High Martial Arts: Enlightenment after Practices

On the tip of the spear, a dark golden flame burned fiercely.

Bai Li gritted her teeth and used her Body Technique again, trying to disappear.

But this time, she failed.

The dark golden flame, as if alive, had silently latched a tiny wisp onto her sword during her parry. From there, it had spread through the blade and onto her wrist.

Although it was only an extremely faint wisp, it was enough.

One of the properties of the Undying Flame.

Once it latched on, it was like maggots clinging to bone—extremely difficult to remove, and it provided a clear lock on her position for the caster.

Xu Wuyi ”saw” it.

He saw the trajectory of Bai Li’s intended movement, and he saw the position where she was about to appear.

So when Bai Li vanished again and reappeared on the other side of the arena, Xu Wuyi’s spear was already waiting for her.

It was as if she had thrown herself onto the spear tip.

Bai Li’s expression changed drastically. She twisted her body forcefully, holding her sword in front of her chest to block.

SCHLICK!

The spear tip pierced through her sword and plunged into her right shoulder.

The dark golden flame surged wildly into the wound.

Bai Li let out a suppressed groan of pain. The immense force sent her flying, and she slammed hard against the protective force field at the edge of the arena before bouncing back to the ground.

She struggled to get up, but the searing pain from her right shoulder and the flame rampaging inside her body made it impossible to even grip her sword.

Xu Wuyi did not press his attack.

He retracted his spear and stood his ground.

Bai Li was on one knee, her left hand clutching the wound on her right shoulder. Blood seeped out between her fingers.

She looked up at Xu Wuyi, her cool and detached face showing defeat for the first time.

After a few seconds, she took a deep breath and said with difficulty, ”I surrender.”

Only then did the referee react, announcing loudly, ”The winner is Xu Wuyi!”

The entire venue fell silent.

Then, a thunderous uproar of discussion erupted.

”He won... Even Bai Li lost...”

”That’s the Genius from the East Sea Bai Family!”

”That Xu Wuyi... Just where did he come from?”

Countless gazes focused on the young figure holding a spear on the arena platform.

Surprise, shock, and awe.

Xu Wuyi paid no mind to the stares.

He glanced at Bai Li, gave a nod, and then turned to walk off the stage.

The second round of matches continued, but everyone’s minds seemed to have drifted away from the arena.

They were all pondering the same question—

Just how far could this Xu Wuyi go?

...

The match in the arena was decided, but the ripples throughout the venue had just begun to spread.

As Xu Wuyi walked back to the Royal Family’s area, he could clearly feel countless gazes on his back like sharp thorns.

Those gazes were mixed with astonishment, scrutiny, apprehension, and undisguised curiosity.

His expression remained calm. He sat down next to Tana, leaned his spear to the side, and closed his eyes to regulate his breathing.

Tana leaned over excitedly and whispered, ”Did you see that? A few of the Bai Family elders looked absolutely livid.”

Xu Wuyi grunted in acknowledgment without opening his eyes.

Defeating Bai Li was within his expectations.

Her Observing Ruins Sword Step was indeed exquisite, but it had an extremely high requirement for Spiritual Perception. Once the trajectory of her spatial fluctuations was seen through, its threat was greatly diminished.

And his Spiritual Strength of 36.9 was the perfect counter to this type of Body Technique.

What truly concerned him was Bai Li’s final sword strike.

The Observing Ruins Five Kills.

Five figures, five streams of Sword Intention, weaving between illusion and reality, with killing intent hidden within.

If he hadn’t used his Mountain Peak Great Sun Realm to freeze the surrounding space beforehand, forcing a momentary lag in her movements, he would have had a much harder time breaking the technique.

’The East Sea Bai Family...’ Xu Wuyi thought to himself.

’A family that could create such a Swordsmanship technique truly has a deep heritage.’

’Bai Li is just one of the younger generation. If one of the elders who has cultivated for decades were to use it, the power would likely be on a completely different level.’

’The path of Martial Arts is still a long one.’

...

The discussions in the audience seats rose and fell like the tide.

”That Xu Wuyi... What’s his background?”

”A freshman from Star Martial University? Became a Martial Artist in one year? How have I never heard of him?”

”Did you forget last year’s youth tournament? There was a first-year from Star Martial who defeated three senior students in the group stage before being knocked out of the arena by a single slash from Hong Nianyi.”

”That was him?”

”Yeah, that’s him. To think that in just one year, he’s already gotten this strong...”

Similar conversations were breaking out everywhere.

The representatives of the local West Desert powers exchanged glances. Some had already quietly pulled up their personal terminals to look up Xu Wuyi’s public information.

The youngest Martial Artist in his year at Star Martial University, broke through Level 30 within a year of enrollment... Piece by piece, information was uncovered. But deeper secrets, like his status as a member of Red Star or his mark on the Nine Stars Stele, remained unknown to the public.

The existence of Red Star was no secret among the Federation’s top brass and circles of top-tier Geniuses, but to the vast majority of ordinary Martial Artists, it remained a vague legend.

”A representative for the Royal Family... Outside help invited by Princess Tana.”

”Star Martial University... Don’t they say Star Martial students only hit their stride after graduation? This is just too insane.”

”Not necessarily. There’s still Meng Jingyuan.”

At the mention of this name, many people’s gazes shifted to the other side of the waiting area.

Meng Jingyuan still had his eyes closed in meditation, as if the spectacular battle that had just occurred had nothing to do with him.

The Thick-Backed Saber behind him rested quietly against the seat. Beneath its cloth wrapping, one could faintly sense a restrained yet domineering saber Intention.

The Senior Disciple of the Thunder Blade Sect, the prodigy of Beiyuan Province’s younger generation, with a Life Energy Level of 36.2.

In many people’s eyes, he was the biggest favorite to win this year’s tournament.

...

The second round of matches concluded. Eight of the sixteen contestants were eliminated, leaving the remaining eight to advance to the third round.

The drawing of lots began once again.

Xu Wuyi’s opponent was a disciple from a local West Desert Noble Family, with a Life Energy Level of 34.5, who specialized in Palm Techniques.

In this match, he no longer held back.

His spear struck like a dragon. Three moves.

His opponent was defeated.

The buzz in the audience grew even louder.

The third round: the quarterfinals.

Xu Wuyi’s opponent was another external expert, a Genius from a Martial Arts Family in the Central Province with a Life Energy Level of 35.1 and Swordsmanship as swift as lightning.

This match lasted fifteen moves.

Xu Wuyi’s spear tip stopped half an inch from his opponent’s throat.

Victory.

With that, the top four were decided.

Xu Wuyi, Meng Jingyuan, Gu Yang, and a disciple from a collateral branch of the Ximo Royal Family, Talon.

The semifinal matchups: Xu Wuyi versus Gu Yang, and Meng Jingyuan versus Talon.

...

When the results of the drawing were announced, a wry smile appeared on Gu Yang’s face.

He looked at Xu Wuyi and shook his head. ”I didn’t expect we’d run into each other so soon.”

Xu Wuyi was silent for a moment before saying, ”Senior, I look forward to your guidance.”

Gu Yang clapped him on the shoulder, his smile a bit helpless. ”Guidance? I saw your fight with Bai Li. I wouldn’t be able to take that spear strike.”

He said it frankly, without a hint of false modesty.

In Martial Arts, strength is what matters most. The strong are strong, and the weak are weak. There’s no point in pretending otherwise.

”But,” Gu Yang’s tone shifted, and his eyes grew serious, ”since we’re matched up, I won’t just surrender. I’m a fourth-year senior, after all. I have to at least show you what a senior student from Star Martial is capable of.”

Xu Wuyi nodded. ”Alright.”