On the perimeter of the Eastern Continent diaspora district, several figures stood atop a high-rise, observing their surroundings. One of them, using an eagle-like implant eye, was staring intently at Chen Chuan's motorcade.
He said, "Is that the Great Shun delegation's private car?"
The leader frowned and cautioned in a low voice, "Don't stare. Those people are all fighters; their senses are keen." He added, "There might even be martial artists among them."
The man shuddered at once and hastily pulled his gaze away.
Someone asked, "Captain, the New Year is almost here. Will the Great Shun delegation's presence here affect our plans?"
The leader said sternly, "Keep watch and don't ask so many questions for now."
The group's expressions tautened. Reining in their thoughts, they resumed monitoring the surroundings, making detailed records of holiday foot traffic along storefronts, shift-change schedules of patrols, and the placement of trees where combat creatures were deployed.
They had originally intended to stay longer, but the captain had a nagging sense that something was off, so after roughing out their notes, they hurriedly departed.
Seated inside his car, Chen Chuan could sense someone watching him.
Even though people in the crowds were constantly looking at his car, such scrutiny felt entirely distinct to his senses from ordinary curiosity.
Yet he did not bother looking into it, as people had been observing him constantly over the past few days, and their numbers were considerable.
Many factions were gathered here in Vea State's Center City. Aside from the domestic Strategic Affairs Department and Covert Operations Directorate of the Federation, there were spies from other nations, intelligence agents from various corporations, and media journalists—all of whom were possibilities.
If he probed into each and every one, there would simply be no end to it.
Upon returning to the hotel, he carried the medicines into his room. After having the resonator engage field interference, he entered the training chamber, ingested the medication, and sat down.
He allowed the medicine to settle into his body until the mutated tissue absorbed it all. Ten-odd minutes later, he rose and began channeling his jin, harnessing an intricate series of forms and jin stances to accelerate the refinement and activation of his mutated tissue.
When fighters first stepped onto the path of cultivation, they had to rely on stance methods passed down and systematized by predecessors to train their mutated tissue. But once a fighter reached his level, every individual's mutated tissue was different. Unless it was an esoteric transmission designed to achieve a specialized effect, the subsequent path could no longer be trained through fixed stances.
This required fighters to synthesize and formulate their own jin-channeling movements and methods tailored to their specific needs and the distribution of their mutated tissue.
It was for this reason that fighters at this level were known as martial artists, each possessing a profound and unique understanding of fighting techniques.
In the Old Era, martial artists attempting to work these out had to rely on their own contemplation, or turn to their masters and fellow disciples. Even then, absolute trust was required, for knowing these details was tantamount to knowing every secret of your body.
In the New Era, one could utilize active conscious entities and inactive conscious entities to assist in cultivation. Moreover, with sufficient data, a targeted, maximally efficient regimen could be tailored specifically to the individual.
The jin stances Chen Chuan currently used to hone himself were partly derived from his own exploration, and partly optimized with the assistance of the conscious entity housed within his external implant.
Initially, his movements had been even more numerous than they were now. By now, he had pruned away much of the excess and redundancy, making the routine far more efficient.
As his cultivation deepened, these movements would grow fewer and fewer, until they were refined into a few sets or major forms—just like the Grand Radiant Light Forms and the Grand Firmament Forms.
In reality, many esoteric transmissions were likewise synthesized and refined across generations by predecessors in cultivation. Once he mastered this and made slight adaptations, it too could become an esoteric transmission passed down to posterity.
After running through an entire cycle of jin stances, the medicines absorbed into his body were extensively assimilated and transformed. A platinum radiance flowed faintly across his body—not surging or rising aloft, but clinging close to his skin, shimmering with a soft glow.
Pausing briefly, he felt his cultivation advance once again as more mutated tissue was driven into activation.
Stepping aside, he continued ingesting and applying medicines to his body, then repeated his earlier cultivation. Under the empowerment of his Longevity View ability, so long as he did not actively diminish it himself, these gains would never regress. As long as he had the resources and could overcome the hurdles of cultivation, he could steadily maintain progress.
After a full day of cultivation, he did not push further, choosing instead to recuperate his spirit. This was the analytical advice provided by the conscious entity, and he agreed with the reasoning: on one hand, his spirit needed time to settle and be nourished; on the other, his mutated tissue required time to undergo metamorphosis and growth.
