High Martial Arts: Enlightenment after Practices

Xu Wuyi understood.

Grandmaster Ren Bai’s power was needed to maintain the seal and deal with the Beast King. The routine cleanup missions had to be completed by them—the Martial Artists and Innate Martial Artists.

And his arrival would undoubtedly make this job a little easier.

”Let’s go. The inspection is complete.” Tang Xiuqi put away the detection device. ”We’re going back to continue our training. We must maintain peak condition before the next surge.”

The four of them returned to the fortress.

Over the next two days, Xu Wuyi gradually adapted to life at the outpost.

He spent his days on patrol and in training, cultivated his New Martial Arts at night, and occasionally went to the edge of the Rift to comprehend the Rules.

Under Grandmaster Ren Bai’s protection, he could experience the spatial tearing and energy tides up close in relative safety, allowing his understanding of the Gravity Rules to slowly deepen.

His proficiency with the ”Profound Nether Celestial Spear” increased by 3 percentage points over these two days, reaching Minor Achievement (95.4%) and drawing ever closer to Great Success.

But the period of calm was shattered on the evening of the third day.

At that moment, Xu Wuyi was regulating his breath in his dorm room when a piercing alarm suddenly blared throughout the entire fortress.

”Attention, all personnel! Abnormal Energy Fluctuations detected at the Rift! Large-scale spatial disturbance detected! A surge is expected in three minutes!”

Xu Wuyi’s eyes snapped open. He grabbed his long spear and rushed out the door.

In the corridor, other Martial Artists appeared one after another, all of them sprinting toward the operations room.

Tang Xiuqi was already standing before the holographic sand table, where the red dot representing the Rift was flashing manically.

”Energy readings have surpassed the threshold. The disturbance intensity... is double that of a normal surge,” Su Wen reported quickly. ”At least one hundred fifty Star Beasts. Energy signature analysis... confirms three Great Commander Level entities!”

”Three Great Commanders...” Tang Xiuqi’s eyes narrowed. ”Second Echelon, full deployment! First Echelon, prepare for support!”

”Yes, sir!”

Thirteen figures shot out of the operations room, heading straight for the fortress walls.

Xu Wuyi kept pace beside Tang Xiuqi, his gaze fixed on the distant Rift.

The surface of the dark-red Rift was twisting violently.

Ripples spread out at a visible rate, and muffled roars echoed from within, as if something was desperately squeezing its way out.

”Deploy in preset formation!” Tang Xiuqi commanded. ”Zhao Kun, Mu Qing, hold the front! Dai Cen, Luo Xiangwan, left flank! Li Shuang, Ji Shanhai, right flank! Su Wen, runic support! Sun Xiaoyun, be ready with healing!”

”Xu Wuyi—” He turned to look at Xu Wuyi. ”You’re responsible for clearing the field.”

Xu Wuyi nodded, tightening his grip on the Liaoyuan Long Spear.

The next moment, the surface of the Rift violently exploded!

Dark-red energy gushed out like a bursting dam. Within that torrent of energy, innumerable ferocious figures scrambled to force their way into physical space.

Blade-toothed Beasts, Red Fang Beasts, Bone Spike Beasts... All kinds of Star Beasts roared as they landed, their scarlet eyes instantly locking onto the fortress.

And in the center of the horde, three exceptionally massive figures slowly rose to their feet.

Commander Level.

The one on the left was a Red Fang Commander, standing over five meters tall and covered in dark-red Bone Armor, breathing out scorching-hot air.

The one on the right was a Blade-toothed Commander, moving on all fours. Its back was covered in sharp Bone Blades, and its tail was like a steel whip.

And the one in the middle—

Xu Wuyi’s pupils contracted.

It was a Star Beast he had never seen before.

It was slightly smaller than the other two Commanders, but its entire body was covered in jet-black scales. Its head was eyeless, possessing only a gigantic mouth filled with sharp teeth.

The strangest part was the faint purple mist suffusing the air around it. Wherever it passed, the air itself seemed to corrode with a SIZZLING sound.

