High Martial: I Grind Professions

Chapter 289: Chapter 172: Lurking for Two Months (Part 2)

The words were simple and clear, yet they made the several experts at the Peak of the Great Sun Realm present nod inwardly in approval.

A completed Ninth Layer Nine Heavens Divine Body in itself represented an exceptionally strong foundation and immense potential. On top of that, his Blade Intent had reached the Soul Realm—a height most Great Sun Realm warriors couldn’t even hope to achieve.

His ”relatively fast” speed was likely unmatched by anyone present.

After the introductions, Gao Yuan looked at Li Wen with the kind, gentle smile of an elder.

”Junior Brother Li, you’re the only one among us with a completed Ninth Layer Nine Heavens Divine Body; your future is limitless. When it comes to defending the pass, I may have more experience, but if there’s a time to charge ahead and break a deadlock, your strength will be paramount. Let’s look out for each other from now on.”

”You’re too kind, Senior Brother Gao. It’s my duty, and I will certainly do my utmost,” Li Wen replied with a serious nod.

After this initial exchange, they moved on to the busy process of handing over the fortress’s affairs and familiarizing themselves with the new environment.

The structure of Rocksteady Underground Fortress was far more complex than Bluestone County’s, its defensive systems were more massive and layered, and it garrisoned a much larger number of Martial Artists.

The Star Gate itself was also more stable than the one in Bluestone County, but the spatial fluctuations it emitted meant that more powerful members of the Demon Race could pass through it.

Li Wen wasted no time.

Outside of familiarizing himself with his new surroundings and handling the necessary handover duties, he maintained a strict training regimen.

Every morning in the training grounds, he could be seen with his blade, slowly refining his techniques, wisps of condensed Blade Intent swirling around him.

In his spare time, he would also review the fortress’s combat logs to understand the characteristics of the enemies Rocksteady Fortress had previously faced.

Beneath the calm surface, everyone knew the Demon Race’s recent silence was highly unusual.

It felt as if the very air was brewing with impending conflict.

Li Wen stood on the solid fortress ramparts, his gaze fixed on the distant Stargate—a swirling vortex of light that led to the unknown lands of the Demon Realm.

This was the Rocksteady region, his new battlefield. His duty to defend the pass began here.

Though the lights of civilization were a thousand mountains away, the meaning behind his duty to protect them remained unchanged.

...

「March 1st, 232nd year of the Galactic Calendar.」

A month had quietly passed since Li Wen’s transfer to Rocksteady Fortress.

For the entire month, the Stargate hidden deep beneath Rocksteady Fortress had been unusually quiet. The bloody battles they had anticipated never erupted; there were only a few small-scale, probing infiltrations by the Demon Race.

The purpose was self-evident: to probe the new defenders of Rocksteady Fortress, especially the capabilities of the newly added warriors at the Peak of the Great Sun Realm, so they could launch more targeted and lethal attacks later.

Naturally, the Human Race wasn’t foolish enough to let the Demon Race figure them out completely, so they chose to keep an ace up their sleeve.

Thus, for the past month, despite his name being on the defense roster, Li Wen had never made a move.

Whenever the alarm sounded, he would quietly appear on the high fortress wall like a silent shadow, observing from a slight distance.

The plain, dark gray scabbard was cradled casually in his arms, and his gaze was as placid as a frozen lake.

He was waiting, patiently waiting for the moment the Demon Race would pour out in full force.

He knew full well that if the Demon Race wanted to completely annihilate Rocksteady Fortress’s contingent of top-tier Human Race experts at the Peak of the Great Sun Realm, they would have to commit their strongest Great Sun Realm elites. They might even deploy... those peerless geniuses who carried the bloodline of a Demon Emperor.

Those were his true targets for this assignment. He wanted to cut them down at the root in a single battle, to make the Demon Race feel a heart-wrenching loss.

If he revealed strength capable of threatening the Demon Emperor’s bloodline too early, the opportunity would be gone in a flash.

The afterglow of the setting sun painted the cold alloy fortress walls a dim, golden red.

Li Wen had just finished his evening blade practice, the surging True Essence within him yet to fully settle, when the piercing shriek of a highest-level alert suddenly tore through the brief tranquility without warning.

Without the slightest hesitation, space twisted almost imperceptibly, and Li Wen’s figure was already standing silently atop the fortress’s crenellations.

His dark gray blade was still cradled in his arms. He didn’t move, merely casting his gaze down toward the vast Stargate plaza below.

Lin Jing, who specialized in speed, and Captain Gao Yuan appeared immediately after, followed by the other warriors at the Peak of the Great Sun Realm, their auras heavy and imposing.

There was Liu Kun, who excelled at defense; Wang Qiang, whose attacks were ferocious; and the marksman Zhou Tong, who was protected at the formation’s core.

The five of them didn’t remain on the wall like Li Wen. Their bodies flashed like lightning as they streaked over the ramparts, landing solidly about a hundred meters from the Stargate and forming a sturdy interception formation.

At the same time, dozens of soldiers at the Bright Moon and Flying Star Realms, all clad in uniform black armor, rapidly assembled.

They fell into a formation practiced a thousand times, tightly sealing off the area around the Stargate, their cold weapons glinting under the red alarm lights.

VMMMM—!

The energy vortex of the Stargate suddenly accelerated, and intense spatial fluctuations swept out.

Accompanied by grating hisses and roars, the first wave of invaders emerged.

A full twenty members of the Demon Race, all at the Peak of the Great Sun Realm, appeared, their killing intent surging.

Behind them, dozens of Demon Generals at the Bright Moon Realm poured out like a tide.

The very instant the demonic figures appeared, an invisible ripple silently spread out from Li Wen, as the formidable power of his 3rd Layer Primordial Spirit precisely blanketed the entire battlefield.

This power was both subtle and vast, penetrating the demonic miasma to sweep over every single grotesque demon form.

In his sea of consciousness, it rapidly sketched the demons’ profiles, assessing the source of their power and the aura of their bloodlines.

He was searching—searching for the slightest trace of an abnormally noble or savage demonic blood source.

’Just more of the usual rabble.’ The thought passed coldly through Li Wen’s mind.

As expected, this attack was still just a probe. The Demon Race had yet to bare its true fangs.