Book 3, Chapter 34: Oceanview Hall

Upon hearing what Cao Guiqi said, Chen Chuan went along with the flow. “Senior Cao.”

“Good. I’ve read your file. You only have a 35% chance of reaching the Third Limit, but that’s based on your hard work alone. With other resources, it’ll be a different matter.

“Since you’ve signed the contract for the assistance program, you can apply for a Radiant Light session once a month to strengthen your tendons and muscles. You can also take Tiancong Baicao’s Treasure Paste once a month to strengthen your organs.

“There are limited slots for the Radiant Light sessions, and they’re all in the mega corporations and government departments’ hands. Martial Valor University, too, has some slots. That’s why, even if you have money, as long as you’re applying by yourself, you won’t ever get it.

“If the chance arises for you to apply for a Radiant Light session through Martial Valor University, go for it, even though you’ve only just joined the main campus. That way, you’ll get another chance to go for a session every month.

“I can also recommend you to go once.”

He gave Chen Chuan a look and continued coolly, “Don’t be surprised. This chance was supposed to be mine, but I can’t use it anymore. Otherwise, the Resolution Department wouldn’t have recommended that I teach you.

“There’s no secret to reaching the Third Limit. It’s all a matter of how much resources you pour into yourself. No matter how much I teach you or how many tips I give you, they don’t hold a candle before actual resources.

“But you need to fulfill one condition before I give you those resources: Your mutated tissue must be able to grow.

“Still, I’m not worried about that. I’ve checked your file. It’s impossible for you to have reached that level of growth at your age without talent.”

Chen Chuan, though, knew that he wasn’t actually naturally gifted. After fusing with his second self, the speed at which his mutated tissue grew should have increased, so he also wasn’t worried about reaching the limit of his growth.

Just then, they heard a pleasant chime outside. The butler who had picked Chen Chuan up came in and whispered into Cao Guiqi’s ear.

Cao Guiqi turned to him. “I’ve made a reservation at Oceanview Hall, so you can go through a Radiant Light session today. If you want, we can go right now. If you’re unavailable, you’ll have two more chances, one at the middle of the month, and the other at the end of the month. Before making the reservation, I’ll tell Mr. Ding to notify you.”

“I can go right now,” Chen Chuan said decisively.

“Alright. Get the car ready, Mr. Ding,” Cao Guiqi ordered.

Ten minutes later, Chen Chuan got into an armored, elongated, silver Valiant Duke with Cao Guiqi. They left Motie Mountain, got up a flyover, and headed north.

A little over an hour later, the limousine arrived at the northeast part of Oceanway District.

Chen Chuan looked outside. The buildings beside the flyover were dwindling in number, and only sentry posts resembling towers stood beyond it. Occasional patrol cars passed them on the road. Whenever they did, he saw a never-ending weave of fine, net-like threads, as if they had the entire region under tight security.

After they left the flyover, they drove on the main road for another ten minutes before reaching their destination.

Before them stood a gray building with no windows, and it was also the only building within a several kilometer area. It resembled a wide, upside-down trapezoid that stood alone under the sky.

Chen Chuan’s Realm Pass suddenly turned dark, and he could no longer sense anything else.

“This place is under constant domain interference. You won’t be able to use your Realm Pass here. But you’ll only be reminded of that fact while going in and coming out. When you’re undergoing the Radiant Light session, you won’t have the time nor energy to think about anything else,” Cao Guiqi pointed out.

Chen Chuan nodded.

On the way, Cao Guiqi had told him that he might have a hard time during his first Radiant Light Session. He would experience something similar to when he first practiced his breathing technique. The pain and discomfort would be doubled.

The limousine came to a stop in the square outside. Mr. Ding went in first to speak to the people inside. Then, they got out of the car. With two armed security guards following them, they entered the building, and a stern-looking manager received them.

The manager brought them to the receptionist’s desk. He then verified Cao Guiqi’s ID and asked Chen Chuan and Cao Guiqi to sign a confirmation form. When they were done, a medical staff member who had been waiting by the side asked, “Would you like an injection?”

Cao Guiqi turned to Chen Chuan.

Chen Chuan had just learned that people were usually unable to bear the pain from the Radiant Light sessions, so they often took some painkillers before the sessions.

Even though this might lead to a weaker effect, it was a fact that the longer they were exposed to the light, the better the effects would be. If they left because they couldn’t withstand the pain, it would be a greater waste.

With everyone’s eyes on him, Chen Chuan answered firmly, “No.”

The people beside him cast a few glances at him before exchanging looks. They appeared to be pitying him while also enjoying a bit of schadenfreude.

