Book 3, Chapter 106: Tournament

Chen Chuan waited for Mr. Ding’s reply for a while before the man asked, “Is it to ask about the Third Limit?”

“Yes,” Chen Chuan replied.

“The young master said that if you have any questions, you can come to Motie Mountain for a cup of tea,” Mr. Ding replied.

Chen Chuan nodded and said, “Alright. I’ll come over right now.”

A little over an hour later, Chen Chuan arrived at Cao Guiqi’s manor.

It had been raining over the past few days. When Chen Chuan arrived, it had just stopped raining, and the sun shone on the land again. The sky was clear and blue, as if it had been washed. Only a few clouds could be seen on the horizon.

As the sun shone on the flowers and plants in the courtyard, a refreshing breeze blew at Chen Chuan. The water droplets on the branches fell on the moist soil, bringing about the refreshing smell of grass and wood.

Chen Chuan sat down in front of a sandalwood table. Before him was a jade teacup that released wisps of hot steam. He could see the green tea leaves in the water.

Cao Guiqi sat across from him dressed in the clothes of the people in the old era. This time, he wore a loose, light-green robe, and his hair was pinned in a bun using a jade-white hair stick. “Almost two months have passed. You should be about to reach the Third Limit. Tell me, what sort of problems have you encountered?”

“I can sense that I’m at the edge of reaching my breakthrough. If I wanted to, I could take that final step, but I feel like there’s still something missing,” Chen Chuan said.

“You’re trying to reach the Third Limit through the old era’s method, so your body and mind must become one. Your mind has to be in control of your entire being. It’s only when your mind is perfected that you will be able to take that final step.

“If you have a feeling that something is missing, it means that your body is ready, but your mind hasn’t fully merged with your body.

“There must be something you subconsciously want to do, but haven’t been able to achieve. It’s tying your mind down, so it’s only after you accomplish it that your mind will be able to evolve.

“This is a good thing, because most people have a hard time noticing this discordance. Then, they take that final step rashly and impatiently without being fully prepared. They even feel proud of themselves for being able to take that final step so easily, but unbeknownst to them, it is a mistake that will require a lot of time to correct in the future. Some people are even unable to correct it at all. They had doomed themselves with that one wrong step.”

Chen Chuan pondered over it before nodding. “Thank you for telling me this, Senior Cao. I believe I understand now.”

Cao Guiqi grunted. “Since you’re here, have a cup of tea before leaving. This orange tea might not be as refreshing and sweet as the new tea in the market, but it’s rich and thick. You’ll find yourself thinking back on its taste for much longer, and it can also help you calm down.”

Chen Chuan thanked him and took a sip of the tea. A rich sweetness filled his mouth. It blended with the aroma of the grass and plants around them and made his wandering thoughts settle down. At that moment, the seamless connection between him and the world around him became strikingly clear.

As he sat in his seat quietly, Chen Chuan watched the swaying branches and plants outside while immersing himself in the rhythm of nature.

He sat there for a long time while drinking a few cups of tea. When dark clouds drifted over to cover the sun again, Mr. Ding came over and said, “Young Master, it’s going to rain soon. I believe it’s going to pour this time.”

“I won’t be keeping you any longer with me, Chen Chuan. You should go back now,” Cao Guiqi said.

Chen Chuan stood up and bowed to Cao Guiqi. “Goodbye, Senior Cao. Thank you for your guidance.”

Then, he left with Mr. Ding.

Cao Guiqi picked up his teacup again and enjoyed the tea as he stared at the sky. His gaze drifted into the distance, as if he was reflecting on the past but also looking forward to the future.

***

Chen Chuan left the manor. Once he realized that the feeling he had wasn’t actually a problem in his process to reach the Third Limit but just some unfinished business, he made up his mind.

He actually had quite a number of things he wanted to do but hadn’t been able to, but there was only one recent event that could possibly have this much of an impact on him.

It was time to get it done, then.

When he reached his car, a raindrop fell on his cheek. It felt cool and exceptionally refreshing.

Chen Chuan looked up. The sky was covered in dark clouds, even though the sun had been shining brightly just a moment ago.

He opened the car door, got inside, shut it, and fastened his seatbelt. During this brief period, fat drops of rain fell down. In just a few breaths, the rain became heavy.

As raindrops fell down like a waterfall, Chen Chuan started driving. The two headlights pierced through the curtain of rain. Then, his car slowly left the courtyard.

Chen Chuan used his Realm Pass to retrieve Wei Wusheng’s criminal record from the Resolution Department.

In just a few days, the department had been able to locate the place where the Pei brothers were killed. Since Chen Chuan had been busy with training over these days, he didn’t pay any attention to it, but now that he saw it, he was quite surprised.

It was the street with the hotel.

That made Chen Chuan think. When did Wei Wusheng appear there?

Before or after he killed the supernatural being?

As he thought about it, he felt that it was likely before, because few people approached places where supernatural beings resided. Due to their interference, a lot of information couldn’t be transmitted normally, so such places were the perfect hiding spots.

If that were the case, Wei Wusheng might have been in one of the buildings nearby on the day Chen Chuan went to kill the supernatural being.

While he was thinking about it, a car suddenly charged past him at a high speed and caused a large amount of water to splash against Chen Chuan’s window. It turned blurry, but with a brush of the wind wipers, the water was swept aside.

