Chapter 114: Sacred Item

The first of February marked the first day of Martial Valor University’s new semester. In the morning, the dormitory supervisor summoned some students from the seventh floor. Chen Chuan was among them.

The dormitory supervisor waved the forms in his hands and said, “I checked your forms. Most of you only attended a handful of public lectures and invitation-only classes. That’s your choice, and I have nothing to say about that.

“But the lecturer who brought the Merka exchange students is going to host an invitation-only class today. Go and show some support. The university will count it toward your public lecture and invitation-only class quota for this semester.”

The students immediately agreed to the offer.

The dormitory supervisor then gave them a warning. “Don’t look down on the Merka lecturer. While Merkarians can’t compare to us when it comes to martial arts, they have created their own unique systems that have caught our attention. The lecturer is bringing some of their secret knowledge, so learning from him will bring you benefits.”

The students became interested and no longer thought about going to the class just to tick off their required quota.

Since it was about time for the invitation-only class, Chen Chuan left the dormitory with the others and headed to the lecture hall designated for the exchange students.

The place was close to the dormitory, so they reached it within five minutes. The Merkarian lecturer was already there.

He was about forty years old and looked like a stereotypical Merkarian: hook nose, a tall forehead, lean, well-toned muscles, and tanned skin. His martial arts uniform was quite simple, but he had a string of beads around his neck, and a few white feathers in his hair ornament.

The students greeted the lecturer and, after being given permission, sat down on the cushions on the floor. Chen Chuan went to a spot closer to the front of the lecture hall.

When it was about time, the Merkarian lecturer stood up and spoke in fluent Great Shun. “Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Douma, which coincidentally means teacher in Merkarese, but all Merkarians speak the Great Shun language, so my name has slowly become a respectful title in our country. You can call me Mr. Douma, even though it sounds strange to me.”

Douma’s words gave the students the impression that he was not a rigid lecturer, and the atmosphere in the classroom became a relaxed one. The distance between them also decreased.

“I’m delighted to be able to give a lecture for the exchange program. Merka is only made of a little over one million people, and we only have one martial arts school. Our martial arts standards aren’t as great as yours, but we do have some unique techniques.

“We believe that all things come from nature, and it is everywhere around us and can transform into various shapes. Merkarians’ greatest philosophy is to relinquish the self and become one with nature.

“We believe that we’re all slaves to our physical bodies. That’s why we have to free ourselves to become the masters of our bodies. Now, I will show you how we can regulate our bodies through a simple move.”

He spread his arms wide and extended his thumbs and little fingers to form the number six. His little fingers were also pointed up, making them stand out.

Some of the students did the same thing. Even though all of them could do it, they believed that it was definitely not as simple as it seemed. They were sure that there was something else.

Just as they expected, Douma smiled. While he remained in that stance, he slowly sat down and used his unusually nimble toes to remove his socks. Then, he also used his toes to make a six. While maintaining that position, he slowly raised his middle toes before curling them again with great ease.

“Anyone who’s interested can try it,” he said.

Some of the students tried. Using their toes to remove their socks was fine and all, but when they tried to form a six, they started scrunching up their faces.

What kind of bizarre lesson was this?!

Chen Chuan pondered over this. His mutated tissue had reached every part of his body. Even if he did not try it, he knew that he could do it.

The people who did not have the mutated tissue or did not train their muscles and tendons enough would have a hard time doing this. This Merkarian move seemed to have come into being to develop control over the less used parts of the body.

“These are the basics of Merka’s meridian studies. I’ll show you how to learn and master them,” Douma said. “Don’t underestimate them. If you keep up the training, it’ll improve your control over your body and your perception toward the world around you. In a fight, it’ll help you observe minute movements and changes. Even from over here, I can sense your breathing, heartbeat, body temperature, and even the flow of your blood.

“If you’re interested, you can drop by for the lessons. Over the next semester, I’ll be teaching you this unique Merkarian technique.”

***

While the lecture was ongoing, a young Merkarian looked outside through the gap in the curtains on the ninth floor of the first-class students’ dorm.

He had sharp features, prominently arched eyebrows, a small earring, a hair ornament similar to a hairband, and a muscular body. Anyone could tell that he was a skilled martial artist.

The door that was only partially shut swung open, and another Merka student came inside. “Nali, we managed to send word to Merley.”

Nali did not turn around. “Okay.”

Shanel sat down on the sofa and grumbled, “To think that Great Shun separates its male and female students... We’re all separated now.”

When Nali said nothing, he looked over. “What’s got your attention?”

“Those people there,” Nali answered.

“What’s so special about them? They look about the same as we do, and they’re everywhere.”

“I’m looking at the scenery too,” Nali added.

Shanel was taken aback for a moment before he lay down on the sofa and stared at Nali’s ceiling. “There’s no reason for you to care for it either. This place doesn’t belong to us. It hasn’t been ours from the moment our ancestors gave up on our ancestral land.”

“Shanel, have you seen our people in the university?” Nali asked.

