Meeting

"Ahem, ahem." Supervisor Han coughed violently several times, spitting out a mess of shattered teeth and bloody froth. Scrambling on hands and knees, he crawled a few paces across the ground and attempted to stand once more. His heart pumped vital essence continuously to repair his damaged flesh. Staggering forward several steps, he finally straightened his posture. Yet just as he began to turn and face Chen Chuan, a heavy force struck his back. His chest and abdomen bowed forward in an exaggerated bulge, and he was hurled flying once again. After a brief moment, repaired by his vital essence, he climbed back up. But the outcome was identical to the previous attempt: an irresistible force struck him down once more. Over the next ten-odd minutes, this exact scene played out on repeat. Every time Supervisor Han was knocked down, he stubbornly climbed back to his feet. Yet as long as he stood, he was immediately battered back to the ground. Whenever he was down, he was granted an opportunity to recover, but the moment he attempted to rise, he was met with ruthless, unyielding strikes. Chen Chuan was plainly telling him through this action: he was not worthy of standing—he was fit only to crawl or lie there. At this moment, Supervisor Han could no longer maintain his previous composure. His eyes turned bloodshot, and his chest heaved violently. Subjected to this one-sided beating while completely powerless against his foe, even the onlookers felt a deep sense of helplessness. As the one enduring it, Han felt utter despair, mixed with profound, burning resentment. "Haaah!" He let out a furious roar, sending out a ripple of mental waves that made the gravel on the ground skitter and skip, while stray flying insects fell pattering out of the air. Yet for this encirclement, thorough preparations had long been made. The nearest personnel were four to five hundred meters away, entirely beyond his reach. Chen Chuan treated the outburst as nothing more than a gentle breeze across his face. He continued walking forward until he stood right before Supervisor Han. Han instinctively threw a punch, but Chen Chuan caught his wrist in an iron grip. A visible airburst erupted from the point of contact, accompanied by the distinct crunch of splintering bone. Supervisor Han's face contorted hideously. Ignoring his mangled, twisted arm, he pushed his heart jin to its limits. But no matter how hard his Three Phases Jin tried to infiltrate Chen Chuan, it vanished like a stone dropped into the sea, yielding not the slightest ripple in return. This situation inflicted not just physical trauma, but a devastating blow to his confidence in his own martial might. Chen Chuan’s grip never shifted, yet a surging, wave-like ripple suddenly ran up Supervisor Han's arm. It was Chen Chuan’s force dispersing the incoming power before seeping back through in reverse. A resounding boom followed, and the flesh and blood along Han’s entire arm burst outward. Supervisor Han tilted back with a strangled gasp in his throat. He staggered half a step back, vomiting a mouthful of blood mixed with visceral fragments, teetering on the verge of collapse. He had already expended a vast amount of vital essence to regenerate the arm previously shattered by Supervisor Wen, and throughout the recent fight, he had continuously strained his vital essence to repair his wounds. By now, his reserves were nearly exhausted, leaving him powerless to sustain himself. Chen Chuan released his grip and extended a single finger, striking Han’s brow with lightning speed. Han shook violently and staggered back several paces. A moment later, the flesh across his body and limbs burst apart with sharp pops, splattering the ground with gore. In an instant, he looked almost like a skeletal frame stripped of flesh below his face. Yet he remained alive. The sheer resilience of a third-limit combatant preserved his spark of life. However, aside from some mutated tissue within his internal organs, the mutated tissue throughout the rest of his body had been thoroughly shredded and ruined by a stream of soft jin. Regeneration had practically ground to a halt; he had just enough left to keep breathing. On both sides of the street, members of the Disposal Bureau stared in horror as the blood-drenched skeleton swayed forward a few steps, dropped to its knees with a wet thud, and finally planted its forehead against the pavement. Absolute silence fell over the avenue. Chen Chuan looked down at the kneeling Supervisor Han, stepped forward, and seized him by the spine, lifting him up. With almost all his flesh gone, Han had become light as a feather, retaining barely any weight. Had it not been necessary to interrogate Han for intelligence, uncover the figures backing him, and secure conclusive evidence, Chen Chuan would have killed him on the spot. He spoke a brief command into his boundary credential. At once, Disposal Bureau operatives emerged from both flanks, training their guns on the personnel in Supervisor Han's motorcade and ordering them out of the vehicles. Not a single person resisted. They stepped out obediently, surrendered all their weapons, and were bound in specialized shackles before being loaded into prisoner transport vans. After securing Supervisor Han inside one of the vehicles, Chen Chuan looked around. Seeing every eye fixed upon him, he swept his gaze across the crowd and transmitted an order through his boundary credential to everyone present, as well as to all bureau personnel across the headquarters: "By order of higher authority, as of this moment, I am taking command of all