-type professions against other combat professions.

I never thought this damned restriction would become the stumbling block slowing down my Scholar experience grind. A trace of helplessness flashed through Li Wen's heart, but it was swiftly replaced by resolve.

Restrictions were dead; people were alive. He simply had to invest more time.

His mind settled as he cast aside distracting thoughts. He immersed himself in formulas, theorems, and derivations that were dull and tedious to ordinary people, yet logically intricate.

[You studied diligently for ten minutes. Scholar experience +1]

[You studied diligently for ten minutes. Scholar experience +1]

Time slipped away silently amid the soft scratching of his pen across the draft paper.

The sky outside gradually brightened, and the campus slowly grew noisier.

Classmates entered the room one after another. Seeing Li Wen's focused figure, as though welded to his seat, they had long since grown accustomed to it.

The bell for the third morning class rang, and the math teacher began explaining several solutions to a comprehensive application problem.

Li Wen remained buried in his sea of books as his experience bar steadily approached full.

The teacher's voice and the sounds of classmates turning pages seemed to become distant background noise.

Just as the math teacher finished writing the formula for the third key auxiliary line on the blackboard—

[Profession: Scholar Lv. 2 (0/200)]

A notification suddenly appeared in his mind without warning. An indescribable coolness spread from the depths of his soul, as if some invisible shackle had shattered, and his thoughts instantly became more lucid and clear.

I did it! Li Wen's heart pounded wildly. He suppressed the urge to test Absolute Focus immediately and continued studying the example on the blackboard without showing any reaction.

He finally endured until the last morning class had begun.

"Activate—Absolute Focus!"

With a slight movement of thought, the skill activated.

Bzz—

This time, unlike the invisible ripple at Lv. 1, there was almost no outward movement at all. It was as if Li Wen had merely taken a light breath, while his mind instantly sank into an ocean of absolute clarity.

The noisy classroom receded in an instant. His deskmate turned to speak to him, only to see his profile lowered over the exercises in earnest study.

Even his gaze did not drift in the slightest. He merely seemed a little more focused than before, and no one could sense any unusual energy fluctuations or changes in aura around him.

This was precisely one of Scholar's most notable traits after reaching Lv. 2—the concealment of skill activation had greatly increased!

Once he reached Lv. 5, legend had it that he would even be able to roughly control the duration of the skill, avoiding the awkward situation where, without outside interference, the caster was completely drained dry before being forced to stop.

Focus! Absolute focus!

In an instant, every condition, step, and formula from the complex application problem the teacher had just explained was clearly laid out in his mind.

The advantages, disadvantages, and trade-offs between the various methods that had previously required repeated deliberation now revealed their key differences and applicable conditions at a glance. He even vaguely derived a more concise line of thought.

This 20% increase in comprehension might not seem like much numerically, but stacked upon his own foundation and Absolute Focus's ability to condense thought, the efficiency gain was far from a simple addition. It was a qualitative leap.

Problems that once required him to rack his brains for a while now became clear at a single glance.

For the entire class, Li Wen maintained this state of intensely burning concentration.

"Ding-ding-ding~~"

Only when the piercing bell signaling the end of fourth period suddenly exploded through the room did he emerge as though surfacing from deep water, slowly withdrawing from Absolute Focus.

An intense exhaustion instantly washed over his cerebral cortex, like a server running hot after high-intensity calculations, bringing slight discomfort and a faint throbbing pain.

More than forty minutes of deep concentration had consumed no small amount of mental energy.

"Whew..." Li Wen let out a long breath, closed his eyes, and rubbed his temples.

He felt the unprecedented clarity in his mind and the lingering afterglow of high-speed thought.

"A qualitative improvement!" He confirmed the fact once again.

With such efficiency, he no longer had any worries whatsoever about the 20% cultural studies portion of the assessment.

He even vaguely began to harbor the ambition of turning it into a true advantage, into an insurmountable barrier in his final score.

Two in the afternoon sharp.

Wang Hu's burly figure stepped through the front entrance of Class 21, Grade 12's Martial Arts Room on time, his stride steady and forceful.

"Assemble!" His deep, resounding voice rang out, instantly drowning out the lingering echoes of clashing equipment.

Whether they were still sweating through their exercises or sitting on mats recovering, the students immediately set down their equipment and swiftly gathered at the front of the room.

