Chapter 57: For Great Xia, We Have No Choice But to Fight!

After bidding farewell to the Great Sage, the little golden-furred macaque, and the other monkeys and descendants, Shi Yu sat cross-legged within the Water Curtain Cave and passed away, his form dissolving into countless points of light.

A brief moment later, he awoke inside the spiritual consciousness pod.

He had spent fifteen days within the Journey to the West, while a mere single hour had elapsed in the mortal world of Blue Star. This stark temporal contrast often left him with a lingering sense of unreality.

Shi Yu exited the training building, crossed the athletic field, and headed back toward the martial arts pavilion.

High above, the firmament was a vast expanse of unblemished blue.

Yet, a faint, rolling rumble drifted from the distance.

Puzzled, Shi Yu lifted his gaze to the horizon and saw several tiny black dots rapidly expanding in size.

They were actually J-48 fighter jets!

These rulers of the skies swept across the firmament from west to east with the overwhelming momentum of a thunderbolt, leaving behind a series of thunderous roars that shook the soul.

Shi Yu tilted his head back, watching the departing figures of the aircraft, tracking them with his eyes until their hulls vanished completely into the sea of clouds.

On the athletic field, quite a few students were also looking up in curiosity.

"Good grief, are those fighter squadrons?"

"Why are J-48s suddenly flying overhead?!"

Voices buzzed with speculation among the crowd: "Wonder where they're heading."

"If they're flying east, could it be toward the Luoxiao Mountains?"

"Did something happen over at the Luoxiao Mountains?"

"God, I hope not. I was planning to go sightseeing there during summer break."

Shi Yu withdrew his gaze. Fighter jets would not appear without reason.

It was rare to witness such large-scale flights of warplanes over the city during peacetime; perhaps something truly had occurred in the Luoxiao Mountains?

At that moment, his phone rang. Glancing at the caller ID, he saw it was Dean Xia of Central-South University.

"Dean Xia, are you looking for me?"

"Little Shi, do you have time this afternoon? If you're free, drop by Central-South. It's inconvenient to talk over the phone, and there are some things I'd like to discuss with you in person."

"I do. Alright, see you this afternoon."

Feeling somewhat perplexed, Shi Yu hung up the phone. Tomorrow was Monday, when the municipal training class would resume, and he would naturally run into Dean Xia then.

Yet Dean Xia seemed unwilling to wait even half a day. Although unstated, Shi Yu could sense that there were urgent matters the dean wished to impart.

Pensive once more, he raised his head and looked toward the east.

Could it be related to the fighter jets that had just streaked past?

...

After finishing a quick lunch, Shi Yu arrived at the Martial Arts Research Institute of Central-South University.

In the office, he met Xia Xingqiu.

"Little Shi, sit down!" Xia Xingqiu maintained his customary scholarly poise.

A hint of apology crossed his face: "Sorry to have called you in on a Sunday."

"It's mainly because starting tomorrow, I'll be temporarily away from Central-South for a while due to personal matters, so I wanted to brief you on a few things beforehand."

"As for the specific follow-up affairs, I'll have Professor Xu Boyuan from our institute coordinate with you."

"First, given your exceptional talent and outstanding performance in the municipal training class, I would like to invite you to enter the Martial Arts Research Institute for advanced study two months from now, when the senior year of high school begins."

Upon hearing this, Shi Yu widened his eyes slightly. What did this mean?

Was he going to directly spend his senior year studying here at Central-South?

"Your status as a student at Yali High School will remain unchanged," Xia Xingqiu laughed. "After the senior year semester begins, you can study at Yali in the morning and come over to Central-South in the afternoon."

"With your talent, you can achieve better development here at the Martial Arts Research Institute, which will also be beneficial for your college entrance examinations next year."

"We will select suitable cultivation techniques for your practice."

"As for Yali, we will discuss this matter with Principal Zhu, so you don't need to worry."

Xia Xingqiu continued without pause: "The second matter concerns Tianheng."

"I know Tianheng has already signed an agreement with Yali, and there is a special training camp waiting for you next month."

