Xu Wuyi unwrapped his long spear, pulling off the cloth cover to reveal the shaft of the Meteor Iron Spear. Its tip glinted coldly in the moonlight.

Time ticked by, second by second.

The buzzing from the direction of the rift grew louder, and the Energy fluctuations in the air became more violent.

Suddenly, a sharp screech tore through the night sky.

"They’re here!" Zhao Tie growled.

Five dark figures raced out from the depths of the valley.

They were shaped like wolves but were larger, over two meters long. Bone Armor covered their bodies, and their forelimbs were sharp bone blades—they were Blade-toothed Beasts.

"Get ready!" Xu Wuyi tightened his grip on his spear.

The five Blade-toothed Beasts were extremely fast, reaching the entrance in the blink of an eye.

They seemed to sense the presence behind the barricade, let out a series of low growls, and then lunged forward simultaneously.

"Engage!"

The Wu Brothers drew their twin sabers, slashing at the two Blade-toothed Beasts on the left. Lin Wei’s long whip cracked through the air, wrapping around one beast’s forelimb. Old Chen fired a volley of arrows, aiming precisely for another’s eye.

Zhao Tie and the three newcomers met the one in the center.

Xu Wuyi didn’t attack immediately. His eyes swept across the battlefield, observing how everyone was handling the situation.

The Wu Brothers had perfect coordination. Their Saber Technique was steady, forcing the two Blade-toothed Beasts to retreat continuously.

Lin Wei’s whip was agile, but the Blade-toothed Beast’s strength was immense, and it was struggling to break free.

Old Chen’s arrows glanced off the Bone Armor, having little effect.

In the center, Zhao Tie’s saber struck the Blade-toothed Beast’s Bone Armor. Sparks flew, but he failed to cause any real damage.

The three newcomers were flustered, their attacks wild and disorganized.

Xu Wuyi made his move.

His figure flashed as he leaped down from the rock. His spear moved like a dragon, thrusting straight for the neck of the Blade-toothed Beast in the center.

PSHCHT!

The spear tip found its mark. The Blade-toothed Beast let out a bloodcurdling shriek, struggled for a few moments, and then fell silent.

Xu Wuyi pulled his spear free, spun around, and swung its shaft sideways, smashing it into the ribs of the beast tangled with Lin Wei.

With the sound of cracking Bone Armor, the Blade-toothed Beast was sent flying into the cliff wall.

"Aim for the joints and eyes!" Xu Wuyi shouted.

The three newcomers snapped out of it and focused their attacks on the downed beast’s leg joints, while Zhao Tie seized the opportunity to stab his saber into another Blade-toothed Beast’s mouth.

In just two minutes, all five Blade-toothed Beasts were dead.

"Clear the bodies. Drag them to the side. Stay alert, there might be more," Xu Wuyi said, flicking the blood from his spear tip.

He hadn’t used the Undying Flame. This was the Federation, not the Alien Star Realm; the need for secrecy wasn’t as high. Besides, the carcasses of these Star Beasts had some value and could be put to good use once the rift was closed.

But the way his teammates looked at him had already changed. The precision and power of that last spear thrust... ’Is this what a Martial Artist can do?’

The team quickly cleared the battlefield. Xu Wuyi leaped back onto the rock to continue his observation.

Over the next half hour, three more waves of Blade-toothed Beasts arrived. Each wave consisted of three to five beasts, but under Xu Wuyi’s command and support, they were all dealt with successfully.

The team members gradually found their rhythm, their coordination growing more and more practiced.

But Xu Wuyi felt a faint sense of unease. The intensity of this Secondary Rift’s eruption seemed higher than anticipated.

Just then, Vice Minister Li’s voice came through the communicator: "All squads, listen up! The rift is about to fully form, Energy readings are soaring! Expect a large-scale assault! All personnel, hold your positions! I repeat, hold your positions!"

Almost simultaneously, a dense chorus of screeches echoed from the depths of the valley.

Xu Wuyi’s pupils contracted. In the darkness, dozens of pairs of eerie green lights flared to life, surging toward them.

