The man looked at Mr. Zhuan and said in a deep voice, "Greetings, Fellow Zhuan."
"Counselor Yu," Mr. Zhuan replied coldly.
He had an exceptionally deep impression of this man.
Back then, within the Purist Faction, under the leadership of Mr. Guan, a large group of people—including his own elder brother—had championed a single conviction:
Namely, actively nurturing the younger generation and bringing more outstanding young talent into the fold, rather than clinging rigidly to outdated conventions.
To that end, it was acceptable even to relax certain standards, for the Great Impact waited for no one. Faced with competition from the other major factions, they desperately needed more talent.
This had been a reform initiated from within, and in its early stages, it had indeed achieved remarkable results, injecting a surge of fresh blood. Many of the younger generation had showcased their talents, ushering in a flourishing atmosphere across the faction and significantly boosting the Purist Faction's influence across multiple center cities.
Consequently, the group upholding this ideal had once grown into the faction's largest and most influential camp.
Yet ever since the incident involving Zhao Zhenye, everything had changed. The philosophy they implemented was completely overturned.
Mr. Guan had stepped forward on his own initiative to shoulder the greatest responsibility, while a cadre of spirited, duty-bound young people had volunteered for garrison assignments in the convergence zone and the Ring of the World in an effort to restore their honor.
After all, they were of the younger generation; some of them were not truly strong enough to be sent to such places. But driven by a desire to atone, or simply eager to prove themselves, they had insisted on going—and the one responsible for reviewing and approving those requests at the time was the very man standing before him.
He could easily have halted them with a single refusal, yet he had opened the gates wide, allowing this group of passionate, conscientious youths—who could have shone brilliantly in the future—to head out there. Most of them had never returned.
Even though nothing about the matter had technically breached faction regulations on the surface, Mr. Zhuan could never bring himself to show him any warmth.
Seeing him remain silent, Counselor Yu took the initiative to speak again. "I hear you have guided a remarkably capable junior. You have my sincere congratulations."
Mr. Zhuan said nothing.
Mask was also somewhat puzzled. After a moment's thought, he said, "Old Tightwad Yu, are you talking about Counselor Chen?"
"It seems you two aren't aware yet." Counselor Yu paid no mind to the nickname Mask had given him. "Ah, right. You've just returned from Chuanxi Dao, so you haven't heard the news."
Mr. Zhuan and Mask grew even more puzzled, but neither had any intention of pressing him for details. Even if they wanted to know what was going on, they had no desire to converse further with the man in front of them.
Counselor Yu continued, "I am truly pleased to see such an exceptional junior join our Purist Faction. You two deserve immense credit. When I learned of this, I was overjoyed, so I came to offer you both my congratulations."
The two of them vaguely sensed that something monumental must have occurred, and that it had to do with Chen Chuan. Otherwise, there was no reason for this man to go out of his way to express his stance—ordinarily, he barely gave anyone the time of day.
After a long pause, Mask scoffed. "Old Tightwad Yu, drop the righteous act. We'd count ourselves lucky enough if you just didn't drag your feet behind our backs or stab us from the shadows."
Counselor Yu showed no hint of anger. He said in a deep voice, "I understand that you two may harbor prejudices against me, but I say this with utter sincerity. That you found such a brilliant junior for the Purist Faction proves you have never abandoned your original ideals, and for that, I am truly glad. Though our philosophies may differ, everything we do is unquestionably for the prosperity and growth of the Purist Faction."
"If that's the case, why don't you put your money where your mouth is and cough up some resources to support us? Don't just stand there mouthing empty platitudes."
Counselor Yu did not take the bait. He merely gave them a nod, turned, and promptly walked away.
The two watched him depart. Mask gave a dry chuckle. "Old Tightwad is Old Tightwad after all. The moment you ask him to bleed a little, he shuts right up. You never need to take his courteous pleasantries seriously."
After saying this, both fell silent for a short while before Mask finally broke it: "Strange, though. What on earth did Counselor Chen do to make him take note of it like this? That Old Tightwad Yu may be a shady operator, but unless something massive happened, he'd never go out of his way to show up in front of us."
Mr. Zhuan walked forward. "We'll find out shortly."
Mask said, "True."
Reaching the end of the road, the two boarded a cable car. As it moved forward, it entered a colossal, yawning gorge. Viewed from high above, it looked as though the earth itself had been torn apart; at its widest points, the chasm spanned dozens of kilometers across, and its sheer depth could not be taken in with a single glance.
Directly facing the cable car, atop a cliffside terrace, stood a towering, spired pylon. Scattered around it were over a dozen similar pylons of various sizes, encircled by a dense network of bunkers and fortresses.
The three headquarters of the Purist Faction each had distinct functions. The other two were situated in the convergence zone and the capital, Zhongjing.
The one in the convergence zone was near the Ring of the World and served essentially as a logistical base. Concentrated there was the faction's greatest armed might below its upper-tier echelon; almost all of the faction's primary combat power was gathered there.
The headquarters in Zhongjing was primarily responsible for defending the capital and served as the arena for cooperation, exchanges, and political maneuvering with other factions.
