Corner

Student dormitories at Wuyi Academy were generally located below the sixtieth floor, while the faculty apartments occupied the seventieth floor and above. The academy had arranged an apartment for Chen Chuan on the seventy-ninth floor, in the southeastern corner of the Xuangong Building. The elevator doors parted to either side. Stepping out, Chen Chuan found himself in a private hallway bordered by glass partitions, behind which grew flowers and plants that invigorated the spirit and gladdened the heart. Beyond the corridor lay a spacious, high-ceilinged room bathed in gentle light. The furnishings featured clean, straight lines that flowed with exceptional simplicity and grace. The residence was divided into two levels connected by a pair of spiral staircases, boasting more than three times the space of a student dorm. Its interior layout was smartly partitioned, complete with a dedicated field display screen, an enlarged private training ground, and an exterior, reinforced covered veranda terrace designed in an archaic style. After looking around the space, a chime rang from his boundary credential. It was already noon, inquiring whether he required lunch. The faculty quarters of Wuyi Academy had their own large dining hall offering a variety of high-energy gourmet foods. Each day, they even offered limited quantities of rare, highly nutritious delicacies from the Blended Lands, meaning there was no need to choke down dry nutrition paste. Still, some instructors were so absorbed in their martial cultivation that they chose to consume nutrition paste simply to save time. Chen Chuan glanced through the options. He had heard about the rare delicacies of the Blended Lands back when he was there, and had only ever seen them at the banquet hosted by Chen Bitong, though he hadn't tasted them at the time. Since they were available now, he casually reserved a portion. Given how scarce such dishes were, they were usually booked solid the moment they became available. However, as long as a reservation was placed, orders were queued in sequence, so his turn would come in a few days. He walked over to the long sofa in the middle of the main living room and sat down, then tapped his boundary credential. Instantly, a beam of light shone down, projecting a massive field screen before him. All manner of content from the boundary credential could be cast onto this display, presenting far more information in one centralized view. He spent a little time browsing conversations and news on the Fringe Channel. With a light tap, he switched the view, bringing up an aerial map of the entirety of Jibei Dao's Center City. It covered not only the urban districts of Center City, but also the vast swathes of industrial zones and factory complexes to the southwest and south outside the city proper, along with numerous island bio-testing grounds belonging to various corporations out on the eastern sea. Densely clustered around Center City, visible inland transport canals, highway and railway networks, and airship mooring stations across land and sea linked to each district like blood vessels and nerves. After a general survey, he highlighted the outpost of Lianwei Heavy Control and the branch location of Green Source Ecological Company. These two locations were precisely where his primary attention would need to be focused next. A moment later, he tapped a few more times to display the Lower City and its various entrances, outlining them in dark red for clear distinction. Looking at it now, it was easy to see that Green Source Ecological Company's location was peculiar—it sat squarely above the intersection of several primary routes through the Lower City, resembling the nexus of a massive web. He gazed at it for a moment, bookmarked the map for easy retrieval next time, and closed the screen. Walking upstairs to the second floor, he entered a vast, open training hall occupying the entire level. He walked to the center and said, "Hongfu." In an instant, his surroundings transformed. He stood atop a tall, vertical pillar of rock rising out of the ocean, surrounded by raging waves crashing against the stone and churning with white foam. Directly across from him stood a matching stone pillar. A silhouette in red appeared there—the veil beneath her lively eyes, her crimson robe, and the red tassel on her saber all fluttering in the wind. Chen Chuan extended his hand. Although he hadn't brought the Xuejun Saber this time, a tangible weight met his palm as an illusory projection of the Xuejun Saber manifested in his grip. Hongfu slowly raised her yanling saber level before her, then gripped the hilt. With a crisp clang and a flicker of cold glint, the blade cleared its scabbard. Chen Chuan gave her a nod. Focusing his mind, his eyes flashed as his substantially amplified spiritual power slammed across the gap toward her first. As expected, this mental strike was blocked, followed immediately by a wave of spiritual pressure dialed precisely a fraction higher than his own. This was the exact pressure he needed. Hongfu was able to calibrate her strength every single time to a level just a hair above his, allowing him to consistently operate at his utmost potential and hone both mind and body with maximum efficiency. The very moment their spiritual forces collided, that red silhouette fluttered forward, seemingly skimming the sea across midair. Her red tassel drifted on the breeze as a gracefully executed slash swept toward him. Chen Chuan raised his arm to block. As blades collided and forces clashed, an invasive jin pierced straight toward his body, only to be stopped cold by his mustered external conditioning jin. The yanling saber shifted again, clinging close like a shadow. Leveraging his advantage in external conditioning, Chen Chuan ignored the strike