Xu Wuyi held nothing back. The Qi and Blood inside him surged violently, and a dark red light erupted from his body.

Eight-direction Soul Suppressing Spear—a simple, unadorned sweep!

The long spear moved like a dragon, carrying an unstoppable momentum as it struck a Scale Armor Beast’s head, sending its massive body flying.

At the same time, Li Hao’s figure appeared on the other side like a phantom. His twin blades crisscrossed, and in an instant, blood lines appeared on the throats of two Shadow Wolves that had been attempting a sneak attack. They whimpered and collapsed.

Xu Wuyi spun his spear around, and his Soul Suppressing Domain suddenly expanded, enveloping several nearby Star Beasts. Their movements visibly slowed.

"This is our chance! Counterattack!" Lin Yue reacted instantly. Forcing herself to take a breath, she thrust out with the short spike in her hand, precisely piercing the eye socket of a Shadow Wolf affected by the Domain.

Seeing this, the other Social Martial Artists’ spirits soared. They rallied their courage and attacked the slowed Star Beasts.

Xu Wuyi and Li Hao were like tigers among a flock of sheep.

Xu Wuyi’s Spear Technique was grand and sweeping, yet incredibly precise. Every strike aimed for a vital point, and combined with the control from his Soul Suppressing Domain, he was extremely efficient.

Li Hao, on the other hand, specialized in assassination. His twin blades were unpredictable as he focused on eliminating the Star Beasts attacking from blind spots.

The two of them joining the fray instantly turned the tide of battle.

In less than two minutes, the remaining Star Beasts were completely wiped out.

When the battle ended, the four surviving Social Martial Artists collapsed to the ground, panting heavily, their faces filled with a mixture of lingering fear and gratitude.

Lin Yue braced her hands on her knees, gasping for breath a few times before straightening up. She walked over to Xu Wuyi, her expression complex—a mix of relief at having survived and a sense of lament at the heaven-and-earth difference between her and her former teammate.

"Xu... Team Leader Xu." Lin Yue’s voice was a bit hoarse. She still used his old title. "Thank you. If you hadn’t arrived in time, our squad probably would have been..."

Xu Wuyi put away his long spear and looked at the female Martial Artist before him, who appeared much more worn-out than she had a few months ago. He asked calmly, "Are you all right? The wounded need immediate attention."

"We’re fine, mostly superficial wounds. It’s just... it’s just Xiao Zhang..." Lin Yue’s gaze fell on her unconscious companion on the ground, and her eyes dimmed.

Xu Wuyi remembered now. This was the chubby, somewhat nervous young man from before, Zhang Chengyi. So he and Lin Yue had formed a team.

He had been lying on the ground earlier, but Xu Wuyi hadn’t noticed it was him.

"We’ve already called for medical support. Thank you both so much," the Martial Artist with the injured arm said through the pain, his gaze toward Xu Wuyi and Li Hao filled with gratitude.

Just then, Zhao Qingwei’s voice came over the squad channel again: "What’s the situation?"

"Threat eliminated. The support squad has casualties who need medical attention," Xu Wuyi reported succinctly.

"Understood. The main area is almost cleared. We’ll slow our advance and wait for the military’s follow-up teams. You two hold your position and maintain a perimeter. Ensure the support squad’s safety until medical personnel arrive."

"Roger that."

Xu Wuyi and Li Hao held their position as ordered.

Lin Yue looked at Xu Wuyi, whose aura was now as profound and steady as a deep abyss or a towering mountain—a world apart from just a few months ago. She opened her mouth, but in the end, all that came out was a soft sigh. "Congratulations, Team Leader Xu. It seems you’ve made incredible progress at Star Martial University."

She was a Martial Artist now too, and had made great strides compared to before, but she was still nowhere near Xu Wuyi’s level.

Xu Wuyi nodded slightly, saying nothing more.

On the path of Martial Arts, different opportunities lead to a chasm as wide as that between the clouds and the mud.

All he could do was lend a hand when it was within his power.

Soon, the military’s medical team arrived and placed the wounded on stretchers.

Before leaving, Lin Yue once again solemnly thanked Xu Wuyi and Li Hao.

This small incident made everyone in the Star Martial Squad realize that real-world missions were far more complex than simulations on the Battle Network. While their own strength was formidable, they also had to consider the coordination of the overall battle.

In the subsequent cleanup operation, Zhao Qingwei deliberately controlled the pace of their advance. She dispatched Xu Wuyi and Li Hao to pay more attention to clearing the flanks and the rear, ensuring no stragglers could threaten the support personnel.

An hour later, the Star Beasts in the area surrounding the rift were completely purged.

The ethereal blue rift was still twisting slightly, but Star Beasts no longer poured out from it.

The military’s special engineering corps began to move forward, setting up a complex energy-neutralizing device.

Beams of soft white light shot toward the rift, causing its contortions to gradually lessen and its fluctuating Energy waves to calm.

Watching the rift being steadily repaired, Xu Wuyi withdrew his gaze.

’This real-world mission has been completed to Perfection.’

’The team’s chemistry has been tested in actual combat. Despite a minor incident, our overall performance far exceeded that of an ordinary squad.’

’More importantly, I personally dealt with the threat and saved people, including an old acquaintance.’

’This tangible sense of accomplishment is a different kind of experience from simply improving through cultivation.’

"Mission complete. Everyone assemble. We’re heading back," Zhao Qingwei’s cool voice rang out, bringing the operation to a close.

...

The first team mission was completed smoothly.

On the aircraft back, everyone was silent, but the atmosphere was much more relaxed than it had been on the way there.

Not long after Zhao Qingwei submitted the mission report, the crisp notification sound of points being credited chimed on everyone’s communicators.

[Team Mission "Lingqiu City Star Realm Rift Cleanup" has been completed.]

[Mission Evaluation: Excellent.]

[Points Awarded: 60]

Xu Wuyi looked at his personal terminal, which showed his point balance had increased by 60, and felt quite satisfied.

The reward was distributed evenly. Although individual contributions varied, the university always advocated for an equal split in this regard.

Besides, the efficiency was truly high. If he had taken on a mission of similar difficulty alone, not only would the risk have been much greater and the time spent much longer, but the reward would also have been far less.

Star Realm Rifts appeared fairly frequently within the Federation’s borders, but with his current strength, it was obviously unrealistic for him to handle one alone. The risk and reward were completely disproportional.

Forming a powerful squad like this, dividing the labor and collaborating, allowed him to earn points far faster than he had previously expected.

This was undoubtedly a more suitable path for him at his current stage.

The days that followed seemed to pass on fast-forward.

In the next half-month, the squad took on two more similar cleanup missions.

With the experience from the first time, subsequent operations went even more smoothly.

The team members grew more familiar with each other, and their coordination became increasingly seamless. They never again had an incident like the first time, where advancing too quickly put the support team in danger.

Both missions were completed to Perfection, earning each member another 120 points.

Including the earnings from the first mission, just half a month of team operations had increased Xu Wuyi’s point reserve by a considerable amount.

However, Xu Wuyi also understood that this "window of opportunity" wouldn’t last long.

Because once other teams were formed at his university, and students from other Martial Arts Universities grew stronger, there would be more people vying for business.

Every year, students from the Martial Arts Universities were the main force for carrying out these types of missions.