Chapter 273: Chapter 273: Red Star Intranet

His consciousness fully returned to reality. Xu Wuyi sat quietly in the connection pod for another ten or so seconds before opening his eyes.

The pod lid slid open automatically, and the steady light of the Cultivation Room fell on his face.

Outside, it was already afternoon. Sunlight streamed through the high window, casting slanted patches of light on the floor.

The lingering virtual pain had long since vanished, but the mental fatigue and the peculiar sense of fulfillment from the initial fusion of his True Intentions remained distinct.

He slowly rose to his feet, walked over to the console, poured himself a glass of warm water, and drank it slowly.

The screen of the communicator on his wrist was lit, a crimson "Red Star" icon hovering silently in the corner, a reminder that what had just transpired was no illusion.

Xu Wuyi didn’t tap it open immediately.

He walked to the center of the room, closed his eyes, and focused his mind, carefully sensing the changes within his sea of consciousness.

The two True Intentions, ’Mountain’ and ’Scorching,’ were like two parallel streams that, after a violent collision, had begun to churn and intermingle.

Though not yet fully integrated, they had already forged a tight bond. A mere flicker of his will was enough to incite a resonance between them.

The Mountain Intention was no longer merely heavy and solid; it now held a trace of the Scorching Intention’s fiery, ascendant nature. The Scorching Intention was no longer purely a searing light and heat; it was now grounded by the Mountain Intention’s profound stability and supportive strength.

"Great Sun Above the Mountain Peak..." Xu Wuyi murmured to himself.

That phenomenon was an external manifestation of the intense resonance between the two True Intentions, something he couldn’t easily replicate.

However, the Mental Realm born from their fusion could already be preliminarily applied in combat and cultivation.

The most direct manifestations were a smoother, more harmonious circulation of his Qi and Blood, and a more acute and penetrating Spiritual Perception.

He roughly estimated that in terms of combat power, the boost from this initial fusion of True Intentions was equivalent to increasing his Life Energy Level by one or two levels. More importantly, it meant his path in Martial Arts had truly ascended to a new plane.

A moment later, Xu Wuyi collected his thoughts and turned his attention back to the communicator.

With a flicker of his will, the crimson icon expanded in his mind’s eye.

[Red Star Network—Welcome, new member: Xu Wuyi (Codename pending)]

Red Star members had their real information registered, but internal communication relied mostly on codenames. Only those who knew each other well could connect a codename to a person.

Of course, some people just used their real names.

The interface was clean, with a color scheme dominated by crimson and dark gray, giving it an understated yet efficient aesthetic.

At the very top was the scrolling announcement he had just seen: the report about him leaving an Illusion on the Nine Stars Stele.

As expected, there were already seven or eight comments below the announcement. The commenters’ codenames and writing styles were all different.

In addition to the ones he’d already seen, a few new comments had appeared:

"The newcomer defeated Junior Sister Hong’s Illusion, huh? Not bad. Let us know your codename once you pick one. It’ll be easier to recognize you on future missions."

"So Wu Feng’s record got topped? Haha, when he gets back from his mission and finds out, he’s going to be bummed for a few days."

"Welcome. Feel free to check out the ’Combat Analysis’ section when you have time. Some of the combat logs left by the old-timers are pretty valuable."

The tone of the comments was mostly casual, with the air of seniors sizing up a junior, but there was no obvious malice or provocation.

Just as Fu Yun had said, the culture within Red Star revered strength. If you displayed enough potential, you would earn their attention and a baseline of respect.

Xu Wuyi scanned through the comments but didn’t reply yet. His gaze shifted to the functional sections on the left side of the interface.

[Intelligence Exchange], [Mission Board], [Resource Exchange], [Cultivation Discussion], [Member Directory], [Nine Stars Stele]...

There weren’t many sections, but each one opened up into more detailed sub-forums.

Xu Wuyi first tapped on [Member Directory].

The list wasn’t fully public; it only showed online members and those who had chosen to share their basic information.

The list was sorted by join date, with the earliest entry dating back twelve years.

Most online members used simple virtual avatars or emblems, followed by their codename and a brief status note.

Xu Wuyi saw "Fu Yun," whose status was listed as "Sponsor, Liaison."

He also saw "Hong Nianyi." Her avatar was the simple silhouette of a saber, and her status was just two words: "In cultivation."

There were over twenty other members online, their codenames a motley collection, and their statuses just as varied: "Frontline Rotation," "In Seclusion," "Research Project," "On Leave"...

Xu Wuyi noticed the directory also had a "Search" function.

He tried typing "Wu Feng." As expected, an info card popped up. It read: "Mountain-Breaking Staff" Wu Feng, graduate of the Starry Sky Martial Arts Academy. His Life Energy Level was marked "40+", his status was "Star Realm Battlefield, Seventh Defense Zone," and his last login was two months ago.

’Level 40 and above, Star Realm Battlefield.’

Xu Wuyi silently committed these two key phrases to memory. This was one of the primary paths for Red Star members after graduation.

Exiting the directory, he tapped into the most active section: [Intelligence Exchange].

The interface refreshed, and a flood of post titles scrolled past. The update speed was incredibly fast.

*Report on Abnormal Star Beast Activity in the Seventh Zone’s ’Ashen Corridor’ Over the Past Three Days*

*Updated Energy Tide Forecast for the Eastern Domain’s ’Luoxing Lake’ Mystic Realm (Harvesting Recommendations Included)*

*Analysis of the Spiritual Erosion Properties of a New ’Soul-Devouring Demon’ Variant*

*Trends in the Federation’s Latest Merit Exchange List Adjustments (Internal Discussion)*

*Possible Ancient Civilization Ruin Found on Southwest Border, Recruiting for Exploration Team*

*...*

The post titles were mostly concise and went straight to the point.

The posters’ codenames were varied, and many had tags like "Frontline," "Exploration Team," or "Research Institute" appended to them.

The replies were also quite pragmatic. There was little fluff; most posts supplemented information, questioned details, or proposed collaborations.

Xu Wuyi opened a few posts with interesting titles to read them.

The density of valuable intelligence was high.

For example, the analysis of the Soul-Devouring Demon variant described in detail the wavelength changes of its Spiritual Attacks, provided resistance test data, and suggested several countermeasures. At the end, it even included contact information for obtaining more details.

Of course, acquiring those extra details required payment. Knowledge has never been free.

This type of intelligence was either unavailable on the public networks or existed only as vague warnings, never in such detail.

Take the post about the ancient civilization ruins, for another example. The original poster provided approximate coordinates for the area and a few blurry charts of residual Energy signatures.

Several codenames had already replied, asking about specific risks and preliminary exploration plans. They were clearly all people with considerable power and resources in their respective fields.

After reading for a while, Xu Wuyi had a much more concrete understanding of the value of the Red Star platform.

Much of the information circulating here was indeed beyond the reach of ordinary Martial Artists.

Even if only used as a window for information, it was immensely valuable.

He exited the intelligence section and tapped on [Mission Board].

There were fewer posts here, but the requirements were clearly much higher.