The moment Chen Chuan opened the Fringe Channel, he was greeted by a dense wall of discussion topics. Unsurprisingly, every thread was about his daytime battle against Wei Wusheng.
The most discussed topic was Chen Chuan's true identity.
One post read: "I thought Chen Chuan was just an ordinary Wuyi trainee. Who would have guessed he was the Disposal Bureau's trump card? Everyone was blind this time, weren't they?"
The words dripped with schadenfreude, clearly directed at those who had put their bets on the wrong side.
Several people did chime in to grumble: "If you're this strong, why act so low-key?"
Yet no one dared speak too harshly. A third limit fighter who also belonged to the Disposal Bureau was someone they truly could not afford to offend.
Others deduced further: "The person who stopped Wei Wusheng on that cruise ship back then wasn't Du Geng at all—it was this powerhouse all along!
"Wei Wusheng was actually chased off by him that time, which is why he specifically came back hunting for Chen Chuan. Looking at his route and preparations, he was definitely gunning for him. It's just that he still couldn't win, couldn't even run away, and ended up hammered to death right on the spot."
This sparked a wave of gasps and realization, which then spiraled into a debate over who was truly superior in skill.
Because it involved third limit combat, they could hardly offer an accurate breakdown of the technical details, forcing them to judge roughly based on general impressions.
Though a handful of diehards argued that Wei Wusheng had been injured beforehand, had performed poorly, or had lost his weapon, insisting his defeat wasn't a matter of raw combat power, the vast majority agreed that Chen Chuan had simply crushed him through sheer strength—there was no other explanation.
After all, Wei Wusheng had been on the back foot from the very beginning and hadn't managed to inflict any meaningful damage on Chen Chuan all the way to the end.
Yet as the combatant himself, Chen Chuan knew full well that the fight had not been without its perils. The most dangerous moment had been when Wei Wusheng stood back up at the very end.
Chen Chuan didn't know what had happened, but he had sensed two separate forces fusing into one within the man, while the wounds across his body began rapidly knitting together.
Had he been even a fraction of a second slower, the outcome truly would have been hard to predict. He might have been forced to face a Wei Wusheng restored to peak condition—or even one with doubled martial prowess.
That was why he had struck without hesitation, overlaying his Second Self and pouring every ounce of his power into that single strike.
At present, the Second Self's strength remained relatively frail, falling far short of his current level. But once martial prowess reached a certain threshold, even the slightest edge offered immense support.
He had considered it then: if that blow still failed to finish things, his only choices would have been to retrieve the Xuejun Saber or hold out until the Disposal Bureau's reinforcements arrived.
Among the discussions, the brunt of the contempt, as expected, fell upon one specific person.
"Old Cat Han was all bark and no bite. Getting killed by a dying, heavily injured Wei Wusheng—and to think I had such high hopes for him, fuck..." What followed was a stream of vile curses, clearly from someone who had dropped a massive wager on Old Cat Han.
Plenty of people echoed the sentiment, and virtually no one came forward to defend him. After all, Old Cat Han's death had been utterly pathetic, and he had brazenly tried to snatch the kill. Most people despised that kind of opportunist.
The comments were practically unanimous.
Just then, the user "Dancing on a Bottle Cap" pushed back slightly.
"Old Cat Han had rotten character, but that doesn't mean his combat power was weak. His movement and speed were exceptionally fast. He thought Wei Wusheng was already dead at the end, and that judgment wasn't entirely wrong—didn't you see that Mr. Chen had already started walking away?
"Wei Wusheng simply hadn't died for reasons unknown, which was why Han got caught. He couldn't play to his strengths, and close-quarters combat was his greatest weakness, which just happened to be Wei Wusheng's strongest suit.
"I think if the two had fought under normal circumstances, Wei Wusheng wouldn't have even touched Old Cat Han, and Han wouldn't have lost no matter what. His arrogance had some foundation; it was his own greed that killed him."
His words immediately drew counterarguments from users dedicated to scrutinizing his every post. The thread quickly pivoted into comparisons between the Pei brothers, Left Bayonet, Old Cat Han, and the rest. Since these men were already dead, everyone could critique them without restraint, free from any fear of retaliation.
Chen Chuan browsed a bit longer, then took out the book Cao Guixi had given him and began turning the pages slowly.
***
In an underground gym in Shenwei District, though dusk had not fully settled outside, the lights inside were already ablaze. Many trainees came here to practice in the evening.
Taking advantage of a free moment, Lu Fang squeezed down a few tubes of nutritional paste, walked over to a cleared space, and began diligently practicing his punches.
He had never forgotten Chen Chuan's words: only by breaking through to the third limit would he earn the right to look into those matters.
So over these past days, whenever he had a spare second, he threw himself into relentless training, working even harder than he had back at the academy.
Fortunately, Chen Chuan had promised to supply him with a batch of medicines, sparing him from worrying about his cultivation resources for the time being. Though Chen Chuan had asked for nothing, Lu Fang was determined to pay everything back once he earned enough money, and he kept the debt of gratitude etched deep in his heart.
His relentless effort over the past few days had left the two senior students tongue-tied, instilling a sense of urgency in them as well.
After Lu Fang finished a set of forms, Senior Yu walked over and said, "Junior Lu, take a breather. I've got something good to show you."
