Seeing that Chen Chuan still stood completely unscathed, the brood master abruptly parted its mouthparts. In an instant, another blast wave surged forth.
Chen Chuan's eyes flashed. He chose not to dodge, crossing both arms before him to block. Pushed back more than ten meters by the sheer force, he only came to a halt as his feet plowed two deep trenches into the ground.
Yet that was all. It lacked the destructive might of the invisible acoustic wave from moments before.
He had already deduced that the previous assault had actually been a combination attack. When subjected to the swarm's onslaught, a defender—even if capable of withstanding it—would inevitably focus their primary defense on the surface of their body. Then, while their vision was obscured and their senses confounded, the shockwave would strike, leaving them in a virtually fatal predicament.
This air blast, however, was likely intended merely to shove him back and create room for its next strike.
Sure enough, just as he expected, the brood master puffed out its thorax once more, spreading its membranous wings wide. But how could he give the creature another opening? With a flick of his wrist, he turned the Xuejun Saber and charged forward.
Dozens of meters vanished in a blur. In a flash of light, the brood master froze, suddenly losing its balance and listing to one side—the Xuejun Saber had sheared right through the limbs on that flank.
Without the swarm to shield it, Chen Chuan could strike without the slightest hesitation. And such a massive target was far less agile than he was; his strike found its mark with ease.
Sensing danger, the brood master let out a series of piercing shrieks while beating its membranous wings, lifting its bulk off the ground.
Though this maneuver exposed its underbelly, that area was similarly clad in thick carapace.
Chen Chuan shifted the saber to his left hand and thrust his right hand upward. Seemingly slow yet deceptively swift, his palm propped beneath the brood master's head. The creature shuddered midair, its compound eyes bulging violently outward. It tilted and crashed heavily onto the ground.
This was the penetrating jin taught to him by Chen Bitong, designed specifically to deal with heavily armored giant insects. It drove destructive force deep within to erupt from inside, reducing the tissues within the creature's head to mush in a single blow.
Yet even so, after crashing down, it still struggled back into the air. Only after flying dozens of meters did it tumble from the sky again, slamming onto its back with a resounding crash. It thrashingly flapped its wings and convulsed, kicking up a tremendous racket before finally falling still after quite a while.
At that very moment, the surrounding scenery began to blur and gradually faded away. Once again, he found himself back in the training grounds.
Chen Bitong stood not far off and said, "Captain Chen, you have passed the training assessment. That final trial exceeded what had originally been arranged for you—it was an addition I made on the spot. I will make note of it in my report to the Defense Department.
"And as I said before, I have a reward for whoever passed the assessment."
With that, he signaled to his assistant, Fang Zhixin, standing nearby. Fang Zhixin stepped forward and handed a metal case to Chen Chuan. "Captain Chen, please take it."
Chen Bitong said, "This is something I obtained in the Confluence some time ago. It has the effect of strengthening and repairing one's spirit. It is of no further use to me, so I offer it to you as this assessment's reward."
Fang Zhixin watched with envy. This was truly an exceptional treasure. Yet he harbored nothing but admiration for Chen Chuan's achievement; after all, out of the entire training class, Chen Chuan was the sole person to see it through from start to finish.
Chen Chuan accepted it and gave thanks. "Thank you, Teacher Chen." He then asked, "Teacher Chen mentioned earlier that this was only the first phase of training. Might I ask when the second phase will begin?"
Chen Bitong replied, "The timing is not yet certain. If it convenes again, I will have Zhixin notify you, but it may not be for quite a long time."
Chen Chuan said, "In that case, this student takes his leave."
Bidding them farewell, he walked toward the exit. But just as he reached the doors of the training hall, he turned back and said, "Teacher Chen, having studied under you for so long, I still never had the chance to spar with you. It is truly a bit of a regret."
Chen Bitong looked at him and said, "There will be an opportunity."
Chen Chuan nodded and departed. Stepping out of the building, he pulled open the car door, glanced up for a brief moment in thought, climbed inside, and drove off.
En route, he contacted Counselor Pei to report today's proceedings, then headed straight back to the Xuangong Building.
Returning to his quarters, he set the metal case aside without rushing to open it. Instead, he first contacted Supervisor Zhuang to check on Chaoming's progress. Everything was proceeding very smoothly; five days had passed, right on schedule to transition into the next stage.
However, this stage required Chaoming to remain inside the incubation vat for an extended duration, so he could not go inspect the scene in person.
Even so, he could monitor Chaoming's status through his boundary credential. Wingblade Company would transmit daily updates regarding the progress and the growth rate of the mutated tissue to him, even mentioning that if he had second thoughts, it was still not too late during this initial stage.
He walked over to the window. Shortly after his return, rain had begun to fall. Outside, the weather was bleak and overcast, casting Center City under a shroud of mist and rain. Yet the vibrant advertisements and neon lights were not completely suppressed, shimmering indistinctly through the gloom.
Occasionally, one could spot flashes of light resembling lightning.
The harbor was not visible from here, but he could see airships traversing back and forth at a noticeably higher frequency than before. As the moment of the Fumu's fission drew nearer, the atmosphere would only grow more tense.
