High Martial Arts: Enlightenment after Practices

”How can I help you two? If you want to go inside, you need to register, state your purpose, and tell us who you’re looking for.”

Xu Wuyi took the black ID card from his pocket and flashed it in front of the security guard. ”Federation Inspection Department. We’re looking for Wang Haidong.”

The security guard froze for a moment. His gaze fell on the mask covering Xu Wuyi’s face, then shifted back to the black ID card. After hesitating for a few seconds, he said, ”Please wait a moment. I’ll notify them.”

He turned and walked into the building, leaving three other guards stationed at the entrance. Fang Xiaoxiao’s hand rested on the weapon at her waist, ready to draw it at a moment’s notice, but Xu Wuyi simply stood there in silence, motionless.

About two minutes later, the security guard returned. He looked a bit uneasy but tried his best to maintain a polite tone. ”Mr. Wang said you may go up. Someone will meet you on the forty-eighth floor.”

Xu Wuyi nodded and walked into the building with Fang Xiaoxiao.

The lobby of the building was grandly decorated. The floor was paved with marble, massive abstract paintings hung on the walls, and several young women in professional attire sat behind the front desk. They cast noticeably curious glances at Xu Wuyi and Fang Xiaoxiao.

A young man in a black suit hurried over and offered a slight bow. ”Please follow me. Mr. Wang is waiting for you on the top floor.”

Xu Wuyi followed him to the elevator. Fang Xiaoxiao stayed close by his side, her wary eyes scanning their surroundings.

The elevator doors opened, and the three of them stepped inside. The young man pressed the button for the forty-eighth floor, and the elevator began its slow ascent.

Standing beside Xu Wuyi, Fang Xiaoxiao felt her heartbeat quicken slightly. She had carried out over thirty missions before, but this one felt entirely different. In the past, they would always scout the location in advance, set up ambushes, and meticulously plan every single step. But this time, they had simply waltzed right into the enemy’s lair in broad daylight and casually taken the elevator up. It felt far too strange.

She couldn’t help but look at Xu Wuyi. The black-and-white mask hid his expression, but judging by his posture and breathing, he was incredibly calm—as calm as if he were just visiting a regular client.

The numbers on the elevator display ticked steadily upward.

Floor twenty.

Floor twenty-five.

Floor thirty.

Floor thirty-five.

Floor forty.

Floor forty-five.

DING.

The elevator doors opened. They had arrived at the forty-eighth floor.

Beyond the elevator doors lay a spacious reception hall. Several sets of leather sofas were arranged across the room, calligraphy and paintings hung on the walls, and the floor-to-ceiling windows offered a panoramic view of the Xingjing City East District.

Six men stood in the reception hall. They were all burly, wearing black suits and sharp expressions. Though they seemed to be standing randomly, Fang Xiaoxiao could tell at a glance that they had taken up standard defensive positions. No matter which direction an attack came from, they could react immediately.

Standing at the very front of the six men was a bald, middle-aged man.

Zhao Gufeng.

He wore a dark gray traditional Tang suit, his hands clasped behind his back and a faint smile playing on his lips. His smile seemed gentle, but his gaze swept back and forth over Xu Wuyi and Fang Xiaoxiao like a knife.

”Right this way,” Zhao Gufeng said. His voice was thick and carried a gravelly tone. ”Mr. Wang is waiting inside.”

He stepped aside and pointed toward a set of wooden double doors deep within the reception hall.

Xu Wuyi didn’t move. His gaze swept over the six men before finally landing on Zhao Gufeng. ”You’re Zhao Gufeng?”

Zhao Gufeng raised an eyebrow. ”You know me?”

”I’ve read your file,” Xu Wuyi said. ”A level forty-three Innate Martial Artist with a background in underground boxing. You have extensive combat experience and a record of single-handedly killing three martial artists of the same level.”

Zhao Gufeng froze for a moment before bursting into laughter. His booming chuckles echoed through the empty reception hall.

”Interesting,” he said. ”The people from the Inspection Department really are built different. You know exactly who I am, yet you still dared to come up here.” He dropped his smile, his eyes turning sharp. ”Kid, I’ll give you one chance. Turn around right now, go downstairs, and I’ll pretend I didn’t see anything. When the Inspection Department comes to investigate, it’s just procedural. I won’t make things difficult for you. But if you want to go in...”

He paused and took a step forward.

As his foot struck the floor, Fang Xiaoxiao felt the ground tremble slightly beneath her. An oppressive aura radiated from Zhao Gufeng, stifling her breath. This was the pressure of an Innate Martial Artist.

”...then you have to get past me first.”

Fang Xiaoxiao gripped her weapon, her body tensing as she prepared for battle. But she didn’t move, because Xu Wuyi hadn’t moved either.

Xu Wuyi looked at Zhao Gufeng in silence for a few seconds before speaking. ”Zhao Gufeng, do you know what you’re doing?”

Zhao Gufeng sneered. ”Of course I do. I’m protecting my employer. Do you people from the Inspection Department really think you can arrest someone just by waving that useless card around? Let me tell you, without a search warrant or official approval, you are trespassing. I have every right to stop you.”

Xu Wuyi nodded, seeming to agree with his reasoning. Then, he raised his right hand.

Zhao Gufeng frowned as he watched the masked man raise his hand. He didn’t understand what this guy was doing. There was no gathering of momentum, no channeling of energy, no preparatory combat stance—he just casually lifted a hand. What was the meaning of this?

Then, he saw a wisp of blue flame. It was faint and weak, looking as if a mere gust of wind could snuff it out. It rose from Xu Wuyi’s palm, forming an ethereal curtain of light in front of him. Zhao Gufeng’s pupils constricted.

He didn’t know what it was, but his instincts screamed danger. It was an inexplicable sensation, like being targeted by an apex predator, a looming premonition that something terrible was about to happen. With no time to think, his body reacted before his mind could process it, and he threw a punch.

This punch was the very skill he had relied on to survive and build his reputation over the years. Back in the underground boxing rings, countless opponents had fallen to this exact strike. His fist whistled through the air, carrying devastating power as it aimed straight for Xu Wuyi’s chest.

Then, his fist hit that blue curtain of light.

In that instant, Zhao Gufeng’s mind went entirely blank. It wasn’t pain. It wasn’t dizziness. It wasn’t any sensation he had ever known. Instead, it was a state of complete, absolute chaos.

He no longer knew who he was, what he was doing, or why his fist was flying toward that man. All of his memories, all of his experience, all of his instincts—everything was wiped away by something in that fleeting second. He just stood there blankly, his fist raised, completely paralyzed.

The six subordinates were stunned. They didn’t understand what had just happened. Zhao Gufeng had just thrown a perfectly fierce punch, so why had he suddenly frozen in place as if paralyzed?

”Mr. Zhao?” one of the men called out hesitantly.

There was no response. Zhao Gufeng remained standing there, his eyes hollow and his expression vacant, like a statue.