Gains

The light shimmering across Chen Chuan's fist flickered for a few moments before slowly fading. This time, he had channeled the power of spiritual perception purely by his own means, without merging with his second self. Even so, he had taken a shortcut. Having felt how spiritual perception was drawn upon before, he possessed that prior experience. Coupled with his elevated mental height and the fact that he was inside the fissure, he had been able to reach across and draw down power from the other world for a fleeting instant. Though he could sustain it for only a brief moment, in battle that was more than enough to decide victory. The fact that he could accomplish this showed how effective his recent mental growth had been. If he continued training like this, then before long, as his spirit grew even denser and more robust, he would be able to stabilize this power. Currently, the Lingming Reflection Method he employed was a superior cultivation technique from the former state religion. Having also ingested a certain amount of pure substance, and possessing his second self, he did not need to worry about mental erosion while cultivating before the fissure. He could absorb quintessence without interruption, which allowed him to maintain such rapid progress. Had even a single one of these factors been missing, the required time would likely have stretched several times or even tenfold. As it stood, he could maintain this high-efficiency cultivation for a little over a month, and he needed to make the most of it. He glanced around. The pulverized flesh and blood, whether splattered across the ground or thrown far onto the walls, was slowly disappearing, as if being absorbed by the creature beneath his feet. The crimson mist that had filled the air earlier was thinning as well, restoring clarity to his vision. Yet the other Anyao Arena disciples lying on the floor—including Shiyuan Ba and several other third limit experts—had all ceased breathing; their auras were entirely extinguished. In truth, the only one he had directly killed was Hiroshi Nokane. Even for those struck by his soft jin, the sheer vitality of third limit fighters would not have let them perish immediately. This outcome was most likely caused by Great Radiant Sun being pushed to its absolute limit, resulting in the total necrosis of their mutated tissue. Without mutated tissue, a fighter's vitality naturally could not sustain itself. Great Radiant Sun truly was formidable. An esoteric technique specifically targeting mutated tissue was exceedingly difficult for ordinary fighters to counter. Even against an evenly matched opponent, without the proper means to deal with it, one could hardly hold out for long. Then again, the main reason Hiroshi Nokane had unleashed such terrifying power was the spiritual manifestation of his master anchored within him, and he had paid for it with his very life. The one who poured in that spiritual power was presumably Xiaoyuezhai, master of the Anyao Arena. Yet no matter how formidable he was, his spirit could not transmit messages across an ocean. Only if Nokane had returned alive could those secrets have been relayed back. Chen Chuan guessed that the spirit's final intention had been to use Nokane's all-out suicidal blow to kill him, removing any obstacle for the next group they sent to the Danliu School. He stepped forward and picked up the short blade left behind by Hiroshi Nokane, intending to take it back as a keepsake. As for the shattered long blade, he didn't need it; this one was enough. Of course, Anyao Arena surely held even finer collections. The same likely went for Fenglin Arena and Langtao Arena. If given the chance in the future, he might pay them a visit. Turning around, he saw the spectral silhouette still lingering in the air, repeatedly demonstrating a certain secret art. With so many Anyao Arena disciples having fallen here, their deaths were likely enough to sustain the phantom for some time. Shaking his head, he walked over to his waterproof bag, opened it, took out a fresh coat, and put it on. After straightening himself out, he emerged from the fissure and returned to the surface. When he returned to the cliff ledge, Uncle Gan and Talu were waiting there. Seeing him climb up, Uncle Gan broke into a smile, though noticing Chen Chuan had changed clothes, he asked tentatively, "Mr. Chen, are you all right?" "I'm fine," Chen Chuan said, before adding to both of them, "The people from Anyao Arena have all been dealt with." Or more precisely, annihilated through a joint effort between him and Hiroshi Nokane. Uncle Gan had already suspected as much, yet hearing the news directly from him still left the elder momentarily stunned. Soon, excitement broke across his face, and his beard quivered uncontrollably. Chen Chuan turned to Talu. "Talu, I think you should head down and take a look first. There might be something down there you want to see." Uncle Gan seemed to realize what he meant and urged, "Talu, go, quickly! I'll watch over things here." Talu nodded. Together, she and Chen Chuan descended once more. As they entered the fissure, Chen Chuan noticed that all the corpses had vanished entirely. A few weapons remained behind, though they were half-sunken into the floor, visibly sinking downward inch by inch. Upon entering, Talu was immediately captivated by the secret arts being demonstrated by the distant phantom. Moreover, there was no longer just one phantom, but several, shifting and flowing like smoke. "This is... Anyao Arena's techniques... Great Radiant Sun... Moon Radiance... Mind Walk... Revolving Blade Jin..." She rattled off several of Anyao Arena's