Convergence

Chen Chuan's two strikes utilized the technique Chen Bitong had taught him specifically for combating large organisms. Inside such creatures lay extremely tough mutated tissue, demanding immense destructive force to deliver a fatal blow. However, this technique required gathering momentum before activation, rendering it thoroughly impractical against ordinary fighters, who would never afford one the opportunity. Yet bypassing the build-up was also feasible. Gathering momentum was necessary only because limited mutated tissue coverage required time to mobilize more tissue, and to protect oneself from being injured by the recoil of such an impact. His mutated tissue, however, covered him completely, and with his ability to transfer damage using his second self, he threw those two punches without the slightest hesitation. Still, all of this was predicated on having gained a clear understanding of Chang Kuanghai through their preceding exchanges of offense and defense; without certainty, he would never squander his stamina so carelessly. With a soft thud, his feet touched down. Before Chang Kuanghai could recover, Chen Chuan leapt forward, brushing aside the descending arm raised in a bid to block, and drove his other fist straight into Chang Kuanghai's chest, blasting the full brunt of his ferocious jin cleanly into his body. Chang Kuanghai's face flushed crimson. His spine bowed backward, and his massive frame staggered back in unsteady lurches. Stepping forward again, Chen Chuan unleashed the Tray-Lifting Palm from the Orthodox Sanshou. With a thunderous crack, the blow caught Chang Kuanghai under the chin, snapping his head back and wrenching his colossal frame so violently that his heels lifted off the ground. A chill of terror gripped Chang Kuanghai. He strained to jerk his head back, yet one of his eyes was still caught by Chen Chuan's raking fingers. The force penetrated deep, instantly bursting an eyeball. Suddenly, his arm tightened, followed by a numbness coursing through half his body—Chen Chuan had locked him down with seizing jin. Pulling Chang Kuanghai's arm, Chen Chuan swung his bulk around and slammed him violently onto the ground. Through vision blurred with blood, Chang Kuanghai saw a fist crashing down. He threw up both arms to block, but with a dull boom and his jin failing to circulate in time, the flesh across his arms burst open, and blood erupted outward beyond his control. Chen Chuan did not halt his assault. Fist followed fist in rapid succession, growing faster and faster, every blow loaded with titanic power, unleashing an unbroken barrage of concussive blasts. Under such relentless pounding, hairline fractures spiderwebbed across Chang Kuanghai's forearms until, with a sharp crunch, both bones snapped. With no shield left before him, Chen Chuan's eyes glinted. He drove a straight punch directly into Chang Kuanghai's chest. Dust exploded with a thunderous roar. Chang Kuanghai's back was cratered deep into the earth, carving out a sunken hollow around his body. For the moment, he had lost all power to defend himself. Chen Chuan clenched his fist once more, aimed at Chang Kuanghai's face, paused for a fraction of a heartbeat, and smashed down. But right then, he sensed something amiss. He swept his arm out; a piercing sliver of sharp energy grazed past him, etching a shallow white score into the ground. Under this interference, the punch failed to deliver its full power, yet it still drove Chang Kuanghai's skull beneath the ground. Chen Chuan raised his gaze and looked forward. There, standing in the distance, was a figure clad in the garments of an Outer Ocean fighter, holding a cross-spear. Though long, overgrown hair concealed his face and his frame seemed somewhat gaunt and withered, Chen Chuan recognized him at once from his clothing and spiritual field, and raised an eyebrow. The figure slowly lifted his head and parted the long hair over his face, revealing a demonic visage fixed with an eerie smile. "Nagahide Miyahide?!" Inside the Defense Department command center, everyone was startled. Some leaped to their feet in disbelief, crying out, "How could he still be alive?!" Many wore expressions of sheer disbelief. They had witnessed with their own eyes Chen Chuan beheading this man with a single blade strike. How could he possibly appear here again? Commissioner Liang's expression was grave. After pondering for a moment, he glanced at the female assistant beside him. "A secret technique of the Fenglin Dojo?" The assistant nodded and added, "Captain Chen just fought two battles in succession and rushed here at full speed. His stamina must be significantly depleted. Things might get troublesome." Chen Chuan slowly straightened his posture. He noticed that Nagahide Miyahide was altered not just in face and build; his field now held an elusive, sinister cast, and the sense of danger he emanated felt even stronger. He first used his boundary credential to contact Yuan Qiuyuan and the other two. "Where are you?" Yuan Qiuyuan's voice came through immediately. "Captain, right after finishing off those four guys, we headed your way, but we ran into obstacles and got ambushed by unknown factions..." Gunfire and explosions echoed in the background, accompanied by the roar of armored vehicles. "...We're breaking through right now. It might take... maybe five to seven minutes to reach you, Captain." On their way, they had to constantly dodge the increasingly frequent