On the fourth day after returning from the Confluence, Chen Chuan left by private car and arrived at the Shutianxia Hotel. Today, he had arranged to dine here with his squad members, old friends, and former classmates.
He had been here many times before, but this time, the hotel's general manager personally came out to welcome him. Furthermore, the luxury private room on the top floor had been arranged for him, offering an expansive view overlooking most of Center City.
When he reached the top floor, everyone had already arrived. Yuan Qiuyuan and Qin Qingque immediately stood up the moment they saw him and gave a salute. "Captain!"
Seeing this, the others followed suit with salutes of their own before greeting him aloud.
Chen Chuan returned the salute and smiled. "Today is just a meal, not a mission out in the field. Everyone, please relax." He walked over to the dining table and took a seat. Once they had ordered, conversation began to flow.
At this point, Wei Chang'an couldn't help but ask, "Junior Brother, we all saw the clash that day. Everyone says you've broken through the third limit—is that true?"
Everyone at the table turned to look. Wei Chang'an was merely voicing the question on all their minds; they were dying to know the answer as well.
Although the destructive power Chen Chuan had displayed that day far exceeded the bounds of an ordinary fighter, the clash of fields had obscured parts of the fight, leaving them to guess.
Chen Chuan nodded. "That's correct. I have currently reached the Fourth Limit. In today's common parlance, that makes me a martial artist."
"A martial artist..."
Hearing this confirmed, everyone was thrilled beyond measure, filled with intense excitement.
Especially for those from Wuyi like Wei Chang'an, Wu Han, Feng Xiaoqi, and Luo Kaiyuan: in their minds, becoming a third limit fighter already meant being a paramount figure. Not only did one automatically receive Center City citizenship, but one also held vital posts in government or corporate departments.
For people like them who had come from Yangzhi, that was already an extraordinary accomplishment. Moreover, most fighters they had ever encountered struggled an entire lifetime without ever reaching the third limit, making it truly difficult to imagine what the Fourth Limit was like.
Wu Han said excitedly from the side, "I watched the footage of Junior Brother Chen destroying that massive airship that day! Is that the power of the Fourth Limit?"
Chen Chuan nodded. "That was the 'True Force of Embracing Oneness,' also known as 'Spiritual Fire.' In reality, toward the very end of the third limit, one gains the ability to grasp a tiny fraction of that kind of power."
Yuan Qiuyuan couldn't resist chiming in, "Captain, I saw you block the airship's machine gun fire that day. Was that also that kind of power?"
Chen Chuan said, "No, that was actually a biological field. Every one of us has a biological field. In ordinary people, it's rather faint, whereas in fighters, it becomes remarkably distinct once they reach the third limit."
As he spoke, everyone suddenly felt something strange in the air. Then, to their astonishment, scattered objects around the room began drifting upward into thin air. The sight stunned them thoroughly.
Even though Chen Chuan's display on the screens that day had been even more exaggerated, witnessing it in person was entirely different.
And right now, they felt that intensely oppressive force firsthand. It made breathing feel slightly difficult, compelling them to adjust their respirations instinctively.
Chen Chuan looked at them. He wasn't doing this merely to show off the field's power; rather, he had discovered that a potent biological field could exert significant stimulation on a fighter's spirit and mutated tissue.
Fighters who experienced such power up close—provided their spirit wasn't crushed—would likely find it easier to achieve breakthroughs in the future.
This was because they had witnessed it, knowing for certain that this path could be walked. Furthermore, under the pressure of external power, their mutated tissue would instinctively strive to advance—fundamentally the same principle as his own pursuit of stimulation from higher-tier power prior to his breakthrough.
However, this method wasn't suitable for everyone, nor could it be applied recklessly. It was only because those present were considered elites that he demonstrated it in this manner; an ordinary fighter might have had their will broken completely, losing all courage to climb higher.
Simply put, one had to possess enough talent and the willpower to climb upward for such stimulation to be effective; lacking those, it would yield little result.
After a brief moment, he withdrew the field. Everyone felt their breath ease at once, looking around at one another from their chairs. That fleeting instant had given them an intuitive grasp of a martial artist's power, and each person seemed to faintly perceive something, yet could not quite grasp or pin it down.
At this point, the food began to arrive. A waiter wheeled in a dining cart and laid out dish after dish. Chen Chuan smiled and said, "Let's eat first."
Wu Han agreed, "Right, let's eat first! Anything else can wait."
During the meal, Chen Chuan mentioned in passing that he had confirmed with the Government Affairs Department that citizenship could be granted to them.
His aunt's family had already been eligible for citizenship back when he became an Investigation Supervisor and didn't need these slots, so the ten quotas were plenty to cover Wu Han, Feng Xiaoqi, Luo Kaiyuan, Wei Chang'an, Cai Si, Ding Liao, and the rest.
