Delegation Leader Xie said, "Restricting the combat power of martial artists has always been a major priority for nations around the world. Section Chief Chen, your battle against Crossal demonstrated strength no less than that of a Dongxuan View martial artist. Nations worldwide, including the Federation, want to place restrictions on you. Back home, there is also a faction demanding limits on you from the standpoint of so-called moral righteousness and international order. It was only because you were still carrying out your mission and had repeatedly rendered meritorious service that those voices were suppressed before. Now our mission is nearing completion and we will soon return home, so this matter has been brought up once again."
He patted the handrail near the airship's porthole. "Deputy Delegation Leader Chu was put forward by certain domestic factions, so he raised this matter on their behalf. At this juncture, with our impending return combined with international objections, our country might very well agree to it. Someone might even approach you to sign an agreement in the near future."
Chen Chuan nodded to acknowledge this. Something like this would not be settled so quickly. Crucially, he was still in the middle of his mission, and the opposing faction back home would surely find ways to stall.
As for the international voices, Gao Ming had been continually dealing with them, so there was no need to worry about them for now.
While they chatted, the airship banked and turned toward the south. It was just past noon, and the sun hung high over the endless plateau, bathing everything before them in a lustrous golden light.
Looking down from the airship, the shadows of the mountains and the ravines of the earth interlaced, meadows and forests blending together. When a gust of wind swept across, it was as if layer upon layer of rolling waves surged across the landscape.
Having been influenced by the sacred ground over many years, the creatures here showed varying signs of mutation, giving rise to countless unique life forms.
From giant birds whose plumage flickered with phosphorescence, to silver lizards crouched beside streams and rocks, small winged fish swimming in the rivers, and colorful beetles floating in the air and vibrating their wings around the airship, they adorned the plateau in fantastical wonder, brimming with vibrant life.
Delegation Leader Xie remarked with feeling, "What a truly wonderful place."
With a shift of his thought, Chen Chuan drew over two of the finest-looking beetles. The moment they were caught, the beetles curled into tight balls, their exteriors resembling beautiful gemstones.
These were the gemstone beetles, relatively famous on the Life Plateau. People specifically collected the carapaces they shed each time, and they had once even served as currency among the First People.
The two he had chosen possessed glossy, lustrous shells with the richest colors and just the right size. He planned to bring them back as gifts for the two little ones.
Seeing their interest in these creatures, the First People aboard the airship brought out tools to help them catch more.
In the past, the conservative faction of the First People had always maintained that all things possessed spirits, forbidding hunting or capturing the life on the Life Plateau without permission. But in truth, this had merely been an excuse for the high-ranking nobility to monopolize the plateau; they themselves had never abided by the rule.
Now that the accommodationists had been purged, the conservatives suppressed, and the Life Plateau opened up, there was no longer any need to heed such restrictions. As a result, the current leadership had quickly won the hearts of the people.
Of course, with Kawatua's current population of one million, the Life Plateau was more than capable of supporting them—at least until significant population growth occurred, there was no need to worry about any problems.
Delegation Leader Xie received a messenger bird. As long as one fed this bird consistently for three days, it would remain loyal for a lifetime. Furthermore, so long as it was shown an accurate pictorial guide, the messenger bird could fly to any place it had visited before to deliver a letter, or even place an item into the hands of a designated recipient.
Because these birds flew at great altitudes and with high speed, they had virtually no natural predators, making them practically perfect messengers.
This made him all the more convinced that the Life Plateau was a treasure trove waiting to be developed, and he believed that as contacts deepened in the future, it would bring even greater benefits to Great Shun.
Because the Life Plateau was vast and its finest parts lay behind Kawatua, a single day was not enough to explore it all. Thus, after cruising for an afternoon, the airship returned to Kawatua toward dusk.
Chen Chuan and Delegation Leader Xie agreed to head behind the plateau the next day to attend a grand hunting and barbecue event hosted by Kawatua. He then returned to his quarters and first placed a call to Gao Ming, who remained at the legation in the Federation capital, relaying the news he had just learned.
Afterward, he brought out the feather, gave a call to Chaoming, and made a swipe in midair. A fissure tore open before him, and he stepped into the sacred tree airspace.
Once he arrived, his pocket stirred slightly, and the civet urban legend leaped out, bounding and prancing in all directions.
He glanced at it. Perhaps because it had been continuously absorbing nutrients here over the past several days, it looked as though it had grown a bit plumper.
Chaoming let out a cry at that moment. After scuttling a few steps across the ground, it leaped into the air and began soaring in circles above the sacred tree.
Chen Chuan walked over to the edge of the cloud islet. He could sense that the entire cloud islet seemed to be drifting forward; in the distance, the boughs and aerial roots of the sacred tree looked as if they were right before his eyes.
The nourishment here was undeniably even richer than before.
He sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes.
