Sponsorship

After sitting down, Chen Chuan slowly emptied his mind, soothing away his tangled, stray thoughts, and began to gather and rein in his mental force bit by bit. When Teacher Xue demonstrated it to him, the transition had been effortless, entering a state of empty stillness and clarity in an instant. Yet when he attempted it himself, he felt entanglements everywhere, constantly beset by endless distractions that stirred restlessness in his heart. If he took out the Gaotian jade core right now, would it let him quickly calm his mind? He swiftly suppressed that thought. He knew full well that simply possessing the item was why such a notion arose in the first place, and the more obstacles he encountered, the stronger the urge would grow. The tempering method was meant precisely to subdue and rein in all these impurities and untamed thoughts, keeping the mind firmly rooted and crystal clear. Only once that was achieved could one delve deeper into cultivation. And the foundation of the tempering method was that resolute aspiration to forge ahead and break free from all shackles. Under this unswerving conviction, the rest of the distracting thoughts were ground down one by one. He sat there for an entire day before finally binding all the mind apes. And next came visualizing the heart jade. As his intent shone inward, before long, a cluster of bright light rose within his mind. However, it was incomparable to the all-illuminating radiance Teacher Xue had demonstrated the day before; it was merely a soft, shimmering glow, looking as though it could dim at any moment. This was only his first visualization, unpolished and without the mental force being condensed and strong enough yet, so it was natural for it to appear this way. He felt no impatience. As long as he cultivated steadily, he believed it would gradually grow brighter and more formidable. For the next ten-odd days, he spent all his time in the training ground. Yet while meditating to calm his mind, he did not neglect the nurturing method. Aside from a steadfast heart's intent, only an adequately robust body could support truly enduring and inexhaustible mental force. In mid-February, just after he had refreshed Chaoming's water and feed one morning, a chime sounded from his boundary credential. He glanced at it and saw an incoming call from Bureau Director Lei, so he answered immediately. "Director Lei?" Director Lei's voice came through: "Trainee Chen, I've spent these past few days at the bureau dealing with official business waiting for me to take over. With thousands of loose ends to tie up, I've only just managed to sort things out. Thank you for what happened on the road that day. I looked into the situation, and currently, the mastermind behind it is believed to be the Ferris Wheel Company?" Chen Chuan said, "That is my assessment as well, and colleagues in the Disposal Bureau share the same view, though the specific reason is still unclear." Director Lei said, "From what I've gathered, the Disposal Bureau is still holding meetings and has yet to come up with an appropriate solution for this matter." "Indeed, the bureau hasn't reached a conclusion yet." Director Lei said solemnly, "Trainee Chen, higher-level decisions sometimes diverge from the thinking down below. Normally, we want to resolve problems quickly, but rarely consider how to handle the subsequent fallout that arises after the resolution. "Most people aren't in that position, so naturally they don't need to consider so much, which is quite reasonable. But we have to consider it. If everyone ignores this, it will only lead to more and more problems. "However, when those at the top think too much, their misgivings multiply, and their reactions slow down. As a result, maintaining the status quo seems to become acceptable to all sides. "Resolutions are often difficult to make. "Back then, even when Molan Company was forced to retreat to Yangzhi, coordinating with many relevant parties was still necessary to eradicate them. Ferris Wheel is the same. If our strength is insufficient, we must exercise a certain degree of patience." Chen Chuan understood the implication in his words and said, "Director Lei, I understand." Director Lei said, "Over the past few days, I also managed to find out some things about Ferris Wheel Company. It has overseas backing and seems quite close to the Gaotian Cult and some other cults. Therefore, in the coming days, I will personally lead a team to conduct an extended audit on Ferris Wheel." He added in a deep voice, "Until problems are uncovered." Chen Chuan felt a stir in his heart. He cautioned, "Director Lei, please be very careful." Director Lei replied steadily, "I will. Trainee Chen, take care of yourself as well." Chen Chuan said all right. Only a few minutes after ending the call with Director Lei, another communication came in. Seeing it was from Yan Yi, he connected and asked, "Assistant Yan, is there something going on with the company?" Yan Yi said, "Consultant Chen, everything is normal at the company. I'm reaching out because there's a matter I'd like to discuss with you." Chen Chuan said, "Please go ahead." "Many promising new students have arrived for Wuyi's new semester, and I noticed one of them is from Yangzhi, just like you, Consultant Chen. "As you know, Consultant Chen, the company has always wanted to cultivate fighters, so we would like to sponsor this student. Before doing so, we wanted to ask for your opinion." Chen Chuan turned the thought over. He had actually considered this aspect before. Professional courses and extra services at Wuyi all required payment. Relying solely on a fighter's own meager resources, one could never hope to cultivate smoothly; receiving outside sponsorship was a necessity. However, there was a catch: once one accepted an investor's sponsorship and signed an agreement, one would be bound by certain restrictions and obligated to bear certain responsibilities. In essence, it was a transaction. He had actually felt that joining the Disposal Bureau would be