"Brace for impact! There are a lot of them!" he shouted, his voice grave.

The team members quickly assembled, their faces grim.

Suddenly, a clear shout came from the cliff wall to their right: "People below, get clear!"

Xu Wuyi looked up to see an agile figure leap down from the cliff wall. Her longsword left its sheath, and its light fell like a waterfall, cleaving into the horde of beasts.

Wherever the light of the sword passed, three Blade-toothed Beasts were instantly sliced in two.

The person landed and turned around.

Moonlight illuminated her face—it was Li Shuang.

She was dressed in a suit of light armor, her longsword still dripping with blood.

As Li Mo’s older sister and the most outstanding Genius of the Li Family’s current generation, she had returned to her hometown to train after graduation, while also helping to manage the family’s affairs.

She looked at Xu Wuyi, a clear flash of surprise in her eyes. Of course, she remembered this young man.

Just two years ago, he had been competing with her little brother, and now...

"Xu Wuyi?" Li Shuang raised an eyebrow. "You’re here?"

Xu Wuyi nodded.

"I was home on leave. I came as soon as I got the notification."

Li Shuang’s gaze swept over the spear in his hands, then to the Blade-toothed Beast corpses on the ground. Her expression was complicated. "A Martial Artist now?"

"Yes."

"It’s only been a year and a half..." Li Shuang shook her head, not finishing her thought. She turned to the surging horde of beasts, her longsword pointed diagonally. "I’ll handle the majority of these brutes. You all guard the gap."

Before her words had even faded, she charged into the horde.

The light from her sword was like falling snow, completely unstoppable.

...

Li Shuang’s arrival drastically reduced the pressure on the defensive line.

Her Swordsmanship was sharp and swift. Every strike accurately pierced the gaps in the Blade-toothed Beasts’ joints with extreme efficiency.

In just a few minutes, more than ten Blade-toothed Beasts had fallen to her sword.

But the screeches from the depths of the valley grew denser, the eerie green lights so numerous they looked like a moving sea of stars.

"Something’s wrong." Li Shuang pulled back to the defensive line, her brow furrowed. "A Secondary Rift shouldn’t be spitting out this many Blade-toothed Beasts... There’s a problem with the Energy readings."

As if to confirm her words, a piercing alarm blared from the communicators, followed by Vice Minister Li’s urgent voice.

"All squads, alert! Rift Energy readings are spiking abnormally! High-energy life form detected—a Commander Level Star Beast is crossing over! I repeat, a Commander Level Star Beast!"

Commander Level!

Xu Wuyi’s gaze hardened.

A Star Beast equivalent to a Martial Artist. He himself wasn’t afraid, but his teammates couldn’t handle one.

’Besides, Star Beasts often appear in packs. My job is to stop them from breaking through, which means I can’t retreat. That makes things much more difficult.’

"Captain Xu!" Zhao Tie’s voice came from below, carrying a barely perceptible tremor.

Xu Wuyi leaped down from the rock and looked at his team.

The eight of them had been through several waves of combat. Although no one had died, three were already wounded.

The older of the Wu Brothers had a gash on his left arm, cut down to the bone by a bone blade. A section of Lin Wei’s whip had been bitten off, and Old Chen’s quiver was almost empty.

The three newcomers were even worse off; their faces were pale, and the hands holding their weapons were trembling slightly.

"Can you still fight?" Xu Wuyi asked.

"Yes!" Zhao Tie gritted out.

The others also nodded emphatically.

Just then, a roar entirely different from the previous ones echoed from the depths of the valley.

It was deep and resonant, like muffled thunder rolling through the mountains.

Following the roar, five shadows, a full size larger than the regular Blade-toothed Beasts, slowly emerged from the darkness.

They were over three meters long, their Bone Armor a dark red. Vicious bone spurs grew from their joints, and the saliva dripping from their mouths corroded the ground, releasing wisps of green smoke.

Commander Level Blade-toothed Beasts—Red Armor Species!

Five of them!