Book 3, Chapter 71: Contract

Since the three arrays were not isolated from each other but interconnected, the ritual was rather complicated. Even if Chen Chuan was not slow, he only managed to finish the next afternoon.

No average person would be able to pour all their attention into drawing an array for an entire day. They couldn’t avoid making a single mistake either.

It was likely that more than one cultist had set up the original ritual. Two or more of them could have worked interchangeably.

Fortunately, Chen Chuan was a martial artist. He could fight for long periods of time, so drawing the arrays for a ritual for an entire day was nothing to him.

When he was almost done, he stood up and took a look. An area of around six meters was covered in complicated and bizarre-looking arrays. The lines were all as red as blood or black as ink as they connected all three arrays together.

Non-professionals might find themselves dazzled by the sight. If they stared at it for a prolonged period of time, they might even see an eye that opened and closed on its own.

Chen Chuan checked the arrays again. When he was sure that there was nothing wrong with them, he stepped out through the path he had kept for himself.

Once he was outside, he checked his watch. It was 1 p.m., so he had finished the arrays ahead of time. He had thought that he would only be able to finish well into the afternoon.

He could not verify the specific time when the first ritual was conducted, but usually, rituals were cast before or after midnight, so Chen Chuan decided to wait until then.

Since there was still some time until then, he took out the medicine he brought with him and began practicing his saber technique.

While he seemed to only be able to use the same few techniques as if he hadn’t improved whatsoever, what lay beneath the surface was completely different. Within the same move, he could use contrasting refined forces. The highly intense sparring sessions with Zheng Tongtong had also made him much more skilled at changing his attacks.

When he fought against Phantom Form, he also learned just how difficult technique-based Third Limit martial artists were.

Phantom Form had been able to transform his refined force in multiple ways. He could make himself appear to be using firm force, while it was really the opposite, or make his attacks appear swift, but actually be full of power. Chen Chuan barely had a chance to set up a proper strategy to counterattack and could only act according to the situation.

Fortunately, his offense and defense training with Zheng Tongtong had given him a rather solid foundation. His mutated tissue, too, could block Phantom Form’s refined force in batches. Since Phantom Form’s mutated tissue was damaged, Chen Chuan was able to find a chance to counterattack and kill him. Otherwise, the fight would have dragged out for much longer.

Chen Chuan improved a lot after that fight. He gained a much deeper understanding of certain things he hadn’t quite understood in the past, so much so that even Mr. Zheng took note of his improvement.

But this wasn’t Chen Chuan’s limit yet. Since he was basically starting from scratch with technique, he had a lot of room for growth. When his improvement started slowing down, he would take his technique exam.

The afternoon passed. When the sky turned dark, Chen Chuan plunged the Frost King Saber into the ground and sat down on the cushion he brought with him. Then, he took out the raccoon tablet and began practicing his breathing technique through the stimulation provided by the supernatural being.

A few hours passed. It was now 10 p.m.. The moon was barely visible behind the clouds, and only howling wind could be heard among the torn down walls and rubble.

Chen Chuan got up, went to the center of the arrays, and put the tablet at his feet.

He then picked up his brush and added the final stroke to the innermost array. This would temporarily free the supernatural being of its binding.

The moment the array was finished, Chen Chuan saw his second self blurring out faintly, but he heard no screeching. Instead, it was entirely silent.

Still, Chen Chuan could sense the supernatural lurking behind him. After the setback last time, the supernatural being had realized that Chen Chuan was no easy target, which was why it didn’t charge at him.

It seemed like it had some form of intelligence, which was why it had been bound and used as a killing tool.

Chen Chuan ignored it. After straightening his back, he walked to the second array in a seemingly relaxed, unguarded manner. Suddenly, he saw the intensity of the attack on his second self spiking up. For a brief moment, his second self seemed to have disappeared.

Without a doubt, the supernatural being had started attacking, but Chen Chuan continued pretending as if he didn’t notice and just walked to the border of the contract ritual and added the final line.

Then, he threw the brush away and looked at the center of the binding array.

As the moon shone through the clouds, a glowing, white shadow of a raccoon appeared at the spot where he once stood. Its body filled up the entire array, and it was staring at Chen Chuan with eyes that seemed like beacons of light.

Chen Chuan met its gaze squarely and calmly.

Now, all that was left was for the supernatural being to accept or refuse his terms. If it didn’t want to agree, Chen Chuan would fix up the parts of the array that the supernatural being had eaten up to fight a war of attrition with it. This might take a long time, but Chen Chuan was sure that the being would submit in the end.

Fortunately, this did not come to pass. As if sensing Chen Chuan’s determination and understanding that it wouldn’t be able to do anything to him, the supernatural being submitted to the contract ritual and returned to the stone tablet.

