Book 3, Chapter 21: Contact

The snake eye only showed up for a brief moment before moving further back. Then, a triangle appeared around the snake eye. Each corner contained a different text.

At the same time, rustling sounds echoed that reminded him of a slithery snake crawling around in a hole.

Chen Chuan took some time observing the triangle. The corner at the top contained the cult’s introduction, while the left and right corners provided purchase options and an FAQ about the different categories.

The categorizations are pretty clear, he thought.

Chen Chuan first checked the cult’s introduction.

The Secret Python Cult was formed in the old era. After the new era started, they quickly accepted all the new things while abandoning old traditions. They were also one of the cults who took an active role in becoming part of the upper-class.

It was because of this that they weren’t branded as an evil cult, unlike the other conservative cults. Those could only exist while hiding in the shadows in the present day.

The Secret Python Cult wasn’t a tightly-knit group. They had a lax structure and didn’t have a lot of restrictions on the members who weren’t core members. They were more akin to a company disguising itself as a cult.

The average person only needed to register on their portal and pay an annual fee to become a member. They would then be able to claim that they were Secret Python Cult members and purchase cheap services from the cult.

Since the Secret Python Cult only provided an internal trading platform to most of its external members, they didn’t impose any requirements or restrictions. That was why they didn’t take revenge for any of its external members either if anything happened to them. Of course, if they were willing to pay, that was another story.

The introduction was brief, so Chen Chuan skimmed through it before turning to the purchase option.

There were quite a lot of items here. Aside from selling some of the implants they developed, they also offered private martial arts training and guidance. They even provided services on foundation strengthening, which was what Chen Chuan was looking for.

But the price was insane. It was even higher than what the lecturers of Martial Valor University asked for, though the Secret Python Cult did offer some other unique services.

The difference between them was that the Secret Python Cult didn’t just accept cash. They also accepted other methods of payment, such as offers to become subjects of the cult’s implant experiments or participating and completing the cult’s missions.

Chen Chuan tried looking into the missions, but he needed to pay a deposit to be able to check the details. He also had to talk about it with whoever the cult would assign to him as a contact. The details wouldn’t be listed on the portal itself, so Chen Chuan skipped it for the time being.

As he continued searching, he found that the Secret Python Cult was purchasing certain unique items. If he could find them, the cult would pay him or provide him with a service he wanted. A picture of the items they wanted was attached at the end.

None of them had their names listed, so Chen Chuan couldn’t tell what they were, but some of them seemed to be some sort of unique mutated tissue. However, a certain item caught his attention for a while.

He had seen it before.

It was something resembling shattered tiles. Their dark red color seemed to be glowing. If he wasn’t mistaken, this was the same item he and Ren Xiaotian had retrieved from Smoked Hills.

He wasn’t expecting the Secret Python Cult to be in need of the tiles, and the price they offered was much higher than he would have thought. However, if he wanted a service from them, he would need a lot of tiles.

Chen Chuan pondered over the possibility of doing this and decided to keep it as a backup-plan.

After reading through all the other services, he found a special category: The martial artists in the cult could participate in a program, which paid in cash and offered discounts to their other services.

Chen Chuan checked the details and found that the cult had their own biological cultivation site. They were using it to cultivate a water snake with special effects. Water snakes needed to be exposed to martial artists for a period of time, but it was pretty dangerous, so the participants had to sign a liability waiver before joining.

After reading through the contents and mulling over the details, Chen Chuan decided to file this away as another one of his backup-plans.

Once he finished browsing, he exited the portal. Even though he didn’t find what he wanted, he didn’t come out of it with nothing. He may not have found anything, but it was a good information portal.

While Chen Chuan’s goal was to reach the Third Limit, he didn’t believe that he should rush it. At times like these, the hastier one was, the more likely it was that they would end up ruining things. There were also certain situations that would only come to light after the semester started.

As for Wu Ruo, after some careful consideration, Chen Chuan sent him another message.

Chen Chuan: Thank you for telling me all those things, Mr. Wu. I really appreciate it. But after thinking through everything carefully, I believe that I’m not suited to learn Void Training. I’m afraid I’ll have to reject your offer.

***

After Wu Ruo parted ways with Chen Chuan, he returned to his house and felt pleased with how he had acted during the conversation.

He knew students like him too well. Civilian students who came from other cities were always shocked after seeing all the unfamiliar things in Central City.

Then, they had to face the omnipresent, unseen boundaries that divided the rich and the poor, along with the exorbitantly priced services. This made them feel lost and distressed.

Even if Chen Chuan appeared calm and mature, Wu Ruo was sure that he was feeling ill at ease. His words had been filled with half-truths as well, so they would drive the youth’s anxiety levels to the max. Before long, he would contact Wu Ruo.

While he was changing, his Realm Pass notified him that someone had messaged him, and he smiled. His expression changed the moment he read through the message. His face twisted into a savage, terrifying mask, and even his fingers trembled.

