High Martial Arts: Enlightenment after Practices

The three of them sat around the dining table.

It was a simple meal of three dishes and a soup, all home-cooked, but plated with care. The vegetables were a vibrant green, the sliced meat was tender, and finely chopped scallions floated on the surface of the soup.

Mrs. Xu kept putting food on Xu Wuyi’s plate. "Eat more, eat more. Look how thin you’ve gotten. You must not have eaten well on the battlefield..."

"Mom, I can get it myself." A wave of warmth washed over Xu Wuyi as he held his bowl.

’This is home.’

No matter what you’ve been through out there, no matter how much blood is on your hands, no matter how heavy the responsibilities on your shoulders, when you come home, you’re still just a child in your parents’ eyes.

They worry if you’re eating or sleeping well, they put food on your plate, and they nag you about not wearing enough clothes.

"Oh, right." Father Xu suddenly recalled something. "The Qiao Family’s Steward came by a couple of days ago. He brought some things and told us not to be in a rush to go back to Red River. He said you might have some arrangements for a medal ceremony or something, and that we should wait for news."

Xu Wuyi’s chopsticks paused mid-air.

Feng Zhuohua’s words at the Xingjing airport echoed in his ears—"If nothing goes wrong this time, you should be able to get one too, kid."

"A medal ceremony?" Mrs. Xu’s eyes lit up. "Really?"

"It’s not certain yet." Xu Wuyi shook his head. "Even if there is one, it’s just standard procedure for the military. This war was on a massive scale, and many people performed meritorious service. There will definitely be commendations."

"Well, if it’s true, does that mean we have to go to Xingjing?" Mrs. Xu asked, a little nervous. "I... I’ve never been to the Capital."

"We wouldn’t understand much even if we went." Father Xu said this, but his eyes were gleaming. "But if our son is receiving a medal, we definitely have to go. That’s a major event."

Looking at his parents’ expressions, a mix of anticipation and apprehension, the complicated feelings in Xu Wuyi’s heart slowly dissolved.

’The honor doesn’t just belong to me. It belongs to everyone who sacrificed in the war, and even more so, to the families who worried and silently supported us from the home front.’

"Let’s eat first." He placed a piece of pork rib on each of his parents’ plates. "If there’s news, the military will send an official notification. We can talk about it then."

"Alright, alright, let’s eat first." Mrs. Xu nodded with a smile.

After dinner, Xu Wuyi returned to his room.

The room was just as he had left it.

A few books on Martial Arts theory sat on his desk, and the two Earth Fire Marrow Lamps stood in the corner.

He hadn’t taken them when he left Linjiang to report to headquarters. They were still lit, emitting a faint orange glow.

As his Cultivation grew more profound, the effects of the Earth Fire Marrow Lamps had steadily diminished, but he had kept them out of habit.

He took the Fire Source Stone from his backpack. The round, dark red stone felt warm in his palm.

The gift from Grandmaster Yue, the advice from Teacher Han, and the memories of blood and fire from the Tianshui Star Realm all seemed to settle within this stone.

But he didn’t feel like practicing his Cultivation right now.

He just placed the stone on his desk, then walked over and pushed open the window.

The night air was cool, carrying the dampness of the river.

In the distance, the night view of Linjiang City sparkled like a galaxy, with streams of traffic and flashing neon lights. Further away, the surface of the Dongjiang reflected the lights from both banks, shimmering brightly.

’A peaceful night,’ he thought, ’is so precious.’

He could hear his parents’ hushed conversation from downstairs; the television had been turned off. Xu Wuyi couldn’t make out what they were saying, but he could feel the peaceful, reassuring atmosphere.

He closed the window and lay down on his bed.

He didn’t fall asleep right away, just stared at the ceiling with his eyes open.

His body was relaxed, but his nerves still held onto battlefield habits. His ears subconsciously caught every little sound from outside, and his muscles remained coiled, ready to erupt at a moment’s notice.

’This will take time to adjust.’

He closed his eyes and slowly regulated his breathing.

In his sea of consciousness, the Dark Gold Mountain Body stood quietly, and on its peak, the Golden Crow Illusion was curled up, resting. The Power of his Heart Image flowed peacefully through his meridians like a gentle stream.

No alarms, no enemy attacks, no life-or-death crises demanding an immediate decision.

Only the silence of the night and the faint sound of his parents’ snoring from downstairs.

In the darkness, the corners of Xu Wuyi’s mouth lifted into a slight smile.

’Finally,’ he thought, ’I can get a good night’s sleep.’

...

「November fifth, early morning.」

「Linjiang City, Yunhai District.」

When Xu Wuyi slowly opened his eyes, emerging from Deep Meditation, the morning sun was already filtering through the sheer curtains, casting a warm patch of light on the floor.

He still maintained his daily Cultivation habit, but the pace had slowed down considerably.

There were no more alarms that could go off at any moment, no need to calculate the expenditure of his Heart Image’s power, no need to guard against surprise attacks.

At first, he found this tranquility a bit unsettling.

His personal terminal vibrated softly.

Xu Wuyi glanced down as the light screen automatically unfolded, displaying an official push notification from the Federation News Agency.

The red headline was particularly eye-catching:

[Federation Parliament Resolution No. 148: Effective immediately, the wartime state of martial law is fully lifted, and normal passage through all Star Realm ports is restored. The Federation Military Department announces that the armistice agreement with the Feathered People Civilization has entered the final review stage and is expected to be formally signed within the month.]

Below the text was a live feed from the central square in Xingjing City.

Thousands of citizens had already gathered in the square this early morning, waving Federation flags, their faces beaming with genuine smiles.

Children ran through the crowd, elderly people sat on benches chatting softly, and young couples held hands, looking up at the sky where dozens of civilian aircraft trailed colored smoke, forming the word "PEACE".

Xu Wuyi watched for a long time before closing the notification.

He stood up and walked to the window, pushing it open. A cool, early-winter breeze filled the room, carrying the last lingering scent of osmanthus from the residential complex.

The sound of neighbors laughing and talking drifted up from below. A few children were chasing a ball on the lawn, and the calls of breakfast vendors could be heard faintly from down the street.

Peace.

The word was finally no longer a luxury, but a part of daily life once again.

"Ah Yi, time for breakfast!"

His mother’s voice called from downstairs. Xu Wuyi answered, changed into some loungewear, and walked down the stairs.

In the dining room, Father Xu was already sitting at the table watching the morning news, while Mrs. Xu was bringing fried eggs and congee to the table.

On the television’s light screen, a host with a cheerful tone reported on the grand celebrations as martial law was lifted across various regions, the screen cutting between festive scenes in one city square after another.

"It’s finally over." Father Xu took a sip of congee and sighed. "This whole past year, I’ve been on edge."

Mrs. Xu sat down next to Xu Wuyi and ladled him a full bowl of congee. "Eat up. Look at you, you definitely didn’t eat properly on the battlefield. You’ve gotten so much thinner."

"Mom, it’s just that my muscles are more defined now." Xu Wuyi smiled and took the bowl.

"Defined or not, you still need to replenish yourself." Mrs. Xu added a fried egg to his bowl. "Oh, by the way, your father and I were talking. We’re planning to head back to Red River in a couple of days."

"Linjiang is nice, but it’s not our home. Besides, Teacher Wang from Honghe First Middle School contacted me a few days ago. She said Elder You and the others have made the Martial Arts class there a great success and wanted you to go back and take a look when you have time."

Father Xu nodded. "It’s about time we went back. The war is over, and life has to get back on track. I took a long leave from my job, but I can’t stay away forever."

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