Chapter 431 - 271: Level Up

Chapter 431: Chapter 271: Level Up

Beneath his feet was a strange black rock, harder than refined gold.

With a flick of his wrist, the Astonishing Rainbow long blade, its entire body shimmering with a mysterious, dark golden luster, was already in his grasp.

The blade quivered slightly, letting out a low, pleasant hum as if echoing its master’s current state of mind.

He did not immediately unleash the power that could shake the very stars.

Li Wen first closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then exhaled slowly and deliberately.

Each breath seemed to align with the pulse of the star beneath his feet and the vast, boundless cosmos.

The terrifying 200% comprehension boost granted by his max-level Lv. 20 Scholar class silently activated.

[Absolute Focus] state activated instantly!

In that instant, all the noise of the world was completely filtered away.

The sound of the wind, the friction of stardust, the aftershocks of a distant energy storm... all irrelevant perceptions were stripped away.

His mind condensed infinitely, focusing entirely on the long blade in his hand that had accompanied him through countless battles.

He focused on the Laws of Heaven and Earth that resonated with, coiled around, and flowed about the blade.

The blade was no longer just cold metal, but an extension of his will fused with the mighty power of heaven and earth.

WHOOSH... As if expelling all worldly cares with a single breath, Li Wen moved.

His opening move wasn’t one of his world-destroying techniques.

Instead, it was the most basic, unadorned fundamentals—a chop, a hack, an upward slash, a thrust, a parry.

His movements were initially as slow as an old man pushing a millstone.

Every swing of his arm, every twist of his wrist, every shift of his feet was precise to the extreme, filled with an indescribable sense of rhythm.

The blade cut through the thin air, emitting a low, piercing hum.

This was a return to simplicity, stripping away all flashy techniques within the most fundamental framework.

He was reaching out to touch the source of power once more, seeking the most authentic point of fusion between "Dao" and "technique."

He was using the most primitive movements to sculpt the ultimate control over his own strength.

The gleam of the blade began to rise, transitioning from slow to fast.

At first, it was like a trickling stream, then it converged into a rushing river, and finally, it transformed into an impenetrable, silvery-white net that covered an area several miles wide.

Countless streaks of blade light crisscrossed, each one incredibly condensed, slicing through space itself.

SHRAAAK—!

He unleashed a simple, unadorned downward chop. Wherever the blade pointed, the space before it tore apart as easily as fragile silk.

A massive black fissure, over ten miles long and flickering with unstable spatial turbulence at its edges, appeared in an instant.

It lay menacingly under the black sky, refusing to close for a long time.

HUMMM!

With a seemingly simple horizontal parry, the blade vibrated, and an invisible spatial barrier was shattered.

It formed a circular shockwave visible to the naked eye, which spread outward along with a fine web of spatial cracks.

Upward slash, thrust, chop... every basic movement, when fueled by Li Wen’s current realm and terrifying power...

...transformed into a killing blow that would strike fear into the heart of an ordinary Venerable.

The blade’s light was no longer just a bright silver. It began to incorporate his comprehension of Laws such as Space, Annihilation, and Lightning.

At times, it carried deep black lines that cut through space.

At other times, it crackled with fine purple sparks of lightning, or contained the profound concept of all things returning to ruin.

His newly comprehended Intent of Instantaneous Light would occasionally manifest as a nearly imperceptible streak of light, flashing through the net of blades and vanishing.

Wherever it passed, it left behind a perfectly straight and smooth cut in space, as if light itself had been severed.

Li Wen was completely immersed in the world of the blade.

He forgot time, he forgot where he was, he forgot the coming storm.

Every swing of the blade was an exercise in the most refined control over his own power.

It was the deepest comprehension of the Laws of Heaven and Earth, and the most devout inquiry into the Dao of the "Blade."

In his Sea of Consciousness, his Primordial Spirit manifestation sat cross-legged, shining with an immense radiance, its resonance with the blade in his hand and the surrounding world growing ever deeper.

Three hours passed in the blink of an eye amidst his extreme focus.

When the final streak of blade light—one that contained the extreme speed of the "Instantaneous Light" intent, yet also carried the power of returning to basics—silently vanished from his fingertips...

Li Wen slowly sheathed his blade and stood tall.

The Astonishing Rainbow long blade returned to its scabbard with a soft CLANG, as if it was not yet satisfied.

At that very moment, the long-awaited notification appeared in the depths of his consciousness, right on schedule:

[You have practiced your blade techniques with absolute focus for three hours. Instantaneous Light +1%, Martial Adept EXP +18]

[Class: Martial Adept Lv. 3 (804/800) MAX!] ℴ

’Level up!’

As the thought formed, the characters on his panel refreshed like ripples in water:

[Class upgrading...]

[Class: Martial Adept Lv. 4 (4/1600)]

The instant his class level successfully jumped to Lv. 4,

A vast, scorching hot current, as if from the core of life’s most primordial furnace,

surged out of thin air from the deepest parts of Li Wen’s body, from the depths of every single cell.

This current was like a roaring river of magma, yet it also resembled a flood of life force containing the vitality of creation itself.

It instantly broke through an invisible dam, flowing ferociously yet precisely through his entire body.

It washed over every inch of his flesh, bones, fascia, and organs.

"Urk..."

Even with Li Wen’s tenacious will and his formidable physical body, which had already reached the Venerable Peak,

he couldn’t help but let out a low, satisfied grunt.

