Because the Nature faction had not placed any news blackout on their internal meeting, word of the vote spread swiftly to every faction.
Within the headquarters of the Convergence faction, mirror-like walls in the main hall reflected vague, shadowy black figures.
"Our plan has seen initial success. The Nature faction has abandoned support for the Purist Faction and decided instead to put forward a candidate of their own."
"That is good news."
"Yet this merely weakens the Purist Faction's competitiveness; it does not guarantee that our candidate will definitely prevail. The Purist Faction still holds the Implant Faction's recommendation rights. Driven by Skyline, the Implant Faction will never jump off the Purist Faction's ship. If anything, this will only harden their stance."
"Therefore, beyond ensuring the Refined Practice School keeps its promise to us, our best move is to win over the Nature faction so they lean toward us instead."
Had any other faction reached a decision through a meeting, it would rarely change, but that was never certain with the Nature faction.
A matter decided in a meeting today could very well be overturned tomorrow for some whim. Of course, the Nature faction was not made of fools; doing so required sufficient benefits and things that truly satisfied them.
Simple as it sounded, achieving this was actually quite difficult, but they were willing to try.
If someone secured a joint recommendation from three factions, it represented the backing of an overwhelming majority of political power, leaving virtually no suspense.
Although the Supreme Advisory Council held the final say, under normal circumstances they would not overrule such a consensus.
"Very well, let us give it a try."
Upon stepping out of the Seven-Pointed Starfish Hall, Cheng Gao immediately relayed the voting results to Ren Xinshan.
After thanking him, Ren Xinshan considered the situation for a moment and contacted Chen Chuan at once.
"Commissioner Chen, word has come from the Nature faction: they have decided to recommend their own candidate. Do not worry, however. This outcome is not set in stone, and before the year ends, there are still efforts we can make. Even if we fail in the end, it merely means we will not hold an absolute advantage. Until the very end, the outcome remains undecided."
Chen Chuan said, "Understood, Senior. Thank you for letting me know." He smiled faintly. "I agree with your words—until the very end, the outcome remains undecided."
After hanging up, his mood was entirely unaffected by the news; in fact, he was in quite good spirits. Just moments ago, he had received a message notification from Qi Weizhao:
The garrison troops of Anbei Dao would launch a military operation after six o'clock on December 10.
That left seven days.
Once the war commenced, it would not readily stop before achieving the strategic objective of breaching the former imperial household's northern gate.
Perhaps this time, they truly could wipe out the former imperial household in a single stroke.
And the former imperial household was unlikely to lack for resources. As a primary participant, he would undoubtedly claim the largest slice of the pie, so there was no need for him to fixate on the internal political race.
He slowly closed his eyes, sensing the changes in the mutated tissues within his body.
At this moment, the fire of spirituality burning inside him was exceptionally vigorous, like a dormant volcano waiting to erupt.
From what he understood, an ordinary Dongxuan View martial artist could form roughly three to four defensive rings of spiritual fire inside and outside their body; four layers was already exceedingly rare, though it could not be ruled out that some could achieve even more.
Yet that was merely stacking defensive layers. In his case, it could no longer be measured by such standards alone. Beyond ordinary mutated tissues, he also possessed purple qi mutated tissues. Once combined, they formed a far more intricate structure, one that transcended an entire dimension.
Because of this, he wondered whether the power offered by the Heavenly Being secret diagram was similar. If so, having higher potential and greater growth capability made complete sense.
He certainly wished to see what that secret diagram contained.
It all depended on whether Cheng Gao could deliver it this time.
At the same time, he could not help but consider that if world powers, the Consortium, and major martial factions possessed such figures, then the former imperial household must harbor similar individuals as well.
Even if the former imperial household could now be regarded as inhuman aberrations, they ought to be capable of utilizing such power.
If so, they might cross paths in this coming war, which would give him an opportunity to take the measure of such beings' strength.
Precisely because of the complexity of his mutated tissues, the time required for his current metamorphic ascent was far longer than that of an ordinary martial artist.
And with his foundation firmly established, he grew stronger every day than he had been before.
By his own estimation, this upward surge of power would last until the end of the year, perhaps slightly longer, but likely no later than next January. When that time arrived, he could formally begin his cultivation in "questioning oneself."
Over the next several days, he steadily prepared to take part in the military operation.
From Qi Weizhao's side, updates arrived one after another each day.
Notably, some disturbances had arisen in Hedong Dao. Unwilling to simply be suppressed, the local council had launched a counterattack backed by shadowy factions. Due to the substantial backing they received, the situation had nearly turned against them.
Fortunately, the Progressive faction had prepared thoroughly and responded adeptly this time, preventing them from succeeding and instead taking the opportunity to purge certain remaining elements.
