Book 3, Chapter 128: Passing Down

After returning home, Chen Chuan saw that Nian Fuli wasn’t back yet, so he was probably going to work overnight again. This was common. Yu Wan had been waiting for everyone. When she saw Chen Chuan, she welcomed him back and told him to wash up before going to bed.

Chen Chuan took a quick shower, went back to his room, took his medicine, and replaced sleep with practicing his breathing technique.

He had to focus on strengthening his foundation and calming his mind at this stage. There was no need for him to improve upon anything else. Right now, he found himself having an easier time focusing; he had made the right choice by coming back to Yangzhi City.

Even though Yangzhi City had its fair share of problems, it had far fewer of them than Central City. There was also the fact that he couldn’t use his Realm Pass here. Being far away from all the distractions made Yangzhi City perfect for refining his mind.

The night passed, and morning arrived. Chen Chuan went to his former company and found that it was still around. Even the security guards were familiar faces.

Ren Shu was in the company today, and when he saw Chen Chuan, he was delighted and immediately notified everyone else.

In less than an hour, most of the business partners came over. Even those who were busy set their work aside and rushed to the company.

Quite a number of the young business partners idolized Chen Chuan as much as the underclassmen in Martial Valor University, so they were really excited when they learned that he came back. They showed him all the missions they had taken care of over the past half a year.

It was only at this moment that Chen Chuan learned that they didn’t give up on supernatural-related missions just because he left. Instead, they had hired new agents to help them take care of those missions according to the notes and information he had left behind.

They only picked missions they could handle and didn’t touch missions exceeding their capabilities even with a ten-foot pole. Hence, with Chen Chuan’s guidance, they managed to do a pretty decent job tackling these missions.

Ren Shu showed him a record of the company’s missions. Fortunately, no supernatural being with a large area of effect had appeared over the past half a year. When they encountered missions that they were clearly unable to handle, they did as Chen Chuan instructed them: They did their best to help the people in the area move away. As time went on, the supernatural beings there disappeared.

Of course, most people didn’t want to leave, but Ren Shu and his group weren’t inflexible. They offered benefits and force to get people to leave. Even though they looked like they were losing money for the sake of publicity, their reputation and trustworthiness grew rapidly, allowing them to take up other types of missions to fill up their coffers.

Chen Chuan had lunch with them and answered some supernatural-related questions before leaving in the afternoon.

Once he was out, he went to a phone booth and called Wen Tong to ask him when he could teach. Wen Tong gave him a location.

“Meet me at the suburban base at the East Fortress District at 3 p.m..”

A flicker of emotion stirred in Chen Chuan’s heart when he heard the location. He checked his watch. It was past 2 p.m., so if he went there now, he would reach it at around 3 p.m.. So, Chen Chuan got into his car and drove to the suburban base.

At 2:50 p.m., he arrived at the place Wen Tong mentioned.

He had come here with Wei Changan before. It originally belonged to Big Guo of the Blood Scars Gang. Later on, when the Blood Scars Gang was annihilated, Big Guo was unable to run away. The sentry posts and fences he set up were removed, and the place was abandoned. Chen Chuan believed that no one had come here for a long time.

When he drove over, Wen Tong had already arrived and was standing on a relatively flat piece of land. Chen Chuan parked outside and got out of the car. Once he walked over, he gave a fist-and-palm salute. “Hello, Mr. Wen.”

“Hello, Chen Chuan. Before I start teaching you, do you have any questions for me?” Wen Tong asked with a smile.

Chen Chuan pondered over this before saying, “You mentioned that you’re part of the purity faction, and Mr. He spoke about it briefly too, but what exactly is it?”

Wen Tong was surprised. “Didn’t Lao He tell you anything? But then again, that makes sense. When he taught you, you hadn’t reached the Third Limit. If you had known, you would have had more unnecessary stuff to worry about.

“Let me give you a brief explanation. In the beginning, this faction was born due to differences in martial arts ideologies.

“In simpler terms, some martial artists believe that maintaining a pure and complete self is the only correct path toward transcendence. You don’t need any items to support or help you. Those things are only a burden and an obstacle.

“In the past, most martial artists either voluntarily joined this faction, or had someone push them into it. Hence, in the old era, the purity faction’s ideology was well recognized.

“But in the new era, things are different. The spread of knowledge and the advancement of technology allowed those sticking to the ideology to perfect the theory behind it. With the perfected theory, they formed a notable faction, which is the purity faction you know of today.

“There are no absolute rules or restrictions in this faction. The martial artists only had a mutually acknowledged ideology, and as they continued working and exploring together as well as fighting against other factions, they gained a lot of results for their martial arts training. The Furnace Breathing Technique Lao He taught you is one of them.”

Chen Chuan mulled over this for a while before asking, “You mentioned fighting against other factions. Does that mean that there are a lot of other factions aside from the purity faction?”

“If we classify the factions according to our understanding of their ideologies, then the one you’ve come into contact with the most is the implant faction. These people believe that implants can make up for a human’s weaknesses, including the ones they’re born with. They think that this is the true way to reach the pinnacle.

