High Martial: I Grind Professions

"It’s been quiet for just over a month, and the Demon Race is already getting restless."

Venerable Xingxuan’s brow was furrowed, his voice heavy.

The wounds from the all-out war that had just ended had not yet healed, and a new threat was already upon them.

Principal Ye Qin stared at the data stream, his fingertip tracing over the violently fluctuating values on the light screen.

’These spatial fluctuations are intense... It seems the Talisman Emperor is getting desperate. But what trick are they planning to use this time?’

Venerable Gu He was silent for a moment, a look of solemn remembrance in his eyes.

"I once heard my master mention a possibility. This looks very much like the signs of a ’World Projection.’"

"World Projection?" Ye Qin and Xingxuan turned to him simultaneously. The term was both foreign and ominous to them.

"Yes," Venerable Gu He nodded, his voice clear and steady as he explained,

"A World Projection is a more tyrannical and direct method of invasion than a Stargate. It doesn’t open a passage.

Instead, it directly ’projects’ a section of the Demon Realm where the spell is cast, causing it to temporarily overlap with our Blue Star’s space.

The result is that a part of the Demon Realm’s territory descends directly upon us like a mirage, which then solidifies into reality."

Both Ye Qin and Xingxuan felt the gravity of the situation was far beyond what they had imagined.

Venerable Xingxuan immediately pressed, "What’s the cost? Is there any way to stop it?"

"The cost is exorbitant," Venerable Gu He stated with certainty.

"The rare materials required to initiate a World Projection are more than ten times that of a Stargate. Most critically, it requires a true Saint Realm expert to act as the core, presiding over the ritual.

Furthermore, it needs multiple Venerable Realm experts to continuously supply energy for ten, or even twenty, years.

Only then can the projection be completed and descend in a stable form. It’s tantamount to gambling the entire foundation of a peak Demon Realm power."

Principal Ye Qin slowly shook his head, a rare hint of helplessness on his face.

"We can’t even stop a Stargate from being forced open, let alone a terrifying method like this that involves the direct superposition of space."

"Is there really no way to stop it?" Venerable Xingxuan asked, unwilling to accept it.

Venerable Gu He fell silent.

His silence was the clearest answer—faced with power of this magnitude, humanity was currently helpless.

...

Time slipped by in oppressive silence and tense war preparations.

A month passed, feeling like a moment stretched taut on a bowstring.

「Galactic Calendar Year 242, August 13th, High Noon.」

As usual, Li Wen finished his six hours of unwavering daily reading and study, then pushed open his courtyard gate and stepped outside.

The sun should have been bright, but the moment he looked up, the sky changed without any warning.

The clear blue sky seemed to be kneaded by a formless, giant hand.

The sunlight twisted and refracted strangely, casting unnerving patches of light across the sky.

The white clouds were stained with indescribably demonic colors—deep purple, dark red, and ink green swirled and shifted madly, as if a demon’s paint palette had been overturned.

Immediately after, an even more suffocating sight appeared.

Beyond Blue Star’s atmosphere, a "phantom image" of indescribable vastness began to materialize.

It went from blurry to clear, its silhouette constantly expanding until it occupied the vast majority of the visible sky.

The scene presented by the phantom image was the typical landscape of the Demon Realm.

Endless ranges of dark red mountains, fiery rivers of flowing lava that looked like veins, and vast forests of bizarre, twisted demonic plants...

And in the very center of that phantom image stood the silhouette of a palace so majestic it seemed to pierce the heavens.

The Celestial Fox Palace!

At that moment, any human who looked up at the sky, no matter where they were on Blue Star’s sunlit hemisphere, saw this apocalyptic vision.

At the Changning City Stargate fortress, the garrison members who had just finished training froze in place, the color draining from their faces, their eyes filled with unconcealable horror.

Ordinary citizens helping to rebuild their homes stopped what they were doing. Children forgot to cry, and the elderly covered their mouths in terror. A primal fear, born from the instinct for survival, seized everyone’s heart.

The garrisoned Gods and Devils in the major fortress cities stood on the walls, veins bulging on the hands gripping their weapons.

They knew better than ordinary people what kind of terrifying power this scene represented.

「Fire Hall University, on the rear mountain of Enlightenment Peak.」

Ye Qin, Xingxuan, and Venerable Gu He had already foreseen this through their monitoring systems.

But when the phantom image of the Demon Realm, covering nearly half the sky, truly appeared before their eyes, the gravity on their faces deepened.

Without a word, they all understood in their hearts—the "World Projection" led by the Talisman Emperor had begun.

And its scale and power were even greater and faster than Venerable Gu He had previously estimated.

However, this was only the beginning. As Gu He had said, it would still take ten to twenty years of continuous energy supply for it to fully solidify and truly descend.

For now, the phantom image was like a colossal illusion suspended beyond the sky.

Across the hemisphere, panic spread through the populace like a plague.

Chaos and disorder were on the verge of breaking out.

