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Three quarters of an hour later, Chen Chuan returned to his dormitory. Setting down the items he had brought back one by one, he inspected them again and decided he could begin preparing for his breakthrough right now. First, he took out the breathing technique Cao Guixi had given him. It was recorded on a sheet of yellow silk, inscribed with solemn, impeccably neat characters like a rub of a classic text. A distinct vitality and spirit seemed to linger over them, prompting anyone reading it to straighten their back unconsciously. He spread the silk out in his hands and read through it. The upper half dealt mainly with practical execution, appearing plain, straightforward, and not particularly complex. The lower half, however, was quite difficult. The phrasing was awkward and the content obscure, not to mention laden with citations from Old Era classics. Had this been the past, a reader might have truly been stumped for quite a while. Fortunately, he now had his boundary credential, which allowed him to look up anything he didn't understand directly. By cross-referencing and searching, he managed to grasp the meaning. Yet by this point, he also realized that the author hadn't deliberately shrouded the text in fog. Rather, certain concepts could only be approximated through these exact words. Replacing them with simpler language would sacrifice not only their nuance but also the reverence demanded by the technique—and only with sufficient reverence could one maintain that mindset of treading on thin ice and scaling perilous passes. The more he savored it, the more he felt an artistic conception between the lines capable of drawing him in. Moreover, reciting it harmonized perfectly with the breathing technique in the first half. Once mastered, merely chanting it in his mind would naturally guide his breath, eliminating any need to consciously force it with intent. Thus, the second half held the true essence. Whoever had devised this breathing technique was certainly no ordinary figure. Having grasped it, he prepared to test it. However, the recitation required bathing and burning incense. Chen Chuan did not overlook these details, deciding to follow instructions strictly. He took a quick shower, changed into a comfortable set of training clothes, and brought out an incense burner from the supplies he had brought back. The burner itself was of ordinary value; what mattered was the accompanying medicinal incense, which Cao Guixi said was of tremendous help for entering a meditative trance. He took the incense out of its paper wrapping—solid, neatly cut cubes. Though unlit, the scent wafting from them alone suddenly brought a refreshing clarity to his mind. Just then, a sensation stirred in him. Turning his head, he saw the Xuejun Saber vibrating faintly on its stand, wisps of white, mist-like vapor drifting from its blade. His gaze flickered. Ever since the Xuejun Saber had absorbed the strange entity into itself, there had been no unusual activity from it. Yet now, it was reacting... He looked down at his hand, a thought crossing his mind. *Could it be because of this medicinal incense?* He placed the incense into the burner, stood up, walked over to the weapon rack, and took the Xuejun Saber in hand. The moment he made contact with the blade, the white mist drifted and swirled toward the hand that had just touched the incense. It really was because of this. He considered it for a moment. The foreign entity hidden inside had long since fused with the Xuejun Saber. In that case, he had no reason to be stingy. Carrying the saber back, he laid it beside him, tossed a few more pieces of medicinal incense into the burner, closed the lid, and retrieved the main medicine he needed to ingest. These medicines somewhat resembled ginseng in appearance, yet each was only the size of a fingertip, jade-white throughout. Merely having them before him aroused an irresistible urge to swallow them whole. He understood this was his body and brain signaling their craving for this substance. However, it could not be ingested directly; it had to be paired with adjuvant medicines. Fortunately, whether in Instructor Wu's collection or Youxing's, these adjuvants were readily available. That spared him from having to procure them from Qingnang Jade Workshop, keeping the workshop from tracking his exact progress. He first dissolved the adjuvants in warm water, mixed them into a medicinal broth in proper proportion, and drank it down along with the main medicine. Then he settled into a seated posture and lit the incense burner. Before long, delicate curls of fragrant smoke rose into the air, and he began attempting to regulate his breath according to the silk scroll's technique. As he silently recited and guided the flow, drawing in wisps of the fragrance, his lungs felt instantly clear and refreshed. At the same time, the medicine's potency gradually took effect, and he could feel the mutated tissue throughout his body stirring to life. Yet there was none of the frantic, restless surging he had experienced before. Instead, it was an exceptionally gentle and orderly growth, soaking through his entire body like warm water, soothing inside and out, remarkably comfortable. Beside him, the Xuejun Saber emitted wisps of soft white mist that mingled with the burner's incense, drifting and curling upward like ethereal clouds to permeate the room. Yet the mist remained contained and subdued, triggering none of the anomalous field reactions seen previously. Through cycle after cycle of guided meditation, Chen Chuan unconsciously slipped into deep stillness. By the time he emerged from his extended