And here, at the bottom of Liepi Gorge, lay a fissure that could never be eliminated. In the past, to intercept and combat the entities crossing over from the world on the other side, the Purist Faction had likewise concentrated a substantial portion of its armed forces and martial artists here. Over time, it had evolved into one of the faction's most critical headquarters.
As more and more entities had infiltrated from the other side in recent years, the faction had invested massive amounts of manpower and material resources, deploying large-scale field creatures and developing their own active conscious entities.
Naturally, because of the fissure's existence, the Purist Faction had also harvested an abundance of resources from within, making this place one of the school's crucial pillars of support.
A quarter of an hour later, Mr. Zhuan and Mask stepped off the cable car and, guided by their boundary credentials, entered one of the pylons.
The decor here followed the cutting-edge eclectic aesthetic of the modern era—half simulated natural landscapes, half stark presentations of cold metal and concrete, evoking a distinct sense of surreal dislocation.
Guided by an active conscious entity, the two entered a spacious lounge.
Mr. Zhuan went over and picked up a porcelain pot to pour himself a cup of tea, but his movement paused slightly.
"What is it? Something wrong?" Mask asked, both curious and wary.
"It's Guorong tea."
"Well, well, did the sun rise in the west today?"
Mask uttered a startled sound. Whenever they had come here before, nobody had bothered attending to them; they were lucky to even get a sip of plain water. Yet this time they were served Guorong tea—a specialty tea distributed only in scarce rations within the faction, something that normally never reached "marginal figures" like them.
What was more, they had expected to be left waiting for ages. In the past, handing over mission reports would take an hour or an hour and a half of foot-dragging before anyone deigned to see them. Yet this time, after merely five or six minutes, an elegant, attractive woman in her forties walked into the room.
"Greetings, Fellow Zhuan. I am Xia Han, and I will be overseeing your mission handover this time. You may call me Assistant Xia."
As she spoke, she extended her hand with a smile.
Mr. Zhuan looked at her outstretched hand but did not raise his own, appearing somewhat uncomfortable.
Noticing this, Assistant Xia gave a gentle smile and lowered her hand naturally. "Fellow Zhuan, I worked alongside Counselor Zhuan for several years in the past. I have always deeply admired his character and convictions."
Mr. Zhuan's expression shifted, and he looked at Assistant Xia. Mask was equally surprised; ever since that incident in Jibei Dao, very few within the faction openly voiced support for those past ideals.
To suddenly hear this brought up today, combined with how hurriedly they had been summoned to headquarters and what Counselor Yu had just said, made the whole situation feel exceedingly bizarre.
Mask could not hold back any longer. "All right, what on earth has happened?"
Assistant Xia looked at them and asked, "Counselor Chen has always been in contact with you two, hasn't he?"
Mr. Zhuan nodded. "Yes. I am his guide."
"Here is the matter: headquarters intends to invite Counselor Chen here for a talk, and we would like you two to pass along the message on our behalf."
Mask found this even stranger. "Couldn't you just contact him directly? Counselor Chen is a member of the Purist Faction too, and now he's even the head of the Jibei Dao branch. It's not like he's our subordinate."
Assistant Xia smiled. "Fellow Zhuan, you probably don't know what Counselor Chen has been up to, do you?"
Seeing the questioning look in Mr. Zhuan's eyes, she said, "One moment." She tapped her boundary credential, transmitted a report to the two of them, and added, "Please have a look."
Mr. Zhuan glanced through it. It was a dossier detailing Chen Chuan's actions in the Linax Federation.
At first, it seemed ordinary enough, appearing relatively normal. But as they read on, the contents became so utterly incredible that shock froze their ability to think clearly, leaving them staring blankly at the text.
Mask was equally flabbergasted. As he recalled, before Chen Chuan left for the Federation, wasn't he at the Longevity View?
Wait... was it the Longevity View?
Now, even he felt uncertain.
Watching their dazed expressions, Assistant Xia could not help but smile faintly. "This report was forwarded from the capital, and its authenticity has been confirmed. Currently, the higher-ups in the government are debating the pros and cons and subsequent ramifications of this matter, and discussions are likewise underway within our faction. However, regardless of the fallout, Counselor Chen's actions were ultimately carried out to defend the Ring of the World. Therefore, the faction will without question grant him full support on the political front."
Defending the Ring of the World and confronting the entities from the opposing world—this was tied directly to the very purpose of the Purist Faction's existence, a foundational principle that no one could shake. In the eyes of the faction, Chen Chuan's actions were unequivocally the right thing to do.
"Therefore, we hope Counselor Chen can come to headquarters as soon as possible. Considering your close relationship with him, we would like you two to make the approach on our behalf. Furthermore... Elder Yu also wishes to have a word with him."
Hearing the name "Elder Yu," both Mr. Zhuan and Mask were taken aback. After a moment, Mr. Zhuan said in a deep voice, "Understood. I will deliver the message."
Assistant Xia smiled. "Wonderful. Ah, one more thing—please bring this to Counselor Chen as well."
Mr. Zhuan glanced at it. It was a somewhat worn booklet. He recognized what it was at a single glance, took it in his hands, and said solemnly, "I will see to it without delay."
Chapter 1341