The Training Class

When Chen Chuan reached downstairs, he saw an ordinary-looking Puyu sedan drive up from not far away. As it pulled up close, the door opened. Counselor Pei was sitting in the back seat and nodded in greeting to him. Chen Chuan nodded in response and slid inside. Once the door closed, the car headed up toward the elevated highway. Counselor Pei took his briefcase and handed him a folder of documents. "This is the latest information on Chen Bitong. The location of his training class has been decided. It's currently in an internal trial phase—only people who received an invitation can attend. It won't open to the public to begin training students until next month. "Captain Chen, if it's convenient for you, why not show your face there tomorrow? Besides you, there should be several other relevant personnel going. These people will be useful for getting close to Chen Bitong. If possible, do your best to build good relations with them. In addition..." He handed Chen Chuan a few tickets. "At the end of this month, there's a play. It's confirmed that Chen Bitong will attend the theater. Many political figures will be present then, and Captain Chen can attend as well." Chen Chuan took them and looked. Sure enough, it was the very same theater Tan Zhi had mentioned. Although he had already accepted Tan Zhi's invitation, having a few extra tickets didn't hurt. He pocketed them and said, "I will be there." Counselor Pei smiled. "Captain Chen, the same thing goes: there's no need for you to take any overt initiative. Just enter their circle and build a good relationship with Chen Bitong. However, if there's anything unusual about him, please inform us as soon as possible. "If they try to invite you to join their society like last time, simply ignore it." Chen Chuan asked, "Let me ask a hypothetical. If it's to earn their trust, wouldn't pretending to join make it easier to gain acceptance?" Counselor Pei shook his head. "Joining involves a rigorous procedure. Genuine or feigned, once you're in, you will never wash away the traces left on you. It's best to keep your distance." Chen Chuan gave a slight nod, signaling his understanding. The sedan completed a circuit on the elevated highway and drove him back to Wuyi. Back in his dorm, Chen Chuan looked through the materials Counselor Pei had given him. Once he had a clear grasp of things, he browsed the Fringe Channel for a while before going to rest. The next morning, he woke as usual, went through his daily training routine, and only set out after nine o'clock. The training class was also located in Wuding District, but practically bordered the central Weiguang District. It took him a half-hour drive to reach the area. It was evident that Chen Bitong possessed deep connections: the training class was situated in a fifty-story office and conference building, and the top ten floors had all been allocated to him for training use. The weather was fine today. The deep-blue glass curtain wall of the building crisply reflected the scenery of the building opposite. Amid all the towers, this was the only one whose light-and-shadow holographic projections had been shut off, without the din of any advertisements, making it stand out at a glance. He adjusted his cuffs and walked inside. At the checkpoint, he took out his name card and waved it. A voice came from his boundary credential: "Identity confirmed. Hello, Captain Chen. The training class is currently open only internally. For observation and orientation, please proceed to the training ground on the forty-second floor." Chen Chuan stepped into the elevator, rode it up to the forty-second floor, passed through the front lobby corridor, and entered the training ground to the south, whose doors were wide open. Perhaps because it had not formally opened and he had arrived relatively early, aside from the necessary training equipment, there was only a teenage boy in the training grounds striking and gripping at the joints and vital points of a dummy. His feet constantly shifted and circled around it, and breath and shouts burst from his mouth now and then. The boy was around fourteen or fifteen years old. Young as he was, it was clear he had already begun cultivation training—one or two years earlier than ordinary people. But those with the right circumstances and a solid foundation built from childhood could start a bit ahead of time. Seeing no one else around, and noticing that the boy was not using any secret techniques, Chen Chuan walked over and watched from the side. But at a single glance, he could tell that although the boy worked hard, his direction was wrong. He said, "Your method is wrong." The boy's movements paused. Chen Chuan continued, "Your training method is aimed at cultivating grappling jin, but with your body type and the distribution of your mutated fascia, you're actually better suited for sanshou jin." The boy ignored him. After a brief pause, he resumed his earlier training. Seeing that he wouldn't listen, Chen Chuan smiled faintly and said no more. He prepared to look around elsewhere, but just as he turned around, the boy's voice came from behind. "Really?" Chen Chuan turned back. The boy was looking at him with suspicion. "You came to get trained by him too, right?" Chen Chuan said, "Do you mean Teacher Chen? He did invite me." "But I've never seen you before." Chen Chuan said, "Mm, it's my first time here." The boy studied him for a few moments, then hesitated. "What should I do?" Chen Chuan glanced to the side and walked over to another dummy that matched the boy's build. Reaching out, he snatched it and yanked it forward, then drove a straight punch into