esoteric arts in rapid succession, before exclaiming in delighted shock, "And... Reflecting the Self in Emptiness!" Chen Chuan glanced in the direction she was looking. As Talu had mentioned previously, Reflecting the Self in Emptiness was the final realm one had to comprehend before breaking through to become a Blade Master in Anyao Arena. In the Danliu School, it bore the exact same name. Yet the secret arts of both schools could by no means be identical. Thus, this was very likely a method that could complement their training to a high degree. Such an esoteric art ought to be held by disciples on the verge of breaking through their limits. Hiroshi Nokane's level might not have qualified him to master it, and as a vessel carrying another's spirit, there had been no need for him to inherit it. Therefore, this likely hadn't been contributed by Nokane himself, but rather derived from the spiritual presence anchored within him. Since it was not a Danliu School technique, Chen Chuan examined it with some curiosity. After observing for a while, he realized that it was very likely a method for channeling spiritual perception. There was no need for him to study this in depth. He had already reached this threshold; going forward, all he needed to do was follow his own understanding step by step. Thus, he soon shifted his attention toward the various secret arts of jin. In particular, the phantoms clearly demonstrated how mutated tissue exerted and channeled force. Having observed these, he would have far more reference material to draw upon when developing his Mind Jin later on. After watching for a while from the side, Talu suddenly sat down, appearing to contemplate and comprehend what she saw. That single sitting lasted several hours. Around two in the afternoon, she finally rose to her feet, refreshed and energized. Performing a formal Danliu School salute to Chen Chuan, she said, "Thank you, Mr. Chen." "You're welcome," Chen Chuan replied. "Did watching all this prove helpful to you?" Talu nodded. "I know which path to take from now on, and I know where I should improve. But the benefits aren't nearly as profound as our predecessors claimed." "Oh? Why is that?" Chen Chuan asked. Talu pondered for a moment before answering, "Anyao Arena and the Danliu School truly do share the same roots. Much of what they have can remedy the deficiencies in our jin. But while I gained insights, I cannot fuse the strengths of both forms of jin into one. I can only continue along the original path of our Danliu School. "I think I finally understand why Master Hongfa split his lineage into two branches: his complete jin was simply too difficult for any single disciple to inherit." She paused, then added, "In truth, our Danliu School already has a complete path leading toward Fist Master. There is no need to absorb too much else." Chen Chuan immediately grasped her meaning. "So back then, Master Hongfa didn't intentionally divide the inheritance into two lineages just to split it, but rather because no single disciple could inherit the complete secret art—so he had each branch cultivate a portion, allowing both to forge their own paths?" "I feel that must be the case," Talu said. Chen Chuan nodded. In that case, it would take an extraordinarily gifted disciple to truly synthesize the methods of both schools. But anyone capable of reaching such heights would already find a single lineage sufficient; the other school's secret arts would serve as little more than inspiration. He remarked, "Anyao Arena suffered heavy losses this time. It's hard to say whether they'll send more people." Talu shook her head. "I know Anyao Arena's situation. They likely don't have more than five third limit fighters in total. Their more renowned disciples... well, they were probably all here. They shouldn't be sending anyone else." Chen Chuan considered this. If so, Anyao Arena had deployed virtually all of their elite. For them to try again, the Blade Master himself would have to come in person next time. Yet that was nearly impossible. If that man could have done so, he would have done it long ago. Chen Chuan vaguely understood that, for some reason, these martial artists almost never fought in the outside world. Whether due to restrictions imposed by the government, the corporations, or some other factor, there was no need to worry about it for now. Talu spoke up then. "Mr. Chen, may I spar with you once more?" Pausing, she pointed toward the phantom. "Not just me, but this senior and me... I can allow this senior's projected silhouette to possess my body. Fighting like that will allow me to better demonstrate our Danliu School's secret techniques." "That's possible as well?" Chen Chuan's curiosity was piqued. He agreed readily, "Very well. If you feel up to it, let's have another bout." Seeing him accept, Talu raised the staff in her hands and gave a formal greeting. "Fellow warrior, please instruct me." With that, she hoisted her staff. A phantom silhouette rose from beneath her feet and seemed to merge into her body. From the perspective of their fields, a resonance had formed between them, poised at the focal point of mutual field resonance. Chen Chuan looked on, reached out, and took up one of the long blades thrust into the ground. This was a friendly spar; since his opponent used a weapon, he would use one as well out of respect. Although the mutated tissue within the blade was not his own and could not transmit his jin seamlessly, his raw speed and power were more than sufficient. Seeing that he was ready, Talu jogged forward a few steps, suddenly spun around, and brought the staff crashing down from above! …… ……