Teacher Han had left the university for personal reasons before the last departmental competition, and his Battle Network status had been offline ever since.

Although Xu Wuyi hadn’t fallen behind in his training, thanks to his teacher’s previous guidance and his own diligent practice, he had accumulated quite a few questions.

He immediately sent a message to Han Mo through his personal communicator.

After sending the message, he waited with some trepidation.

However, the reply came much faster than he expected.

Barely a dozen seconds later, his communicator vibrated—it was a direct call request from Han Mo.

Xu Wuyi answered at once. "Teacher Han!"

"Yes," Han Mo’s calm voice came through the line. "I saw your message. Come see me in person; I’ll send you the address. It’s not convenient for me to get on the Battle Network these days."

’Not convenient to get on the Battle Network?’ A flicker of doubt crossed Xu Wuyi’s mind.

The Battle Network was one of the very foundations of Star Martial University; even most classes were held on it. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

But he didn’t ask any more questions, replying quickly, "Yes, I’ll be right there."

The call ended, and a precise address within Star Martial University’s faculty housing district was transmitted to Xu Wuyi’s terminal.

He didn’t dally. After tidying up briefly, he left Hidden Dragon Garden and walked toward the faculty housing district.

The faculty housing district was quiet and serene, shaded by an abundance of trees. Individual small buildings were dotted throughout, a style vastly different from the student apartment complexes.

Following the address, Xu Wuyi arrived before a nondescript, gray-white house.

He straightened his clothes and rang the doorbell.

A moment later, the door slid open soundlessly.

Han Mo was sitting inside, dressed in a simple gray training uniform. His face looked a little pale.

"You’re here. Come in." Han Mo gave him a slight nod.

Xu Wuyi thanked him and entered the room. The living room was simple yet elegant, somewhat similar in style to his own Lingyun Small Building.

His gaze swept unconsciously over Han Mo. When it landed on the other man’s right shoulder, his pupils shrank, and he froze in place.

Han Mo’s right sleeve... was empty.

His right arm was severed clean at the shoulder!

The cloth at the stump had been cut away neatly, revealing not a bloody, mangled wound, but a membrane of light that seemed to be coalesced from deep-blue Energy. It was constantly twisting and fluctuating.

The deep-blue light was like a living thing, occasionally flashing with a heart-stopping arc of electricity and faintly emitting an aura that was an intertwining of icy coldness and destruction.

But this aura also carried a unique suggestion of Stealth, as if it could deceive a person’s perception.

Xu Wuyi should have noticed it right away, but it wasn’t until he was standing right in front of him that he suddenly realized what he was seeing.

"Teacher Han! Y-Your arm!" Xu Wuyi cried out, his face a mask of utter disbelief.

’How could an expert of the Quasi-Grandmaster Level, an associate professor at one of the Federation’s top universities, lose an arm?’

’And what is that Energy on the wound?’

Han Mo looked at Xu Wuyi’s shocked expression and gave a slightly resigned smile.

He gestured for Xu Wuyi to sit with his remaining left hand.

"Have a seat. Did I scare you?" His tone was perfectly calm, as if losing an arm was a trivial matter.

Xu Wuyi did as he was told and sat, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the stump. His throat felt dry. "Teacher, this..."

"It’s nothing, just a minor injury," Han Mo said dismissively. "I ran into a bit of trouble on the ’Star Realm Battlefield.’ Got ambushed by a Quasi-God from the Werewolf Race."

’The Star Realm Battlefield! The Werewolf Race!’

Xu Wuyi was shaken to his core.

This was the first time he had ever come into real contact with information of this caliber.

He knew the Federation was at war with other worlds and dimensions, but for a new student like him, the specific details were still far too remote.

’Teacher Han was injured *there*!’

"Then... the wound..." Xu Wuyi looked at the deep-blue membrane of Energy.

Han Mo’s tone remained unperturbed. "It’s not a big deal. Once my own master comes out of seclusion, he can erase this thing. Then I’ll just get a new arm attached."

He spoke casually, but Xu Wuyi knew it was nowhere near that simple.

Leaving aside the question of when Grandmaster Yue would finish his seclusion, reattaching a severed limb—even with the Federation’s current technology—would come at an immense cost.

This wasn’t a case of an ordinary person having a limb reattached; this was the severed arm of a Quasi-Grandmaster!

At a level approaching that of a Grandmaster, one’s fundamental life essence is completely different from an ordinary person’s. You could almost say they’re two different species.

"Don’t worry about me." Han Mo seemed to see right through Xu Wuyi’s thoughts. He picked up the teapot on the table with his left hand and poured himself a glass of water. "You, on the other hand... your training is progressing well. You’ve advanced to Martial Artist? Your Qi and Blood have also become much more refined."

Xu Wuyi suppressed the storm of emotions raging within him and nodded. "Yes, I broke through just recently. It’s all thanks to your earlier guidance."

"Mm. With a solid foundation, the rest will naturally fall into place." Han Mo took a sip of water, his gaze resting on Xu Wuyi as he spoke with a smile.

"Don’t mind this injury of mine. If you ever go to the battlefield and run into any of those Werewolf Race bastards, just kill a few extra for me."

Upon hearing this, Xu Wuyi shot to his feet, his chest rising and falling slightly. After a moment, he spoke with force, "I will remember that, Teacher."

Seeing Xu Wuyi’s reaction, Han Mo’s face broke into a gratified smile.

He waved his hand. "Alright, sit down. Revenge is a matter for the future. Your main priority right now is to increase your strength. Go on, tell me what new problems you’ve run into with your training lately."

Xu Wuyi sat down again, temporarily suppressing his churning emotions.

He knew Teacher Han didn’t need his sympathy; what he needed more was to see his student grow and progress.

He gathered his thoughts and began to consult Han Mo about the recent difficulties he had encountered with the *Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace*.

This instructional session lasted for nearly half an hour.

Xu Wuyi gained a tremendous amount from it; many of the sticking points that had been troubling him were suddenly cleared up.

Not wanting to disturb him for too long, he proactively stood up to leave once he had more or less finished asking his questions.

"Teacher, please rest and recover well. I will take my leave now," Xu Wuyi said respectfully.

"Mm, go on." Han Mo nodded, not asking him to stay, but then added, "Lately, make sure to review your experience from when you first learned the *Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace*."

Xu Wuyi paused, unsure why Teacher Han was telling him to do this. But he didn’t overthink it; since his teacher had said so, he would simply do as instructed.

He bowed once more, then turned and left Han Mo’s residence.

As he walked out of the gray-white house, the bright sunlight fell upon him, but Xu Wuyi felt his heart grow heavy.

The image of Han Mo’s severed arm, of that deep-blue Energy writhing, replayed endlessly in his mind.

If even a Quasi-Grandmaster could suffer such a fate, it was a chilling glimpse into the cruelty of the Star Realm Battlefield.

He looked up at the azure sky, his gaze seeming to pierce through the clouds toward that distant, unknown battlefield.

His desire to grow stronger had never been this intense.

And if before he had wanted to grow stronger simply so he wouldn’t be bullied, now there was something more driving him.