Book 3, Chapter 37: Study

Chen Chuan had thought that he wouldn’t be able to afford the Radiant Light sessions offered by the university because of the price. Now, though, he could try applying for them.

He had a feeling that even if he didn’t use the money in his account, someone was going to think of a way to take it from him, so it would be better for him to buy something valuable as soon as possible.

Chen Chuan went to the campus portal, hopped onto the application column, and searched for the Radiant Light session application.

There was an additional note attached to the end stating that each official student of the university could apply for a Radiant Light session once a month, and the university would adjust the order based on the time of application, their assessment points, and number of applicants. For the students, each session would cost from three to five thousand devs.

As Chen Chuan stared at the price, he realized that his ten thousand devs would only be enough for two or three sessions at best. Still, he supposed it would be good enough if the money lasted a couple months. After that, he would think of other ways to pay for the sessions.

Once he filled out the form, he submitted it. Soon, the portal told him that he was slotted into the waiting list and should wait patiently for a reply.

A moment later, he received a notification saying that all slots for the month had been allocated at the start of the month, so Chen Chuan would have to wait until the next month. Then, they would charge him three thousand devs. If he was unable to pay, the university could provide a loan service with an interest rate of only 25%.

Chen Chuan casually deleted the notification. Queuing up was nothing, as long as he actually got his turn.

After putting away his new items, he went to take a shower. Once he was out, he drew the curtains and read the news.

While a number of people had died from the explosion at Taowo Market, he found no articles about it, making him wonder whether it was because it was not newsworthy enough to be on mainstream newspapers or whether it was because it had happened late in the day. He did, however, read about it in the niche channels.

The newspapers there said that a couple of martial artists had committed crimes and were swiftly killed by law enforcers from the Resolution Department. Meanwhile, the audio chat section was filled with ever-present arguments.

Chen Chuan saw himself in the footage attached to the article. Based on the angle, the one who released the footage should have been a City Patrol guard.

Some of the people were arguing about his strength. Most believed that he was a Third Limit martial artist because he was moving so quickly that average people were unable to discern his movements.

Only one person was saying something more interesting, but Chen Chuan couldn’t tell just who they were, since they were using a voice changer. The person called themselves Dancing On A Cap.

“I’m sure that he’s a Second Limit martial artist. There are differences in strength between Second Limit martial artists, right? You weren’t able to see his movements clearly because he has excellent coordination. He managed to get into the market in a single motion. His distribution of power was just right. He did not use any extra energy nor less than required.”

The person’s words immediately brought about mockery, saying that he was pretending to know something he didn’t. A lot of people started providing their own analyses to prove that he was wrong.

However, Dancing On A Cap had made the right judgment, because Chen Chuan hadn’t displayed the speed or strength that was on par with that of a Third Limit martial artist.

There were some people in the audio chat section supporting Dancing On A Cap. Someone mentioned that they were right, because Chen Chuan’s jump had been really smooth. Anyone with some knowledge of martial arts was pleased upon seeing his perfect execution.

Since Chen Chuan’s back was turned to the camera and his face couldn’t be seen, people were wondering about his identity. Some of them believed that he wasn’t from the Resolution Department, because his trench coat wasn’t part of their uniform but instead resembled the National General Affairs Bureau’s, but that audio message soon disappeared, and no one made such comments again.

While Chen Chuan was listening to the discussion, someone contacted him. When he saw that it was Tan Zhi, he answered it, and Tan Zhi immediately asked, “Hey, Chen Chuan, want to come out for a break during our next day off? I’ll introduce some of my friends to you. We might be able to take care of each other in the future.”

“Where do you want to go?” Chen Chuan asked.

“We’re going on a one-day cruise. An upperclassman is taking us along, and I guarantee you, you’ll see plenty of things you’ve never seen before,” Tan Zhi said.

Chen Chuan wasn’t averse to socializing. After all, he might have to have some form of contact with the other students in the future. Besides, he might also be able to get new information by talking to them.

“Will it be safe?” he asked.

“Absolutely. The upperclassman has organized plenty of such events before. We won’t be leaving Central City’s maritime space either. All Realm Passes will be functioning, so we won’t be bored.”

“Alright. I’ll come along. Thanks, Tan Zhi,” Chen Chuan said.

“Don’t mention it. I was your guide when you joined the university, so we should stay in contact, no? You’ll understand what I’m saying later,” Tan Zhi replied.

Once the call ended, Chen Chuan read some more news before checking the movies available at the bottom of the niche channel. The old Chen Chuan loved watching movies, and the movies in Yangzhi City were different from the movies in Central City. They were extremely realistic and immersive. Chen Chuan felt like he was in the movie itself while wearing the Realm Pass from the Resolution Department.

With it, he could experience something new even when he watched old movies by getting immersed in them.

But after watching one movie for three minutes along with the ads, he was told that he needed to pay, so he just turned it off. It was almost 10 p.m., so he decided to go to bed.

He got up at 5 a.m. the next morning and performed his daily training. At 8 a.m., he contacted Mr. Zheng, who said that he was free at the moment, so Chen Chuan could come over. So, Chen Chuan cleaned up a little and left.

