High Martial Arts: Enlightenment after Practices

”The rest of you, stick to the plan.” Tang Xiuqi looked at Xu Wuyi. ”Junior Brother Xu, clearing the field is up to you. Zhao Kun and I will handle the four Great Commanders. You provide support when you see an opening.”

”Alright.”

Everyone rushed out of the fortress and quickly formed up outside the perimeter wall.

In the distance, the surface of the Rift contorted violently as dark red Energy surged out like a volcanic eruption.

The next second, the Beast Tide descended.

Over two hundred Star Beasts roared as they landed, their crimson eyes like wisps of spectral fire in the darkness. In the center of the horde, four massive figures slowly rose to their feet.

The most conspicuous was the Rock Armor Commander. It stood over six meters tall, its entire body covered in thick, gray-brown rock armor. Every step it took made the ground tremble.

The other three were a jet-black Shadow Leopard Commander, a winged flying snake Commander, and a giant lizard Commander covered in bone spikes.

”Engage!”

Tang Xiuqi drew his longsword and was the first to charge the Rock Armor Commander. Zhao Kun let out a furious roar as an earthy yellow light bloomed across his body, allowing him to forcefully block the Shadow Leopard Commander’s pounce.

Xu Wuyi did not rush to act.

He stood slightly behind the front line, his Heart Image perception fully extended to encompass the entire battlefield.

The horde numbered around two hundred and thirty. Ordinary Star Beasts made up sixty percent of them, with Commander Level beasts accounting for the other forty percent.

The four Great Commanders were temporarily held up by Tang Xiuqi and Zhao Kun, but the horde’s numerical advantage was still obvious.

The defensive line was slowly being pushed back.

It was time.

Xu Wuyi took a deep breath. In his sea of consciousness, the Dark Gold Mountain Body rumbled.

The Power of his Heart Image surged forth, his perception fully open in a radius of eight hundred meters.

He locked onto the three most densely packed areas of the horde, where over a hundred Star Beasts were gathered.

Then, he ignited his Heart Fire.

BUZZ—

Dark gold sparks materialized out of thin air within the horde.

But this time, Xu Wuyi didn’t detonate them immediately.

He was waiting for the perfect moment.

On the other side of the battlefield, Su Yueling followed beside Li Shuang, her Shadow Sword weaving through the air like a phantom.

A faint gray sword shadow shot out, shifting between illusory and real as it precisely pierced the skull of a Blade-toothed Beast.

Just as she withdrew her sword, a sudden roar came from her side.

A Red Fang Commander had broken through the defensive line and was charging toward her!

Crimson eyes, scorching breath, and sharp claws glinted coldly in the night.

Su Yueling’s expression hardened, and she splayed her fingers.

Ten sword shadows materialized at once, weaving into a net of blades in midair to meet the Red Fang Commander.

But the Red Fang Commander didn’t dodge. It smashed right through the net of blades, its speed actually increasing instead of slowing!

Su Yueling retreated three steps, her face slightly pale.

’This Commander is stronger than I expected. Even though it’s not a Great Commander, it can’t be far off.’

Just then, she suddenly felt the Gravity around her change.

When the Red Fang Commander was ten meters in front of her, its body abruptly sank!

It wasn’t a simple increase in Gravity; the direction of the force had been subtly distorted. Forward momentum became a downward pull to the left.

Caught off guard, the charging Star Beast lost its balance and stumbled, toppling to the left.

Su Yueling seized the opportunity instantly.

She clasped her hands together. All the sword shadows converged into a single, solid gray blade of light that stabbed toward the gap in the scales on the Red Fang Commander’s neck!

PSHHH!

The sword shadow plunged in, and the Intention of a spiritual cut erupted.

The Red Fang Commander let out a bloodcurdling shriek and struggled wildly, but the restraints of the Gravity Field slowed its movements.

Su Yueling pulled back and retreated, and with a thought, the sword shadow exploded inside the Star Beast!

The Red Fang Commander crashed to the ground, its life force rapidly dissipating.

Su Yueling caught her breath and looked up in Xu Wuyi’s direction.