He contacted Teacher Xue, and before long, the line connected. Teacher Xue's voice came through: "Trainee Chen?"
Chen Chuan said, "Teacher Xue, I have virtually mastered both the Spirit-Shaking Hammer and the Empty Heart Seal. I wanted to ask if we might begin the next lesson?"
"You've mastered them? Excellent. Tomorrow morning at nine..."
In his mind, Chen Chuan silently recited along with him, *I will be there on time.* The moment the other finished speaking, he chimed in, "This student will arrive punctually."
Teacher Xue chuckled. "Then so be it."
Having set the appointment, Chen Chuan returned to the training room, sat cross-legged, and commenced his daily required cultivation.
To his mind, what Teacher Xue taught that mattered most was the 'nourishing method.' It continuously cultivated and replenished both body and spirit, which, paired with the support of special medicine, allowed his physical constitution to improve sustainedly.
Considering his ample supply of resources and the fact that he was still in a period of rapid growth, the transition between growth and dormancy in his mutated tissue remained subtle.
Yet he could feel that the higher one progressed, the slower the growth process of mutated tissue became. While the trend was not yet pronounced, if things continued this way, a few years down the line, several months or even half a year might not yield the progress he currently achieved in a month or two.
Therefore, before discovering a solution to this issue, seizing this window of opportunity to advance as quickly as possible was the best approach.
The next day, April 1st.
Chen Chuan arrived at the training ground on the seventieth floor. The rain had poured through the night and showed no sign of stopping. The sky outside stretched dark and brooding, broken only by silent light screens flickering ceaselessly in the distance.
He turned and sat down, practicing his spiritual techniques on his own. As noon approached, he opened his eyes and discovered Teacher Xue sitting before him with a faint smile, having arrived without him realizing it.
Just as he moved to stand, Teacher Xue pressed a hand downward and coughed lightly. "No need for formalities. We have already lost plenty of time; let us begin right away."
Without waiting for Chen Chuan to speak, his expression turned solemn. "Trainee Chen, while you were meditating and performing your internal visualization just now, I took a measure of your state. Your progress has met my standards, so there is something I can now explain to you."
Chen Chuan straightened his posture, listening with rapt attention.
Teacher Xue said, "Trainee Chen, given your current post, you should already be aware that the Fumu is about to undergo fission, correct?"
Chen Chuan nodded, thinking to himself that it was indeed related to this.
"As I mentioned, this presents an opportunity for you."
Teacher Xue's tone turned remarkably earnest.
"Center City's field organisms—especially exceptional ones like the Fumu—were conditioned and cultivated by various nations utilizing a multitude of technologies. Before that, however, in the old era, there already existed diverse field organisms that roamed between the two worlds. Some believe that the earliest fissures were expanded by these very creatures.
"When some of the larger among them undergo self-fission to reproduce, they invisibly draw the two worlds closer together, causing a unique fissure to emerge.
"In the old era, such an occurrence was known as 'Opening the Heavenly Gate.'"
"Opening the Heavenly Gate..."
Chen Chuan pondered the phrase, looking up to ask, "Teacher Xue, does this fissure lead to the Confluence, or...?"
Teacher Xue replied, "A fine question. You must understand that the Confluence is merely the overlapping formed by the mingling of two worlds, whereas the Ring of the World is created by linking the spiritual fields of each Center City's field organisms into a unified whole.
"And this 'Heavenly Gate' refers to that farther reach, the place accessible to field organisms."
At this, he tilted his head slightly and slowed his speech. "And the reason it was termed the 'Heavenly Gate' is that once such a connection is established, it will inevitably channel over boundless external contamination, yet the quintessential essences of that other realm will pour through alongside it.
"For any fighter who has embarked on the path of spiritual cultivation, if they can seize the right moment and employ the proper methods, they can harvest tremendous benefits from it.
"The Old State Religion's so-called 'inhaling and exhaling the spirit elixir, partaking to attain longevity' refers precisely to this.
"Yet even the ancient state religion, when facing an opened Heavenly Gate, had to prepare meticulous rituals and divine the proper celestial positions and auspicious hours. Even the field organisms were chosen with utmost care to ensure, to the greatest extent possible, that nothing went awry.
"For when those fighters seeking to surpass their limits confront the Heavenly Gate and choose to absorb that essence, they will inevitably be exposed to external contamination. Those blessed with good fortune might survive and thereby gain the possibility of ascending to higher realms.
"As for the unfortunate ones..."
He shook his head. "Perishing on the spot might be considered a fortunate outcome; most among them would instead degenerate into monstrous things, or have their forms usurped by entities from the other side.
"However, due to the presence of the Ring of the World, the vast majority of external contamination harmful to fighters will be barred from entering. In terms of sheer safety, it is incomparably better than in the past. Yet while it offers protection, that very barrier also blocks out the vast majority of the essence."
At this point, his tone grew even graver as he looked at Chen Chuan. "Therefore, what I will teach you next is how to break through those obstructions to the absolute limit and seize that essence."
Chapter 517