The following morning, Chen Chuan woke promptly from deep sleep. Getting up, he drew open the curtains, pushed open the window, and took a few deep breaths toward the horizon's morning glow. After washing up, he headed out for breakfast.
Leaving the cafeteria, he went straight to the weapons training hall. On the way, he suddenly remembered that Maka student wanting to spar with him.
Still, his opponent's skill had been mediocre. Unless the fellow came looking for him again, Chen Chuan had no reason to seek him out.
By now, quite a few students were already jogging along the shores of Spring and Autumn Lake. A morning breeze skimmed across the water's surface, brushing against his face and stirring a few strands of his hair. The February wind was still somewhat cold, but to him it felt refreshingly crisp.
Once inside the hall, he went to his usual training ground and picked up a practice saber from the adjacent weapon rack.
Though only wooden, it had been custom-made with a special core, matching the weight and length of his Xuejun Saber almost identically. Today, however, it felt considerably lighter in his hands.
Without question, this was the result of the mutated tissue in his body growing stronger.
Not only that, but when he had checked his watch yesterday, he noted that the battle eliminating the flying head had extended his overlap time by roughly half an hour—a massive leap forward.
It stood to reason that as his opponents grew increasingly formidable, each subsequent gain in overlap time would likely be substantial. This was undoubtedly good news.
After a few experimental swings, he set the thought aside and stepped into the center of the ring to run through forms, warming up while waiting for today's sparring partner.
Due to Cheng Zitong, he had been assigned to the Sanshou Division. But because he rarely attended public or invitation classes, he could name few people in Sanshou. Here in the Weapons Division, on the other hand, he had become acquainted with quite a number of students.
Even so, the lesser first-year students had only just begun to master the breathing technique, so most of those who crossed blades with him were second- or third-years.
Just then, a familiar figure strode in from outside.
"Senior Wu?" Chen Chuan greeted him.
Wu Han paused, glanced over, and broke into a grin. "Junior, you're here today!" Seeing Chen Chuan holding a long saber, his interest was piqued. "Come, come, come! Let's test our hands today."
He walked over to a weapon rack and instinctively reached for a heavy spear. Thinking better of it, he was about to set it down when Chen Chuan's voice came from behind: "Senior Wu, just use that one."
"Junior? Are you sure?"
Wu Han looked surprised. A long weapon versus a short one conferred an enormous advantage. Especially in the hands of an expert spearman, one couldn't even hope to get close. Trying to break through a spear with a single saber—barring advantages in terrain—usually required being several levels above one's opponent. Otherwise, nine times out of ten, you would be skewered before you even got close.
Chen Chuan nodded.
Wu Han chuckled and raised an eyebrow. "Junior, I know your saber skills are impressive, but... don't go saying I took advantage of you later."
Chen Chuan leveled his saber forward and smiled. "Let's give it a try."
Wu Han gripped the spear shaft and, using his whole body's momentum, pulled it free in a single sweeping motion. An ordinary short spear might not even match the reach of Chen Chuan's saber, but this spear was three meters long—nearly twice the length of the Xuejun Saber. Moreover, under the control of his jin, balance and force transfer were no issue whatsoever.
Even now, holding the spear by its very end with one hand, he kept it perfectly level, his fingers lightly kneading the shaft as effortlessly as if holding a chopstick. One could readily imagine how swift and fierce it would become the moment he moved.
Holding the spear, he walked to the center of the hall and pointed the tip toward Chen Chuan. Because the shaft was exceedingly long and his grip was so far back, the spear body bowed slightly under its own weight.
Seeing the two of them readying their respective weapons, several upperclassmen looked on with keen interest and drifted toward the edge of the mat in small groups.
They knew Wu Han—a member of the Weapons Division whose recent acquisition of a weapons license had made many third-years envious. And because Chen Chuan sparred here regularly, they were familiar with him as well, knowing his skill had always been exceptionally high. This spar promised to be very interesting.
Wu Han gave a fair warning: "Junior, watch out!"
Gripping the spear with both hands, the shaft resting snug against his hip, he tested the distance with two small feints. Seeing Chen Chuan remain motionless, the spear tip flickered and abruptly shot forward.
Yet as the point thrust toward him, Chen Chuan did not parry with his saber or dodge as expected. Instead, his free hand flashed out like lightning with an empty-handed chop. With a sharp crack, the spearhead was sheared clean off by his bare hand.
Yet Wu Han did not halt. Twisting his hips and driving off his back foot, he thrust his trailing hand forward, sending the splintered shaft twisting forward with momentum. This time, the jagged, broken end jabbed directly into Chen Chuan's raised forearm. Instantly, Wu Han felt his blow meet an immovable wall of force, unable to penetrate in the slightest.
As the jin of both combatants collided in the center, a succession of loud, snapping cracks resounded. The spear shaft shattered segment by segment from the middle, scattering splinters in every direction.
The watching students raised their hands to swat aside the flying fragments. When the wooden pieces hit the floor, they bounced high into the air, testament to the immense force behind the impact.
Wu Han tossed aside the remaining stump in his hand and shouted enthusiastically, "Thrilling!" Then he exclaimed with admiration, "Junior, your jin is truly something else!"
Applause broke out all around them. Brief as the clash had been, both their tactical responses and their solid fundamentals were well worth praising.
Chen Chuan especially stood out. Even without the spearhead, a thrust backed by Wu Han's jin would have punched through a brick wall, yet Chen Chuan had blocked it with his bare arm. That had to be the work of jin as well, but executing it like that was extraordinary.
