High-Martial World: System Arrives 30 Years Late

Chapter 591 - 410: Preserving Peace While Preparing for Retreat, Changes Among the Alien Race

After watching Ye Jian lose face, Huangfu Xue smiled and had a few drinks with Su Mu, her cheeks slightly flushed as she stood up to say goodbye. She was here representing the Huangfu Family and because of the impending alliance between the two families, there were still many matters to handle in Ye City.

"Su Mu, see you at the Ye Family tomorrow."

"Alright."

Huangfu Xue waved her hand, and after leaving the private room, her Qi and Blood surged slightly, dispelling the effects of the alcohol, and her expression returned to its ’dignified’ state, all of which was observed by Su Mu.

At the lowest moments, do not look down, and when soaring high, treat others calmly. In Su Mu’s eyes, Huangfu Xue could be considered a kindred spirit.

From the same batch at the training camp, Cui Jian and Xing Fang faced him with caution and even awe during the Guangshen Province selection.

After Huangfu Xue left, Su Mu, having contacted others from the Southern War Zone, did not go to the Ye Family but instead walked into the Ye City Martial Arts Association.

"Sir, please show your Martial Arts Association identity token."

Su Mu casually took out a Martial Arts Association token that he hadn’t used for a long time. The staff member of the Ye City Martial Arts Association showed little emotional response upon taking the golden token.

Ye City is located in the Huaxia Imperial Capital itself and is a city built by the Ye Family, so Martial Arts Grandmasters are not uncommon there.

Moreover, with the Ye Family’s current Patriarch hosting a grand feast, many Martial Arts Grandmasters traveled through Ye City, and even if they weren’t qualified to go to the Ye Clan Territory, they didn’t want to miss this event.

So, the staff members of the Ye City Martial Arts Association were already accustomed to seeing this, but after registering the token into the device, the staff couldn’t help but express astonishment.

"Sir, are you from Shenjiang City too?"

Shenjiang City?

Su Mu was taken aback, realizing he had taken out the Martial Arts Association token he received as the top graduate of the Three Cities Joint Training Camp. He hadn’t been to the Martial Arts Association to update his identity token for a long time, but he didn’t need them.

"Yes, I’m from Shenjiang City."

"What a coincidence, I’m from Shenjiang City as well. I’ve hosted many martial artists these days, but you’re the first fellow townsman I’ve hosted. Although you need an invitation to enter the Ye Family.

But tomorrow, there will also be a feast in Ye City hosted by people of the Ye Family, it’s a celebration for the whole city. Afterwards, the Ye Family members will hold martial arts exchange meetings in Ye City, which is considered a grand event. You might want to join, and if you perform well, the rewards are said to be very generous."

Encountering a fellow townsman, a young girl enthusiastically introduced herself to Su Mu, clearly assuming Su Mu didn’t have the qualification to enter the formal Ye Family feast and had just come to Ye City for the exchange meeting. After all, Shenjiang City was a small place, and those invited would not come to the Martial Arts Association for the cultivation room, but directly stay at the Ye Family.

Su Mu listened with a smile, which eased some of the invisible pressure, until another staff member from the Martial Arts Association called out.

"I’m sorry, sir, I have something else to do. Here’s your identity token, and the cultivation room is on the third floor; here’s the room card."

"Alright, thank you."

The young girl ran off.

"Why are you so enthusiastic about that guy? Sure, he’s handsome, but you can’t eat handsomeness. He’s just a martial artist from a small place, let’s go, the supervisor is calling you for a meeting."

"Okay, I’m going now."

Inside the elevator, Su Mu overheard the two people speaking quietly as they left. Now, his five senses far exceeded those of ordinary people, even surpassing martial artists, akin to having ears that pick up distant sounds in a past life.

At nightfall, Su Mu awakened in the dark cultivation room.

His eyes were filled with a murderous aura. He grasped the air and pulled out a silver token, but after infusing it with spiritual power, the token showed no response.

After several attempts with no response, Su Mu stopped trying.

"No reaction from the token... could it be that Yuri encountered something?"

