Book 3, Chapter 32: Lost

When Gong Zhanyi saw the Resolution Department walking over, he returned to his car and let his manager talk to them.

After waiting for around ten minutes, the manager got into the car and said, “They did come for Xiongjian Yi. I’ve told them that we don’t know how a criminal snuck in among us, which is why we killed him after realizing who he was.”

“If you’ve already offered them an explanation, that’s enough. Let’s continue with our trip.”

A few minutes after the motorcade resumed its journey, Gong Zhanyi asked, “Who killed Xiongjian Yi?”

The manager was checking something on his Realm Pass and only replied a moment later. “Zuo San. He’s the one who shot Xiongjian Yi in the head.”

“Good. As long as it’s our man who killed him, it’s fine. Xiongjian Yi’s death isn’t a bad thing. Now, they shouldn’t continue watching us,” Gong Zhanyi said and relaxed.

“The Resolution Department might still observe us. They told me just now that while we did kill Xiongjian Yi, we’re also under suspicion for trying to murder their team member. They want to hold us accountable for it,” the manager stated.

Gong Zhanyi pondered over this before saying, “Give the Resolution Department some compensation and keep it under wraps. I don’t want them to use this as an excuse to keep an eye on us. Negotiate with them later.”

“Understood,” the manager answered respectfully.

***

Ni Qianqian soon received news about Xiongjian Yi’s death and immediately contacted the headquarters. In a smug voice, she said, “Chen Chuan completed his task successfully. Well? I told you that he could do it.”

“Take a look at this first,” her superior said.

Ni Qianqian took a look at the picture sent to her. It was an empty bottle with a label saying that it was potent medicine that could grant a sudden, explosive boost of power. Shocked, she exclaimed, “Did he…”

“Yes. He took them all.”

“But he seems fine!” Ni Qianqian continued, surprised.

“Even if he seems fine, that just shows that his body can adapt to the medicine, but that’s not a good thing. He might be fine for a time, but that doesn’t mean that he’s going to be fine in the future. You have to warn him to be careful and stop pushing himself so hard.”

“Oh ho? Are the pigs flying? Is that concern I hear for the newbie?”

“He fought while risking his own life, which means that he has already accepted us as his colleagues. We have to accept him too and take care of him,” her superior stated grimly.

“So… Does this mean that he passed the test?” Ni Qianqian asked.

“Even though I didn’t see his performance due to the domain interference, based on the results, he’s outstanding.”

Ni Qianqian hummed in satisfaction. “I told you that he’s better than the other two students we’re sponsoring, but you refused to believe me. We should focus our resources on him. The other two didn’t perform as excellently.”

Her superior didn’t continue the conversation. “Tell him what’s going to happen next. Let’s end the call here.”

***

After leaving the manor, Chen Chuan took some time recalling the fight.

In terms of strength, Xiongjian Yi couldn’t compare to Wu Ruo, probably because he had only recently become a Third Limit martial artist. Because of this, once Chen Chuan unleashed his full strength, he could kill the man in just a few attacks.

However, Chen Chuan had sensed something strange during the fight—Xiongjian Yi had seemed injured and unable to fight at full strength. Xiongjian Yi would have lost even if he was at his best, but he would have been able to counterattack at least once.

Herein lay the problem: Usual injuries didn’t affect Third Limit martial artists. Even if Xiongjian Yi had just become one, the same logic applied to him. The injury had to be of certain severity to affect his fighting strength.

But Xiongjian Yi appeared fine. Was it an internal injury? Or was it related to the thing that caused his second self to blur out at the end?

While thinking, Chen Chuan heard a beep and noticed that his Realm Pass was working again. He had to have walked out of the area of interference. Wu Bei and Ni Qianqian were trying to contact him.

He first fired a message to Wu Bei telling him that he was fine before answering Ni Qianqian’s call.

“I knew you could do it! You managed to kill Xiongjian Yi in a second! You did great!” Ni Qianqian praised him.

“The Gong family was the one who killed him in the end,” Chen Chuan mentioned.

“I know. They fired that shot to cut ties with him as quickly as possible, but they also fired at you, didn’t they? Just wait, the Resolution Department is going to hold them accountable for this. By the way, I’m going to send you a document. Remember to accept it,” Ni Qianqian said.

Chen Chuan saw a document sent his way. It stated that the target of the operation was killed, and his name was listed as the one involved in the operation. All he needed to do was confirm it.

Once he did that, he received a notification telling him that he had completed his task. He was requested to go back to wait for further orders and to get debriefed later.

“Alright. You don’t need to read the rest. It’s just telling you about what’s going to happen based on protocol. You don’t have to care about wrapping up the operation either. That’s for us to do. By the way, didn’t we recommend a few lecturers to teach you techniques? Have you picked one?” Ni Qianqian asked.

“I’ll do it today,” Chen Chuan answered.

The university gave him three days to pick a lecturer to help him improve upon his saber technique, and today was the last day. Chen Chuan had actually considered this carefully before the operation and had already decided upon which lecturer to choose.

“Good. I’ll leave that to you. Also, if you’re free over the next few days, go to this place,” Ni Qianqian said and sent him an address.

