Tampering

Chen Chuan understood Instructor Wu's implication. Driven by the competing interests surrounding this internal academy reform, people would very likely set their sights on formal students. Even recommended students were not truly safe. Although they held some influence locally, that might not mean much in Center City, especially where the interests of major corporations were concerned. And as a formal student with no significant background or factional backing, he was naturally likely to become the first target. Perhaps those people would not resort to crude, direct force, but when it came to targeting a single student, there were far too many ways to do it. He asked, "Instructor Wu, in telling me this, do you have a solution in mind?" "I do." Instructor Wu looked at him and said, "There is a way to avoid it." Emphasizing his words, he added, "If you can reach the third limit in a short time, you can bypass all these troubles." Chen Chuan voiced his doubt. "If a third limit fighter entered the ring, wouldn't that draw even more attention?" Instructor Wu replied, "Because it's a threshold. Once someone reaches that limit, they can no longer be viewed simply as a student. Even if they're a bigger draw, one has to consider a third limit student's destructive capacity and the sentiments of that echelon as a whole. Besides that, national laws and regulations also come into play. "In short, putting a third limit student into the ring incurs exceptionally high costs without necessarily yielding matching returns, alongside a whole host of complications. It might happen under the table, but no one will do it out in the open." Chen Chuan looked at him and asked, "Instructor Wu, did you seek me out today to tell me you can help me reach the third limit?" "Yes." Instructor Wu returned his gaze, his expression candid and earnest. "That is my thought. My Void Training can help you reach the third limit as quickly as possible, allowing you to evade this crisis." Chen Chuan asked, "Why are you helping me like this, Instructor Wu?" Instructor Wu sighed. "Actually, following the academy's internal reforms, it's not just the students who are affected; the impact on the faculty is just as great. If a teacher wants to remain at the academy, they must pass an annual evaluation. One criterion is producing students of sufficient capability." Here, he smiled bitterly. "Yet because I taught many commoner students in the past, the recommended students refuse to choose me. It's difficult for me to produce qualified pupils." He turned a look full of hope upon Chen Chuan, his voice brimming with emotion. "But Student Chen, you are an exception. I believe you wouldn't look down on an instructor for such a reason. I've also reviewed your record—you are a talented student. That is why I believe we are a natural match. The two of us can join hands and weather this storm together. Student Chen, what do you think?" Chen Chuan did not answer immediately. Seeing his hesitation, Instructor Wu added, "Student Chen, there's no rush on this. You can take your time to look into what I've told you. But you must maintain a sense of urgency. I'm afraid someone has already set their sights on you, and they certainly won't make you wait long. Student Chen, I hope you can come to a decision quickly." He stood up. "I've already paid the bill." Glancing at the lights outside, he said, "Enjoy this rare, leisurely evening. You might not have many such moments ahead." With that, he took his leave. After Instructor Wu departed, Chen Chuan was in no hurry to leave. He sat there in contemplation, lifting the cup of hot beverage from the table and taking a sip. It was slightly bitter, but refreshing and invigorating. Going strictly by the information Instructor Wu had revealed, reaching the third limit could truly be called an entirely different realm. Not just in terms of external performance, but in status and standing as well. He remembered that during his previous admission evaluation, one metric had been the projected probability of reaching the third limit. For it to be listed separately as a distinct parameter, it was definitely no simple matter. Reaching the third limit had always been his goal. However, just as with the First Limit, even if one could not push the Second Limit to its absolute peak, mutated tissue still had to be developed and expanded to a certain threshold. One could look for ways to accelerate the process, but it must never be done hastily. Besides... was what Instructor Wu said necessarily true? Shifting his thoughts, he tapped his boundary credential to contact Wu Bei. The line connected promptly, and Wu Bei's voice came through: "Brother Chen, what's up? Do you have another commission for us?" His tone carried a hint of excitement. Chen Chuan smiled. "No, I'm planning to take a break first. I just wanted to ask you to look into someone for me. He's an instructor at Wuyi. Do you think you can do that?" Wu Bei replied sheepishly, "Brother Chen, my skills aren't high enough. I can't dig into Wuyi's classified information." Chen Chuan said, "Just find whatever you can. I'll send his details over." "All right, I'll give it a shot." Chen Chuan compiled the materials Instructor Wu had sent him along with other publicly available information, sent them all to Wu Bei, and then slowly sipped his hot beverage while waiting for the result. After only a few minutes, Wu Bei sent a message back: "Brother Chen, I checked. A lot of the information this Instructor Wu Ruo sent you just now is fake." Chen Chuan's interest was piqued. "Oh? Fake information?" "Yes. The reviews from those three hundred-plus students are real, but Wuyi's platform doesn't seem to recognize those reviews, so he modified them. "The message he sent you looks like it came from the platform with official verification, but in reality, it only went through an open message channel. "If you follow his channel to browse the platform, the real information you see will be partially overwritten. But if you log in directly through the academy