Chapter 104: Chapter 84: S-Rank Contract (2)

Those were resources that countless factions and experts were desperately fighting to obtain.

For him, Li Wen, to wade into those treacherous waters with his current strength? It would be a completely futile effort, like an ant trying to shake a tree.

’An S-rank contract.’ The thought blazed like a star in the depths of Li Wen’s mind, its undeniable brilliance instantly eclipsing any trace of worry he felt about the difficulties ahead.

It was no longer just about better benefits. It had become the most crucial stepping stone on his path to the pinnacle of the Martial Dao, the very beacon that would light his path to ultimate power.

His goal was set with absolute clarity: he had to secure an S-rank contract as soon as possible.

There were three ways to get promoted:

Comprehend Blade Intent within three years.

Reach the Diamond tier in the Infinite Arena.

Place in the top three in the second provincial mock exam.

Li Wen calmly analyzed each option in his mind.

’Comprehending Blade Intent... That’s undoubtedly the most direct path, a true qualitative leap in one’s realm.’

’But even though the Five Luminaries Celestial Rainbow Skill: Flowing Rainbow Shocking Magpie Chapter has shown me the way and even let me glimpse the rudiments of Blade Intent, completely forging that indomitable edge of will requires immense insight, experience, refinement, and... serendipity. It’s not something I can achieve in a short amount of time.’

’Diamond tier in the Infinite Arena... a place of brutal combat.’

’I was placed in the Gold tier right from the start, which is high, but Diamond? That feels a world away.’

’Director Sun mentioned that the Diamond tier itself is a benchmark for the combat prowess of top-tier geniuses! And just think about all those veteran Gold and Platinum masters in the arena. How cunning and unpredictable are their techniques?’

’Not to mention the true powerhouses entrenched in Diamond and above. They’ve surely been tempered through countless life-and-death battles, their skills having long since reached the level of Intent, or perhaps even deeper.’

’Climbing that high in a short time? It’s next to impossible.’

’Top three in the provincial mock exam. A comprehensive test of both academic and martial ability.’

Li Wen made his decision in an instant, his gaze sharpening. ’It’s next month. The second provincial mock exam. One month from now.’

The goal was set: one month from now, at the second provincial mock exam, he would break into the top three in the entire province.

However, this would be no easy feat.

In the first provincial mock exam, which had just ended yesterday, he had given it his all just to break into 48th place. That was the absolute limit of his current abilities.

So where was the gap?

It was clear. The prodigies who ranked ahead of him, especially those who consistently held the top three spots in the province, weren’t just ordinary Martial Artists who had recently entered the Momentum Realm. The data proved it.

Those individuals could single-handedly slay a Yin-Yang Momentum Demon Beast that was at the initial stage of the Momentum Realm. This meant their overall combat strength was at least at the mid-stage of the Momentum Realm.

The Momentum Realm was the chasm separating him from that top echelon. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

His current saber skill was only at the late-stage of the Unity Realm (Body Control Power: 80%), still a significant gap away from the threshold of the Momentum Realm.

If he didn’t break through to the Momentum Realm, he wouldn’t even have a chance to compete with the top tier.

’My top priority is to break through with my saber skills and enter the Momentum Realm. Otherwise, everything else is just a pipe dream.’ Li Wen clarified his core objective.

But even that wouldn’t be enough.

Merely reaching the initial stage of the Momentum Realm would likely not be enough to face the geniuses who held the top three spots, geniuses who possessed the strength of the mid-stage of the Momentum Realm at a minimum.

If he wanted to challenge for the top three in the second mock exam, he couldn’t let his saber skill cultivation stagnate at the initial stage of the Momentum Realm for the next month.

’Within one month, my saber skills must not only enter the Momentum Realm, but they must also reach... a level approaching the mid-stage of the Momentum Realm.’

Li Wen set an incredibly demanding goal for himself.

Only then, by leveraging the growing power of his Primordial Spirit and his talent for absolute focus, would he have a chance to challenge the top geniuses for their positions in the overall rankings.

And that was assuming his rivals made only limited progress over the next month.

Time was of the essence.

The provincial mock exam drew in the talented elites from the entire province. The top ten, and especially the top three, were absolute monsters.

Being able to consistently hunt and kill Demon Beasts at the initial stage of the Momentum Realm was just the basic entry requirement.

To challenge for the top three, let alone secure a spot, their own combat strength had to be at the mid-stage of the Momentum Realm at the very least.

