High Martial Arts Era

Chapter 169: One Town for Thirty Years

"You applied to come here for the trial and adventure, so your school forwarded your information to me," the old man in the blue uniform said with a smile.

Li Yuan and Shi Xiao understood immediately. This was standard procedure.

"My surname is Liu, and my full name is Liu Jing. I am the chief officer of Base Three," the old man in the blue uniform said. "As elite students from Kunlun Martial University, you are different from ordinary martial artists who come to explore. We will pay more attention to you."

"Senior Liu," Li Yuan and Shi Xiao immediately corrected their address.

As the chief officer of a astral realm war base, the old man in blue undoubtedly held significant power. And the independence of a war base here was certainly very high. When exploring life and death on someone else's turf, one must naturally respect the host.

Moreover, Li Yuan had a vague understanding of the reason behind the other party being a Source Martial Artist, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of respect.

"Since this is your first time here, there are some things I need to clarify in advance," the old man in blue said. "Firstly, our human civilization has four main forward bases in the Bright Ruins Astral Realm. Bases One and Two are very far from us, over ten thousand kilometers away, so we can't rely on them."

"Bases One and Two are the two entrance bases in Africa?" Li Yuan couldn't help but ask. The Bright Ruins Astral Realm had four entrances: two in Africa and two in China.

"Yes," Liu Jing nodded. "Our Base Three and Base Four are relatively close to each other, but still over two thousand kilometers apart. We often communicate through Blue Star as an intermediary."

Li Yuan and Shi Xiao were speechless. Two thousand kilometers, in the dangerous and alien-ridden Bright Ruins Astral Realm, was extremely far.

"So, for our Base Three to survive, we must rely mainly on ourselves," the old man in blue, Liu Jing, looked at the two of them. "The base's main tasks are, first, to continuously kill the alien creatures near the base to expand our survival space. This is the combat mission."

"Second, to search for various resources, such as natural treasures, mineral veins, and suitable spiritual soils. This is the exploration mission."

"Third, the defense mission. Over the decades, the area within three hundred kilometers of the base has become our sphere of influence. We have developed many resource points, but occasionally we still face attacks from alien races, requiring warriors to defend."

Liu Jing looked at the two of them. "Which mission do you want to participate in?"

Ordinary warriors wouldn't have a choice.

"Combat mission," Li Yuan and Shi Xiao said in unison.

"Okay," Liu Jing smiled faintly. "I'll arrange for you to join a martial artist squad. I'll find you a strong enough team."

"In a team, with many people working together, the chances of survival are much higher."

"Okay," Shi Xiao nodded, having some experience from previous astral realm explorations.

"Senior Liu, may I explore alone?" Li Yuan suddenly asked. "I remember it's possible to apply to form a single-person team."

Before Liu Jing could respond, Shi Xiao was already shocked. "Li Yuan, are you crazy? This is your first time exploring a astral realm. How high is your physical fitness?"

In her impression, Li Yuan's true strength should not be greater than hers, and he lacked experience.

"To form a single-person team, you must be an 18th-level warrior," the old man in blue, Liu Jing, squinted slightly and smiled. "Your information shows that your strength is comparable to a 19th-level warrior, so you qualify."

"Comparable to a 19th-level warrior?" Shi Xiao was stunned.

"It seems this young lady didn't know," Liu Jing smiled. "Li Yuan performed excellently during the Fish Spirit Tide in Jiangcheng, earning a first-class silver medal. Very impressive."

"First-class silver medal?" Shi Xiao's mouth formed an 'O' shape. She knew how difficult it was to obtain such a medal. She was aware of the Fish Spirit Tide in Jiangcheng but not of Li Yuan's achievements, as she hadn't paid attention to the commendation ceremony.

"Li Yuan, your strength is good, but experience is another matter. Are you sure you don't want an experienced guide?" Liu Jing asked.

"No need," Li Yuan shook his head. In terms of strength, he was nearly a Source Martial Artist. A regular martial artist squad would only hold him back. Moreover, if he wanted to quickly increase his spiritual awakening level, he would need to kill many alien races, which was easier done alone.

"Okay, the choice is yours. You can explore alone," Liu Jing said. "Shi Xiao, do you want to explore alone as well?"

"No," Shi Xiao shook her head repeatedly. "Please assign me to a martial artist squad."

With physical fitness over level 17 and fourth-stage skills, Shi Xiao's strength was also close to a 19th-level warrior. But she didn't have Li Yuan's confidence.

"Alright, you will receive the information shortly," Liu Jing said. "When fighting the aliens, remember three things: First, avoid second-tier aliens. Second, don't use thermal weapons lightly. Third, within a thousand kilometers of the war base, we can respond to your distress signals immediately. Beyond that, the signal becomes very weak."

"Understood," Li Yuan and Shi Xiao said solemnly.

They were aware that in the Bright Ruins Astral Realm, human civilization was just a small force... They needed to develop quietly and steadily.

