High Martial Arts: Enlightenment after Practices

Chapter 735: Chapter 698: Rift Closed

The crowd was still frozen in place, staring wide-eyed at the corpses littered across the ground. The expressions on their faces were absolutely priceless.

Shen Jin chuckled and waved at them. “What are you all still standing around for? Go pick them up!”

The Martial Artists were momentarily stunned before they finally snapped out of it, cheering as they charged toward the battlefield.

Su Yueling ran at the very front. She rushed to the corpse of a Blade-toothed Beast and squatted down to examine it closely. The carcass was so intact that it looked as if it had simply fallen asleep. Its fur was smooth, its fangs sharp, and its scales completely unharmed. She reached out to touch it. It was cold to the touch and incredibly tough—top-tier material.

She lifted her head, looking at the corpses of several other Blade-toothed Beasts nearby, and then at the Great Commanders’ bodies further away. A sense of surrealism welled up in her heart. Under normal circumstances, it would be extremely difficult to get even one piece of these materials. And now? They were everywhere, free for the taking.

Zhao Kun also ran over, heading straight for the corpse of the Rock Armor Commander. He circled it several times, his eyes gleaming.

“Holy crap, a completely intact Rock Armor Commander!” he couldn’t help but yell. “Look at these scales; not a single one is shattered! Look at these claws; none of them are broken! If we take this back and make Protective Gear out of it, how much money could it sell for?”

Another Martial Artist ran over, staring at the Shadow Leopard Commander’s corpse, practically drooling.

“A Shadow Leopard Commander’s pelt! Intact! Not a single tear! If this thing is taken to the market, it’ll go for at least this much!” he declared, holding up five fingers and shaking them vigorously.

The eyes of the surrounding Martial Artists lit up. Even though they were all Martial Artists, materials of this caliber were usually something they could only dream about. But now?!

The group immediately got to work. Some hauled bodies, some harvested materials, and others sorted the loot. Even though they were sweating profusely from the labor, everyone wore wide smiles on their faces. The smiles were genuine, coming from the bottom of their hearts.

Su Yueling hoisted a Blade-toothed Beast’s corpse onto her shoulder and turned to head back. After a few steps, she suddenly stopped and looked over her shoulder at the figure standing by the outpost’s entrance in the distance.

Xu Wuyi was chatting with Shen Jin and Ren Bai. His expression remained as calm as ever, as if everything that had just happened was merely a trivial matter he had casually taken care of. She watched him for a few seconds before retracting her gaze and continuing on her way, her mind wandering to other thoughts.

The first time she had met him was in the arena during the three-school joint examination. Back then, they were both students, and she had almost forced him to surrender with her Shadow Sword Technique. Later, over by the Rift, she had watched him charge into the Beast Tide time and time again, using the Liaoyuan fire to wipe out massive numbers of Low-tier Star Beasts. Back then, he was an Innate Martial Artist, and she was a Martial Artist; the gap between them wasn’t that massive yet.

Then, he advanced to become a Grandmaster. And after that came today.

In just a little over a year, he had reached a height she could never hope to attain. Su Yueling took a deep breath, steadied the corpse on her shoulder, and continued her trek back.

On the battlefield, the Martial Artists were still busy at work. There were simply too many corpses to transport all at once, but no one complained. Everyone was working in full swing.

Shen Jin stood at the outpost entrance, looking at the bustling figures with a satisfied expression.

“Kid, with this trick of yours, you’ll have countless people begging for your help,” he said. “If those hunting squads find out, they’ll be lining up to look for you.”

Xu Wuyi shook his head in silence.

Ren Bai smiled from the side. “Grandmaster Shen is right. Your ability is incredibly rare. You’ll definitely be very popular in Grandmaster circles in the future.”

Xu Wuyi looked at him. “Grandmasters need to hunt too?”

Ren Bai nodded. “Of course. Over on the Star Realm Battlefield, materials are never enough. Many Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, as well as the materials harvested from Star Beasts, are scarce resources. If you can kill Star Beasts while keeping their corpses intact, plenty of Grandmasters would be more than willing to team up with you.”

Xu Wuyi nodded thoughtfully.

Shen Jin patted his shoulder. “Alright, we’ll talk about this later. Let’s deal with the matter at hand first. The Rift hasn’t been closed yet.”

The three men turned and walked back into the outpost.

Behind them, the battlefield was still buzzing with activity. The Martial Artists carried the corpses of Star Beasts one by one, sporting irrepressible smiles. They had never seen anything like this before. They had never imagined that they would one day harvest so many precious materials this easily.

And all of it was because of the person standing by the outpost entrance.

It was the fifth day of the Rift closure operation.

The morning sun rose from behind the eastern mountains, dyeing the entire Profound Abyssal Rift a vibrant golden hue. The dark red tear that had once scarred the valley had now shrunk to less than five meters wide. It pulsed faintly in the dawn light like a wound on the verge of healing.

Xu Wuyi stood at the outpost entrance, holding a cup of hot water, his gaze resting on the Rift. After several days of rest, his condition had completely recovered.

Within his sea of consciousness, the pale blue Heart of Order was far more corporeal than before, and the halos surrounding it were much more stable. Although that battle had been incredibly taxing, it had also deepened his practical understanding of the Order Rules.

Footsteps sounded from behind him. It was Ren Bai. The white-robed Grandmaster was also holding a cup of hot water. He stepped up beside Xu Wuyi, his eyes mirroring Xu Wuyi’s focus on the Rift.

“Three more days,” Ren Bai said, his voice much steadier than it had been a few days ago. “Grandmaster Shen said that if everything goes smoothly, by this time in three days, this Rift will cease to exist entirely.”

Xu Wuyi nodded without a word.

Ren Bai paused for a moment before suddenly asking, “Did you feel it?”

Xu Wuyi turned to look at him.

Ren Bai didn’t meet his gaze, his eyes still fixed on the Rift, but his expression had grown somewhat grave.