Mr. Zheng’s house was at Martial Order District, which wasn’t too far away from the Arcane Palace. The tram only needed ten minutes to reach his house, which was why Chen Chuan arrived before 8:30 a.m.. Upon ringing the bell, Mr. Zheng opened the gate himself and led him inside with a smile.

Mr. Zheng was in his forties and had a well-built body, a face with a healthy red flush, a full beard, a loud voice, and a straightforward personality. He gave the impression of a bold and forthright person.

After walking through the gate, they entered a spacious training hall. All sorts of sabers, both foreign and domestic, hung below the retractable canopies. Chen Chuan counted dozens of them.

“My place looks big, doesn’t it? Heh. It’s big and all, but I’m still paying the mortgage for it. I also need to complete missions for the Resolution Department. You need to think carefully too, young man. After you graduate from the main campus and want to make a name for yourself in Central City, you’ll need to have a place to stay, sooner or later,” Mr. Zheng pointed out.

Then, he went to a weapons rack and said, “Let me see your foundation.”

He grabbed a random saber and swung it at Chen Chuan.

He didn’t move fast, so Chen Chuan could sense his actions clearly, but he still felt as if he couldn’t avoid the attack. He immediately brought the Frost King Saber up to parry it, but he could barely sense any power behind the slash, as if it was just a light swing.

Yet when this thought rose in his mind, he suddenly felt a burst of power coming from the saber. Chen Chuan reacted quickly and immediately adjusted his posture, but the power of the swing still forced him to take a step to the side.

Mr. Zheng lowered his saber and said, “I’ve gotten a grasp of your standard now.”

Chen Chuan thought about his words. From the moment he stepped through the gate, he had made sure he was in his weakened state, because when it came to technique training, being in his weakened state would make it easier for him to learn things and get results from his training. Otherwise, he would end up relying on his strength and speed alone, and the training would be meaningless.

However, Chen Chuan had a feeling that even if he was in a fused state, he wouldn’t have been able to block the attack. It was highly likely that he would have still been required to take a step from his spot.

There was no special reason for it. It was simply because Mr. Zheng’s use of refined force was much better than his. Even if he knew the trick behind the saber, he wouldn’t have been able to adjust his strength in time.

Of course, a real life-and-death battle was different from this, where technique undoubtedly stayed in the background. Still, that didn’t mean that it wasn’t important, which was why he had come here to improve upon it.

“If your technique is no good, you can practice to improve upon it, but a person’s courage and confidence can’t be built easily, while they’re easy to destroy,” Mr. Zheng said. “You didn’t manage to block my attack just now, but I saw no disappointment in your eyes and you’re not ready to give up. That’s good. Your technique might not be as good as other people’s, but that’s not a shameful thing. You just have to figure out a way to catch up to them. The usefulness of this training will be determined by whether you have the motivation to do it.

“You have a solid foundation, so we can skip a lot of steps. I’ll split your training into several stages based on your situation. Today, I’ll teach you how to defend.”

Without wasting a moment, he jumped straight to teaching and began explaining to Chen Chuan how to use his breathing technique and mutated tissue to negate refined force while performing demonstrations with his saber.

Mr. Zheng was patient. While teaching Chen Chuan, he didn’t hurry, unlike his image suggested. During crucial moments, he pointed out certain areas in which Chen Chuan was lacking but that he always overlooked. Just like his saber technique, his way of teaching was unrefined but meticulous.

Chen Chuan practiced the entire morning and got the grasp of how to use the refined force to defend. After all, he had a solid foundation, and the All-Encompassing Force allowed his mutated tissue to coordinate relatively well. He didn’t need to waste energy to adjust it, unlike other martial artists.

If one’s mutated tissue could not generate the power needed, the lecturer needed to think of ways to help the student adjust the way they generated power or suggest medicine to grow more mutated tissue in parts that already had a foundation so that they could work together to generate the necessary power.

That was the way of the lecturers teaching techniques.

They usually couldn’t teach all of their techniques to a student and had to carefully choose what techniques to teach them or make adjustments to them based on how the students’ mutated tissue generated power. This required a certain degree of knowledge and professionalism. Hence, no matter how strong the average martial artist was, they wouldn’t be able to teach a student techniques.

Unlike most students, Chen Chuan managed to pick up the techniques quickly, which delighted Mr. Zheng. He could skip all the steps requiring him to adjust things for Chen Chuan and head straight to the most important parts.

“The best way to master techniques is through fighting. Nothing else can help a person gain mastery better than this. To martial artists, no amount of lessons can compare to a single fight.”

Then, Mr. Zheng shouted for someone outside. “Tongtong!”

Chen Chuan soon heard rhythmic footsteps. Then, a well-built woman in her early twenties came in. She resembled Mr. Zheng with her round face and thick limbs, which made it obvious that she was his daughter. But she didn’t look bulky. When she walked, she gave off the impression that she was really light on her feet.

“This is Chen Chuan. Spar with him a bit,” Mr. Zheng said.

“Sure thing.”

Zheng Tongtong seemed to have inherited Mr. Zheng’s straightforward personality. Without another word, she picked up a heavy saber with a thick spine and gave Chen Chuan a fist-and-palm salute. “Please go easy on me, Chen Chuan.”