High Martial Arts: Enlightenment after Practices

Xu Wuyi looked at Zhao Zhenyue. ”Do you need me to launch a full-frontal assault?”

”No.” Zhao Zhenyue shook his head. ”Your mission is a feint.”

He pulled up the tactical plan.

”Three days from now, at 14:00 standard time, you need to appear on the eastern side of the N-33 Star Domain. Create a big enough disturbance to draw at least four Vice-Kings to intercept you.”

”Simultaneously, He Yayin will lead the ’Sound Blade Squad’ and the military’s special operations team to break in from the west. The objective is to seize at least one living broodmother core and a complete transformed specimen.”

”How long does the feint need to last?” Xu Wuyi asked.

”Thirty minutes,” He Yayin interjected. ”Within those thirty minutes, we must complete the entire process: infiltration, seizure, and withdrawal.”

”The moment time is up, regardless of whether we’ve succeeded, you are to immediately disengage from the battlefield and use the pre-placed warp beacon to return.”

Xu Wuyi studied the tactical map carefully.

The feint area was about eighty kilometers from the experimental base. This distance was close enough to arouse the guards’ suspicion but not so close that they’d suspect it was a diversion to lure them away.

More importantly, the terrain in that area was open, ideal for a quick escape.

”What if all six Vice-Kings are drawn over?” he posed.

”All the better,” Feng Zhuohua said. ”But based on our analysis of the Feathered People’s command style, they will leave at least two Vice-Kings to guard the base. Your job is to draw as many as you can, but don’t take risks. The moment you detect any Grandmaster Level fluctuations, retreat immediately.”

Xu Wuyi contemplated for a moment before nodding. ”Understood.”

”The key to this mission is the ’performance’,” Lin Shuo emphasized. ”You have to make the Feathered People believe you genuinely intend to storm the experimental base. So, make a huge scene, build up your momentum, but don’t actually fight to the death. Your safety is the top priority.”

”I have a question.” Xu Wuyi looked at He Yayin. ”Your squad is in charge of the infiltration, which is very high-risk. If you run into trouble...”

”We have a backup plan,” He Yayin said calmly. ”If our infiltration is blocked, or if we can’t secure the broodmother core intact, we will activate the self-destruct sequence and destroy the experimental base. No matter what, we cannot allow the Feathered People’s technology to advance any further.”

Her tone was completely steady, as if she were discussing something utterly ordinary.

Xu Wuyi asked no more questions.

Soldiers have their resolve, and Martial Artists have their responsibilities.

...

After the meeting, Xu Wuyi returned to his quarters with the case containing the Flame Marrow Crystal.

He didn’t use it right away, choosing instead to first adjust his condition.

In his Sea of Consciousness, the great, dark-golden marsh breathed steadily. The Golden Crow Illusion floated at its center, its flames burning quietly. Ever since his Heavy Water had reached Great Success, he had been trying to ”absorb” the Golden Crow, but his progress was slow.

The Flame Rules and the Gravity Rules were simply too different in nature.

Heavy Water was about ”sinking,” ”condensing,” and ”containing”—it was a power that converged inward.

The Golden Crow was about ”incinerating,” ”dispersing,” and ”purifying”—it was a power that expanded outward.

As for how to truly unify the two, the answer Liang Sixian had given him was ”absorption”: to let the vitality of the Heavy Water encompass the traits of the Golden Crow, and to let the incineration of the Golden Crow ignite the depths of the Heavy Water.

He understood the theory, but putting it into practice was fraught with difficulty.

But now, he had the Flame Marrow Crystal.

Xu Wuyi sat cross-legged in the center of the Cultivation Room, opened the case, and took out the dark red crystal.

He held it in his palm.

A warm, smooth sensation was accompanied by a scorching flow of Energy that surged up the meridians of his arm, rushing straight for his Sea of Consciousness.

The Golden Crow Illusion instantly began to seethe!

The flames on its feathers shifted from dark gold to an incandescent white as the temperature skyrocketed, causing the heat throughout his entire Sea of Consciousness to rise.

The great, dark-golden marsh was affected; ripples spread across its surface, and its breathing rhythm was disrupted.

Xu Wuyi immediately focused his Heart and Spirit, channeling the Power of his Heart Image to stabilize the marsh.

At the same time, his consciousness sank into the Flame Marrow Crystal.

In an instant, he felt as if he were in a world of Flame.

Not ordinary fire, but the manifestation of Rules.

He saw how Flame was born: it began as a single spark, absorbing Energy, expanding, and burning. It released light and heat, then spread, and finally grew into a raging inferno.

He saw how Flame changed: the rise and fall of its temperature, the shifts in its color, the gathering and scattering of its form. Everything followed a traceable pattern.

He saw how Flame destroyed: it reduced matter to ash and incinerated Energy into nothingness. It was the ultimate purification, and also the ultimate destruction.

More importantly, he saw the ”vitality” of the Flame.

It wasn’t a rigid, lifeless combustion, but a living, vibrant dance. The Flame would breathe, pulse, and adjust its form and temperature in response to its environment.

This shared a fundamental principle with the ”vitality” of his Heavy Water.

The vitality of Heavy Water manifested in changes in weight; the vitality of Flame manifested in changes in temperature and form.

Both were ”alive,” just in different forms of expression.

Xu Wuyi’s Heart and Spirit became completely immersed.

Time passed, second by second.

The flowing flames within the Flame Marrow Crystal in his palm gradually dimmed, and its dark red patterns began to fade. Meanwhile, the Golden Crow Illusion in Xu Wuyi’s Sea of Consciousness was undergoing a subtle transformation.

The flames on its feathers no longer just burned quietly; they began to pulse gently with a certain rhythm, as if they were breathing.

The temperature of the flames was no longer constant. At times it was as scorching as the blazing sun, at others as gentle as its warm rays.

The Golden Crow Illusion itself was also changing. Its previously closed eyes slowly opened a sliver, and within its dark golden pupils, the vibrant dance of the flames was reflected.

At the same time, the ”breathing” rhythm of the great, dark-golden marsh began to synchronize with the pulsing of the Golden Crow’s flames.

When it contracted, the marsh’s weight condensed, and the Golden Crow’s flames drew inward.

When it expanded, the marsh’s weight dispersed, and the Golden Crow’s flames flared outward.

Contracting and expanding, sinking and incinerating—the two completely different powers began to find a resonant frequency.

Realization dawned in Xu Wuyi’s mind.

’The shared quality of being ”alive” is the key to their fusion.’

’Whether it’s the change in the Heavy Water’s weight or the Flame’s temperature, both are manifestations of this ”vitality”.’

’As long as I grasp this commonality, I can help them find a point of resonance and then begin the true ”absorption”.’

After an unknown amount of time, Xu Wuyi slowly opened his eyes.

The Flame Marrow Crystal in his palm had grown completely dim, turning into an ordinary, dark red stone. The fragments of the Flame Rules within had been completely absorbed by him.

But his gains were immense.

The ”vitality” of his Golden Crow Illusion had increased by at least thirty percent, and its synchronization rate with the great marsh of Heavy Water had reached an unprecedented level.

Although there was still a long way to go before true fusion, the path forward was now clear, and the bottleneck had begun to loosen.

Xu Wuyi stood up, stretching his somewhat stiff body.

It was already dark outside. Checking the time, he realized his session of comprehension had lasted a full ten hours.

But he felt clear-headed and refreshed, and the Power of his Heart Image was more harmonious than before.

”The Flame Marrow Crystal... it really lives up to its reputation.” Xu Wuyi placed the depleted crystal back into its case and carefully put it away.