None of the upperclassmen had ever seen someone pull that off, nor would anyone dare try. They guessed Chen Chuan hadn't taken it head-on with brute strength alone, but had utilized some specialized technique.
This was plausible enough. While the basics of jin taught to students were common knowledge, everyone studied under different instructors, and unique personal techniques were kept private.
This time, however, their guess was entirely wrong.
Chen Chuan had blocked the thrust using force akin to Wrapped Robe Jin. He had deliberately used Wu Han's strike to test the toughness and progress of his mutated tissue.
Judging by the result, it far surpassed what it had been before.
Although he had overlapped with his Second Self for that split second, the phantom showed no signs of blurring or fading, indicating that his physical body had borne the impact completely.
He felt that even without overlapping with the Second Self, he might be able to attempt it. After all, he had no fear of injury.
Wu Han walked over to the rack, grabbed another spear, and said with high spirits, "Junior, again?"
Chen Chuan smiled faintly. "Gladly."
The two of them sparred for the rest of the morning. Throughout the bouts, Chen Chuan confirmed his hypothesis: even without using his Second Self, he was more than capable of holding his own against Wu Han. Without the overlap, however, his reflexes and speed dropped a notch, forcing him to rely entirely on technique and experience.
Still, this was only a sparring drill. Winning or losing mattered little; what mattered was what he gained from it. If he could handle opponents with ease without relying on the Second Self, he would only be that much more formidable once he did overlap.
At noon, he and Wu Han went to the cafeteria for lunch together, chatting about happenings both on and off campus.
Lately, Wu Han had taken on quite a few commissions, securing several assignments normally reserved for third-years. Having a weapons license truly made an enormous difference.
Speaking of this, Wu Han sighed wistfully. "If only Brother Liu were still here."
Chen Chuan said, "As long as we possess sufficient strength, we can not only do what Senior Liu did, but also preserve ourselves and accomplish even more."
Wu Han nodded vigorously. "Junior, you're right. I need to work even harder!"
After lunch, Chen Chuan took his leave of Wu Han and returned to his dormitory. The telephone technicians had just arrived. Because the phone lines were already wired into the building, installation took very little time.
According to regulations, however, this telephone was for his personal use only and came with daily time limits. If any violations were discovered, his privilege of having a private line would be revoked.
Once the workers left, Chen Chuan walked over to the telephone and lifted the receiver. He initially thought about calling home, but realized no one would likely be there at this hour; it would be better to wait until evening.
After a moment's thought, he placed a call to Ren Shu, informing him that future commissions could be routed directly to this number. Ren Shu was delighted, noting how much faster and more convenient communication would now be.
Over the line, Ren Shu said, "Mr. Chen, the compensation for handling this commission has already been transferred to your account. The Municipal Administration gave our company very high marks this time. It's just a pity you aren't officially registered as a commissioner yet, so you couldn't receive a personal evaluation rating."
Chen Chuan gave a slight smile. He didn't care about that. He had no intention of becoming a professional commissioner; taking commissions was merely a way to acquire resources for combat training to facilitate his upward climb.
Ren Shu added, "By the way, I still have quite a few old urban legend commissions on file here. Would Mr. Chen be interested in any of them?"
Chen Chuan glanced at his Second Self. Although the rapid growth of his mutated tissue had leveled off for now, the phantom's faint translucent blurring had not completely cleared. There was no rush.
"I've only just completed the flying head task. I should probably wait a few days before taking on another."
"Right, right!" The sound of Ren Shu smacking his own forehead came through the receiver. "I got ahead of myself and forgot. Please get plenty of rest, Mr. Chen. I won't disturb you any further."
Chen Chuan set the phone down. Just as he was about to step away, the bell suddenly rang. Mildly surprised, he picked it up to hear the dormitory proctor's voice.
"Connected already? Good. Just calling to let you know: tomorrow morning at eight o'clock sharp, assemble in front of the dorm building with the other selected students. You'll be accompanying the Maka exchange students to the Foreign Affairs Bureau. Vehicles will be there to pick you up, so don't schedule anything else."
Chen Chuan replied, "Understood, sir. Thank you."
The proctor grumbled, "If all of you earned scholarships, wouldn't that save me a lot of trouble? I wouldn't have to go around notifying everyone individually whenever something comes up."
Chen Chuan thought to himself, *Doesn't that just make your position more important?*
The proctor chuckled. "Silent, are you? Cursing me in your head? Doesn't matter. As long as a student excels in their studies, I don't mind a little grumbling behind my back. Consider it a privilege for top students. Hanging up now."
Chen Chuan looked at the receiver, thinking, *Teacher, after you put it like that, wouldn't it be my loss if I didn't grumble a little?*
Hanging up the phone, he changed into training attire and went into his private training room. Steadying his breath, he resumed his daily exercises.
The next day.
By seven-thirty in the morning, Chen Chuan had finished getting ready. Because this was a formal exchange function, he had changed into the formal student uniform issued by the academy.
For a foreign affairs exchange, however, weapons were strictly forbidden. Naturally, neither the Xuejun Saber nor firearms could be brought along. Yet for an event like this, with a dedicated security detail present, there was little cause for concern. Besides, if it ever came down to it, as long as others had weapons, that meant he would have access to them as well.
Straightening up before the mirror for a final check, he put on his student cap, adjusted the brim, and pushed open the door to head out.
Chapter 119