“This is the lecturer we’ve assigned for you. He will guide you on how to train in all aspects. You should focus on getting to the Third Limit as soon as possible. Even if your body can handle the effects of the medicine, you shouldn’t rely on it alone.”

Chen Chuan thanked her and ended the call. The Resolution Department had seen the empty bottle of medicine he had intentionally left behind. This gave them a logical explanation for his strength.

Still, he had a feeling that Xiongjian Yi’s case was not as simple as it seemed, especially in one certain aspect.

While he was mulling over it, a familiar SUV appeared in front of him, and the window wound down so that Qi Gao could greet him. “Chen Chuan, Wu Bei sent me to pick you up.”

“Thanks, Wu Bei.” Chen Chuan immediately contacted Wu Bei to express his gratitude.

Wu Bei giggled. Due to the domain interference, he hadn’t been able to watch the fight or fight the technician, so he felt a little disappointed. Yet once he remembered that he was going to continue working with Chen Chuan and would have plenty of chances to do that in the future, he perked up again.

Once Chen Chuan got into the SUV, he thanked Qi Gao as well.

“You don’t have to thank me,” Qi Gao only said before starting the SUV and driving to Martial Order District.

“Your daughter has started school, hasn’t she?” Chen Chuan asked.

“She has. It’s all thanks to you giving me some money that I was able to pay her tuition fees on time.” Qi Gao beamed at that.

“Good.”

Chen Chuan then checked his Realm Pass and went to the campus portal to locate a certain lecturer. He was one of the people the Resolution Department had recommended to him.

Chen Chuan sent a voice message over. “Mr. Zheng? I’m Chen Chuan, and I would like to learn how to wield the saber from you.”

Soon, he heard boisterous laughter.

“I heard that you completed an operation from the department all by yourself today. That’s good! You did great! Saber-wielders like us need this sort of courage. I’ll take you in and won’t hold anything back. I hope you’ll be able to pick up my techniques as soon as possible.”

Chen Chuan relaxed and immediately confirmed that he was going to study under Mr. Zheng on the campus portal. Then, he asked, “When would you be free, Mr. Zheng?”

“If you’re free now, you can come… Wait, you just finished an operation. Maybe not today. Rest first, and I’ll send you a demo instead. You can study it for now,” Mr. Zheng said.

“Alright. Thank you, Mr. Zheng,” Chen Chuan answered.

The Resolution Department had recommended four lecturers for him. When Chen Chuan read their introductions, he found that the other lecturers all displayed all sorts of advanced techniques, while Mr. Zheng showed off a single slash at the Realm Pass.

That one slash made it feel as if the blade had cut through the Realm Pass and come straight for him. Chen Chuan had even wanted to dodge it. The urge did not disappear no matter how many times he watched the introduction.

As for the other three, he didn’t feel that sense of threat, which was why he had decided to pick Mr. Zheng. Regardless of whether the other three were as good, at the very least, Mr. Zheng had been willing to show it.

Chen Chuan took a look at the demo Mr. Zheng sent him and found that it came with the university’s emblem.

Now then, I think that’s how I use this…

***

The Gong family’s motorcade stopped before the Ferris Wheel.

Gong Zhanyi’s furious voice filled up the luxurious lounge. “What? It’s not there?”

He turned to the manager. “What’s going on? How could it not be there? That thing had been with Xiongjian Yi. If we killed him, then it should have come with us. It couldn’t have run away on its own!”

They had done a lot of work in order to avoid Central City’s eyes and even used Xiongjian Yi as a carrier to make sure they could bring that thing inside. This was a crucial step. Without that thing, they would be unable to do many things.

“Could it have latched onto that Resolution Department member?” the manager asked.

“Impossible! Xiongjian Yi wasn’t dead back then. How could the thing go to him?” Gong Zhanyi retorted.

After some thinking, the manager said, “After we left the cruise ship, Xiongjian Yi met up with Wei Wusheng, his senior brother from the Heavenly Pardon Sect. Could something have happened during that time?”

“The Heavenly Pardon Sect…” Gong Zhanyi scowled. This was likely where the problem had arisen.

“Look into him, and be careful. Don’t let any information about this leak,” he growled.

***

After returning to the Arcane Palace, Chen Chuan said goodbye to Qi Gao and went back to his room. He took a shower before going to his private training room. Through the Realm Pass, he stared at the emblem.

Soon, Hongfu’s voice entered his ears. “Chen Chuan, this is a teaching demonstration. Based on your assessment points, you can assess the demonstration for an hour every day. Would you like to use that hour now?”

“Yes,” Chen Chuan replied.

Then, he saw Mr. Zheng before him demonstrating his saber techniques. The hologram looked so real, it was as if Mr. Zheng was there himself.

Chen Chuan nodded. This sort of demonstration was much more intuitive than pictures. Even if Mr. Zheng was not around, Chen Chuan could observe the changes of strength and rhythm based on the demonstration alone.

With the Frost King Saber in hand, he went to the side to begin practicing. Right after he drew his saber a little out of its sheath, the hologram flickered, as if it was experiencing some sort of interference.

Chen Chuan reacted quickly and pushed the saber back. The flickering hologram became normal again.

Taking a moment to sense his saber, he found that something had attached itself to the blade. It appeared the moment Xiongjian Yi died.

What was it?

He drew his saber out slowly.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep