However, at this moment, Li Wen's mind was still firmly in the grip of the [Absolute Focus] skill.
He couldn't cheer, couldn't relax, and couldn't even allow himself any emotional fluctuation over his successful breakthrough.
In his consciousness, there were only two cold commands:
[Initiation Confirmed].
[Consolidate Gains].
Thus, stepping out of his extreme-burst stance, Li Wen began to move again within the cramped training room.
His movements no longer sought extreme bursts of power, but instead became impeccably standard and incredibly focused.
One slash, and then another.
He tirelessly repeated the Rainbow Light Saber Skill he had just grasped, from the first form to the sixty-fourth, over and over again.
He strove for perfection in every movement, precisely calibrating the force behind every strike.
He took the insight from his "initiation" and, through mechanical, bone-deep repetition, seared it deep into every muscle fiber and neural pathway.
This consolidation was an act of faith in the skill's permanence, and even more, it was a way to squeeze every last drop of value from its limited duration!
He had to solidify the precious gains he had made in this short time to the greatest extent possible.
"BRRRRRING—!!!"
The shrill, piercing alarm rang like a cold awl, brutally puncturing the mental state shrouded by [Absolute Focus].
WHOOSH—!
An indescribable sense of detachment washed over him, as if his brain had been forcibly dragged from an absolutely tranquil, frozen sea back to the noisy, chaotic world of mortals.
The cold, efficient, and so-pure-it-was-unsettling "filter" that had enveloped his consciousness instantly shattered and vanished.
"Ngh…" Li Wen grunted, his body swaying slightly, as if his spine had been instantly ripped out.
A colossal fatigue crashed down on him like a collapsing mountain.
Along with it came the familiar mental backlash.
It felt like needles viciously stabbing his brain. He saw stars, and his ears wouldn't stop ringing.
However, just as this overwhelming fatigue and pain descended, everything that had happened in the past thirty minutes under [Absolute Focus] flooded his consciousness like a rushing torrent.
"Shadow," "Startling Flash," "Sun," "Sun Piercer"!
The repeated failures, the repeated deductions, all leading to the final success. The sharp and vigorous feeling of power that belonged to a top-tier skill.
And then the mechanical, repetitive consolidation—every slash, every detail.
All the memory fragments flashed and assembled in his mind—clear, coherent, and down to the last detail.
The immense sense of accomplishment from mastering a top-tier skill formed a stark contrast of fire and ice with his body's intense pain and mental exhaustion.
"Panel."
The thought flashed almost instinctively, and a virtual light screen, visible only to Li Wen, instantly unfolded before his eyes.
His gaze was like a physical thing, instantly pinning itself to the [Skills] column:
[Skills: Saber Skill · Advanced (Perfected), Saber Skill · Top-Tier (Initiate 1/100)]
His gaze froze for a full second.
"1/100…" Li Wen's lips moved silently.
Then, an irrepressible smile, like melting ice water in early spring, silently spread across his pale but still handsome face, growing wider and wider until he finally broke into a grin.
"Heh heh… Haha…" The exhaustion couldn't hide the light in his eyes, and his hoarse laughter was filled with satisfaction and the unexpected joy of a bonus gain.
'I can't believe it… using the last few minutes of [Absolute Focus] to consolidate my initiation actually… raised my experience points by a little, too.'
This was a wonderful surprise.
One experience point for initiation wasn't just a number; it meant the door to top-tier saber skills had been thrown wide open for him.
It meant he had firmly planted his feet on this path, and future improvement was no longer a distant, unattainable dream.
Gazing at the gleaming [Initiate 1/100] status on the panel, Li Wen's heart filled with an unprecedented sense of certainty.
At this moment, Li Wen finally understood just how highly this world revered "comprehension."
With the souls of two lifetimes fused within him, his base comprehension was already far beyond that of an ordinary person.
But even so, when faced with the subtle mysteries of a top-tier skill, he had still been completely stuck on those few forms, unable to cross that invisible threshold.
Not until the Lv3 [Absolute Focus] forcibly boosted his already outstanding comprehension by a terrifying 30%!
The quantitative change had finally triggered a qualitative one. He had finally broken through that final, paper-thin barrier to understanding.
'An ordinary person… the gift of two souls… plus a 30% comprehension boost… and that's barely enough to reach the threshold for a B-rank contract?'
Information about the contract standards of the four major powers flashed through Li Wen's mind.
According to the information he'd recently gathered, none of the so-called geniuses at Bluestone First Middle School who had only signed D-rank contracts had taken less than five days to achieve initial mastery in a top-tier skill.
Only that legendary, god-tier student who was rumored to have been signed to a B-rank contract in advance by the Fire Hall had achieved initial mastery at a speed comparable to Li Wen's—also just over two days.
Judging by the speed of mastering a top-tier skill alone, Li Wen now possessed the hard qualifications to sign a B-rank contract with a top power.
This realization sent a slight tremor through his heart, but it was quickly overshadowed by an even stronger sense of urgency.
'This way… the final exams the day after tomorrow…' He clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white from the force, his eyes burning with a fire of determination.
'Top ten in the class? That first-tier prize money for the improvement award… is as good as mine.'
He bent over with difficulty and fumbled in his backpack for an energy drink. Twisting off the cap, he tilted his head back and chugged it down.
The cold liquid, with its faintly stimulating sweetness, slid down his throat, slightly alleviating the feeling of dehydration-like fatigue in his body.
Exhausted yet mentally refreshed and satisfied, Li Wen packed his things and pushed open the heavy, soundproof door of the training room. The clamor and fresh air from outside instantly flooded in.
Everything was ready. Now, he just had to wait for the day after tomorrow.
...
After a high-energy dinner at the cafeteria, Li Wen, his school bag still feeling a bit heavy on his back, walked straight to the bus stop and started his journey home.
Right now, he just wanted to get home early, power through some training on the Splitting Blade Golden Killing Skill tonight, and push his physical body's level up a little more if possible.
"*Cough*… *cough*… *cough*…"
Just as he inserted the key into the lock, before he even had a chance to turn it, a series of suppressed, heavy coughs—as if someone were trying to hack up a lung—faintly drifted from the crack of the door.
Li Wen's hand froze on the doorknob.
He silently turned the key and pushed the door open.
The living room was dimly lit. His father, Li Hong, was sitting hunched over on an old wooden stool, one hand covering his mouth, his body trembling slightly from the violent coughing.
"Dad," Li Wen's voice was tight with a tension he himself hadn't noticed, "what's wrong?"
"Ah Wen, you're back?" Li Hong jumped, startled. He spun around, a flash of panic and poorly concealed awkwardness on his face.