High Martial Arts: Enlightenment after Practices

Chapter 153: Chapter 153: Exterminating the Rat Swarm

Star Martial Battle Network, a virtual teahouse area open to the public.

Shen Wei waved his hand grandly, booking a sizable courtyard. At the moment, the courtyard was quite lively, with over twenty young people gathered inside.

Besides Yu Peiling, Xu Zhi, and Zeng Bonan—all fellow students from Dongjiang Province attending Star Martial University—there were also some other faces from this year’s batch of students from Dongjiang.

Among them were many geniuses who had been accepted into Black Stone Academy and Starry Sky Martial Arts Academy, as well as students from the Seven-Star Alliance.

Even Chu Shanhe was present. He sat in a relatively quiet corner, holding a cup of virtual tea and listening to the others talk with a smile.

The center of their discussion was, naturally, Xu Wuyi, who had just broken through and left the university.

”That guy, Xu Wuyi, really keeps quiet until he does something shocking!” Shen Wei’s voice boomed, his tone brimming with pride. ”The first Martial Artist from our Dongjiang Province! What a morale boost!”

”I heard someone at Black Stone broke through to Martial Artist at the beginning of the month, right?” someone chimed in.

”That was a special case... I heard it was an abnormal promotion. Other than that, Xu Wuyi is the first one. The first in the entire Federation!”

”He’s definitely impressive,” a boy who went to Starry Sky Martial Arts Academy nodded, but then his tone shifted. ”But isn’t he being too reckless, rushing off to do a mission like this? He just broke through. If his realm isn’t stable, won’t it affect his foundation?”

Someone next to him added, ”Yeah, with his talent, he could totally accept external funding in exchange for precious training time.”

”Improving faster in the short term and getting a head start in university is more important. Once he’s powerful in the future, he’ll naturally have the leverage to break free from any obligations.”

”I also think it’s a bit of a shame,” Yu Peiling sighed softly. ”He must be really short on resources right now. Spending time earning points will definitely slow down his training progress. Qin Rui and Zhao Qingwei aren’t going to stop and wait for him.”

Many people in the courtyard nodded, clearly sharing similar thoughts.

In their view, time was more valuable than resources at this stage, making Xu Wuyi’s choice seem like the cons outweighed the pros.

If he were willing to put the word out that he was accepting investments, the line of families and factions willing to sponsor his training resources would probably stretch out the door.

Amidst all the discussion, Shen Wei noticed that Chu Shanhe was just sitting in the corner listening, not offering any opinions, but with a smile on his face.

”Old Chu, what do you think?” Shen Wei sidled up to him and asked in a low voice.

Chu Shanhe shook his head slightly, not intending to explain much. He knew Shen Wei came from a well-off family and didn’t need to consider such things.

”If it were me, I’d do the same as Xu Wuyi,” Chu Shanhe said simply, but his tone was far firmer than Shen Wei had expected.

...

While discussions about him were buzzing across the Star Martial campus, Xu Wuyi had already taken the intercity high-speed rail to the rendezvous point in the northern suburbs of Yuntai City.

It was a temporary forward outpost for the City Defense Army, located on the edge of the old district.

A musty smell hung in the air. In the distance were rows of low, old buildings, many of which were abandoned.

He presented his mission credentials, and a stern-faced City Defense Army officer received him.

”Xu Wuyi? A freshman from Star Martial University?”

The officer checked the information, a flash of surprise in his eyes. He clearly hadn’t expected someone so young to accept the mission, but he quickly regained his professional composure.

”I’m Chen Feng, the captain for this clean-up operation. Your mission is to lead Team Three and take responsibility for scouting and clearing the underground pipe network in Zone D7 to Zone D9. Here are a map and a communicator. Keep the channel open and report your status at all times.”

”Understood.” Xu Wuyi accepted the equipment, his expression calm.

...

