High Martial Arts: Enlightenment after Practices

Xu Wuyi looked out the window into the deep night.

”How are Chen Yuan and Lin Jue?”

”Chen Yuan needs surgery for the blade wound on his left leg, but it won’t leave any permanent damage. Lin Jue is mainly suffering from mental exhaustion and a few superficial wounds; she’ll recover after a week or two of rest.”

Pan Yan paused. ”Overall, the performance of your five-person team... far exceeded expectations.”

He brought up another interface, which displayed a summary of their achievements in the Celestial Wolf Four Star Realm.

”Destroyed five large-scale mining operations, contaminated the Crimson Blood Star Iron veins—estimated to be unmineable for the next decade. Killed two Priests and one Divine Son, wounded three Divine Sons, and eliminated over fifty Werewolves of War General Level and above.”

Pan Yan looked at Xu Wuyi, his expression complex. ”This is arguably the Federation’s greatest act of sabotage behind enemy lines against the Celestial Wolf Civilization in the last decade. And... there were only five of you.”

”What about the video footage?” Xu Wuyi asked.

”We’ve received and analyzed all of it,” Pan Yan said. ”The canyon ambush, the base raid, the fight with the Divine Sons... all footage and data have been encrypted and archived. This is precious intelligence that will be a great help to the military in studying the combat strength and tactics of the Celestial Wolf Civilization.”

He paused before adding, ”According to procedure, these achievements will be converted into military merits and credited to each of you. However, due to the unique nature of this operation, these merits will not be publicized. They will only be recorded in internal military archives.”

Although the military had stated beforehand that it would not support such an operation, it could still award merits as a commendation now that the heroes had returned.

The Federation and the Celestial Wolf Civilization were absolute enemies. Even killing a Wolfman War General in a chance encounter would earn military merits, to say nothing of an operation behind enemy lines.

Xu Wuyi was unconcerned about this.

He hadn’t joined this mission for military merits to begin with.

”Any news from Teacher Han Mo?” he asked, changing the subject.

Pan Yan shook his head. ”The frontline situation remains tense, and communications are restricted. Grandmaster Han Mo should have reached the Broken Star Belt warzone by now, but as for the details... we’ll just have to wait.”

Xu Wuyi closed his eyes.

He knew it was useless to be anxious.

The Star Realm Battlefield was too vast, and the variables too numerous. Even experts at the Grandmaster Level could fall there. A Martial Artist like him, not yet even Innate, could do nothing but wait.

”Get some proper rest.” Pan Yan retracted his data board. ”In three days, a private transport will fly you back to Xingjing. As for everything else... we’ll discuss it after your injuries have healed.”

He walked to the door, then stopped and looked back at Xu Wuyi.

”Xu Wuyi.”

”Yes?”

”About this mission—you all did very well.” Pan Yan’s voice was earnest. ”For Grandmaster Yue’s vengeance, for the blood of our Federation Martial Artists... you’ve claimed a part of it back. That is very important.”

With that, he pushed the door open and left.

The room fell silent once again.

Xu Wuyi lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Monitoring equipment beeped rhythmically as Nutrient Liquid slowly flowed into his body through an IV, bringing with it a warm wave of Energy.

He could feel his overdrawn Qi and Blood slowly recovering. The Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace was operating automatically, repairing the minute damage to his meridians.

The mental fatigue, however, was not so easily dispelled.

He remembered the crimson sky of the Celestial Wolf Four plane, the bloody battle in the canyon, the look in the High Priest’s eyes as he died in the fortress, and Wu Qige’s roar of unwilling fury.

All of it was seared into his memory like a brand.

After what felt like a long time, the door was pushed open again.

It was Hong Nianyi this time.

She had changed into a patient’s gown. Her face was still pale, but her eyes had regained their usual sharpness. She walked to Xu Wuyi’s bedside, pulled over a chair, and sat down.

”How are you feeling?” she asked.

”I’m okay,” Xu Wuyi said. ”What about you?”

”Not dead yet.” Hong Nianyi offered a faint smile. ”Pan Yan told you, I assume? I have to recuperate for three months, so my plans to break through to the Innate realm are on hold.”

”Any regrets?”

”None.” Hong Nianyi answered without a shred of hesitation. ”Grandmaster Yue once gave me guidance. To be able to personally destroy the mining operations on Celestial Wolf Four and kill two Priests... it was worth it.”

She paused, then looked at Xu Wuyi. ”You, on the other hand... that one attack, the Heart Image Manifestation... that was a huge risk.”

Xu Wuyi knew she was referring to the strike he had used against Wu Qige and his two companions.

On the surface, her injuries seemed more severe, but if Xu Wuyi’s gamble had been off by even a fraction, he wouldn’t have needed the Werewolf Race to finish him. His own Heart Image would have collapsed first.

”I had no choice,” he said. ”You all were at your limit.”

Hong Nianyi fell silent for a few seconds.

She didn’t press the issue, instead asking, ”What are your plans once you’re back at the academy?”

”Recuperate, cultivate, and break through to the Innate realm as soon as possible,” Xu Wuyi stated simply. ”If you’re not strong enough, there’s too much you can’t accomplish.”

The expedition to Celestial Wolf Four had made him realize this with painful clarity.

Great Success in Heart Image was powerful, making one nearly invincible among Martial Artists and even capable of clashing with some who had just entered the Innate realm.

But in a true war between civilizations, when facing Divine Sons, Priests, and even more powerful entities, it still wasn’t nearly enough.

’If I were Innate, or even a Grandmaster, would this mission have gone more smoothly? Could I have saved more people? Could I have accomplished more?’

There were no answers to these questions, but the path forward was clear: become stronger.

”My thoughts exactly,” said Hong Nianyi. ”While I’m recuperating, I’ll refocus on honing my Sword Intent and strengthening my foundations. It will delay my breakthrough, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. My master always said that on the path of Martial Arts, sometimes slower is faster.”

Xu Wuyi was taken aback for a moment, but then he understood.

Hong Nianyi’s master was the ”Sword Emperor,” Shen Jin—one of the absolute top-ranked experts among the Federation Grandmasters.

The two exchanged a few more words before Hong Nianyi stood up to leave.

Xu Wuyi was once again alone in the room.

He closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking into his spiritual sea.

The dark-gold Heart Image hovered quietly. Its mountain form was still majestic, but the light on its surface had dimmed considerably, and the rocky texture had become indistinct.

The Golden Crow Illusion was curled up on the mountain’s peak, the flame-like runes on its plumage nearly extinguished.

These were the aftereffects of overexertion.

But Xu Wuyi could sense that the foundation of his Heart Image was undamaged. It just needed time to recover.

Moreover, having gone through a life-and-death battle, his Heart Image was more solid than before. The steadfast nature of the ”mountain” and the explosive fury of the ”fire” had been further tempered in combat.

He could even faintly sense a certain boundary—the threshold that led from Great Success in Heart Image to the Innate realm.

If he could just cross it, he could truly manifest his Heart Image and wield the power of an Innate Martial Artist.

’Soon...’ Xu Wuyi thought to himself.

...

「Three days later.」

The private transport arrived at the military district base.

The injuries of Xu Wuyi and his four teammates had stabilized enough for them to be transferred back to Xingjing for further treatment.

Pan Yan was on the tarmac to see them off personally.

”The transport will fly directly to Xingjing Military General Hospital. They have the best medical facilities and confidentiality protocols,” Pan Yan told the five of them.

”Someone will be there to receive you on arrival. Throughout your treatment, all of your information will be encrypted. The outside world will not know you participated in this operation.”

This was both for their protection and a necessary protocol.