After inquiring about the situation, Chu Zhixian dismissed his aide and strictly forbade him from speaking of the matter again. He then paced back and forth across the room, turning the problem over in his mind.
Restricting Chen Chuan's martial power was something he had always wanted to do—partly out of personal conviction, and partly to protect the interests of the faction behind him.
More than that, he had a lingering feeling that if Chen Chuan were not placed under constraints before they returned to Great Shun, such an opportunity might never come again. For that reason, he had been constantly reporting the situation to authorities back home.
Yet there was resistance at home as well, making it practically impossible to achieve anything before their departure. Fortunately, certain procedural loopholes existed when domestic organizations communicated with international bodies. Driven by his initiative and coordinated by his domestic allies, this commission had finally been arranged.
He had anticipated that Chen Chuan might refuse, but never in his wildest dreams did he expect Chen Chuan to arrest the men outright.
While he disliked many of Chen Chuan's actions, Chu Zhixian knew full well that the young man was far from unreasonable; he rarely acted without complete certainty. There had to be a specific reason, or perhaps he had already secured hard evidence.
That meant a flaw had surfaced somewhere in the process.
Fortunately, when it came to the actual transaction, Chu Zhixian had merely been a behind-the-scenes instigator. The two representatives had no direct connection to him. As long as he refrained from stepping forward, Chen Chuan would never discover his involvement.
He walked over to his desk, drew out paper and pen, and began drafting a report.
Though this attempt had failed, he had no intention of giving up. He held fast to the conviction that uncontrollable martial force had to be curbed—and the sooner the better—rather than left until events spiraled entirely out of hand.
***
The two delegations rested there through the night. By morning, nearly seventy airships had gathered at the staging area. Atop the long rows of mooring towers, colossal airships rested side by side, stretching from nearby into the distant horizon in a truly magnificent spectacle.
Because of the vast number of personnel and cargo, transferring everything using only the mooring towers would have been far too slow. Several airships lifted off ahead of schedule, lowering tow cables and service lifts to hoist up select freight in advance.
Chen Chuan noticed one particularly unusual airship among the fleet, clearly redeployed from elsewhere. Crafted with a significant amount of rare biological materials, it appeared extraordinarily sturdy. From its design, it seemed to be a heavy freight transport.
Beyond that, he could sense a remarkably powerful field organism dwelling inside. For him to perceive it so distinctly, it was nine times out of ten a potent active conscious entity.
Stationing an active conscious entity aboard a freight airship meant whatever was loaded inside had to be of paramount importance.
As he was observing, a sudden intuition made him turn his head. He saw Fan Zhentong's towering figure striding in his direction, with security personnel on either side snapping salutes as he passed.
Once the man drew near, Chen Chuan greeted him first. "Mr. Fan."
"Section Chief Chen," Fan Zhentong said. "This time, the delegation is bringing back a batch of rather important items, and I will need you to keep watch over them alongside me."
He gestured toward the outside, his gaze settling upon the unusual airship. "On the journey home, we will be traveling aboard that vessel."
Chen Chuan took another look and nodded. "Understood."
"Then please go ahead and see to your arrangements, Section Chief Chen," Fan Zhentong said. "We will rendezvous here in two hours."
Chen Chuan agreed. He first went to make arrangements for his subordinates, instructing Chaoming to fly alongside his assigned airship once airborne. There was no need to worry about food; he had prepared ample provisions in advance, more than enough to last the entire voyage.
At the same time, he transferred his luggage from the airship he was originally slated to board, bringing along the external implant as well. After all, various items were stored within it, along with significant amounts of critical data. It was safest kept by his side.
Two hours later, the delegation's key personnel had largely boarded, leaving only ground security and inspection teams below.
Chen Chuan accompanied Fan Zhentong aboard the vessel. The moment he stepped inside, he realized there was no security detail aboard—only the two of them. From a safety perspective, such an arrangement made perfect sense.
If a crisis ever escalated to the point where their intervention was required, ordinary personnel would be of no help whatsoever.
After stowing their luggage, the two walked side by side, their rhythmic footsteps echoing through the cavernous, empty compartment.
"Section Chief Chen," Fan Zhentong began, "among all the young men I have ever met, you possess the greatest capability and the finest courage.
"Some believe you have constantly stirred up trouble and complicated the delegation's negotiations, but I do not see it that way. As a martial artist, one need not be overly hesitant or weighed down by second thoughts. So long as you deem an action right, you should carry it through. Moreover, every single thing you have done has ultimately proven advantageous to Great Shun.
"That alone is enough to shatter their criticisms. So-called rules have always existed merely to constrain the mediocre. For youths like you, I believe you should be given free rein to act.
"To tell the truth, some of your mannerisms remind me of an old acquaintance who also hailed from the Purist Faction. You two share certain similarities."
