High Martial Arts: Enlightenment after Practices

This kind of change had already surpassed the scope of conventional Martial Arts, drawing closer to the application of "the Way."

On the morning of the third day, Xu Wuyi finished his final Visualization, feeling that his Realm had been completely stabilized.

He returned to the wooden cabin, packed his belongings, and then went to Liang Sixian's residence to bid her farewell.

Liang Sixian was strolling by the pool. Seeing Xu Wuyi approach, she stopped.

"Leaving?"

"Yes." Xu Wuyi bowed. "The Heavy Water Realm has been stabilized. This junior plans to return and continue my cultivation, to attempt to 'absorb' the Golden Crow."

He was only this final step away from the Grandmaster Realm, but this step was exceedingly difficult and had thwarted countless Quasi-Grandmasters throughout history.

Liang Sixian nodded. "Very well. The path of Martial Arts must ultimately be walked alone. I have already taught you everything I can."

She paused for a moment, then said suddenly, "Before you go, let me give you one last piece of advice."

"Please, Senior."

"When it comes to fusing with your Heart Image, the key is the 'heart'." Liang Sixian looked at him, her gaze profound. "Remember, you control the Heart Image, not the other way around."

Xu Wuyi bowed solemnly. "This junior will remember."

Liang Sixian waved her hand. "Go on. If you face any difficulties in the future, you may come back."

"Thank you, Senior."

Xu Wuyi bowed once more, then turned and left the Cold Pool Courtyard.

Following the stone steps back down the mountain, he reached the valley entrance to find Chen Zhang already waiting by the greenstone stele.

Seeing Xu Wuyi emerge, Chen Zhang came forward with a smile. "Martial Artist Xu, was your training successful?"

"I've benefited immensely." Xu Wuyi nodded. "Thank you for your arrangements these past few days, Steward Chen."

"It was my duty," Chen Zhang said with a smile, but his expression immediately turned serious. "Martial Artist Xu, there's something I need to tell you."

"Go on."

"Last night, we received a notice from the military, inviting you to make a trip to the military headquarters." Chen Zhang lowered his voice. "It might be a frontline mission that requires your intervention."

Xu Wuyi stopped in his tracks.

'A frontline mission?'

He recalled what Lin Lan had mentioned during the Spiritual Body creature test at the research institute—entities like the "Gray Nightmares" and "Illusory Spiders" from the newly controlled zones.

'Has the situation on the front lines changed?'

"When?" Xu Wuyi asked.

"As soon as possible," said Chen Zhang. "A military transport is already on standby at Frostfall Air Harbor. If it's convenient for you, you can depart now."

Xu Wuyi considered for a moment.

He had originally planned to go back and continue his cultivation, attempting to fuse with his Heart Image. But he couldn't refuse an invitation from the military, especially one that might involve a frontline mission.

As a Federation Martial Artist, enjoying its resources meant shouldering corresponding responsibilities.

Besides, actual combat was the best way to test and improve his Martial Arts.

"Alright." Xu Wuyi made his decision. "I'll head to the military headquarters now."

Chen Zhang breathed a sigh of relief. "The vehicle is ready. I'll take you to the air harbor."

The two boarded a hovercar and departed from the Silent Snow Mountains.

In the car, Xu Wuyi closed his eyes to rest, but his mind began to calculate.

'The military wouldn't summon me so suddenly for a low-level mission. A threat requiring a Quasi-Grandmaster would be at least Level 45 or higher.'

'Could it be a large-scale invasion of Spiritual Body creatures? Or some other Alien Race?'

'Regardless, this is both a challenge and an opportunity for me.'

'Honing my Heart Image in actual combat might accelerate the process of 'absorbing' the Golden Crow.'

An hour later, the hovercar arrived at Frostfall Air Harbor.

On the tarmac, a dark gray vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) transport had already started its engines, its cabin door open.

