After speaking for a while, Xue Shou picked up the teacup before him, took a sip, set it down, and pushed it across toward Chen Chuan.
Chen Chuan reached out and caught it, discovering a wisp of spiritual power harbored where his fingers met the cup.
"This contains some material regarding the 'Divine Visage.' Even if you do not walk this path, you can still study it to understand how the Divine Visage works. You might encounter such opponents in the future."
Chen Chuan sensed it for a moment, then looked up and said, "Thank you, Teacher Xue."
Teacher Xue replied, "It's nothing. Principal Yao has likely reported your situation by now. In a few days, people from the Great Shun National Fighters Council should come looking for you. Well, that is an organization established by the state to coordinate and liaise with martial artists. They will have you sign a few restrictive agreements and confirm your personal stance.
"And regardless of what stance you display—whether you stand with the state or the corporations—it makes no difference to them. They are merely the middlemen responsible for communication. But when it comes to that restrictive agreement, you'll need to pay close attention."
His expression grew slightly more solemn. "This agreement is bound by an esoteric ritual. Once signed, you must do your best not to violate it; otherwise, it will cause you harm. In more severe cases, some losses are irreversible.
"Do you know why the Municipal Council was so terrified of you a few days ago? Because having signed no agreement meant you weren't bound by esoteric rituals at all, and you also hold an unlimited defense license. That meant if you acted with utter disregard, even if you killed them, you wouldn't bear any overt liability, provided you could prove their infringing actions were indeed connected to those people.
"However, the state monitors every martial artist, assessing their behavior and psychological state. For those who display more extreme tendencies, harsher and more numerous restrictions are added when signing the agreement, and they will be placed under close scrutiny going forward, which is actually very disadvantageous. Your ability to exercise restraint, remain unaffected by emotion, and handle matters calmly is excellent. The higher-ups' assessment of you should be quite favorable this time. I expect they will sign a Level Five agreement with you."
"A Level Five agreement?"
Xue Shou explained, "Agreements are currently divided into seven levels. Level Seven carries the strictest restrictions, and depending on a martial artist's subsequent conduct and contributions, each level promoted reduces a certain amount of restrictions and constraints. The theoretically highest Level One agreement is free from any conventional restraint. Moreover, because this agreement was jointly ratified during the Grand Alliance era, it is recognized worldwide and valid across the globe.
"As for the specifics, once the people from the National Fighters Council arrive, you can learn more from them."
Chen Chuan nodded.
"I'll likely remain at Wuyi Academy for the next few days. If anything comes up or you have any questions, you can contact me directly or leave a message. All right, I should be going." With that, Xue Shou rose from his seat.
Chen Chuan stood up as well. "Take care, Teacher Xue."
Xue Shou smiled, turned, and walked out. Just as he reached the doorway, in what seemed like the blink of an eye, he vanished.
Chen Chuan glanced at the teacup on the table. The tea inside had clearly been finished, yet he could not be certain whether Teacher Xue had actually come in person—or perhaps there was no longer any difference?
It seemed this man had cultivated the path of the "Divine Visage" to a certain height; on the surface, distinguishing the real from the illusory was already difficult. He looked at his hand where he had touched the spiritual power; a mental imprint had already formed there. Perhaps he could glean some understanding of this path from it.
He lowered his hand and wondered to himself: did he need to apply to the Wuyi Main Academy for cultivation methods?
On this point, Hongfu had no relevant records. He suspected that Wuyi's higher-ups might have deliberately cut ties between the two, preventing Hongfu from learning information about martial artists' cultivation.
He could understand this precaution. Hongfu was already a formidable active conscious entity; if she were also to possess the knowledge and techniques of numerous martial artists all combined into one, it would truly be hard to say who held the upper hand.
Come to think of it, the segment of Hongfu's conscious entity that had accompanied him was somewhat similar to a Divine Visage. However, a true Divine Visage appeared to possess its own independent existence, requiring no external vessel, and could even cultivate itself. His thoughts shifted: once he learned enough about this domain in the future, perhaps he could find a way to help Hongfu restore some of her strength.
For now, he needed to return to Wuyi Academy first.
He glanced out the window at the vast outline of Center City and the numerous skyscrapers that seemed to lie at his feet. Walking out and returning to his private car, he had the telegraph operator transmit a telegram to Principal Yao, inquiring specifically about the procedure for this.
Before long, a reply came from Principal Yao detailing the exact steps, along with a secret cipher key that would grant him permissions from Hongfu to access areas normally reserved for the academy's senior leadership.
The car drove all the way to Wuyi Academy. After the orderly opened the door, Chen Chuan stepped out and looked up at the towering Xuangong Building.
Ever since he dealt with Assistant Ling's affair, he had not returned to Wuyi Academy.
He smoothed the red scarf around his neck, then strode into the building. The moment he entered the lobby, an emotionless voice sounded:
"Teacher Chen, welcome back."
It was Hongfu's voice, but this was another Hongfu—a Hongfu devoid of self-awareness.