fissures, and along one major route, thick cables strung across the road had forced them to take a detour. Yet after detouring, they found numerous factions converging in the area. Once those groups realized they belonged to the government, some deliberately targeted them, turning the journey into a running firefight. Seeing that his team members were holding their own, Chen Chuan told them to stay safe, then turned his gaze back to Nagahide Miyahide. Nagahide Miyahide eyed the fissure behind Chen Chuan, undisguised greed gleaming in his eyes. As an inheritor of the Fenglin Dojo, he could clearly sense the benefits it held for him. This place could provide him with ample spiritual nourishment. If all went well, he could use it to achieve the heavenly body and attain the state of unity between spirit and self. Yet with such a prize, rather than sharing it between two, it would be far better to claim it for himself alone. He looked at Chen Chuan, an eerie grin curling the corners of his mouth. Gripping his spear, he bowed slightly forward, then lifted his head. "Mr. Chen, please don't be surprised. My return is merely due to the secret heritage of my Fenglin Dojo." Chen Chuan regarded Nagahide Miyahide and said slowly, "Mr. Miyahide, to tell you the truth, I'm glad you're back." His battle with Chang Kuanghai had invigorated his spirit once more. While the quintessence emerging from the fissure was substantial, it was still not enough for him. Pushing his spiritual height even further was what mattered most right now. Formidable adversaries were the fuel for his cultivation. And what better opponent was there than someone like Nagahide Miyahide? Even after being killed, he could crawl back up and present himself once more. Hearing this, Nagahide Miyahide's pupils narrowed slightly. He let out a cold chuckle and leveled the cross-spear in his hands. "It seems our earlier bout failed to satisfy you, Mr. Chen." He lowered the spear horizontally, the point aimed forward. "In that case, why don't we have our second round?" Chen Chuan reached up to loosen his collar, took a few steps forward, and reached out to grasp the Xuejun Saber. Just then, he sensed something and cast another glance into the distance. He spoke calmly, "Come out. There's no need to hide." Roughly a hundred meters away, a figure clad in knight's armor stepped out atop a mansion—the very same person who had ambushed him on the road earlier. Only the armor that had been shed was once again strapped on, and the helmet he had crushed had clearly been replaced with a new one. Astrid looked at Chen Chuan standing ahead, then glanced at the ghostly Nagahide Miyahide on the other side, and grumbled into her boundary credential, "Siggy, I feel like I'm done for." Sigrid's voice sounded in her ear. "Stop whining. I'll provide backup from behind. Besides, as long as you're careful and don't expose your combat habits again, he won't be able to catch you." Astrid muttered under her breath, "Easy for you to say—you're not the one fighting." "All right, all right," Sigrid said from the rear. "You just need to find an opening to seize the split entity. You don't have to defeat them." The company had sent them here not only to gather data, but primarily to secure the split progeny present here. Although there were no scattered smaller fissures here, there was a stable, massive fissure. In fact, the entire surrounding area could be considered enveloped by it. Astrid could still leverage the fissure's power to shuttle back and forth; one could even call it her home turf. The key was whether her sensory perception and neural reflexes could keep pace. Just then, a series of clicking, crunching noises reached the ears of those present, sounding like bones grinding and twisting. Nagahide Miyahide and Astrid both turned to look. The half-dead Chang Kuanghai was lifting his head from the crater, slowly sitting up as his fractured bones rapidly realigned and knit together. The torn flesh on his arms was regrowing, and inside his ruined eye socket, the tissue could be seen squirming slowly as it repaired itself. He rose steadily to his feet, turning once again toward Chen Chuan. At that moment, three figures occupied three distinct directions. Though they showed no sign of joining forces, securing the fissure was paramount, and none of them minded eliminating Chen Chuan—the greatest threat—first. Inside the Defense Department command center, everyone grew tense at the sight, sweating cold beads for Chen Chuan. Any single one of those three was a formidable, grueling foe. How could he face all three at once? Commissioner Liang stared at the light screen, utterly silent. Below, someone looked up urgently. "Captain Chen's team members are almost there! Three minutes! He just needs to hold out for three minutes!" Three minutes... Eyes fixed on the light screen, everyone wondered: could he really hold out? Chen Chuan stood alone before the fissure, gazing at the three before him. Fighting one person called for one approach; fighting three or more called for an entirely different one. With a shift of his will, the second self standing behind him merged into his body in an instant. Then he drew a deep breath, and his skin suddenly blazed scalding hot. With a roaring burst, white mist surged from his body, billowing upward in churning plumes. And behind him, the widening fissure crackled as vast sheets of light leaped and danced like lightning across his back.