Book 3, Chapter 39: Report

After eating the barbecued mutton, they rested for a while. At 1 p.m., Chen Chuan returned to the training ground.

Zheng Tongtong walked over as well. This time, she was holding a different saber, one made specifically for teaching. It still had a thick spine, but its blade was black, made of some unknown material. Chen Chuan could tell at a glance that it was really heavy.

Once Zheng Tongtong stood in front of Chen Chuan, she said, “This saber is really heavy. Careful now.”

Chen Chuan nodded.

Zheng Tongtong spun on her feet, and with the power brought by the spin, the saber came swinging at Chen Chuan sideways with a low whistle.

Chen Chuan immediately brought his saber up to block it in the move he had learned, but when their sabers collided, he noticed that the other saber was incredibly strong. The techniques he had learned wouldn’t be able to help him block it.

Since he couldn’t move, he instinctively used the mutated tissue that wouldn’t be utilized in negating refined force to block the attack.

But before the mutated tissue could generate the necessary power, the saber forced him to retreat. He felt as if he was about to be knocked off his feet. Even the Frost King Saber trembled.

Zheng Tongtong planted the tip of her saber on the floor before asking, “Can you continue?”

Chen Chuan exhaled and returned to his original position. “Yes. Again, please.”

Zheng Tongtong didn’t waste any time. She spun on her feet and delivered another swing. Again, Chen Chuan stumbled back, but this time, he felt as if he had caught onto how to block the attack.

When the third swing came, he only stumbled two steps back. At the fourth swing, only one foot was forced back. Then, at the fifth and sixth swings, he was able to remain in place, just like before.

At that moment, he realized that the refined force Mr. Zheng taught him was a basic framework. The mutated tissue he utilized was the general mutated tissue used for defense. Any changes he made during his parries used the same mutated tissue, with some extra added upon the foundation. As more mutated tissue participated in defense, Chen Chuan was gradually able to get used to and even parry Zheng Tongtong’s monstrously powerful swings.

This was thanks to the All-Encompassing Force giving him mutated tissue all over his body. Since the mutated tissue required for defense was already there, the moment he needed them, they could jump in to help, so it wasn’t difficult for him to parry the attacks.

Unlike him, people who lacked mutated tissue would need to go through special stimulation and adjustments. They would then be stuck for a time, while things were going smoothly for Chen Chuan.

Mr. Zheng hadn’t expected Chen Chuan to be able to adapt so quickly and nodded in approval. Chen Chuan’s foundation was indeed great, in the sense that he had mutated tissue covering his entire body. Mr. Zheng had taught a number of students before, and only a handful were able to get used to parrying as quickly as Chen Chuan did. Those students had been, without a doubt, naturally gifted.

It seemed like Chen Chuan was the same. But that made sense. Based on his file, Chen Chuan practiced the All-encompassing Force. Those who weren’t naturally gifted couldn’t have made a name for themselves after practicing such a refined force.

Zheng Tongtong sped up her attacks. Before, she had delivered her attacks one at a time so that Chen Chuan could get used to them. Now, she finally became serious. For a time, the training ground was filled with the howls of her saber cutting through the air, along with the sound of metal clashing against metal when Chen Chuan parried her attacks.

Mr. Zheng only ended the sparring session at 5 p.m..

By then, Chen Chuan could sense a soreness coming from the mutated tissue involved in parrying Zheng Tongtong’s refined force. Evidently, the repeated training had exhausted them. Even so, Chen Chuan remained full of energy, which he believed was due to the mutton he had eaten for lunch.

“That’s the end of today’s training. Drop by tomorrow again, Chen Chuan,” Mr. Zheng instructed.

“Got it,” Chen Chuan said. With his saber in hand, he gave Mr. Zheng an earnest fist-and-palm salute before doing the same to Zheng Tongtong.

“Thank you, Senior Zheng.”

Zheng Tongtong returned the salute before giving him a huge thumbs up. “You’re welcome, Chen Chuan. You’re amazing, you know?”

After saying goodbye to Mr. Zheng and Zheng Tongtong, Chen Chuan packed up his things and left Mr. Zheng’s house.

The sky was already turning dark as he walked back Central City’s streets. All sorts of light shows formed by ribbons of light assaulted his eyes, but since Chen Chuan had come out wearing the Realm Pass given by the Resolution Department, he could filter out most of the light shows.

When he got on the tram, he received a notification from the Resolution Department telling him that the emergency case had come to a close and he received a report of the entire incident.

After a quick read, Chen Chuan learned that the market attackers belonged to a mercenary team. They had left the country to go out on a mission and returned once finished to rest.

On their way back, they learned that even though they had occupied the target location, their main target had fled. Hence, according to the contract they signed, most of their payment would be deducted.

However, they had bought all of their equipment and defensive implants on a loan. If most of their payment was deducted, not only would they be unable to earn any money, but also all of them would be shackled with a massive amount of debt.

As mercenaries, they couldn’t accept it, so they decided to perform a massive heist.

Through an information channel, they learned that a barter shop had received several expensive items recently. They were small and popular, so they decided to rob the place.

The mercenaries split up into two teams. One of them went to the secondhand market, which was where the problems started. One of the team member’s names was carved on an implant. The mercenary leader had sent this team member to the rear because he was injured, but back then, he was definitely not so heavily injured that he was beyond saving.