"What I want to say is that Tianheng has a martial arts training base right here in Xingcheng."

"The Star-Xuan Martial Arts Base possesses the finest training facilities and conditions in the entire city."

"Once the municipal training class concludes, you can head directly there for more systematic training."

"The Star-Xuan Base will be fully open to you."

Hearing all this, Shi Yu felt a profound sense of astonishment and quickly expressed his gratitude to Dean Xia.

...

After some conversation, as he prepared to leave, Shi Yu asked out of curiosity: "Dean Xia, before I came here, I saw quite a few fighter jets flying toward the east."

"Is something about to happen?"

"Over at the Luoxiao Mountains... has a new spatial event broken out?"

Xia Xingqiu looked at the exceptionally talented and quick-witted student before him. After a moment of silent rumination, he slowly nodded.

"Your guess is correct."

"Spatial fluctuations over at the Luoxiao Mountains have grown increasingly pronounced recently."

"From an initial Level One event, it has gradually escalated to Level Three, and the trend of development still has not stopped!"

"I believe you should understand what this implies."

A tempest raged within Shi Yu's heart.

Spatial events were categorized into multiple levels based on the degree of abnormal fluctuations.

Level One Event: Extremely faint spatial fluctuations appear, difficult for ordinary perception to detect, and discernible only by specialized instruments.

Level Two Event: Minor spatial ripples occur, with the fluctuation range confined to a small area, and no actual otherworldly creatures appearing.

Level Three Event: Spatial fissures emerge, accompanied by the overflow of otherworldly energy. This tier of events can be further subdivided into Grades A and B.

Among them, Grade A spatial fissures allow otherworldly creatures of Qi-Penetration realm strength to pass through, whereas Grade B fissures only permit creatures of Foundation Establishment realm strength.

Level Four Event: A stable otherworldly portal forms, through which vast numbers of otherworldly creatures begin to pour in, accompanied by intensely powerful otherworldly energy.

At this moment, the spatial fluctuations in the Luoxiao Mountains were actually escalating from a Level Three toward a Level Four event.

This also meant—a new round of war between the two realms was about to erupt!

...

Great Xia Military, Southern Theater Command, Second Sub-District.

Inside the heavily guarded building, the atmosphere in the military command monitoring room was exceptionally tense.

On a colossal mega-screen occupying an entire wall, real-time satellite imagery constantly shifted.

The display showed the Luoxiao Mountains, situated at the border of Nanhu and Xijiang provinces.

Emergency alerts continuously flashed across the large screen.

[Luoxiao Mountains Monitoring Station Broadcast: Abnormal spatial fluctuation phenomena are intensifying!]

[Abnormal Space Center Coordinates: East Longitude 116°27′, North Latitude 30°43′]

[Warning! The spatial structure in this region has shown signs of instability, with physical parameters such as local gravity and magnetic fields exhibiting anomalies.]

[Warning! Multiple spaces are about to undergo interference and overlap!]

Qin Yan furrowed his brow tightly, his gaze sweeping across the screen while several military officers stood at attention behind him, awaiting orders.

With a grave expression, Qin Yan activated the remote holographic curtain communication system.

"The spatial fluctuations in the Luoxiao Mountains are about to enter a Level Four event, and the situation is extremely critical!"

"Our side proposes the following:"

"First, immediately initiate emergency protocols and make every effort to evacuate the civilians of Gutong County."

"Second, deploy troops to the site for blockade and monitoring to ensure the safety of the populace's lives and property."

"Third, request that the martial arts organizations affiliated with Nanhu and Xijiang provinces make preparations for Level One reinforcement support."

"Fourth, broadcast the relevant warnings across the entire Hong Kong-Mongolia Network! Martial artists from other provinces may enter the Luoxiao Mountains to jointly resist the enemy after registration!"

"Fifth, take care to control public impact, exert utmost effort to maintain stability, and safeguard normal social order."

Having spoken, Qin Yan straightened his uniform.

"Ladies and gentlemen, another round of war is approaching, and our generation has only one choice: fight!"

"For Great Xia!"

"Not an inch of land shall be yielded!"