platform, what you see will likely be completely different. "As for what it's really like, I don't know. Your school's biological field and active conscious entity are extraordinarily formidable; there's no way I can probe inside." Chen Chuan nodded. "Thanks, Brother Wu." After ending the call, he immediately logged in through the academy's internal platform to take a look. Sure enough, an entirely different result appeared. The reviews for Instructor Wu here were abysmal—practically at rock bottom. Seeing this, he understood: if this Instructor Wu failed to turn his reputation around this semester, he probably wouldn't be able to stay in the Xuan Palace Building come next year. Having seen enough, he exited the interface. Who would have thought that a remarkably simple trick was all it took for the man to tamper with his own reviews? Then again, ordinary people really wouldn't think of it. When you could view it directly from a simple message link, why go through the trouble of checking the platform independently? So were the things Instructor Wu had said just now true or false? Chen Chuan pondered. The broader facts were likely accurate. For instance, the academy's internal reforms had been underway for three years; anyone could verify that simply by asking fellow students, so there was no faking it. Then what was this instructor's motive? To win his trust, help him step into the third limit, and thereby secure his own position at the academy? That was a possibility. But once the semester began, someone would surely find it odd that he had chosen to follow such an instructor. If nothing else, consulting Hongfu would definitely yield a corresponding evaluation, and at that point, Instructor Wu's manipulations could never stay hidden. Instructor Wu must know this as well. So perhaps he never intended to hide it for that long, or was confident that by then, Chen Chuan wouldn't care anymore? While he was lost in thought, a prompt chime sounded from his boundary credential: "Student Chen Chuan, there is a reply to your telegram. Would you like it delivered to your dormitory, or will you pick it up yourself?" Chen Chuan said, "I'll pick it up myself." Leaving the beverage shop, he crossed the plaza, returned to the Xuan Palace Building, retrieved the telegram, and headed straight back to his dorm. After sitting down, he opened it to take a look. It was He Xiaoxing's reply. It mentioned that the Furnace Breathing Technique indeed possessed corresponding jin techniques and application skills, but this method required the third limit to cultivate. It also warned him: if he wanted to train in these techniques, he must not install any implants. Finishing the telegram, Chen Chuan could not help drawing in a breath. It seemed the third limit was indeed a critical threshold; at present, everything pointed toward that goal. He needed to advance toward it as soon as possible. Yet at the same time, he could not be eager for quick success, but had to focus on the foundation. In truth, the academy offered many methods to reinforce and supplement one's foundation, radiant light exposure being one such example. However, every single one of these came with exorbitant fees, and there was no guarantee a turn would even fall to him. There were ways to acquire resources—securing sponsorship from a major corporation, for instance, though that would mean signing harsh agreements. Another option was voluntarily participating in implant clinical trials, which would not only provide implants free of charge, but also the accompanying medications. That was a path he would never take. He looked into academy scholarships as well, only to find they had been eliminated three years ago. Considering that the majority of enrolled students at this stage were recommended students, their cancellation was not without reason. As far as he knew, even the administration of Yangzhi Wuyi had once considered abolishing scholarships, and in terms of amount, the sums were modest anyway—better than nothing at best. Paths appeared before him, but in reality, every path exacted a price. This wasn't like his time back at Wuyi, where his mentor Cheng Zitong, the deputy logistics supervisor, could help him out. Here, he could only rely on himself to find a way. Sitting on the sofa, he pondered for a moment, then suddenly remembered something he thought might be worth looking into. He stood up, walked over to his luggage, rummaged through it, and retrieved the Secret Snake Cult shopping list left behind by Tan Wang. He knew now that this was not merely an internal shopping list. The emblem of three serpent heads upon it was actually an access mark for a service platform. Since arriving in Center City, he had also learned that the Secret Snake Cult conducted business openly, offering all kinds of illicit black-market services. Perhaps he could glean some useful leads from it. Before that, however, he needed Wu Bei to check it out first, lest it cause unforeseen trouble. With that in mind, he contacted Wu Bei again, transmitted the emblem to him, and asked him to take a look. After receiving it, Wu Bei replied roughly half an hour later: "Brother Chen, I checked it for you. It's an open platform, but you need a verified account tier to log in." Chen Chuan recalled Tan Wang's chronically broke state and said, "Then the tier probably isn't very high." "Indeed it isn't. It doesn't require identity verification either, so I forged a fake identity. Brother Chen, I'm sending it over now. If you use this identity to access the platform, they won't be able to trace you." Chen Chuan soon received the fake identity. As Wu Bei had explained, browsing the platform under this shell would leave no trace of himself behind. Following the method Wu Bei provided, he applied the identity and focused his gaze through his boundary credential onto the serpent emblem. After roughly a dozen seconds, the entire boundary credential suddenly darkened. A moment later, a fissure cracked open, and from within it, a perilous golden serpent eye was revealed.