The news of the Flying Star Class was like a shot of adrenaline, invisibly tightening everyone's nerves.

"Not bad." Wang Hu's gaze swept over the young, sweat-streaked faces. Rarely, he offered a word of praise. "You finally have some self-awareness as Grade 12 students. At least you know to fight for every second."

"Yesterday, I announced the matter of the Flying Star Class. Those who are interested and believe they have the strength to compete for the grade's top sixty—"

Wang Hu looked around the room, his voice clear. "Hand your individual application forms over to me now." With that, his sharp gaze fell upon the crowd.

"Teacher, I'm applying for the selection." The first to step forward was, without any surprise, Xue Jun, who had held the number one martial arts seat in Class 21 for two and a half years.

His expression was calm, carrying the confidence of someone for whom this was only natural. He strode forward and handed Wang Hu a neatly completed application form with both hands. His movements were crisp and decisive, as if he were merely completing a predetermined procedure.

"Mm." Wang Hu accepted Xue Jun's application form. A trace of approving satisfaction appeared on his face as he gave Xue Jun's shoulder a firm pat.

"Work hard when you get to the Flying Star Class too. Show them what you're truly made of, and don't let Class 21 lose face!"

He did not doubt Xue Jun's selection in the slightest. After all, Xue Jun's strength had always been among the best in the grade.

"Yes, Teacher! I definitely won't disappoint you!" Xue Jun straightened his back and answered in a deep voice.

"Teacher, I'm signing up!"

"Teacher, I'm joining too!"

The power of an example was enormous. Following right after Xue Jun, the class's top ten students, along with some whose strength was close enough to give them hope of making a push, stepped forward one after another and submitted their application forms.

Most of them were the standout students of the class, with relatively well-off family circumstances or resources. Before long, Wang Hu held ten thin sheets of paper bearing young people's aspirations.

A slight commotion stirred through the crowd. Everyone thought the list had been settled. After all, the Flying Star Class was the cream of the crop, and most of Class 21 still knew their own limits.

However, just as the crowd shifted and everyone prepared to hear Wang Hu begin the day's training—

"Teacher Wang, I'm applying too."

A calm but clear voice rang out. It was not loud, yet it pierced through the faint hubbub with perfect clarity.

In an instant, the front section of the Martial Arts Room fell into a strange silence.

Everyone's eyes focused in unison on Li Wen as he stepped out from the ranks.

Surprise, astonishment, incomprehension, and even a touch of absurdity... all kinds of complicated emotions intertwined across the students' faces.

"The... the grind king is signing up too?" A suppressed cry of shock sounded from the crowd. Clearly, this decision lay beyond the expectations of the overwhelming majority.

Li Wen's grades were obvious to everyone. He was in the lower-middle range of the class, and his Flesh Rank was an even greater hard flaw. Applying for the Flying Star Class? This was not something he could grind his way into by doing problems.

Their eyes met and exchanged silent messages. Though no one mocked him openly, the wordless atmosphere had already expressed their attitude—had he trained himself so hard that he had become muddleheaded?

What surprised them even more was Wang Hu at the front of the room.

This martial arts teacher, always known for his severity, looked at Li Wen's equally carefully completed application form. Not only did he show no displeasure or contempt, he instead nodded solemnly and actually said nearly the same thing he had said to Xue Jun:

"Mm, I'll accept this application. Prepare well. I have high hopes for you!" His tone was steady, carrying a seriousness that was far more than mere encouragement.

He had high hopes for him?!

Those words were like a pebble tossed into a placid lake, instantly stirring even greater ripples in the hearts of the surrounding students.

"What's going on?" Everyone looked at one another, wide-eyed and utterly dumbfounded.

Since when had the grind king received such a high evaluation from Wang Hu? Or was Wang Hu deliberately saying it to motivate him?

But this motivation... wasn't it a little overboard for the Flying Star Class selection? What if he really got instantly defeated in a single move on the arena...

Faced with everyone's questioning and probing gazes, Wang Hu had no intention of explaining. He looked at the crowd calmly.

"Does anyone else want to apply? Seize the opportunity. There isn't much time left."

He lightly waved the eleven application forms in his hand and waited for about half a minute. When no one else stepped out from the crowd, he stopped wasting time.

"Since no one else is signing up, we'll begin today's lesson!"

