High Martial Arts: Enlightenment after Practices

”27%...” Hong Nianyi mused.

”Yes,” Lin Jue continued. ”And this suppression is constant. When a Werewolf Priest breaks through in this plane, they can attain Innate Level power, but the rules of the plane will continuously suppress them. It’s like fighting while shackled.”

Xu Wuyi looked at Hong Nianyi.

They both understood what this meant.

If they could isolate a single Werewolf Priest, with both of them having achieved Great Success in Heart Image, and with support from Chen Yuan, Lin Jue, and You Sicheng, they would have a chance to kill him.

After all, reaching Great Success in Heart Image already gave one a chance to fight an Innate, especially for two geniuses like Xu Wuyi and Hong Nianyi, both of whom had exceptionally profound foundations.

Furthermore, any Werewolf Priest permanently stationed in a minor Star Realm would have to be someone with no hope of breaking through under normal circumstances. They only came here as a last resort, so their actual strength was likely even weaker than average.

”Where is the central base?” Hong Nianyi asked.

Lin Jue pulled up a map and pointed to the area in the center of the five mining zones. ”Here. It’s about two hundred and twenty kilometers from us. Thermal scans show a large gathering of life forms, at least three hundred of them. Among them are two high-energy signatures, which should be the two stationed Priests.”

She paused. ”However, those two high-energy signatures stay inside the base most of the time and rarely venture out. Daily security for the mining zones is handled by War General-level Werewolf captains. Each zone has roughly five to eight War Generals, plus dozens of warriors.”

Chen Yuan took over. ”I’ve observed their patrol routes. The Werewolves’ patrols are methodical, which makes them predictable. Their reconnaissance methods are primitive too—they rely mainly on scent and sight, with virtually no energy-detecting equipment. As long as we conceal our scent and use optical camouflage, we can get within three kilometers undetected.”

The cave fell silent.

Everyone looked at the map, contemplating their next move.

You Sicheng opened his eyes, stood up from his corner, and walked to the workbench. He stared at the map for a few seconds, then reached out and pointed to mining zones one and two.

”These two mining zones are the closest, only sixty kilometers apart,” he said, his voice hoarse but clear. ”If we sabotage one of them first, the guards at the other will definitely strengthen their defenses and might even call the base for reinforcements.”

”But what if we sabotage both at the same time?” You Sicheng looked at Hong Nianyi. ”Strike mining zones one and two simultaneously. The Werewolves will assume we have a large, scattered force. Instead of calling the base for reinforcements right away, they’ll likely mobilize guards from nearby zones to provide support.”

Hong Nianyi’s eyes lit up. ”Then we ambush their reinforcements?”

”No.” You Sicheng shook his head. ”The reinforcements will be composed of War Generals at most. Killing them is useless. Our goal is to stir the pot and make the Priests at the base believe an elite Human squad is active in the area. That will force one of them to come out and investigate personally.”

He pointed to the area on the map between mining zones one and two. ”We’ll set an ambush here. If both Priests come together, we retreat. If only one comes... we kill him.”

It was a risky plan.

But upon closer consideration, it seemed plausible.

The Celestial Wolf Priests’ strength was suppressed by 27% in this world. Plus, they had been stationed in this resource-rich Star Realm for a long time and lacked real combat experience. Meanwhile, Xu Wuyi and Hong Nianyi had both achieved Great Success in Heart Image. They were top-tier among their peers in the Federation, possessed extensive combat experience, and had a fearless, aggressive spirit. Add in Chen Yuan’s scouting, Lin Jue’s tech, and You Sicheng’s experience, and their odds in a five-on-one fight were quite high.

”How will the Werewolves react after we kill one of their Priests?” Xu Wuyi asked.

”They’ll go berserk,” Chen Yuan analyzed calmly. ”Priests hold a very high status in the Celestial Wolf Civilization—they’re the spokespeople for the Divine Beings. If one of them dies, the entire Celestial Wolf Four Star Realm will be shaken to its core.”

”The remaining Priest at the base will either dig in and wait for reinforcements or come out to hunt us down. But in either case, the security at the mining zones will be significantly weakened.”

Lin Jue added, ”Plus, it takes time for news of a Priest’s death to reach the Celestial Wolf Civilization’s main headquarters. It takes even more time to transfer new War Generals from other Star Realms and have them break through to become Priests here. That window of opportunity is long enough for us to clean out the remaining three mining zones and the base.”

Hong Nianyi thought for a moment, then looked at Xu Wuyi. ”What do you think?”

Xu Wuyi stared at the map, his mind rapidly simulating the various possibilities.

The core of the plan was to first ’stir the pot’ and then ’lure the snake from its den.’ The crucial part was whether they could kill a Priest quickly during the ambush.

If the fight dragged on too long, drawing the other Priest or a horde of War Generals to encircle them, they would be in grave danger.

”We need more precise data,” Xu Wuyi said. ”A Priest’s specific combat power, their fighting style, any special abilities they might have. We also need to survey the ambush location meticulously to make sure there are no other variables.”

He looked at Lin Jue. ”Can you gather more energy data on the Priests?”

”I can, but I’ll need them to make a move again,” Lin Jue said. ”Or... we could create a disturbance to bait them into action.”

”How do we create one?” Hong Nianyi asked.

Lin Jue took a fist-sized metal device from her briefcase. Its surface was covered with intricate runes. ”An Energy Fluctuation Bomb,” she explained. ”When detonated, it creates an energy wave similar to an all-out strike from an Innate Martial Artist. The blast radius is small, but it’s enough to get their attention. We can plant it a fair distance from the base, detonate it, and pull back immediately, letting the Priests go investigate.”

You Sicheng nodded. ”That could work. A Priest who senses an Innate-level energy fluctuation will definitely investigate it personally, because they’ll suspect an Innate Martial Artist from the Federation has infiltrated. While investigating, they’ll likely attack the site to test the residual energy, which is when we can collect our data.”

Hong Nianyi looked at Xu Wuyi.

Xu Wuyi considered it for a moment, then nodded. ”It’s worth a shot. But we have to choose the detonation point carefully. It can’t be too close, or it’ll put them on full alert, but it can’t be so far that they won’t bother with it.”

”Fifteen kilometers.” Lin Jue pulled up the map again, pointing to a hilly area northeast of the base. ”This spot is fifteen kilometers from the base. There are no mining zones around it; it’s a barren area. It will take time for the Priests to get there, and we can observe remotely from three kilometers away.”

”Then that’s the plan,” Hong Nianyi decided. ”We move tonight. Chen Yuan, you’re on bomb-planting and reconnaissance. Lin Jue, data collection. Elder You, you’ll provide support. Xu Wuyi and I will be on standby for backup or extraction.”

She looked around at the other four. ”Remember, this is just a recon and data-gathering mission. Do not engage the Priests directly unless we have no other choice.”

”Understood,” everyone responded in unison.

Night fell.

Night in the Celestial Wolf Four Star Realm was even darker than day. Three pale, gray celestial bodies were hidden behind thick clouds, allowing only a faint light to filter down.

The hilly region sank into profound darkness, and the whistling of the wind grew more piercing.