Otherwise, when faced with the same Momentum Realm Demon Beasts, or even stronger opponents, how could they possibly stand out? How could they guarantee a leading score?

’The Momentum Realm for my saber skills is my biggest weakness, and it’s the key to my current bottleneck.’ Li Wen clenched his fists.

He was keenly aware of his current situation.

His Body Control Power had just reached 80%, he had already perfected the Rainbow Light Saber Skill, and he had a basic grasp of the Shadow-Stealing Form.

All this gave him explosive power far beyond that of an ordinary Unity Realm practitioner. But fundamentally, his saber skill was still stuck in the Unity Realm.

As long as he couldn’t cross the threshold into the Momentum Realm with his saber skills, he would remain shut out from the halls of true powerhouses. The top prodigies of the Unity Realm could still suppress him with their superior cultivation level.

Trying to break into the provincial top three with pure Unity Realm strength? That was a fantasy. Making it into the top fifty yesterday had already been pushing his absolute limits.

’I have to break through with my saber skills and enter the Momentum Realm within a month, and...’ A flicker of resolve crossed Li Wen’s eyes.

’Just reaching the initial stage of the Momentum Realm won’t be enough. In a competitive environment like the mock exam, surrounded by powerhouses, someone at the initial stage would just be at the bottom of the pack.’

’Even if I were to reveal the secret of my Primordial Spirit and fuse all its power into my body for a burst of strength, it would still be difficult to get into the top three. After all, this is an endurance competition.’

Through his own exploration over the past few days, he had discovered two ways his Primordial Spirit could enhance his combat power.

The first was to focus its power on his internal qi and blood. This consumed relatively little of his Primordial Spirit’s energy, allowing him to maintain a full-power state for about thirty seconds and tripling his combat strength.

The second was to channel his Primordial Spirit’s power throughout his entire body. This could instantly unleash a burst of more than five times his normal combat strength, but it could only be sustained for five or six seconds.

He estimated that with his current level of skill, a full-power burst should allow him to easily slay an initial-stage Momentum Realm Yin-Yang Momentum beast.

But five or six seconds was only enough time to kill one. There was no hope of breaking into the provincial top three like that.

Besides, he had no intention of revealing the secret of his Primordial Spirit. Therefore, his only path into the top three was to approach, or even reach, the mid-stage of the Momentum Realm.

His teacher, Fang Chengwu, had once mentioned while instructing him on foundational treasures that the strength of a practitioner in the Momentum Realm was determined by the depth of their mastery over their core Martial Dao skill system.

The strength of one’s Momentum Realm was typically gauged by the number of "core forms" they had mastered, which reflected how much of the skill’s true essence they had comprehended.

His Five Luminaries Celestial Rainbow Skill: Flowing Rainbow Shocking Magpie Chapter contained a total of Five Forms.

The entry threshold was mastering at least one form; only then could one be considered to have truly entered the Momentum Realm with their saber skills.

To gain the strength to contend with, let alone surpass, the opponents at the level of the provincial top three, mastering a single form was definitely not enough.

’Before the second provincial mock exam begins in a month, I need to truly master two of the Flowing Rainbow forms. Only then will I be close to the mid-stage of the Momentum Realm. Combined with my Primordial Spirit and absolute focus, I might just have a sliver of a chance to challenge for that spot.’

The very thought brought with it a wave of immense pressure.

Going from not having mastered even one form to needing to master two in just one month? Anyone who heard it would think he was insane.

But that thought was instantly replaced by a surge of intense excitement.

’Pressure? A challenge?’ This was the very fuel Li Wen craved.

Without a challenge of this magnitude, how could he ever unlock the full potential of his body and its miraculous regenerative abilities?

"Heh..." He licked his dry lips, a fire seeming to burn in his eyes—the light of intertwined desire and fighting spirit.

Without further hesitation, his mind stirred, and his consciousness sank deep into his mind. The familiar personal status panel appeared clearly before him:

[Techniques: Saber Skill - Unity Realm (Body Control Power: 80/100), Five Luminaries Celestial Rainbow Skill: Flowing Rainbow (Five Forms) - Shadow-Stealing Form (Mastery: 5%)]

The cold, hard data revealed the chasm between his current state and his goal.

"One month... master two forms..." Li Wen stared at the panel, muttering to himself. "This is... something to look forward to."

Outside the window, the city’s neon lights streaked past like shooting stars. The speeding car carried him onward, toward an even more grueling training regimen, and toward a future path that was fraught with challenges, yet clearly in sight.