Chen Chuan had a feeling that Hedong Dao had likely drawn upon the past experience in Jibei Dao, deliberately leaving a few openings.
Though risky, once successful, it proved far more advantageous for securing full control over the central city afterward.
All eyes were now on Anbei Dao.
Several days passed in a flash. On December 10, a message arrived on his boundary credential—a string of prearranged code.
He knew it was time to depart.
His eyes flickered, and a massive surge of purple qi suddenly drifted from his body, casting a soft, shimmering violet glow across the entire training hall.
The purple qi contracted toward a single point, coalescing into a human figure that resolved into another Chen Chuan. The figure reached out, took the Xuejun Saber from a nearby weapon rack, and walked outside.
Once outside, Chaoming let out a chirp toward him.
Chaoming would accompany him on this journey. As an overlimit creature skilled in flight, its field of vision was expansive, allowing it to assist him in many ways. Moreover, this was a rare opportunity for Chaoming's mutated tissues and combat capabilities to undergo substantial honing.
The clone naturally lacked the full abilities of the second self, but their minds were linked, ensuring an endless supply of spirit. Combined with various esoteric arts, it was more than sufficient to handle the current situation.
Under the treaty, martial artists were generally forbidden from traveling freely; they had to submit applications to the Martial Artists Council or the local government. This served as a restraint on armed force to prevent martial artists from running amok.
As an officer in the Department of Safety Affairs, however, he held emergency transit clearance, for the Department of Safety Affairs could not be impeded when addressing critical matters.
And at this exact moment, he happened to belong to this very department. It was as though everything had been orchestrated long in advance.
Yet he understood that the Progressive faction was certainly pulling strings behind the scenes. In all likelihood, decisions had already been made the moment he was appointed as a committee member in the Department of Safety Affairs.
The clone glanced around, then dissolved once more into a cloud of purple qi that clung to Chaoming's body. A soft violet halo washed over the creature. With a flap of its wings, it soared into the upper sky with a whoosh, radiance surging around it as it shot off into the distance.
Chaoming deliberately quickened its pace this time. Before long, it cleared Zhongjing and continued northward, leaving North Guard central city behind.
At the administrative border of Anbei Dao, there was a freight transit hub where an airship was currently moored while workers loaded cargo.
This airship was a routine transport vessel bound for Anbei Dao, bearing registered serial records in Anbei Dao central city. On this occasion, it served as the rendezvous and communication transit point to receive Chen Chuan.
Ever since Hedong Dao embraced Skyline, the local council in Anbei Dao had grown extremely nervous, deeply paranoid about being infiltrated. They had tightened surveillance both internally and externally, raising their vigilance against visiting martial artists to the utmost and watching constantly.
During this period, the municipal council had rejected and restricted all activities and visits by visiting martial artists for the coming year. Even though Chen Chuan held safety investigation clearance, local authorities still had the right to refuse him in the absence of a concrete incident presenting a clear danger to national security.
Naturally, with Chen Chuan's capabilities, slipping past these restrictions to enter the convergence zone directly would pose no difficulty, but whenever possible, he preferred to avoid leaving any pretext for criticism.
On the airship, two men were glancing around, keeping an eye out for approaching vehicles.
Just then, one of them nudged the other's arm. "Hey, look!"
The other looked up along his gaze and saw a creature resembling both a giant bird and a flying beast flying in from the distance, headed straight toward them with unmistakable intent.
And as they watched, it seemed to accelerate, arriving nearby in the blink of an eye.
A flash of platinum light streaked across their vision, accompanied by a wisp of drifting purple qi. A figure appeared midair, enveloped in radiance, and drifted gently downward.
Then the bird-like creature gave a resonant cry, shrank abruptly, and landed upon his shoulder amidst a blaze of brilliant spiritual flames.
A short-range signal buzzed on their boundary credentials. Looking upon the newcomer's face, expressions of awe and excitement washed over them. "Mr... Mr. Chen?"
Chen Chuan nodded. "It is me."
One of them said excitedly, "Mr. Chen, we received orders from our superiors to rendezvous with you here."
Chen Chuan glanced around. "On this airship?"
"Yes! Don't let its freight appearance fool you—it's actually been modified and flies very fast. Besides, because we're transporting a shipment of critical supplies this time, we have emergency transit privileges and won't face any impoundment or inspection within Anbei Dao's administrative jurisdiction."
Chen Chuan asked, "When do we depart?"
"Just a few minutes. We're almost finished loading."
The primary cargo had long since been stowed, and Chen Chuan had arrived right on schedule, requiring little adjustment. A mere five minutes later, everything was set.
The airship's propellers began to spin, and it slowly disengaged from the mooring tower. After a slight course adjustment, it set sail toward Anbei Dao central city.
Chapter 1385