High Martial: I Grind Professions

Chapter 344: Chapter 190: 5 Years Later, Full-Scale Offensive

He just stood there calmly, the void around him rippling with subtle distortions, as if he were a walking singularity in spacetime.

”Congratulations, Lord Demon Saint, on reascending to the Saint Realm!” Fu Yan and the other Demon King leaders bowed in unison, their voices filled with irrepressible excitement.

Wujing Demon Saint—now, he was truly the Wujing Demon Saint.

His calm gaze swept over them, and all who met his eyes felt as if their very souls were being pierced.

He gave a slight nod. His voice was deep and clear, each word seemingly carrying the weight of cosmic law. ”The years of hiding end now.”

He paused briefly. An intangible pressure descended, making the entire underground space so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

”Summon all divisions. Begin final preparations according to the highest-level protocol of the Celestial Fall Plan.”

”The true, full-scale invasion begins in ten days!”

”Yes, sir!!!” A fervent light erupted in the eyes of Fu Yan and the other Demon King leaders. The ferocity and desire they had suppressed for years burst forth.

’Finally, no more hiding!’

...

「Fire Hall University, behind Enlightenment Peak.」

The white-haired headmaster sat at a stone table, a cup of clear tea in his hand. His calm gaze was fixed on a floating light screen before him, which scrolled with daily reports from various garrisons across Blue Star.

Suddenly, the fingers holding the teacup paused, the movement almost imperceptible.

In the corner of the screen, a message transmitted through a special encrypted channel popped up. Its content was extremely brief, yet it made the headmaster’s profound eyes narrow sharply.

He set down his teacup and tapped a finger lightly on the stone table.

A moment later, a virtual figure coalesced from pure starlight energy appeared across from him.

The figure wore a robe of stars, its face indistinct, but the aura it radiated was just as unfathomable. It was the Human Race’s other Venerable—Venerable Xingxuan.

”Senior Brother Ye,” the virtual image of Venerable Xingxuan spoke, his voice carrying across space with a hint of gravity. ”Is this source reliable?”

”It just came from Jiang Hong.” The headmaster’s voice was calm and steady, but his gaze was sharp as a blade. ”The timing is about right. After all these years, Wujing should have recovered to the Demon Saint Realm.”

The virtual figure fell silent for a moment, the starlight wavering slightly, revealing his inner shock.

”I didn’t expect him to finally take that step, and even faster than our worst-case scenario. It seems the Demon Realm paid a far greater price than we imagined to get him in here.”

”This day was always going to come. Its early arrival isn’t necessarily a bad thing,” the headmaster said slowly, his tone regaining its usual composure.

”Since the die is cast, let’s proceed as planned. The ’Starfire’ and ’Return to Ruins’ protocols can now be fully activated.”

Venerable Xingxuan’s virtual image nodded slightly.

”Understood. I will activate ’Starfire’ immediately and notify all King-level units on the front lines to enter the highest state of combat readiness.”

”Rest assured.” The headmaster’s gaze drifted into the distance, as if piercing through space to see the starry sky that was about to be set ablaze by war. ”Issue the order.”

...

...

「On the eastern outskirts of Changning City.」

Space rippled slightly as Li Wen’s figure materialized from the void.

He had just returned from a routine border patrol and was about to head directly back to the city’s fortress.

But the personal terminal on his wrist suddenly let out an unusually urgent BUZZ.

The screen lit up automatically, and a blood-red flame insignia—the highest-level emblem of the Fire Hall—instantly filled his vision.

’A top-level directive? What’s going on?’ Li Wen frowned slightly and tapped the light screen.

The message box expanded. The content was concise, yet it carried immense weight:

[Fire Hall · Domain-Wide Directive (Urgent)]

Effective immediately, Phase Two of the ’Return to Ruins Plan’ is activated.

With the exception of provincial capitals and core fortress-cities identified by strategic assessment, all other municipal-level administrative districts within Blue Star’s major provinces are to complete a full evacuation within ten days. All personnel are to relocate to designated core cities.

Detailed relocation plans and lists of receiving cities will be issued concurrently by regional command headquarters.

This order is effective immediately.

—Fire Hall High Council

’Jiangnan Province, aside from the capital and Changning City, all other cities will be evacuated? All of Blue Star... leaving only one or two cities per province?’

Li Wen read every word, the surprise in his eyes gradually turning to grim solemnity.

He subconsciously looked toward the horizon, where the city’s skyline was faintly visible in the twilight.

’The last large-scale consolidation was the consolidation of counties into cities a few years ago. How long has it even been?’

’And now they’re abandoning an entire administrative tier, falling back to defend the last remaining islands.’

”Has the situation really gotten this bad?” His whisper dissipated in the wind, carrying a hint of imperceptible gloom.

He immediately brought up his private communication channel with the headmaster of Fire Hall University and sent a brief inquiry.

The reply came quickly. It was the headmaster’s unique voice, calm yet powerful, resounding directly in his sea of consciousness through the encrypted channel:

”Li Wen, the directive is correct. Wujing has fully stabilized his Demon Saint Realm, and the highest-level protocol of the ’Celestial Fall Plan’ is imminent. This is the final strategic withdrawal, a concentration of our forces to form the last line of defense.

Prepare Changning City and its surrounding areas for receiving evacuees and bolstering defenses. Your mobile support range remains unchanged. The real storm... is coming.”

’Is the Demon Race’s real, full-scale invasion about to begin?’ The headmaster’s words echoed in his mind. Li Wen stood frozen on the spot, the aura around him stagnating.

The fires of war and the sacrifices from that New Year’s Eve five years ago felt like only yesterday. And that time was merely a prelude led by a dozen or so King-levels.

’This time, led by a true Demon Saint, the Demon Realm is pouring out in full force...’

’This... How many people will fall?’ The thought surfaced uncontrollably. A vision of a sea of corpses and blood seemed to flash before his eyes. The brutality of war had never felt so real, so imminent.

He knew this was no baseless fear.

Just as he was reeling from the shock, a streak of sword light tore through the sky and landed nearby, revealing the figure of Ling Feng.