Exchange

As she approached, Chen Chuan saw that this Talu was only slightly shorter than himself. Her strides possessed a thoroughly unified rhythm, and coupled with the prowess she had displayed in passing just moments ago, it was evident that her strength was quite remarkable. "Are you the gentleman recommended by Mr. Zhuan?" Talu asked. Her voice was ringing and full of energy, showing her to be a straightforward and cheerful person. Chen Chuan said, "Yes, I am Chen Chuan. A pleasure to meet you, Ms. Talu." Talu chuckled. "Just call me 'Talu.' Mr. Chen, since you've come here under Mr. Zhuan's recommendation, is it to enter the fissure and cultivate?" Chen Chuan nodded. "That's right." Talu said very seriously, "Mr. Chen, I must make one thing clear first. Entering the fissure is extremely dangerous, so I have to confirm beforehand that you have the strength to go in." The old man standing nearby explained, "Mr. Chen, it isn't that we don't trust you. Previously, we never barred anyone who came to cultivate at the fissure. But back during the time of the previous Talu, an incident occurred. "A fellow member of our faction came here on his own, claiming he had been recommended by an introducer. Out of trust for a fellow member, we took his word for it. Yet an accident happened because his strength fell short. In the end, we heard he even broke away from the school, which led to those who had introduced him going into seclusion as well. "The fallout from that incident was severe, and Old Talu blamed himself deeply for it. Because of that, this rule was established thereafter." Chen Chuan said, "I understand." He looked toward Talu. "Shall we begin now, then?" Talu was straightforward by nature and had no habit of dragging things out. She agreed immediately, picked up a jug of coconut milk from the side, threw her head back to gulp down a few mouthfuls, wiped her mouth, and walked over to the open ground nearby. Once she came to a halt there, she tightened her clothing slightly, then settled into a stance. She tested extending and flexing her hands back and forth, her fingers and palms dragging afterimages in their wake as crisp cracks sounded in the air. Facing someone recommended by a martial artist, she didn't dare be careless and intended to take it very seriously. Chen Chuan set the Xuejun Saber aside, walked out from the thatched gallery, and warmed up briefly after stepping onto the clearing. This Talu was not weak, but he could tell from earlier that although she had already embarked on mental cultivation, she had not yet reached the level of Mind Jin. In that case, there was practically no suspense in this fight. Even so, that was already quite remarkable. One had to know that back in Center City, even with abundant resources, many experts around this age had not yet stepped onto the path of mental cultivation. She lived on an island where communication and resource acquisition were difficult; that she could reach this step was likely due mostly to her own talent. It was obvious the two were about to spar. Although the children and young people had dispersed earlier, they hadn't gone far. Now, they excitedly crowded around, looking forward to the bout between the two. Curiously, however, although everyone present favored Talu emotionally and wished for her victory, they all inexplicably felt that Chen Chuan would be the one to win. This jarring contradiction made them feel deeply uncomfortable. Talu, on the other hand, was completely unaffected. When Chen Chuan stepped forward, she offered him a courtesy salute of the Danliu School, then dropped into her stance. The moment she took her stance, she entered a state of intense focus. Chen Chuan cupped his fist in return, then assumed an Orthodox Sanshou stance. After confronting each other for a moment, Talu shouted. A blur flashed, and she crossed the distance of over twenty meters in an instant, arriving before Chen Chuan and launching a kick upward. The kick was swift, fierce, and decisive, packing tremendous power. Chen Chuan raised a hand to block, intercepting it accurately. He instantly felt a wave of jin strike, but right on its heels, a second wave surged up behind it. Dual-layered jin? Generally, dual-layered jin was only used at crucial moments, because applying too many techniques inevitably slowed down one's attack tempo. Normally, it was only brought out when an opportunity presented itself; deploying it right from the opening move was truly uncommon. Yet he immediately noticed this jin was not so simple. Once the force entered him, the mutated tissue in his body experienced a faint sluggishness. He understood at once: this jin was not meant for lethal damage, but aimed at disrupting mutated tissue. If mutated tissue failed to function smoothly, every movement and force-exerting technique would become clumsy and stilted. The first surge of jin was likely meant to establish a connection between both parties' mutated tissues rather than strike the opponent, while the second surge caused a resonance between the two, thereby putting the opponent on the defensive. It was an exceptionally ingenious jin, yet not entirely tilted toward mere technique. One could tell that the force in Talu's limbs was formidable; if such jin developed into Mind Jin, someone unfamiliar with it could be suppressed right at the outset. Without figuring out a counter, there would hardly be any fight left afterward. As he was currently exploring his own Mind Jin, this offered him a measure of inspiration. At that moment, Talu launched a second kick. The combat hallmark of the Danliu School was that once set in