High Martial Arts: Enlightenment after Practices

Chapter 396: Chapter 396: Retreat

Xu Wuyi and Hong Nianyi both felt the pressure multiply.

’This Priest is about to go all out.’

"We can’t let him complete his secret technique," Hong Nianyi sent via voice transmission, her tone urgent. "I’ll break his defense. You get ready for the kill shot."

Xu Wuyi nodded. He drew his spear back to his side, the Dark Gold Flame receding as it was all compressed into the shaft. He was building up Momentum, waiting for the one-hit-kill opportunity.

Hong Nianyi took a deep breath, gripping her Long Saber with both hands and slowly raising it above her head.

This time, she didn’t conjure the phantom giant blade.

All her Sword Intent, all her sharpness, was focused into the Long Saber in her hands.

The body of the blade trembled slightly, letting out a low hum as if it couldn’t bear the power being compressed within.

The High Priest sensed the danger and accelerated the activation of his secret technique.

The three-headed wolf phantom was already nearly solid, its six eyes locked onto Hong Nianyi.

Just as the secret technique was about to be completed, Hong Nianyi moved.

She took only a single step.

But with that one step, her entire being seemed to transform into a streak of blade light, her speed surpassing the limits of sight.

A piercing shriek tore through the corridor—the sound of a blade’s edge slicing through air, through Flame, through any and all obstacles.

The blade’s name: One Thought.

A signature technique taught by the Sword Emperor, which Hong Nianyi had since modified and renamed. It used extreme speed and sharpness to unleash a strike that transcended her own Realm.

The High Priest’s pupils contracted. The three-headed wolf phantom roared in unison, spewing three streams of dark red breath that interwove before him to form a thick shield.

The blade light arrived.

There was no earth-shattering crash.

Only a faint "SHFFT," like a sharp knife slicing through silk.

The dark red shield split down the middle. The blade light, its momentum undiminished, struck the central head of the three-headed wolf phantom.

PFFT—

The wolf’s head was sent flying, dissipating into black smoke. The phantom let out a wretched howl, its two remaining heads twisting madly as its aura dropped by thirty percent.

Hong Nianyi’s figure appeared ten meters behind the High Priest. She was on one knee, using her Long Saber to prop herself up as she coughed up a mouthful of blood.

That single strike had exhausted all her strength. Her organs felt like they were being seared by a scorching fire, and a dull ache throbbed through her meridians.

But she had succeeded.

The High Priest’s secret technique had been forcibly interrupted. With the three-headed wolf phantom crippled, the backlash had severely wounded him as well.

He staggered backward, blood pouring from all seven of his facial orifices. Even the bone staff in his hand had developed fine cracks.

’Now’s the chance!’

Xu Wuyi’s spear moved.

There was no sound, no light—it seemed to be nothing more than a simple, straight thrust. But wherever the spear tip passed, space itself distorted and all things froze.

The High Priest felt the aura of death.

He wanted to dodge, to block, but the backlash from his technique had slowed him by half a beat.

He could only watch helplessly as that dark gold spear thrust precisely toward his heart.

’No—’

He roared in his heart, burning his remaining essence blood in a last-ditch struggle.

But an aged figure had appeared behind and to his side at some unknown moment.

You Sicheng.

The old soldier had snuck in quietly at the start of the battle and had been lurking in the shadows, waiting for the right moment.

Now, he saw the killing opportunity Xu Wuyi had created, and he saw the High Priest’s final, desperate struggle.

He didn’t hesitate.

The short blade in his left hand left its sheath. The armor-piercing runes on its body lit up, one after another, before transforming into a pure white light.

This strike had no name, no special Techniques, only the most basic "Thrust" from military training.

But this one strike condensed all sixty-two years of You Sicheng’s Martial Arts Cultivation. It condensed his entire obsession with avenging his daughter. It condensed the last burning passion of an old soldier.

