After speaking with Gui Zihan, Chen Chuan summoned his squad members and instructed them to remain on high alert in the coming days. Even during their rest rotations, they were to stay in places with strong security presence whenever possible.
The team had just learned of the attack on Delegation Leader Xie, and every one of them responded with solemn acknowledgement.
Yuan Qiuyuan asked, "Captain, do we need to reinforce the perimeter defense of the villa? The grounds are quite large, and Delegation Leader Xie takes a significant portion of the security team with him whenever he goes out. We might be stretched too thin to cover everything."
Chen Chuan replied, "Delegation Leader Xie has already spoken with the consulate. In two days, a security detachment will be stationed near the villa. We will leave the perimeter surveillance and defense to them; they will run regular patrols. All of you just need to keep the inner grounds secure."
"That makes things much easier," Yuan Qiuyuan said.
Chen Chuan nodded and looked around at the group. "The Federation is not like back home. Cults and sects abound here, and some of their methods are extremely insidious. Everyone remember to report to the ritual team for inspections on schedule. Do not let your guard down."
"Understood!"
After issuing these instructions, Chen Chuan did not dismiss them right away. Instead, he worked with each person individually, resolving specific quandaries and sticking points in their combat arts.
Last year in Jibei Dao, they had frequently sparred and exchanged pointers, making rapid progress not only in the growth of their mutated tissue, but primarily in their combat technique.
Since arriving in the Federation, however, their main energy had been devoted to bodyguard duties, and their technique had perhaps even regressed slightly compared to before.
Even so, cultivation resources were abundant here, and everyone's cultivation had progressed to varying degrees. Since foundational strength was the root of everything, their overall combat effectiveness had still improved—something they could all clearly feel within themselves. As a result, their spirits remained high and their outlook positive.
Yet they inevitably ran into a dilemma: What exact stage had they reached right now? How far were they from the next stage? And how much difference were their efforts and improvements really making?
They had virtually no clear conception of these matters.
Under Chen Chuan's guidance, however, clarity dawned at once. Knowing and not knowing made a world of difference; the effects on cultivation were entirely different. When a martial artist's heart was filled with absolute resolve, their mutated tissue sensed those mental and emotional states, unleashing its latent potential to drive them forward.
Seeing how eager and itching to practice they all were after learning this, Chen Chuan knew they were impatient to test and internalize what he had just explained. Since this was precisely when breakthroughs came most easily, he simply granted them half a day off.
Once everyone had left, he returned to his own room to cultivate.
By nightfall, Delegation Leader Xie had not yet returned from Aurelia Palace, but an orderly brought in a dossier.
Chen Chuan picked it up to read, his spirits lifting slightly. *Finally, it's here,* he thought.
Ever since experiencing that ritual the other day, he had felt an underlying sense that the other party harbored some ulterior motive. If that were truly the case, they likely would not stop there, which meant he had to find a way to gain a clear understanding of their background.
The document before him was the intelligence on the Primitive Sect that he had commissioned the covert department to investigate and compile.
After dismissing the orderly, he read through it carefully.
The Primitive Sect had been founded ninety years ago, though it had enjoyed little renown at first, existing merely as a minor local sect in the central region. It was only fifty years ago that it gradually entered the sights of the Federation's upper crust.
Its subsequent rise to prominence was fueled not only by advocating the unrestrained indulgence of extreme desires, but primarily by its core service: transferring human vitality into another person's body through specialized rituals. This was their key competitive advantage. Today, they made no attempt to conceal it, having even secured specialized legislative permits for the practice.
Chen Chuan could not help recalling that back in Yangzhi, certain esoteric cult rituals conducted in secret had produced identical effects.
Such methods were indeed immensely popular with powerful magnates, but the level of ritual proficiency behind them was extraordinarily high. Even if certain secret religions could manage the feat, severe aftereffects usually followed.
Although the lower classes of the Federation's East Bank, like those on the West Bank, relied almost universally on implants for their livelihoods and labor, many among the upper crust did not trust implants at all. They were deeply conservative, and what the Primitive Sect offered was precisely what they craved, providing fertile soil for the sect's expansion.
The sect's full strength was unknown, but judging from the intelligence, it was likely not far behind the New Light Cult. The mere fact that it could get the government to pass legislation specifically for its benefit, and that its rituals permeated the waterways running through the entire city, attested to its immense influence. Snuffing it out in a single blow was out of the question.
That made his line of thought simple: build up his own strength first and find a way to deal with them once he was stronger. In the meantime, he could not allow the sect to disrupt him.
He was not acting alone right now; he was a member of the diplomatic delegation. Exerting pressure on them by leveraging the power of both the delegation and Great Shun should be viable.
