High Martial Arts: Enlightenment after Practices-Chapter 127: Coming out of Seclusion

The darkness in the Meditation Room had not yet fully receded. A crimson-gold ember burned quietly deep within Xu Wuyi’s Dantian.

His consciousness sank into his sea of consciousness, where the Bronze Ancient Book levitated silently, as if it had been there for all eternity.

[Martial Arts: Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace]

[Current Realm: Entry Level (15.3%)]

[Martial Arts Traits: Heart Fire (Basic Level)]

[Assessment: Qi and Blood are surging, and Spiritual Intention is beginning to manifest.]

A flicker of satisfaction crossed Xu Wuyi’s eyes as he observed the clear changes on the panel.

The boost from igniting his [Heart Fire] was immense. His proficiency had leaped from 7.8% to 15.3%, nearly equivalent to a month of his previous arduous training.

This kind of leap in progress proved that the 120 points he had spent were more than worth it.

This was the appeal of High-tier Martial Arts. The moment one broke through a bottleneck was often accompanied by a qualitative leap.

He could feel that the Qi and Blood in his body had not only become more condensed and powerful, but were also circulating much faster. Even the [Soul Suppressing] trait of his "Eight-direction Soul Suppressing Spear" seemed to have become easier to wield due to the fusion of his Spirit and Qi and Blood.

Xu Wuyi stood up and stretched his limbs. His bones let out a series of faint, crisp cracks, and every movement carried a sense of surging power.

He stepped into the Virtual Pod to check his status.

His Life Energy Level had reached 17.9. In less than a month, it had increased by another 1.4 levels—a clear testament to the effectiveness of a High-Tier Body Refining Method.

Xu Wuyi let out a breath and stepped out of the Virtual Pod. He had been in seclusion for nearly a month; the outside world must have changed quite a bit.

Especially the freshman challenge. With only three days left before the deadline, he wondered what the rankings looked like now.

At this thought, Xu Wuyi didn’t hesitate. He raised his hand and activated the virtual screen in the training room.

A pale blue projection materialized before him. With a light tap of his finger, he connected directly to the Star Martial Battle Network and pulled up the freshman challenge leaderboard.

The moment the screen loaded, a dense list of names and data popped up. Xu Wuyi’s gaze swept straight to the top, and he froze for a second.

[Freshman Challenge Leaderboard]

First Place: Qin Rui (Floors Cleared: 6)

Second Place: Zhao Qingwei (Floors Cleared: 5)

Third Place: Shen Wei (Floors Cleared: 5)

Fourth Place: Li Hao (Floors Cleared: 5)

...

Eighth Place: Xu Zhi (Floors Cleared: 5)

...

Eleventh Place: Xu Wuyi (Floors Cleared: 5)

Looking at the rankings on the screen, Xu Wuyi raised an eyebrow. Instead of showing any disappointment, a bright smile spread across his face.

’I’ve dropped out of the top ten, pushed all the way down to eleventh place.’

What surprised him even more was that everyone in the top ten had now cleared the fifth floor. Even Xu Zhi, who had once been stuck on the third floor, had successfully charged up to eighth place, with a clear time a dozen or so seconds faster than his own.

And at the very top of the leaderboard was none other than the person Xu Zhi had mentioned—the champion of Central Province, Qin Rui.

Floors Cleared: 6!

’He actually managed to clear the sixth floor!’

Xu Wuyi’s gaze fell on Qin Rui’s clear time: 8 minutes and 42 seconds.

That wasn’t a short time. Clearly, the Double-Bladed Mantis on the sixth floor had given Qin Rui a fair bit of trouble. But to successfully clear it at this stage was more than enough to prove how formidable his strength was.

’The champion of Central Province truly lives up to his reputation,’ Xu Wuyi thought.

He had personally experienced the terror of the sixth floor. The two Double-Bladed Mantises had fast attack speeds, perfect coordination, and their attacks were cunning and vicious, leaving almost no room to breathe.