affairs, inside and outside the Disposal Bureau!" Across the communication channel, all Disposal Bureau members replied in unison: "Yes, Supervisor!" The resounding cry echoed down the entire street, its reverberations carrying far into the surrounding districts. Chen Chuan retrieved the Xuejun Saber and strode toward his designated vehicle. Once seated inside, he commanded, "Fall back. Return to the Disposal Bureau." Beyond the street, the armored vehicles cordoning off the area began to withdraw, and the airships in the sky slowly swung around, following the motorcade as it sped ahead. In the main seat, Chen Chuan instructed the radioman to transmit a dispatch over a secure channel, informing Commissioner Cao that the situation here had been resolved. Of course, Commissioner Cao might well already know the outcome. The reason the truth had come to light so swiftly this time was precisely because there was an operative from the State Administration Bureau planted at Supervisor Han's side. Although Han trusted no one and had brainwashed his subordinates with drugs and psychic methods before moving against Supervisor Wen, the undercover operative had taken prior precautions. The operative regained clarity shortly afterward, recovered their memory, and managed to transmit the intel out. Within minutes of sending the message, Chen Chuan received a reply. After reading it, he looked ahead. Upon their return, intensive interrogations would begin. For Supervisor Han to carry out such actions, he was clearly backed by powerful forces, and there might well be hidden hands within Wuyi Academy as well. This time, they had to be rooted out at all costs. A little over ten minutes later, the convoy returned to the Disposal Bureau. Upon entering headquarters, Chen Chuan began organizing the interrogation efforts. This operation had not merely apprehended Han and his immediate retinue; in fact, Han's subordinates within headquarters had already been detained early on. When the strike was launched earlier, all branch bureaus had moved simultaneously, sweeping away Han's lingering faction and personnel from top to bottom. Given the extraordinary circumstances, there was no room for hesitation. Anyone under suspicion had been detained together, leaving thorough vetting for later. While dealing with these matters, Chen Chuan suddenly noticed a message pinging his boundary credential. At first, he paid it no mind, but then realized it had bypassed the information field and been transmitted directly to his boundary credential. He glanced at it, his expression shifting slightly. After a brief consideration, he instructed Zou Jinhang, stating that he needed to step out for a while and leaving him in charge of headquarters' security. Zou Jinhang was Xu Chan's most trusted partner and an enforcement captain—the only enforcement captain currently remaining in Center City. With him holding the fort in Chen Chuan's absence, things would remain stable. Having given his instructions, Chen Chuan went downstairs, drove out alone, and headed straight for the docks of Yinglu District. He parked his car and stepped out. Just moments ago, the dock had appeared completely deserted. Yet as he looked up, he saw a figure standing there with hands in his pockets, gazing out over the sunlit waves shimmering with golden light. Chen Chuan walked over and addressed the man: "Teacher Xue, you're back?" Xue Shou smiled faintly. "I told you I'd return after a while. The timing is just right." Chen Chuan had not expected him so soon; he had assumed it would be later. Still, he knew a martial artist would not wander about without good reason. Xue Shou's arrival had to be tied to other circumstances. He asked, "Is there something going on, Teacher Xue?" Xue Shou looked up at the airships ferrying back and forth overhead. For a fleeting instant, his gaze seemed to pierce through the sea, fixing on some target hovering far in the distance. He remarked, "That person from the Consortium delegation has lingered outside Center City for quite some time. Someone had to see to it." Chen Chuan nodded. So that was why. It made complete sense now. "Trainee Chen, I told you I'd come back to check on the fruits of your training, but your progress has been swift—far beyond my expectations." Teacher Xue gave him a meaningful look. "At your current level... hm... I thought you'd need more time, but as it stands, there are certain things I can give you ahead of schedule." He reached into his pocket and tossed an object toward him. Chen Chuan caught it and opened his hand. It looked like a fruit, resembling a small green mandarin orange. Xue Shou said, "When you feel the time is right, eat it." Seeing that he offered no explanation of what it was, Chen Chuan refrained from pressing further. He nodded and slipped it into his coat pocket. Xue Shou continued, "I said I would instruct you for a full half-year. I will be staying at Wuyi Academy for the coming period. If there is anything you still don't understand regarding mental cultivation, you can contact me via the academy's platform." Chen Chuan replied, "Understood, Teacher Xue." Just then, a notification chime sounded from his boundary credential. He checked and saw a message from the head of the interrogation team. Excusing himself to Xue Shou, he took the call and asked, "What is the status?" The team lead answered, "Supervisor Chen, Supervisor Han... Han Fu says he wants to see you." Chen Chuan's eyes flickered slightly. "I'll be right back." When he finished speaking and looked up, the dock was already vacant. Xue Shou had vanished without a trace.