High Martial Arts: Enlightenment after Practices

”The military understands this as well,” Qiao Tongyu said. ”So, we plan to ask the Star Realm Research Institute to step in and help you perfect this Martial Art.”

Xu Wuyi was stunned. ”The Star Realm Research Institute?”

That was the Federation’s premier research institution, responsible for studying everything about the Star Realm Battlefield.

From Alien Race Civilizations to Space Rules, from new types of equipment to Martial Arts theory, everyone who worked there was, without exception, one of the Federation’s top scientists and Martial Artists.

”Correct.” Qiao Tongyu nodded. ”The institute has a ’Heart Image Martial Arts Optimization’ project, which specializes in helping promising Martial Artists solidify their Heart Phase Traits into a Martial Art that can be passed down.”

”Of course, this requires the Federation’s top technical personnel and most advanced scientific equipment, so it isn’t free.”

He paused, then held up two fingers.

”Two conditions. First, after the Martial Art is perfected, you need to turn it over to the Federation, free of charge. This will allow the military to make it available, to a certain degree, to other Martial Artists, who can use merit points to redeem the right to learn it.”

”Second, you need to pay a fee. The original price is two hundred thousand merit points, but the military can get you a half-price discount, bringing it down to one hundred thousand merit points.”

One hundred thousand merit points.

Xu Wuyi quickly calculated his current account balance.

He had earned over twenty thousand from the Star Realm Battlefield, and just over ten thousand from this recent planetary defense. All told, he had only around thirty thousand.

He was still seventy thousand short.

This was a truly enormous sum. If converted to Federation Coins, it would be one billion.

Xu Wuyi had long known that once you reached the Innate realm, the price of resources and everything else became absurdly expensive, but he was still taken aback by the number.

”If you don’t have enough merit points, you can pay it later,” Qiao Tongyu said, clearly aware of his situation. ”However, if you’re willing to join the military, the fee can be waived entirely.”

’This choice again.’

Xu Wuyi fell silent for a few seconds, then shook his head. ”I’ll take on the debt for now.”

Qiao Tongyu smiled, as if he had expected this answer all along. ”Fine. You can pay it off in installments, interest-free, as long as it’s cleared within three years. I’ll arrange an appointment for you with the institute.”

”Thank you, Uncle Qiao.”

”Don’t thank me just yet.” Qiao Tongyu stood and walked over to the window, watching the crowds below gradually disperse. ”The person at the institute... the one who will be receiving and assisting you... is a very interesting character.”

”Who?”

”Ye Guanlan.”

Xu Wuyi’s pupils shrank.

Ye Guanlan.

Before Xu Wuyi, he had been the Federation’s youngest Innate-level expert, the Star Realm Research Institute’s youngest official researcher, and the first among the nine Illusions currently left on Red Star.

Among the Federation’s younger generation, that name was legendary.

”As it happens, he’s in charge of this project,” Qiao Tongyu said, turning around. ”Report to the Star Realm Research Institute in three days. The specific address and access credentials will be sent to your terminal shortly.”

”Okay.”

By the time he left the command center, it was already noon.

The sun was scorching, and the streets were bustling with traffic. Xu Wuyi stood at the entrance, holding the Third-Class Merit Medal in his hand, its metal surface glinting in the light.

He put the medal away and started walking home.

’I have three days. I need to get into my best shape and present my best self for this trip to the Star Realm Research Institute.’

’I’ll use this opportunity to truly solidify the Traits of my Heart Image into a Martial Art that can be passed down and continuously perfected.’

’If I can really do it, I might be able to incorporate it into the [Martial Arts Diligence Record] and achieve a targeted Enlightenment.’

The battlefield of the Feathered People Civilization was waiting.

But before that, he needed a sharper sword.

...

「Three days later」

In the early morning, Xu Wuyi boarded a flyer bound for Capital Xingjing City.

The headquarters of the Star Realm Research Institute wasn’t located within any city. Instead, it was situated in a mountainous region outside Xingjing City, an area designated as a restricted military zone.

From the air, one could only see dense forests and rolling mountains, with absolutely no trace of any buildings.

The flyer landed at the designated coordinates.

Xu Wuyi descended the boarding ramp and found himself facing the entrance to a tunnel leading into the mountainside. Two guards in institute uniforms stood at the entrance, holding scanners.

”Please present your access credentials.”

Xu Wuyi pulled up the encrypted file on his terminal. The guard scanned it, nodded, and stepped aside to let him pass.

”Please come in. Researcher Ye is already waiting for you.”

The inside of the tunnel was brightly lit, its alloy walls as smooth as mirrors. After about two hundred meters, the space suddenly opened up before him.

He was in a massive underground space, over fifty meters high and as large as a soccer field.

The space was divided into dozens of sections by transparent Energy Barriers. Researchers in white lab coats bustled about in each section, either testing equipment or recording data.

The most eye-catching feature was in the Central Region, where a spherical device over ten meters in diameter levitated in the air.

Colorful streams of Energy flowed across its surface, and holographic images occasionally flickered around it—real-time simulations of the Star Realm Battlefield.

”Xu Wuyi?”

A calm voice came from the side.

Xu Wuyi turned his head and saw him.

Ye Guanlan.

He looked even younger than in his news photos, perhaps twenty-seven or twenty-eight, and was dressed in a simple gray researcher’s uniform. He was tall and slender, with refined, handsome features.

But his most unique feature was his eyes; they were as deep as the Starry Sky, as if they could see through any facade.

He just stood there, not deliberately releasing any aura, yet Xu Wuyi could sense the Energy within his body was like a vast, restrained undercurrent beneath a calm sea.

”Researcher Ye,” Xu Wuyi said, nodding in greeting.

”There’s no need to be so formal. You can call me Guanlan, or even Senior Brother Ye,” Ye Guanlan said with a faint but sincere smile. ”Through a chance encounter in my youth, I also had the honor of studying under the Flame Venerable.”

Xu Wuyi was taken aback for a moment, not expecting the two of them to share such a connection.

”General Qiao already briefed me on your situation. Come with me. We can talk more in the laboratory.”

He turned and walked toward a corridor to the side, and Xu Wuyi followed him.

The two walked single file, Ye Guanlan’s pace steady and unhurried as he introduced their surroundings in a calm voice.

”This is the Heart Image Martial Arts Department. We’re mainly responsible for researching the formation mechanisms of Heart Images, their optimization pathways, and how to solidify Heart Phase Traits into Martial Arts that can be passed down.”

”We currently have seventeen ongoing projects. The optimization of your ’Golden Crow’ Heart Image is designated as number eighteen.”

”I appreciate you all going to this trouble.”

”Don’t mention it.” Ye Guanlan stopped in front of a laboratory door, pressing his palm against the recognition panel. ”It’s a win-win partnership. We help you perfect your Martial Arts, and you provide us with a valuable Heart Image sample and its data.”

The door slid open.

The laboratory’s interior was simpler than he had imagined. A semicircular console sat in the center, surrounded by several screens displaying various Energy waveforms and mathematical models.