and slashed directly at Hongfu before her footing had fully settled. Hongfu spun with agile grace to evade, dropping low in the same breath to flick an upward slash. With a loud clang, the two weapons collided once more. At the impact of their jin, both stepped back half a pace before swinging their blades again, launching into a prolonged exchange of strikes upon the cramped platform of the stone pillar. The resources available to Wuyi's instructors far exceeded those for students. According to the academy's allocation, Chen Chuan could now use the facility for over fourteen consecutive hours a day. He took full advantage of this quota, only stepping out from the simulation after more than half a day of relentless training. By now, dusk had deepened into night, and the apartment had lit up. Only then did he realize that the illumination didn't come entirely from electric lamps—some emanated from the ornamental plants growing around the space, bright yet soft, with certain decorative varieties rippling in vivid, multicolor hues. After checking his messages, he ate a few tubes of nutrition paste, retrieved the case containing pure substance, and continued ingesting the remaining vials. While he was cultivating, up in the sky garden on the upper floors of the Xuangong Building, Assistant Ling was conversing with someone. "He's already an investigation supervisor now. I heard that a gigantic airship arrived at Center City a few days ago. From the nature of the incident, it seems he was involved—and what's more, he emerged victorious. "This might be tied to factional struggles between martial sects. But as you know, unless you're an insider, getting exact information on sect politics is exceedingly difficult, so I couldn't dig up the particulars. "Even so, it's very likely he has already hitched his wagon to some prominent figure, or perhaps joined one of the sects. He has his own path for advancement now. In that case, your plan to bring him on board probably won't succeed." Assistant Ling showed no disappointment on his face, maintaining his smile. "He really is the most ideal candidate. I have rarely seen a student—well, an instructor now—with potential as high as his. "His excellence only proves my eye wasn't mistaken. Therefore, I still believe we need him with us. Besides, he possesses certain qualities that no one else can replace. I remain exceptionally high on him." The voice said, "But that's impossible. If he already has a promising future laid out for himself, why would he ever agree to join..." The voice trailed off, seemingly shaking their head in denial. "Impossible. Absolutely impossible." Assistant Ling smiled. "If this plan won't work, then we'll simply use another." The other side was startled, dropping their voice low. "Are you planning to..." Assistant Ling only smiled, leaving the question unanswered. The voice grew hesitant. "It's not like you don't know about that slash that cleaved the Ferris Wheel Building. His combat strength is formidable." Assistant Ling neither confirmed nor denied, saying with a smile, "Before that, I will have a proper talk with him." His gaze drifted through the glass curtain wall toward the distant vista opposite the building. "Once we talk, who knows? Perhaps he'll come to agree with our ideals." The next morning, Chen Chuan emerged from his meditative seated stance and walked out onto the veranda viewing platform in the early morning light. He lifted open a window. Before long, a distant chirp rang out from outside. As the sound drew closer, a magnificent silhouette swept in from outside. After circling once within the viewing platform, it landed squarely on an installed perch. It let out another chirp toward Chen Chuan, then lowered its head to drink and feed on the food and water already prepared for it. Chen Chuan smiled faintly. He had asked the campus staff to set these up in advance, and from the look of it, Chaoming liked it very much. He checked the time. He had a class scheduled for this morning; it seemed that the student named Jiang Xin was quite impatient to take his lesson. So he washed up, ate the breakfast delivered from the faculty dining room, and took the elevator down to the assigned training ground. He had already reviewed this student's profile. Jiang Xin had received recommendations from many teachers at Yangzhi Wuyi, and the academy held him in exceedingly high regard, virtually unanimous in their opinion that he should study at the Main Academy. Such a case was rare. Yet this was also because, after the old recommendation system was abolished, quotas for students recommended to study in Center City had expanded and relaxed. In the past, such a student would likely have been absorbed by the Mutual Aid Society, making it difficult to ever get ahead no matter how outstanding they were. Looking out at the morning sun, he couldn't help but think of Senior Shen Zheng. If Shen Zheng could see Wuyi as it was today, he would probably be pleased. As the designated hour approached, footsteps sounded outside, and a student who looked fifteen or sixteen at most appeared in the doorway. His face bore that look unique to youth—curiosity and eager anticipation toward a new environment, mixed with a restless urge to prove himself. Catching sight of Chen Chuan, he seemed somewhat bashful, not daring to meet his eyes directly. He walked inside, bowed to Chen Chuan, and spoke with a voice tinged with nervous excitement: "Hello, Teacher Chen. My name is Jiang Xin." Chen Chuan looked at him and smiled. "Hello, Student Jiang. Have you seen me before?" Jiang Xin lifted his head, admiration gleaming in his eyes. He said excitedly, "I once saw Senior Chen from a distance—oh, I mean Teacher Chen! Teacher Chen, my classmates and I have all heard about you. We all admire you so much!"