Twenty minutes later.

Xu Wuyi changed into a clean set of clothes. Instead of immediately diving into his training as usual, he did something rare: he collapsed onto the living room sofa, closed his eyes, and let the sore, limp feeling of relaxation spread through his body.

’So tired. I’m just so tired...’

Both his mind and body were utterly exhausted, but the intense stimulation to his Heart and Spirit had yet to fade. Xu Wuyi was actually quite wired and felt no sleepiness at all.

After lying there for a few minutes, he suddenly opened his eyes and stood up from the sofa.

’Forget it. I’ll practice my spear for a bit.’

Xu Wuyi felt that perhaps only this kind of tedious practice could calm his heart again. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Besides, the mission had started this afternoon, so he still hadn’t finished the Spear Technique practice that was scheduled for today.

He couldn’t waste the insights gained from one hundred repetitions of the Eight-direction Soul Suppressing Spear.

He turned and walked into the Cultivation Room. A moment later, his personal communicator, which he had tossed onto the sofa, began to vibrate continuously.

...

On the network, in the six-person team’s group chat named "Star Martial 1723."

Zhao Qingwei’s profile picture lit up, her message concise and clear: "This mission’s difficulty exceeded expectations. The points we earned were substantial, but the costs and risks were also high."

"The Youth Martial Arts Tournament starts next month. I suggest that for the time being, we reduce or even pause taking on real-world missions. Everyone should focus on preparing and getting into peak condition. What do you all think?"

This message opened the floodgates.

Luo Liang replied almost instantly: "Agreed. We should definitely take some time to digest the insights from this battle. I feel like the bottleneck in my Golden Jade Skills is starting to loosen up a bit."

He followed it with an emoji of someone collapsing from exhaustion.

Ding Haichuan: "Seconded. I found that my archery is too restricted in narrow environments. I need to make some targeted adjustments. My points will last me a while for now."

Li Hao was concise: "Fine."

Tana’s message had an exaggerated, post-calamity feel to it.

"I agree with all my heart and soul! The points are nice, but my life is more important!"

"I don’t want to experience the feeling of a giant spider nipping at my heels again anytime soon. Right now, all I want to do is hug my hammer and sleep for three days and three nights!"

She followed up with a series of sleeping and snoring sticker packs.

The group chat immediately livened up, and they exchanged a few words about potential opponents in the youth tournament and what areas they each needed to improve.

However, from start to finish, one profile picture remained dark, not participating in the discussion.

Tana noticed and tagged Xu Wuyi directly: "@Xu Wuyi, Yoo-hoo! What about you? Don’t tell me you’re so tired you’ve already passed out?"

Luo Liang chimed in, which was rare for him: "@Xu Wuyi, he was on the front lines today and used up the most energy. He’s probably already resting."

Ding Haichuan sent a "let him get some good rest" emoji.

Zhao Qingwei also replied: "Mhm, he worked hard today. Don’t disturb his rest."

Everyone assumed that Xu Wuyi, as the main force against the Commander Level Star Beast, must have been completely exhausted and had already fallen into a deep sleep.

A preliminary consensus was reached in the group about reducing missions, and the conversation gradually died down.

However, half an hour later, just as Tana had put on a face mask and was about to lie down, the group chat notification chimed again.

The profile picture that had been dark all this time lit up.

Xu Wuyi: "Just saw this. I have no objections. We’ll do what everyone agreed on."

The group chat had already fallen silent, and everyone was busy with their own things. Luo Liang happened to see the message and casually asked out of concern.

"Why are you just now replying? Are you okay?"

Xu Wuyi: "I was just doing my daily Spear Technique practice and didn’t see the communicator."

The group chat went silent for a few seconds, then was instantly flooded by a stream of messages.

Luo Liang: "???"

Tana: "???????"

Ding Haichuan: "@Luo Liang, you just had to ask."

Li Hao: "..."

Even the usually cool and distant Zhao Qingwei couldn’t help but send a "(⊙_⊙)?" emoticon.

Everyone was dumbfounded by Xu Wuyi’s single sentence.

They were so tired they wished their souls would just fly back to their beds, not even wanting to lift a finger.

This guy had actually gone and completed his daily Spear Technique practice after returning, dragging his exhausted body back from a vicious battle?

Tana sent a voice message directly, her voice filled with disbelief: "Xu Wuyi! Are you even human?! We’re all dead tired, and you still had the energy to practice your spear?! Are you a perpetual motion machine?!"

Ding Haichuan silently sent a "bowing down to the master" sticker pack.

Zhao Qingwei looked at the barrage of comments on her screen and finally replied with a single word: "...Monster."

Yes, a monster. That was the common thought in the minds of every team member at that moment.

This almost cruel self-discipline went beyond the scope of "hard work." It was practically an instinct carved into his very bones.

Xu Wuyi looked at the question marks and exclamations that instantly flooded the chat, scratching his head in confusion.

He just felt that since today’s Spear Technique practice had been delayed by the mission, it wasn’t too difficult to adjust his breathing and complete the scheduled number of repetitions after he got back, even though he was tired.

’Besides, doesn’t it feel awful to leave a scheduled task unfinished?’

He thought for a moment and tried to console them: "It was just basic practice. Stretching my muscles a bit helps with recovery."

Tana replied with a string of "vomiting blood" emojis.

No one else replied.

Compared to a monster whose self-discipline was on a whole other level, they felt that their own so-called "efforts" were nothing more than child’s play.

Xu Wuyi put down his communicator, paying no mind to his teammates’ reactions.

He walked to the underground Cultivation Room but didn’t continue with high-intensity training. Instead, he sat down cross-legged.

’Time to practice the Visualization Method!’

...

「A few days later.」

The ripples from the mine shaft mission gradually subsided, and Xu Wuyi slowly digested and absorbed the combat insights he had gained.

He fell back into his familiar rhythm, dedicating most of his energy to cultivating the Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace and the Visualization of Heart Fire Refining Spirit.

「Underground Cultivation Room.」

Xu Wuyi sat cross-legged inside. The Qi and Blood throughout his body surged like dark red lava, circulating within him with a deep, powerful roar.

The lustrous light of his bones was contained within, and his five viscera and six organs resonated faintly with his breathing, demonstrating a state of ultimate refinement.

[Life Energy Level: 29.9]

The top-tier Virtual Pod displayed his Current Realm.

He was only a single step away from the Martial Master Realm, a state that symbolized a metamorphosis in one’s life level.

This step was not a simple accumulation of Energy, but a crucial leap involving the unification of Essence, Qi, and Spirit.

It required one’s Qi and Blood, bones, and organs all to be refined to the Perfection of the Current Realm. Then, one had to command the entire body with a highly condensed Spiritual Will to achieve the "Unity of Body and Spirit."

Once this step was taken, Qi and Blood could flow through all the major acupoints of the body, forming a self-sustaining cosmic cycle. Recovery Power and endurance would undergo a qualitative leap.

In the ancient tomes of Martial Arts, this was the so-called "Innate Martial Artist."

Of course, the "Innate" state spoken of by the ancients could not be compared to the Innate Martial Artists of the modern Martial Arts system.