Chapter 571 - 348: Late-stage Saint Realm, Scholar Experience Maxed Out Again

Chapter 571: Chapter 348: Late-stage Saint Realm, Scholar Experience Maxed Out Again

However, when his gaze fell back on the three videos of Ling Xuzi, Time Shadow, and Illusory, that sense of normalcy was completely shattered.

"Haaaah..." Li Wen took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil churning within him, but his eyes shone with a startling brightness.

’Fourth through tenth are already peerless geniuses, one in a million, but the top three... especially this Ling Xuzi...’

He shook his head slightly, his tone carrying an unprecedented gravity mixed with a hint of irrepressible excitement.

’It’s no exaggeration to say that any one of these three, if placed in any previous Cosmic Peak Genius Battle, would have absolutely had the power to vie for the championship.

They should have been the most dazzling stars of their respective eras, their light bright enough to eclipse all their peers. And yet, this year...’

’This year, they’ve all gathered together, unbelievably, in one place.’

Li Wen clenched his fists, not out of fear, but because the battle intent deep in his very bones had been ignited.

’Especially this Ling Xuzi... his comprehension of the Space Law is at least at the Tier Three Star Lord level... This is just...’

He paused, finally spitting out two words: "Utterly terrifying!"

This terror did not crush his fighting spirit.

The path ahead was perilous, and powerful enemies were as numerous as trees in a forest. But only by scaling such a peak could he witness an even more magnificent vista!

Inside the quiet room, a two-toned, gold and silver light burned in Li Wen’s eyes as if it were tangible.

An invisible aura of sharp resolve and anticipation began to fill the air.

The stage for the cosmic finals seemed to exude a fatal attraction.

...

「A month and a half later.」

Alka Star, Source Net Branch, Core Cultivation Chamber in the Time Tower.

The space was enveloped in a strange tranquility, broken only by the low hum of flowing Law energy.

Li Wen sat cross-legged, suspended in mid-air, his body shrouded in a faint silver radiance.

His eyes were shut tight, but a deep focus was gathered between his brows.

At this moment, he was fully channeling Absolute Focus.

The 220% comprehension bonus pushed his deductive and analytical abilities to their absolute limit.

For the past month and a half, he had isolated himself from nearly all outside disturbances, concentrating on only two things.

Comprehending the Time Law and writing his papers.

Day after day of arduous cultivation and relentless writing had yielded remarkable results.

His Scholar experience pool had quietly accumulated over one hundred million.

He was only halfway to the two-hundred-million threshold required to trigger the next level-up.

And in the domain of Time Law, his progress could only be described as advancing a thousand miles a day.

This was thanks to the Time Tower usage quota he’d earned by placing second in the preliminary round’s overall rankings.

Plus, every time he entered, he would unhesitatingly activate the maximum 200x time-flow acceleration.

Under such cultivation conditions, his comprehension of the Time Law had long since reached the peak of the Mid-stage Saint Realm.

He was now touching the threshold of the Late-stage Saint Realm.

At this moment, he was consuming the Wish Power in his sea of consciousness to activate Absolute Focus.

Countless Time Law runes floated, collided, and reassembled within his mind’s sea.

He analyzed the composition of every rune, deducing their patterns.

Within his sea of consciousness, the silver Dao Seed symbolizing the origin of the Time Law pulsed with a ceaseless light.

Each flicker drew upon the immense Power of Space-Time from the Time Tower outside, forming miniature Law vortexes around the seed.

In the middle of his session, when his Wish Power was depleted from maintaining Absolute Focus, he had no choice but to temporarily withdraw from that profound state of deep comprehension.

As his Wish Power slowly recovered, a strong premonition rose in Li Wen’s heart.

’Soon!’

The barrier had become incredibly distinct in his perception.

It felt as if he only needed one more catalyst to break through it in a single leap.

Once his Wish Power was fully restored, Li Wen activated Absolute Focus once again.

The 220% comprehension bonus once again enveloped his Primordial Spirit.

Time flew by under the 200x acceleration.

Just as the Wish Power in his sea of consciousness was about to be drained dry by Absolute Focus once more,

and just as the light of the silver Dao Seed dimmed slightly from the intense Law deductions—

BZZZT!

An indescribable flash of insight exploded without warning in the deepest recesses of Li Wen’s consciousness.

This inspiration wasn’t from an external source but was the natural sublimation of his own countless insights, accumulated to their absolute peak.