”It’s a Miasma Commander,” Tang Xiuqi’s voice came over the comms channel. ”A rare breed, specializes in poison attacks. Be careful of its mist!”

Before his voice had even faded, the three Great Commanders roared in unison!

The beast horde surged toward the fortress like a tide!

”Engage!”

Tang Xiuqi drew his longsword and charged out first.

Zhao Kun roared as his body glowed with an earthen-yellow light, forming a giant shield at the very front. Mu Qing followed right behind, and together, the two of them bore the brunt of the horde’s frontal assault.

On the left and right flanks, Dai Cen, Luo Xiangwan, Li Shuang, and Ji Shanhai struck simultaneously. Flame, frost, and Sword Qi crisscrossed, shredding the Star Beasts that attempted to encircle them.

Su Wen rapidly sketched runes in mid-air, casting one enhancement formation after another upon his teammates. Meanwhile, Sun Xiaoyun roamed the edge of the battlefield, her pale green healing energy ready to provide support at a moment’s notice.

Xu Wuyi did not attack immediately.

He stood slightly back from the front line, his Heart Image perception fully extended to encompass the entire battlefield.

The horde numbered around one hundred sixty beasts. Ordinary Star Beasts made up seventy percent, with Commander Level beasts accounting for the other thirty. The three Great Commanders were being tied down by Tang Xiuqi, Zhao Kun, and the others, unable to disengage for the moment.

But the Star Beasts’ numerical advantage was too great, and the defensive line was slowly being pushed back.

’It’s time.’

Xu Wuyi took a deep breath, and the Dark Gold Mountain Body in his sea of consciousness trembled violently.

The Power of Heart Image surged out along its optimized pathways. With his perception fully open, it covered a radius of eight hundred meters.

He locked onto the most densely packed areas of the horde, where over eighty Star Beasts were clustered together.

Then, he ignited his Heart Fire.

VMMMM—

Sparks of dark gold materialized from nothing within the beast horde.

One spark, ten sparks, a hundred...

The Star Beasts froze, staring in confusion with their scarlet eyes at the sparks igniting on their comrades.

The next second, Xu Wuyi clenched his hand into a fist.

”Liaoyuan.”

BOOM!!!

Over a hundred Flame True Seals erupted at once!

A sea of dark-gold fire raged through the horde. Ordinary Star Beasts were instantly incinerated, not even having time to scream. The Commander Level beasts held on for a few seconds before they too were reduced to charred corpses in the flames.

In just ten seconds, the horde’s numbers had been cut by more than half!

The pressure on the defensive line instantly plummeted.

Tang Xiuqi seized the opportunity, his sword flashing like a dragon as he forced the Red Fang Commander back repeatedly. Meanwhile, Zhao Kun tanked the Blade-toothed Commander’s attacks, creating a perfect opening for Dai Cen to unleash his own.

As for the Miasma Commander, it seemed to sense the threat. It abruptly changed direction and charged straight for Xu Wuyi!

The faint purple mist around it roiled violently. Grass and trees withered in its wake, and the very ground corroded into pitted craters.

”Junior Brother Xu, watch out!” Tang Xiuqi yelled.

A Great Commander Level Star Beast was, in theory, on par with an Innate Martial Artist. In truth, however, Innate Martial Artists focused more on cultivating their Heart Image; their Physical Strength was no match for a Star Beast’s.

Xu Wuyi’s expression was calm.

He raised the Liaoyuan Long Spear, and the Gravity Field around its shaft began to distort.

At the Minor Success Realm, his ”Profound Nether Celestial Spear” could already begin to alter the direction of local gravity.

When the Miasma Commander was thirty meters away, Xu Wuyi made his move.

He pointed his spear forward, its tip locked on the target.

”Profound Nether Grasp.”

The direction of gravity around the Miasma Commander suddenly switched from ”downward” to ”backward”!

Caught off guard, the charging Star Beast was violently thrown backward, its speed plummeting. The faint purple poison mist also fell into momentary disarray from the sudden imbalance.

’Now’s my chance.’