High Martial Arts: Enlightenment after Practices

Chapter 436: Chapter 436: Descent

"Alright." Tang Xiuqi switched off the screen. "Your teams are set. Familiarize yourselves with your equipment and comms channels. In one hour, all personnel will be on Level One standby. Dismissed."

Everyone immediately sprang into action.

Zhao Kun began to gather his group members, while Tang Xiuqi walked over to a nearby control console, apparently making final confirmations with command headquarters.

Xu Wuyi looked at the team members assigned to him. Besides Ji Shanhai and Li Shuang, there were six other Martial Artists—four men and two women—all of whom looked sharp and competent.

They gathered around him.

"Captain Xu," a few of them greeted him.

Xu Wuyi nodded, forgoing any small talk. "I’m Xu Wuyi. From now on, we’re a team, fighting side by side. My requirements are simple: follow orders to the letter, and watch each other’s backs."

"Now, let’s get acquainted. State your name and your specialization. Then, check your gear and familiarize yourselves with the squad’s internal comms channel."

Ji Shanhai was the first to speak. "Ji Shanhai, Level 39, Sword Dao. I specialize in mid-to-close range assault and interception."

He naturally stood half a step to Xu Wuyi’s side.

Li Shuang’s cool, clear voice followed. "Li Shuang, Level 36, Ice-type True Intention. I specialize in controlling the scene and precision kills."

The others followed:

"Wang Lie, Level 38, Fire-type, heavy assault."

"Sun Xiaoyun, Level 36, support and healing."

"Pei Ju, Level 37, defense."

"Zhou Qian, Level 35, Wind-type, reconnaissance and speed."

"Wang Jingran, Level 36, armor-piercing and fortification-breaking."

"Chen Tao, Level 35, burst damage and interference."

Xu Wuyi quickly committed everyone’s specializations and Energy Levels to memory.

The squad’s composition was quite balanced, covering long and short-range combat, offense, defense, control, and support. They had clearly been handpicked.

"Very good," Xu Wuyi said. "Now, check your personal equipment—especially your communicators, armor energy levels, and weapon status. In ten minutes, we’ll test the squad’s internal comms. The channel code will be sent to your terminals."

The team members immediately dispersed and got to work.

Xu Wuyi also inspected his Meteor Iron Long Spear and combat suit.

Li Shuang was not far from him, her head lowered as she calibrated the tactical terminal on her wrist. The lines of her profile were sharp, her expression intent.

But, consciously or not, she would still glance over at Xu Wuyi.

The first time she had met Xu Wuyi, he was just a student taking the joint entrance exams alongside her younger brother.

The second time, he was already a Martial Artist whose power surpassed her own. Now, he had taken another step forward into the Innate realm, becoming one of the Federation’s most sought-after rising stars.

If not for the urgent war situation, news of someone Xu Wuyi’s age reaching the Innate realm would have caused an incredible stir.

Just then, Ji Shanhai walked over and interjected, "Captain Xu, the Senior Brother has received a preliminary intel briefing from Command."

"Recently, faint anomalous spatial fluctuations have been sporadically detected in several neighboring provinces. They’re suspected to be traces of small infiltration units from the Celestial Wolf Civilization, but we haven’t been able to lock onto any of them. Command is telling us to be on high alert."

Xu Wuyi’s expression tightened. "Understood. Notify all groups to maintain maximum vigilance while on standby."

"Yes, sir."

The hour of preparation passed quickly.

All members of QRT-1 gathered in the dedicated ready room on Sub-level 3.

It was equipped with rest pods, equipment maintenance stations, a real-time intelligence screen, and a direct communication line to command headquarters.

The three of them—Tang Xiuqi, Xu Wuyi, and Zhao Kun—stood gathered before the central intelligence screen. It displayed a real-time feed of energy monitoring data for Linjiang and the surrounding areas, as well as aerial patrol footage and reports from various outposts.