At present, his cultivation in the Longevity View had reached its pinnacle, but that did not mean he could not cultivate further. In particular, he had recently been attempting to break through the bounds of that realm on his own.
At this moment, he could clearly feel as though he were tightly enclosed by a heavy, thick barrier. No matter how much force he exerted outward or pushed against it, breaking through proved exceedingly difficult. Even if he forcibly pried open a tiny sliver of space, so long as he failed to break through in a single breath, it seemed futile.
There was actually a method here: to grind away at it bit by bit, wearing down the thick barrier over time.
He surmised that even if this method succeeded, it might take ten or even twenty years—possibly even longer—and would strictly require remaining immersed in an environment such as this.
No wonder those veteran Longevity View martial artists were usually nowhere to be seen; most were likely secluded in convergence zones or similar environments.
Still, he pinned his hopes on the aid of external forces. Not only would it save time, but such tempering would also maximize the potential of his mutated tissues.
As for now, while his realm was difficult to break through, there was still room to refine his techniques. For instance, training his spirit visage and spiritual impact was evidently much more convenient to practice here.
While he was pondering his techniques, flashes of light shimmered behind him, tearing open a fissure through which a figure stepped in from outside.
Akhtawa spotted Chen Chuan seated there right away. He walked over, bowed, and said, "Mr. Chen, am I disturbing you?"
Chen Chuan replied, "Not at all. This is your people's sacred ground; if anyone is disturbing anyone, it is I who am disturbing you."
"You are too kind."
Akhtawa straightened up and said solemnly, "Mr. Chen, may I seek your guidance?"
He added, "I heard about what happened with you, Mr. Chen, and know that you defeated a Throne martial artist here. I wish to understand the gap between myself and your kind."
Chen Chuan opened his eyes. He stood up, turned to face Akhtawa, and said, "Certainly."
Akhtawa's expression turned exceptionally serious. He drew a dagger, greeted him with Great Shun etiquette, and said in the language of Great Shun, "Please instruct me."
Chen Chuan likewise nodded in return and said, "Make your move."
Akhtawa knew he could not treat Chen Chuan as someone on his own level, so he did not hold back on formalities. His feet began to shift with cautious steps.
Spiritual fire flickered across his body as he circled Chen Chuan a few times. Finding no openings whatsoever, he immediately realized such posturing was pointless.
And so, decisive as ever, he charged in from his most familiar angle and threw a punch straight at Chen Chuan, his other hand gripping the dagger tightly, seemingly not yet ready to deploy it.
Raising a single hand, Chen Chuan parried and deflected repeatedly, taking more than a dozen punches in moments.
Very quickly, he formed an assessment of Akhtawa.
Remarkably solid technique, with every strike leaving follow-ups and room to maneuver. His offensive speed and transitions were even firmer. Among the Longevity View martial artists Chen Chuan had encountered, this man could easily rank in the top three.
Seeing that Chen Chuan faced him with only one hand throughout, Akhtawa knew this level of offense posed no pressure to him at all. Thus, he abandoned all restraint and deployed his killing move directly, pressing a finger against the arm Chen Chuan used to block.
The spiritual light of both sides collided just as before. The spiritual fire clinging to Chen Chuan's body was immensely dense, so pressing against it produced no effect. But at that exact moment, a blinding glare erupted from Akhtawa's fingertip.
Chen Chuan's eyes flickered slightly. A spiritual impact at point-blank range?
He had no intention of dodging. In that instant, his spiritual fire surged toward the point of contact.
In a flash, radiant light burst forth at the point of contact. The solidified spiritual fire on Chen Chuan's arm could be seen caving inward in a dent, until only a thin layer remained, coming within a hair's breadth of being breached.
He could not help but nod inwardly, praising the fine technique.
This move concealed a spiritual impact within an ordinary strike. Not only was the burst rapid, but it was also entirely unexpected; an ordinary opponent would have no chance to react.
Although doing this meant reducing the power of the spiritual impact, he observed that Akhtawa cleverly substituted penetrative force for the lack of explosive impact power, making it all the more covert and dangerous.
What was especially rare was that the technique behind it was remarkably sharp—
Akhtawa seemed to have anticipated that his single blow would not break through. His other hand thrust forward, stabbing the dagger toward nearly the exact same spot.
Using the impact to force the opponent to focus entirely on defense, and even if it failed to breach, following up immediately with a dagger thrust.
A very clever tactic.
Based on Chen Chuan's own experience, most opponents who faced Akhtawa for the first time would likely suffer at the hands of this move.
Above all, the technical caliber involved was far from low. Overcoming one's own stiffness and hesitation when unleashing a spiritual impact, and then transitioning seamlessly into the follow-up attack, was not something an ordinary person could master.
It seemed this sparring match was rather interesting. Even though his opponent's combat power was not on the same tier as his own, in terms of technique, it could provide him with ample inspiration.
Chapter 1280