Yet relying solely on that was not foolproof. The Federation government was comprised of disparate individuals and factions; as long as those wielding power pulled a few strings behind the scenes, they could stir up endless trouble and interference.
He disliked relying on an adversary's voluntary retreat. He had to take action to ensure they would be too preoccupied to turn their attention toward him for now.
His eyes lingered on the dossier. A sect like this undoubtedly possessed its own fissure. Most ancient sects had acquired theirs during the transition between the old and new eras, and thus enjoyed official government recognition.
Following the advent of the new era, under the Grand Alliance pact, secretly maintaining an enduring fissure was strictly prohibited. The Primitive Sect had truly risen only forty or fifty years ago; before that, they could not have possessed a fissure, nor had the capability to maintain one.
If it could be proven that they harbored a concealed fissure, there would be grounds for the Investigation Delegation to intervene and inspect them. From there, applying political pressure or resorting directly to armed intervention could be decided based on the circumstances.
Naturally, the Federation might be tacitly condoning the fissure's existence under the table, but once it was dragged into the open, public acknowledgment and approval would be impossible.
He checked the specifics: currently, the Primitive Sect maintained two strongholds in the capital. One was located within the ancient temple ruins of the First Folk, which had been converted into their nominal headquarters. It was semi-open to the outside world, though entering required a certain social status and an advance reservation.
The other stronghold sat on a peninsula along the northern shore of the Cuiklan Great Inland Lake.
Regarding this second site in particular, based on his experience, a fissure was very likely located there.
It needed to be scouted. Naturally, he could not go himself; as a delegation member, any movement required prior reporting. But he had a simpler method.
He opened his palm. A moment later, a seed wrapped in purple qi hovered upward. Infusing it with his consciousness for a brief moment, he released it into the air.
The seed could attach itself to an ownerless vessel and scout the situation through it. If the presence of a fissure could be confirmed, they could act immediately.
Of course, while it would be great if this method succeeded, there were other options if it failed.
Around the Federation Capital, corporate contractors and mercenary squads were plentiful, and plenty of people were willing to do anything for money. While that might alert the Primitive Sect that someone was investigating them, it hardly mattered—they were targeting him either way, whether they knew or not.
Just as he was preparing his countermeasure, inside the Great Staircase Temple amidst the First Folk ruins at the northern end of Center City.
Within a vast, empty stone hall, seven figures draped in black robes embroidered with gold thread sat upon stone thrones. Each revealed nothing but their eyes. Below the steps, braziers burned with golden-yellow flames.
Below, a man wearing a painted mask looked up and spoke.
"According to the divination of our ritual, the radiance he emitted was the most dazzling of all. Regrettably, he seemed to notice something, which prevented the ritual from reaching a successful completion. However, we believe..."
He paused. "...that this person is exceedingly close to the 'Golden Trait.'"
One of the figures on the thrones asked, "So he might be a 'Child of Gold'?"
The masked man replied, "Yes. We believe it is entirely possible."
The eyes of those seated upon the thrones grew feverish. The so-called "Child of Gold" was a doctrine within their sect.
It posited that the onset of the Great Impact would intensify the mutation of all living beings, humanity especially. Consequently, a small number of highly mutated variants would inevitably emerge across the globe. These were the individuals the sect sought to discover, for such beings held extraordinary significance to their faith.
So far, they had identified several suspects within the Federation, but regrettably, the one who best met the criteria had ultimately fallen under the control of the Federation government, leaving them unable to intervene.
Their pursuit of a "Child of Gold" was fanatical beyond measure.
One of the seated figures asked, "If he is indeed one, how are we to obtain him?"
The man was a member of the Great Shun delegation. Making a direct move against him would mean war, something the Federation would never permit.
The masked man said, "Ladies and gentlemen, we currently have a plan. The year before last, the New Light Cult invited us to join them in an assault. We gave no definitive answer back then. Due to disruption by the Great Shun delegation and the fact that the personnel originally arranged were killed by that individual, that siege could not be organized due to an acute lack of manpower."
The Primitive Sect had good reason to decline back then: the West Bank had always been the territory of the New Light Cult and several other sects. Although the Primitive Sect also proselytized there, the lion's share of the spoils would inevitably be claimed by the New Light Cult, leaving them with little interest.
"I propose we reactivate this plan. Given the importance Great Shun's delegation places on Kawatua, they are very likely to dispatch him there as reinforcement. When that happens, our opportunity will have arrived."
Those seated upon the thrones exchanged glances. One remarked, "Feasible though it is, we must first prove that he truly possesses the 'Golden Trait.' If he does not, what we invest will not yield an adequate return."
Bowing low, the masked man replied, "Indeed, we have taken that into account. We will arrange another test in the near future. Please be patient, my lords."
Chapter 1186