After some time, Vice Minister Li let out a long, heavy breath. His voice hoarse, he began directing the final cleanup and tallying efforts.

The preliminary casualty figures were compiled.

Over four hundred Martial Artists had participated in the battle, including twenty-four Martial Masters and two hundred and fifty-two Advanced Martial Artists.

Forty-seven were killed in action, including nine Martial Masters and thirty-eight Advanced Martial Artists. The death rate for Martial Masters was exceptionally high, a direct result of the unexpectedly large number of Commander Level Star Beasts.

In that situation, only the Martial Masters could step up to the plate. Other Martial Artists wouldn’t dare to face a Star Beast Commander head-on.

Fifty-nine were so severely wounded they could no longer fight.

And nearly everyone had sustained minor injuries.

The numbers were staggering.

For non-frontline cities like Red River and Silver Port, losing nearly fifty core Martial Artists at once—including almost ten Martial Masters—was a crippling blow.

Xu Wuyi listened in silence to the cold, hard numbers. Behind each one was a life, vibrant just a short while ago. A pillar of a family. A person of flesh and blood, like Teacher Wang and Zhao Tie.

He was grateful that no one he knew personally had died, but in the face of such a devastating overall cost, that relief felt so trivial, even tinged with a hint of guilt.

The sunlight grew stronger, chasing away the last of the valley’s shadows, but it couldn’t pierce the gloom weighing on his heart.

The cleanup operation dragged on.

The bodies of the fallen were tagged and collected, one by one, prepared for transport back to their home cities.

The wounded were evacuated in batches, Star Beast Materials were sorted and collected, and damaged equipment was cataloged.

It wasn’t until the sun began to dip in the west that the bulk of the work was finally done.

The surviving Martial Artists, weary, wounded, and with heavy hearts, began boarding the vehicles heading back to the city.

Xu Wuyi declined the offer of a private car. He shouldered his long spear, said a quick goodbye to Wang Wenhai and Zhou Yun, and decided to walk a portion of the way alone.

He needed some time to process everything that had happened that day.

As he walked out of the valley, he glanced back. The location of the rift was already concealed beneath layers of military camouflage netting and temporary fortifications. Only the faint glimmer of the energy barrier was visible through it all.

Soon, a permanent monitoring outpost would likely be established there.

He had arrived in the dead of night; he left under a blood-red sunset.

Walking along the rugged mountain path, he could almost hear the echoes of beastly roars, the din of battle, and the boom of explosions. It was as if the thick stench of blood still clung to the air.

Tang Xiuqi’s pale yet proud figure. Wang Wenhai’s grin as he’d insisted, "I’ll live." Zhao Tie’s flat tone as he recounted his team’s losses. Li Shuang’s silent nod. The rows of bodies covered in white sheets... Countless images flashed through his mind.

"Profound Abyssal Rift... Beast King..."

Xu Wuyi muttered the two terms under his breath.

He lifted his head toward the setting sun, its light still blindingly bright.

The road ahead was long.

And he could now see with perfect clarity what lay far down that road: not just higher Realms and greater power, but also heavier responsibilities, more brutal battlefields, and things that he would have to protect.

He tightened his grip on the spear case slung over his shoulder. His steps grew firm as he headed down the mountain, toward the city where the first lights of evening had begun to shine.

That was where he lived, where his parents were waiting for his safe return. It was also home to countless ordinary people, just like them, who needed protecting.

And what he had to do was get stronger. Strong enough to bear his share of the responsibility. Strong enough to climb high enough to see the entire battlefield for what it was.

And then, to make his stand.

...

At two in the morning, Xu Wuyi quietly opened his front door.

The living room was pitch-black, save for the faint red glow of the television’s standby light.

The door to his parents’ bedroom was closed, and he could hear his father’s steady snoring from within.

He breathed a sigh of relief and tiptoed into his room.

He closed the door and leaned his back against it for a few seconds, the tension finally draining from his body.

Xu Wuyi set down his wrapped long spear and unzipped his training uniform.

The caked blood on his clothes had turned black and stiff. There were several gashes on his left shoulder and back, torn open by the bone blades of a Blade-toothed Beast, revealing the metallic fibers of the high-strength protective liner underneath.

’Good, it didn’t tear.’

He rolled up the bloodstained clothes and stuffed them into the very bottom of his backpack. ’I’ll have to find somewhere to get rid of these tomorrow. Can’t just throw them in the trash here at home.’

He went into the bathroom and turned on the hot water.

Steam billowed up, quickly fogging the mirror. Xu Wuyi stood under the showerhead, letting the hot water cascade over his body.

The water sluiced over his skin, washing away dirt, blood, and sweat, and with them, the exhaustion that had settled deep in his muscles after a night of tension.

The hot water stung his skin slightly, and he looked down to examine himself.

He had a few bruises, and the muscles in his arms and shoulders trembled faintly from overexertion, but he truly had no serious injuries.

The defensive properties of his Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace at Minor Achievement, combined with his Martial Master Level physique, had allowed him to escape today’s intense battle with only superficial wounds.

But that didn’t mean it had been easy.

After quickly washing away his fatigue, Xu Wuyi changed into clean pajamas and put away the protective liner he’d been wearing.

He sat down cross-legged and began his nightly cultivation of the Heart Fire Refining Spirit.

His Spirit sank into his sea of consciousness, which felt more "spacious" and profound than before.

The life-and-death battle, especially the final confrontation with the Golden Armor Grand Commander, had subjected him to immense Spiritual pressure. It was as if his will had been hammered and forged, emerging more condensed and refined.

The Heart Fire burned quietly, each flicker guiding the circulation of his Spiritual Power.

Xu Wuyi could feel that after today, the efficiency of his Heart Fire Refining Spirit cultivation had improved slightly.

It wasn’t a quantitative leap, but rather a qualitative refinement, a new level of harmony.

He trained like this for two hours.

At four in the morning, Xu Wuyi ended his cultivation and lay down on his bed.

His body was exhausted, but his Spirit was exceptionally clear.

He stared at the ceiling until the sky outside began to lighten, only then drifting into a hazy sleep.

At 7:30 on Sunday morning, Mrs. Xu knocked on his bedroom door.

"Ah Yi, time for breakfast! Didn’t you say you were going back to school today?"

Xu Wuyi opened his eyes, the bloodshot veins having already faded.

He answered, then got up and changed. He practiced his expression in the mirror to make sure nothing seemed amiss.

Plain congee, side dishes, and fried eggs were laid out on the dining table.

"You look a little pale. Didn’t you sleep well?" Mrs. Xu asked, looking him over.

"I was probably just a little tired from yesterday, and I ended up talking with Teacher Wang for a while," Xu Wuyi said, looking down at his congee and smoothly changing the subject. "Mom, I have to leave soon. My flight is at ten."

"So soon? You’re not staying for another couple of days?" Father Xu asked, lowering his newspaper.

"I have coursework to catch up on," Xu Wuyi said. "Besides, taking time off has put me behind on my cultivation."

Hearing this, Father Xu and Mrs. Xu didn’t press him to stay.

’Their son was a student at a Martial Arts University now; cultivation was serious business.’

After breakfast, Xu Wuyi went to his room to pack. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

The two Earth Fire Marrow Lamps had cooled, and he carefully packed them into a special protective case.

He also carefully wrapped the Meteor Iron Long Spear in its cloth sleeve and stuffed it into his duffel bag along with a few changes of clothes.

"I’ll take you," Father Xu offered.

"No need, Dad. I’ll just grab a cab to the airport. It’s easy," Xu Wuyi said, shouldering his bag. "You two enjoy the rest of your weekend."