“But you can’t be considered part of the implant faction just by getting a few implants. You need to truly adhere to and acknowledge its ideology. Those who joined the faction and have enjoyed its benefits are the only ones who can be considered to be part of the faction.

“You also need to remember that there are radicals in all factions. Don’t go believing that all those in the purity faction are on your side or those in the implant faction are your enemies. Those thoughts will only make you close your mind to the world and won’t bring you many benefits.

“All these different understandings toward martial arts simply mark different paths. The martial artists might tread down different paths to reach a transcendence toward life, but their end goal is the same.”

He then smiled. “I won’t give you the details here. You’ll learn them as time passes. Do you have any other questions?”

“Not for the time being, no,” Chen Chuan said.

“Then, I’ll start teaching you the martial arts techniques. Before that, though, I need to know your mastery of the Furnace Breathing Technique,” Wen Tong requested.

Chen Chuan nodded and sucked in a deep breath. In an instant, his skin started heating up, and wisps of white steam rose from him.

Wen Tong trained his eyes on him.

𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Chen Chuan could sense that Wen Tong wasn’t just watching him. He was also sensing his biofield. He didn’t know where that thought came from; he just knew.

Just then, he remembered how He Xiaoxing had observed him and sensed his movements in the underground shafts. He might have been able to do it by sensing his biofield.

Noticing his curiosity, Wen Tong explained, “Sensing biofields is a skill in itself. You can learn how to do it in the main campus, but you need some talent for that. If the mutated tissue in your brain is developed enough, you can do this easily.”

After a while, the feeling of being observed disappeared.

Wen Tong nodded and praised him. “Your biofield is incredibly balanced. Usually, this sort of balance shows that a martial artist has no strengths and is mediocre, but since you’ve shown that you’re not average, it means that you have achieved a great balance between all aspects of your body, and they’re all very strong. I believe that you won’t have any trouble learning the techniques.”

Then, he started talking slower in order for Chen Chuan to get a better understanding.

“The Furnace Breathing Technique allows you to accumulate energy in your body and release it when necessary, but there’s a key behind how to do it. Releasing it all in one go can give you a huge boost in your physical abilities, but that’s a simple, crude method of doing it.

“Through certain martial arts techniques, you can use your energy more efficiently. For that, not only do you need to use the Furnace Breathing Technique, but to also have your mind and blood essence working together.” He pointed at his forehead at this point. “Have you heard those two terms before?”

“I heard them from one of my teachers,” Chen Chuan said with a nod.

“That’s good. Since you already have a grasp of them, I won’t waste time explaining them. The potential of mutated tissue is greater than you can imagine. Once you begin using the Furnace Breathing Technique and perform the correct guidance and adjustments, you can make it even more effective.

“For example, you can activate another short boost while in your boosted state to unleash even more powerful attacks or increase your body’s durability, among other things.

“Once you’re familiar with the techniques, you can even quickly form a stronger, sturdier protective layer where your mutated tissue is denser, allowing you to perform feats similar to those of body hardening-type refined forces.

“There are also some unique ways to use the Furnace Breathing Technique. For example, I can release the high heat in my body and inject it into a person’s body instantly. If that heat is injected into brain tissue, it can make it evaporate immediately. The high heat will also make the skull crack, thus making the head split.”

Wen Tong smiled at this point. “Of course, cracking heads isn’t my goal. I just did it to more effectively regulate my body while attacking my enemies. It allows me to get rid of some of the burden on my tissue and increase my fighting power. Also, this method can effectively strike terror into my enemies’ hearts.

“You don’t need to learn these things for now. The important part is to master the basics of these techniques. At your current stage, that’ll be enough.

“Now, relax your body and focus your mind. Make sure to pay attention to me and feel.”

As he spoke, Wen Tong’s breathing turned hot, and his skin turned red.

Chen Chuan quickly did as he was told. In a moment, he felt a strange vibration influencing his body and breathing. His mutated tissue started moving along with Wen Tong’s breathing.

This was just like how Cheng Zitong had guided him when he taught him the Respiration Node Breathing Technique. This time, however, Wen Tong didn’t need to touch him. Instead, Chen Chuan could sense it through something similar to a biofield resonance.

He couldn’t help but remember the method of using a resonator nest to help a Second Limit martial artist reach the Third Limit. Perhaps the Third Limit martial artists used this method to transfer their knowledge and help.

Chen Chuan quickly set aside these thoughts. Instead, he focused on sensing what was happening and receiving the knowledge. Soon, he noticed that his mutated tissue was moving and transferring energy in an orderly fashion.

He didn’t put any extra effort in remembering what had happened. His body would remember the movements and how to guide the mutated tissue for him.

Chen Chuan knew that Wen Tong was using this method to pass the techniques he had mastered and how to use them to his mind and body, so Chen Chuan wouldn’t need to spend long hours to practice them himself.

Soon, he started feeling his head throbbing, and Wen Tong said, “Let’s end our session here today.”

Chen Chuan got out of the focused state and noticed that the sun was already setting. He checked his watch and found that he had been standing there for three hours, even though it seemed like only a short time had passed.