The spectators below the platform gasped in astonishment. Anyone could see that Wei Dong was breaking through to the third limit right before their eyes.
He had likely received enough intense stimulation from the duel just now to finally shatter his limit.
Many Federation students below looked on with envious expressions. They dared not harbor wild hopes of becoming martial artists, but reaching the third limit as fighters was the dream of their lives.
Only upon reaching this limit did a fighter truly gain stature and standing—the qualification to teach at any martial arts academy, or to hold key posts in major corporations and government departments.
Even in remote jurisdictions, they could become executive-level administrators. Anywhere in the world, a third-limit fighter was considered upper-middle class.
Chen Chuan had already anticipated Wei Dong's breakthrough. Wei Dong had accumulated enough foundational strength beforehand; his aberrant tissue had reached a critical threshold, teetering on the verge of advancement. All he had lacked was a weighty enough contest to serve as the catalyst.
This duel had come at the perfect time, with just the right intensity.
Witnessing this, Clavell suddenly realized that Chen Chuan had deliberately used this opportunity to push his student toward a breakthrough—even losing a round would have been no loss at all.
A complex look crossed Clavell's face, and he let out a sigh. "Mr. Chen, you win." He handed the card over.
Taking it into his hand, Chen Chuan said with utmost sincerity, "Thank you. I wonder if Mr. Clavell would like to continue?"
To be frank, he truly had not expected watching a couple of student exchanges could yield such a harvest. The faculty and students of Stars Academy were simply too hospitable.
Clavell's lips twitched. He turned away in silence. Although there were more sparring sessions scheduled, he had no desire to watch any further and left in dejection.
Wei Dong rolled his shoulders, loosening up his limbs, and stepped down from the platform. Seeing him descend, Wu Han, Luo Kaiyuan, Feng Xiaoqi, and the others swarmed forward in excitement, slapping him on the back and shoulders.
Wei Dong had the finest talent among them, so none were surprised by his breakthrough. Wu Han let out a chuckle, clapping him hard on the shoulder. "You rascal, getting ahead of me! Now I really have to step up my game. I'm not about to drag your heels."
Feng Xiaoqi and Luo Kaiyuan nodded in agreement. In the past, the third limit had seemed completely out of their reach. Yet after receiving resources and guidance under Chen Chuan, they had begun to feel a glimmer of hope.
Witnessing Wei Dong's breakthrough firsthand filled them with inspiration, and stirred by this surge of emotion, the aberrant tissue inside their own bodies grew active as well.
Meanwhile, on the other side, a martial artist instructor from Stars Academy approached Gui Zihan, who stood nearby with his sword embraced against his chest. "Mr. Gui, now that the students have finished their matches, why don't the two of us go down and have a round?"
Gui Zihan glanced at him and shook his head, showing no interest.
The instructor felt a touch of regret, but since the other man was unwilling, he could only let it go.
Having won those two crucial bouts, the accompanying Wuyi instructors and students went down to spar as well, resulting in a mix of wins and losses across the subsequent matches.
As it turned out, Clavell had been right: aside from an anomaly like Wei Dong, many Wuyi students were merely above average, representing the typical caliber of Wuyi's current student body.
Compared to the opponents Stars Academy had deliberately handpicked, there was indeed a noticeable gap. But the Great Shun delegation hardly cared about this; on someone else's home turf, there was no need to haggle over lower-tier contests.
When the exchange drew to a close, the overall results settled into a near draw.
Leaving the academic grounds, Joseph led Chen Chuan to the trophy showroom to view awards and recordings from past combat tournaments, followed by a tour of the arena and training complexes.
Students at martial academies across the Federation could directly compete in professional fighting leagues, giving rise to an endless stream of combat stars. Back then, Vice Principal Tan's reforms at Wuyi had drawn heavily from Federation practices.
As the global sanctuary of martial combat, enriched by its unique fighting culture, the Weiya Continent drew freelance fighters from all over the world. This inevitably led countless fighters to embark down this path, whether willingly or under the press of circumstance.
As Chen Chuan took it all in, he realized Stars Academy truly possessed profound accumulations—the combat data and match recordings alone constituted a vast fortune.
Nor was that all. The academy was merely one link in an expansive chain of interests, backed by deep collaboration among diverse stakeholders. Pharmaceutical giants and combat-implant developers from both the Federation and major world powers all had stakes here.
International enterprises such as Linax Ark and Ocean Life specifically provided high-performance pharmaceutical support and logistical backing, while domestic pharmaceutical powerhouses like Tiancong Baicao and Qingnang Jade Workshop had also made investments here.
During fighting tournaments and internal trials, massive numbers of combat-implant test subjects were deployed. These subjects included disabled fighters, convergence zone organisms, active conscious entities, and even participating martial artists.
The vast streams of data generated each day were fed into high-end active conscious entities like Alula. Various corporations drew sustenance from the findings, which in turn brought in more test subjects, driving relentless technological advancement and iteration.