He couldn’t understand it. He had made things so clear, so how could Chen Chuan still reject his offer? Wasn’t he worried about the parties with vested interests targeting him? Or did he intend to walk down that path? Did he perhaps have some sort of background Wu Ruo knew nothing about?

He couldn’t understand it, but since he had finally found a suitable target, he didn’t want to give up just yet.

If he couldn’t convince Chen Chuan to do as he said, it was time for Plan B.

Wu Ruo’s expression calmed down, and he checked the calendar. There was a little over ten days before the new semester started. He still had time.

“You’ll return to the right path,” he mumbled to himself.

***

Over the next few days, Chen Chuan trained in his room.

Wu Bei was sorting out the mission information he took from Gold Prawn. Since Gold Prawn had not set up a separate folder for the anomalous-event missions and just lumped them together with the other missions, he needed some time to organize them.

Even so, Chen Chuan didn’t intend to jump into his next mission right away. Gold Prawn had just been taken out. If someone immediately stepped forward to lay claim to the anomalous-event missions, people would quickly connect them to Gold Prawn’s destruction, even if there wasn’t any evidence. That was why Chen Chuan intended to wait for a while before doing anything.

On the second day off of the month, he called his family. He had been thinking about calling Cheng Zitong as well, but Cheng Zitong called him first.

“How are you, Xiao Chuan? You’ve been in Central City for some time now. Have you gotten used to things there yet?”

“I’ve gotten comfortable with life here, but the prices in Central City are quite high. I also need to buy the courses I’d like to take. It looks like I’m going to be spending a lot of money from now on,” Chen Chuan answered.

“That’s how it is and why I told you to save up money before going, or you wouldn’t have enough in Central City. If you’re ever short of it, tell me. I’ll think of something for you,” Cheng Zitong said.

“Thank you, Mr. Cheng. By the way, I heard of some things. It seems like the situation in the main campus is quite complicated,” Chen Chuan said after some thinking.

Cheng Zitong chuckled at that. “I do know some things about the main campus’ current situation. Keep calm and maintain your composure, Xiao Chuan. Don’t believe in the rumors. You can form your own judgment after the semester starts.”

Chen Chuan felt slightly moved, and he nodded. “Got it, Mr. Cheng.”

“I’m not worried about you, so trust yourself. But if you’re in trouble, call me.”

“Okay.”

After Chen Chuan hung up, he returned to his daily training. The day went by. After he had dinner, he intended to check the news from the niche channel when he received a call from Wu Ruo.

Chen Chuan considered it briefly before answering. “How may I help you, Mr. Wu?”

“Chen Chuan, I’d like to meet you again,” Wu Ruo said.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Wu, but I’ve already made myself clear. I don’t intend to learn Void Training from you,” Chen Chuan insisted.

Wu Ruo sounded quite dejected when he spoke next. “No. It’s not because of that. I respect your decision, but I’m going to have to leave when the new semester starts. There are certain things that I won’t be bringing with me anymore, since it’d be pointless for me to do so. That’s why I’d like to hand them over to you.

“Some of it is medicine for students like you, while some are summaries of my lectures and experiences. They’re all my life’s hard work. Even though you don’t intend to practice what I can teach, I believe that you’re the most promising student I’ve ever met. That’s why I’d like to leave everything to you.”

Chen Chuan was silent for a while before he asked, “Where should I meet you, Mr. Wu?”

“I’ll send the address to you. Let’s meet at 8 p.m.. I hope to see you then.”

“Alright. I’ll be there.”

After Chen Chuan ended the call, he thought about it. He had checked Wu Ruo’s information and knew that he was a Third Limit martial artist. Even if he could no longer stay as a lecturer in the main campus, he wouldn’t have as tragic a fate as he was making it out to be.

Also, there was reason to suspect the address Wu Ruo sent.

Chen Chuan went to the map on his table and checked it. At the same time, he contacted Wu Bei. “Wu Bei, could you check this place for me?”

“Sure thing,” Wu Bei agreed readily.

Soon, Wu Bei sent the map of the place to him. It was an empty space at the edge of Roaring Victory District. It was deserted, with almost no houses around. Only one wooden, two-story house stood on a hill, which was where Wu Ruo wanted to meet him.

The moment Chen Chuan saw the place, his instincts told him that Wu Ruo intended to fight him. He had no idea why it felt like it or why Wu Ruo would do that, but he was certain the lecturer was going to attack him.

Still, he intended to meet Wu Ruo.

If his instincts proved true and he didn’t go, Wu Ruo was definitely going to come for him at another time. If a Third Limit martial artist harbored malicious intent and attacked from the shadows, it would be very hard to fend against them. Instead of avoiding such a person, it would be better to face them head-on.

Chen Chuan took a look at the Frost King Saber. It hadn’t been hard to kill Jing Li’s group, so he was still a little off the twenty-four-hour mark.

With this, he might just reach his goal.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep