Provocation

After leaving the office building, the Jiade car headed west, quickly exiting Weiguang District and entering Shenwei District, the area with the densest greenery. Noticing Chen Xiaojin gazing out the window in wonder, Chen Chuan asked, "Xiaojin, do you not go out often?" Chen Xiaojin replied, "The nanny at home said it's dangerous outside, and that it's best not to go out without someone to protect me. Before, I was only allowed to walk around in Weiguang District. I've never been to any other districts." Chen Chuan said, "Actually, your nanny has a point." Public security in Center City was relatively good in Weiguang District, but elsewhere, it was hard to say. If one ran into violent thugs out there, they wouldn't ask whose son Xiaojin was before making a move. Over half an hour later, the car pulled up in front of the martial arts gym where Lu Fang worked. Chen Chuan had already notified Lu Fang via boundary credential that he was coming. So as he parked and walked up the steps with Xiaojin, he saw Lu Fang coming out to greet them. Seeing Chen Chuan, Lu Fang froze slightly. They hadn't seen each other for two months, not since before the New Year, yet the presence Chen Chuan gave off was noticeably different. There seemed to be a palpable gleam in his eyes. It wasn't a sharp, overt edge, but rather a deeply arresting power that stirred an invisible sense of pressure in Lu Fang's heart. Evidently, his junior had improved again. Lu Fang sighed inwardly with emotion. *This is real talent.* He had been working extremely hard himself, yet he still felt far from reaching the third limit, whereas his junior seemed to advance by leaps and bounds with every passing interval. Stepping forward to exchange greetings with Chen Chuan, Lu Fang looked at Chen Xiaojin and asked, "Is this Xiaojin, whom you mentioned earlier?" Chen Chuan said, "Yes, this is Xiaojin. Xiaojin, this is Mr. Lu. You can learn from him here from now on." Lu Fang had been teaching students here for over a year and had coached children and youths of all ages, accumulating plenty of instructional experience. Moreover, he possessed excellent character and a strong sense of responsibility, which was the most reassuring part. In addition, there were many peers of Xiaojin's age here, giving them opportunities to spar with one another. Chen Xiaojin greeted politely, "Mr. Lu." Lu Fang looked him over and asked in surprise, "Xiaojin has already started training?" Chen Chuan said, "An elder in his family is a fighter." Lu Fang didn't inquire why someone with an elder fighter would come to him instead; he figured there must be some unavoidable reason. He thought for a moment. Once a person had begun formal training, they were considered a fighter. Not many such individuals continued training at martial arts gyms, and most of them were older than Xiaojin. Counting them all up, there were only three or four, but arrangements could still be made. He invited Chen Chuan and Xiaojin inside. After sending a quick message over his boundary credential, a youth around seventeen or eighteen, close to their age group, walked in and clasped his fists. "Brother Lu." Lu Fang said, "Chu Wu, this is Xiaojin. Spar with him for a bit." Then he turned to Chen Xiaojin. "Xiaojin, give it a try. Let me see your fundamentals." "Okay!" Chen Xiaojin had never sparred against anyone before, having trained entirely on his own. Facing Chu Wu, he felt nervous, yet eager to try. The two looked at each other. Chen Xiaojin took the initiative to strike, but the moment he threw a punch, Chu Wu caught his arm and effortlessly swept him to the ground. He rolled over and scrambled back to his feet, only to be taken down by Chu Wu once again. Not in the least discouraged, he got up and kept going. However, the gap in their combat experience was simply too wide. After Xiaojin had been thrown more than a dozen times, Lu Fang called a halt. He began pointing out the mistakes Xiaojin had made and explaining how to read openings in combat. Nor did he neglect Chu Wu, advising him on how to conserve energy and pointing out which of his motions had been redundant. When Xiaojin stepped back onto the mat, he immediately felt the difference in his own performance. In just a short while, he was thoroughly convinced by Lu Fang's guidance. Seeing this, Chen Chuan took advantage of their next break to call Xiaojin aside. "You stay here today and learn from Mr. Lu. I'll take you back toward evening. If you have any questions you don't understand, you can ask me then." Xiaojin agreed, then added earnestly, "Captain Chen, thank you." Chen Chuan nodded, patted his shoulder, and walked out. Lu Fang saw him off to the door and said, "Don't worry, junior. I'll have Number Thirteen keep an eye on things here. If anything comes up, I'll have her notify you right away." Chen Chuan said, "Then I'll be troubling you, senior. Charge whatever tuition is due—no need to hold back on my account." Reaching the entrance, he added, "Senior, I'll take my leave for now and come pick him up toward evening." After parting with Lu Fang, Chen Chuan walked out of the gym. As he approached his car, he glanced across the street and spotted someone watching him. The person wasn't making any effort to conceal their presence; they had trailed him all the way here, likely someone tasked with protecting Xiaojin. The man took the initiative to walk over, greeting him, "Hello, Captain Chen. Assistant Fang instructed me to keep watch over Xiaojin." Chen Chuan immediately contacted Fang Zhixin through