its chest, caving in a section immediately. At the same time, he whipped a roundhouse kick into it, snapping one of the dummy's arms completely. He wasn't done yet. Driving his knee up into the dummy's midsection, he bent it double, then thrust an upward palm strike—with a sharp crack, the dummy's head snapped backward. Finally, he reached out, gripped its face, and gave a light squeeze. With a loud pop, the dummy's entire head shattered into powder. He brushed his fingers, letting the fine powder rustle down, then turned back to the boy, who was staring wide-eyed. "Just practicing these few moves will be enough." After being stunned for a moment, the boy's eyes lit up with excitement. He knew these dummies were specially made—incredibly tough and heavy. Normally, no matter how one battered them, not a scratch could be made. Yet Chen Chuan, with just a few casual moves, had mangled the dummy like this. Such destructive power was more persuasive than any sermon. At the same time, he was itching to try a few moves himself. Chen Chuan stepped aside and encouraged him, "Give it a try." The boy stepped forward in front of his original dummy and tried following Chen Chuan's example. At first, he had to pause to recall the motions, but after a few tries, he grew familiar with them. As he drove a punch forward, a shout burst naturally from his chest. With a loud thud, the heavy dummy actually swayed. He froze for a second, then grew thrilled—because no matter how hard he had tried before, he couldn't shake the dummy in the slightest. Now it was different. He immediately unleashed a barrage of punches and kicks just like before. Chen Chuan observed him. The boy had a solid foundation and a sharp memory, picking it up very quickly. Of course, the few moves he demonstrated weren't hard to remember; if there had been more, it would have been harder to execute. Moreover, he hadn't just thrown simple punches earlier; he had clearly displayed the focal points for channeling force through mutated tissue. In the past, he couldn't have accomplished this. But having embarked on the path of spiritual cultivation, he was now capable of making precise adjustments to the minute parts of his body. This provided a massive boost in combat as well, allowing him to exert both greater and far more refined jin. In the middle of the floor, the boy was executing strikes with excitement. The dummy swayed noticeably more than before. Because of the proper force application, more mutated tissue was being engaged. After striking continuously for two minutes, the boy finally stepped back, panting. He looked at himself with confusion. Usually, he could train for ten or twenty minutes without tiring, but today, fatigue hit him after just a short while. Chen Chuan said from the side, "The mutated fascia in your body is still delicate. Previously, due to poor force application, it didn't participate when you struck; you were mostly relying on the strength of your muscles, tendons, and bones. Just now, it was actively engaged. So it's not your body that's tired, but your mutated fascia. "Once it rests and recovers, it will become stronger than before and better suited to how you channel power now. You can use some recovery-promoting medicine, and if conditions permit, find a specialist to give you recovery massages." The boy's expression was intent, clearly taking the words to heart. He looked up and asked, "If..." He hesitated, then said, "If I don't train grappling anymore, how should I train in the future?" Chen Chuan said, "The simplest way is to first learn a set of Greater Sanshou. This isn't to increase your combat effectiveness, but to comb through and straighten out the mutated fascia inside your body that shifted out of alignment from training grappling. Once it's corrected, try Orthodox Sanshou. Once the fascia adapts and grows robust, you can attempt to practice jin techniques." The boy said sincerely, "Thank you." No one had ever told him these things before. He had merely trained by referring to books and scattered bits of knowledge he had picked up, but he had no idea how to tie them all together or which path to follow. Chen Chuan said, "It's just a few words. Don't worry about it." At that moment, he heard the chime of an elevator opening outside, followed by voices and cluttered footsteps. Clearly, a good number of people were heading their way. He turned his gaze and saw over a dozen people trickling in from outside. A few wore military uniforms, while most were dressed in civilian clothes. When these people entered, they noticed Chen Chuan as well. One burly man sized him up, said a few words to the people beside him, nodded, and walked over. "Captain Chen?" Chen Chuan said, "That's me." The boy looked up at him and took note of how he was addressed. The burly man stopped in front of Chen Chuan. Standing well over 2.2 meters tall, he gave off a faint aura of oppression. He said to him, "Captain Chen, I'm Ding Mai. I'm currently serving in the Confluence as well, leading a squad. Of course, I haven't risen through the ranks as fast as you." He grinned. "Captain Chen, I've heard of your record. You're the one who took down Iron Demon. Frankly, I had been assigned to defense duty during those days, or else I would've been the one to take him on." Chen Chuan said, "Is that so." Ding Mai locked eyes with him and said, "I only have ten days of leave in Center City. I just wanted to learn a bit under Teacher Chen. But seeing you today, I'd like to have a spar. Not about winning or losing—I just want to see how formidable someone who defeated Iron Demon and earned an invitation from Teacher Chen really is."