"CLANG—!!!"

A high-pitched, piercing ring of a blade, loud enough to tear eardrums, resounded throughout the virtual arena.

The sky-filling saber light was no longer scattered. Instead, it coalesced into a single ray of light—pure, condensed to the extreme, as if it could pierce the sun itself.

Blindingly brilliant! It carried an air of finality, of a journey with no return, and slashed down fiercely at a speed that surpassed the yellow-robed man’s limits of reaction.

"PFFT!" Caught off guard, the yellow-robed man only had time to turn and parry, his protective aura of vitality not yet fully formed. He and the long staff in his hands were instantly shredded by the condensed, sun-piercing saber light.

He turned into a burst of white light and slowly dissipated from the arena.

"Hah... hah..." In the virtual world, with a realism of over ninety percent, Li Wen could clearly feel his own heart pounding violently. His lungs felt like they were on fire, and every breath tugged at his exhausted muscles.

Sweat slid down from his temples, splattering onto the cold metal floor of the arena.

The realistic sensations made the feeling of physical exhaustion after the intense battle almost identical to the real world.

Every dodge, every parry, every full-power explosive slash had genuinely drained his stamina and focus.

"Whoa! He won! He actually won!"

"He even took down the top-tier entry-level yellow-robed man!"

"He’s a beast!"

The moment Li Wen sheathed his saber, panting as he confirmed his victory, the Class 21 section in the Bluestone Third Middle School plaza was the first to erupt with uncontrollable gasps and shouts of admiration.

The sound was like a stone tossed into a calm lake, jarringly out of place amidst the tense atmosphere of the ongoing assessment.

The shock and trace of bitterness had yet to fade from Deng Yuefei’s face, while the corner of Xue Jun’s mouth curved into an intriguing arc.

This excitement immediately drew numerous gazes from the nearby classes, especially from the adjacent Class 20 section—gazes filled with scrutiny, disdain, and even ridicule.

"It’s just top-tier entry-level saber skill. Is it really worth getting so worked up? A bunch of country bumpkins who’ve never seen the world." A student from Class 20 said to his companion with his arms crossed, sneering openly.

As the top class among the regular ones, Class 20 had always possessed a sense of superiority, and they especially looked down on Class 21, the so-called "nepotism-baby camp."

"Exactly. We have more than one or two people at the top-tier entry-level in our class."

"Hmph. Kids with connections will be kids with connections. Making a big deal out of nothing." More Class 20 students began to chime in, their discussions filled with contempt.

As adjacent "old rivals," it was a long-standing tradition for the two classes to look down on each other.

A student from Class 21 was immediately set off by the comment. "You don’t know shit!" A tall boy from Class 21 shot to his feet, pointing furiously at the Class 20 section.

"Easy for you to say! Why don’t you get up there and try it?"

"Exactly! Anyone can run their mouth while watching from the sidelines! If you’ve got the guts, prove it in the assessment!" 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"Tsk, look who’s getting salty!"

"Just posturing!"

As more and more students joined the argument, accusations and jeers flew back and forth, and the scene instantly descended into a noisy, chaotic mess.

It gradually escalated into a collective confrontation between the two adjacent classes, completely shattering the originally solemn atmosphere of the plaza.

Some students, already on edge from the assessment, felt their blood boil. They rolled up their sleeves, and it looked as though the verbal spat was about to escalate into shoving or even a full-blown brawl.

"All of you, shut up!"

A low, furious shout, like a clap of muffled thunder, suddenly rang out, carrying with it an astonishingly piercing power.

At the same time, a terrifying aura—heavy as a mountain and sharp as a blade—descended with a crash, pressing down on everyone’s hearts like an invisible boulder.

It was one of the Martial Dao teachers responsible for maintaining order.

That simple rebuke, wrapped in the immense aura unique to an official Martial Artist, instantly made all the red-faced, shouting students from both classes fall silent, as if their throats had been seized. The uproar came to an abrupt halt.

Everyone felt their bodies stiffen, their breathing becoming labored, as if the very air around them had grown thick and heavy.

His gaze, like a torch and laced with a clear warning, swept over the crowd like a cold blade.

Wherever his gaze landed, no matter how rebellious the student, they couldn’t help but tremble inwardly. They uncontrollably bowed their heads low, not daring to meet his eyes, all their bravado extinguished in an instant.

This was the insurmountable gulf between the Unranked and a true Martial Artist.

And this was merely an official Martial Artist. If a Super Martial Artist were to arrive, they could probably force this entire group of Unranked students to the ground, unable to move, with their aura alone at full power.

The legendary "Flying Star Realm" experts possessed an even greater, formless might in their auras.

A minor farce of a shouting match was instantly dispersed under the absolute suppression of the Martial Dao teacher’s strength.

The only sounds left in the entire plaza were the combat effects from the virtual screens and Li Wen’s heavy panting.

After the brief interlude, everyone’s attention returned to the large central screen.

Fewer than ten active combat screens remained, representing the top elites who were still undergoing the assessment.

The screen belonging to Li Wen refreshed.

A color representing a higher realm of skill appeared—a green virtual battle robe.

Top-Tier Skill: Minor Achievement!

Staring at the green-robed man before him—who held a long staff and radiated an aura far more terrifying than the yellow-robed man’s—Li Wen took a deep breath. He forcefully suppressed the fatigue and elation from his previous victory, his expression turning incredibly grave.

Green corresponded to Minor Achievement in a top-tier skill.

He had only just reached the entry-level for his top-tier saber skill. Facing an opponent at the Minor Achievement level, the chasm in their strength was clear to see.

Whether in depth of understanding of the martial skill, efficiency in power application, or combat experience, there was a qualitative difference.

Li Wen knew his own limits. ’At this moment, I have absolutely no chance of winning.’

’However, this is a rare opportunity!’

’The chance to fight an opponent far beyond my own realm without any reservations, even if only for a few moves, is an excellent chance to broaden my horizons, experience the gap in our abilities, and clarify my path forward.’

’I might even be able to touch the threshold of a higher realm.’

This precious experience was something he might not get in a real-world battle even if he put his life on the line. He didn’t want to waste it.

"Fight!" This time, Li Wen didn’t passively wait for the green-robed man to attack first.

He let out a low shout, forced up a surge of vitality, and channeled power into his arms. With a burst of energy from his feet, he shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow, taking the initiative to charge with his swift saber.

From the very first move, he unleashed the most powerful technique of his Rainbow Light Saber Skill, known for its explosive speed—Sun-Piercer!

"SHHIIING!" The swift saber tore through the air, leaving a heart-stopping afterimage in its wake.

The sky-filling saber light was like a brilliant curtain of light suddenly drawn open. Carrying an incomparably sharp aura, it instantly enveloped the green-robed man, whose figure had just spawned and not yet fully solidified.

This strike condensed the essence, energy, and spirit of Li Wen’s entry-level Rainbow Light Saber Skill.

It was a manifestation of his will to challenge a higher peak.