On the way back, Chen Chuan sat in the car, deep in thought.
He had heard rhetoric similar to Wansong Company's before—for instance, the "Ascending Ladder" he had encountered in the Federation.
However, the Ascending Ladder was a doctrine of pure elitism. Its adherents likely did not care what they became, and perhaps did not even mind merging into one with the entities from the other side, so long as they remained perched at the very pinnacle of the ladder.
Wansong Company, on the other hand, sought to forge a world where martial fighters were the supreme rulers—or, put another way, where possessing aberrant tissue conferred an innate right to govern.
They regarded those with aberrant tissue as a distinct, unified race, and they structured their entire hierarchy according to how vividly that aberrant tissue manifested. In truth, they were attempting to engineer a whole new racial identity.
There was still a considerable difference between the two factions: the Ascending Ladder crowd would never accept ordinary possessors of aberrant tissue, which meant the two groups were unlikely to originate from the same power.
Judging solely from what Wang Weichang had told him today, a sizable mass of people—or at least a powerful bloc—stood behind Wansong Company, backing and embracing this ideology.
That made it rather dangerous.
For the average martial artist, after all, such an idea carried immense appeal. Naturally, an ideology alone was not enough; but if another piece were added to the puzzle—such as providing reliable cultivation resources—it could very well coalesce into a massive interest group.
They hadn't explored the matter deeply today, but the fact that Wang Weichang could offer a Grade 1 relic without the slightest hesitation proved that the forces backing him controlled enormous wealth.
Looking further at Wansong's platform, its express purpose was to serve martial artists. Through those services, they would surely screen for practitioners who aligned with their ideals, furnish them with resource support, and nurture their growth into greater power.
If such a collective also possessed the backing of high-level forces, they truly stood a chance of succeeding.
Chen Chuan reflected that, for now, aberrant tissue had not yet developed stable hereditary transmission. Even if both parents were martial artists, their offspring remained overwhelmingly likely to be ordinary people. Bloodline inheritance did not yet exist; otherwise, the crisis would be far graver.
This was also why the people of the Old Dynasty had transformed themselves into something else entirely; otherwise, the entire world would have fallen under the eternal rule of a single lineage from generation to generation.
It was only because of this that Wang Weichang's so-called blueprint still left a place for ordinary people. Otherwise, there likely would have been no room for them whatsoever.
Upon returning home, Chen Chuan set these matters aside for the moment and threw himself into cultivation, resolving to use the next month or two to elevate himself further.
Less than a month had passed since his breakthrough to the Dongxuan View, and the aberrant tissue within his body was still continually growing in power following its metamorphosis. Before that upward trajectory leveled off, he had no intention of scaling toward higher realms, so he focused his training entirely on secret arts and practical techniques.
For the time being, his primary focus was the method for wielding and refining the Mystic Void Fire, which he had obtained from the Tianji Sect.
The Mystic Void Fire was undoubtedly a devastating weapon. As one of the Five Refinements, beneath the threshold of high-level powers, virtually nothing could withstand it.
He surmised that after he unleashed it during the battle in the Federation, governments and martial artists across the globe would surely study ways to counter it.
As far as he could tell, there were essentially only two ways to withstand the Mystic Void Fire: one was to open distance and prevent it from ever touching, and the other was to proactively sever whatever flesh became tainted.
The first method was impractical, as pulling away required immense speed, and few people could claim to outpace him. The second method was the approach used by Drakholm, An Shijun, and their peers.
Aware of this vulnerability, Chen Chuan typically deployed the flame only after suppressing or shattering his opponent's body, using it primarily as a definitive finisher to ensure death.
Yet it felt like a waste if such a lethal weapon could not be brought to bear in direct, head-on combat.
The Tianji Sect possessed an operational technique that allowed the Mystic Void Fire to be triggered completely without sound or the telltale build-up of gathering force. In battle, this could achieve an absolute element of surprise.
Even if an opponent were willing to sever the infected flesh, in the frantic rhythm of combat they might not have the time to do so—and the end result would be no different.
Beyond that, there was an even more practical trick: projecting a false manifestation of the Mystic Void Fire. To an onlooker, it appeared identical to the true fire, but it was nothing more than an illusion.
Initially, an opponent might not know what to make of it, but once they recognized the flames, anyone lacking an intimate understanding of the Mystic Void Fire would inevitably move to defend against it—because they simply could not afford the gamble.
In doing so, Chen Chuan would not only conserve his own energy, but also bind his opponent's hands.
While this would be more than enough against ordinary martial artists, it would likely fall far short against ancient gods—unless honed until it became completely indistinguishable from the real thing. Once perfected, true and false could be woven together at will. Even if his foundational cultivation did not advance by much, the combat power he could actually bring to bear would surge considerably.
After examining the manuals, he realized that because these were not Purist Faction techniques, mastering them with the speed of his previous arts was out of the question; even so, a few months would be plenty to become thoroughly proficient.
Two days later, Wansong Company dutifully arrived to register. In strict accordance with regulations, they paid a massive fine to the Jibei Dao government and withdrew all of their business operations from the province.