The students suppressed their surprise and doubts, then dispersed to find their respective places.

"Li Wen, are you serious?" After returning to his own training area, Wei Wu finally could not help moving closer. He lowered his voice, his face still carrying an incredulous expression.

"This isn't the top sixty in our class. It's the entire grade! The top sixty among all twenty-one Grade 12 classes!"

"I know. I'm just giving it a try." Li Wen smiled at him, looking relaxed and natural. "It doesn't cost anything anyway. I'll treat it as... motivation for winter break training."

Wei Wu hesitated, but he could not help warning him.

"I'm serious. Don't take it lightly. Knowing how the school operates, there's an eight- or nine-out-of-ten chance this selection will use the Virtual Arena. When that happens, students from the entire grade will be watching in the virtual world."

He swallowed, lowering his voice further, with lingering fear and worry in his tone.

"If you really get on the arena and—just saying, if—you get instantly killed by a Virtual Human in one exchange, that'll be a public execution in front of the whole school... It won't look good."

Li Wen nodded after hearing him, his expression remaining calm. "Thanks for the reminder. We'll talk about it later. There's still an entire winter break before the selection. Let's train."

He could hardly tell Wei Wu: Brother, don't panic, I have cheats.

Without another word, Li Wen headed straight for his usual corner.

His gaze swept over Xue Jun in the distance. Xue Jun had already immersed himself in spear practice, as though he had not heard the little disturbance here at all.

He pulled the polished refined-steel saber from the familiar weapon rack. The cold hilt settled into his hand, and the familiar feel immediately calmed Li Wen's mind.

Activate! Absolute Focus!

Bzz—

An invisible, silent field of concentration enveloped him. The concealment of the Lv. 2 skill displayed itself perfectly. To outsiders, he merely seemed more composed and focused than usual, without the slightest unusual fluctuation.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Slash!

Under the boost of 120% focus—his own 100% plus the skill's 20% comprehension increase—Li Wen's world instantly contained only the sharp howl of the blade tearing through the air and the path of strength flowing through his body.

The saber light in his hand seemed to have been infused with a new soul.

His chops flashed like lightning and sparks, their angles tricky and ruthless. Compared with yesterday's practice, their trajectories were more precise and lethal, containing less of the stiffness of rigid imitation and more of the effortless fluency born from deep understanding.

His upward cuts were no longer simple upward swings. The twist of his wrist blended perfectly with the subtle shifts of his waist and hips, forming an unbroken tide of force.

As he spun and blocked, his footwork was nimble as a ghost. Every shift placed him exactly where it was needed at the end of the blade's trajectory, making the transitions between moves smooth as silk, without the slightest obstruction.

The moves before and after were no longer separate entities, but had completely merged into a whole filled with breath and combat rhythm.

This was no longer merely blade technique. It was more like a rhythmic dance of the blade, freely wielded, the blade going wherever his intent led.

Every sign clearly showed that his attainments in blade technique were only separated from the realm of Advanced Blade Technique's Perfection by the final membrane, as thin as a cicada's wing.

[Skill: Blade Technique · Advanced (Greater Accomplishment 90→94/100)]

[Skill: Blade Technique · Advanced (Greater Accomplishment 94→97/100)]

[Skill: Blade Technique · Advanced (Greater Accomplishment 97→99/100)]

The golden numbers on the panel leaped madly, each time drawing closer to Perfection.

And the truth was exactly as his outward performance suggested.

After two brief practice sessions, one last night and another during the noon break just now, stacked with the 20% comprehension boost from Lv. 2 Absolute Focus, he had already driven his blade technique experience steadily higher.

Now, in this final stretch of practice, the experience needed for that last kick through the gate was finally forced to the critical point by his practice, which fused deep accumulated foundations with doubled comprehension.

[Skill: Blade Technique · Advanced (Greater Accomplishment 99/100)]

He sheathed his blade and stood tall.

Li Wen slowly exhaled a long, concentrated breath.

The instant Absolute Focus receded, an unprecedented sense of fullness and control flowed through his entire body.

He could clearly feel the existence of the bottleneck. That final obstacle was within arm's reach; all he needed was an opportunity, a thought, an epiphany...

He gently ran his hand across the cold blade. His gaze was sharp, like a peerless treasured sword about to leave its sheath, containing an indescribable edge.