Back then, even when he had unleashed his [Melting Furnace Boiling Blood] and [Soul Suppressing] traits, he hadn’t been able to last three minutes. For Qin Rui to clear it, he must have had a unique ace up his sleeve.

’Still, taking over five minutes proves he didn’t use a blitz strategy.’

Xu Wuyi’s gaze continued down the list. Zhao Qingwei was still holding steady at second place, with a clear time of 1 minute and 33 seconds—much faster than his own previous record of 2 minutes and 17 seconds. She had clearly figured out the attack patterns of the fifth floor’s Mountain-Splitting White Ape, drastically improving her combat efficiency.

Shen Wei was third, close behind with a time of 1 minute and 49 seconds. The overwhelming killing power of his "Seven Kills Saber" gave him a natural advantage against physically tough Star Beasts like the Mountain-Splitting White Ape.

The other names were unfamiliar to Xu Wuyi. They were likely geniuses from other provinces who had now arrived at the university and joined the freshman challenge.

The competition on the leaderboard was far more intense than before he had entered seclusion.

Anyone else, upon seeing their top spot taken and being knocked out of the top ten, might have felt dejected and anxious. But Xu Wuyi felt nothing but anticipation.

Star Martial University was full of hidden masters, his peers a veritable sea of experts. This was exactly the environment he wanted.

If he had been unrivaled the moment he entered university, he would have lost his motivation to advance.

Only in such fierce competition, constantly being pushed and pursued, could he quickly discover his own shortcomings and unlock his greater potential.

"Qin Rui, Zhao Qingwei, Shen Wei... and all these new names," Xu Wuyi murmured, his fingertip tapping lightly on the edge of the virtual screen. A sharp glint of fighting spirit flashed in his eyes. "Looks like the last three days of the freshman challenge won’t be boring."

He had originally planned to challenge the sixth floor’s Double-Bladed Mantis immediately after igniting his [Heart Fire], but seeing the state of the leaderboard, he was no longer in a rush.

Qin Rui had already cleared the sixth floor, which meant its difficulty wasn’t insurmountable. He decided to first catch up on what had happened over the past month.

Just as Xu Wuyi was lost in thought, a soft blue light coalesced beside him, and the virtual projection of the AI, Anna, quietly appeared.

"Student Xu Wuyi, congratulations on successfully refining your [Heart Fire]." Anna’s voice was as calm and gentle as ever, carrying the characteristic detachment of an AI.

"According to the monitoring of your cultivation state, all of your body’s current metrics are at optimal levels. The purity of your Qi and Blood has increased by 23% compared to before your seclusion, and the compatibility between your Spiritual Power and Qi and Blood has reached 87%."

Xu Wuyi nodded. "Thank you for your hard work, Anna."

"It is my duty," Anna replied with a slight nod, then changed the subject.

"Additionally, during the twenty-six days of your secluded cultivation, a total of seventeen visitors attempted to contact you."

"Thirteen of them visited in person via the villa’s access control system, and four initiated communication requests through the Star Martial Battle Network. All were handled by me according to your preset instruction: ’Do not disturb during seclusion.’"

Xu Wuyi was a little surprised. He hadn’t expected so many people to look for him during his seclusion.

"Who were they?" he asked.

"Among those who visited in person, four were old acquaintances." Anna pulled up a concise list, projecting it beside the main screen. "Student Zeng Bonan from Dongjiang Province visited twice, on August 10th and August 18th. He mainly wished to exchange cultivation insights with you and asked if you needed help exchanging for cultivation resources." 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"Student Shen Wei visited on August 15th. He seemed rather eager, apparently wanting to spar with you again and share his achievement of clearing the fifth floor."

"Student Yu Peiling visited on August 20th. She brought a local specialty from Linjiang, Clear Heart Tea, and left a message wishing you well in your cultivation without disturbing you further."

"Finally, Student Chu Shanhe sent communication requests via the Battle Network in mid-August. He inquired about your cultivation progress and also issued an invitation to spar."