’Looks like I’ll have to wait for the Scholar profession to level up.’

He recalled the sensation from the last time his spirit was elevated, and the direct impact the Scholar profession had on his "comprehension"—or rather, the comprehensive enhancement of his thinking, understanding, and control.

The fifty-percent comprehension boost provided by the Lv. 5 [Absolute Focus] had already reached its limit; it couldn’t help him achieve a breakthrough in a short amount of time.

Of course, he could still succeed if he just ground it out for a while.

However, if he wanted to quickly break through this saber skill bottleneck and reach the Great Success Realm, his Scholar level had to advance first. Otherwise, this bottleneck could hold him back for a very long time.

’As for the bottleneck in my Cultivation Technique?’

Compared to the critical bottleneck in his saber skill, which would determine the upper limit of his future potential, Li Wen wasn’t in a hurry. He was just waiting for the right opportunity to break through naturally.

Li Wen’s focus was undoubtedly on breaking through with his saber skill.

As various thoughts drifted through his mind, Li Wen turned off his alarm clock just before it was about to ring.

He got out of bed, washed up, ate breakfast, and finally headed to school.

Bluestone Third Middle School.

On the first day of the new semester, an unusual atmosphere of tension and excitement permeated the entire third-year grade level. Discussions could be heard everywhere.

A huge announcement posted at the entrance of the third-year academic building had already made the main event clear: The Flying Star Class selection had officially begun!

The Flying Star Class was where all the elites of Bluestone Third Middle School’s third-year class gathered—a springboard to the top martial arts universities.

With only sixty slots available, the competition was far fiercer than the final exams.

What was taking place today was the first stage of the selection: the academic assessment.

Everyone who had submitted an application at the end of last semester was now gathered in a massive classroom.

Li Wen was, of course, among them.

After spending six hours a day studying diligently throughout the entire winter break, Li Wen’s foundation in every subject was a world of difference from before.

In particular, Galactic Common Tongue, which had once dragged him down, had improved by leaps and bounds under his focused efforts.

Inside the spacious and bright examination hall, the test papers were distributed.

As usual, Li Wen first finished writing out the answers to the easy questions on the test, saving the difficult problems for last.

Time flew by to the sound of rustling papers and scribbling pens.

"SHREEE!!! Fifteen minutes remaining in the exam."

When the warning whistle sounded, Li Wen took a deep breath, and with a slight flicker of his will:

’Activate—[Absolute Focus]!’

The Lv. 5 Absolute Focus descended in an instant.

The world fell silent. The test paper before him seemed to zoom in infinitely, dissecting itself for him.

Words transformed into clear logical chains, formulas flowed like a stream, and all distractions were eliminated.

Li Wen’s pen flew across the paper, his handwriting firm and powerful. His mind operated like a high-speed precision computer, processing every problem with the fifty-percent comprehension bonus from [Absolute Focus].

He was no longer just passively answering questions; it felt more like he was actively deconstructing and mastering the very framework of the knowledge.

The feeling of his pen being guided by a divine hand was even stronger and clearer than it had been during the final exams.

Perhaps because Li Wen’s fundamentals had improved, he finished all the remaining difficult problems in less than fifteen minutes this time.

Adhering to the principle of not wasting his spirit, he deactivated [Absolute Focus] early.

The same went for the next five subjects.

At five in the afternoon, the exam for the final subject finally concluded.

Everyone stood up and left the classroom.

"This stupid exam was even harder than last year’s finals. There was so much I couldn’t answer."

"I really hope my academic scores don’t end up dragging me down."

Deng Yuefei left with Xue Jun, his face a mask of worry, complaining about how unreasonable the test was as they walked.

"The academic scores only account for twenty percent. What’s there to worry about?" Compared to Deng Yuefei, Xue Jun looked completely unbothered.

As someone whose skills were consistently ranked in the top thirty of their grade, he certainly had the right to say that.

Smiling and shaking his head, Li Wen left the classroom with confidence.

He still needed to continue practicing his fundamental technique that evening, and since he was also out of Qi and Blood Potions, Li Wen didn’t go home this time.