At the same time, the company proactively reported the infraction to the Martial Artists Council, which announced that it would impose the appropriate penalties.
Though Wang Weichang appeared to have backed down, he had deliberately displayed his influence and reach in the process, and clearly did not care about such material losses.
Chen Chuan had no intention of pursuing the matter further. Even though he had deduced certain implications, he would not move against them now; he lacked the time and bandwidth to conduct an exhaustive investigation.
For now, Wansong Company was merely a beast lurking beneath the surface, not yet having shown its head.
His immediate focus remained on the Skyline and the Former Imperial House. He could not afford to provoke multiple adversaries at once; only by concentrating his strength to resolve those threats could he turn back to deal with these issues.
In the blink of an eye, over half a month slipped by, and late September arrived.
During these days, Chen Chuan continued to ponder techniques at home. On mornings when he was free, he would drop his cousins off at school.
He had already handed off the essential duties of the Security Bureau, and he recommended Deputy Director Yu Ziran to succeed him in the post upon his departure.
Yu Ziran hailed from Wuyi Academy, handled matters strictly without playing favorites, and had performed solidly and without a single misstep during his tenure as deputy director. Being a martial fighter himself, he was well-suited for the position.
Word finally arrived from Zhao Qilan as well, stating that the faction was currently preparing the resources he needed.
Chen Chuan did not dwell too much on this; having them was certainly good, but doing without was fine as well.
Those external conditions appeared difficult, but in the brewing climate of unrest, he believed there were quite a few avenues to acquire them.
If he could find such resources in the Federation Capital back then, there was no reason he couldn't find them in Great Shun's Zhongjing.
As he was thinking, he suddenly sensed a subtle stir. Following that instinct, he walked down the rear glass gallery and emerged by the lakeside behind the villa.
He saw Chaoming perched beside the nest built for it by the shore. A haze of radiance like rosy morning mist was rising over its body, making its vibrant, multicolored plumage appear all the more magnificent.
Chaoming was remarkably clever and capable of practicing breathing techniques on its own. Over the past few days, while Chen Chuan had been working on techniques, it had maintained its breathing exercises continuously. Now, it seemed those efforts were finally bearing fruit.
Under his steady gaze, the body enveloped in light gradually shrank, soon returning to the size it had been when it first entered the Federation. After a brief pause, it shrank further, ultimately becoming no larger than a fist.
This was a special transformation, effectively a secret lore of the Tianji Sect: by contracting the aberrant tissue within the body while guiding it with spiritual force, a specific aberrant alteration was induced.
If manifested in a martial artist, this would be equivalent to an Aberrant Visage. However, aberrant beasts rarely had such distinctions; even overlimit creatures simply relied on tremendous vitality to break through limits and repeat the cycle, with no refined methodology to speak of.
Chaoming's ability to execute this transformation smoothly owed not only to the Tianji Sect technique, but primarily to the strand of Ikus's bloodline power within it. As its strength continued to grow, its spiritual power could unlock even more transformations.
At that moment, Chaoming pushed off the ground with its four claws, spread its wings, and took flight. Trailing a gorgeous streak of luminous flame, it circled once in the air before landing on Chen Chuan's shoulder. It let out several chirps, its voice now remarkably crisp and melodious.
Chen Chuan nodded. With Chaoming able to change its size at will, it was much better suited to stay by his side and would draw far less attention.
A few days later, October arrived, and the official letter of appointment transferring him to Zhongjing to serve as an administrative commissioner was finally issued.
With this, Chen Chuan was free to depart for Zhongjing at any time. Before leaving, however, he made a trip back to his old home.
Having spent the past year in a foreign land, he hadn't returned, so he wanted to clean the place once more before departing for good.
He did not take an airship, instead returning to Yangzhi alone without drawing anyone's attention.
Fallen leaves had accumulated heavily in the area, covering both the roof and the front courtyard.
He glanced over. An invisible force unfurled like a sweep of fresh wind, blowing away the settled dust and dry leaves.
He walked over and unlocked the door. First, he filled the generator with algae oil, discarded the old tea leaves from his last visit, and replaced them with fresh tea. Then he cleaned the house from top to bottom.
Coming here today, he had one more matter he wanted to unravel: the precise cause of death of the body's original owner.
He had obtained a ritual from the Tianji Sect that, with the addition of certain special materials, could use spiritual force to trace back past events connected to oneself.
How well it would work was uncertain, but trying it couldn't hurt; if it failed, nothing was lost.
It did not take him long to complete the setup. Yet when he moved to initiate the ritual, he sensed through his spiritual perception that because his spiritual threshold was not yet high enough, this arrangement could only reach back a small fraction of the past—far from enough to glimpse the full picture.
*Still not enough?*
He thought it over, not particularly bothered. He would simply wait until he reached the necessary level before trying again; in any case, it wouldn't be too long. With that, he took it no further. After sitting in the old house for an afternoon, he departed, preparing to set off for Zhongjing once he returned.
Chapter 1357