The airship fleet flew across the magnificent, boundless expanse of the sea. Including security personnel, Great Shun's visiting delegation comprised a total of twelve hundred members traveling aboard thirty-two airships.
Among them were four large airships, alongside twenty-four escort airships and two medical evacuation airships providing safety and support.
Down on the water, an escort naval fleet shadowed them along the way to ensure the voyage was completely foolproof.
Inside one of the large airships near the front of the formation, Chen Chuan sat in a spacious, handsome cabin surrounded by field screens displaying real-time conditions of the airships across various positions.
They were cruising along the airway of the newly linked Skyline, so field resources were currently abundant.
Chen Chuan poured himself a cup of hot tea and pressed a paper-thin wafer against his boundary credential, where it adhered automatically.
This was an information packet Delegation Leader Xie had handed him just before boarding the airship. It contained numerous details and requirements that higher authorities found inconvenient to transmit directly, including some things that even Leader Xie had no way of knowing.
The data was quickly read by his boundary credential. Once he finished reviewing it, he took it off; the wafer heated up automatically and reduced itself into a lump of char on the table.
There was a substantial amount of content, detailing precautions he needed to heed during this trip as well as several pressing assignments. After all, dispatching a martial artist abroad for exchange was an exceedingly rare occurrence—a precious opportunity. The capital needed to leverage this trip to accomplish certain objectives, and since he was himself a member of the Ministry of Affairs, classified matters could only be entrusted to someone like him.
It also contained two secret call signs and telegraph codes for emergency communications.
Moreover, the higher-ups were not merely demanding labor without offering benefits; if he needed anything, he could submit an application, and the authorities would provide support within reasonable bounds, including cultivation resources. Seeing this, he did not hold back and promptly filled out a request form on the spot to requisition cultivation resources from back home.
Of course, what was termed a "reasonable bound" was likely only enough for an ordinary martial artist—far from sufficient for him. Still, every bit he could get in advance counted.
Additionally, another piece of intelligence in the packet caught his attention.
This intelligence informed him that according to investigations by covert agencies, the Linakes Federation's invitation for him to join the visit had likely been deliberately engineered by certain factions behind the scenes, warning him to be vigilant about his personal safety.
He pondered it briefly. In truth, he was somewhat prepared for this, and he could reasonably guess that the driving force behind it was probably Progenitor Company—or rather, a certain faction within Progenitor Company.
Then again, coming here this time was also meant to settle that very issue.
However, as a global mega-corporation, the high-tier martial power Progenitor Company fielded out in the open alone was not to be underestimated, let alone the strength hidden in the shadows. He was undeniably venturing into hazardous territory, but he was not without leverage and contingencies.
First of all, he possessed the identity of an official state delegation member, meaning the other side could not brazenly mobilize high-tier martial forces against him out in the open; at most, they would have to rely on covert means under the table.
This afforded him room to maneuver. Moreover, his second self could absorb damage, and at a critical juncture, the Xuejun Saber could cleave open a path for him to take shelter within a fissure. Thus, even if he encountered an extraordinarily dangerous adversary, he could evade them.
As for risk, that was inevitable; nothing in life was one hundred percent foolproof. In that sense, he could treat this journey as a crucible to temper himself.
They were the second visiting delegation of the year; the first delegation had already arrived, and several key personnel were already in the Federation.
In truth, this diplomatic visit was the first large-scale exchange between the two nations since significant frictions arose sixty years ago, so both sides attached considerable importance to it.
Within this delegation, the figures worth his attention were the three other martial artists, two of whom hailed from the capital.
He glanced at the photographs. One was named Wang Tongshan and another was Bian Zhijie, aged thirty-one and twenty-seven, respectively. The remaining martial artist came from Hedong Dao and was named Gui Zihan, younger still at twenty-six.
The common trait shared by these three was their youth. According to their records, they had all achieved martial artist status either the previous year or the year before that, meaning all of them had reached that milestone before the age of thirty.
No wonder they were placed on the invitation list; after all, achieving it at a younger age usually implied greater future potential.
Yet achieving it early did not guarantee reaching higher tiers. In truth, the developmental potential of alienated tissue was limited; some people experienced an earlier explosive growth phase and progressed rapidly in the initial stages, whereas others bloomed later. If late bloomers failed to secure sufficient resources, they often lost their chance before that stage ever arrived.
Anyone capable of ascending to the upper echelons of the martial path generally required fortune, strength, background, connections, and many other conditions—scarcely any of which could be lacked.
As for Tao Huiya's request, if trouble arose concerning these three, it would undoubtedly fall to him to step in. If not, regular armed personnel would be more than enough to handle it, and he wouldn't need to concern himself.
He took a sip from his teacup, stood up, and walked over to the porthole. Outside, wisps of clouds drifted steadily backward. The airship fleet maintained generous spacing, spreading wide across the sky, densely dotting the expanse as far as the eye could see.
And farther away, another sizable airship fleet flew abreast with them.
This was the Linakes Federation's airship fleet, also numbering over twenty vessels.