A lieutenant in military uniform stood by the boarding ramp. Seeing Xu Wuyi exit the car, he immediately stepped forward and saluted.

"Martial Artist Xu, I am liaison officer Zhao Ming, here to escort you to military headquarters in the Capital."

Xu Wuyi returned the salute. "I appreciate it."

"Please board."

Xu Wuyi boarded the transport. The cabin's interior was spartan; aside from a few crew members, he was the only passenger.

Clearly, it had been prepared especially for him.

The cabin door closed, the engine's thrust surged, and the transport ascended vertically before adjusting its course and speeding south.

Outside the viewport, the snowfields and glaciers of the Northern Lands rapidly receded into the distance.

Xu Wuyi leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes.

...

The transport broke through the cloud cover and slowly descended, landing at Xingjing's military air harbor.

Outside the viewport, the familiar city skyline gradually came into focus. Compared to the vast snowfields of the Northern Lands, Xingjing's forest of skyscrapers seemed orderly and well-planned, its network of aerial traffic crisscrossing like blood vessels.

Xu Wuyi walked down the boarding ramp carrying his simple luggage. A military jeep was already waiting by the tarmac. The driver, a young second lieutenant, immediately saluted upon seeing him.

"Martial Artist Xu, Minister Feng ordered me to take you directly to the military headquarters building."

"Thank you."

The vehicle left the air harbor, passed through several security checkpoints, and finally stopped in front of the familiar gray building.

The last time Xu Wuyi had been here was after his award ceremony.

He walked into the building, down a long corridor, and arrived before the office with a plaque that read "Vice Minister of the Military."

The door was ajar.

Xu Wuyi raised his hand and knocked.

"Come in."

Pushing the door open, he saw Feng Zhuohua standing by the window with his back to the door. Hearing the footsteps, he turned around, a smile breaking across his weather-beaten face.

"Xu Wuyi, you're back."

"Minister Feng." Xu Wuyi saluted.

"Sit." Feng Zhuohua pointed to the chair opposite his desk and sat down in the main seat himself. He sized up Xu Wuyi for a moment, a sharp glint in his eyes. "Your trip to the Northern Lands was quite fruitful, I take it?"

"Yes, Grandmaster Liang provided a great deal of guidance," Xu Wuyi replied calmly.

"Good." Feng Zhuohua took an encrypted file from a drawer and pushed it in front of Xu Wuyi. "Take a look at this."

Xu Wuyi took the file. The cover was stamped with the words "Top Secret." He entered his authorization code, and the file unlocked.

Inside was a detailed warzone report, accompanied by holographic images taken from multiple angles.

In the images, a tide of densely packed, grayish-brown creatures swarmed across a desolate landscape in the Star Realm.

They resembled giant beetles, about a meter long, with hard exoskeletons covering their backs and six jointed limbs for scuttling rapidly across the ground.

Their numbers were so great it was enough to make one's skin crawl.

The image zoomed in, showing the creatures besieging a human outpost.

An Energy Shield fluctuated violently under the impact of the insect tide. Defense Cannon Platforms fired relentlessly, and piles of insect corpses mounted up like hills, but more and more of the creatures threw themselves forward to take their place.

"Alien Insect Star Beasts," Feng Zhuohua's voice said. "The Federation just named them recently. Individually, they aren't strong. Their Life Energy Level is between 25 and 30, equivalent to an ordinary Martial Artist at best."

He brought up another set of data. "But their numbers... our initial estimates place a single hive's population at over one hundred thousand. And their reproduction rate is extremely fast. A mature hive can produce five to ten thousand larvae a day, which reach maturity within three days."

Xu Wuyi watched the overwhelming insect tide in the image, his brow furrowing slightly.

"Have the frontline troops attempted a large-scale extermination?"

"They have." Feng Zhuohua pulled up a combat log. "Conventional artillery bombardment, sweeping with energy weapons... none of it has been very effective."

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