He didn’t activate "Absolute Focus" or push his Primordial Spirit to its limit.

Instead, he relied on the vigorous essence and spirit from the surging vital energy he had just absorbed.

Drawing on the profound memory and understanding from having mastered it once before, he followed his muscle’s instincts to channel his vital energy and guide his will.

The movements were far from perfect, even a bit clumsy, and his coordination was much worse.

But—

HUM!

A faint, almost transparent, pale white trace, so faint it was nearly imperceptible, flickered into existence less than a foot from the tip of his blade and vanished in an instant, like a weak spark streaking through the darkness!

PUFF!

There was no thunderous crack of tearing air, no satisfying feeling of slicing through a solid object.

Only the soft sound of air being briefly displaced before instantly closing back in.

This wisp of a shadow was pitifully short and so faint it seemed like an illusion.

It was worlds away from the state where "the blade’s swing is the result itself."

And yet, a brilliant light erupted in Li Wen’s eyes.

’Success!’

Relying solely on his own vital energy and will, for the first time, on the level of power he could command himself, he had barely managed to graze the edge of the Shadow-Stealing Form.

This was extraordinarily significant!

It meant that a blade technique on the level of the Shadow-Stealing Form had now officially been incorporated into his own system of skills to be honed and developed. It was no longer a one-time special effect he could only touch upon by relying on his Primordial Spirit cheat.

Its roots had been planted!

Moonlight streamed through the massive floor-to-ceiling window, casting a cool halo of light on the floor.

Li Wen stood with his blade withdrawn, sweat tracing a path down his young yet incomparably resolute face. Reflected in his eyes was the trajectory of that intangible yet real progress, as if he had caught a fleeting glimmer of light in the wind.

The path forward seemed to have grown a little clearer, a little more certain.

「 」

The moon cascaded down like liquid mercury, draping Bluestone City in a tranquil, gossamer veil.

The grand and solemn silhouette of the Fire Hall gradually shrank behind him, eventually vanishing into the city’s brilliant lights.

Li Wen leaned back in the rear seat of a sleek, black levitating car with a low-key, luxurious interior.

This was one of the exclusive benefits for A-rank contracted members of the Fire Hall—a private car service on call 24 hours a day.

Outside the window, the city’s vibrant lights streaked backward, but inside, he was lost in thought, his expression focused.

The car’s interior was exceptionally quiet, with only the deep, almost inaudible hum of the engine and the gentle whisper of airflow.

The comfortable seat molded to his body, but Li Wen’s attention wasn’t the least bit focused on enjoying the comfort.

’An S-rank contract...’ He repeated the term in his mind, the scene in his head rewinding to the moment he first discussed the contract with Director Sun Zhenshan.

Director Sun’s firm and decisive voice seemed to echo in his ears:

"...the contract is automatically promoted to S-rank! You will enjoy resources equivalent to the absolute top magnates at the provincial level!"

"We will tailor-make a plan with the strongest foundational treasures for you, pointing directly to a Divine-Demonic Foundation! It requires a total of eight cosmic wonders. The Fire Hall will first provide the four rarest and most difficult to obtain!"

At the time, he had been so stunned that he hadn’t yet grasped the true meaning behind Director Sun’s words, "rarest and most difficult to obtain."

It wasn’t until he later entered the Fire Hall’s private virtual network and browsed the Firewood Treasure Pavilion, a marketplace as vast as a galaxy, that he finally understood the weight of that promise.

His thoughts couldn’t help but drift back to that breathtaking experience in the marketplace.

He had accidentally clicked on the specific filter tag for "Core Resources for Divine-Demonic Foundation Establishment."

The sight that greeted him still made his heart tremble slightly whenever he recalled it.

The names and icons of the rare treasures at the top of the list were all grayed out, uniformly marked below with:

"Status: Out of Stock/Sold Out."

Even more jarring were the densely packed, star-like little red dots under each item, indicating "Purchase Requests."

Clicking on any one of them revealed a dense wall of purchase messages, with each offer more astonishing than the last. Many even offered astronomical amounts of core cultivation points, administrative rights over specific territories, or fragments of top-tier Divine-Demonic inheritances in exchange.

Among them, the four that left the deepest impression were the wonders named "Star Tears," "Void Vine Heart," "Taichu Profound Ice Soul," and "Dragon Emperor’s Reverse Scale."

Their holographic projections emanated an indescribably ancient and profound aura, and the status below them, without exception, was a glaring red: "Acquisition method is extremely scarce. Not exchangeable without merit points and special channels."

The purchase requests were piled up like mountains, and the atmosphere of interwoven desire and despair practically seeped through the screen from the stream of information.

These were the four treasures Director Sun had called the "rarest and most difficult to obtain"!

This was one of the core benefits of the S-rank contract—all of them would be provided! Not "first provide four" like the A-rank contract.

An S-rank contract meant the Fire Hall would gather all eight wonders for him, directly paving the most critical step on the path to a Divine-Demonic Foundation.

The difference in value was something that "a world of difference" couldn’t even begin to describe; it was practically a dimensional leap in resource support.

Not to mention, Director Sun had also said that the S-rank’s funding, points, and other benefits would be four times that of an A-rank.

As his recollection reached this point, a powerful sense of urgency and desire surged in Li Wen’s chest.

’If it’s already fraught with peril for me to gather the four relatively ’easier’ treasures on my own, then the remaining four top-tier ones...’

Li Wen’s brow furrowed slightly. He gazed through the car window, past the city’s brilliant lights, toward the deep, starry sky hidden beyond.

’Without the Fire Hall’s help, it’s uncertain if I could even gather one or two of them before becoming a Super Martial Artist.’

The mountain of purchase requests in the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion was the most realistic proof of that.