After the delegation returned to their hotel, as it was still early, many fighters headed to the training rooms provided by the hotel.
Weiya Continent provided every convenience for fighters. Even the hotel was equipped with simulated field resources, though the prices were far from cheap. Fortunately, so long as the activities were reasonable, all expenses during the visit were covered by the Great Shun government.
Chen Chuan returned to his room. Chaoming was still asleep after eating the khaki fruit; sensing his entrance, the bird raised its head and let out a soft chirp.
He stepped forward, stroked Chaoming's sleek, lustrous feathers, and let the bird go back to sleep. Sitting down in a chair, he took out the necklace Clavell had lost to him and examined it. Feeling it with his spiritual power, he immediately understood its function.
It was a defensive relic with a very practical function, capable of powerfully repelling impacts from external forces.
When worn on one's person, it helped withstand attacks up to a certain threshold.
However, he discovered that it constantly depleted itself. Even if he left it unused, it would eventually fade away on its own. Being a consumable item, its value had to be realized as soon as possible, or having it would amount to getting nothing at all.
He gave it a brief test first. Its impact resistance was extraordinary; while it could not resist a hundred percent of his attacks, once deployed, it could reduce the force by at least half. That was already quite remarkable. Martial artists inherently possessed tremendous defensive resilience; without sufficient strike intensity, an attack couldn't even breach the protective perimeter of Spiritual Fire.
Furthermore, the more experienced a martial artist was, the more they focused on conserving energy during battle, exerting just the precise amount of force without wasting extra effort. This was practically an instinct. Thus, against an opponent caught unaware, this relic was enough to secure a prime opening.
It truly lived up to its status as a grade 3 relic.
Nevertheless, the fiercer the enemy's assault, the faster it wore down. Based on what he observed, if he fought an opponent like Su Kuo, it would likely be almost completely depleted after just a few clashes.
He put the item away. Seeing that it was still early and there was nothing pressing to attend to, he logged onto Weiya Continent's network platform to browse.
What concerned him most at present was naturally cultivation resources. Weiya Continent's Center City was home to many martial artists and numerous pharmaceutical conglomerates, so there were bound to be supplies in this area. With that in mind, he ran a search.
Soon he found that there was indeed a platform where various medicines could be purchased—even medicines associated with the Longevity View could be bought there.
However, just like with Wansong Company, making a purchase required internal currency and a certain clearance level. This meant a martial artist had to participate in designated bouts and internal testing here; only with sufficient participation could one enjoy these privileges.
He didn't really consider this option. First of all, he couldn't stay here for long; moreover, if he participated in their testing and duels, he would merely be helping the Federation refine its database. So after looking around for a while, he logged off.
Then he sent a message to all delegation members: they could move freely throughout the city tomorrow, but everything had to strictly follow the delegation's regulations—they must travel in groups of three, keep their boundary credentials on at all times, and log every activity.
After sending the message, just as he was about to cultivate, Gui Zihan contacted him, saying that he also planned to visit an ancient martial artist tomorrow—entrusted by his master to pay a visit.
Chen Chuan thought it over. Since they were heading to the same area, traveling together would allow them to keep a mutual record.
Once that was settled, he followed the usual protocol and had the resonants in the team awaken a field interference creature. This way, the ubiquitous field in Center City would be unable to surveil them. Afterwards, he went to the training room to cultivate.
At dawn the next day, Chen Chuan and Gui Zihan left the hotel and boarded a small airship at the mooring tower, flying toward Weiya Continent's East Valley.
He did not make any deliberate attempt to conceal his itinerary. In this city, concealing such things was impossible anyway, and the upper echelons of Weiya Continent Center City surely already knew the purpose of his visit. It was better to head over openly and directly.
Meanwhile, just as Chen Chuan set off, over at White Rock Hall, Ryne Cafferty received a report from the hotel.
"Sir, that Mr. Chen departed this morning. His booked airship ticket is for East Valley. Entrusted by Great Shun, he's likely going to see that madman again. Should we..."
Cafferty said, "No need to stop him. That madman is growing increasingly out of control; just last month, he wrecked a passenger liner arriving from the south. If Great Shun has any ideas, we needn't interfere. We only need to find a way to secure his bodily materials."
