Chapter 146: Decision

More than ten days passed in the blink of an eye, and it was soon the middle of May.

Chen Chuan wore the black Martial Valor University uniform and sat on the reclining couch in the martial arts training center. He was using his breathing technique to guide the growth of his mutated tissue and regulate his mind.

Over the last few weeks, he had been strengthening his foundation and had only gone back to the university once.

He had also given the company a heads-up. Since his absence was due to personal training, he said that Cheng Zitong had asked him to do this. Since he was a student of Martial Valor University, personal training was of utmost importance to him. Ren Shu and the others understood it and even sent him a few martial arts uniforms and cans of high-grade tea leaves. They did everything they could to maintain good relations with him.

After sitting for around forty-five minutes, Chen Chuan eased out of the breathing technique.

He was gradually experiencing the effects of the secreted substances from the mutated organs. It was one source of a martial artist’s power. If he could make use of them well, he could have even greater power in certain situations. Hence, the way to deal with them wasn’t to suppress them, but to manage and bring them under control.

The Soul Jolting Strike had a loose connection to this. In the past, Chen Chuan hadn’t developed mutated tissue, which was strong enough to bring out its full power. The effects of that attack would be entirely different once he had it.

For example, the mutation Douma displayed that day. It was one of the methods to manage the secreted substances from the mutated organs, but it was a last-ditch attack that was practically suicide, so it wasn’t worth learning.

Records from old martial arts had a lot of notes about this, especially the canonical texts from some religions. They had detailed descriptions, and Chen Chuan had been reading up on them recently. Despite all the cryptic mumbo-jumbo, they really knew their stuff when it came to regulating the mind and harmonizing body and spirit.

The simplest and crudest way to regulate the mind was through medication. The problem was that if Chen Chuan did that, but stopped at some point, all sorts of issues would surface. He would also end up relying a lot on the Logistics Department, so it would be better if he took control of his emotions instead.

After meditating, Chen Chuan stood up and started practicing all the techniques of Principal Sanshou.

Even though they looked the same as before, that was only on the surface. His mutated tissue was completely different.

When he used the mutated fascia and bones in tandem with the mutated tissue in his organs, he could adjust and make minute changes to the refined force of each technique. The refined force of each attack also became more varied and diverse. This was solely for training purposes and to stimulate the mutated tissue in his organs.

In a real battle, unless absolutely necessary, he was only going to make his mutated tissue concentrate on improving his agility. He wanted to use speed to defeat his opponents, be it one single opponent or multiple of them.

When he executed a technique, its power was much greater than before. Mainly, his strength and speed had increased exponentially. If his second self overlapped with him, he would become much stronger than other people in the Second Limit.

If he fought against Douma now, Chen Chuan was confident that he could defeat him within three moves even after the mutation.

After he finished practicing all the techniques of Principal Sanshou, he picked up the Frost King Saber and started practicing the saber techniques with the goal of making his mutated tissue get used to them as well.

Once his daily training was over, he went to take a shower and returned to the second floor to sit down in front of the table. Then, he grabbed the briefcase the examination committee had given him, brought out the map, and spread it on the table.

His gaze landed on Yangzhi City, then he looked up until he went past North Ornament Highlands. Beyond the highlands was an endless wilderness. It was the northernmost region of the Great Shun Republic’s territory.

While Yangzhi City was built during the Great Expansion, it was not considered to be at the border of the Great Shun Republic, because the easternmost part was a port city known as Frozen Valley City.

It was no ordinary city since it had an unknown number of soldiers and could only be reached via a railroad that crossed the wilderness and the maritime route in the North Ocean. It practically had no contact with Yangzhi City.

But Chen Chuan knew that there was a military school there, because Nian Qian, his eldest cousin, was studying there. It was really difficult for him to travel back and forth, so he could only send telegrams if he had any news to send to his family.

The wilderness wasn’t a wide expanse of nothing. It was filled with criminals who had fled from the central region, smugglers who snuck in from across the ocean, bandits, and resistance group members.

Some people had escaped from major corporations and were in control of certain skills and channels, while others were spies from other countries, bounty hunters, and even foreign political criminals. There were even unidentified secret cults out there.

After some groups formed alliances, they established various forces of power in the wilderness and gathered underground information networks from all around the world. The criminal gangs in Yangzhi City’s wilderness were nothing compared to these people.

If not for the fact that this place was more than two thousand kilometers away from Yangzhi City, that there was a desert with no water or plants between them, and the military as a deterrent, those people might have extended their grubby hands into Yangzhi City a long time ago.

Chen Chuan’s test was at the borders of the wilderness. Not only was the situation there complicated, but it would also take him quite a long time to travel back and forth.

It was impossible to check the place beforehand, and there wasn’t anyone who’d be willing to help him with it. Even though it seemed like there was plenty of time for the test, a lot of it was for the examinee to prepare for the test and also to retreat. There was not much time to procrastinate.

Chen Chuan started planning. It was the middle of May, so he decided to use the remaining half of the month to strengthen his foundation. Then, he would go to take the test. He had to do it as soon as possible.

