High Martial Arts: Enlightenment after Practices

Shi Yue’s voice came from the side. He took a deep breath and grinned.

”This godforsaken place is always like this—dry, hot, and full of sandstorms. Stay here long enough, and you’ll miss the humid air of Linjiang.”

Xu Wuyi nodded, following Shi Yue down from the Teleportation Array’s platform.

Personnel hurried back and forth within the base, most of them clad in camouflage combat uniforms with shoulder insignias marking different Battle Group designations.

Heavy armored vehicles rolled across the paved roads, kicking up clouds of dust. Occasionally, reconnaissance drones zipped through the air, emitting a low hum.

”Let’s go. First, we need to report to the command center.” Shi Yue led Xu Wuyi across the plaza toward a three-story gray building. ”You’re a ’special asset.’ You need to meet with the commander here first.”

The interior of the command building was much cooler than the outside, clearly equipped with a climate control system.

Detailed topographical maps of the Flowing Sand Star Realm hung on the walls of the corridor, marked with red and blue to denote the territories of the Federation and the Feathered People Civilization.

Shi Yue stopped before a door on the second floor and raised a hand to knock.

”Enter,” came a steady male voice from within.

Pushing the door open, they entered a small, simply furnished room.

There was an alloy desk, a few chairs, and a real-time battlefield situation map on the wall. Behind the desk sat a military officer in his early forties with a stern face. His shoulder insignia showed one bar and three stars.

”Sir! Captain Shi Yue, Third Squadron, Dongjiang Battle Group, reporting with special asset Xu Wuyi,” Shi Yue announced, snapping to attention and saluting.

Xu Wuyi followed suit with a salute.

The colonel looked up, his gaze lingering on Xu Wuyi for a moment before he nodded. ”Sit.”

The two of them sat in the chairs in front of the desk.

”I am Zhao Rui, commander of the Sandstone Base.” The colonel got straight to the point. ”Martial Artist Xu, I’ve read your file. An Innate Martial Artist whose Heart Phase Traits are suited for clearing large areas. You had an impressive performance in the defense of Linjiang.”

His tone was calm, betraying no emotion.

”I appreciate the command’s recognition,” Xu Wuyi said.

”Recognition is one thing, but the battlefield environment in the Flowing Sand Star Realm is completely different from homeland defense.” Zhao Rui pulled up a briefing and projected it onto a light screen to the side.

”The Feathered People Civilization’s overall strength is far greater than the Celestial Wolf’s. Their greatest advantage is mobility. Over sixty percent of their units are aerial, and their ground troops are primarily light and fast.”

A combat recording played on the light screen.

On the screen, hundreds of Feathered Warriors with grayish-white wings spread out, darting nimbly through the air.

They didn’t engage the Federation Martial Artists in direct combat. Instead, they constantly hurled energy spears and unleashed volleys of arrows from high above. The moment they encountered a counterattack, they would immediately scatter and regroup from a different direction.

Although the Federation Martial Artists had powerful firepower, their accuracy was extremely low. They often needed several times the amount of covering fire to achieve any results.

”See that?” Zhao Rui paused the recording. ”The Feathered People are smart. They don’t fight pitched battles with you; they use guerilla tactics, a war of attrition. When you advance, they retreat. When you retreat, they harass. It’s incredibly frustrating.”

Xu Wuyi stared at the screen without a word.

”Your Heart Image Martial Arts has a three-hundred-meter area of effect, which is the perfect counter to these clustered guerilla tactics.” Zhao Rui looked at him. ”That’s why the military transferred you here. We hope you can change the tide of battle in this sector.”

”What do you need me to do?” Xu Wuyi asked.

Zhao Rui turned off the light screen and leaned forward slightly.

”Don’t make your move just yet.”

Xu Wuyi raised an eyebrow.

”The Feathered People aren’t fools,” Zhao Rui explained. ”The moment you make your debut and display your ability to clear out large areas, they will immediately adjust their tactics.”

”At that point, they’ll stop gathering in large numbers and will instead break up into smaller, more scattered and agile squads to harass us. If that happens, your value will be greatly diminished.”

Shi Yue nodded from the side. ”The colonel is right. The Feathered People are very good at learning and adapting. Once they suffer a loss, they won’t give you the same opportunity twice.”

”Therefore,” Zhao Rui continued, ”your first strike must inflict the maximum possible damage. When you hit them, you have to hit them so hard it cripples them, so hard they won’t dare to organize another large-scale operation for a long time.”

”The military is already planning a major engagement.” He pulled up another encrypted file. ”We need a suitable bait—a target tempting enough that the Feathered People will be willing to commit a large number of troops. Then, when you enter the field, you will reap the harvest.”

Xu Wuyi was silent for a few seconds.

”How long will I have to wait?”

”A week at most,” Zhao Rui gave a clear timeframe. ”The bait is already set; we’re just waiting for the fish to bite. During this time, I want you to familiarize yourself with the base and get yourself in peak condition. Captain Shi will arrange your quarters. If you have any needs, just ask.”

”Understood.”

Leaving the command center, Shi Yue led Xu Wuyi toward the barracks area.

Along the way, Shi Yue explained, ”Sandstone Base is one of the three main bases in the Flowing Sand Star Realm. It has a permanent garrison of about five thousand, with over forty Innate Level combatants. However, due to Energy Level restrictions, there are no Grandmasters stationed here. The highest is a Level 45 Innate Martial Artist.”

Xu Wuyi nodded slightly. ’At the Innate Level,’ he thought, ’combat prowess can’t be judged by Energy Level alone. Take me, for example. My Life Energy Level is only 42, but an ordinary Level 45 Innate Martial Artist would likely be no match for me.’

However, Quasi-Grandmasters at Level 47 and above were on another plane entirely.

”What about the Feathered People?” he asked.

”It’s about the same,” Shi Yue said. ”The Flowing Sand Star Realm was discovered less than ten years ago, and both sides have only started deploying forces in large numbers in the last few years. It takes time for Martial Artists below Level 45 to develop, so neither side has many high-level experts. The number of Priests on the Feathered People’s side is estimated to be on par with the number of Innate Martial Artists on ours.”

He paused before adding, ”However, the individual combat strength of the Feathered People is generally weaker than that of a Martial Artist of the same level. Their strength lies in coordination and mobility. A Level 45 Feathered Priest might not be able to beat one of our Level 43 Innate Martial Artists in a one-on-one fight, but ten Priests working together could suppress fifteen of our Martial Artists of the same level.”

Xu Wuyi committed this information to memory.

The barracks were standard four-person rooms, but Shi Yue arranged a private room for Xu Wuyi. It wasn’t large, but it was clean and tidy.

”You’re a special asset, so you get officer’s privileges,” Shi Yue said with a smile. ”Get some good rest and build up your strength these next few days. Once the order comes down, you’ll have your hands full.”

Xu Wuyi nodded and set down his belongings.

For the next five days, he followed Zhao Rui’s instructions, taking part in no patrols or combat missions. Instead, he remained on base to quietly adjust and prepare.

Aside from his regular daily Cultivation, he spent his time at the Training Ground, acclimating to the gravity of the Flowing Sand Star Realm. The gravity here was slightly lower than Blue Star’s, which had a minor effect on movement and jumping.

He also observed the base’s defense systems and daily operations.

The defenses of Sandstone Base were quite formidable.

The outer layer was an Energy Shield, the middle layer consisted of automated turrets and a Sensitive Minefield, and the inner layer housed the barracks and command facilities.

Aerial reconnaissance drones patrolled non-stop, twenty-four hours a day, their surveillance covering a fifty-kilometer radius around the base.