"If things take a turn against Mr. Chen of the delegation, should we attempt a rescue?"
Cafferty remained silent.
The subordinate making the report understood his meaning at once. He said, "Sir, we will keep a close eye on the situation there at all times."
After flying for roughly thirty minutes, the sightseeing airship arrived at the eastern valley and docked at the mooring tower there.
Stepping outside, Chen Chuan and Gui Zihan found that this area, specially allocated for ancient martial artists to live in seclusion, was anything but deserted. Perhaps due to the New Year holiday, there were many tourists here, with colorful hot air balloons visible everywhere.
Looking deeper into the valley, one could see manor-style luxury estates dotting the various ridges, with numerous luxury cars parked outside and visitors faintly visible strolling across the manicured lawns.
Gui Zihan was silent for a moment before remarking, "I thought he was living in seclusion here."
Chen Chuan said, "Martial artists as a group are destined to never be severed from society, because they require far too many resources. If they truly wished to withdraw from the world, they should go to the Melded Lands. No one disturbs you there, and there is no shortage of resources."
Gui Zihan nodded silently.
Walking down from the mooring tower, the two of them could see several mobile food carts along the road, marked with signs offering specialized nutritional meals for fighters. It happened to be morning, and many hikers, tourists, and fighters were gathered around them; mouthwatering aromas wafted over from a distance.
As the two approached, fighters and travelers alike stepped aside of their own accord, and some even bowed slightly toward them from afar.
Both men had exceptionally powerful auras, immediately identifiable as martial artists. Those living in this Center City had long since learned to recognize the signs. Setting aside the undeniable differences in rank, a martial artist's temper alone was notoriously unpredictable; one wrong gesture could cause offense, and if you were killed for it, there would be nowhere to seek justice.
Chen Chuan learned that the person Gui Zihan needed to see lived near the mouth of the valley, so he said, "Let's visit your senior first."
The two boarded a rail trolley inside the valley. After traveling for a little over a quarter of an hour, they arrived in front of an estate, where a gloved man in butler attire was waiting outside.
When they stepped off, the man came forward with a smile and said in standard Great Shun speech, "Honored guests, please come inside."
He led the way, bringing Chen Chuan and Gui Zihan into a spacious drawing room, where a man and a woman were by a deep-red sofa.
The man appeared to be in his fifties or sixties, wearing a pair of tea-tinted decorative glasses and a collared shirt that exposed rock-solid pectoral muscles, draped with a long-sleeved overcoat, his hair tied up in a topknot.
The woman was attractive, dressed in a form-fitting gown, standing behind the back of the sofa and gently massaging his head.
When the two walked in, the man glanced at them, his gaze lingering involuntarily on Chen Chuan. For a split second, his muscles seemed to tense, but he quickly relaxed and turned his gaze slowly to Gui Zihan. "You must be Junior Brother Gai's junior? Just arrived from Great Shun?"
Though he possessed the features of a Youno person, he spoke fluent Great Shun speech.
Gui Zihan replied solemnly, "Yes, Senior Mo. My master asked me to pay you a visit this time and bring something along for you. I came as part of the delegation. This is our team leader, Section Chief Chen Chuan."
Mr. Mo glanced at Chen Chuan and said, "Please, have a seat."
Once they were seated, he smiled at Chen Chuan. "No need to find it strange. Though my mother was a Youno, my father was an imperial court official of the Eastern Continent. So I suppose you could consider me half an Easterner."
"Imperial court official" was a phrase Chen Chuan had only ever seen in books. For this man to say so made it clear that he was someone born of the old era.
At this point, Gui Zihan lifted the briefcase beside him, retrieved a small clay jar from within, and said, "This is well water from the old Gai family residence."
Mr. Mo's eyes lit up. He gestured for the butler to bring the jar over, slapped open the seal, and took a sip. Letting out a refreshed breath, he said with deep nostalgia, "Crisp and sweet—it really is that same taste."
He chuckled and said to Gui Zihan, "Young man, thank you. You have given me a gift, so I shall give you one in return." He gave an instruction to the woman behind him, who turned and headed into the inner residence.
Chapter 1109