"Mr. Fan has worked alongside seniors from our faction before?" Chen Chuan asked.
"I have collaborated with people from all Five Great Factions," Fan Zhentong replied. "Yet compared to the others, the Purist practitioners I encountered were by far the most uncorrupted and trustworthy."
Thoughts raced through Chen Chuan's mind. Beyond serving as security consultant for the delegation, Fan Zhentong held another status: he was an active candidate under consideration for the Supreme Advisory Council.
Chen Chuan had discussed this identity with Delegation Leader Xie, and both agreed that if all went smoothly once the tour concluded, Fan Zhentong would very likely be inducted into the Supreme Advisory Council. That would place him at the absolute pinnacle of Great Shun's power structure.
Thus, one could not view him simply as a pure martial artist. His words here undoubtedly carried a deeper purpose.
Fan Zhentong continued, "Section Chief Chen, given the natural talent you have displayed, so long as you have adequate resources, reaching the Dongxuan View should not prove overly difficult for you.
"My advice to you is to secure the support of your faction upon your return and break through that threshold as early as possible. Only when you attain certain realms do you gain a true voice, and only then can you truly enforce your own will and convictions."
Chen Chuan nodded slightly. Fan Zhentong had not spoken at length, but his guidance was remarkably clear—and it aligned completely with his own thoughts.
Restrictions and shackles bound you only when your strength was insufficient. Once your power reached a certain height, even if you paid no heed to such constraints, countless people would line up to invent justifications on your behalf.
By this point, they had arrived at the midsection of the first deck. Stacks of objects were secured throughout the space, some packed in crates and others exposed to the open air, the latter primarily consisting of small and medium statues.
Each item bore an identification label. From their appearance, they were largely religious paraphernalia and ritual implements, bearing an unmistakable Eastern Continent style.
After looking them over, Chen Chuan asked, "Are these artifacts from the old faiths?"
"Indeed," Fan Zhentong replied. "Delegation Leader Xie must have told you the purpose of our negotiations with the Federation, yes?"
"He mentioned it."
Fan Zhentong said, "In exchange for our agreement not to interfere in the affairs of the Tianji Sect, beyond the concessions promised during talks, the Federation also agreed to return various relics of the old faiths scattered across the Ying Continent.
"Among them are artifacts belonging to the Xuan Sect, the Chan Sect, and even some smaller sects whose names I cannot identify."
Chen Chuan was well aware of the history. When the Tianji Sect was established on the Ying Continent centuries ago, numerous figures from the old faiths traveled there as well. Naturally, they had not gone empty-handed, taking many items with them.
Some had joined the Tianji Sect, others established their own orders in imitation, and some simply lived in seclusion. Over time, those possessions had scattered across the Ying Continent.
Returning them during negotiations was an overture of goodwill from the Federation. Yet the Federation was willing to do so only because, aside from some historical and academic value, these items held little worth in their eyes.
"Most of the relics here are of little consequence," Fan Zhentong said. "They are arranged here primarily to provide cover for the truly important items I mentioned."
Chen Chuan looked at him.
Fan Zhentong's expression turned grave. "Because those items vary in size, some are kept directly on my person, while the rest can only be placed out in the open—meaning right here."
He halted before a half-height crate. "This is one of them. It bears a ritual seal, so I will not open it for you.
"Aside from this one, there are several more on the decks above. I will take you to inspect each of them in a moment.
"Not a single one of these items may be lost under any circumstances. From this moment until we clear the Federation's borders, you and I must guard them without stepping away for an instant."
He added in a low, somber voice, "These involve national secrets. They are things nations have contested over internationally throughout history, and they contest over them even now. We must remain on high alert. To put it somewhat dramatically, whatever comes for us out there might not necessarily be human."
Chen Chuan's gaze narrowed slightly, grasping the underlying implication. "Mr. Fan, I believe I understand."
"The cabin here is divided into three tiers," Fan Zhentong continued. "As you have likely sensed, there is an active conscious entity on the upper level, brought with us from the homeland. It also shares security duties here: it will guard the middle deck, I will hold the uppermost deck, and you will guard the lowest deck—this very floor.
"If you require anything, have others deliver it to the outer hatch. No one other than you and me is permitted inside."
"Understood," Chen Chuan said.
"Come, I will show you the other areas that require your attention."
Fan Zhentong led Chen Chuan through all three decks, pointing out each object that required safeguarding.
By the time Chen Chuan returned to the first deck, he could feel the airship gently lifting off beneath his feet.
He walked over to a porthole and peered outside. One after another, the airships detached from the mooring towers, departing from the land below. After watching for a while, he returned to his seat, sat cross-legged, and sank into meditative stillness.
Yet after resting for only a brief while, a sudden perception stirred him. He discovered that the elixir pellet in his pocket was pulsing faintly, and a vast plume of radiant qi was rapidly spilling forth from it.
Chapter 1288