Last time, Yuri used the token to contact him to kill some alien races that had been teleported to the Bone Marrow Cleansing Pool. There had been an agreement with Yuri, and Su Mu’s request was to have her transmit him to the Otherworld.

Su Mu always considered matters from the worst-case scenario. In his eyes, killing Sima Jingshu was done flawlessly, but unexpected lapses are worrisome.

Therefore, he needed to be mentally prepared to face an enraged Martial Saint.

Su Mu was not afraid, but he was concerned.

Su Mu intended to contact Yuri to prepare an escape route, as the Southern War Zone might not withstand the fury of a Martial Saint, and someone would need to bear the brunt.

In Su Mu’s view, the Otherworld was an unavoidable retreat. Under normal circumstances, entering the Otherworld would require going through the Alien Race Battlefield, traversing the alien race’s main camp, and then through a space gate on their battlefield.

However, doing so rashly could potentially trigger a war between the two races, so even a Martial Saint would not cross the boundary lightly. Crossing would also require considering significant consequences, not only possibly igniting a war but also attracting an attack by the Alien Race Demon God, posing a mortal danger, even a Martial Saint must weigh carefully.

"Those alien races carried Blood Soldiers, not just one, indicating their identities are not simple, but Yuri should not encounter problems; she’s even more complicated."

Su Mu’s eyes narrowed, his resolve to kill hadn’t wavered in the slightest.

"It won’t be long before tomorrow, the day of your death, Sima Jingshu."

...

One of the Five Major War Zones of Huaxia, the training in the Southern War Zone carried on.

However, in the secret meeting room of the command headquarters was a portentous atmosphere.

"Everyone is here, let’s begin." Yue Jun said in a deep voice from the head seat.

Immediately, Qian Xuemin spoke.

"A few days ago, there was a special occurrence at the Alien Race Battlefield in the Yun Province War Zone."

"A special occurrence?"

The eyes of the elderly gentlemen in military coats instantly became sharp as hawks. Yue Jun glanced at his old war comrades, a fleeting look of nostalgia crossing his eyes.

At this moment, it felt like many years ago, except back then, the old fellows didn’t have so much white hair.

"I’ll be straightforward, the alien races are withdrawing their troops. At first, there were signs of withdrawal, and now they’ve formally begun a large-scale retreat."

"Retreating?"

Everyone was taken aback, as they had speculated earlier that the alien races were strengthening their forces at the battlefield, a harbinger of an impending war.

But what does a withdrawal mean?

"And now, not only is the Yun Province War Zone’s battlefield experiencing withdrawal, but large and small battlefields across South China are also witnessing troop withdrawals, and other war zones have observed similar phenomena, with the Yun Province War Zone being the earliest observed."

"Why the Yun Province War Zone?"

"That’s still unclear."

The meeting room fell silent for a moment, and an elderly gentleman spoke gravely.

"Although we haven’t had a formal war with the alien races for over a hundred years, putting oneself in their shoes, the battlefield is like the boundary between two countries. If a large-scale troop withdrawal is happening, I can only think of one possibility."

"The alien races are on the verge of an internal conflict!"

Each word from the elder was enunciated, and immediately, many people exhibited a fervor akin to predatory beasts, although many also expressed complex and worried expressions.

The strength of the alien races isn’t weaker than that of the human race, and their internal conflict isn’t necessarily an entirely beneficial situation for humans.

Internal conflicts may be a precursor to the alien races splitting, but could also signal the rise of formidable leaders in chaotic times.

The human world isn’t ready for an all-out war.

Additionally, once the war starts, there would be countless casualties.

And, the human world cannot conduct a war without any concerns, as the Beast Caves and other forbidden areas still need strong human guardians, whereas the Alien Race Interface doesn’t have such concerns.

"What’s the reaction from the Imperial Capital and the Alliance?"

"The Imperial Capital is aware, but there hasn’t been any response from the Alliance yet, but given it’s a matter concerning both races, I believe the Alliance will respond soon."

The meeting in the Southern War Zone continued, and simultaneously, similar secret meetings were taking place in the other four General War Zones in Huaxia, and not only in Huaxia.

Nations worldwide noticed the unusual withdrawal of alien race troops from within their territories’ battlefields and began closely monitoring the situation.