[Cultivation Technique: Splitting Blade Golden Killing Skill - Basic (Initiate 87/100)]
[Skills: Blade Technique - Advanced (Mastery 0→50/100)]
He sucked in a sharp breath. Although he had expected an improvement, Li Wen couldn't help himself when he saw the clear jump in numbers under the [Skills] category. A tired yet excited grin immediately spread across his face.
50 points! A direct jump from the start of Mastery to 50/100!
'This is the result of training with absolute focus and extreme dedication!'
'This is the fruit of more than two years of painstaking, almost obsessive practice, finally paying off!'
Of course, the ten percent boost to his comprehension from Lv. 1 Absolute Focus had also played a decisive, catalyzing role.
Without it, this accumulation might have taken several times longer to be fully unleashed.
The cool surface of the rest area seeped through his back, offering some relief to his aching muscles.
Once he felt he had recovered enough strength to leave, Li Wen packed up his remaining energy bar and water bottle. He picked up the Standard Rapier that had fallen to the floor and returned it to the weapons rack.
It was getting late. Outside the window, only a streak of dark red remained on the western horizon.
He locked the door to the Martial Arts Room and headed toward the campus cafeteria. The vast dining hall was nearly empty, brightly lit but with only a few people scattered about.
Only one service window still had its lights on. A few ladies in white uniforms were busy cleaning up, carrying away heavy, stainless steel food trays.
Li Wen walked up to the only open window, his voice a little hoarse with exhaustion. "Ma'am, is there any food left?"
Behind the counter, a kind-faced, middle-aged woman looked up. When she saw Li Wen's unusually pale face, sweat-dampened hair, and thin, gaunt frame—all clear signs of overexertion—an imperceptible flicker of sympathy crossed her eyes.
She glanced at the meager leftovers and replied, "There's a little. Just enough for one serving."
As she spoke, she picked up a tray. Her ladle scooped up a noticeably larger portion than usual, and she deliberately added a few extra pieces of the remaining braised pork and some leafy greens on top of the rice.
"Thank you, Ma'am!" Li Wen said quickly, accepting the exceptionally generous plate.
Most of the seats in the vast dining hall were empty. He found a random table by the window and sat down. Looking at the unusually hearty meal on his tray, a warmth spread through his heart.
He didn't have much time to savor it. The gnawing hunger in his stomach and the weakness in his body had him practically inhaling his food.
'I need to recover my strength as quickly as possible. I still have important "homework" to do tonight.'
That's right. After finishing dinner, he turned right back around and returned to the Martial Arts Room he had just left.
He had gone home early yesterday after the evening fitness test because it was his all-important eighteenth birthday, and a cake and dinner from his parents were waiting for him.
Normally, especially now during the final sprint with only a few months left before the university entrance exams, he would quickly finish dinner at the cafeteria and immediately return to the Martial Arts Room for evening self-study.
The school's system was clear:
Mornings were for mandatory academic classes.
Afternoons were for Martial Dao training.
In the evenings, students chose their own path based on their university aspirations. Those aiming for top liberal arts universities would go to the academic classrooms for evening self-study.
Meanwhile, those choosing the Martial Dao path and aiming for a Martial Dao university would almost all come to the better-equipped and more spacious Martial Arts Room to practice. That was why the Martial Arts Room wasn't empty at this hour.
When Li Wen returned to the Martial Arts Room, the scene was, as expected, different from when he had been there alone earlier in the evening.
Though the number of people was far less than during the unified afternoon classes, there were still twenty to thirty figures scattered about, most of them practicing the breathing exercises of their basic techniques.
He walked to his corner again but didn't immediately pick up his blade.
The afternoon's exertion had been immense, and the huge improvement he'd gained under Absolute Focus required time to digest. He needed to let his body recover fully.
He silently observed his classmates who had also chosen the Martial Dao.
Many were holding various stances, their breathing long and steady, the qi and blood in their bodies faintly surging.
Judging by their slightly flushed skin and stable breathing, they could clearly maintain this state for a long time.
This was a stark contrast to Li Wen, who found it difficult to continue for more than ten-odd minutes each time he trained.
They had no shortage of Qi and Blood Potions to replenish themselves, enough to support them in efficiently circulating their basic techniques and tempering their bodies all evening.
'This was the power of resources and capital.'
Li Wen's gaze inadvertently swept over a figure at the other end of the room—Xue Jun.
'The undisputed number one in their class! His physical level had long since surpassed 8.0, and rumor has it his spear technique has also broken through the bottleneck of Advanced perfection, stepping into the Minor Achievement level of a peak technique!'
This meant that Xue Jun had already touched the threshold of the awe-inspiring Unity Realm.
The admission threshold for an ordinary Martial Dao university was a technique at the peak entry-level. A first-rate Martial Dao university required a peak technique at Minor Achievement, at a minimum.
As for the four top-tier Martial Dao universities at the pinnacle of Hua Country, the absolute minimum requirement was the Unity Realm!
Creating one's own unique secret technique... That was a realm Li Wen once felt was too extravagant to even dream of.
Yet at this moment, gazing at the figure faintly wreathed in qi and blood, Li Wen no longer felt his former despair and helplessness. Instead, an unprecedented sense of calm filled him.
His cheat didn't directly increase his power, but it gave him the most crucial weapon of all—the key to breaking through any bottleneck.
'The once-unattainable standards of a top university are no longer an ironclad law, but... a goal I can strive to reach!'