Chen Chuan took a look. With his keen senses, he could see the speeding car’s license plate number clearly, despite a curtain of rain standing between them for more than one hundred meters. He immediately reported the speeding car’s license plate number to the Public Security Department.

Amid the pouring rain, he returned to the Arcane Palace and took the elevator to the forty-ninth floor. When he opened the door, he heard a chirp.

Looking over, he saw the tiny Bird Reptile peeking out of its comfy nest made of wicker twigs and silken feathered fabric and chirping at him. It even spread its wings at Chen Chuan, as if it was greeting him.

The Bird Reptile was growing rapidly. Only a little over ten days had passed, but it had grown a lot and appeared much prettier than when it was just born. Its feathers were made of a wide variety of colors. Of course, its appetite had also become much bigger.

Since it would let out a pleasant chirp every morning in the direction of the sun when it started rising, Chen Chuan named it Dawncall.

Zuo Handan said that it was a failed product and was useless aside from being nice to look at, but Chen Chuan noticed that while he couldn’t say anything about its other aspects just yet, Dawncall was pretty intelligent.

The most obvious display of its intelligence was recognizing right away that Dawncall was its name. Whenever Chen Chuan called out to it, it would respond to him. It would also stay quietly in a corner while Chen Chuan carried out his daily training, while when Chen Chuan prepared food for it, it would remove the packaging by itself.

When it was time for Chen Chuan to relax, it would start flying around and chirping. Whenever Chen Chuan moved about, it would chirp at him to remind him of its existence.

Chen Chuan went over and played with it for a while before filling the water bowl in its nest with fresh water.

While he was doing all this, he thought about where Wei Wusheng would show up next. He didn’t think that he would be successful if he tried to look for Wei Wusheng. It would be better to create chances for Wei Wusheng to look for him instead.

Chen Chuan believed that Wei Wusheng would come find him once he learned that Chen Chuan wanted to see him so that they could continue their battle that got interrupted on the ship.

After giving Dawncall fresh water and new nutritional fluid, Chen Chuan patted its smooth feathers before turning to the window. He could see a bright pillar of light shooting into the sky in the distance.

That was where the tournament was being held. All sorts of advertisements and the live broadcast were played on the pillar of light. Even when he stood in his room, he felt as if he could hear the noise coming from there.

He put a hand on his Realm Pass and sent a message to Tan Zhi.

Chen Chuan: Have you three been watching the tournament lately?

Tan Zhi soon contacted him.

“Of course we have. I’m going there every day this month. I have to tell you, the matches are really exciting since the participants are quite tough. Even though we’re only midway through the tournament and aren’t even at the final part, the main participants for the final brackets have already been decided. The most intense elimination rounds are going to be held over the next two days. Why the sudden question? Do you want to come?”

“Yeah. My progress has slowed down a little, so I’m thinking about taking some time to take a look,” Chen Chuan said.

“Even if it has slowed down, you shouldn’t panic. Your body might just be adjusting itself. You can come out to relax. Why don’t we go together tomorrow? We can take the bus prepared by the university. It’ll be safer that way,” Tan Zhi comforted him immediately the moment he heard what Chen Chuan said.

“Is it to guard against Wei Wusheng?” Chen Chuan asked.

“Yeah. I thought that the Pei brothers were strong, but Wei Wusheng managed to kill them. Seriously, they didn’t live up to their fame at all. I’m not putting my hopes on the other bounty hunters anymore,” Tan Zhi said with a sigh.

I don’t think the Pei brothers were weak. They might have been able to kill a normal Third Limit martial artist, but Wei Wusheng was just out of their league, Chen Chuan thought.

“Now, aside from the university, the tournament arena is the safest place in the city. The strongest security guards in Central City are all gathered here. Forget Wei Wusheng, even security teams from big companies wouldn’t be able to break through the defenses. I heard that some of the passengers on Rhinoceros’ Horn have decided to stay near the place,” Tan Zhi said.

“Alright. I’ll go with you tomorrow,” Chen Chuan said with a nod. After talking to him for a little while longer and agreeing on the time, he ended the call.

The next day, Chen Chuan woke up early in the morning, cleaned up a little, and when he saw that it was almost time, he left the Arcane Palace. He headed to the bus parked in front of the university.

When Tan Zhi saw him, he waved, and Chen Chuan returned the greeting while contacting Wu Bei. “Don’t hide my tracks over the next few days. If anyone looks into me, just take note of where they are. Don’t alert them of your presence, though.”

Wu Bei immediately replied, “Got it.”

Excitement thrummed through his body, because after working with Chen Chuan so many times, he had a feeling that something big was going to happen.

Once Chen Chuan boarded the bus, he sat down beside Tan Zhi. In no time, all the students going to watch the tournament arrived. The door slid shut, and they headed to the arena.

Since there were plenty of cars on the road, the bus moved slowly. They only reached the arena twenty minutes later. It was a large, ring-shaped building that could house ninety thousand people. Due to the existence of Realm Passes, even those further away from the ring could see everything clearly.

There were also a lot of spectators outside. They could only watch the matches if they were within a certain distance of the building, so most of the spectators who couldn’t get in gathered in the surrounding area.

The apartments, hotels, shops, parks, and roofs of the office buildings were packed with people, while the roads were full of cars from the City Patrol and the Public Security Department. When they saw the university’s bus, a few motorbikes came forward to guide it forward. The bus followed them to the parking lot.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep