Li Wen gazed at his status panel—[Scholar] lv6 (1716/3200)—and silently calculated in his head.

’At this rate, after two more weekly exams and a few days of studying, my Scholar class should reach lv7.’

’When that happens, the comprehension bonus from [Absolute Focus] will increase from 60% to 70%. That extra 10% will undoubtedly be a powerful boost to help me break through my bottleneck.’

Of course, that was just one path. This time, he wanted to try and break through on his own.

At this thought, he clenched his fists, a defiant fire burning in his eyes.

"There’s still time. At the very least... before my Scholar class levels up, I’m going to see if I can break through on my own."

He set himself a goal: within the next half-month, he would challenge himself and force a breakthrough.

However, at this tense moment, an unexpected phone call, like a cold, sharp blade, shattered Li Wen’s world of training.

Just after he finished lunch, his communicator rang.

The screen showed the caller: Mom.

Li Wen was a little surprised. His mother rarely disturbed his studies during the day.

After he answered, the voice of his mother, Wang Juan, came through the receiver—a frantic, choked sob that was completely unlike her usual tone.

"Ah Wen! Oh, Ah Wen! You have to come to the County Central Hospital! Your dad... your dad suddenly... he coughed up blood and passed out! The doctor said... he said it’s critical! I... I don’t know what to do..."

Her voice dissolved into uncontrollable sobs and ragged gasps; she was utterly distraught.

Li Wen’s heart felt as if it had been instantly seized by an invisible hand, and a chill shot from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.

He knew his father, Li Hong, was in poor health and had a pre-existing condition, but he had always held onto the hope that it wouldn’t come to this. He never expected it to happen so suddenly and violently.

Though a tempest raged in his heart, Li Wen forced his voice to remain surprisingly calm, projecting an aura of steadiness and strength.

"Mom! Don’t panic! I’m on my way! Listen to me, stay at the hospital and don’t go anywhere. Cooperate with the doctors. I’ll be there within half an hour, I promise! Dad will be fine. I’m on my way!"

After hanging up, Li Wen didn’t even have time to explain himself to anyone. He grabbed his things and shot out of the school like an arrow from a bow, sprinting wildly toward the County Central Hospital.

Training, bottlenecks, the first mock exam... everything was instantly thrown to the back of his mind. All that remained was the image of his father coughing up blood and collapsing, and the sound of his mother’s desperate cries replaying over and over in his head.

At two in the afternoon, the Flying Star Class’s afternoon training session had already begun.

Fang Chengwu scanned the room and keenly noticed that Li Wen’s spot was empty.

He frowned slightly and asked, "Where’s Li Wen? Does anyone know where he went?"

’Missing an important training session for the Flying Star Class... that’s not like him.’

A girl standing in the back row hesitated for a moment before speaking in a low voice.

"Teacher Fang, at lunch... I think... I think I overheard Li Wen take a call. It sounded like it was from his family, and they sounded really frantic. Then he just rushed out... I think I vaguely heard something about a ’hospital’ and ’coughing up blood’... I couldn’t make out the rest."

She wasn’t entirely certain, and her voice wavered with uncertainty.

Upon hearing this, Fang Chengwu’s frown deepened. He didn’t ask any further questions, simply nodding lightly to show he understood.

"Oh? A family emergency..." he muttered. A thoughtful glint seemed to flash in the depths of his eyes before he returned to his usual calm demeanor and began organizing the afternoon’s training.

However, from a corner where the students weren’t looking, Fang Chengwu’s gaze seemed distant.

He glanced in the direction of the hospital and let out an imperceptible sigh.

The corridor of the County Central Hospital’s emergency department.

The acrid smell of disinfectant filled the air.

Li Wen finally arrived. In a corner, he saw his mother, Wang Juan, trembling like a withered leaf in the wind.

Her eyes were vacant, her hands clenched so tightly that her nails were digging into her palms, though she didn’t seem to notice.

A pang of pain shot through Li Wen’s heart. He strode forward and gripped his mother’s cold, trembling hands. "Mom! I’m here! How’s Dad?"

Seeing her son was like finding a pillar to lean on. Tears welled up in Wang Juan’s eyes again. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"He’s still in the ER... The doctor said... an old injury triggered a rapid deterioration of his internal organs... It’s critical..."

A short while later, the doors to the emergency room opened, and a weary-looking doctor walked out.

Li Wen immediately rushed over. "Doctor, how is my father?"

The doctor pulled down his mask, his expression grave.

"We’ve stabilized him for now, so he’s out of immediate danger, but his condition is not optimistic. This episode means his old internal injuries have deteriorated to a critical point."

"If we don’t begin intensive treatment promptly, episodes like this will become more and more frequent. The consequences... will be dire."

Li Wen’s heart sank. "Then... what kind of treatment does he need?"

The doctor explained, "He’ll need a series of complex cellular repair and organ restoration surgeries, supplemented by several extremely expensive, specialized drugs to regulate his system. Only then might we stabilize his condition and slow the deterioration."

"A conservative estimate... would be at least five hundred thousand in medical fees."

The doctor gravely announced a figure that was astronomical for an ordinary working-class family.

Five hundred thousand!

The number struck Li Wen’s chest like a sledgehammer.

Even though he had entered the Flying Star Class and could save money on the monthly Qi and Blood Potions, that amount was just a drop in the bucket compared to five hundred thousand.

His family’s savings probably wouldn’t even cover a fraction of the cost.

An intense feeling of powerlessness and immense pressure enveloped him, making it hard to breathe.

His only hope, the only path he could think of to obtain such a massive sum of money quickly, instantly became crystal clear in his mind: his blade techniques.

’I have to reach the Unity Realm, get noticed by the four major powers or a top-tier university, and sign one of their lucrative early-admission contracts!’

’But that path... was blocked by the impassable chasm of being stuck at 99/100. And time... time was what he needed most.’

Under the ghastly white lights of the corridor, Li Wen helped his mother, who was on the verge of collapsing, into a nearby chair. His own figure seemed so frail.

He held his mother’s hand tightly, his gaze locked on the closed doors of the Intensive Care Unit, his knuckles white from the pressure.

The crushing weight of reality washed over him like an ice-cold tide, drowning him inch by inch.

The bottleneck in his blade techniques and the race to save a life were now cruelly intertwined.

Just as Li Wen’s mind reeled, suffocating under the immense pressure, the elevator doors at the end of the corridor slid open without a sound.

A figure wearing a dark gray jacket and a flat cap appeared quietly.

He didn’t approach Li Wen and his mother. Instead, he observed the scene outside the emergency room from a distance, his gaze gentle but tinged with an almost imperceptible concern. A moment later, the figure vanished back into the shadows of the hallway.

Fang Chengwu shook his head slightly, a complex mix of emotions in his eyes.

「Later that night.」

The payment window in the hospital’s inpatient department had long since closed, and only the on-duty nurse was left, dozing at the registration desk.

A man with a gentle demeanor, wearing a surgical mask, walked up to the payment window. He presented a special card and a payment slip.

He stated his purpose calmly. "Payment for special emergency care, bed 3. Patient: Li Hong. Amount: five hundred thousand. Please confirm."

The nurse, bleary-eyed, checked the slip against the system information. She was surprised by such a large payment being made in the middle of the night, but after confirming everything was in order, she quickly processed it.

A few seconds later, the system displayed a notification: Payment Successful.

The figure retrieved the slip and the card, then turned and departed as quietly as he had arrived.