This wasn’t pain, but an intense, bone-deep stimulus that came from the fundamental enhancement of his power.

He could clearly see with his inner vision that, under the cleansing and fusion of this miraculous warm current,

his muscle fibers were like billions of strands of star-forged refined gold,

being reforged and rewoven by a greater power, becoming even tighter and more resilient.

His bone density rose sharply, and his fascia became more flexible and robust.

The rhythm of his internal organs grew deeper and more powerful.

Although it was just a single level up from Lv. 3 to Lv. 4, Li Wen instantly estimated it.

This power, originating from the source of the Martial Adept class, had increased his body’s overall strength by nearly a tenth!

This was by no means an insignificant number.

One had to understand that the foundation of his physical body was already at the peak of the Venerable Level, about to touch the threshold of the Saint Realm.

At this level, every tiny bit of improvement was incredibly difficult and required immense effort.

The boost from this one upgrade from Lv. 3 to Lv. 4 far surpassed the combined effects of all his previous level-ups.

This warm current from his Life Origin continued to wash over and fuse with him for about a quarter of an hour before slowly subsiding.

It completely integrated into Li Wen’s body, becoming an inseparable part of his foundation of power.

He slowly opened his eyes. A flash of dark golden lightning seemed to flicker within his pupils before they returned to a state of calm.

But they were deeper than before, as if they contained a Star Sea. He gently clenched his fist.

CRACK... The air around his fist was instantly crushed by pure force,

creating a subtle explosive sound as fine ripples spread through the surrounding space.

Feeling the more surging and condensed power within him, a sense of control over his own immense strength arose spontaneously.

’Lv. 4... the boost to the [Frenzy] skill will reach 40%!’ Li Wen’s eyes shone with anticipation.

A 40% all-around boost was enough to let him unleash even more terrifying suppressive power in a Saint Realm Level battle.

Of course, the consequence was that the consumption of his vitality and True Vigor per second would also increase exponentially.

It was a double-edged sword, but for Li Wen, the benefits far outweighed the drawbacks.

’This is just the beginning... If the enhancement at Lv. 4 is this significant, the qualitative changes to my body at higher levels... are truly something to look forward to!’

Li Wen felt the even greater potential hidden within his body.

He was filled with unprecedented eagerness for the subsequent upgrades to his Martial Adept class.

Every physical leap brought by an upgrade signified another surge in his overall strength.

It added another heavy weight to the scales in his favor for when he would step into the Demon Realm to slay powerful enemies.

The lingering aftereffects of the energy storm had not yet completely subsided.

The boiling True Vigor around Li Wen and the abyssal power of his Primordial Spirit calmed down.

He had perfectly integrated the subtle changes from his Martial Adept class level-up into his own power system.

However, he did not immediately immerse himself in another round of cultivation as he usually would.

His eyes, which held the Star Sea and the Laws, looked in the direction of Blue Star, and a rare trace of warmth quietly surfaced.

Today was his thirty-ninth birthday.

A full twenty-one years had passed since the fateful encounter where he awakened his past-life memories and activated the mysterious panel.

For the man he was today, time was both as fast as a fleeting light and yet seemed to carry the vicissitudes of ten thousand years.

With a slight thought, space tore open silently before him like a pliant bolt of silk.

Li Wen stepped through, and his figure vanished from this desolate training ground.

When he reappeared, he was in the familiar and peaceful courtyard of the Li Manor in Changning City.

The manor was already decorated with lanterns and colored banners, filled with a warm and grand festive atmosphere.

Service staff moved about silently and efficiently, arranging the meticulously prepared banquet to perfection.

This was something Li Wen had arranged in advance. As the host, he couldn’t very well wait until the guests filled the halls to make an appearance.

He had only just arrived when his Spiritual Sense sharply detected energy fluctuations and the hum of a ship’s engine from the distant sky—guests were arriving.

The first to arrive outside the manor’s main gate were two mentors who had a profound influence on Li Wen’s life path.

One was burly with a resolute face; it was none other than Teacher Wang Hu, who had taught Li Wen for two and a half years, from his first year of high school until the first semester of his third year.

The other had a calm temperament and a reserved sharpness; this was Teacher Fang Chengwu, who took over to teach him during the second semester of his third year.

The years had left deeper marks on Wang Hu. Although his strength had increased, he was still stuck at the peak of the Super Martial Artist level.

It wasn’t that Li Wen hadn’t offered him resources, but this straightforward man insisted on breaking through on his own.

Fang Chengwu, on the other hand, had successfully been ennobled as a Marquis, and his aura was stable and profound.

Without the slightest hesitation, Li Wen’s figure flickered and appeared at the manor entrance.

A sincere smile on his face, he walked briskly to greet them, his posture just like the respectful student he had been all those years ago.

"Teacher Wang, Teacher Fang!" His voice was gentle and clear, filled with heartfelt respect.

"Li Wen, happy birthday!" Fang Chengwu said with a smile, clasping his hands. He looked at the student before him, whose bearing was now completely different yet who still showed the etiquette of a disciple, his eyes filled with gratification and emotion.

Wang Hu clapped Li Wen on the shoulder, his voice booming, "Happy birthday!"

"Please, come in, Teachers." Li Wen personally led the way, asking Wang Hu as they walked, "Teacher Wang, didn’t your wife and Xiaoxi come with you?"

He remembered that the invitation had included Wang Hu’s family.