good for Wei Dong, but that depended on the bureau leadership's intentions. A fallback option was Fusion Boundary Company, but it ultimately came down to Wei Dong's own wishes; he could not make the decision for Wei Dong. He said, "I'll speak with him about this and get back to you shortly." Hearing that, Yan Yi was certain that Wei Dong had close ties with him, but that had been expected. It was precisely why she had reached out to Chen Chuan first. There was also another reason: Wei Dong was not a recommended student, and his background was remarkably clean, so there was no fear of complications. She said, "All right, Consultant Chen, I'll await your reply." Once finished speaking with her, Chen Chuan contacted Wei Dong via his boundary credential. "Wei Dong, do you have time? Okay, I'll come find you at the training hall." Wei Dong had only been here for ten days, yet he spent more time in the training hall than in his dorm. His path was clear-cut: external conditioning. External conditioning primarily depended on natural talent and grueling, persistent practice. Teachers played a role, but a relatively smaller one. Wei Dong couldn't afford to purchase courses, so he went directly to attend open lectures given by instructors from the Supreme Main Academy. Generally, open lectures offered no one-on-one instruction. However, external conditioning was not widely practiced; in this cohort of students, only three trained in external conditioning, and the other two had hired private tutors. Thus, Wei Dong had caught a break—it was practically equivalent to receiving private tutoring. When Chen Chuan arrived, the instructor was sipping tea off to the side, while Wei Dong was slathered in medicinal ointment, his skin flushed a deep crimson, holding a jin stance. Seeing Chen Chuan enter, the instructor paused in surprise. The newcomer was wearing a student uniform, yet he was a third-limit fighter—a very rare sight. Moreover, he noticed the brilliant light brimming in Chen Chuan's eyes. That was a sign of someone who had already embarked upon the path of mental cultivation, yet had not fully learned to rein it in. This was no small feat. Not every third-limit fighter was qualified to undergo mental cultivation. Those able to step onto this path possessed a real chance of advancing to an even higher level. He did not remain seated, standing up to ask, "You're the student who just called Trainee Wei, right?" Chen Chuan responded politely, "Hello, Teacher. Yes, that was me. My name is Chen Chuan." The instructor smiled and said, "My surname is Wang. Just call me Teacher Wang." At that moment, he quietly checked the name on his boundary credential and discovered Chen Chuan held a post in the Disposal Bureau, but the specifics were restricted from view. This indicated Chen Chuan not only had a position, but a rather high-ranking one. Surprised, he thought to himself, *The Disposal Bureau has certainly recruited a fine talent.* He said, "Take a seat. Wei Dong can probably hold on for a bit longer. Let's wait a moment." Chen Chuan nodded, walked over to sit down, and chatted with Teacher Wang in the meantime. The man was cheerful and could shoot the breeze about anything under the sun, yet he was surprisingly cautious. He seemed to talk a lot, but divulged no key information. Whenever Chen Chuan brought up the Supreme Main Academy, the teacher only touched upon minor trivia, not enough to piece together a complete picture. Yet through the conversation, Chen Chuan sensed this teacher's identity was likely far from simple. Then again, someone sent over from the Main Academy was unlikely to be just a regular instructor; he might well be carrying out other duties. After waiting about twenty minutes, the ointment on Wei Dong gradually turned a dark purplish-black. He stirred, exhaling a long breath, and the ointment peeled off and fell away in fragments like dried lacquer. Teacher Wang stood up and praised, "Not bad. That'll be all for today's lesson. You two talk." With that, he wasted no words, waving a hand and striding briskly outside. Wei Dong rolled his neck, shaking loose the remaining medicinal flakes, and swung his arms as he walked over. "Brother Chen, what did you need me for?" Seeing him scratch himself, Chen Chuan knew it was irritation from the medicine. He smiled and said, "Go wash off. It's just around noon anyway. Let's grab lunch together and talk while we eat." "You got it." Chen Chuan waited for him to shower and then went with him to the school cafeteria. After sitting down and ordering their meal, he asked, "Wei Dong, what was your evaluation score on the entrance test?" Wei Dong said, "Fifty-four." Chen Chuan hummed in acknowledgment. The score wasn't high, but a low evaluation score didn't necessarily mean a person lacked capability; rather, Wei Dong's cultivation system was simply incomplete. Recommended students usually engaged outside instructors in addition to Wuyi teachers. Even Chen Chuan had received guidance from He Xiaoxing; otherwise, he never would have reached the height he did upon entering the Main Academy. He asked, "Has anyone contacted you lately about sponsorship?" Wei Dong shook his head. "No." On his way here, Chen Chuan had already checked: the Disposal Bureau had already found candidates to sponsor. Wei Dong seemed to have good potential, but aside from external conditioning, he didn't stand out in other areas. Moreover, those practicing external conditioning rarely reached the third limit, and combined with his modest evaluation score, the Disposal Bureau's choice was understandable. In that case, going directly to Fusion Boundary would be better. At least with Chen Chuan there, he could look out for him. Wei Dong was a teammate he favored, someone he planned to bring into his squad in the future. So he explained that Fusion Boundary wanted to sponsor him and asked what Wei Dong thought. Wei Dong scratched his head and asked, "Brother Chen, do you think it's a good place?" Chen Chuan nodded. Wei Dong said, "Then that's where I'll go."