Each war base only managed an area within a few hundred kilometers. Using thermal weapons could indeed kill many aliens, even causing second-tier aliens to fall under heavy fire. However, the true rulers of the Bright Ruins Astral Realm were not the second-tier aliens but the Flying-level beings!

Provoking a Flying-level enemy would be disastrous for the human forward bases. Similar incidents had happened frequently during human explorations of many astral realms.

"Commander," the door opened, and the previous officer walked in.

"Arrange for Wu Qing's team to accept Shi Xiao," Liu Jing said. "She asked for a skilled companion, so I'm giving her one."

"Yes," the officer nodded. "Martial Artist Shi Xiao, please come with me."

"Xu An, keep in touch," Shi Xiao winked. She guessed that Li Yuan had his own plans and didn't insist on staying with him.

"Sure," Li Yuan nodded with a smile.

After they left, the door closed again, leaving only Li Yuan and Liu Jing.

"Rest assured, only I know your detailed information," Liu Jing smiled. "How is your teacher, Li Yang?"

"Senior, you know Teacher Li?" Li Yuan was surprised.

"We were classmates at Kunlun Martial University and had a good relationship back then," Liu Jing smiled. "It's just been over thirty years since we last met."

Li Yuan sighed internally. Thirty years?

The more he saw, the more Li Yuan felt the influence of Kunlun Martial University on China. Many Source Martial Artists in China came from Kunlun Martial University.

"According to your teacher's instructions, I need to evaluate your life-and-death adventure," Liu Jing smiled. "So, when you kill aliens, take their distinctive items as proof. Understood?"

"Yes," Li Yuan nodded. The Bright Ruins Astral Realm was not like practical exams with comprehensive monitoring. Everything relied on oneself.

"Shi Xiao is joining a martial artist squad with teammates to help her, so I don't need to say much. Since you're exploring alone, I'll give you a few more tips," Liu Jing said.

"Besides being wary of alien beasts, pay attention to two things," Liu Jing said seriously. "First, the life forms of the Heavenly Virtue Civilization. They look similar to humans, and their activity area is close to our Base Three."

"According to our investigations, one of their astral realm entrances is less than two thousand kilometers from us."

"So close?" Li Yuan was surprised. At such a short distance, encounters between strong individuals from both sides were possible.

"Yes, very close," Liu Jing said. "Secondly, be wary of other human martial artists."

"Other human martial artists?" Li Yuan's pupils contracted.

"People have selfish desires. If two martial artist squads simultaneously discover a valuable natural treasure, how would they divide it?" Liu Jing said calmly.

Li Yuan remained silent.

"If one side concedes, fine. If both want it, there will be conflict," Liu Jing said. "On Blue Star and within the war base, laws prohibit mutual killing. But don't test human nature's limits when facing treasure temptations."

"Beyond 300 kilometers from the war fortress, we won't intervene in mutual killings among human martial artists."

"So, you must remain vigilant around other human martial artists," Liu Jing said.

"Thank you for the reminder, Senior," Li Yuan said. Liu Jing's willingness to speak so frankly showed genuine concern.

"Go ahead."

...

After Li Yuan left, Liu Jing sighed internally, "I'm slowly getting old."

More than thirty years had passed. As a Source Martial Artist, he could live much longer, but he felt mentally exhausted. He longed to return home but couldn't. Such days would continue indefinitely.

...

After leaving Liu Jing's office, another martial artist officer took over Li Yuan's reception.

He mainly introduced the environment within a 500-kilometer radius of the war fortress, such as areas with second-tier aliens and places where many aliens gathered. He also detailed the locations of human civilization's resource points (planting, minerals), observation points, and the main activity areas of other martial artist squads.

These details were not in the Starlight Martial Hall's database.

With his current mental strength, although not capable of photographic memory, Li Yuan quickly memorized the essentials.

Finally, "How long has Senior Liu been here?" Li Yuan asked his question.

"Do you mean the commander?" The warrior officer was initially stunned, then smiled. "I've heard it's been over thirty years."

"He was the first chief officer of Base Three and voluntarily stayed here. I've heard he used to be a 25th-level Source Martial Artist, but his strength was greatly diminished after an injury."

"All the Source Martial Artists in the base volunteered to stay here."

"With Source Martial Artists and the war fortress as the last line of defense, our human civilization can barely maintain a foothold in the Bright Ruins Astral Realm," the martial artist officer sighed. "This is why the surrounding alien forces tacitly acknowledge this several hundred kilometers as our territory."

"But."

"We first-tier martial artists still have vacations and rotations and can return to the country... But the Source Martial Artists have to guard this place for life."

Li Yuan nodded slightly, feeling a deep sense of appreciation.

In human civilization, there were always many silent contributors.

...

There is no night in the Bright Ruins Astral Realm; the sky always has two suns intertwined. Therefore, on the day of his arrival in the Bright Ruins Astral Realm, at six o'clock in the evening Blue Star time, Li Yuan set off alone after completing all preparations.

He began his first exploration in the astral realm.