“I don’t want to talk about them. They haven’t seen themselves as Merkarians since a long time ago. They’re not our people. They’re no different from the other Great Shun Republic citizens,” Shanel hissed.

“Then, we can only rely on ourselves. Tell the others to come over,” Nali ordered.

“Now?”

“Now.” Nali nodded.

“So bothersome,” Shanel grumbled but still got up and left.

When he came back, seven other Merka students followed him. Fortunately, Nali’s room was quite large, so even if there were a lot of them together, they were not cramped. Everyone found a spot and sat down.

Nali drew the curtains before turning around to face all the people. “Based on the speed of the exchange of information between Merka and the Great Shun Republic, our identities will be exposed in at most five days. That’s why we have to get the sacred item as soon as possible.

“According to the plan, in a few days, Mr. Douma will bring us to Yangzhi City’s Foreign Affairs Department so that we can have a goodwill exchange with the diplomats of the Great Shun Republic. At that time, they will show us the great oak leaf we offered to Yangzhi City as tribute. That will be our only chance to get it back.

“I’m sure you already know just how dangerous this task is. Even though the resistance group has agreed to help us, we will need to face the Foreign Affairs Department’s security team, and we’re not allowed to bring any weapons, so our task will be monumental. Are you prepared to die for our cause?”

“Say no more, Nali. From the moment we stepped on our ancestral land, we could sense our God’s calling. We will definitely retrieve the Merkarians’ sacred item,” Shanan said.

The other students’ faces showed grim determination as well.

Nali observed them, and all of them met his stare with great resolution. None of them looked away.

“Zhu’a, Shanel, and the rest of you, spar with the students on the lower floors over the next few days to figure out their strength. Those students might go with us during the goodwill exchange and try to stop us if they notice anything wrong. We should figure out their strength first, so we can form counter plans.”

“Got it!”

All the students agreed to it.

Nali nodded solemnly, and the others left. Around two hours later, someone knocked on his door. He went to open it and welcomed Douma into his room.

“Are you done with your lecture, Sir?”

Douma went to the window and pulled the curtains back as he answered. “The students here are really good. Even though this was the first time they were exposed to Merka’s meridian studies, I could sense that some of them grasped the basics during the first lecture.”

“So quickly?” Nali was surprised.

“The Great Shun Republic is a large country, and it has lots of people who are naturally gifted, while Merka is a small nation. Our people have to tighten their belts for us martial artists to grow stronger,” Douma lamented and turned around. “You can’t sacrifice your lives here. You have a great future ahead of you. While you go for the great oak leaf, I’ll do my best to hold the others back. Once you get the leaf, run. I want as many of you to escape as possible.”

With a solemn expression, Nali asked, “Will the resistance group really help us?”

“They will, because they want to drag us Merkarians into their mess. Even though they’re using us, we have to do this to reclaim our sacred item. It’s not as if we don’t have ways to make up for this later.”

“I still don’t understand it. Since the great oak leaf has always been ours, why can’t we just ask Yangzhi City for it? We have a good relationship with them...” Nali wondered.

Douma shook his head. “It’s not the same. They think it’s just a symbol, so they don’t care about it, but if they learned that it’s our sacred item, they would not return it to us. The echoes of the world are getting stronger by the year, so I’d rather we get the item back first and explain ourselves later.”

***

After the lecture, Chen Chuan returned to his room. He thought that the lecture was pretty interesting, and he could learn a lot from it, so he decided to sit in whenever he had time.

𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

When he returned to the seventh floor, the dormitory supervisor called out to him. “Chen Chuan, you have a phone call.”

Chen Chuan hurried over while the dormitory supervisor said, “Since you have so many phone calls, you can apply to connect the telephone line to your room.”

Chen Chuan was not expecting that. “Can I?”

The dormitory supervisor smiled at him. “You got a scholarship last semester, so you have the right to apply for it, but once you lose the scholarship, that right will be removed.”

“Got it. Thank you, Sir.”

Chen Chuan picked up the phone receiver and heard Ren Shu’s excited voice. “Mr. Chen, the Department of Administrative Affairs just issued a designated mission. The agents they sent out have located a place that might be the Flying Head Cult’s main gathering spot. It’s in an old hamlet in Barbarian Mountain, located northwest of the city. The department is about to gather forces to head to the mountain and exterminate that evil cult.

“They’re only lacking an expert who can take out the Flying Heads. Since you successfully took out two last time, the department was pleased with your performance and handed this mission to us. Do you have time to take it up?”

A flicker of emotion showed up in Chen Chuan’s eyes. “When is it?”

“Before noon tomorrow. Mr. Chen, we might need to head to Barbarian Mountain tonight, which means we’ll only have the afternoon to prepare for the mission. By the way, we won’t have to worry about any other issues. We will just need to get rid of the main Flying Head,” Ren Shu replied.

Chen Chuan thought about it. For safety’s sake, he had to discuss it with Cheng Zitong first. So, he said, “I’ll call you back.”