High Martial Arts: Enlightenment after Practices

The conversation quickly turned back to everyday matters.

Zhou Heng’s father mentioned that the factory had recently received a big order. Zhou Heng’s mother complained that pork prices at the market had gone up again. Mrs. Xu, meanwhile, shared which supermarkets near her new house were fresh and affordable.

Xu Wuyi listened quietly, occasionally picking up a piece of food with his chopsticks.

These trivial conversations made him feel grounded. It was as if the battles, those moments on the razor’s edge of life and death, had temporarily receded into the far distance.

After dinner, Zhou Xiaoyu offered to help the two mothers clear the table, while Zhou Heng pulled Xu Wuyi out to the backyard for some fresh air.

Night had fallen, and the backyard was illuminated by ground lights. The two sat down at a stone table. Zhou Heng lit a cigarette—a habit he’d picked up after starting work, something he did when stressed.

"Not planning on heading back to the front lines anytime soon?" Zhou Heng asked, blowing out a smoke ring.

"Not for now," Xu Wuyi said. "The higher-ups have made arrangements for me to settle down for a while."

Zhou Heng nodded. After a few seconds of silence, he suddenly said, "You know, sometimes I wonder if things would have been different if I’d pushed myself as hard as you did back then."

Xu Wuyi looked at him.

Zhou Heng smiled and flicked his ash. "It’s just a thought. I know my own limits. Even if I’d given it my all, I would’ve been an ordinary Martial Artist at best. I’d never have made it into the Three Greats, let alone become like you."

He paused, his voice softening. "But I have no regrets. Life is good now. I have a job, I have Weiwei, and my parents are healthy. A simple life has its own merits."

Xu Wuyi hummed in acknowledgement.

Neither of them spoke again.

The night breeze blew past, carrying the chill of early autumn. From inside the house came the sound of their parents’ laughter and Zhou Xiaoyu’s bright, clear voice.

After a long while, Zhou Heng stubbed out his cigarette, stood up, and clapped Xu Wuyi on the shoulder. "Alright, it’s getting late. We should head back. You get some rest. Let’s hang out again soon."

Xu Wuyi got up to see them off.

At the door, Zhou Heng’s family got into their car. The window rolled down, and Zhou Xiaoyu waved enthusiastically at Xu Wuyi. "Goodbye, Brother Wuyi!"

"Goodbye."

The car drove out of the yard, its taillights receding into the darkness.

Xu Wuyi stood at the door until the car’s silhouette vanished, then turned and went back inside.

Father Xu and Mrs. Xu were still tidying up the living room. Seeing him return, Mrs. Xu asked, "Have Zhou Heng and his family left?"

"Yes."

"That boy is still so earnest," Mrs. Xu said, shaking her head with a smile. "They brought so much food, we won’t be able to finish it all tomorrow."

Xu Wuyi helped put the last few plates into the dishwasher and wiped his hands. "Mom, Dad, you two should get some rest. I’m going downstairs to practice for a bit."

"Don’t stay up too late," Father Xu advised.

"I know."

Xu Wuyi took the elevator down to the basement.

A metal door slid open. Inside the Cultivation Room, only a few floor lamps were on, casting a soft light. He sat cross-legged on a cushion in the Meditation Area and closed his eyes.

In his sea of consciousness, a great, dark-gold marsh breathed calmly, a Golden Crow Illusion suspended over its center.

Compared to a few days ago, the marsh’s "breaths" were longer and deeper, and the Golden Crow’s flames were much more stable.

The sense of chaos from the forced fusion had completely disappeared, replaced by a natural resonance between the two Rules.

It was like two previously parallel rivers were beginning to show signs of converging.

Xu Wuyi was in no hurry to push this convergence. He simply observed and felt it quietly.

After returning from the N-33 Star Domain, he had deliberately slowed the pace of his cultivation.

He was no longer pursuing an increase in his Realm, but was instead sorting through the gains from his battles and consolidating the foundation of his Heart Image. This period of settling down had, in turn, deepened his understanding of the Rules.