his boundary credential and quickly confirmed the arrangement. Fang Zhixin asked, "Captain Chen, will Xiaojin be coming back today?" Chen Chuan said, "I'll bring him back toward evening. As for what he wants to learn, I believe you understand, Assistant Fang." Fang Zhixin let out a sigh. "I know. How about this: if Xiaojin likes the place, I'll arrange for someone to drive him back and forth every day so it won't trouble you, Captain Chen." Chen Chuan said, "If Xiaojin is fine with that, then no problem. But for today, since I brought him out, I will take him back." Fang Zhixin agreed and said with sincere gratitude, "Captain Chen, thank you." Chen Chuan replied, "Don't mention it. Teacher Chen has taught me a great deal as well." Leaving the area, he drove straight back to his residence in Wuding District. He had indeed learned a lot today, including several methods of power generation and force release, as well as mental anchoring and the form visualization method. He needed to review and consolidate them. After practicing until evening, he went back out and returned the still-thrilled Xiaojin home. Though only an afternoon had passed, he could tell that this outing had made Xiaojin far more animated, no longer moping as he had before. As they returned, Chen Bitong stood upstairs, looking down through the floor-to-ceiling window. Watching Xiaojin's noticeably lighter steps, he gazed in silence for a moment before turning away. The next day, Chen Chuan attended the training class again. Unsurprisingly, "Lao Yan" had been eliminated, replaced by someone new. Yet it was evident that the things Chen Bitong taught were indeed difficult to master. Over the following two days, following Ding Mai's departure, the other two were eliminated one after another as well. As a result, out of the initial five who had entered, Chen Chuan was the sole remaining trainee within just three days; everyone else was gone. Even so, those who had departed had learned a substantial amount even from just a day or two under Chen Bitong. It was enough for them to digest for a long time. If fully absorbed, it would bring a marked improvement to both their combat experience and personal strength. It was no wonder so many people tried every means possible to squeeze into this training class. The four replacements who filled their spots were quite capable, managing to keep pace with Chen Bitong's lessons several days in a row. However, they seemed to know one another beforehand and formed a tight-knit clique, subtly ostracizing Chen Chuan and never speaking to him. Chen Chuan had no interest in interacting with them either. Later, while talking with Counselor Pei, he learned that all four were from the National Interim Special Action Committee. Their presence in the training class likely served a purpose similar to his own: while nominally here to study under Chen Bitong, they were probably commissioned to conduct surveillance and probe into matters. Counselor Pei concluded by warning him that this agency had an extremely radical operational style, so he should minimize his dealings with them—though if they crossed any lines, there was no need to be polite. Chen Chuan acknowledged the advice. The training sessions were held one-on-one, so there was little interaction in daily routine, and none of them had provoked him thus far. Two days later, just as Chen Chuan stepped out of the elevator, he heard a loud, carrying voice coming from the training hall: "Teacher Chen spending his time on you lot is a complete waste! "Isn't that right? Only elites are worthy of Teacher Chen's guidance. "Yet his time is being divided among mediocres like you. It goes against his philosophy and deprives true elites of opportunities to receive instruction!" Immediately after, Chen Chuan heard a sarcastic retort: "Yu Lie, don't tell me you think that elite is you?" The first voice unabashedly owned up to it without the slightest embarrassment. "That's right, it's me." He spoke with complete matter-of-fact certainty. "Who else could it be? You lot? Don't make me laugh." Chen Chuan stepped up to the entrance of the training hall and saw a tall young man dressed in imported formal attire, wearing his hair at medium length. He appeared to be around twenty-seven or twenty-eight, with a firm, strong jaw, high cheekbones, sharply defined features, and an unruly, cynical air across his face. At that moment, he had one hand in his pocket and was casually tossing a coin with the other, saying playfully, "Do you think Teacher Chen would object to what I'm doing? "He won't. "I've followed Teacher Chen for so long; I know him. Only true elites catch his eye. If I beat you all out of here today, he won't blame me at all, because in his eyes, I alone am worth more than the lot of you." With that, he broke into a nasty grin, rolling his wrists and craning his neck. "You can all come at me together today. If I lose, I'll turn around and walk away, never showing my face before you again. If I ever cross paths with you, I'll take a detour. How about that? Don't say I didn't give you a chance." The four sneered. In a one-on-one fight, they admitted they were no match for him, but claiming he could take all of them at once was sheer arrogance. Besides, Yu Lie had only stated what would happen if he lost, without demanding anything if they were defeated. That meant even if things went poorly, they could still hold onto their spots here. After a quick tactical exchange among themselves, one of them said with a cold laugh, "Fine then. Let's have a fight."