The West Coast Faction's ability to stand toe-to-toe with the East Coast Faction clearly did not rely solely on those cults; it had its own solid foundation.
Chen Chuan mused that, from this perspective alone, the Federation's technological progress was extraordinarily rapid. The government back in Great Shun surely would not turn a blind eye to this and was bound to have prepared countermeasures, though he had yet to learn what they were.
After leaving the facility, Joseph took them to tour several scenic natural spots. On elevated ground nearby, there even stood an intact stone citadel from the era of the First People.
It was said to have been the detached palace of an emperor from one of the First People dynasties. Today, it was incorporated into the academy grounds, renovated with modern additions to serve as an internal museum and recreational retreat.
Many Federation men and women could be seen enjoying themselves here—not just youths from the academy, but visitors from elsewhere who had ascended via hot air balloons or small airships.
Joseph enthusiastically shared its history, recounting how the earliest wave of pioneers had sacrificed more than fifty brave warriors to capture the stronghold, and how the skulls of the final three hundred First People had been mortared into a wall that was still visible today.
Chen Chuan had no interest in viewing it. Declining that part of the tour, he took a polite, cursory look and took his leave. By evening, the academy hosted a welcoming banquet in their honor. Among the guests were several dignitaries and political figures from Weiya Central City, every one of whom was, without exception, a fighter.
After the banquet, Chen Chuan declined the academy's invitation to watch an evening match, bringing the day's visit to an end.
Joseph escorted them to the exit. Upon reaching the gates, he said, "Mr. Chen, we have a gift for you, though we are not sure whether it will be to your liking."
He turned aside to reveal a cart being wheeled over from a short distance away, carrying an object draped in cloth. Once it arrived before them, Joseph stepped forward and drew back the covering.
Chen Chuan raised an eyebrow. It was a life-sized statue of Cui Xuanhui—the very one that had stood along Pioneer Avenue.
Joseph said, "We witnessed your exchange with Mr. Cui today. It was magnificent. The board of trustees has decided to present this statue to you as a souvenir."
Chen Chuan said, "Oh? Giving it to me? Isn't this a statue of your Federation's legendary hero?"
Joseph smiled faintly. "He is no longer that."
"In other words, I can dispose of it however I wish?"
"Naturally," Joseph replied with a smile. "If you are willing to accept it, it belongs to you, to do with as you please."
Chen Chuan nodded. Under the watchful eyes of Joseph and the surrounding staff, he stepped forward and delivered a single punch. With a loud crash, the statue shattered into pieces, disintegrating into an even spread of gravel across the ground, while the reinforcing steel rebar within snapped inch by inch.
With a clatter, only the pristine carved head tumbled to the ground. After a slight tremor, it levitated from the pavement and floated before Chen Chuan.
He cast an indifferent glance at it, then turned back to Joseph. "The whole thing was too bulky to carry around easily. Just this will suffice." Glancing down at the rubble strewn across the floor, he asked, "Shall I clean this up?"
Joseph smiled. "No need. We will see to it."
Chen Chuan gave an acknowledging nod, grabbed the severed head, tossed it to an attendant behind him, and said, "Farewell, then."
With that, he walked over and stepped into the designated car. The others climbed into their vehicles in turn, headlights cut through the gloom, and the convoy drove off along the road.
Sitting in the car, Chen Chuan organized his thoughts regarding the day's visit, intending to have an inactive conscious entity draft a report to send back home later.
He glanced at the stone head set aside by the attendant. Shameless and devoid of honor though Cui Xuanhui had been, his technical achievements in martial combat were genuine enough, and the Non-Body style still counted many practitioners throughout the Federation. Cui Xuanhui's daughter had played a major role in this, dedicating herself to promoting the discipline's lineage.
And her husband was the ancient martial artist Chen Chuan had been asked to visit.
Tapping his boundary credential, he brought up a map of Central City. This martial artist resided in the eastern valley region of Weiya Central City, where more than one ancient martial artist lived in seclusion—some of whom were not even from the Federation.
They chose to live here partly because the local environment was relatively hospitable to them, and partly because they hoped to utilize Federation technologies and rituals to delay aberrant degeneration and hold back the process of self-aberration.
Furthermore, this man possessed an item: a fragment of the Jiuhe Gui once held in the royal collection of Foluo.
During the internal turmoil of the Eastern Continent, this fragment had been smuggled to the Foluo Peninsula and hidden away in secret. Later, as the old era gave way to the new and the dynasty collapsed, Cui Xuanhui slew the King of Foluo and took possession of it. He brought it with him to the Federation and entrusted it to this ancient martial artist for safekeeping.
Upon learning of this, Great Shun had dispatched emissaries on several occasions to negotiate an exchange, offering generous terms, but all had been rebuffed.
Chen Chuan checked the coordinates marked on the map. He planned to head there tomorrow—and the souvenir currently sitting by his side would serve as a fitting gift.
Chapter 1108