The manager checked his watch and said, “It’s 4:30 p.m. now. We need ten minutes to reach the place, and you’ll have fifteen to twenty minutes to get ready. We’ll begin the session at 5 p.m. sharp and end at 6 p.m..

“Aside from the clothes you wear, some water, and food, you aren’t allowed to take anything that we didn’t provide inside. If you’re discovered to have violated the rules, we’ll immediately cut the session short.

“Also, if you can’t persist any longer, you must come out for your safety’s sake. Don’t push yourself.”

The manager turned to Cao Guiqi, though the latter only said to Chen Chuan, “I’ll be waiting for you outside.”

Chen Chuan nodded and took the water and tubes of nutritional paste Cao Guiqi had prepared for him. Then, he went inside with the manager. Once they exited the hall, they entered a long slope leading down. At the end of it was an elevator with armed security guards before it. Their footsteps created hollow echoes.

The manager didn’t say a single thing to Chen Chuan. After showing the security guard his work ID, he brought Chen Chuan into the elevator. The floor number display showed a negative one, and the number kept going down until negative twenty.

Once the elevator doors opened, the manager walked out, followed by Chen Chuan. Glass walls stood on both sides. Through them, he saw deep blue seawater and vague outlines of creatures swimming inside it.

There was a glass pillar in the center that connected the ceiling and the floor. Its middle section was rather thin, reminding Chen Chuan of connected stalagmites and stalactites in limestone caves.

The manager went to the pillar and opened a sliding door before turning to the side and saying, “There’s a striking pad on the door. If you need to leave, knock on it. There will be medical staff waiting outside, ready to provide you with medical services at any moment. Please pay attention to your own condition.”

Chen Chuan gave the manager a nod before heading inside. Then, he heard the door closing behind him, and he began observing the place. It was a forty square meter space with a cushion in the middle. There was nothing else in the room.

Once he sat down on the cushion, he placed the things he brought by his side and recalled all the information Cao Guiqi had told him about the place on the way.

Radiant Light was produced by large deepsea lifeforms. Since they had great adaptability, after generations of cultivation, scientists had managed to make some who could survive for short periods of time in shallow waters.

If normal people were exposed to their light, they would experience all sorts of negative symptoms, but martial artists found them beneficial.

The light could promote the mutated tissue to secrete impurities, thereby largely strengthening the bones, tendons, and their surrounding tissue.

However, these lifeforms could only swim in shallow waters for an hour or two a day. After that, they had to rest for a few days, which was why Radiant Light was so expensive and hard to get. The big companies and government had to keep pouring investments into the facilities to keep them running.

But Chen Chuan had a theory. If the government and big companies were willing to pour in so much money into these facilities, then these lifeforms had to have much more important uses. Strengthening martial artists was likely just an added bonus.

After a while, he heard someone knocking against the striking pads outside. It was a signal that the Radiant Light session was about to begin.

Blinding light suddenly shone through the glass walls around him. It was so bright that it seemed to want to engulf him whole.

He felt a prickling pain on his skin, and in just a moment, his entire body started turning numb and itchy. It was just as Cao Guiqi had said. The sensation was similar to when he first began practicing the breathing technique.

And this was just the beginning. Soon, the sensation grew more pronounced. All his mutated tissue, especially the ones on his bones and fascia, stirred awake, and all sorts of emotions rose in his heart.

Chen Chuan immediately had his second self absorb the pain and damage while he continued sitting on the cushion.

In the meantime, a medical team was waiting outside and checking their watches. Based on their experience, all martial artists were confident when going to their first Radiant Light session, but soon, they were unable to bear the discomfort and asked to be let out around fifteen minutes after the session started. They would then need to take a break before going back inside.

Then, at around the thirty-five- to forty-minute mark, they would come out again. At that point, they would accept reality. In order to not waste any more time, they would get a painkiller shot in order to complete the session.

When these martial artists came again, they had learned their lesson and asked for a painkiller shot straightaway so that they wouldn’t have to get tortured again. Even though the effects would be weaker, they would accept it after learning that most people did the same thing and feel completely at peace.

Of course, there were people who managed to endure it through their willpower and physical durability alone, but only a handful of people could do that. They hadn’t seen many such cases over the past few years.

The fifteen-minute mark was almost there, so the medical team started getting ready. Yet even a few minutes later, they didn’t hear any knocking. They were shocked and exchanged looks with each other. It seemed like this martial artist was pretty tough and had a stronger will compared to the ones in the past.

But while he could endure the discomfort in the beginning, it was only going to get stronger as time passed. The ones who came out got a break and could catch their breaths to ease the pain, but those who didn’t…

In any case, they didn’t look favorably on this martial artist.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep