High Martial Arts: Enlightenment after Practices

”We need people who can be effective in desperate situations, who can complete the mission and survive, or at least stall the enemy so others can finish the job. I don’t want to bring you along only to increase the risk for the entire squad.”

The pale light of the stone lamp cast down on them, stretching their shadows long across the rough surface of the stone platform.

Xu Wuyi finally spoke, his voice steady, ”I appreciate your concern, Senior.”

He raised his head to meet Hong Nianyi’s gaze. ”But I disagree with your first point. Waiting to grow stronger before taking revenge sounds rational, but some things simply can’t wait.”

”Grandmaster Yue gifted me a wooden sculpture to help me achieve enlightenment; Teacher Han, his arm not yet healed, has already returned to the battlefield. If I were to hide in the rear and ’wait’ with a clear conscience, I wouldn’t be able to overcome this trial of my heart.”

Hong Nianyi’s brow furrowed slightly, but she didn’t interrupt.

Xu Wuyi continued, ”As for your second point...”

He paused for a moment, and the aura around him suddenly underwent a subtle change.

It wasn’t a deliberate outburst, but a natural outflow, like a sharp blade long kept in its sheath revealing a sliver of its edge.

”When I registered, I put down ’Heart Image Prototype or above.’” Xu Wuyi looked at Hong Nianyi and said, word by word, ”But what I really wanted to say is, I have achieved Great Success in my Heart Image.”

The moment the words left his mouth, Hong Nianyi’s previously calm eyes suddenly narrowed.

The look of fatigue on her face vanished instantly, replaced by an incredibly sharp, disbelieving gaze.

She shot to her feet, the swift motion kicking up a gust of wind.

”What did you say?” Hong Nianyi’s voice rose a few notches as she stared intently at Xu Wuyi. ”Great Success in Heart Image? Are you sure?”

Xu Wuyi also rose slowly to his feet.

He didn’t speak, merely acting with a flicker of his will.

BUZZ—

A dark golden brilliance rose from his palm, rapidly condensing and taking shape.

Within a breath, a miniature Heart Image, palm-sized and depicting a Golden Crow resting on a mountain, hovered silently above his palm.

The Heart Image was as solid as a physical object. The mountain’s contours were distinct, its rocky texture faintly visible. Although the Golden Crow Illusion was small, its feathers were lifelike, its gaze sharp, and a faint halo of Flame flowed around its body.

More importantly, a visible Energy connection existed between the Heart Image and Xu Wuyi, with threads of light linked like blood vessels, circulating ceaselessly.

This wasn’t the illusion of a prototype, but a complete Heart Image, truly at Great Success, condensed and unified!

Hong Nianyi stared at the Heart Image, the shock in her pupils gradually morphing into a complex, unreadable emotion. There was astonishment, dawning realization, and a touch of relieved acceptance, a sense of ’I should have known.’

She was silent for several seconds, then suddenly began to laugh.

The smile was faint at first, but it grew more pronounced until she was laughing out loud. Yet, her laughter held little joy, carrying instead a complex mix of emotions that was hard to put into words.

”Good, very good. Great Success in your Heart Image...” Hong Nianyi shook her head and sat back down on the stone stool, her gaze never leaving the Heart Image in Xu Wuyi’s palm. ”’I knew it. With your personality, you’d never sign up so recklessly without absolute confidence.”

She let out a long breath, leaned back against the cold stone stool, and gazed up at the empty darkness above.

”Xu Wuyi, you always manage to be full of ’surprises,’” she said softly. ”A little over a year ago, at the Youth Tournament, you couldn’t even take a single strike from my blade. Now... you’ve already come this far.”

Xu Wuyi retracted his Heart Image, the dark golden light receding into him. He also sat down and asked, ”So, will you let me join now, Senior?”

Hong Nianyi didn’t answer immediately.

She lowered her head and looked at her open palm, at the calluses formed from years of gripping a blade. After a moment, she said suddenly, ”Let’s spar.”

Xu Wuyi was slightly taken aback, then nodded. ”Alright.”

Hong Nianyi stood up and walked toward the relatively open area in the center of the stone platform. Xu Wuyi followed close behind.

The two of them stood ten meters apart.

There was no referee, no countdown—only the pale light of the stone lamp and the endless darkness surrounding them.

Hong Nianyi looked at Xu Wuyi and said slowly, ”I advised you not to go. Besides the reasons I just gave, there’s one more.”

The aura around her began to change quietly.

The sharpness she had kept contained began to reveal itself, bit by bit, like a blade released from its seal.

It wasn’t an eruption of Qi and Blood, but the awakening of a deeper, more fundamental Intention.

”Because—” Hong Nianyi made a grasping motion with her right hand, and a pale golden Long Saber, formed entirely from condensed blade intention, slowly materialized in her palm.

The blade was long and slender with a perfect curve. Though it had no physical form, it radiated an edge far sharper than any real blade.

Her eyes became incredibly focused. Her entire demeanor changed abruptly, transforming from the slightly weary senior back into the ”Sister Yi” who had delivered that stunning strike on the tournament stage.

”—I have also achieved Great Success in my Heart Image.”

The instant she finished speaking, Hong Nianyi moved.

There was no warning, no gathering of power. She simply took a step forward and swung the pale golden Intention Blade in her hand, letting it follow her Momentum.

The strike wasn’t fast; it was even a little slow.

But where the edge of the blade passed, the air itself seemed to be silently sliced open, leaving behind a thin but distinct black fissure.

A sharp True Intention—one that could annihilate everything and shatter all techniques—spread out with the Sword Momentum, enveloping the entire stone platform.

Xu Wuyi’s pupils contracted.

This strike was purer and more condensed than the one at the Youth Tournament. It lacked some of the profound variations of Life and Death, but in its place was an Intention to ”cut” that was pushed to the absolute extreme.

’She broke through too, just as I thought!’

’Looks like I’m not the only one who understands the value of being low-key.’

Though his thoughts raced, Xu Wuyi’s movements were not the least bit slow. Faced with a strike that locked onto his Heart and Spirit, he chose not to dodge, nor did he draw a weapon.

He simply raised his right hand, fingers spread, and pressed forward.

HUMMM—

A dark golden illusion of his Heart Image flashed behind him. Though it didn’t fully materialize, its mountain-heavy Mental Realm had already descended.

In front of Xu Wuyi’s palm, the air abruptly solidified, as if an invisible wall of qi had been erected out of thin air. Within the wall, the faint illusion of rolling mountains seemed to flow.

CLANG—!

The pale golden Intention Blade struck the qi wall, releasing a deep, tremendous sound.

The moment the blade’s edge met the wall, its sharp blade intention furiously eroded the barrier, trying to tear the defense apart.

But the condensed mountain intention within the qi wall was as steady as a boulder, countering extreme sharpness with absolute weight.

The two Mental Realms clashed violently. The aftershock of Energy spread outwards, shaking loose fine stone chips that rustled down from the platform’s surface.

The stalemate lasted only for an instant.

The next moment, fine cracks appeared on the surface of the qi wall, and the light of the pale golden Intention Blade dimmed slightly.

Hong Nianyi withdrew her blade and retreated, the pale golden Intention Blade dissipating in her hand.

Xu Wuyi lowered his hand as well, the condensed aura around him slowly calming.

They looked at each other, and both saw understanding in the other’s eyes.

”Your mountain intention is heavy and your foundation is solid,” Hong Nianyi commented. ”But you’ve only just reached Great Success. Your control is still a bit clumsy, and the flow of your power isn’t yet seamless.”