A night passed. With only one day remaining before the New Year, Chen Chuan was invited to pay formal visits to several major local Great Shun companies. Because not all of these firms were located within the city, he also ventured beyond the city limits.
Once the visits concluded, he did not return directly to the city. Instead, he had his driver take him to a nearby area known as Great Vea Forest to view a specialty of the region: pearl cedars. Their foliage consisted of lustrous, crystalline needles; when gathered in continuous groves under the sunlight, they shone with dazzling, magnificent splendor.
Alighting from the car, he walked into the woods alone. Though the scenery was magnificent, these trees secreted a fine powder that triggered severe skin and respiratory irritation, preventing ordinary people from approaching easily. Thus, most tourists only viewed them from the periphery.
Once deep within the forest, finding the overhead sunlight veiled by leaves and his surroundings dimmed into gloom, and confirming there were no people or creatures nearby, he drew the Xuejun Saber. Slashing through the air before him, he instantly split open a fissure and stepped inside.
Coming to a halt inside, he retrieved the ring-shaped relic given to him by Elder Gale.
Ever since receiving it, he had lacked the leisure to properly examine it. He had reckoned it might need to be tested on the other side of the fissure; however, he had previously been surrounded by the delegation members and later arrived in Center City, making it unsuitable to do so until now.
Now that he was alone, he could finally put it to the test.
He channeled spirit power into it. At first, the object showed no particular reaction, but after a short while, he seemed to sense something.
The object began to tremble faintly. Letting go, he allowed it to float upward. Once it reached midair, a beam of light spilled from within the ring, enveloping the surrounding ground.
Lifting his hand to look, he discovered a lingering trace of field power on the palm that had held the relic, stirring his thoughts.
He turned around immediately and exited, swinging his saber to seal the fissure. After walking some distance away, he came to a stop and slashed open another fissure. Peering inside, he spotted the ring-shaped object at a single glance.
Understanding dawned on him: this object could serve as a fixed coordinate beacon. No matter where he went, the next time he tore open a fissure, he would only need to trace the object's field to locate its designated position.
Yet that alone seemed of limited utility, for in the world across the rift, distance and position held little meaning. But matters were not so simple; he noticed another potential use for this item.
Taking several coins from his pocket, he tossed them toward the radiance. The coins slowly floated upward, passed into the ring's opening, and vanished instantly.
He retrieved a few other items and threw them over as well, producing identical results: anything within range of that radiance was drawn inside.
Focusing his mind, he used his spirit power to visualize the items he had just thrown in. After a moment, everything—including the coins—drifted slowly back down, one by one.
He nodded to himself. This relic evidently possessed an independent resonance field, albeit far more concealed. Barring any surprises, the First People of the Throat of the Star Spirit in the past must have used this relic's properties to store certain items.
Elder Gale had not known its exact function, only deeming it precious, and thus presented it to him.
With this relic, he could store less critical belongings here instead of hauling them everywhere.
As for truly valuable possessions, they still had to be kept on his person. After all, this place lay within a fissure, where nobody could foresee what might occur. In the past, the First People had dedicated sentries stationed on the other side to guard it, a luxury he currently could not afford.
Nevertheless, having this object would make things considerably more convenient going forward. From the look of it, the independent field within was fairly spacious; if applied to logistics, it would be enough to alter the course of a small-scale battlefield.
Having figured this out, he temporarily put the object away, stepped out, and sealed the fissure. After ensuring nothing had leaked through to the surroundings, he emerged from the woods and returned to his car.
The moment he sat down inside, the telegraph operator handed him a dispatch, saying, "Chief, a telegram has arrived, transmitted over a secure channel."
Upon hearing this, Chen Chuan reached out and took it. Reading through, he found it was a report from the State Administration Bureau warning that during the New Year celebrations, certain individuals might deliberately carry out sabotage against Great Shun settlements in Center City, Vea State.
His eyes flickered slightly as his thoughts turned. Sabotage against the settlements—what was their intention? Was it purely for destruction?
No. Consider the fact that the Great Shun delegation was currently present in Center City. If the settlements came under attack during the New Year, the delegation would inevitably step forward to condemn the acts and voice solidarity.
And once the Center City authorities of Vea State failed to give a satisfactory response, or committed missteps in handling the matter, the issue could easily escalate to higher levels—perhaps even sparking a foreign affairs conflict between the two nations.
After brief consideration, he said, "Return to the city. Send a wire instructing all security and armed personnel to report back to the hotel within one hour and await orders."
Chapter 1119