This trip to Xingjing had been far more rewarding than he had expected.
He had not only cleared Shen Jin’s Sword Intention and received commendations and new permissions from the military, but more importantly, he had come into contact with a higher-level world.
The True Dragon Star Realm, competition between Star Realms, top-tier Grandmasters...
This information acted like a series of lamps, illuminating the contours of the path ahead.
It was still blurry, but at least he now had a direction.
Two hours later, the transport plane landed at the Linjiang Military Airport.
Xu Wuyi transferred to a high-speed train and, after another hour, finally returned to Red River City.
It was one in the afternoon when he walked out of the high-speed rail station.
The sky over Red River City was overcast, with a fine drizzle drifting down. The temperature was a few degrees lower than in Xingjing.
Xu Wuyi hadn’t brought an umbrella, but it didn’t matter. He channeled a sliver of the Power of his Heart Image, and the raindrops automatically slid away an inch from his body.
He hailed a cab and headed straight for Shanshui Manor.
On the way, he sent a message to his "Happy Family" group chat: "Dad, Mom, I’m back. I’ll be home in about half an hour."
Mrs. Xu replied almost instantly: "Wonderful! I made you some chicken soup; I’ve been keeping it warm!"
Father Xu also replied, "Be safe on the way."
Xu Wuyi looked at the words on the screen, and a smile unconsciously touched his lips.
’This is home.’
No matter how many battles he fought or how much glory he earned, back home, he was always just his parents’ son.
The car drove into Shanshui Manor and stopped in front of the villa.
Xu Wuyi paid and got out of the car. The moment he reached the courtyard gate, the door swung open.
Mrs. Xu stood in the doorway, wearing an apron and a smile. She looked him up and down. "You’ve lost weight... Have you not been eating properly again?"
"Mom, I was only gone for a month," Xu Wuyi said with a sigh.
"You can lose weight in a month!" Mrs. Xu pulled him inside. "Hurry in, it’s cold outside. Your father is in the living room watching TV."
Father Xu was indeed in the living room, but he wasn’t watching TV. Instead, he was tending to a few potted plants. Seeing Xu Wuyi, he put down his spray bottle and walked over. "All finished?"
"All finished," Xu Wuyi nodded.
"Good." Father Xu didn’t press for details, just patted him on the shoulder. "Go take a hot shower and change your clothes. Your mother made chicken soup. Drink it while it’s hot."
A warmth spread through Xu Wuyi’s heart.
’This is the peace he’d been looking for.’
After showering and changing into a clean set of loungewear, Xu Wuyi went to the dining room.
Mrs. Xu had already ladled out the chicken soup. A few goji berries floated on the golden broth, the aroma fragrant and inviting. Several side dishes were also on the table: chilled cucumber salad, braised beef, and stir-fried seasonal vegetables.
"Hurry and drink it while it’s hot," Mrs. Xu said, sitting across from him and watching him.
Xu Wuyi picked up the bowl and took a sip.
The warm, savory broth slid down his throat, spreading a comforting heat all the way to his stomach.
"It’s delicious," he said.
Mrs. Xu smiled. "If you like it, have some more. There’s plenty left in the pot."
Father Xu also sat down, served himself a bowl, and began to drink it slowly.
The family of three sat around the dining table, eating in comfortable silence.
The rain outside gradually grew heavier, pattering against the windowpanes. But inside, the house was warm and bright, filled with a cozy, domestic air.
After the meal, Xu Wuyi offered to help clear the table.
Mrs. Xu stopped him. "You go rest. You’ve been traveling all day, you must be tired."
"I’m not tired," Xu Wuyi insisted. "I’ll do the dishes."
Mrs. Xu couldn’t argue with him, so she let him have his way.
After washing the dishes and drying his hands, Xu Wuyi returned to the living room.
Father Xu was watching the news, and Mrs. Xu had taken out some yarn and begun knitting a scarf.
Xu Wuyi sat on the sofa and watched some TV with his parents.
