After speaking with Assistant Xia, Mr. Zhuan also completed their mission debriefing. Upon emerging, he was surprised to find that several special resources he had previously requested had already been approved and issued.
Furthermore, the resource applications they had submitted for several newly joined members were sailing through without a hitch, entirely free of the usual stalling or obstruction.
Both felt that things were quite different from before.
Ever since the incident involving Mr. Zhuan's elder brother years ago, many members of the Reform Faction had been transferred away from headquarters, and the key posts had all been taken over by members of the old Conservative Faction.
Consequently, whenever they had come to handle business in the past, things had rarely gone smoothly, dragged out for as long as possible.
Fortunately, the Purist Faction was, on the surface at least, very strict about following rules and procedure. Coupled with the fact that his own guide had not belonged to Mr. Guan's camp, the pettiness had never escalated beyond that.
In other factions, such internal conflict would have been a fight to the death, where physical elimination was inevitable rather than mere superficial cold-shouldering.
Because of the shifts at headquarters, neither of them had lingered here over the years. Whenever there were unpleasant or exceedingly difficult missions and assignments, they took the initiative to volunteer for them.
This was both to avoid having to look at certain people's sour faces and to discover and guide more promising young seedlings.
However, being away from headquarters year-round meant the people here were unfamiliar with them. When it came to resource allocation, they often ran into roadblocks. After all, that touched directly upon the interests of various internal branches—unless the applicant's merits were so undeniable that no one could say a word against them.
Yet now, everyone was courteous and warm. Even people they had met only once in passing acted as though they were old friends of many years, creating an atmosphere of factional harmony not seen in a very long time.
Mr. Mask gave a low chuckle. "It really is a whole different world. But then again, everyone knows you're Counselor Chen's guide, Old Zhuan. Disrespecting you is the same as disrespecting Counselor Chen."
Mr. Zhuan remained silent. In truth, this sudden warmth made him distinctly uncomfortable. In particular, strangers who eagerly sidled up to fawn over him made him feel thoroughly ill at ease; he had been far more accustomed to how things used to be.
After walking for quite a while, he finally spoke up: "I want to see Mr. Guan."
"Now?"
Mr. Zhuan nodded.
Mr. Mask gave it some thought. "True. It's time we paid him a visit."
Last time, the reason they had managed to secure those cultivation resources for Chen Chuan so quickly was that they had spoken with Mr. Guan, who had drawn on what remained of his old connections to secure them. On their own, they could never have pulled it off.
"Hey, Old Zhuan—"
"Yeah?"
"Turn around. This way—"
...
Ten minutes later, the two boarded a cable car once more, transferring several times along the way. Three hours later, they arrived at the rear section of the gorge, where they took an elevator and slowly descended into the depths.
This was the foremost edge of the headquarters' fissure. After sinking about a hundred meters, they felt as though they were passing through a thin membrane.
Then, as if a barrier had been stripped away, bursts of blinding radiance spilled from below. A fissure resembling an underground lake lay settled at the very bottom of the canyon.
Densely clustered ritual arrays surrounded the fissure to suppress its outward expansion. Atop this lake of a fissure sat an enormous spiritual visage, its orange-red spiritual flames clashing fiercely against the blinding glow of the fissure.
Floating within the spiritual visage was an emaciated, skeletal figure.
Mr. Zhuan could not help but call out, "Mr. Guan..."
"You've come."
A slightly weary voice echoed directly in their minds.
Mr. Zhuan and Mr. Mask both sighed inwardly. Compared to their last visit, Mr. Guan's condition had visibly worsened.
Back then, the disappearance of the entire Jibei Dao branch had not physically harmed Mr. Guan himself, yet he had held himself responsible. Driven by guilt, he had voluntarily stepped down from leadership and come down here to suppress the fissure.
When the tragedy had struck, the New Generation Faction had hoped he would stand at their head to resist the Conservative Faction. But with his retreat, they suddenly lost their leader. The members below acted on their own whims, unable to unite into a cohesive force, and under the Conservative Faction's swift and targeted offensive, the New Generation Faction had collapsed in short order.
By the time he realized something was wrong, it was already too late.
In truth, this could not entirely be blamed on him. Though his martial talent was matched by few, he had never been a natural politician—merely a passionate idealist. Back then, the one advising him had been Mr. Zhuan's elder brother, who happened not to be at his side when the crisis erupted, resulting in his flawed decision.
Moreover, the energy surging from this fissure was immensely powerful. Even with Mr. Guan's physique, resisting it day in and day out for over a decade without a single moment's rest had severely drained him.
Only because he was a martial artist at the level of the Mystic Profundity View had he endured; had he been at the Longevity View, signs of aberration might well have surfaced within a few years.
The faction had not failed to propose rotating him out, but he had refused. He was atoning for his sins.
He could not overcome that hurdle in his own heart.
"I've heard about what happened,"
Mr. Guan said, his voice filled with deep gratification.
"The junior you guided is truly magnificent," he sighed with boundless admiration. "Resisting the Federation single-handedly and slaying nearly ten Mystic Profundity practitioners in decisive combat... What an extraordinary figure! I only wish I could meet him right this moment!"