As for Lu Fang, it seemed unlikely he would need a quota. With Chen Chuan's medicinal funding, Lu Fang stood a very strong chance of entering the third limit within the next two years, in which case he could earn citizenship on his own merit.
Upon hearing this news, everyone was overjoyed. Working in Center City with or without citizenship was a world of difference. Without that status, even daily travel faced restrictions, not to mention missing out on numerous conveniences.
Previously, having joined Chen Chuan's team and counting as temporary employees of the Disposal Bureau made things somewhat easier, but it still couldn't compare to being a legitimate citizen.
Once the meal concluded and they had finished talking through most things, Chen Chuan prepared to leave with the rest. Just then, however, a faint intuition stirred in his heart. Pausing in his movement, he told his squad members and old friends, "You all go ahead."
Assuming he had other matters to attend to, everyone bid him farewell and took their leave first.
Soon, only he remained in the spacious private room. He personally poured a cup of a hot beverage and placed it across the table. And there, on a seat that had been completely empty moments ago, Xue Shou had appeared at some point.
Chen Chuan greeted him, "Teacher Xue, you're back? Are things wrapped up in the Confluence?"
Xue Shou smiled. "Principal Yao and the other are more than enough. Besides, news of you becoming a martial artist has likely reached the Old Imperial Court by now. If they want to move against us, they'll need to mobilize at least twice as many people. Leaving aside whether they're even capable of that, even if they could, there's no way such a massive movement of martial artists would escape our notice."
Chen Chuan nodded. Because of their sheer destructive capability, nearly every martial artist was closely watched. Barring meticulous planning and arrangements, it was impossible to assemble them easily. Right now, both sides were surely on high alert, and any slight stir would be detected immediately; if anything were to happen, it would be later on.
He asked, "Teacher Xue, now that this mission is accomplished, are you heading back?"
Xue Shou replied, "A little longer. After all, I came here specifically to counter the martial artist with the Linakes diplomatic delegation. If the people from the Linakes Federation don't leave, neither will I.
"Hmm, they will probably head for the capital around early November, and I'll travel with them then. I'll be staying here for the next few days. But what about you? Now that you're a martial artist, do you want to transfer out of Jibei Dao Center City, or stay here for now?"
Chen Chuan said, "I still have some unfinished business. I'd like to stay here for now."
Xue Shou smiled. "In that case, I'll pass your wishes along to the relevant people. Well then, is there anything else you'd like to ask me?"
Chen Chuan asked respectfully, "Teacher Xue, this student wishes to ask how I should proceed on the path of cultivation going forward."
Xue Shou looked at him and said, "In the Fourth Limit, there are three paths to choose from. You might already know something about them. Actually, I originally hoped you would walk the path of the 'Divine Visage,' but..."
He looked at Chen Chuan. "Do you remember a certain question I asked you back then?"
Chen Chuan pondered for a moment, then looked up at him. "Do you mean when you asked me whether the spirit could exist independent of the flesh?"
"Yes, exactly that question."
Xue Shou said, "Your answer back then was that the two are one, indispensable to each other, and neither can exist apart from the other. Although that was merely your understanding at the time, you had already made your choice without realizing it. That answer was your own understanding and statement of cultivation: to possess both."
He continued slowly, "And that path actually accords with the way of the 'Human Visage.'"
Hearing this, Chen Chuan looked at Teacher Xue and said solemnly, "Teacher Xue, the path of the Human Visage is indeed what I desire."
Xue Shou nodded. "Just as I thought. Only..." He sighed. "Only, this path is not an easy one to walk. You could say it is the hardest of the three.
"Trained to depth, the 'Divine Visage' turns shadow into form, unconstrained by physical shape; the husk can be cast aside or swapped at will. The 'Aberrant Visage' contemplates aberrant manifestations to comprehend profound truths; trained to its zenith, one appears like a god or immortal.
"Cultivating these two paths requires extraordinary spirit for the former, while the latter demands a robust physical body.
"To walk the 'Human Visage,' however, both spirit and body must reach the very highest tier, and practicing it is exceedingly arduous. Yet only the Human Visage truly fulfills the six-character maxim of the realm of 'Bearing the Mysterious Mechanism': 'Preserve the True Form, Gather the Spiritual Visage.'"
He said earnestly, "I am not well-versed in cultivating this path, and I wouldn't know how to teach you. Fortunately, today is unlike the old era. So long as one is qualified to cultivate, there is no concealment regarding cultivation methods. You can submit an application to the Wuyi Main Academy. That said, of the people I know, there happens to be someone who has practiced this path quite well. If I see him later, I will ask a few questions on your behalf."
Chapter 794