The news was covering the finals of the Federation’s Youth Martial Arts Tournament. Two young Martial Artists were clashing fiercely on the stage as the crowd roared.
Xu Wuyi watched the screen, recalling the time he had participated in the youth tournament himself.
Back then, he had only been a newly-promoted Martial Artist who had just condensed his Heart Image Prototype, but even then, no one in his class could stand against him.
Now, more than two years later, he stood on much higher ground.
But the path of Martial Arts was endless.
"Dad, Mom, I’m going downstairs to train for a bit." Xu Wuyi stood up.
"Go ahead," Father Xu nodded. "Don’t stay up too late training."
"I know."
Xu Wuyi took the elevator down to the basement.
The metal door slid open, revealing the silent Cultivation Room. He sat cross-legged on a cushion in the Meditation Area and closed his eyes.
Within his sea of consciousness, the great, dark-golden marsh rose and fell in a slow rhythm.
Xu Wuyi didn’t immediately begin a deep Cultivation session. Instead, he first reviewed the gains from his trip to Xingjing.
The battle against Ye Yixin’s Sword Intention replayed in his mind, every move and every form resurfacing with perfect clarity.
That pure Sword Dao, that method of applying the Rules, that terrifying Mental Realm capable of "erasing existence"...
He replayed, analyzed, and assimilated it over and over.
’The application of Gravity distortion could be more flexible.’
’The attachment of the Undying True Flame could be more subtle.’
’The control of the Power of Heart Image could be more precise.’
’And that final strike... my grasp of the timing, my judgment of the core...’
All of it was priceless experience.
Xu Wuyi was so immersed in this review that, before he knew it, three hours had passed.
When he opened his eyes again, the great marsh in his sea of consciousness seemed to have grown more substantial. The Flame of the Golden Crow Illusion had also brightened slightly.
It wasn’t an increase in his Realm, but a refinement of his control over his power.
This was the purpose of assimilating his insights.
Xu Wuyi stood up and walked over to the training area.
He didn’t pick up his spear. Instead, he began to practice the most basic Fist Technique with his bare hands.
A punch, a kick, a turn.
His movements were slow, yet they possessed a unique rhythm.
The Power of his Heart Image flowed with his movements, circulating through his body and nourishing every inch of his flesh.
This wasn’t for combat, but for "sensation"—to feel.
To feel the changes in his body, to feel the flow of his power, to feel the resonance between his Heart Image and his physical form.
Outside, the rain continued to fall.
In the Cultivation Room, there was only the sound of his slow, steady breaths.
「Night fell.」
Xu Wuyi ended his Cultivation and went back upstairs.
Mrs. Xu had already prepared dinner. It was a simple but heartwarming meal of three dishes and a soup.
During dinner, Mrs. Xu asked about his trip to Xingjing. Xu Wuyi chose his words carefully, mentioning that he had cured a Grandmaster and received a commendation from the military. But he said nothing about the True Dragon Star Realm or the competition between Star Realms.
It wasn’t that he didn’t trust his parents; it was just that those matters were too far removed from their world. Knowing would only cause them needless worry.
After dinner, Xu Wuyi watched some TV with his parents before returning to his room.
He turned on his terminal, logged into the military’s internal network, and continued to look up information.
This time, he didn’t search for highly classified terms. Instead, he focused on materials related to Martial Arts theory, analysis of the Rules, and methods for refining one’s Heart Image.
The amount of information he could access with his Grandmaster-Level clearance was far greater than before.
Many research reports, Grandmaster insights, and combat analyses that were considered classified even among the Three Greats were available here.
Xu Wuyi devoured the information, reading with an insatiable hunger.
The minutes and seconds ticked by.
At eleven o’clock, deep in the night, he turned off the terminal and lay down on his bed.
Outside, the rain had stopped.
Moonlight filtered through a break in the clouds, spilling onto his windowsill in a clear, bright sliver.
Xu Wuyi closed his eyes.
’Cultivation really is the most fulfilling way to spend my time...’
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