After having a high-energy dinner in the cafeteria, he arrived at the Martial Dao classroom for Class 3-21, which he hadn’t seen in a month.

Familiar classroom, familiar faces.

Thanks to his performance in the skills assessment at the end of last semester, Li Wen was no longer the invisible nobody he used to be.

As soon as he walked into the Martial Dao classroom, quite a few people took the initiative to greet him.

Li Wen smiled and returned their greetings one by one.

Having just finished his high-energy dinner, he planned to sit and rest for a bit.

He walked over to his usual spot and half-lay down on a long bench.

He would occasionally chime in, bantering and jesting with the others.

A dozen or so minutes passed in a flash.

Feeling that the food in his stomach had more or less digested and wouldn’t interfere with his training, Li Wen stood up.

He had just reached for a Standard Rapier on the weapon rack when he felt ten messages pop up on his panel in quick succession:

[You have completed a Chinese Language exam with an excellent score. Scholar EXP +60]

[You have completed a Mathematics exam with an excellent score. Scholar EXP +60]

[You have completed a Foreign Language exam with an excellent score. Scholar EXP +60]

[You have completed a History exam with an excellent score. Scholar EXP +60]

[You have completed a Politics exam with an excellent score. Scholar EXP +60]

[You have completed a Geography exam with an excellent score. Scholar EXP +60]

[You have achieved first place in the selection exam. Scholar EXP +140]

[Profession: Scholar Lv. 5 (1280 → 1780 / 1600)]

[Profession upgrading...]

[Profession: Scholar Lv. 6 (180 / 3200)]

’I leveled up!’

Almost at the exact moment the upgrade completed, Li Wen felt a warm current, more powerful and nimble than before, surge from the depths of his brow and spread throughout his entire body.

His brain felt as if it had been cleansed by a cool, clear spring. His speed of thought, depth of understanding, and mental capacity all leaped to a new level.

The Spiritual Power of Lv. 6 brought about a more significant change than any previous upgrade.

’Now’s the time!’ Li Wen didn’t hesitate for a second.

He drew the Standard Rapier that had been with him for so long and, with a flicker of his body, moved to an empty, unoccupied space.

’Activate—[Absolute Focus]!’

The momentary focus of the Lv. 6 [Absolute Focus] far surpassed that of Lv. 5.

Under the enhancement of a sixty-percent comprehension boost.

Li Wen gripped the rapier’s hilt, and the various profound principles of the Rainbow Light Saber Skill seemed to come alive.

The subtle sluggishness that had previously troubled him, the final fraction of disharmony in his power exertion, the thin film obstructing the flow of his qi and blood—

—under this new, highly focused light of his mind, they were all as fragile as thin ice.

The blade’s edge sliced silently through the air!

There were no flashy sound or light effects, only a sharpness that was suddenly condensed to its absolute limit.

VMM!

An incomparably sharp aura emanated from the blade’s body. It was no longer the keenness of Minor Achievement, but the true, biting cold of the Great Success Realm.

The panel’s information updated at the same time:

[You have broken through your saber skill bottleneck. Your technique has advanced!]

[Technique: Saber Skill · Peak (Great Success 1/100)]

’I did it!’

Saber Skill · Peak, the Great Success Realm!

From the moment Li Wen activated [Absolute Focus] to his saber skill breaking through to Peak Great Success.

It had only taken a mere three minutes.

The other students in the Martial Dao classroom had only just noticed a faint abnormality and were about to turn their heads to look when Li Wen had already sheathed his Standard Rapier.

The comprehension boost from the Lv. 6 [Absolute Focus] was only ten percent more than that of Lv. 5.

But the final result it produced was far greater than that small difference.

When one’s comprehension is insufficient, a bottleneck is like the moon’s reflection in the water: visible, but untouchable.

The power of a sixty-percent comprehension boost was terrifying.

No wonder some geniuses seemed to encounter no bottlenecks in their training.

Additionally, the minimum activation time for the Lv. 6 Absolute Focus had also been reduced from five minutes to three.