trance, the burner of incense had already burned to ash. Checking the time, he saw it was exactly seven in the morning. The east was already bright with daylight. Without realizing it, he had sat through an entire afternoon and night, yet it felt as though only an instant had passed. Looking at the morning sun rising outside the window, he felt an extraordinary sense of calm, while the mutated tissue inside him radiated an immense, flourishing vitality, like life on the verge of vigorous blooming. He could sense that this growth was remarkably gentle and far from chaotic. Every bit seemed to follow his will along the path he had charted, striking an idealized balance and fine-tuning between the parts that had been weaker and those that were particularly strong. And this calibration seemed to make his senses and reflexes even sharper than before. What was more... He looked toward the Xuejun Saber. Picking it up, he drew it from its sheath and saw that the streak of bright crimson along the spine of the blade was even more vivid than before, its resonance with him deepened significantly. Evidently, the Xuejun Saber had reaped considerable benefits from the process as well. From what he could see now, the communication with the mutated tissue flowed much more smoothly. In that case, he could keep the saber by his side throughout his upcoming training. Standing up, he pondered his schedule for the month. Aside from necessary excursions, he decided to devote all his time to training for his breakthrough to the third limit. However, not knowing when he would be called for duty again, he decided to first use up his monthly allocation at the Haijing Grounds. Using his boundary credential, he contacted the Haijing Grounds to schedule a slot. They told him that if he needed it soon, they could arrange it for today, though openings were only available in the afternoon. After a moment's thought, he found that acceptable and settled on two in the afternoon. After ending the call, he noticed a voice message from Wu Bei left just five minutes earlier, which he hadn't noticed while in meditation. He promptly called back. Moments later, Wu Bei's voice came through: "Brother Chen, while digging around recently, I turned up a few leads and even recovered some files Zhao Qian deleted not long ago. They're incomplete, but I thought they might be useful, so I'll send them over." Chen Chuan agreed and accepted the transfer. Looking over it, he found a three-year log of calls. There was no need to read through all the contents; Wu Bei had specifically noted the parties involved in each conversation. Over the past three years, Zhao Qian's call records pointed to only three destinations: an executive at Lianwei Heavy Control, a subordinate responsible for routine service duties—both clearly defined in the work logs—and finally, an unknown party. Although the calls spanned a long period, they were infrequent. What Wu Bei had restored was the most recent conversation between them. Tapping on it, audio began playing: "Help me one more time..." "..." "Company evaluation... trustworthy... no matter how annoying... eyes, ears, and an extra hand..." "Okay." The audio was somewhat faint and distorted, but he could tell that one voice likely belonged to Zhao Qian, while the other was a female voice. Wu Bei spoke up again. "Zhao Qian worked at Lianwei Heavy Control for over three years, and his implant boundary credential was installed back then too. Ever since that time, he's been communicating with the owner of this biological signal." Chen Chuan considered this briefly. "Judging from that last exchange, Zhao Qian seemed to be asking this person for help. Could it be his patron within the company?" "That's what I thought at first too," Wu Bei said. "Except there's one strange thing." He added with emphasis, "Unless a field signal is deliberately masked, analyzing it with the help of a resonance nest can reveal distinct nuances. Under natural laws, everyone's biological field varies according to age: the younger someone is, the more active and volatile it is; the older they are, the more stable it becomes. Based on my analysis, the field frequency in that conversation belongs to someone who is at most fifteen years old right now!" Hearing this, Chen Chuan felt a slight stir. "If she's no older than fifteen now, then three years ago she was even younger." "Exactly!" Wu Bei said. "Three years ago, she'd have been what, eleven or twelve? Maybe not even that. Doesn't that seem a bit... different from the person you guys are looking for, Brother Chen?" Chen Chuan hummed in acknowledgment. "Thanks, Brother Wu. That's a crucial clue." "Glad it helps..." Wu Bei yawned, then added, "Oh, right, Brother Chen, almost forgot to mention: I cracked Zhao Qian's account. There's about a hundred and twenty thousand in it. I've granted you withdrawal permissions. I've been working non-stop in the resonance nest for days without much rest, so I'm going to crash now." "All right. Get some good rest, Brother Wu." Ending the call, Chen Chuan reflected on what he had heard. Judging from the conversation, the female speaker's status was clearly higher than Zhao Qian's. But at such a young age, she couldn't possibly be a company executive. A child of an executive seemed plausible. Yet another possibility existed. Taken together with Zhao Qian's final words, the call records dating back three years, and an age that seemed to match—could this person be the true target they were searching for? If so, the situation differed considerably from what they had previously assumed. After turning it over in his mind, he decided to first confer with Lu Fang before deciding on their next move.