After finding this team member’s implant in the market, that mercenary went berserk and threw a bomb. The owner of the shop fled through the exit staircase on the third floor, but they caught up to him on the second floor and shot him in the head.

This alerted the City Patrol guards, leading to their ambush going bust. Most of the mercenaries were captured by the City Patrol guards and Resolution Department members who arrived later, but one of the leaders was still on the run. As of now, he had a bounty on his head.

Since there were cases of criminals taking revenge on law enforcers, the Resolution Department asked Chen Chuan to be careful and wear protective gear when he went out.

Chen Chuan took note of the fugitive’s information before closing the report. By then, the tram had already arrived at the station. He went back to the Arcane Palace while the ever-changing light shows illuminated the street.

The next day, Chen Chuan left the campus about the same time and went to Mr. Zheng’s house to begin a brand new day of training.

This time, Zheng Tongtong didn’t use the heavy saber. Instead, she used a light saber that was as thin as a cicada’s wing.

The saber wasn’t made of metal but from the cartilage of some lifeform. Holes were drilled on the blade, and with an additional boost from a unique refined force, it could be swung at lightning speed.

Mr. Zheng taught Chen Chuan a set of moves that could quicken his speed of mobilizing refined force. Once he was familiar with it, he asked Zheng Tongtong to practice with him and told him to catch up to her speed.

He performed outstandingly once more. After just a day of training, he managed to catch up to Zheng Tongtong’s speed, and over the next few days, he kept sparring with Zheng Tongtong while she switched between the two sabers.

After his training finished on the ninth day, Mr. Zheng said, “It’s a day off tomorrow. Go back and rest. Let all the training sink in. When it comes to practicing techniques, martial artists don’t have to be so tense about it. Go and relax. We’ll proceed to the next stage the day after tomorrow.”

“Alright,” Chen Chuan answered. He had a feeling that while he was just undergoing basic training, he had improved by leaps and bounds.

Once he said goodbye to Mr. Zheng and Zheng Tongtong, he headed back to the university.

Today happened to be the day he had agreed to go on the one-day cruise with Tan Zhi; they were supposed to leave in the evening. Hence, after returning to his room and taking a shower, Chen Chuan started packing up.

This time, he changed into one of his university uniforms while putting on protective gear underneath. He intended to bring the Frost King Saber along with Lightning Shock.

Chen Chuan had asked beforehand. He could bring his weapons, and he wasn’t the only one who would do it. All the Martial Valor University students would bring theirs. After all, they were martial artists. Once they learned how to fight, they knew how destructive martial artists were, so they were not going to leave their safety in someone else’s hands.

Right after Chen Chuan finished packing, Tan Zhi sent a message.

Tan Zhi: How’s it going, Chen Chuan? We’re about to leave. Are you ready?

Chen Chuan: I can leave whenever.

Tan Zhi: Good. Come on down. We’re leaving right now!

With his things in hand, Chen Chuan took the elevator downstairs. When he arrived at the square, Tan Zhi was waving at him from a convertible.

“Get in!”

Chen Chuan went over and opened the car door before getting into the front passenger seat. Tan Zhi waited for him to fasten his seatbelt before stepping on the accelerator, and the convertible shot forward.

In an instant, their hair and clothes started fluttering along the wind. The spring wind in February was really cold, but since they were martial artists, they just found it refreshing.

Tan Zhi drove with one hand and looked completely relaxed as he asked, “The university must have set up your exam scope, right? Have you picked a suitable lecturer for yourself?”

“I found one already,” Chen Chuan replied.

“Having the Resolution Department supporting you makes things so easy. The company sponsoring me is medium-sized, but they don’t impose strict rules on me as compared to those big companies. I’m going to have a lot more freedom in the future.

“By the way, I don’t think you know this yet, but the upperclassman who organized this event is sponsored by Azure Dragon. They have a lot of maritime operations, and once we’re out in the ocean, we’ll be in Senior Sun’s home turf, though we won’t be too far away from the shore. This is to make sure that even if we do run into some danger, we can swim back after jumping off the cruise ship.”

“Sounds very ‘safe.’”

“This is how it has to be, you know? I’m sure you’ve heard about the resistance group,” Tan Zhi said after chuckling.

“I know a bit about them,” Chen Chuan offered.

“Those guys have been causing mayhem everywhere. Their influence has spread far and deep in the lower city district. Ah, by that, I mean the real lower city district. That place is like a tumor. Who knows whether they’ll show up at our event? So, we have to be a little careful, right?” Tan Zhi said.

Chen Chuan had a feeling that Tan Zhi was keeping some things from him, and the resistance group was just an excuse. If they really did run into danger, the resistance group may really be behind it, but it could also be someone else.

He didn’t ask any further questions. Instead, he read up on Azure Dragon. Originally, it was a state-owned company involved in the marine biotechnology industry. Later on, they divested parts of itself.

Based on their range of operations, Azure Dragon could be involved in the cultivation of the deepsea lifeforms in Oceanview Hall.

Tan Zhi sped down the road. In just half an hour, they reached Oceanway District’s port. By then, they could already feel the ocean breeze blowing against them. Tan Zhi motioned at a cruise ship anchored near the shore. “Look. That’s Rhinoceros’ Horn. It’s where we’re going tonight.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep