As he left the Blade Skill Selection Room, Li Wen could feel his heart still thumping a little faster.
The virtual key for the top-tier Rainbow Light Saber Skill felt like a searing-hot coal, branded not only onto his wrist-mounted comm screen but also into his very heart.
He didn't let himself get lost in daydreams, instead heading back to the Class 21 Martial Dao classroom first.
The afterglow of the setting sun bathed the empty classroom in a warm, golden light.
He quietly packed his schoolbag and personal belongings—his slightly dog-eared copy of *High-Energy Mathematics Foundation Theory*, and the notebook in which he recorded his cultivation insights for the Splitting Blade Golden Killing Skill.
Once he finished packing, Li Wen hurried back toward the library at Bluestone Third Middle School, a building that housed the institution's most advanced learning resources. His destination: the Top-Tier Technique Zone deep within.
Standing before the heavy alloy door, he scanned his credentials for the [Top-Tier Technique Comprehension Room]. The door slid open without a sound. The moment he stepped inside, Li Wen immediately sensed a completely different atmosphere.
The room before him wasn't particularly spacious, but it was exquisitely designed.
The walls were not made of ordinary paint or metal, but a matte, dark composite material designed to absorb the maximum amount of light and sound, creating an environment of absolute quiet and focus.
The floor was covered in a special elastic, energy-absorbent material. Stepping on it felt like treading on the surface of dense, solidified water; it could both cushion the impact of intense movements and muffle any sound.
The room was windowless, illuminated by strips of soft lighting perfectly embedded in the ceiling. The light was uniform and bright, yet not the least bit harsh on the eyes.
The most striking feature was the massive wall at the far end of the room, which currently resembled a deep, starless night sky.
In the center of the room stood a quiet alloy weapons rack, holding only a handful of antique-style bladed weapons of various forms. Each one was spotless, its edge catching the soft light with a menacing, cold gleam.
A barely perceptible hum filled the air—the sound of a powerful biological force field generator and an air circulation and purification system at work, ensuring the room's temperature and oxygen levels were always kept at the optimal state for Martial Dao cultivation.
The entire space exuded a sense of tranquility and solemnity, a perfect fusion of high technology and ancient martial arts that inspired a natural sense of reverence.
Li Wen took a deep breath of the cool, pure air, suppressing a faint trace of nervousness beneath a greater sense of curiosity and excitement. He walked to the center of the room and stood firm.
Almost as soon as he stopped, the night-sky-like wall before him flared to life.
VMMMM—
A holographic projection of breathtaking clarity instantly materialized. It was the image of a middle-aged man with a stern face, dressed in tight-fitting cyan martial arts attire.
His posture was ramrod straight, as if he contained a volcano on the verge of eruption. Merely by standing there, he exuded an invisible, razor-sharp Blade Intent.
He made a gripping motion with his right hand, and a narrow-bladed saber, elegantly simple and smoothly lined, materialized from thin air. The body of the blade was dark, yet it shimmered with a profound luster in the light of the projection.
Li Wen let out a soft breath. He could even make out the individual pores and coarse stubble on the hologram's face. The realism made him marvel once again at the incredible resources of the top-tier cultivation chambers.
The middle-aged man's gaze seemed to pierce the boundaries of the projection and land squarely on Li Wen. His voice, steady and powerful, echoed clearly in the silent room:
"Greetings, student. The technique I am about to demonstrate is the top-tier Rainbow Light Saber Skill. This skill captures the essence of a single ray of rainbow light. When drawn, the blade moves like a sudden rainbow—unbelievably swift. It consists of sixty-four forms in total."
As the introduction concluded, Li Wen instantly focused his mind, his gaze sharp and unwavering, fixed upon the middle-aged man and his saber.
"When cultivating the Rainbow Light Saber Skill, the priority is to grasp its spiritual essence, not to rigidly adhere to its physical forms. Now, listen as I explain the key points and force-application methods of each form…"
The man didn't rush into a demonstration. Instead, like a grandmaster of the Martial Dao teaching a personal lesson, he began explaining, one form after another, starting with the first: "Long Rainbow."
He explained in meticulous detail the core intent of each movement, the crucial points for power transference, the subtle changes in muscle activation, the tricky techniques for unorthodox angles, and how to erupt with maximum power by channeling the surge of one's qi and blood.
His explanations were both simple enough for a novice to grasp and profoundly incisive, with every word a pearl of wisdom.
The lecture lasted for over an hour.
Li Wen felt as if he were back in a classroom, only he was far more engrossed than he ever was during his regular lessons.
He mustered all his mental energy, drawing on his own perfected foundation in advanced saber techniques, and frantically absorbed this unprecedentedly profound knowledge.
In particular, the passive skill of his [Scholar] profession, [Once Proven, Forever Proven], was operating silently. Like a flawless, indestructible recording device, it precisely seared every complex and esoteric point deep into his consciousness, not missing a single detail.
He could feel his understanding of the Dao of the Saber expanding at a tremendous rate.
"Alright. That concludes the detailed explanation of the core principles of the Rainbow Light Saber Skill. Next, I will formally demonstrate all sixty-four forms. Watch carefully."
As the man's voice fell, he gave his wrist a slight flick.
SHING!
A blade flourish so close to perfection that Li Wen had thought it existed only in legends bloomed with absolute clarity before his very eyes.
The gleam of the blade flowed, bone-chillingly cold. It sliced through the air and vanished in an instant. The effortless fluidity of the movement made Li Wen's scalp tingle. 'This is the true foundation of a top-tier master.'
"Watch closely. First Form—Long Rainbow!"
With the middle-aged man's low cry—
SWOOSH~!
'Fast! Unbelievably fast!'
Li Wen felt as if the dark gleam of the saber in the hologram's hand had, in the instant it moved, teleported directly from its starting point to its destination.
He couldn't perceive a single hint of warning, not even a continuous trajectory of light from the blade, only an afterimage that his eyes couldn't process in time.