With the plan set, he put away the map, locked all the documents in a safe, and went downstairs.

In less than half an hour, he returned to the university. After parking his bicycle, he walked toward his dorm, but the moment he stepped on the stairs, he saw someone waiting there. When she saw him, her eyes lit up, and she walked over to greet him. “It’s been a while, Chen Chuan.”

It was Min Lan, the lady who treated him to a meal because she wanted to recruit him into her company. Later on, he joined Ren Shu’s company, so she didn’t contact him anymore.

“It really has been a while,” he greeted her back.

“I came specifically to see you. Do you have a minute?” Min Lan asked with a smile.

Chen Chuan was not in much of a hurry. Besides, Min Lan seemed to have been waiting for him for quite some time. Since he hadn’t been back for a long time, she must have been looking for him for a while too. “Let’s talk by the lake.”

He couldn’t bring her to his dorm because of their different genders. Besides, she had already graduated, so they could only talk elsewhere.

Min Lan happily agreed to it.

They walked down the stairs, went past the space in front of the dorm, and started walking along the path around the Spring-Autumn Lake.

Min Lan looked at the green willow trees by the lake and the sparkling water. “It’s been a long while since I graduated, but sometimes, I miss life at the university. All we needed to do back then was to be strong enough and focus on training. We didn’t have to worry about anything else.”

After that brief lamentation, she turned around to him. “Sorry to bother you, but my company has recently run into a difficult problem, and we’re looking for a solution.

“You’re pressed for time, so I’ll cut to the chase. Our problem comes from quite a big mission. A few companies are taking part in it, and it involves a secret cult. We need to retrieve something from this cult. We sent a few agents to infiltrate it, but all of them disappeared.

“We also spent a large sum of money to win over one of the members, but we lost contact with her that night itself. The cult’s reaction to possible threats is just too quick. The other companies haven’t been able to make any progress either. So, we’re thinking that this might not be our problem, but the cult being up to something.

“Since they’re an evil cult, they might be using something that’s beyond the realm of logic. We decided to ask experts in this area about it, but no one has been able to give us an answer so far.

“I then remembered that you often exterminate supernatural beings, so you might know something. That’s why I came here. We’d be really happy if you could help us with the problem, and we’d be willing to pay you a sum you’d be happy with.”

𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Chen Chuan thought about it, then shook his head. “Supernatural beings are supernatural beings, and cults are cults. They can’t be lumped together.”

Min Lan’s eyes lit up. “So you know about these cults?”

“The Flying Head Cult was behind the Flying Heads I took out; they’re a cult that has been around for a long time. I know a few things about cults, but that’s it. Also, each cult is different. If there’s no proof that it’s related to a supernatural being, then I can’t help you with it,” Chen Chuan replied.

Min Lan nodded and fell into pensive silence. “Is that so? Then, we’ll need to figure out what sort of cult we’re dealing with first. Sorry to bother you, and thank you for giving me some tips today.”

She shook his hand.

After parting ways with Min Lan, Chen Chuan found himself thinking about Lei Guangcheng. The director of the Cult Investigation Bureau would definitely know about this, but he couldn’t just bother him. Besides, if word got out that he knew Lei Guangcheng, the other companies would come to find him too. His hands were full with preparing for the test, though. He didn’t have time to deal with this now.

All he could do was wish Min Lan luck.

Chen Chuan looked up. He was close to the administrative office building, so he decided to go to Cheng Zitong’s office instead of his dorm.

When he arrived, the door was open, and two people were talking to Cheng Zitong inside. Chen Chuan waited for quite a bit until the two people who were obviously not part of the university left before he walked in.

“Did you wait for long?” Cheng Zitong asked.

“Not really. I just arrived,” Chen Chuan replied.

Cheng Zitong grumbled, “Every year, those with inside connections to the university turn up to force their gifts on us. Forget it. Let’s not talk about them. What brought you here, Xiao Chuan?”

Chen Chuan shut the door and turned back to say seriously, “Mr. Cheng, I’d like to take my test at the end of the month.”

“So soon?”

Cheng Zitong’s expression turned more solemn as he observed Chen Chuan. “Looks like you’ve made up your mind. Do you need anything? I’ll prepare it for you.”

“There are restrictions on the weapons and items I can bring and even the way I can take out my opponents. I can only bring some replenishments and items necessary for survival in the wilderness,” Chen Chuan replied.

He could understand why the examination committee set up this rule, because he could get a lot of things that would make the test easier. If they did not impose restrictions, the examinees might do all sorts of wild things.

Chen Chuan even suspected that examiners will keep an eye on him from the shadows during the test.

Cheng Zitong pondered over this and said, “I’ll get some things ready for you.” He then opened his drawer and gave him a form. “This is a travel application form. Fill it out.

“I’m not sure how much time you’ll need for the test, but I can cover up your absence with the excuse that I’m bringing you out for training. Over this period of time, I won’t be in the university either. If you need to call me, use this number.”

Cheng Zitong gave him a phone number and some final instructions, “Before you leave, show your face one last time in the university. Try to not get involved in anything, though. No matter who asks for your help, ignore them.”