As time passed, Li Wen’s breathing grew heavy. An unnatural crimson color showed through his skin, and large beads of sweat rolled down, soaking dark spots into the mat.

The Qi and Blood in his body was like a pool of continuously stirred boiling water, constantly evaporating and being consumed. This time, he had lasted for a full half-hour!

"Hah... hah..." As the last shred of strength was drained away along with his depleted Qi and Blood, Li Wen finally ended his stance training. His body staggered, and he nearly fell.

He hunched over, panting heavily. Steam rose from his entire body, condensing into plumes of white mist above his head and shoulders in the cool air, as if he were a freshly opened steamer basket.

An intense feeling of exhaustion washed over him.

After standing in place for several minutes and managing to calm his ragged breathing, he dragged his nearly broken body to the side of the table, grabbed a regular energy drink, and chugged it down in one go.

"Ssss—ahhh!" The icy drink, with its taste of cheap artificial flavoring, rushed down his throat, bringing a moment of refreshing relief.

After accurately tossing the empty bottle into the trash can in the corner, Li Wen smoothly sat down cross-legged on the floor. He closed his eyes and regulated his breathing, focusing all his effort on recovering his stamina.

More than ten minutes slowly trickled by. Feeling gradually returned to his numb limbs, and a faint trace of his depleted Qi and Blood began to regenerate on its own.

Although he was far from fully recovered, the heavy feeling of exhaustion had at least faded somewhat.

Li Wen opened his eyes, his gaze serene. He stood up again, stepping barefoot onto the mat. This time, he didn’t hesitate for a second. His mind focused.

’Absolute Focus, LV5, activate!’

WHOOSH!

In an instant, the weary, vacant look in his dark eyes was replaced by an ultimate focus and brilliance.

He once again assumed the opening stance of the >. His movements were more than a notch faster than before, as if every joint angle had been instantly calibrated by the most precise instrument.

Under the terrifying fifty-percent boost to his comprehension, the Qi and Blood in his body surged as if a turbocharger had been installed, its circulation speed abruptly shooting up.

The sparse cosmic Spiritual Energy particles in the outside world, normally difficult to capture, were now greedily pulled in and absorbed, flooding into his meridians which were like a dry riverbed.

Under the scouring of his Qi and Blood and the stimulation of the Spiritual Energy, his muscle fibers were like iron billets being forged a thousand times over, their strength increasing bit by bit amidst the pain.

Time ticked past the preset twenty-minute "safe period."

However, the familiar warning signal from deep within his body that preceded exhaustion had yet to arrive. He could clearly sense that under the control of that transcendent consciousness, his Qi and Blood, despite being consumed at a furious rate, had not yet hit rock bottom.

’Keep going! The limit is just ahead!’ The "free will" that acted as a buffer between his main consciousness and his overclocked instincts let out a silent roar.

His will was as solid as a rock. The blue light of [Absolute Focus] continued to burn on the spiritual plane.

Twenty-three minutes... twenty-five minutes... twenty-eight minutes...

Finally, that familiar stinging pain deep in his brain felt like a red-hot needle stabbing him. At almost the exact same moment, the ceaselessly surging river of Qi and Blood inside him instantly ran dry.

The blue light vanished, and his consciousness returned.

THUD! As if an invisible force had ripped the bones from his spine, Li Wen’s knees gave out, and he collapsed heavily onto the mat.

His face was as pale as if he’d just been pulled from an ice cellar. Large beads of cold sweat instantly soaked the collar of his shirt, and the intense spiritual backlash brought on bouts of tinnitus and dizziness.

And yet, beneath the intense pain and weakness, a faint, satisfied smile crept onto his lips.

In his vision, the light blue panel that only he could see silently updated:

[You have cultivated the basic technique for half an hour. Splitting Blade Golden Killing Skill +1]

[You have cultivated the basic technique with focus for half an hour. Splitting Blade Golden Killing Skill +5]

[Cultivation Technique: Splitting Blade Golden Killing Skill (Minor Achievement 76→82/100)]

’Good... The time I squeezed out... by pushing my limits... is barely... enough,’ Li Wen gasped, making a difficult assessment.

’Splitting my Absolute Focus into two sessions like I estimated this afternoon... really can squeeze out... another ten to twenty minutes... Too bad I don’t have any free time to rest during the day...’

The residual tearing sensation on the spiritual plane reminded him of the price for exceeding his limits this time.

But seeing the full 6-point leap in progress on the panel made all the effort seem worthwhile.

’Tonight... I’m counting on this to get me through.’ Li Wen struggled, crawling on all fours toward his desk.

He picked up the level 1 Qi and Blood Potion he had prepared earlier, brought it to his lips, and unhesitatingly bit off the rubber stopper at the top.

POP!

Then he tilted his head back and poured the slightly warm liquid, which had a faint, metallic, rusty smell, down his throat in one gulp.

A faint but warm current swiftly entered his stomach and began to spread through his entire body.

The seed of returning strength had been quietly planted in the tired soil of his body.

The lights from the countless homes outside the window also seemed to illuminate his solitary figure, forging ahead through the cold night.

...

...

The New Year’s Eve morning sun streamed through the window, carrying the unique crispness of winter.

Li Wen awoke on his familiar hard-planked bed. The moment his consciousness returned, he habitually summoned the personal panel only he could see.

[Name: Li Wen]

[Age: 18]

[Realm: Unranked (Level 6.3→6.8)]

[Class: Scholar lv5 (740/1600)]

[Skills: Rainbow Light Saber Skill (Minor Achievement 30/100)]

[Cultivation Technique: Splitting Blade Golden Killing Skill (Major Achievement 44/100)]

But the cold data burned in his heart like scorching charcoal.

Half a month. A full half-month of ascetic training!

Fifteen precious level 1 Qi and Blood Potions had been converted into this seemingly cold number on the panel—Level 6.8!

Finally, he was finally approaching the minimum physical requirement to apply for a Martial Dao university.

His gaze moved down, and the line "[Rainbow Light Saber Skill (Minor Achievement 30/100)]" made his heart surge.

Minor Achievement! No longer just entry-level!

Every day of sweating buckets, of repeating his slashes thousands of times in the cold training rooms of the Fire Hall, and even the countless times he experienced the suffocating sensation of his spirit being drained while [Absolute Focus LV5] was active—it was all for this qualitative leap.

He could clearly feel that the cold piece of iron in his hand had now truly become an extension of his body and will. The sharpness and fluidity contained in his swings were far beyond what they had been half a month ago.

The progress bar for his [Splitting Blade Golden Killing Skill (Major Achievement 44/100)] was also a source of satisfaction.

He could now grit his teeth and persist for nearly fifty minutes in this fundamental Cultivation Technique for tempering the body and circulating Qi and Blood, even without relying on the precious [Absolute Focus].

He was only a final sprint away from the ultimate stage of "Perfection."

Once the Cultivation Technique reached Perfection, his control over his Qi and Blood and the efficiency of its absorption would leap forward. The time he saved on [Absolute Focus] could then be poured entirely into achieving the supreme realm of his saber skills... That day was just around the corner.

"Huuuh~" He let out a long, foul breath, as if to expel half a month’s worth of fatigue, then ruffled his slightly messy hair and rolled out of bed.