Everything looked calm and normal.

But this very quietness felt heavy, oppressive. It was always most stifling before the storm.

Time ticked by, second by second.

In the ready room, team members were either resting with their eyes closed, discussing tactics in low voices, or repeatedly polishing their weapons.

Xu Wuyi was leaning back in a chair, his long spear resting beside him. He kept his mind in a state of relaxed awareness, able to rest and recover his energy, yet ready to snap into a combat footing the instant an alarm sounded.

His gaze occasionally flickered over to Li Shuang, who wasn’t far away.

She stood leaning against a wall, arms crossed, eyes slightly closed. Her breathing was even and deep, as if she had entered a meditative state. Ji Shanhai, meanwhile, sat in a corner, carefully maintaining an antiquated-looking longsword.

The numbers on the digital clock on the wall changed silently.

10:37 PM.

BEEP—BEEP BEEP BEEP—!

A piercing alarm suddenly blared throughout the ready room without any warning!

On the central intelligence screen, a red dot suddenly lit up and began flashing frantically. Its location was on the edge of a hilly region, approximately forty kilometers northeast of Linjiang City.

Simultaneously, a cold, synthetic voice announced:

[WARNING! HIGH-INTENSITY ANOMALOUS ENERGY ERUPTION DETECTED! COORDINATES: XXX EAST, XXX NORTH. ENERGY ATTRIBUTES ANALYSIS: 87% MATCH WITH CELESTIAL WOLF CIVILIZATION BLOODLINE ENERGY! ENERGY LEVEL ASSESSMENT: SUSPECTED PRIEST-LEVEL (LEVEL 40-45)! QUANTITY: AT LEAST THREE SOURCES!]

"QRT-1!" Tang Xiuqi’s sharp, clear voice instantly cut through the wailing alarm. "Move out!"

Every team member shot up like a coiled spring.

Xu Wuyi grabbed his long spear and looked at his team. "Group Two, with me!"

Tang Xiuqi’s orders came through the comms channel simultaneously: "Group One and Group Three, you’re with me on the high-speed assault ships for a frontal approach! Group Two, Xu Wuyi, you’ll take your team and infiltrate from the flank at low altitude. Block the target’s potential escape route to the southeast! Go!"

"Understood!"

Without a moment’s hesitation, QRT-1 activated like a precision war machine.

Xu Wuyi led the eight members of Group Two, sprinting toward a dedicated tunnel.

There, two sleek, diamond-shaped low-altitude assault craft, painted dark gray, were waiting. Their engines were already warmed up, emitting a low hum.

"Board!" Xu Wuyi was the first to leap through the hatch of the lead craft.

Li Shuang, Ji Shanhai, and the others followed close behind.

The hatch sealed shut. The assault craft shuddered slightly, then shot down the dedicated tunnel and burst out of the command center’s subterranean exit.

It hugged the low-rise buildings of the city, racing into the northeastern night sky like a ghost in the shadows.

Outside the viewport, the lights of Linjiang City rapidly receded. Inside the cabin, a rotating red warning light flashed, illuminating the solemn faces of the team members.

Xu Wuyi tightened his grip on his Meteor Iron Long Spear, his gaze fixed through the viewport on the dark hills in the distance, from which an ominous red glow was now pulsing.

...

The assault craft tore through the night sky.

Its dark gray hull was nearly invisible in the moonlight. Only the pale blue streams of light from its engines left ephemeral trails in the darkness.

Inside the cabin, the red light of the alarm reflected on everyone’s face.

Xu Wuyi looked ahead through the viewport. The silhouette of the hilly terrain rolled in the darkness, and the constantly flashing red dot looked like a malignant tumor embedded in the earth.

"ETA to target area is two minutes," the pilot’s calm, steady voice came through the comms. "The energy fluctuations are intensifying. We’ve detected signs of spatial disturbance—it’s an artificially created arrival passage."