Xu Wuyi stood at the entrance of the temporary outpost, quickly scanning the electronic map of the underground pipe network he had just received.

Zone D7 to Zone D9 was located in the middle section of the old district’s underground network. Its structure was relatively complex with numerous forks, making it an ideal hiding place for a Bone-Eating Rat Swarm.

Moreover, the underground pipes were made of ordinary materials and were relatively fragile, making them unsuitable for clearance with thermal weapons. That’s why they paid Martial Artists like them to handle it.

He didn’t wait long. About five minutes later, two figures arrived at the rendezvous point, one after the other.

The first to arrive was a young woman who looked to be about twenty-three or twenty-four, dressed in a sharp gray combat uniform with two short daggers hanging from her waist.

She saw the mission terminal in Xu Wuyi’s hand and stepped forward, her voice clear and crisp. ”Team Leader Xu? I’m Lin Yue, a Social Martial Artist, Life Energy Level 18.2, reporting for duty.”

Just as she finished speaking, another, slightly rushed male voice called out, ”Sorry, sorry, there was some traffic. Zhang Chengyi, a sophomore from Yuntai Martial Arts University, Life Energy Level 17.9.”

The newcomer was a slightly chubby young man with the nervousness of a rookie on his face.

He carried an Alloy Round Shield and a Short Rod on his back—the standard loadout for a Defensive Martial Disciple.

Xu Wuyi’s gaze swept over the two, and he gave a slight nod. ’A Social Martial Artist, likely with relatively rich experience; a university student, probably solid on theory, but his actual combat ability is an unknown.’

’A standard clean-up squad configuration: led by me, a newly promoted Martial Artist, with two Martial Disciples for support.’

”Xu Wuyi, Star Martial University,” he introduced himself succinctly, then held up the map in his hand.

”Mission objective: Zone D7 to D9, clear out the Bone-Eating Rat Swarm.”

”Lin Yue, you’re on flank security and finishing blows. Zhang Chengyi, you stay behind and to my side; watch for attacks from the forks. I’ll take the lead and push forward.”

”Maintain formation, communicators on silent. We’ll use short-range hand signals for communication. Any questions?”

His commands were clear and concise, delivered with an unshakeable calm.

A flicker of surprise passed through Lin Yue’s eyes. She hadn’t expected this excessively young team leader to be so methodical in his command.

She immediately nodded. ”Understood. No problem.”

Zhang Chengyi also hurriedly replied, ”Yes, Team Leader!”

”Check your gear. We move out in one minute.”

After speaking, Xu Wuyi said no more and turned his attention back to the map, memorizing the main passages and key junctions.

One minute later, the three-person team descended a rusty maintenance ladder into the dark and damp underground pipe network.

The air was humid, and sewage flowed beneath their feet. Occasionally, they could hear the echo of water dripping from the ceiling pipes.

The dim light of their emergency lamps barely illuminated the path ahead, casting eerie, shifting shadows.

However, all three had tactical goggles equipped with infrared imaging, and they had already detected a swarm of rats ahead.

”SQUEAK SQUEAK—”

A flurry of high-pitched squeaks came from the fork in the path up ahead.

”Get ready,” Xu Wuyi said in a low voice. With a slight activation of his Instant Shadow Step, his body shot forward like an arrow released from a bowstring.

Lin Yue and Zhang Chengyi didn’t dare to hesitate and immediately followed close behind.

Up ahead at a pipe junction, seven or eight Bone-Eating Rats, each the size of a house cat, were gathered together, gnawing on some unknown refuse. Their fur was grayish-black, and their eyes were crimson.

Sensing the presence of living beings, they immediately looked up, bared sharp fangs dripping with corrosive saliva, and charged forward, fearless of death!

Xu Wuyi’s expression didn’t change. He didn’t even draw the long spear from his back.

His figure cut into the rat swarm. A flash of dark red, pure Qi and Blood flickered over his fists as he ruthlessly threw a punch!