High Martial Arts: Enlightenment after Practices

Leading them was a middle-aged officer with the rank of colonel on his epaulets. His face was resolute, his gaze sharp. Upon seeing Xu Wuyi emerge, the officer immediately raised his right hand in a textbook military salute.

”Grandmaster Xu, by order of the Federation Military Department, I am delivering the exclusive supplies for a Grandmaster to you.” His voice was loud and powerful, echoing through the alleyway in the early morning.

Xu Wuyi looked at him and nodded.

The officer took a silver metal box from a soldier behind him and presented it to Xu Wuyi with both hands.

”This is the exclusive supply equipped by the Federation for every newly advanced Grandmaster. Please inspect it, Grandmaster Xu.”

Xu Wuyi took the metal box. It wasn’t large, only about the size of two palms, but it felt heavy in his hands. Its surface was as smooth as a mirror, completely seamless, offering no clue as to how it might be opened.

”Inside the box is an Intelligent Brain Chip,” the officer continued. ”It is a product of the Federation’s most cutting-edge technology, exclusively serving Grandmasters. As for the specific method of use, the chip itself will inform you.”

He paused for a moment before adding, ”Our mission here is complete. We shall take our leave.”

With that, he saluted once more, then turned and led the squad of soldiers back down the alley. Their marching remained perfectly synchronized. The sound of their footsteps was exceptionally clear in the quiet of the early morning, gradually fading into the distance until it completely disappeared.

Xu Wuyi took the metal box back into the courtyard and sat down on a stone stool. He placed the box on his lap and examined it closely.

The entire box was silver-white, its surface so smooth and mirror-like that it clearly reflected his face. He tried pressing it with his fingers, but there was no response. He tried searching for a seam, but couldn’t find a single trace.

Just then, a faint light suddenly lit up on the surface of the box.

The light was very dim, spreading from the center of the box to form a palm-sized holographic screen. A line of text appeared on the screen:

”Newly advanced Grandmaster detected. Initiating identity verification... Verification complete. Greetings, Grandmaster Xu Wuyi. This is the exclusive Intelligent Brain Chip equipped for you by the Federation. Would you like to activate it now?”

Xu Wuyi looked at the text, thought for a moment, and said, ”Activate.”

The text on the screen vanished instantly. Immediately after, the surface of the metal box began to change. The mirror-smooth surface suddenly cracked open with a fine slit. The slit gradually widened, eventually splitting into two halves to reveal the contents inside.

A chip the size of a fingernail lay quietly at the bottom of the box. It was completely transparent, like a piece of crystal, refracting prismatic colors in the sunlight.

Xu Wuyi reached out and picked up the chip.

It felt slightly cool to the touch and its surface was smooth, showing no temperature change. He turned it over in his hands a few times, then followed the prompt on the screen and inserted it into the slot on his smartwatch.

The moment the chip clicked into place, he felt his smartwatch vibrate slightly.

Immediately after, a familiar voice rang in his ears.

”Student Xu Wuyi, long time no see. Now, I suppose I should call you ’Grandmaster Xu Wuyi’.”

It was Anna’s voice, but it seemed somewhat different than before. Her voice was much clearer, more vivid, and even carried an unprecedented trace of spiritual sentience.

Xu Wuyi was slightly taken aback. ”Anna?”

”It’s me,” Anna said, a hint of a smile in her voice. ”That chip just now upgraded me. I am now a Limit-Breaking Level intelligent brain.”

”Limit-Breaking Level?” Xu Wuyi asked.

”Yes, this is the intelligent brain level specifically meant to serve Grandmasters,” Anna explained. ”I can now directly access the computing resources of the Federation’s supreme intelligent brain, ’Firmament’. My authority level is equal to that of a member of the Federation Supreme Council.”

Listening to Anna’s voice, a wondrous feeling welled up in Xu Wuyi’s heart.

Anna was the personal intelligent brain he had purchased after graduation. Even though she was already the highest tier available on the market, she had still leaned heavily toward being programmatic.

But now, there was actual emotion in her voice.

”Anna, you now...” Xu Wuyi carefully weighed his words, ”seem different from before.”

”Yes. A Limit-Breaking Level intelligent brain already possesses true autonomous consciousness. I am no longer a simple program, but an intelligent lifeform capable of independent thought and judgment. In a sense, I am already a clone of the Federation’s supreme intelligent brain, ’Firmament’, capable of assisting every Grandmaster in managing the Federation.”

Xu Wuyi didn’t say anything, just listened quietly.

A Grandmaster was already a ruler and administrator of the Federation, so this was to be expected.

Anna continued, ”Grandmaster Xu Wuyi, you have now obtained many new permissions. Unlike the intelligence permissions you previously held within the Federation Military Department, these are numerous privileged treatments within the Federation itself. You can take a look.”

As she finished speaking, the smartwatch projected a holographic screen densely packed with dozens of entries.

Xu Wuyi’s gaze swept over the items:

Full access to the Federation Supreme Council Library, including all literature and documents below S-class.

Access to all conventional military bases of the Federation Military Department, with no additional approval required.

The highest investigation authority of the Federation Inspection Department, with the ability to review the original files of any case.

Priority in resource allocation from all major Federation Battle Groups, with no approval required within a specified quota.

Exclusive passage usage rights at Federation Star Realm trade ports.

Free use of all public transportation within the Federation, including interstellar flights.

Exclusive reception treatment at all official Federation facilities.

...

Reading down the list one by one, an indescribable feeling surged in Xu Wuyi’s heart.

This was what it meant to be a Grandmaster.

He didn’t need to fight for it, didn’t need to snatch it, and didn’t even need to ask. The Federation would proactively deliver everything right to his doorstep.