It happened to be the afternoon break, and many teachers and students were passing through the lobby. Yet upon seeing him walk in, nearly everyone widened their eyes and stopped in their tracks to stare at him.
Though he had not shown his face at Wuyi for a while, the topic most discussed by the academy's faculty and students in recent days had been him. The teachers at Wuyi unanimously believed he had broken through to a higher realm, becoming a martial artist—the kind ordinary fighters only ever heard about in legends.
Upon learning this news, every teacher and student at Wuyi shared in the pride, and many quick-witted students immediately rushed to sign up for Chen Chuan's courses for the next semester.
Yet the academy's administration reacted even faster, shutting down all enrollment immediately. What a joke—how could courses taught by a martial artist simply be bought like that? Even the academy's teachers couldn't find a way to secure a spot now, let alone the students.
Those students who had previously seen Chen Chuan's course listings but ignored them were now consumed with regret and vexation.
For as long as one bought a course—even if they only attended a single class—they could claim outside that they were a martial artist's student, and that would be entirely true. Even if the martial artist didn't teach them earnestly, that connection was forged, something countless people could never hope to obtain.
Many envied Jiang Xin and the other two who had purchased Chen Chuan's courses. How had those three stumbled into such incredible luck? They were students taught by an actual martial artist! That teacher-student relationship was genuine; who would dare give them cold looks in the future?
After entering the elevator, Chen Chuan rode it straight toward the ninety-fourth floor at the top of the building.
After a few minutes' wait, the elevator came to a halt, its doors parting slowly to both sides. He stepped out into abundant light streaming in through the exterior glass curtain wall and splashing across the corridor, the frames casting long shadows. Outside, only the tops of a few rare buildings could be vaguely glimpsed; for a moment, it felt as if one were standing above the clouds.
Ahead in the corridor, a middle-aged man stood waiting with his hands in his pockets.
The man had a distinctly inverted-triangle upper body and wore an imported formal suit with orange-yellow floral stripes, a thick black goatee, and artistically styled hair with a forelock dyed in rainbow colors. Wearing blue sunglasses and trousers with glittering metallic spangles sewn into the seams, he looked like an aging, wealthy playboy.
At this moment, the sunglasses clearly reflected Chen Chuan's tall, upright figure approaching. The man took them off, broke into a smile, and opened his arms.
"Teacher Chen, I've been waiting for you for a long time. It's truly an honor. Come to think of it, this is our first time meeting, isn't it?"
Chen Chuan looked at him and said, "It is our first time. However, I have long heard of Vice Principal Tan. I heard Assistant Ling mention you many times."
This man was none other than Tan Weixing, the vice principal of Wuyi Academy.
"Assistant Ling..."
Vice Principal Tan sighed with feeling, making no effort to avoid the subject. "Assistant Ling was once my finest assistant. Whenever I wasn't around, he took care of the school's affairs for me. Now that something has happened to Assistant Ling, I have to handle these things myself."
Chen Chuan looked at him. Those words deftly dodged the weighty matters; though he didn't explicitly deny anything, he cleanly detached himself from whatever offenses Assistant Ling had committed.
Chen Chuan said, "I've heard that Vice Principal Tan is always rushing about on business outside. I imagine there are many school affairs you aren't very familiar with."
"Isn't that the truth?"
Vice Principal Tan sighed and said with feigned shame, "To be honest, with Assistant Ling getting into trouble, I was certainly negligent. The higher-ups ought to dismiss me. But what choice did I have? The superiors insisted that I take this vice principal post. Ever since coming to Wuyi, my mind has been focused entirely on how to bring in money for Wuyi. I really haven't had the bandwidth to think about much else."
He tapped the sunglasses against his palm. "Yet this job offends people—constantly making enemies. I truly wonder when I'll be able to throw off these duties and just relax completely."
Chen Chuan said calmly, "That day will come."
Vice Principal Tan's eyes narrowed slightly, but he concealed it well and quickly followed with a laugh. "Then I'll take Teacher Chen's auspicious words to heart."
Chen Chuan said, "I'm here to attend to some business. Principal Yao has already granted me authorization. Since Vice Principal Tan isn't familiar with academy affairs, I won't trouble you."
With that, he walked straight past him.
In the brief instant they brushed by each other, though Vice Principal Tan kept the smile on his face, his body stiffened for a fleeting moment. Only after the receding footsteps behind him grew faint in the distance did he pull out a cigar with a slightly trembling hand.
At that moment, an emotionless voice sounded: "Vice Principal Tan, please be mindful of your conduct. Smoking materials are prohibited in public areas of the academy."
Vice Principal Tan frowned, thinking to himself: Since when has Hongfu become so rigid? As the vice principal, Hongfu would never have spoken to stop him in the past.
He lowered his hand in frustration, cursing under his breath: "Assistant Ling's death is truly a nuisance. Progress has stalled both on academy matters and on the True Form Tree. Now there are so many things I have to handle myself."
Chapter 795