High Martial Arts: Enlightenment after Practices

Dawn arrived exceptionally early at Mountain Stone Base.

The Tianshui Star Realm had no moon, but it did have two dim, yellow suns that rose in alternation.

Before the first sun had fully crested the horizon, the sky had already shifted from deep blue to the pale white of dawn. Light filtered through the reinforced glass high in the command tower, spilling across the long table in the conference room.

When Xu Wuyi walked into Conference Room Three, five people were already seated inside.

Han Mo sat at the head of the table. An electronic sea chart was spread out before him, and he swiped a finger across the light screen, marking several flashing red dots.

Tie Zhan sat to his left, repeatedly polishing his dark-red warhammer with a flannel cloth.

Lu Wenquan sat to the right, wearing his signature glasses. His fingers flew across a tactical tablet, occasionally pulling up graphs of Energy parameter curves.

The other two were Zhao Qingwei and Chu Shanhe.

Zhao Qingwei sat by the window. Her white swordsman’s uniform was spotless, and her sword, ”Shadow Moon,” lay across her lap.

She had her eyes closed and her breathing was long and even, as if she were meditating. But Xu Wuyi could sense that her Sword Intention was so restrained it was almost nonexistent—a sign that her Swordsmanship was on the verge of a breakthrough.

Chu Shanhe sat across from her in a dark-red combat suit, his back ramrod straight. He wasn’t polishing a weapon or looking at data; he simply stared out at the sea, his gaze profound.

”You’re here.” Han Mo glanced up at Xu Wuyi and gestured for him to sit.

Xu Wuyi took the empty seat at the far end of the table, leaning his Liaoyuan Long Spear against the back of his chair.

In the morning light, the dark-gold patterns on the spear’s shaft shimmered with a soft luster, as if life itself were flowing slowly within.

”Everyone’s here.” Han Mo closed the sea chart and looked around the room. ”Commander-in-Chief Yang’s orders have arrived. At four o’clock this afternoon, we will launch a probing attack on Broken Star Castle.”

The conference room fell silent for a moment.

”A probing attack?” Tie Zhan set down the cloth and stood his warhammer by his side. ”What’s the scale? What are the objectives?”

”The scale: six Quasi-Grandmasters, two Innate elites, and one standard assault squadron.” Han Mo pulled up an encrypted file, projecting it onto the center of the table.

”There are two objectives. First, to confirm the true defensive strength of Broken Star Castle. Second, if possible, to annihilate any potential ambush forces on its perimeter.”

A detailed battle plan appeared on the light screen.

Xu Wuyi studied it closely.

The plan was divided into two teams: a diversion team and a stealth team.

The diversion team—consisting of Han Mo, Tie Zhan, Lu Wenquan, and himself—would attack the outer defensive perimeter of Broken Star Castle head-on, creating a large enough disturbance to draw the Feathered People’s attention.

The stealth team—composed of three Quasi-Grandmasters: Su Wanqing, Chen Feng, and Yang Zhenyue—would lie in wait in the flanking waters. If the Feathered People’s ambush force appeared, they would immediately counter-encircle them.

Zhao Qingwei and Chu Shanhe would be integrated into the assault squadron, responsible for perimeter security and providing backup.

”It looks thorough.” Lu Wenquan pushed up his glasses, his finger sliding across the tablet. ”But I have a question: if the Feathered People have really set a trap, would they only place ambush forces on the perimeter?”

”What are you suggesting?” Han Mo asked, looking at him.

”Inside Broken Star Castle.” Lu Wenquan pulled up a structural diagram of the fortress, a rough outline pieced together from years of reconnaissance and intelligence.

”If I were the Feathered People commander, I’d hold at least two Second King Level experts in reserve inside the fortress. They’d wait for us to penetrate deeper, then coordinate with the ambush force for a pincer attack from both inside and out.”

He paused. ”In that case, the diversion team would be under immense pressure.”

”That’s why our mission is a ’probe,’ not an ’assault,’” Han Mo said calmly. ”If we find the fortress’s internal defenses are stronger than expected, or if there are more than four Feathered People Second King Level experts, we retreat immediately.”

”Commander-in-Chief Yang’s orders are clear: Xu Wuyi’s safety is the top priority.”

Tie Zhan grinned. ”Four Second Kings? Han Mo, you’re being too conservative. The three of us combined can hold off five without a problem. As long as Xu Wuyi can clear out the grunts, we can have a real slaughter.”

”It’s not being conservative, it’s being prudent.” Han Mo shook his head. ”The Feathered People already suffered a huge loss in the battle at the Quicksand Star Realm.”

”This time, in Tianshui, they’ve surely made specific preparations. I suspect... they may have already developed a way to counter Xu Wuyi’s Heart Image fire.”

The atmosphere in the conference room grew heavy at his words.

Xu Wuyi frowned as well.

’I hadn’t considered it before, but Han Mo’s concern is valid.’

’The Feathered People Civilization is no less developed than humanity’s, and their Priests and scholars are no slouches. After being soundly beaten the same way three times in a row, they’d be fools not to study countermeasures.’

”What are the odds?” Xu Wuyi asked.

”Thirty percent,” Han Mo replied. ”The Feathered People must have been able to collect some of the battle data from the Quicksand Star Realm.”

”They’ve also collected the residual Energy from the three targets we’ve hit over the past month. With the capabilities of the Feathered Priest Corps, it wouldn’t be hard for them to analyze some of the Traits of the Heart Image fire.”

”But that doesn’t mean they can find a way to counter it,” Lu Wenquan interjected. ”The Power of Heart Image is a manifestation on the spiritual level. Every person’s Heart Image is unique.”

”Even if they analyze that Martial Artist Xu’s Heart Image fire has ’persistent burning’ and ’Energy absorption’ Traits, developing a specific defense would still take time.”

”And even if they did find a defensive method, it wouldn’t necessarily be applicable on a large scale,” Chu Shanhe suddenly said, his voice calm. ”Combat on the Heart Image level is, in essence, a clash of perception and will.”

”If they find a way to counter it, that counter could become useless the moment Xu Wuyi’s technique improves.”

Xu Wuyi glanced at Chu Shanhe and nodded slightly.

’The Blood Nerve may focus on the path of Refining the body through Qi and Blood, but it also delves deep into the spiritual level.’

’Chu Shanhe’s words really hit on the crux of Heart Image combat.’

”Chu Shanhe is right.” Han Mo nodded in approval. ”But even so, we cannot let our guard down.”

”The Feathered Priest Corps excels at group-based spiritual arts. If they’ve actually developed some kind of temporary ’shield of conviction,’ it would be a huge problem for us.”

”Then we’ll just have to break their conviction,” Tie Zhan snorted. ”I’ll smash it to pieces with my hammer and see how much they believe then.”

Lu Wenquan shot him a weary look and continued his analysis. ”Besides defensive countermeasures, the Feathered People could also adjust their tactics. For example... they might abandon the garrisons at their outer strongholds, concentrate all their Second King Level experts, and focus solely on hunting down Martial Artist Xu.”

He pulled up the Energy Fluctuation records from three battlefields over the last five days. ”Look, during the first attack, the garrisoned Second King only rushed back after we’d already engaged. The second time, the outpost’s Second King Level commander didn’t even show himself; he just fled. The third time, the convoy’s Second King escort also fought a retreating battle.”

”What does this tell us?” Zhao Qingwei opened her eyes, her cool gaze fixed on the light screen.