motion, it never relented. Yet this kick was parried all the same, and Chen Chuan showed no signs of being dragged down by any sluggishness. She realized that this form of offense had no effect, yet she was not discouraged. Instead, with a loud shout, she spun around with a whoosh and brought her arm down in a chopping palm strike. Its power was several notches higher than before—she had decisively channeled a secret technique, entering an explosive burst state. Chen Chuan nodded internally. This decision was correct. Many fighters, upon having their preferred style of attack thwarted, would stubbornly stick to the same method in their next strike—partly out of inertia, partly because their pride refused to concede so easily. Little did they know that against an experienced fighter, if your attack rhythm and technique barely differed from the last, it was virtually impossible to achieve a better result. There had to be something different, and increasing speed and power was undoubtedly the best way. Talu handled this wonderfully; ordinary people would not have been so decisive. At that moment, the blade-like edge of her palm cleaved toward Chen Chuan's left temple. Even with her boosted speed and power, it was still sluggish in his eyes, so with an effortless raise of his arm, he deflected it away. Because of the sudden surge in power, she could not maintain perfect control and coordination over the jin. The sleeve of Talu's garment burst open with a snap, revealing a firm, wheat-toned muscular arm. When this strike failed, she did not press on. Instead, she halted, a look of profound admiration on her face. Taking a few paces back, she saluted Chen Chuan. "Mr. Chen, your fighting skills are far above mine. Without a doubt, you are qualified to enter the fissure to cultivate." Chen Chuan cupped his fist to return the salute. She could actually have continued just now, since outwardly the victor had not yet been decided. As the successor of a martial school, and in front of so many disciples, he, as a guest, would have spared her some face. Yet she was clearly a woman of simple, direct thinking. One was one, two was two, free of unnecessary pretenses. Backing down once she recognized she was outmatched seemed completely natural to her. The old man stepped forward at this point and said, "Mr. Chen, you have traveled from afar. Before heading to the fissure, do you need to rest first?" Chen Chuan said, "There is no need. I rested for two days on Luowang Island. Right now, I only hope to begin my cultivation as soon as possible." Talu said readily, "Alright, Mr. Chen, please follow me." The old man bowed slightly. "Talu, I will look after things here while you are away." Chen Chuan first went to retrieve the Xuejun Saber, nodded to the old man, and caught up with Talu. After leaving the open ground, the trees ahead grew sparse. The two followed a narrow path all the way to the edge of a sea cliff, below which rolling waves churned and crashed continuously against the rock face. Talu stood at the edge, letting the sea breeze ruffle her hair. She said, "Leaping down from here leads to the fissure. However, recently, the fissure has grown somewhat unstable and is showing signs of expanding. This hasn't been seen in a very long time; I've never encountered it before, nor did my master ever mention it, so be careful when entering." "Unstable..." As if something had crossed his mind, Chen Chuan asked, "May I ask roughly when this started?" Talu replied, "There's no secret to it. The situation began toward the end of the year before last." Chen Chuan nodded slightly. That timeframe closely aligned with when the breach in the Ring of the World had occurred. It was entirely possible that these changes in the fissure had been influenced by that. For his cultivation, however, this might not necessarily be a bad thing. It meant his spirit could connect directly to the world on the other side, just like when the Heavenly Gate opened back then. Talu continued, "The instability of the fissure also affects the surrounding waters. Over the past two years, many fighters and trained operatives have appeared outside our island and Luowang Island. Their activities across the seas suggest they may have detected anomalies and were sent by factions behind them to locate the fissure. After all, our Danliu School has been here since the old era, and the fact that we possessed a fissure was well known to everyone." Chen Chuan recalled the tremors in the seawater on his way here and the people searching for a ring out on the ocean. Perhaps they weren't looking for any ring at all, but using it as an excuse to investigate the true cause. Talu said, "Actually, I'm not worried about those people. The fissure's location is extremely secluded; no matter how they search, they'll never find it. Even if they come onto the island, I can handle them. What worries me more is the Anyao Arena." "The Anyao Arena?" Chen Chuan's eyes flickered slightly. "The Anyao Arena, one of the three great lineages of the Outer Ocean today?" Talu said, "Yes. The Danliu School and the Anyao Arena originally hailed from the same master. The Anyao Arena originated from Master Hongfa's second disciple, He Miyue, while our Danliu School originated from the eldest disciple, Zhuan Tuo. "Each inherited a portion of Master Hongfa's secret teachings, but the secret arts of both schools can complement each other, so each has coveted the other's legacy. In a duel over a century ago, however, the last Fist Master of our Danliu School fell at the hands of the Anyao Arena's Blade Master, and from then on, we never recovered."