Chen Chuan cast a glance at his feet. In just a short while, the ritual array disappeared, leaving only a faint trace, which showed that the contract was a success.

After heading over to the binding array, Chen Chuan picked up the stone tablet. This was the most fearsome and smartest supernatural being Chen Chuan had ever encountered. With it, he could launch an invisible attack on Zhao Qian.

But there were certain details he had to pay attention to, such as attacking when Zhao Qian left the city. That would be the best time to surprise him.

Every big company had its own biosentient entity. Even if they weren’t active biosentient entities like Posuo and Hongfu, they could repel all external abnormal activities.

Martial Valor University was a good example. People with intense abnormalities were not able to enter it. At the same time, the moment the Arcane Palace noticed abnormal activity inside the university, Hongfu would do something to subjugate them.

Third Limit martial artists were also incredibly tenacious. If the supernatural being was attacked by the biosentient entity and Zhao Qian had medicine that could save his life or someone performed emergency treatment on him, he might just survive. The timing of the attack was really important.

Chen Chuan put away the stone tablet, returned to the car, and went to Gao Ming’s apartment. Before this, he had given Gao Ming a heads-up. The moment the ritual was a success, they would begin discussing their next course of action.

An hour later, Chen Chuan reached Gao Ming’s apartment and placed the stone tablet on the table.

Unable to help himself, Gao Ming took a look at it. He had known that Chen Chuan was an expert at dealing with supernatural beings and had seen his collection of items left behind by the creatures he took out, but this was the first time he saw an active, living supernatural being.

“Are you confident in it?” he asked.

“I’m not sure whether Zhao Qian has any protection against supernatural beings, but this is the most reliable method I have right now. Besides, if it doesn’t work, I can just try again at a later time,” Chen Chuan answered.

His contract with the raccoon stated that if Chen Chuan made an offering to the raccoon and his target had attacked him before, the raccoon had to attack them. Regardless of whether it was the same or new target, only one request could be made per month.

He didn’t add this limit. It was a preexisting one from the first ritual, because the raccoon may try to break free of its bindings after getting a lot of offerings. The cultists got rid of that possibility by setting up a limit on them. Chen Chuan agreed with that, which was why he didn’t make any changes in that regard. This also made his own ritual just that bit less complicated.

“If that’s the case, we might be able to carry out the two plans simultaneously,” Gao Ming said. “We can have the Resolution Department put pressure on United Might. If we can get rid of Zhao Qian through that, we won’t need the next step, but if we can’t, then we’ll attack when he’s out of the city.

“I checked his travel schedule, and he should personally take part in an escort mission this month or the next month. Those will be good chances for you to attack.

“You need to be on guard until then. He did not do anything after the first attempt at your life, but I don’t think that means he’s given up. It might be because he realized that there’s something wrong with his information about you. Once he receives it, you might get attacked again.”

“I’m ready for him,” Chen Chuan said with a nod.

Wu Bei was constantly monitoring whether someone was spying on Chen Chuan but hadn’t noticed anyone. Meanwhile, Chen Chuan spent most of his time at the Arcane Palace and Mr. Zheng’s house, which were two places that were impossible to attack.

The only time he could be ambushed was when he went to Oceanview Hall. Phantom Form had done that the last time. Still, as long as Chen Chuan was careful, he could avoid such attempts on his life.

“Since you’re ready for it, tomorrow, I’m going to request the Resolution Department for legal action on your behalf against Zhao Qian for attempting to kill a backup Resolution Department law enforcer,” Gao Ming stated.

“What about the proof?” Chen Chuan asked.

“Phantom Form pointing you to Fat Ring is proof enough. Everyone knows that it’s the code name for United Might. Once I submit this, the Resolution Department will definitely make full use of it. Regardless of how the investigation goes, they’ll use it as an excuse to put pressure on United Might.”

“But how are you going to prove that it’s connected to Zhao Qian?”

“I don’t need to. If they insist on us giving them a proper explanation, I’ll just say that Phantom Form told you before he died. As long as I let the Resolution Department and United Might know that this entire thing started because of Zhao Qian, that’ll be enough,” Gao Ming said with a grin.

Chen Chuan understood what he meant at this point and nodded. This was indeed a feasible plan. To United Might, whether or not Zhao Qian actually did it wasn’t important. They only cared whether he could solve the matter without affecting the company’s operations. If he couldn’t take care of it, they would hold him accountable.

Gao Ming then looked up, and the light reflecting off his glasses made him look exceptionally cunning. “Even if Zhao Qian can come to a compromise with the Resolution Department and negate the effects of this incident, he won’t dare to attack you for the time being, not after we brought this matter to the table. Then, we can use your plan.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep