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Aboard the ocean liner, Chen Chuan did not let this final stretch of time go to waste. Aside from watching some of the ship's entertainment and unwinding every now and then, he spent the rest of his time pondering jin techniques. Currently, sanshou was his primary combat style. The hard and soft jin he had honed previously were generally sufficient for now, while grappling, throwing, and clinching jin could be put off until later, serving merely as secondary techniques for the moment. These things could be developed step by step; he needed to clash with different opponents, gain insights continuously, and elevate his understanding so as to refine them. Hiroshi Nokane, whom he had encountered earlier, was actually a good opponent. The man himself was not at a high level, having been guided throughout by the spirit possessing him. His display of jin was commendable, yet limited by his physical body, he had no way to unleash excessively high power. Thus, he served as an exceptionally fine sparring partner. Unfortunately, there was only one such person. Once he returned, he would have Hongfu to spar with, but Hongfu had only mastered the jin styles of Wuyi Academy. What he needed more right now was exposure to different fighting styles and more distinctive jin techniques. Only then could his jin branch out into greater variations and enrich his own combat repertoire. With the solid foundation laid by the Zhouyuan Jin technique, his potential was virtually limitless. Thus, in his conception, different situations could call for different applications of jin. However, this could only come step by step. Looking on the bright side, this state of affairs wasn't bad at all—he could see himself constantly progressing, forever maintaining the fresh thrill of striving forward. Right now, night had fallen. Beneath a star-studded sky, the liner cruised across the ocean. The soothing melodies and dancing music drifting from the deck could be heard faintly, while the crash of waves echoed below. He stood by the ship's railing, looking up at the starry sky. Up to now, pure substance was still appearing intermittently, indicating that the breach in the Ring of the World had not yet closed. He had no intention of passing up this pure substance. Although the amount the Purist Faction had promised to supply him should be sufficient, these things undeniably offered him immense benefits. Gathering a little more meant securing a bit more precious time. After lingering on the observation deck for a while, he walked back, intending to sit in meditation for another full night. Just as he stepped into his cabin, however, he suddenly sensed something unusual. A thumping sound echoed in his heart, as if another heart were beating in the room. He glanced over. Chaoming was asleep; nothing stirred there. His gaze then shifted, settling onto the elongated parcel set to one side. Contained inside was that object suspected to be a section of spine. He walked over and reached out to rest his hand on it. The thumping sound vanished instantly, as though it had just been some kind of hallucination. Chen Chuan's thoughts stirred, and he attempted to probe it with his mental senses. In an instant, he felt as if he were sinking into dim, murky seawater that was extraordinarily viscous. And right there, virtually within arm's reach, seemed to rest a colossal behemoth. The entity appeared to have been in slumber, yet sensing something, it seemed to be slowly awakening. His eyes flickered slightly. He did not continue, for he was unsure whether pursuing this further here would affect the passengers on the liner. It was better to wait until he returned. Thus, he withdrew his spirit. Instantly, all those sensations around him vanished, and everything returned to normal. He glanced at his second self. Faint phantoms had surfaced upon it, but with his withdrawal, they rapidly faded away as well. He walked over to the private balcony and reached for the door handle. Casting his eyes down, he noticed several dead flying insects lying on the floor, clearly having dropped dead just moments ago. He watched them for a brief moment, then slowly pulled the door shut and returned to the training chamber to sit in meditation. *** On August 28th, after eight consecutive days of sailing, the liner finally returned to Jibei Dao. This time, however, it did not dock at Yuanwang Port, but at the harbor in Center City's Jiyang District. Chen Chuan stood on his private balcony, looking at the towering skyscrapers of Center City in the distance. Even without putting on his boundary credential, relying solely on his newly acquired mental strength, he could already perceive waves of fields rolling out from within Center City. However, the information was too cluttered and chaotic to discern clearly, turning instead into noisy interference. There was also that gaping hole in the heavens. Though he could not see it directly for the moment, his spirit sensed it. It was very likely a leak caused by the breach in the Ring of the World. He continually felt as if something were trying to crawl out from within, to the extent that his second self immediately displayed faint signs of etherealization. This occurred because his mental strength was exceptionally high, drawing in those taints. Fortunately, with the shielding layer provided by Fumu, it did not have much of an impact on him. Still, looking at it for too long caused discomfort. It was like an ordinary person staring directly into the sun—though one could grit their teeth and bear it for a moment, one could not keep watching indefinitely. In truth, maintaining such sensory awareness could also be considered a method of training mental strength, but its efficiency was far too low—far inferior to ordinary mental cultivation methods. Likely only those who lacked cultivation resources yet were born with sufficiently high mental strength would ever resort to it, and even then, doing so ran a high risk of developing problems from contamination. After observing for a while, he reined in his spirit and put on his Investigation Supervisor's boundary credential. Information immediately connected. Andun's voice sounded in his ear: "Greetings, Supervisor Chen. Andun at your service. Currently, the port is operating smoothly, and overland traffic is flowing freely. Your private vehicle and security personnel are already awaiting you at the harbor." Chen Chuan picked up a warm drink, took a sip, and said, "Thank you, Andun." "You are welcome. It is my pleasure to serve you." Chen Chuan patted Chaoming at his side. Chaoming immediately flapped its wings and took flight, emerging from the liner and ascending into the sky moments later. Chen Chuan returned to his cabin, picked up his packed luggage, and stepped outside. Because he had booked first class, he was among the first batch of passengers to disembark. Yet just as he came down from the gangway, Andun's voice chimed in once more. "An unfamiliar communications channel is attempting to contact you. Scans show that the other party is from the 'Grey Shell Affairs Agency.'" Chen Chuan asked, "'Grey Shell Affairs Agency'?" Hearing his question, Andun promptly projected information regarding the agency onto his boundary credential. He reviewed the agency's profile. Its scope of business was quite broad, mostly tied to political activities, including supervisory protection, lobbying, crisis management, covert liaison and negotiations, as well as multinational commercial operations. What this agency did was essentially similar to certain high-level commission firms, but it was far more targeted, primarily serving dignitaries, senior officials, scions of corporate leadership, or directly the executives themselves. After reading through it, he said, "Check the sender's identity." Almost the very next second, Andun responded: "Verifying contact's name: Ji Xinmin, clerk of Grey Shell Affairs Agency, third limit fighter, male, thirty-five years old... Further records are blocked by protocol and temporarily unavailable. Would you like to request special clearance from the bureau?" Chen Chuan replied, "No need." Upon seeing the name Ji Xinmin, he knew who the other party was. This so-called Grey Shell Affairs Agency was probably an operating front under the Refinement School. "Supervisor Chen, shall I connect the channel?" Chen Chuan replied, "Ignore it." *** Outside the port, Ji Xinmin noticed that the connection signal had been severed, indicating the other party had declined the contact. He couldn't help frowning. Back when he had met Chen Chuan in Yangzhi, they hadn't exchanged boundary credential contact information at all. Back then, they hadn't cared much. If Chen Chuan refused, they could always deploy various measures after he returned. Once this fellow recognized reality, he would naturally seek them out himself. Who could have expected that upon returning, they received word that Chen Chuan had already joined the Purist Faction? Their follow-up plans had to be abandoned. They had assumed the matter would end there, but now a certain prominent figure from above had ordered them to establish contact with him, so they had no choice but to take the initiative to reach out. He pondered for a moment, tapped his boundary credential several times to highlight a specific road, and said to the two companions beside him, "This man is definitely heading back to Wuding District, and he is bound to take this road. Let's wait for him there. Wait a moment..." He paused, then instructed his two companions, "We'll do this..." Understanding his instructions, both nodded, swiftly rushed to their vehicles, and sped off at high speed. *** After disembarking from the liner, Chen Chuan rendezvoused with the security convoy sent to receive him. Once he was seated in his dedicated car, the vehicle smoothly started up, heading back toward his residence in Wuding District. Meanwhile, he began dealing with the messages left for him. First were some internal bureau messages. Seeing that no pressing tasks had been assigned to him, he bypassed them for now. He noticed a message from Wu Han informing him that Wei Chang'an and the others had arrived in Center City in early August. He thought for a moment and dialed Wu Han. After just a second's pause, the line connected, and Wu Han's excited voice rang out: "Junior, you're back?" Chen Chuan said, "I just stepped off the ship..." Right then, another communication signal barged in. Andun notified him that it was still the same person from before, but switching to a different channel. The system also warned: "Supervisor Chen, the contact is two hundred meters behind you and closing in rapidly... Security protocol check passed. The individual has no warrants or criminal record. Emergency alert measures are not advised." Chen Chuan glanced back and saw a sedan pursuing them. He said, "Block all signals from this person." "Understood... Blocked." Inside his car, Ji Xinmin's expression darkened. Hearing the signal feedback, he knew he had been blocked, so he immediately alerted the people ahead: "Get ready. His convoy will arrive shortly." Not long after Chen Chuan had blocked the signal, he spotted several cars pulled across the road up ahead, blocking the entire roadway completely. Yu Xiao, the security captain, immediately asked, "Supervisor, an obstruction has been detected ahead. The other party's motives are unclear. Do we need to divert?" Chen Chuan asked, "Did they identify themselves?" "No." Chen Chuan said, "No need to swerve. Ram through them."