High Martial Arts: Enlightenment after Practices

Then, an official from the Martial Artist Administration Bureau spoke up. ”Martial Artist Xu, there’s one more thing. Over the past two days, we’ve received numerous ’reports’ concerning all sorts of issues with the Lin Group, ranging from taxes and environmental protection to labor practices and business competition... The materials are very detailed, and some even dig up dirt from a decade ago.”

The conference room fell silent for a moment.

Everyone looked at Xu Wuyi.

The history between the Lin Family and Xu Wuyi was an old affair. No one brought it up, but most people knew the story.

Xu Wuyi’s expression was calm. ”Just handle it according to standard procedure.”

Regarding how to handle the Lin Family, just as he had told Grandmaster Ren Bai, he would not take any stance on them, neither positive nor negative.

Not taking a stance was, in itself, a stance.

”Understood.” The official nodded, though he knew perfectly well that this simple directive—”handle it according to standard procedure”—was enough to skin the Lin Family alive.

The meeting continued for another half hour. Afterward, Xu Wuyi walked out of the command headquarters building.

Zhou Zheng was already waiting at the entrance. Seeing him come out, he immediately went up to him. ”Martial Artist Xu, where to next?”

”Home,” Xu Wuyi said.

The two got into a car arranged by the military, and the vehicle slowly drove out of the command headquarters compound.

...

That evening, in the living room, Father Xu and Mrs. Xu were watching the news. When she saw him return, Mrs. Xu immediately stood up. ”Ah Yi, have you eaten? There’s still hot soup in the kitchen.”

”I’ve eaten.” Xu Wuyi sat down on the sofa. ”Dad, Mom, let’s go back to Red River in a couple of days.”

Father Xu put down his newspaper. ”Back to Red River? Is there nothing else for you in Xingjing?”

”The award ceremony is over, and I’ve met everyone I needed to see,” Xu Wuyi said. ”I want to go back and take a look, and also fix up the old house. I probably won’t have much time to go back in the future, so I want to do it while I’m free.”

”Good, good.” Mrs. Xu nodded repeatedly. ”We should go back and visit. We still have a lot of relatives in Red River. They all called to congratulate you when they heard you received the ’Federation Hero’ award, and they said they want to treat you to a meal.”

Xu Wuyi smiled. ”Then let’s go back and have that meal.”

Seeing the gratified smiles on his parents’ faces, he felt happy too.

As for the Lin Family’s affairs, he had long since put them out of his mind. The only thing he needed to care about was growing stronger; others would naturally take care of the rest for him.

...

「At the same time, in the Lin Family Manor.」

The atmosphere in the study was even more desperate than it had been three days ago.

Lin Liren sat in his chair, his hands covering his face, rubbing it forcefully.

On the screen in front of him, the latest stock prices for the Lin Group were displayed. It had hit the limit down for three consecutive days, its market value evaporating by more than forty percent.

But even more devastating was the news they had just received: the Qiao Group had formally announced the termination of all collaborative projects with the Lin Group and was initiating liquidation procedures for several of their joint ventures.

”The Qiao Family... has made its move.” Lin Yongfeng’s voice was hoarse. ”That Star Realm mineral project we were collaborating on with the Qiao Family... we invested over two billion in the initial phase. Now that they’re unilaterally pulling out, the losses we have to bear...”

”Can’t we sue the Qiao Family for damages?”

”It’s useless. Do you think the Qiao Family is afraid of us taking them to court? They can easily drag a case like this out for three to five years if they want.”

”That’s not all.” Another person said in a trembling voice, ”I just received word that the Dongjiang Province Martial Artist Administration Bureau has formed a special investigation team to conduct a ’comprehensive inspection’ of three of our subsidiary properties. The one leading it... is from the Qiao Family.”

”And the banks,” Lin Liye said, his face deathly pale. ”Our three main partner banks just sent notices at the same time, calling in our loans. They’re demanding we immediately repay a total of eight billion, citing a ’change in risk assessment’ as the reason.”

The bad news came one after another, each piece like a heavy hammer striking the Lin Family’s already crumbling foundations.

Lin Zhen sat in the head seat, utterly silent.

Spread out before him was the list of reparations he had been unable to deliver. It detailed half of the Lin Family’s assets: thirty billion in real estate, twenty billion in liquid assets, equity in seventeen mines, and countless precious cultivation resources.

It was a generous gift that would have tempted anyone, but now they didn’t even have the chance to offer it.

”Father.” Lin Liren looked up, his eyes bloodshot. ”The Qiao Family’s patriarch... has sent a message.”

Lin Zhen slowly looked at him.

”The patriarch said...” Lin Liren struggled to get the words out. ”’Take your beating and stand at attention.’”

A deathly silence filled the study.

Six words. Just six light, airy words.

Yet they were like a final verdict, sealing the Lin Family’s fate.

Take your beating and stand at attention.

It meant: stop struggling and take your punishment obediently.

Coming from anyone else, those words would have been inappropriate. But the Qiao Family’s patriarch was a figure of the same generation as Elder Lin. For him to pass judgment on the Lin Family was perfectly fitting.

”I understand.” Lin Zhen let out a breath, a sense of relief washing over him, as if a heavy burden had been lifted.

He knew there was no longer any point in struggling.

’The Lin Family... is finished.’

...

Xu Wuyi paid no more mind to the Lin Family’s affairs. The very next day, he took his parents and returned to Red River.

After returning to Red River, life suddenly slowed down.

Every day, Xu Wuyi would sleep until he woke naturally, have breakfast with his parents, and then go to the backyard to practice his martial arts.

In the afternoons, he would either accompany his father for a stroll through the old town or help his mother prepare dinner. In the evenings, when neighbors occasionally came to visit, he would brew tea for them and make small talk.

This rhythm of life was a world away from the every-second-counts tension of the battlefield.

At first, Xu Wuyi had some trouble adjusting. His body still retained the memories of the battlefield; he would even find himself unconsciously timing his meals.

But after a week, these habits gradually faded.

He began to enjoy this slower pace.

His cultivation was no longer as desperate as it once was.

He practiced for two hours in the morning, meditated for an hour in the afternoon, and practiced for another two hours at night. He spent the rest of his time reading, taking walks, and talking with his parents.

His progress had indeed slowed.

In the half-month since he had returned to Red River, his proficiency with the Profound Nether Celestial Spear had only increased by less than two percent, and his Quicksand Step had stagnated completely.

But Xu Wuyi was not in a hurry.

After the Innate Realm, every bit of improvement in strength was no longer a simple matter of accumulating Qi and Blood or mastering techniques. It was about deepening one’s understanding of the Rules and honing one’s Heart Image.

It was like a mountain. You could use dynamite to quickly blast an opening, but to make the entire mountain towering and solid, you needed time. You needed the erosion of wind and rain, the sedimentation of ages.

’Slow is fast.’

Xu Wuyi sat under the old pagoda tree in the backyard, looking at the Liaoyuan Long Spear in his hands and murmuring to himself.

The spear’s dark red shaft glowed with a warm luster in the winter sun.

He gently caressed the shaft, feeling the fire of the Golden Crow Burning Heart contained within, as well as the faint, barely perceptible fluctuations of Gravity.

After achieving Great Success with the Profound Nether Celestial Spear, the Gravity Rules had been integrated into his Martial Arts System. While he still couldn’t lift the heavy as if it were light, he could at least use it freely in battle.

”Ah Yi.”

His mother’s voice called from inside the house.