The blade light, though launched later, arrived first. It accurately pierced the High Priest’s right back, penetrated his Bone Armor, and shredded his spinal nerves.

The High Priest’s body stiffened.

And in that frozen instant, Xu Wuyi’s spear arrived.

PFFT—

The Meteor Iron Long Spear pierced his heart. The Dark Gold Flame exploded from within, incinerating his internal organs to charcoal.

The High Priest looked down at the spear tip protruding from his chest. Bewilderment, indignation, and finally, utter lifelessness flickered in his eyes.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but only blackish-red froth bubbled out.

His massive body slowly sank to its knees, then toppled forward, slamming into the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust.

The corridor fell into a dead silence.

All that remained were the three’s ragged breaths and the faint sounds of fighting in the distance.

It was the Werewolf Warriors from other areas of the fortress, rushing in this direction.

Xu Wuyi pulled out his spear. Not a single drop of blood stained its tip.

He looked at You Sicheng. The old man was on one knee, leaning on his blade, his face ashen. But a smile of relief touched the corners of his mouth.

Hong Nianyi managed to get to her feet and walk over to the two men.

"The control system..." Her voice was hoarse.

Just then, their personal terminals lit up. Lin Jue had sent a short message: "Control hub destroyed. Rune Array collapsing. Base defense systems are down. We’re evacuating. Coordinates sent."

’The mission is complete.’

Xu Wuyi took a deep breath and helped You Sicheng up. Hong Nianyi sheathed her Long Saber, and the three of them staggered toward the predetermined extraction point.

Behind them, the shouts of the Werewolf Warriors grew closer.

But they knew the greatest threat had been eliminated.

All that was left was the cleanup.

Outside the fortress, beneath a dark red sky, three figures melted into the night.

...

The chaos inside the fortress peaked the moment the High Priest died.

Without a commander, the remaining Wolfman War Generals descended into fighting for themselves. They howled and poured out from every corridor, trying to overwhelm the invaders with sheer numbers.

But what greeted them was the icy tip of Xu Wuyi’s spear.

Hong Nianyi and You Sicheng were both seriously injured, Chen Yuan had yet to recover from being poisoned, and Lin Jue needed to tend to the wounded. At this moment, the only one left with most of his combat strength was Xu Wuyi.

He did not retreat.

The dark gold spear twirled in his hand, every thrust of its tip precise and fatal. His mastery over his power, achieved after reaching Great Success in Heart Image, was on full display.

Xu Wuyi didn’t waste a single shred of his Qi and Blood.

Facing the charging Wolfman War Generals, his footwork shifted, his body weaving through the narrow corridor like a fish through water.

His spear struck like lightning, each thrust claiming a life.

The Dark Gold Flame flowed along the spear shaft, incinerating any attacks that tried to get close.

The blades and axes of the Werewolf Warriors struck the protective layer of Flame, only to send up a few sparks before the rebound force shattered the webbing between their thumbs and forefingers.

Thirty breaths.

In the span of thirty breaths, Xu Wuyi fought his way from the east side of the corridor to the west, leaving seventeen charred corpses in his wake. Not a drop of blood stained his spear tip, but his own breathing had grown slightly ragged.

He was also injured to some extent, and now, having to focus on speed-killing took a bit of a toll.

"Turn left. Control room." Lin Jue’s voice came through the communicator, weak but still clear. "That’s the fortress’s central hub. Destroy it, and the entire defense system will be completely paralyzed."

Xu Wuyi nodded. He forced back three Wolfman War Generals with a horizontal sweep of his spear, then spun and dashed into the corridor on the left.

At the end of the corridor was a metal door, on which a crude wolf head totem was carved.

Two Wolfman War Generals stood guard before the door. Seeing Xu Wuyi charge at them, they both roared and lunged forward.

They were the Priest’s personal guards, a cut above the ordinary War Generals in strength. The Heavy Axes in their hands whistled as they cut through the air.