Lu Fang asked, "Is it a match from the arena tournament?"
Neither of them was a full citizen, so they had no right to attend the matches in person. Yet every path had its own tricks; despite lacking official status, there were always people who could get their hands on recorded footage after the events, sold at rather fair prices.
This was also because many people traded in such recordings. The older the footage grew, the cheaper it became. By next year, aside from the fighters still active, hardly anyone would bother watching last year's recordings, so selling them off early was always the wiser move.
Senior Yu gave a mysterious smile. "It is a fight, but this one's different. It's a battle between third limit fighters! Well? Want to see it?"
Lu Fang froze, asking in surprise, "Third limit?"
"That's right! Third limit!"
Senior Yu puffed out his chest proudly. "I went through quite some trouble to get my hands on this. How's that for being a good bro?"
Lu Fang knew how rare this was, but having some knowledge of his own, he couldn't help asking, "Can we even see a fight between fighters of that limit clearly?"
"Don't worry," Senior Yu whispered. "This was leaked straight from the arena venue. The field frequencies were modulated so ordinary people could see it clearly. I heard high-end versions can even capture some of the finer combat details, but there's no way to get ahold of those."
Lu Fang genuinely wanted to watch and broaden his horizons. "Then I'll treat you to dinner later, Senior."
"It's a deal! I'll transfer it to you right now." Senior Yu tapped his boundary credential, sending the file over to Lu Fang.
Lu Fang's boundary credential was merely a basic secondhand model, so it took quite a while to receive the full data. Yet the moment he opened the recording and took a single glance, the figure appearing on the screen gave him a jolt of shock.
*Junior Chen?*
Seeing his stunned expression, Senior Yu felt thoroughly satisfied. "Pretty impressive, huh?" he said, patting Lu Fang on the shoulder.
Because the true life-and-death clash had lasted only a few minutes, Lu Fang finished watching it shortly. Yet the shock the battle imparted was immense.
Deep within his heart, the tremor ran far deeper than simple awe.
*The third limit...*
He recalled the words Chen Chuan had spoken to him. Reverence and profound admiration surged within his chest as he murmured silently, *Junior Chen, you did it.*
Senior Yu sighed. "Man, I wonder when we'll ever reach that level."
Lu Fang said with conviction, "No matter how long and difficult the road is, we have to keep walking."
Senior Yu seemed to recall his own years of struggle. He fell silent for a moment before nodding. "Yeah. We have to keep walking." After a brief pause, he added, "No matter how hard it is, we keep walking."
***
At that very moment, somewhere on Mount Motie, within a private estate that occupied an entire hill, Meng Shu sat with her back straight against a wide sofa in the grand parlor. A female manager stood before her, speaking eloquently as she presented various materials.
The female manager appeared in her thirties, wearing refined women's glasses. She carried an intellectual, courteous demeanor, and the implant wires of the boundary credential beside her ear were so fine they were nearly invisible.
"Recruiting qualified fighters will be our primary focus moving forward," the manager said. "When fighters wish to advance, they inevitably face intense competition from peers of the same tier. Consequently, most fighters will seize every opportunity they can get, and such opportunities can generally only be provided over the long term by corporations and the government."
Meng Shu spoke in a measured voice. "Resources are limited."
"Indeed, resources are limited. That holds true anywhere," the manager said. "Fighters can likewise be treated as a resource, and our company must compete with other corporations to secure them.
"Those with true potential are typically backed by major corporations and government departments right from the start. Although our company invested in a fair number of individuals previously, the director in charge of that project seemed to lack discerning judgment. The candidates she backed either turned in mediocre performances and failed to meet company benchmarks, or their names have already been struck from the registry.
"Over the past two years, the company has wagered on no fewer than two hundred fighters, allocating massive dedicated funds annually across Wuyi Academy, street gangs, and various martial arts styles, yet the results remain unsatisfactory.
"Facts have proven that this scattered, shotgun approach is largely ineffective. What we need now are elites. A single elite is worth a hundred mediocrities, while ordinary fighters can simply rely on implants to suffice."
Meng Shu asked in a cool, detached tone, "The company has been researching high-end implants. Do they still fall short of our requirements?"
"That touches upon another issue," the manager explained. "Some of the company's high-end implants can barely meet specifications, but implant surgeries require recipients to adapt gradually over several years or even decades of phased replacements.
"When we attempted to compress that timeline, the consequence was a severe reduction in recipient lifespans. For now, this remains an unresolved technical hurdle.
"Furthermore, I must remind you, Miss, that certain specialized implants are held exclusively by top mega-corporations. We would have to purchase them externally, and the recipients require substantial quantities of tailored conditioning medicines.
"Such medicines can only be acquired from formidable pharmaceutical giants like Tiancong Baicao, Qingnang Jade Workshop, and Talide. Relying on them will inevitably leave us constrained by other corporations."
She gestured with her hand. "These are broad strategic concerns, Miss. If you are to inherit the company and compete against your cousin, you must deliver superior results. Since our available resources are limited, we must concentrate them, selecting targets that require lower investment yet yield high potential value.
"So long as the selection is accurate, the return can be a hundredfold or a thousandfold."
Meng Shu gave a slight nod, seemingly in agreement with the proposal. She asked, "Candidates?"
The female manager adjusted her glasses and said, "We have already found a suitable one."
Chapter 347