In that instant, all the seemingly chaotic fragments of Law runes were instantly sorted and unified, as if by an invisible giant hand.

The bottleneck that had troubled him for days became as fragile as thin ice under the illumination of that insight.

’So that’s how it is!’ Li Wen’s mind became completely clear.

’Break!’

A soundless Dao cry echoed through his sea of consciousness.

BOOM!

Within his sea of consciousness, the shimmering silver Dao Seed violently erupted with an unprecedentedly brilliant radiance.

A surge of the Time Law’s Power of Origin, far stronger than before, gushed out from the core of the Dao Seed.

It instantly coursed through Li Wen’s entire body, washing over every single cell.

This power no longer just acted on the external space-time.

Instead, it resonated and merged on the deepest level with his Star Lord Level body’s immense vital energy and resilient physique.

Violent energy fluctuations spread out with Li Wen at the center.

It caused faint ripples to appear even in the space of the cultivation chamber, which was running at a 200x accelerated flow.

Dense and incomparably profound silver Law patterns emerged on the surface of his skin.

These patterns flickered in and out of existence. With each flicker, his aura climbed a little higher, and his connection to the surrounding space-time grew a little stronger.

It was a transformation from the inside out, a sign of the Law and the physical body becoming one!

After an unknown amount of time, the rampaging energy fluctuations finally subsided.

Li Wen slowly opened his eyes. A silver light flowed within them, as if countless fragments of time were being born and extinguished inside.

He gently clenched his fist, feeling the power within his body, which was now significantly stronger than before his breakthrough.

It wasn’t just physical brute force, but a formidable power infused with pure Time Law, capable of influencing real space-time.

With a simple wave of his hand, it seemed he could now easily manipulate the flow of time within a certain range around him.

’Late-stage Saint Realm... I’ve finally made it!’ An indescribable sense of satisfaction welled up in Li Wen’s heart.

He could now clearly sense that if he were to face Blood Slaughter Barton from the tournament ring again, he would be able to suppress him with ease.

This was simply because the level of control and integration brought by reaching the Late-stage Saint Realm in the Time Law,

combined with his already powerful physical body and Primordial Spirit, had produced a qualitative leap.

...

「Two more months passed in a flash.」

Only five days remained until the start of the Cosmic Peak Genius Battle finals.

Alka Star, Source Net Branch, Villa 11 in Area B, Quiet Room.

Li Wen was suspended cross-legged in mid-air, facing several light screens formed from pure Spiritual Power.

Densely packed upon them were complex formulas, data models, and Law deduction diagrams.

He was conducting a final review.

His fingertips would occasionally tap lightly, correcting an imprecise parameter or adjusting the logical flow of an argument.

Finally, a flicker of satisfaction flashed in his eyes.

With a flick of his finger, all the content on the light screens instantly solidified.

It transformed into a rigorously structured and profoundly argued paper.

’After sending this one in, I’ve finally gathered enough experience for a Scholar upgrade.’

Li Wen let out a soft breath and skillfully uploaded the paper to the designated section of the Lain Empire’s academic forum.

The moment the upload was complete, he immediately summoned the familiar panel, his gaze focusing on the Scholar profession bar:

[Profession: Scholar LV 22 (200,786,277 / 209,715,200)]

For the past two months, he had continued his previous rhythm. Cultivation and writing papers constituted his entire life.

Blessed by the Time Tower’s 200x accelerated flow, he raced against the clock to comprehend the Laws and accumulate knowledge.

At this point, his Scholar experience was less than nine million points away from the 209,715,200 needed to level up.

And the maximum experience obtainable from a single paper was exactly ten million.

Therefore, his Scholar upgrade would happen today.

DING... DING... DING...

As if to confirm his thoughts, the number representing his Scholar experience on the panel began to jump and increase at a near-frenzied pace after he published the paper.

In just half an hour, the numbers on the panel settled:

[Profession: Scholar LV 22 (210,786,277 / 209,715,200)]

Not only had he met the requirement, but he had slightly exceeded it!

However, Li Wen did not initiate the upgrade immediately this time.

The last time his Scholar level increased, the immense torrent of Spiritual Power had taken him nearly twenty real-world days to process.

Now, going from LV 22 to LV 23 required even more experience.

The time required for the mental impact of the upgrade and the transformation of his Primordial Spirit would inevitably be even longer.

And right now, in real-world time, only five days remained until the finals.