The martial arts university students were a mixed bag, their abilities varying from strong to weak.

But high school students were a different story. Without exception, they were all geniuses who had been scouted and signed by the major factions ahead of time.

In the Infinite Arena, being a high school student was practically a status symbol in itself. It meant your foundational skills were, at minimum, at the Unity Realm.

Li Wen, of course, heard the comments from his opponent and the audience.

He paid no mind to his opponent’s identity or reaction. His calm gaze fell upon the burly man across from him, who looked as though he were facing a formidable foe. He gave a slight nod of acknowledgment:

"Fire Hall, Li Wen. I await your instruction."

With a mere thought, the standard-issue long blade at his waist slid silently into his grasp.

There was no flashy opening stance. He simply pointed the blade diagonally toward the ground, awaiting the signal to begin.

Vajra Tiger—Old Jin—took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the bitterness and unease in his heart. His expression gradually turned grave.

He knew just how terrifying these monsters could be. His opponent’s gaze was so calm it made his heart race; he didn’t look like a seventeen or eighteen-year-old at all.

He tightened his grip on the refined steel spear in his hands. Its broad head glinted coldly under the arena’s starlight.

"Damn it all... Fortune favors the bold! Let’s do this!" Old Jin roared under his breath, psyching himself up.

"Mercenary Alliance, Zhang Jigang! I wouldn’t dare ask for instruction, I just hope... Ah!"

He had intended to cup his fist and exchange a few more pleasantries to stall for time, hoping to avoid the terrifying opening blitz.

However, the starting tone, like a whisper from the Grim Reaper, suddenly blared above the arena.

HUMMM!!

Before the starting tone had even faded, a strange illusion seemed to ripple across the arena—Li Wen’s figure flickered ever so slightly, the movement too small to be caught by the naked eye.

But in the next instant, a nearly transparent "line of light" with a faint, deathly-pale hue appeared out of thin air in the empty space at the center of the arena.

This light had no trajectory, as if space itself had been sliced open, leaving a line that carried an air of absolute finality.

[Shadow-Stealing Form]!

So fast it froze thought itself!

"Huh?!" Zhang Jigang’s hair stood on end. A lethal, icy chill shot up from his tailbone straight to the crown of his head.

He hadn’t even had time to fully raise his spear to block before his vision was completely filled by that ghastly white light.

All his fighting spirit, all his defensive preparations, were rendered a complete joke before this flash of a blade that pursued nothing but the apex of speed.

SHIICK—!

There was no earth-shattering roar, only a faint tearing sound, like a hot knife slicing through butter.

The tip of the forged steel spear, along with half the shaft, snapped off cleanly. The severed surface was as smooth as a mirror.

After slicing through the spear, the pale "shadow" continued on, its momentum unabated. It grazed with extreme precision along the edge of the armor protecting the vital point under his left arm, leaving a deep scratch.

The frigid, sharp aura of the attack nearly froze his very soul.

’If this had been a battle to the death, that one slash would have sent him to meet his maker...’

A surge of white light washed over him, and Zhang Jigang’s body was restored, good as new, on the spot.

The match was decided!

[Victor: Li Wen!]

The entire GYD-734 arena seemed to fall into a moment of absolute silence. The jeers and chatter from the crowd below ceased instantly.

Zhang Jigang stood frozen, still holding the broken spear half-raised. He stared down at the mirror-smooth break in the shaft, then felt the cold sensation from the armor under his left arm. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead.

The shock from the immense gap in their strength far exceeded any of his expectations for "running into a genius."

After a second of silence, the audience below the stage erupted in a wave of excitement even more frenzied than before!

"Holy shit!!"

"One slash! Just one slash!"

"What did I just see? A flash of the blade, and the spear was gone?"

"A High Tier blade art? That’s really a High Tier blade art! That speed... my dynamic vision couldn’t even track its path!"

"Damn, that was so cool! Is this the power of a signed prodigy?"

"He’s unranked, so he must be doing his placement matches. With that kind of power, he’s probably not just any signed prodigy. I bet he has at least a B-rank contract."

The crowd below was abuzz with discussion.

On the arena stage, Li Wen retracted his blade and stood tall.

’This was his first time using the Shadow-Stealing Form in actual combat. Feeling the exhilarating thrill of slicing through anything in his path, his understanding of the true meaning of ’speed’ deepened. However, he could also clearly feel that his execution was still very clumsy. He had only managed to pull it off because his foundational skill level was high, and because he had activated the power of his Primordial Spirit and [Absolute Focus]. Otherwise, with his current true skill level, it would have been impossible to execute the move directly. Then again, if he hadn’t believed he could just barely manage it, he wouldn’t have come to the Infinite Arena in the first place. He was here precisely so he could practice and experience this form in advance, without any real-world side effects.’

These thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant, and Li Wen returned to the present.

His gaze fell calmly on the still-dazed Zhang Jigang. He gave a slight fist-and-palm salute. "Thank you for the match."

[Placement Match Record Updated: 1 Win, 0 Losses.]

[Your current placement performance has been provisionally assessed as: Silver III.]

[Matching for the next placement match...]

The system’s notifications snapped "Vajra Tiger—Old Jin" out of his stupor.

As if waking from a dream, he quickly returned the salute. His expression was a complex mixture of lingering fear and utter shock.