In terms of security, nothing would go wrong within Great Shun's borders, but once outside, matters became unpredictable. According to intelligence from above, the West Coast Faction was very likely to seize the chance to cause trouble on their return journey.
The Federation differed from Great Shun; it was composed of numerous federated states. In reality, the central cities that the federal government could genuinely control and issue orders to accounted for less than a third, and most of those were concentrated along the East Coast.
The remaining state factions belonged to the Federation only in name; in truth, each was an independent fiefdom. The West Coast in particular was home to the headquarters of nearly every manner of cult organization, which operated and proselytized openly and brazenly.
It was also the foremost front line of conflict between the First Peoples and Federation citizens, as well as the site of various sprawling biological testing grounds. Compared to this place, even the chaotic regions within Great Shun could be considered tranquil paradises.
According to the itinerary, the delegation would make periodic stops along the way. Judging from the first visiting delegation, although they had run into a few issues, circumstances had remained mostly normal. The West Coast Faction likely felt pressure from both Great Shun and the Federation's East Coast Faction, showing relative restraint, but that was no reason to grow careless.
While Chen Chuan was reviewing the journey, inside a remodeled, luxurious cabin aboard another airship, the two martial artists from the capital, Wang Tongshan and Bian Zhijie, sat opposite each other.
The two were playing cards as soothing music drifted through the air. Beside them was a multi-tentacled lifestyle assistant jellyfish gifted to them by the Federation delegation, currently participating in the card game through the link of an active conscious entity.
Bian Zhijie's luck seemed rather poor. Seeing that this hand was hopeless, he tossed down his cards and conceded, pushing his last few chips across the table with a sigh. "Brother Wang's luck really is wonderful today. You won again."
Wang Tongshan smiled faintly. "Then I won't stand on ceremony." With a lift of his hand, the chips floated into the air and clattered into the porcelain tray on his side. Seeing that he had no intention of continuing, he gave a wave, and the jellyfish obediently retreated to the side.
Bian Zhijie glanced outside, his gaze falling upon a colossal airship. "Is that person aboard that one?"
"Yes."
Wang Tongshan turned his head to look as well. "I heard that not long ago, he defeated General of Eastern Subjugation Su Kuo of the former imperial household in battle."
Bian Zhijie's eyes widened, and he drew in a sharp breath. "The General of Eastern Subjugation? Are you certain?"
"Battle reports don't lie; it just hasn't been made public yet." Wang Tongshan paused, an intricate expression in his eyes. "And he's only in his early twenties."
Bian Zhijie was thoroughly astonished. Both of them considered themselves among the pinnacle of their generation—rare talents even in the capital. Yet compared to him, they seemed like nothing at all.
Su Kuo's strength had to be at the Longevity View level at the very least. If Chen Chuan could defeat him, then Chen Chuan himself was likely at that realm too. How astonishing was that?
More importantly, this wasn't someone they looked down upon who did nothing but cultivate behind closed doors; he possessed numerous hard-earned combat achievements. When they had looked over some scattered records about him earlier, they had been dumbfounded right then and there.
Truth be told, they could accept being inferior to Chen Chuan; but they had also taken time to spar with the other young man aboard, only to discover that he could practically take on the two of them by himself. That had completely taken the wind out of their sails, leaving them to doubt their life choices.
Bian Zhijie remarked, "It really is true that the local regions forge a person."
"Indeed," Wang Tongshan agreed deeply. "In the capital, though there appear to be plenty of resources, one is trapped there. We need to find a way to get out to the local regions too. There are more chances to earn merits there, and one can temper oneself. Besides, the Great Impact is drawing near; if we don't seize the chance to strive for upward advancement now, we won't have another opportunity later."
With that, he turned to Bian Zhijie. "Brother Bian, have you made up your mind?"
Bian Zhijie smiled smugly at this. "There's a vacancy in Shannan Dao recently that hasn't been filled. Once I return from this trip, I should have the necessary seniority, and my family will arrange to pull some strings to transfer me there."
"Shannan Dao? That's quite a catch—"
Wang Tongshan was instantly envious. Everyone knew Shannan Dao was bound to join the Skyline. Although many people opposed it, the true leadership and people of foresight could all see the benefits it brought. The trend was practically irresistible, and the earlier one joined, the greater the gains.
Now even the slight pleasure from winning the card game evaporated, leaving him brooding over where he should head after returning.
Suddenly, the voice of an active conscious entity echoed around them: "Report: Haidong Dao reached."
Just ahead of the airship fleet, beneath the clouds, the An'ying Archipelago appeared across the sea. Airships were now rising into the air from the islands one after another.
Whether to demonstrate strength before the Federation delegation or to ensure absolute security, over a hundred combat airships had been deployed at once, occupying nearly half the airspace.
Moreover, more than twenty warships sailed out below; in an instant, both sea and sky were filled with colossal war machines.
And even more eye-catching were the three martial artists, each standing on an open deck atop an airship.
Chapter 1057