Time passed quietly.

After an unknown amount of time, Xu Wuyi slowly opened his eyes.

The Cultivation Room was silent, with only the sound of his own breathing clearly audible.

He got up, walked to the wall, and took the Liaoyuan Long Spear from its rack. The spear’s shaft glowed with a dark-gold luster under the lights, and the patterns on its tip seemed even more profound than before.

Xu Wuyi grasped the spear but did not practice any Techniques. He just stood there quietly.

Many images flashed through his mind: the slaughter on the Crystal Plain, the falling figure of the peak Sub-King, the Starry Sky outside the transport ship’s porthole, Zhou Heng’s smile at the barbecue stand, the cheerful laughter around the dinner table tonight...

These images intertwined, eventually settling into a distinct feeling.

’My path still lies ahead, but looking back now, these ordinary, warm scenes behind me are just as worthy of cherishing.’

Xu Wuyi returned the spear to its rack and walked out of the Cultivation Room.

Upstairs, the lights in his parents’ room were already out. The whole house fell silent, save for the faint sound of the night wind brushing against the window lattices.

He walked softly up the stairs and returned to his room.

Outside the window, the lights of Red River City stretched out into the night, twinkling like a river of stars reflected on the ground.

Xu Wuyi stood by the window for a moment before drawing the curtains.

’Time to rest.’

「...」

In the blink of an eye, more than three months had passed.

Winter in Red River didn’t arrive with biting harshness, but there was a distinct chill in the air.

The leaves of the plane trees lining the streets had long since fallen, their bare branches stretching out under a gray sky. Occasionally, a few sparrows would land, only to flutter away again.

It was already the end of December.

Xu Wuyi stood in the backyard of the villa in Shanshui Manor, wearing only a thin, dark gray training uniform.

With each breath, white puffs of air condensed in the cold, then quickly dissipated.

These three months had been a rare period of peace for him since he began practicing Martial Arts.

There were no missions to the front lines, no emergency summons, no life-or-death battles.

His daily life was regular to the point of being almost monotonous. It seemed plain, but it was fulfilling.

In his sea of consciousness, the great, dark-gold marsh had completely stabilized.

The rhythm of its breathing was long and deep, like the pulse of the Earth. Each rise and fall drove the Power of his Heart Image to circulate throughout his body, subtly nourishing every inch of his flesh, blood, and bone.

The Golden Crow Illusion floated at the marsh’s center. Its Flame no longer flickered erratically as it had right after the fusion, but burned with a steady glow.

The light of the runes on its feathers was restrained, only flaring up when Xu Wuyi deliberately channeled his power.

The results of these three months of consolidation were significant.

Xu Wuyi’s Life Energy Level had steadily risen from Level 46 to Level 47.

It wasn’t a sudden surge from a violent breakthrough, but a natural increase that came when the time was right. His foundation was as solid as steel that had been forged and refined a thousand times.

Level 47, within the Federation’s Martial Arts System, officially put him in the ranks of a "Quasi-Grandmaster."

Although, his actual combat strength had already surpassed this threshold back when he killed the peak Sub-King in the N-33 Star Domain.

"Quasi-Grandmaster..."

Xu Wuyi repeated the word in a low voice, his gaze drifting into the distance.

In the backyard flowerbeds, a few holly bushes planted by Mrs. Xu still retained their green, standing out conspicuously in the bleak winter day.

Farther away, the community’s artificial lake was covered in a thin layer of ice. A few children, accompanied by their parents, were cautiously trying to step onto it, their clear laughter ringing out.

’You don’t see sights like this on the front lines.’

Xu Wuyi retracted his gaze and turned to go back inside.

The living room was as warm as spring. The fireplace was on, its simulated flames dancing and casting flickering shadows.

Father Xu was reading the newspaper with his reading glasses on. Mrs. Xu was knitting a new scarf, saying it was a New Year’s gift for Zhou Heng’s mother.

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