Even more so, there was a trace of awe one feels when facing a true powerhouse. The miserable look he wore for his stream returned, and he wailed to his audience:

"What do you mean, ’thank you for the match’...? You’re giving me way too much credit, Boss! That slash... I nearly shat my pants! Bros, Brother Hu’s road to Gold... is on hold for now!"

He was a good sport, though. Far from feeling disgraced by losing to such a monster, he immediately adjusted his mindset and prepared to use the encounter as content for his stream.

Meanwhile, Li Wen’s opponent for his second placement match was already materializing on another stage.

Amidst the light of the system’s teleportation, Li Wen’s figure vanished from the GYD-734 arena.

What was supposed to be "Vajra Tiger—Old Jin’s" promotion match had become a mere interlude. For Li Wen, the journey in the Infinite Arena had only just begun.

...

「Twenty minutes later.」

Inside the pure white initial space, Li Wen silently recalled the opponents he had faced over the past twenty minutes, their auras growing progressively stronger with each match.

Once he reached the Gold-rank matches, things changed.

Opponents in the Gold rank were a clear step up from the Silver rank in terms of both skill and combat experience.

He needed greater focus and more power from his Primordial Spirit to sustain even the fledgling version of the Shadow-Stealing Form he was barely managing to execute in battle.

After several placement matches, his final record was settled: [Placement Match Record: 6 Wins, 0 Losses, 100% Win Rate].

The light screen refreshed: [Your final placement rank is: Gold IV]

For a new account’s first set of placement matches, this result was nothing short of stunning.

Placing in Gold typically meant the system judged him to have a solid foundation in the Unity Realm and an impressive combat record.

But Li Wen showed little joy on his face.

The price of victory was palpable.

Deep within his sea of consciousness, the light of his Primordial Spirit, once warm and lustrous as jade, had now dimmed to an extreme degree and was emitting a faltering hum.

A tearing, dull ache and waves of vertigo pulsed from deep within his brain. His temples throbbed as if countless fine needles were piercing them.

These were signs of severe Spiritual Power overdraft.

Every explosive attempt to use the Shadow-Stealing Form had been performed in a state of [Absolute Focus], layered with the full power of his Primordial Spirit.

The Shadow-Stealing Form itself placed extreme demands on one’s concentration of will, physical coordination, and the micro-control of the Primordial Spirit.

Although fighting in the virtual world didn’t cause real physical harm, the drain on one’s Spiritual Power was incredibly real, especially when releasing a skill that challenged one’s current limits.

’I can’t hold on...’

Li Wen’s brow furrowed slightly. He immediately issued the command: "Exit Infinite Arena."

The light screen vanished, the cacophony of the arena receded like the tide, and his consciousness instantly returned to the private Martial Arts Room.

"Huuu..."

The moment his body disconnected from the virtual link pod, a violent wave of vertigo, so strong the world seemed to spin, washed over him.

Li Wen couldn’t help but let out a muffled groan. He forced himself to stay upright, but his vision was still swimming with black spots. His legs felt weak, and he had to quickly reach out and grab the cold wall of the pod to steady himself.

He leaned against the pod for a full several minutes, eyes closed, taking deep breaths and massaging his temples. Only then did the intense vertigo and the piercing pain in his skull begin to subside, ebbing away to leave behind a profound exhaustion and a heavy sense of weakness.

’The Spiritual Power consumption was even greater than I expected,’ Li Wen thought with a sense of resignation.

’It seems a move like the Shadow-Stealing Form, which touches upon the threshold of Blade Intent, is still a heavy burden for someone at my current realm, even when I force it out with the help of [Absolute Focus] and my Primordial Spirit.’

He dragged his exhausted body over to the sofa in the rest area and collapsed into it, sinking deep into its soft cushions.

He then picked up the special tablet from the coffee table, which was connected to the Fire Hall’s private network.

The feeling of extreme Spiritual Power depletion was so intense that he urgently needed to replenish it.

He immediately opened the resource store on the private network and began to search.

"Search: auxiliary potions for Spiritual Power recovery."

The screen instantly refreshed, displaying a dazzling waterfall of information:

[Level 1 Energy Recovery Potion]: A basic potion that provides a minor replenishment for Spiritual Power consumption and alleviates mental fatigue. Price: 2,000 Fire Hall Points.

[Level 2 Energy Recovery Potion]: Superior to Level 1, with a faster recovery rate. Price: 20,000 Fire Hall Points.

...

The list was long and varied, with different effects described for each item, but their core purpose was always to aid in the recovery of Spiritual Power.

The prices rose steeply in accordance with their effects and levels.

The lowest-tier Level 1 Energy Recovery Potion was priced at 2,000 Fire Hall Points, while more potent potions, incenses, or potion combinations saw their prices skyrocket to several thousand or even tens of thousands of points.

Looking at the staggering numbers, especially when compared to the five million core cultivation points he had just spent, Li Wen couldn’t help but feel the sting of the expense, even though he still had over 4.99 million Fire Hall Points untouched in his account.

’I’ll buy the cheapest one first to see how it works.’ No longer hesitating, Li Wen selected [Level 1 Energy Recovery Potion], Quantity: 1.

He confirmed the purchase, and the payment screen immediately popped up. [Level Detected: V4. Discount Applied (30% off). Actual Payment: 1,400 Fire Hall Points.]