High Martial Arts: Grinding for the Supreme Talent

Chapter 504: Chapter 484: Assassination

”What’s going on?”

Lin Qi was startled and immediately asked.

On the other side of the video call, Jiangtao said with a worried expression:

”All the major news sites have started their live coverage.”

”Brother Qi, you can check online. It’s already the number one trending topic.”

”Everyone online is going crazy over it.”

”A Super Large Disaster Beast Tide has erupted in North River Province! This one is even more dangerous because a Tenth-Level Calamity Beast has arrived!”

Hearing this, Lin Qi immediately stood up, grabbed his phone, and started looking into it.

’North River Province... That’s where my senior brother and my teacher, Mu Hong, are!’

His teacher, Mu Hong, was a native of North River Province and would periodically travel there to fight off Calamity Beasts.

He quickly unlocked his phone, where several app notifications for the news had already popped up.

”BREAKING! Super Large Disaster Beast Tide Hits Black Dragon Base in North River Province! Tenth-Level Calamity Beast Has Arrived!!”

Lin Qi quickly tapped it to read the full news report.

”According to Central... News, at 10:05 AM on July 6th, 2048 of the Martial Arts Calendar, the Black Dragon Base in our nation’s North River Province was hit by a Super Large Disaster Beast Tide.”

”This Super Large Disaster Beast Tide is worse than any before it. So far, six Ninth-Level Calamity Beasts have already broken through.”

”Including two unidentified Ninth-Level Calamity Beasts!”

”Furthermore, an unidentified Calamity Beast has emerged from the Space Gate at Black Dragon Base. Its body exceeds 500 meters in size—it is a new, Tenth-Level Calamity Beast!”

”...”

Lin Qi watched the large projected screen as countless massive, towering Calamity Beasts poured out of the Space Gate.

He quickly recognized the species among the swarm.

Eighth-Level Calamity Beasts: Vajra Tigers, Glacial White Wolves, Giant Power Bears, Vajra Apes, Earth-Split Dragons...

Ninth-Level Calamity Beasts: Earth-Shaking Dragon Elephant, Mountain-moving Ape, Black Gold Eagle, Platinum Evil Tiger.

And two other unidentified Ninth-Level Calamity Beasts.

Six Ninth-Level Calamity Beasts appearing at once was a major event under any circumstances.

And that was without even mentioning the Tenth-Level Calamity Beast.

It was a rhino-like Calamity Beast, as towering as a great mountain. Beside it, even the massive Earth-Shaking Dragon Elephant looked like a mere kitten.

It blotted out the sun like a walking mountain, its body radiating a frigid aura that turned the ground it trod upon into a frozen plain.

Lin Qi’s expression turned grave. ’A Calamity Beast like that is terrifying.’

Based on the appearances of Tenth-Level Calamity Beasts in Tianzhu Country and the White Eagle Federation, it was impossible to fight one without several Ninth Realm Martial Artists working together.

With that thought, he logged into the Red Dome House forums, which were currently buzzing with activity.

”Is it finally Xia Country’s turn?”

”Tenth-Level Calamity Beasts... They’re terrifying. A huge number of Martial Artists will probably have to be sacrificed this time.”

”Have the Ninth Realm Martial Artists been deployed yet?”

”I wonder how long it’ll take to kill the Tenth-Level Calamity Beast.”

”I remember the Overlord is stationed at the North River Base, right? With the Overlord there, Black Dragon Base shouldn’t fall!”

Like everyone on the forums, Lin Qi worried whether Black Dragon Base could hold.

One point of reassurance, however, was that Black Dragon Base was currently Xia Country’s strongest War Base on Blue Star.

If this had happened at any other base, the losses would have been even greater.

Furthermore, Black Dragon Base was a long way from any populated cities.

Even if it were breached, the damage to human cities would be far less than what Tianzhu Country and the White Eagle Federation experienced.

Seeing this, Lin Qi switched to a short-form video app. Sure enough, it was flooded with clips from the scene at Black Dragon Base.

The scene was chaotic, with footage of Martial Artists locked in desperate combat with Calamity Beasts everywhere he looked.

This wasn’t like the Disaster Beast Hunting Competition. There were no level restrictions on the Calamity Beasts, and no military forces providing protection.

On a battlefield like this, a single mistake meant death.

And death was final. Even in this era of Extraordinary Martial Arts, there were no Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures that could bring someone back from the dead.

Lin Qi exhaled. Just then, a message from his senior brother, Li Qing, appeared in their private group chat.

[Li Qing: I just sent a message to our teacher and eldest senior brother. They haven’t replied.]

[Wang Zixuan: With a Tenth-Level Calamity Beast invading, we shouldn’t bother them. Let’s just hope they make it out alive.]

...

11:00 AM, July 6th. A Super Large Disaster Beast Tide erupted at Black Dragon Base in North River Province. Six Ninth-Level Calamity Beasts and one Tenth-Level Calamity Beast descended upon Blue Star through the Space Gate.

The military and the three top Martial Arts Dojos successively announced that their Ninth Realm Martial Artists would be dispatched to North River Province to reinforce Black Dragon Base.

11:20 AM. The Overlord, Xia Country’s second-strongest expert, engaged the Tenth-Level Calamity Beast in combat.

The North River Sword King engaged a Ninth-Level Calamity Beast.

Half an hour later, four more Ninth Realm Martial Artists arrived as reinforcements.

1:00 PM. Black Dragon Base was breached. The base suffered catastrophic damage, and a large number of Martial Artists were sacrificed.

2:00 PM. The King of Mountains and Rivers arrived. The five assembled Ninth Realm Martial Artists joined forces and, on the open plains, completely annihilated the unidentified Tenth-Level Calamity Beast.

The other five Ninth-Level Calamity Beasts were subsequently slain, with only the Mountain-moving Ape managing to escape back to the Otherworld.

Four hours later, the Space Gate closed completely.

By the next morning, the Disaster Beast Tide had been successfully repelled. All that remained was to hunt down and eliminate the stragglers.

The losses from this battle were catastrophic.

「Martial Arts Calendar 2048, July 7th」

In the spacious living room of Villa 66.

”According to our latest reports, as of this moment... the Super Large Disaster Beast Tide in North River Province has been successfully repelled. The unidentified Tenth-Level Calamity Beast has been killed!”

”Black Dragon Base has been destroyed. The number of fallen Martial Artists has reached 1,423, including three Eighth Realm Martial Artists and ten Seventh Realm Martial Artists...”

After watching the news, Lin Zhen shook his head and said:

”How tragic. A total of 1,423 people lost their lives. We haven’t lost that many Martial Artists in over twenty years.”

”But why did three Eighth Realm Martial Artists die?”

Lin Qi was also puzzled. The number of Eighth and Seventh Realm Martial Artists lost seemed a bit high.

’At that level, they should have been able to escape.’

The news reports didn’t mention anything about it.

With that thought, he opened his phone and checked the Celestial Vault Institute’s group chat on his messaging app.

Sure enough, he found more inside information there.

”The North River Sword King was gravely injured fighting the Tenth-Level Calamity Beast. He almost died and will need a long time to recover.”

Lin Qi frowned when he read that, but then thought it made sense.

’The North River Sword King only just broke through. Among Ninth Realm Martial Artists, his strength is naturally no match for the older veterans.’

”The Insect Race made a move during the Disaster Beast Tide. They ambushed Steel Hammer, Gale Sword, and a few other seniors, which led to their deaths,” another person posted.

As soon as that message was posted, the group erupted in furious discussion.

”I knew it had to be the Insect Race! How else could we have lost so many High Realm Martial Artists?”

”Damn the Insect Race! These were heroes of Xia Country, ambushed and killed just like that.”

A nameless fire ignited in Lin Qi’s heart as well.

’The Insect Race really picked the perfect time to strike.’

’With the arrival of a Tenth-Level Calamity Beast, the entire base was at its most chaotic. The perfect cover for a surprise attack and assassination.’

’And they actually succeeded.’

...