After talking outside with Mr. Zhuan for a while, Chen Chuan saw Mr. Zhan and Xu Chan walking out together from inside.
He came down the stairs.
Holding his suitcase in one hand and pressing his top hat against his chest with the other, Zhan Jiyue smiled and said, "Director Chen, I would like to visit the Jibei Dao branch. Would that be all right?"
Chen Chuan said, "No problem at all. Allow me to show you the way, Mr. Zhan."
Zhan Jiyue said, "Section Chief Chen is busy with official duties, so I wouldn't dare trouble you. How about this: I hear Comrade Chang is one of the main people responsible for building up the Jibei Dao branch. Why not let him show me around?"
Chen Chuan turned to Chang Dong, who was waiting to the side. "Old Chang, take Mr. Zhan on a tour of Center City and the branch."
Chang Dong smiled and said, "Not a problem, Director! I'll be sure to host Mr. Zhan properly."
Chen Chuan was not worried. There was nothing at the branch that needed to be hidden. As for planting moles or winning people over, not only would a martial artist of Mr. Zhan's stature have no reason to demean himself with such petty maneuvers, but the subordinates themselves knew whose banner they served under. People naturally bore the mark of their leader, something that was hard to shake off, and anyone with a clear head knew how to conduct themselves.
Among them, Gao Yanjun had once followed a martial artist, but according to Mr. Zhuan, that person happened to be on the side supporting Chen Chuan.
After saying goodbye to everyone present, Zhan Jiyue got into Chang Dong's car and drove toward Center City.
Mr. Zhuan said at this moment, "Old Zhan isn't a bad person. He's just a neutralist. Though he's sometimes forced to take a stance, generally speaking, he remains a man of principle."
Mask scoffed dismissively. "Just a reed in the wind, swaying whichever way it blows."
Mr. Zhuan said, "Since Old Zhan has finished speaking with you, I won't stay any longer and will head back to headquarters. Councilor Chen, it will be some time before we meet again."
Chen Chuan extended his hand. "Take care on the road, Senior. We will stay in touch by telegram."
Mr. Zhuan hesitated for a moment, then slowly reached out and shook his hand. "Take care."
Mask chimed in, "Me too! Don't forget me!"
Chen Chuan smiled and said, "Senior Tang, take care as well."
Mr. Mask was pleased now. "Don't worry! But you'd better watch out for Zhao Zhenye. Who knows where that kid has scurried off to? Bah, why am I worrying for nothing? With you here, would he even dare show his face?"
Mr. Zhuan turned and walked off. Mask hurriedly shouted, "Hey, hey, Old Zhuan, I'm not finished talking yet! Wait up! No, wrong way, wrong way! Over here, this way—"
Chen Chuan gave a slight chuckle, watching the two head in the correct direction toward the mooring tower. He turned to Xu Chan and said, "Old Xu, ride in my car."
Xu Chan agreed.
Both climbed into the car and sat in the back. Once the vehicle started moving, Xu Chan said, "That Mr. Zhan asked if I would be willing to transfer to another branch, and said that if I wished, he could arrange for me to return to Huainan Dao. I told him Jibei Dao is quite good, and staying here suits me best."
Chen Chuan said, "Old Xu, you haven't been back to your hometown in a long time, have you? Find some time to go visit your family, or bring them over to Jibei Dao."
Xu Chan nodded. Previously, he had been uncertain about his own future; in his line of work, he could easily make dangerous enemies, making it hard to ensure his family's safety, so he had simply left them in Huainan Dao.
Now that he had become a martial artist, past precedent showed that almost nobody dared threaten the family members of a martial artist—the consequences of doing so were too catastrophic for anyone to bear. Thus, he could safely bring them over now.
Chen Chuan said, "In the near future, I plan to take my family on a trip to the Outer Ocean. Afterward, I'll be accompanying a delegation to the Linakes Federation, and I don't know how long I'll be away this time. Old Xu, during that period, the affairs here in Center City will be in your hands."
Xu Chan said solemnly, "Section Chief, I will safeguard everything we've achieved in Center City."
Chen Chuan said, "With you here, Old Xu, I can naturally rest easy. I've already had Zarnik and his partner sign a contract. While they have wild temperaments, they keep their word. After I leave, I will have them remain here as hired martial artists to coordinate with you."
Xu Chan indicated his understanding. At that moment, he glanced outside and saw a city patrol vehicle cruising through the industrial zone—a sight virtually unseen in the past.
He remarked, "Center City has changed so much this past year. So much that I hardly recognize it myself."
Chen Chuan said, "That includes the hard work of you and the others, Old Xu."
Xu Chan said, "We're not afraid of hard work; we're only afraid of working hard without seeing results. Section Chief, these changes only started happening after you arrived."
Chen Chuan said, "Force is the foundation of everything. With that in place, and by ensuring everyone does what they are capable of and does it with full dedication, such results follow naturally. But this is only the beginning. Greater challenges lie ahead."
