This wasn’t merely about selection. The hope was that these talented juniors could build upon the foundation of their predecessors’ wisdom to make the best choice for themselves—a choice that would lead to the very peak.

For over ten days straight, he studied so intensely he forgot to eat or sleep, his mind a galaxy of colliding and merging ideas.

The deeper he delved, the more ironclad Li Wen’s conviction became.

The final choice was already taking shape: the *Nine Heavens Divine Body*.

This demonic cultivation method, one of the twelve Super Grade techniques, had cultivation requirements so harsh they were daunting.

The need for "extreme guidance of lightning power" and the long tempering process requiring "utmost mental focus" were like two insurmountable barriers, keeping countless exceptionally talented individuals at bay.

However, these two thresholds, which might pose a lifelong challenge to other geniuses, were rendered practically nonexistent by Li Wen’s overwhelming advantages.

His Primordial Spirit, capable of meticulous control and razor-sharp perception, was the perfect tool for guiding and manipulating lightning.

And his [Absolute Focus], which had reached Lv. 9, provided three hours of peak efficiency—more than enough time for the mental concentration and control required for cultivation.

He had a Primordial Spirit to command the lightning and Absolute Focus to stabilize his mind. ’If I have such advantages and still hesitate, if I don’t reach for the *Nine Heavens Divine Body*—the symbol of the Martial Dao’s glorious peak—I’d be utterly foolish.’

His mind made up, all the texts he consulted thereafter revolved around the *Nine Heavens Divine Body*.

Every time he read the cultivation notes of his predecessors, every time he absorbed their insights and explanations of the way of lightning, his own understanding grew richer, laying the most solid foundation possible for the tempering to come.

This morning was no different from any other.

After having a specially formulated energy breakfast in the quiet room of his townhouse, Li Wen connected to the virtual pod once more, his consciousness sinking into the Fire World, a realm constructed from knowledge and experience.

His gaze swept rapidly over texts about the *Nine Heavens Divine Body* and cultivation insights recorded on light screens. His Primordial Spirit efficiently categorized, absorbed, and processed the vast amount of information, while his Scholar class experience points steadily ticked upward.

Today, however, was different.

Just after eight o’clock, Li Wen voluntarily exited his immersive state, his consciousness returning to his physical body.

June 25th was a day that millions of third-year high school students across the Hua Country would remember for the rest of their lives—the day the national college entrance exam scores were released.

Even though he had already secured early admission to Fire World University, Li Wen had still kept this day in mind.

He tapped the light screen on his watch, expertly navigated to the results website, and entered his name and exam number.

The page refreshed instantly, revealing a set of simple, dazzling figures:

Language: 150

Mathematics: 150

Galactic Common: 150

History: 100

Politics: 100

Geography: 100

Total Score: 750

National Rank: 1

Perfect scores across the board, just as he’d expected.

He felt only a faint ripple of emotion before his heart returned to calm, as if this outcome were a matter of course.

The real storm, however, erupted in his sea of consciousness at the very instant the results page finished loading—an information torrent manifested by the system’s power.

[You placed first in Language in the national college entrance exam. Scholar EXP +5000]

[You placed first in Galactic Common in the national college entrance exam. Scholar EXP +5000]

[You placed first in Mathematics in the national college entrance exam. Scholar EXP +5000]

[You placed first in History in the national college entrance exam. Scholar EXP +5000]

[You placed first in Politics in the national college entrance exam. Scholar EXP +5000]

[You placed first in Geography in the national college entrance exam. Scholar EXP +5000]

[You placed first in the nation overall. Scholar EXP +30000]

The dense stream of experience notifications cascaded down like a dozen golden waterfalls.

The accumulated experience points instantly shattered the shackles of his class level.

[Class: Scholar Lv. 9 (22,814 → 82,814 / 25,600)]

[Class is leveling up...]

[Class: Scholar Lv. 10 (57,214 / 51,200)]

[Class is leveling up...]

[Class: Scholar Lv. 11 (6,014 / 102,400)]

Lv. 9 → Lv. 10 → Lv. 11.

He leveled up twice in a row!

BOOM—!!!

It was as if the dome of his sea of consciousness had suddenly been smashed apart by a violent flow from a Star River.

A spiritual energy of unimaginable scale—immense, pure, and unprecedented—erupted and surged through Li Wen’s consciousness. It was like a super Star Core, dormant for eons, had suddenly awakened and unleashed its full, boundless power.

The silvery-white spiritual torrent was no longer a trickle but a monstrous tidal wave, furiously sweeping over and scouring every inch of the borders of his sea of consciousness.

It was like liquid starlight that had come to life, carrying with it the logic of knowledge, the sharpness of insight, and the depth of understanding as it frantically tried to expand this spiritual domain.

A distinct, painful pressure spread through his sea of consciousness—a sign that the space was being forcibly stretched and reshaped by the immense power.

At the center of this tumultuous storm of pure Spiritual Power, the miniature figure of his Primordial Spirit, which sat at the very origin of his sea of consciousness and radiated a gentle silver light, snapped its eyes open.

Its glow was more brilliant than ever before, like a miniature sun rising within his sea of consciousness.

Between the miniature figure’s brows, two faint, arcane runes—representing the second level of the Primordial Spirit—suddenly blazed with light. They shone brilliantly, like brands filled with molten lava, and began to crazily absorb the tide of pure spiritual essence surging toward them.

As his sea of consciousness expanded and the spiritual storm raged, Li Wen’s perception surged outward in all directions like water from an opened floodgate.

The world he could clearly "see" expanded in an instant, its two-hundred-meter boundary pushing outward to over three hundred meters.