Book 3, Chapter 19: Change

After the call ended, Chen Chuan remembered the reviews and points Wu Ruo had on the platform. While they weren’t high, they weren’t low either. He was average.

Chen Chuan took a look at the materials Wu Ruo sent. He was offering a training method called Void Training, which was made of multiple specific fixed stances. The introduction included the medicine to be used to stimulate the mutated tissue while training.

It didn’t seem anything special. The foundation of most martial arts was the same, but there was a footnote at the end.

Once you learn this training method, you’ll be able to pick up all other techniques much faster.

The document didn’t just contain an introduction but also an example of a fixed stance. Interested students could try it out themselves.

Chen Chuan took a look and found that it to be a really strange stance. One leg was placed behind the other, while the body was furled down, past the space between the legs. The head, though, was supposed to be raised as much as possible. At the same time, the arms were supposed to be wrapped around the body.

How should he put this? It made the person look like a screw. No matter how he looked at it, it didn’t seem like something a normal person could do.

He then took a look at the theory and found it quite interesting.

According to the manual, Void Training stimulated the nervous system and brain, causing mutated tissue to grow there, which allowed Second Limit martial artists to do certain things only Third Limit martial artists could do. Their learning speed would also become much faster because of it.

Chen Chuan instantly lost interest.

What he needed was to solidify his foundation and gain comprehensive improvement, not improve so rapidly that it would ultimately hinder his long-term growth. While this training method wouldn’t be draining his potential, it wasn’t what he needed.

That wasn’t the case for other people, of course. So, why were Wu Ruo’s reviews and points so average if Void Training was really so useful? It didn’t make sense.

So, Chen Chuan did some digging around and found that Wu Ruo’s students weren’t all from Martial Valor University.

Just like how many martial arts schools took in students in Yangzhi City, it was the same in Central City. There were also a lot of martial arts schools here, and a lot of people practiced martial arts.

Arcane Palace focused on training its own students while only providing standardized courses to outside people. They were security guards of various companies and various people from the middle- and upper-class. Meanwhile, the martial arts schools taught those from the lower-class.

Aside from teaching students for university, the lecturers also offered private lessons. The richer families could hire them to teach one-on-one or a small group.

Most of Wu Ruo’s students were like that. While they gave him nice reviews and high evaluation points, their quality couldn’t be compared to those of Martial Valor University students. The more evaluation points he got from them, the cheaper it made him look.

Recommended students would never consider learning the same techniques as those below them. They had much better choices.

Most average people had a hard time developing any genuine abilities. After all, most people didn’t start training at a young age and were practically unable to develop mutated tissue.

They were also realistic. After studying martial arts for a few years, they would choose to get a secondhand or thirdhand implant. Then, they would gain some basic fighting knowledge.

This was unavoidable. It was as far as normal people could go. No matter how hard they tried, they wouldn’t be able to win against people with implants. They often couldn’t even win against someone pumped full of stimulants, even after training for a few years.

After careful consideration, Chen Chuan replied to Wu Ruo that he had thought it through and found that the training method didn’t suit him. He ended his message with a thank you.

Once he sent the message, he followed the Realm Pass’s guidance and located a telegraph station in Arcane Palace. He sent a telegram to He Xiaoxing, asking him whether there were any training methods or fighting styles compatible with the Furnace Breathing Technique and whether he could learn them if they existed.

Then, he returned to his room and picked up the upper jaw. He sat down on a cushion and began practicing the Furnace Breathing Technique.

The supernatural being only affected him when he touched it. This made training a little troublesome, but that was fine. After all, supernatural beings affected the Realm Pass, which was likely because it attacked a person’s biofield. If the supernatural being’s effects spilled out of the upper jaw, Chen Chuan would have been unable to bring it into the university.

***

The curtains were drawn in the cramped and dark room where Wu Ruo was. He was lying still on his sofa when he received a reply. Immediately, he got up to read it. His expression changed, and he hissed savagely, “You actually rejected me?”

He quickly schooled his face and said expressionlessly, “You shouldn’t have rejected me.”

***

Chen Chuan finished his daily training in the afternoon and went to take a shower before scrolling through the news.

Central City had one thing over Yangzhi City: Chen Chuan didn’t need a radio to learn the news. With his Realm Pass, he could learn everything that happened in Central City, though news released for the public was usually carefully filtered before release.

