Li Wen's consciousness was immersed in the intangible domain created by Level 3 [Absolute Focus]. The outside world—its sounds, gazes, and even the flow of time—became indistinct.
The only things that felt real were the cold touch of the standard-issue refined steel saber in his hand and the increasingly pure and clear principles of the blade flowing through his mind.
In his hands, the Tiger Saber Skill had long since transcended its fixed framework of stances.
Each swing was no longer rote imitation, but a natural pursuit of the optimal solution for every muscle, bone, and the flow of his qi and blood.
Subtle adjustments to angle, power, and speed came effortlessly. His saber's momentum was relentless, a fluid dance of fast and slow. Each slash was executed with a more refined negation of air resistance and a more precise prediction of its trajectory.
A bottleneck, like a thin membrane, had been blocking his final step. But now, under the continuous assault of high-intensity insights, its surface was covered in countless fine, web-like cracks.
While Li Wen was immersed in the world of his saber, the other Martial Dao students of Class 21 arrived at the training hall earlier than usual.
Evidently, the recent news about the Flying Star Class and the rapid advancement of Li Wen's saber skill had spurred them on.
However, when they pushed open the familiar door, which was filled with the scent of sweat and tenacity, the scene that greeted them was exactly as they had expected.
In a corner of the room, Li Wen was already training, sweat flying from him like rain. The familiar sound of a steel saber cutting through the air, a sound they had all grown used to, now held a different rhythm to their ears.
"Tsk, the Grind King is at it again, as expected," someone muttered, their tone a mixture of resignation and numb acceptance.
"Hey, wait a second…" A boy who had been training with his saber for months, and was just as frustrated by the final bottleneck of Advanced Greater Mastery, was the first to notice something was off. He stopped in his tracks, his brow furrowed as he stared at Li Wen's movements.
"Do you guys feel it? The Grind King's saber... it's different today."
"Hmm?" At his prompting, several other students also stuck at the bottleneck focused their attention on Li Wen.
"It's a little... smoother, in a way I can't quite describe?"
"It seems like... every move is more on point? That feeling…"
"He couldn't be…" The boy who had spoken first sounded incredulous. "Hasn't he only reached Greater Mastery less than a week ago? Is he about to... break through to Perfection?!"
His words landed like a boulder thrown into a calm lake.
The pupils of several boys, who knew all too well how unyielding and despair-inducing this bottleneck was—like a wall of bronze and iron—instantly constricted.
The one among them who had been stuck for the shortest time had been there for over a month. The longest had been suffering for half a semester, with their daily bitter training resulting in nothing but an immovable bottleneck.
And now, someone who had crossed the threshold of Greater Mastery just seven days ago was about to leap over the chasm that had trapped them in a mire of suffering right before their eyes?
Shock, envy, bitterness, a hint of indescribable jealousy, and a huge sense of disparity instantly seized their hearts.
"Xue Jun! Xue Jun's here!" someone with sharp eyes spotted the class's number one student stepping through the door and immediately shouted, as if they had found their anchor.
"Xue Jun! Quick, look! The Grind King... his saber skill, is he about to break through?"
Xue Jun, who had just entered, was bewildered by the urgent atmosphere. He instinctively shook his head. "Are you kidding me? He only reached Greater Mastery a few days ago…"
But the looks on their faces were dead serious, not feigned at all. They even cleared a path, pointing directly at Li Wen in the corner. Xue Jun's heart skipped a beat. He dropped his dismissive attitude and looked over with a scrutinizing gaze.
After only a single glance, Xue Jun's brow involuntarily tightened.
As the only person in Class 21 who had reached Perfection in an advanced technique, he was all too familiar with that on-the-verge feeling just before a breakthrough.
The saber skill Li Wen was practicing, though different in its details from his own spear technique, had that same seamless, fluid quality, as if it could pierce through the final barrier at any moment. The feeling was at least seventy or eighty percent similar to what he had experienced just before his own breakthrough.
A powerful shock made Xue Jun's breath catch in his throat.
He stared at the unceasing figure. After a moment, he spoke slowly, his tone both complex and solemn:
"...It seems our class is about to have its second person to reach Perfection in an advanced technique."
His voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached the ears of every nearby student who had been listening intently.
"He's actually going to break through!"
"Seven days... Only seven days!" Xue Jun's judgment was like a final verdict, setting off an uproar in their small circle.
Envy, admiration, disbelief, and even a deeper jealousy—a complex mix of emotions flickered across everyone's faces, ultimately melting into overwhelming shock.
They realized that the Li Wen they knew—the one who only seemed capable of mechanical, repetitive slashing day after day, the one they nicknamed the Grind King—was probably... gone for good.
Meanwhile, at the center of the storm, Li Wen was completely oblivious to the discussions and gazes around him. His entire focus was immersed in the saber in his hands.
His body's instinctive fatigue was suppressed by a state of heightened mental excitement. Level 3 Absolute Focus provided an unprecedented speed of deduction and depth of understanding.
The tenth repetition!
The final stance of the Tiger Saber Skill—"Crouching Tiger at the Grand Pass"!
The blade tore through the air, incomparably fierce! At the very instant the saber's edge sliced through the air, reaching the zenith of its speed and power—
HUMMM! An invisible shackle in his mind was violently shattered by a surging torrent of Blade Intent!
Countless subtle points he had never grasped or understood before instantly fused together in his mind, like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea.
A feeling of unprecedented perfection, clarity, and absolute control washed over him.