High Martial Arts: Enlightenment after Practices

Chapter 449: Chapter 449: Minor Achievement

A single instance of Enlightenment increased his proficiency by nearly 30%!

Xu Wuyi took a deep breath, suppressing his excitement. He didn’t rest. After briefly regulating his breathing, he once again immersed himself in cultivation.

A hundred standard cultivation sessions yielded a single moment of Enlightenment.

With the leap in understanding and proficiency from his Enlightenment, he would complete the next hundred cultivation sessions even faster.

...

「Research Institute, Main Observation Room.」

Ye Guanlan stood before a massive screen, which was split into a dozen smaller windows. They displayed real-time monitoring data from Xu Wuyi’s private chamber: heart rate, brainwaves, Energy Fluctuation, Heart Image activity...

Behind him stood several researchers from the "Heart Image Martial Arts Optimization" project, all of them staring intently at the changing data.

"The compatibility of his energy circulation path is stable at over 99.7%, with minimal fluctuation," a young researcher said, pushing up his glasses. His voice was filled with disbelief. "This... It’s as if he’s been cultivating this for over ten years. But this Martial Art was created less than a week ago."

"There’s more," another, middle-aged researcher said, pointing at the brainwave graph. "Look at the frequency of his spiritual fluctuations. Toward the end of every cultivation session, he enters an extremely efficient and focused state. In this state, his comprehension of the Martial Arts and his rate of developing muscle memory are several times faster than normal."

"A state of ’deep immersion’?" someone guessed.

"I don’t think so." Ye Guanlan spoke, his gaze never leaving the screen. "A state of deep immersion is rare and unpredictable, and it has a limited duration. This efficient state of his... it’s almost controllable. It occurs once a day, and every time it does, his Martial Arts proficiency takes a significant leap."

He brought up a comparison chart of the data from the past three days.

The three curves representing the "Martial Arts Mastery Assessment Value" shot upward in an almost vertical, stair-step pattern. Each jump corresponded to one of Xu Wuyi’s "efficient states" following a long cultivation session.

"Day one, the assessment value jumped from early Entry Level to mid Entry Level."

"Day two, from mid Entry Level to late Entry Level."

"Today..." Ye Guanlan said, looking at the latest data, "he’s already nearing Entry Level Perfection, touching the threshold of Minor Achievement."

The observation room fell silent.

These researchers had witnessed countless genius Martial Artists and had assisted many people in perfecting their Heart Image Martial Arts. But they had never seen anyone like Xu Wuyi, who ’jumped a level’ each day with such a constant and terrifying speed.

"Even if this Martial Art manifested from his own Heart Image and is perfectly compatible with him... this speed is just ridiculous," the young researcher muttered. "At this rate, won’t he reach Minor Achievement in five days? And... Great Success in half a month?"

No one answered him.

Because even they found this speculation absurd.

The further one progressed in cultivating a Martial Art, the more difficult it became.

From Entry Level to Minor Achievement, and from Minor Achievement to Great Success, each barrier required an accumulation of time, insight, resources, and even fortuitous opportunities. Even for a self-created Martial Art, which one understands most deeply, such rapid progress should have been impossible.

But the data didn’t lie.

...

「On the evening of the fifth day.」

Inside Xu Wuyi’s private chamber, an invisible, scorching aura slowly filled the air before being rapidly drawn back in.

He opened his eyes, and deep within his pupils, two clusters of dark gold flames seemed to be burning quietly.

Within his sea of consciousness, the Bronze Ancient Volume shimmered with a brilliant light.

[Martial Art: Golden Crow Burning Heart·Raging Fire]

[Current Realm: Minor Achievement (0.5%)]

[Martial Arts Traits: Heart Fire spreads to incinerate all foes; Flame Seals empower one another, their might increasing incrementally.]

[Assessment: The Heart Image Martial Art has taken initial form. Its potential is considerable.]

Minor Achievement!

Not only had he broken through to a new Realm, but he’d also gained a new Martial Arts Trait: "Flame Seals empower one another, their might increasing incrementally."

This meant that within the same area, the more Flame True Seals he generated, the more they would faintly resonate with one another, causing a slight increase in the burning power of every individual True Seal.

It was a cumulative effect; when facing large numbers of enemies, this Trait would be immensely valuable.

Xu Wuyi let out a long breath, which surprisingly contained tiny sparks that quickly died out.

He stood up, stretching his stiff body. Five straight days of high-intensity cultivation had left him feeling distinctly fatigued, even with the physique and Spirit of an Innate Martial Artist.

But this fatigue was completely overshadowed by his immense sense of accomplishment.

’Time to test its actual effectiveness.’

...

「Virtual Combat Zone.」

Xu Wuyi once again stepped into the spherical pod. The scene loaded, revealing the same scorched plain as before.

"System, simulate a group of one hundred Feathered Warriors, Level 35 to 38, in aerial maneuver mode," Xu Wuyi ordered calmly.

"Simulation generating... Complete."

A cluster of black dots suddenly appeared in the dark red sky.

They were one hundred Feathered Warriors, each with a pair of wings, wielding energy longbows or javelins. They didn’t charge chaotically; instead, they split into several small squads, weaving nimbly through the air on unpredictable trajectories.

This was precisely what made the Feathered People Civilization so troublesome: high mobility, high evasion, and a preference for ranged harassment.

Xu Wuyi looked up, his expression serene.

With a single thought, he activated the Golden Crow Burning Heart·Raging Fire Heart Method.

Within his sea of consciousness, the Dark Gold Mountain Body Heart Image trembled slightly. Atop its peak, the Golden Crow Illusion raised its head and let out a long cry.

An invisible, scorching Power of Heart Image spread out silently with him at its center.

A radius of three hundred meters was completely enveloped by his perception.

He didn’t deliberately try to lock onto every fast-moving Feathered Warrior; that would have consumed too much of his Heart and Spirit.

He simply "demarcated" a region—the patch of sky where the cluster of Feathered Warriors was densest.

Then, he ignited his Heart Fire.

HUMMM!

In the targeted airspace, without any warning, more than sixty dark gold sparks ignited at once.

The moment they appeared, the sparks expanded rapidly, transforming into a series of fist-sized, pulsing Flame True Seals.

It was as if invisible threads connected the True Seals. Their dark gold halos intertwined, forming a faint web of fire.

"SCREEE—!"

Only then did the Feathered Warriors in the air notice, and sharp cries of alarm rang out.

They tried to beat their wings and escape the patch of sky that had suddenly become so dangerous, or block with their Energy Shields.

But it was too late.

The Flame True Seals erupted violently!

It was not an explosion, but a continuous, violent incineration.

The dark gold flames clung to the Feathered Warriors’ Energy Shields, feathers, and skin, crazily devouring every form of energy.

The glow of their shields dimmed and shattered at a visible rate. Feathers were charred black and curled, and a SIZZLING sound came from their flesh.

What was more terrifying was that as the sixty-plus Flame True Seals burned simultaneously, they resonated with one another, their searing power slowly intensifying.

The sky instantly turned into a sea of fire filled with agonizing cries.

Ten seconds.

In just ten seconds, more than forty Feathered Warriors had been turned into charred husks and were plummeting from the sky. Most of the survivors were wounded, their formation had completely collapsed, and they were scattering in every direction in a panic.