Xu Chan nodded. He knew what Chen Chuan meant. On the day he became a martial artist, he had likewise seen that colossal vortex in the sky. He had been able to catch glimpses of it in the past, but he had never perceived it so clearly—it felt as if it were hanging right before his eyes.
All the preparations being made now were to face that day.
Before long, the car drove into Center City and returned to Golden Maple Villa in Weiguang District. Xu Chan's residence had recently been moved here as well, so Chen Chuan dropped him off, bid him farewell, and returned to his own home.
It was noon when Chen Chuan arrived. He had lunch with his aunt, cousin brother, and cousin sister, then went upstairs to his room.
He did not look at the agreement or the cultivation manual right away. Instead, he walked to the window, tapped his boundary credential, and carefully examined the changes to his Purist Faction position and internal authority that Mr. Zhan had transferred over.
As he read through them, he found it rather interesting.
Although headquarters could not provide him with substantial support in cultivation resources this time, the authority devolved to him was indeed considerable.
First was the elevation of his councilor privileges, which was genuinely far more than mere lip service. Previously, in that capacity, he could participate in discussions regarding the faction's general direction, and his opinion would be sought regarding major policy decisions and senior personnel appointments or transfers—a sign of regard shown to every member holding a key post.
In practice, however, they had merely asked; whether his suggestions were adopted was completely beyond his control. But with this internal upgrade of his councilor rank, he gained the power to veto and delay decisions. As long as he could provide sufficiently valid justification, and if other councilors were progressively swayed to change their stance until a certain quorum was reached, the decision could be deferred or overturned entirely.
It might not look like much on the surface, but possessing this power meant others had to take his words and actions seriously—because if they ignored him, he could simply ignore them in return.
Furthermore, a certain degree of autonomy had been granted to the Jibei Dao branch. As long as he did not violate the Purist Faction's foundational tenets, he could develop the branch according to his own vision.
Headquarters had explicitly stated that while supervisory personnel would be dispatched to assess conditions, so long as operations remained within established parameters, they would only offer guidance and would not interfere with his final decisions.
It might look like headquarters was withholding support, but in reality, they had handed him tremendous autonomy. One could say that how the Jibei Dao branch developed from here on out would depend entirely on his own will.
Pondering the underlying politics, in light of what Mr. Zhuan and Mr. Zhan had said, Chen Chuan realized this was likely the concession the supporting faction had secured for him after the heated debate: if headquarters would not grant resources, then they would grant greater autonomy instead.
He gave a slight nod. This was not a bad outcome. While headquarters would not provide much backing, they would not bind his hands either.
Only after reviewing all of this did he take out the agreement Mr. Zhan had handed him. Once he finished reading the document from start to finish, he had already decided against signing it.
It contained quite a few terms that bordered on harsh, imposing an extraordinarily high degree of restriction. For instance, the martial artist's specific cultivation stage and level, the combat capabilities they possessed, and even detailed biological data would all have to be archived at headquarters.
Moreover, when called upon, one would have to obey headquarters' orders unconditionally. Of course, once signed, all of headquarters' resources would lean heavily in one's favor.
The obligations and returns were arguably proportional.
To be sure, with his second self, even signing the agreement would not truly bind him, but he had no intention of exploiting such loopholes. Furthermore, if headquarters ordered him to carry out a mission, could he simply refuse to go? That would immediately expose discrepancies.
In truth, the agreement was never drafted with the expectation that anyone would accept it. The people who issued it surely understood that aside from those raised internally from childhood, no martial artist absorbed into the faction from the outside could easily agree to such terms.
Since that was the case, there was no need to dwell on it.
Fortunately, in this era, information channels across all fronts were wide open. Reaching his current realm and holding his current office, obtaining cultivation resources was by no means limited to the single path provided by the faction.
He returned to his desk, set the agreement aside, sat down, and finally picked up the cultivation manual Mr. Zhan had given him.
After peeling away the bio-membrane wrapping, an ancient thread-bound book appeared before his eyes. He opened it, and as expected, the pages were blank.
However, as a gleam flashed between his brows, numerous illustrations and passages of text materialized from within. Reading this required a certain level of mental force; without having attained this realm, possessing the book would be useless.
To his slight surprise, before he even came across the primary cultivation method, he directly encountered an esoteric transmission preserved within.
He looked through it: this secret technique, called "Pure Spiritual Light," was specifically designed to purge and destroy aberrant tissue.
Reading further into its specific effects, when deployed in battle, any aberrant tissue illuminated or touched by it had the potential to be dissolved and unraveled. Most notably, he could even infuse this power into his fire of spirituality.
Not only did it possess the power to vanquish ordinary opponents, but against entities such as yaogui, its effects would be extraordinarily potent.
However, just how far one could cultivate it depended on the martial artist himself.
Examining it further, cultivating this secret transmission had several prerequisites. One was that the practitioner had to possess a foundation in the Grand Radiant Light Forms and the Grand Firmament Forms. Complete mastery of all forms was not necessary, but one had to have practiced at least one or two of them.
As he read through the ensuing explanations and training methods, it brought "Mystic Void Fire" to mind. He wondered whether there might be some connection between the two.
Chapter 1044