Just then, a calm and powerful voice resounded from every corner of the globe via the worldwide broadcast system, drowning out the bizarre sight in the sky and the commotion on the ground:

"To all my fellow humans, I am Ye Qin, the principal of Fire Hall University. The celestial anomaly you are witnessing is the Demon Race’s final and most desperate measure—they call it a ’World Projection.’"

Ye Qin’s voice was steady and strong, reaching every person’s ears with a clarity that seemed to carry a calming power.

"This sight is indeed shocking, and it does represent the Demon Race’s will to invade with all their might. But please, remain calm and listen carefully: this phantom image covering the sky is not the true Demon Realm descending!

According to the precise information we have, it will take at least ten, or even twenty, long years for it to fully solidify and cross space to overlap with our world!

The Demon Race is making a desperate gamble, attempting to crush us with prolonged pressure!"

He paused, his voice rising with unshakeable conviction:

"We have already survived the Demon Race’s first all-out attack! We have the strength to defend our home!

We have the finest warriors, an unquenchable will passed down through generations, and the wisdom and foundation to face any challenge!

Panic is useless. I now call on all military personnel and civilians: maintain order, hold your posts, heighten your vigilance, and continue your training!

We have enough time to respond, to prepare, and to ultimately shatter the Demon Race’s great gamble!

Believe in us! Believe in the strength of humanity! Prepare for battle and protect our home!"

The broadcast reverberated, largely dispelling the extreme terror of those witnessing the apocalyptic scene for the first time.

It pulled the bewildered masses back to reality and guided them to do what was most needed at this moment—to hold fast and prepare.

「On the highest watchtower of the Changning City Stargate fortress.」

Li Wen stood alone in the howling wind, dressed in the black uniform of a Guard Captain.

He tilted his head back, his profound gaze piercing through space, locked onto the phantom image of the Demon Realm covering Blue Star’s firmament.

The immense silhouette of the Celestial Fox Palace was like a giant, mocking brand.

The long blade he gripped tightly in his hand trembled slightly, emitting a low, continuous hum, as if it sensed the rising battle intent and heavy responsibility in its master’s heart.

High above, the vast and demonic phantom image continued its slow but unstoppable descent, creating tangible energy friction as it interacted with Blue Star’s atmosphere.

Countless streaks of dark red spatial lightning silently erupted and spread at the boundary between the phantom and the sky, like wounds torn in the heavens, exuding a destructive aura.

A storm was gathering in the firmament, destined to one day sweep across the land.

...

Time flew by, and ten months passed in a delicate balance of tension and tranquility.

「Galactic Calendar Year 243, June 1st.」

Nearly ten months had passed since the suffocating World Projection from the Demon Realm first appeared over Blue Star.

Blue Star’s major core fortress cities had recovered with a vitality that far exceeded expectations.

The streets of Changning City were bustling with traffic and filled with the clamor of voices.

Shops lined the streets, neon lights flickered, and the laughter of children mingled with the cries of street vendors, painting a scene of everyday life that was both ordinary and hard-won.

The shadow of war seemed to have been temporarily dispelled as people hurried along, their faces focused on their daily lives.

In the sky, the vast and bizarre phantom of the Demon Realm still hung there, like a giant, dark red scar branded upon the firmament.

But just as the upper echelons of the Fire Hall had predicted and guided, ten months of "peace" had gradually transformed the public’s initial extreme panic into a habitual numbness.

The initial screams and flight had been replaced by the occasional furrowed brow or soft sigh when looking up.

The phantom’s existence became part of the new normal—an unsettling yet temporarily harmless backdrop.

「On a barren mountain peak in the outskirts of Changning City.」

Li Wen’s figure stood alone among the jagged, grotesque rocks.

His eyes were slightly closed. The air around him stirred without a breeze as an intangible sense of sharpness emanated from him.

The long blade in his hand was not drawn, but his will seemed to have transformed into thousands of invisible blades, blanketing the entire mountain region.

He moved.

There was no earth-shattering fanfare, only an ultimate sense of condensation and fluidity.

His figure moved like a soaring dragon, twisting and turning within a small space. Every seemingly casual step, turn, and swing of his arm seemed to trace the most fundamental trajectories of the universe.

The blade remained unseen, but the intent preceded it.

It left trails of Blade Intent in the air—imperceptible to the naked eye, yet piercing to the mind—that sliced through the wind and distorted the light.

The surrounding rubble and weeds were silently reduced to dust, their cut surfaces as smooth as a mirror.

At times, his movements were as fast as lightning, creating a sharp, low whistle as they tore through the air.

At others, they were as slow as if frozen in time. Though his movements were deliberate, his Blade Intent was like the water of a deep pool—heavy and viscous, as if it could freeze space itself.

The Blade Intent flowed, collided, and merged around him, sometimes becoming as scorching and violent as a prairie fire, other times as pervasive as the astral winds of the highest heavens.

The rock beneath his feet silently split open, forming deep, smooth fissures wherever his focused intent fell like a blade.