Mr. Mask said, "Sir, none of that is our doing. We never imagined Counselor Chen's strength would surge so fast either. If anything, it's all his own talent and capability. All we did was flap our lips, run a few errands, and deliver some supplies."
Mr. Guan seemed to recall something, and his previously high spirits abruptly dimmed. "Good judgment is vital as well. Only by finding the right person can the right things be accomplished.
"Upon hearing the news, what I value most is not merely Counselor Chen's strength, but what he actually did."
He said in a solemn voice, "A person gaining strength does not mean they will adhere to their original convictions. Very few can truly put them into practice. If there is one who does, Counselor Chen is that person."
Mr. Zhuan and Mr. Mask completely agreed. Judging from the reports, that situation had offered barely a sliver of survival, yet Chen Chuan had stepped forward without hesitation.
Even leaving the outcome aside, the act itself—that sheer courage and resolve—how many young people in the Purist Faction today could unite belief and action so thoroughly?
"A young man like this—we must support him."
Mr. Guan said heavily, "After the mistakes of the past, I no longer have the face to step forward again. However—"
Reaching toward the center of his forehead, he pulled forth a cluster of bright light and sent it drifting toward Mr. Zhuan and Mr. Mask.
"I hope this helps the young man avoid a few detours. Please deliver it to him on my behalf."
Catching the ball of light in his hand, Mr. Zhuan looked up and said, "Mr. Guan, we will hand it to him personally."
***
While they were speaking down below, Counselor Yu walked into an information exchange chamber in the Central Tower, and shortly afterward, his projected avatar appeared inside a conference room.
Several projected avatars were already present.
Someone remarked, "Old Yu is here. Everyone's accounted for." Another added, "Looks like Zhuan Liang might finally make a comeback."
Counselor Yu gave an affirmative grunt.
The speaker continued, "The International Martial Artists Council raised his influence assessment, currently ranking him among the world's top five, while his combat strength score has exceeded three hundred points. That is already the visible ceiling of individual martial power. The faction cannot ignore him no matter what.
"So, everyone, we must prepare ourselves: this man, and the faction he represents behind him, will contest resources against us."
Hearing this, the people in the conference room could not help but recall the Reform Faction within the faction from nearly twenty years ago. Its primary driver back then, Zhuan Sheng, was the biological elder brother of Chen Chuan's guide, Zhuan Liang.
Someone declared, "We must never allow the Reform Faction to return!"
Another chimed in, "The rumors must be exaggerated to some degree. Think about it—the Federation deployed so many—"
Counselor Yu spoke up then: "There is no exaggeration. It has already been fully corroborated through intelligence channels, and we have obtained a set of photographs from our fellow Purist Faction compatriots abroad. See for yourselves."
He tapped his boundary credential, and a series of photographs and recordings appeared on the field screen, partially reconstructing snippets of Chen Chuan's battle.
One shot in particular commanded rapt attention: amidst plumes of steam and dazzling light, an immense spiritual visage was tearing a monstrous creature cleanly in half.
This was the exact scene where Chen Chuan had ripped apart Field's Visage of the Aberrant. Even through the field screen, everyone could still feel that breath-stealing, ferocious power and shudder-inducing pressure.
Looking upon this imagery, the room fell dead silent.
Such unearthly, overpowering might sparked an unnameable terror, followed closely by a gnawing unease.
They knew very well that if these images circulated, they would cause a profound psychological shock among the faction's members.
In particular, among the lower ranks of the Purist Faction, many young members already idolized Chen Chuan. If this became known to them, it would trigger unpredictable repercussions, and the Reform Faction's resurgence would cease to be an idle joke.
"Then what should we do? This man's emergence could very well disrupt our plans."
Someone could not help offering, "Perhaps he could also—" but was immediately cut off: "He is not an inheritor of the secret map bloodline. No matter how magnificent his performance is right now, the height he can reach is ultimately limited.
"The path we walk is the only correct one!
"The plan must continue forward. Once the Great Impact arrives, it will be too late to seek solutions. We must finish what we need to do before then, and we cannot permit anyone or anything to interfere with us."
The speaker continued in an unwavering tone:
"We have reached a critical juncture. For the survival of the Purist Faction, we have no other choice. This is what we must do!"
Everyone nodded. In the past, it wasn't that they hadn't tried entrusting heavy burdens to pure practitioners without secret map bloodlines—indeed, they had tried time and again.
Yet every outcome proved that human potential has its limits; only by relying on the secret map bloodline could one attain sufficient heights.
Right now, the other martial traditions all possessed secret map bloodlines. If they did not take this path, they could not compete with them at all.
Counselor Yu spoke up at this point: "He will certainly contend with us for resources."
This was entirely true. Everyone knew that certain resources existed only in meager quantities and were exceedingly difficult to amass. If they were claimed by others, the bloodline inheritors they favored would get none.
"What should we do now, then?"
Counselor Yu said in a heavy voice, "Open competition would only expose our hidden hand to the other factions ahead of time. My recommendation: leverage our current advantage to secure whatever we can beforehand. So long as we stay one step ahead, we can achieve our objective without provoking conflict. That is the best approach for now."
Chapter 1342