Chapter 729: One-Man Army

Chapter 729: Chapter 697: One-Man Army

“But for today, we rest first.”

With that, he turned and walked toward the outpost. As he passed by Xu Wuyi, he paused and glanced at him.

“Leave the corpse for them to handle,” Ren Bai said. “Then, come see me.”

Xu Wuyi nodded and set down the corpse of the Beast King. Several Martial Artists immediately ran over and carefully carried the body away. They moved with extreme steadiness, as if they were transporting a priceless treasure.

Xu Wuyi stood in place, watching the Martial Artists carry the corpse into the outpost. He then turned and followed Ren Bai inside.

They passed through a corridor and arrived at a sparsely furnished break room. Ren Bai was already seated inside, with two freshly poured cups of hot water resting on the table in front of him. He motioned for Xu Wuyi to take a seat, then picked up his own cup and took a slow sip.

Xu Wuyi sat across from him and also took a sip from his cup. The water was the perfect temperature and tasted sweet going down. It had been a long time since he had drank regular boiled water.

Neither of them spoke, simply drinking their water in silence.

After quite a while, Ren Bai finally set down his cup and looked at Xu Wuyi.

“You saw the situation inside the Rift with your own eyes,” Ren Bai began, his voice much steadier than before. “It’s not just one Beast King; there are two. This information must be reported to the military immediately.”

Xu Wuyi nodded.

Ren Bai fell silent for a moment, seemingly organizing his thoughts, before speaking again. “I recognize that Tiger-shaped Beast King. Two years ago, it tried to breach the Rift, but I forced it back. However, that Ape-shaped Beast King only appeared in the last few months.”

Xu Wuyi listened without interrupting.

“This indicates a problem,” Ren Bai continued. “The Star Realm behind the Rift might be undergoing some sort of Transformation.”

He paused, picked up his cup for another sip, and set it back down.

“I’ve always advocated against forcibly closing this Rift for two reasons. First, a forced closure requires a massive investment of manpower and resources. Second, the Rift itself holds value for troop training.

“Having the military’s Martial Artists rotate in to garrison this place and engage in real combat with Star Beasts is more effective than practicing a hundred times on the Training Ground.

“But the situation is different now. The appearance of a second Beast King suggests that the stability of that Star Realm might be compromised. If we drag this out any longer, and three to five Beast Kings suddenly surge out one day, the entire Dongjiang Province will suffer the consequences.”

Xu Wuyi nodded, fully understanding Ren Bai’s reasoning.

For places like the Profound Abyssal Rift, the Federation had always maintained a mature set of protocols. If a Rift had a low Energy Level and a stable Star Realm behind it, the military would usually conduct regular clear-outs while using it as a training ground. But for Rifts backed by unstable Star Realms, forced closure had to be considered to prevent a catastrophe.

Ren Bai looked at him, his gaze carrying a questioning intent.

“I want to recommend that the Federation permanently close this Rift. You’ve spent time here and are familiar with the situation. I want to hear your thoughts.”

Xu Wuyi thought for a moment before answering truthfully. “I didn’t spend much time inside the Rift, but I got a firsthand feel for the strength of those two Beast Kings.

“That Tiger-shaped Beast King is undeniably strong. If a few more Beast Kings of the same caliber were to emerge later, relying on a single Grandmaster to guard the area would indeed be too risky.

“Even if no new Beast Kings appear, the scale of the Beast Tide has been constantly expanding over the past few months. It’s no longer suitable for training troops, either.”

Over recent months, the garrisoned forces had suffered noticeable casualties, which completely contradicted their training strategy.

Ren Bai nodded in agreement.

“Then it’s settled,” Ren Bai said. He stood up, walked over to the communication console by the wall, and activated his personal terminal. “I will report to the military immediately. Don’t rush to leave just yet. Stay here for a few more days, just in case the military needs anything. It’ll be good to have your help.”

Xu Wuyi stood up as well. “No problem.”

As Ren Bai began operating the console, Xu Wuyi left the room without disturbing him, gently closing the door behind him.

The corridor was much livelier than before. Having learned of Ren Bai’s safe return, the Martial Artists breathed a collective sigh of relief, dispelling much of the previously oppressive atmosphere. A few injured personnel were carried past on stretchers. The despair that had previously clouded their faces was gone, replaced by the sheer relief of having survived a disaster.

Xu Wuyi walked down the corridor toward the exit, mulling over Ren Bai’s words.

He knew the appearance of a second Beast King was definitely a bad omen. He had never been entirely clear on the Federation’s intelligence regarding this Rift. But judging from Ren Bai’s tone, it seemed there had always been more than one Beast King in the Star Realm behind it. They simply hadn’t appeared simultaneously before, which was why the Federation had adopted a strategy of garrisoning and training troops. Now that the situation had changed, the strategy had to be adjusted.

Just as he was thinking, footsteps sounded from behind. He turned his head to see Zhao Kun.

The Innate Martial Artist walked up and stood beside him, his gaze also falling on the distant Rift.

“Grandmaster Xu,” Zhao Kun began, his voice louder than before but still laced with deep respect. “We all had our hearts in our throats when you went in to save Grandmaster Ren. Now that both you and Grandmaster Ren have made it out safely, we can finally put our minds at ease.”

Xu Wuyi looked at him, his eyes settling on the bandages wrapped around Zhao Kun’s left arm. “How is your injury?”

Zhao Kun glanced down at his arm and grinned. “It’s nothing, just a flesh wound. A few days of rest and I’ll be fine. It won’t affect my combat ability.”

Xu Wuyi nodded, not pressing the matter further. Instead, he asked about Senior Brother Tang’s condition.

“Senior Brother Tang is fine. He already knows about Grandmaster Ren’s return and will be finishing his seclusion tomorrow.”

“That’s good,” Xu Wuyi replied.