Still, Wu Bei had given him a niche channel that allowed him to see the happenings of every corner in the city. This helped him broaden his horizons significantly.

While browsing, a profile picture started flickering. It was a swaying willow tree with a scholar facing the river beside it. He had a scroll unfurled on the table in front of him.

It was Wu Ruo.

After considering it briefly, Chen Chuan answered the call, “Mr. Wu? How may I help you?”

“Chen Chuan, I’d like to talk to you about your studies,” Wu Ruo said.

“Thank you for thinking so highly of me, Mr. Wu, but I have my own considerations and won’t need the training method you recommended for the time being. Still, I’m really grateful for your offer,” Chen Chuan said frankly.

“No. I didn’t call you because of it. I just want to talk to you. I believe that you must know certain things. I promise you that no matter what you say, I won’t bother you in the future. What do you think?” Wu Ruo asked sincerely.

Chen Chuan pondered over it. “Now?”

“If you’re free, come to Golden River Drinks. It’s southeast of Arcane Palace. I’ll be waiting for you there,” Wu Ruo offered.

Chen Chuan located the place on his Realm Pass and found that it was less than one kilometer away from the university. He wouldn’t need much time to reach it. “Alright. I’ll be there shortly.”

He changed into another set of clothes and left his room to take the elevator down. With the Realm Pass guiding him, he arrived at the shop. There weren’t many customers inside at this hour. Chen Chuan looked around and saw a man staring at him.

His eyes were shining with melancholy, and he had deep forehead wrinkles. Even so, he was less than forty. While his clothes were clean and wrinkle-free, compared to the other people around him, he was a few styles behind. Still, judging by his gaze, he seemed like a man with a gentle heart.

Chen Chuan walked over, and Wu Ruo stood up to shake his hand before saying with a smile, “Hello, Chen Chuan. Take a seat. Their hot drinks are good, so I often come for them. Try them.”

The man’s voice was even more magnetic face-to-face than when heard through the Realm Pass. It was pleasing to the ear.

After shaking his hand and greeting him, Chen Chuan sat down and exchanged a few words before getting to the point. “Mr. Wu, why did you ask to see me?”

“It seems like you’re someone who values efficiency. Then, I won’t waste your time,” Wu Ruo said with a smile.

His expression turned more serious. “How much do you know about the main campus? Did you know that they’ve been changing their management style over the last few years?”

“They have?”

Wu Ruo nodded. “Looks like you don’t. Let me make it brief. Three years ago, after Mr. Tan took his position as vice chancellor, he started targeting some issues lingering in the university, and he has been actively pushing for reforms. He wants to create celebrity students and is encouraging students to participate in the tournaments the university is organizing.”

“Tournaments? Are the students okay with it?” Chen Chuan asked with a raised eyebrow.

After all, most of the students in the main campus were recommended students, and they came from rich and powerful families. They were the cream-of-the-crop, trained to manage their family companies or become law enforcers. How could they fight others on stage?

“The traditional students definitely wouldn’t agree to it, but around three years ago, Mr. Tan picked a group of talented people from big martial arts schools and declared that they were Martial Valor University’s external students. Then, he sent them to participate in the tournaments organized and promoted by the other martial arts schools.” Wu Ruo stated.

“Tournaments are common all over the country. Many of the second-class students from branch campuses become celebrities through them and take part in them again and again. This doesn’t seem all that special,” Chen Chuan replied.

With a shake of his head, Wu Ruo said, “It’s not the same. Those events are outside Central City and don't have any impact on Central City. There’s also something unique about this tournament. All the students participating in it will have various implants given to them, which will result in the support of major companies. The citizens welcome this idea.”

This did make Central City’s tournament different from the tournaments outside. Allowing only people with implants to participate in the tournament was quite attractive to the average citizen.

As for the companies, not only could they advertise their products, but they could also use the students as test subjects.

Once this became a trend, the tournaments in other cities would also start focusing on participants with implants. This was something the companies would enjoy a lot.

“Why did you want to talk to me about this?” Chen Chuan asked.

𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Since this concerned external students, it had nothing to do with him.

“I’m telling you this because it might affect you,” Wu Ruo said seriously.

“It will?” Chen Chuan raised an eyebrow at that.

“You’re one of the rare civilian students in the main campus, not a recommended student. You’re an official student but don’t have a powerful family supporting you. Wouldn’t giving you an implant and forcing you to participate in the tournament be an even greater selling point than using those amateur external students?”