Xu Wuyi was looking right at her and gave a slight nod.

It was he who had just used Gravity Manipulation.

Su Yueling nodded back in acknowledgment.

No words were exchanged, but their coordination in that instant spoke volumes.

Xu Wuyi withdrew his gaze and refocused his attention on the horde.

The time had come.

He clenched his fist.

”Liaoyuan.”

BOOM!!!

Over one hundred and twenty Flame True Seals erupted at once!

A sea of dark gold fire raged through the horde. Ordinary Star Beasts were instantly turned to ash, while even the Commander Level Star Beasts could barely last a few seconds.

In just ten seconds, the horde’s numbers were cut by more than half!

The pressure on the defensive line dropped sharply.

Tang Xiuqi seized the opportunity to press his attack. His sword light, like a dragon, left a deep crack in the Rock Armor Commander’s stone plating.

Xu Wuyi, meanwhile, locked onto the flying snake Commander.

That creature was circling in the air, occasionally diving to spit venom, causing considerable trouble for the defensive line.

Xu Wuyi raised his Liaoyuan Long Spear, and with a thought, the Gravity Field around the flying snake Commander suddenly intensified tenfold!

The flying Star Beast’s body dropped abruptly, the rhythm of its flapping wings instantly thrown into chaos.

Xu Wuyi took a step, executing Quicksand Step. His figure appeared like a phantom beneath the flying snake Commander.

He thrust his spear, its tip wreathed in dark gold flames, and precisely pierced the gap in the scales on the flying snake Commander’s belly.

SQUELCH!

The spear shaft plunged in, and flames erupted from within.

The flying snake Commander let out a sharp hiss and struggled madly, but the Gravity Field’s grip made it impossible to break free.

Xu Wuyi pulled his spear back and retreated.

BOOM!

The fire of the Golden Crow Burning Heart erupted in full!

The flying snake Commander fell from the sky, twitched a few times on the ground, and was finally reduced to a charred corpse.

Of the four Great Commanders, one was down.

Seeing this, the remaining three showed fear in their eyes.

The Rock Armor Commander suddenly turned and fled toward the Rift!

”Trying to run?”

Tang Xiuqi sneered, and his sword light flared.

A brilliant sword gleam slashed through the night sky, precisely striking the joint of the Rock Armor Commander’s hind leg.

CRACK!

The rock armor shattered, and the joint broke.

The Rock Armor Commander collapsed with a pained roar.

Xu Wuyi had already arrived, thrusting his spear into the crack in the rock armor.

The Gravity Field intensified, and flames erupted.

The second Great Commander was dead.

The remaining Shadow Leopard Commander and giant lizard Commander were also slain in despair.

The battle was over.

From start to finish, it had taken less than fifteen minutes.

Xu Wuyi stood with his spear at rest. Tang Xiuqi walked over, a smile on his pale face. ”They worked well together.”

He was referring to the group of newcomers from Black Stone. Xu Wuyi nodded and said, ”They’re all skilled.”

”Let’s return to the fortress and rest,” Tang Xiuqi said to the others. ”There shouldn’t be any more trouble tonight.”

Everyone returned to the fortress.

...

The cool mid-September wind carried a hint of desolation.

At the forward outpost of the Profound Abyssal Rift, the alloy perimeter wall stood firm in the rising autumn wind. In the distance, the dark red Rift continued to emit a heart-pounding pulsation.

But under Grandmaster Ren Bai’s relentless, three-year-long suppression, it was no longer as restless as it had been initially.

Xu Wuyi stood on the wall, his Liaoyuan Long Spear angled toward the ground.

Within a three-meter radius around the spear’s shaft, the air was visibly distorted—the embryonic form of the Gravity Domain produced by his Profound Nether Celestial Spear at the Great Success Realm.

After more than a month of refinement, his control over the Gravity Rules had become increasingly masterful. Although he was still some distance from a true ”Domain Field,” it was already enough to grant him an overwhelming advantage in actual combat.

”Junior Brother Xu, it’s time to change the guard.”