Walking down the long corridor, Chen Chuan arrived at the restricted inner area that only a select few, such as Wuyi's principal, were permitted to enter.
The space here was vast, offering an unobstructed, sweeping view. The Xuangong Building was one of the tallest structures in all of Wuding District; gazing out from this vantage point truly gave one the sensation of looking down upon all other peaks.
Hongfu's voice rang out once more at this moment. "Teacher Chen, ahead lies the academy's independent internal sector. Please state the clearance passphrase."
Chen Chuan immediately recited the passphrase Principal Yao had given him. The radiant glow of the regional field isolation faded away, revealing an even larger expanse.
Once he stepped inside, Hongfu's voice faded entirely.
After casting a glance around, he turned to the left. Walking a dozen meters or so, he came upon an office with its door standing wide open. Inside, a scholarly-looking man in his thirties was flipping through some documents.
Hearing footsteps, the man looked up. Seeing Chen Chuan, he immediately hurried out from behind the desk and said warmly, "Are you Teacher Chen? I'm the telegraph operator tasked with liaison to the Main Academy. Principal Yao instructed me to wait for you here."
He turned, picked up a sheet of paper from the desk, and presented it with both hands. "This is the application form. Teacher Chen, just fill it out according to the prompts. Once you've confirmed everything, I will send the telegraph to headquarters accordingly."
Chen Chuan took it and scanned the page, filling in the application details as required. When it came to the choice of cultivation path, he wrote down "Human Visage" without hesitation. Once finished, he handed the form back to the operator, who glanced over it and said, "Teacher Chen, please wait a moment."
Taking the document, he walked into the adjoining telegraph room. Before long, the rhythmic clatter of a telegraph transmitter sounded from within.
Chen Chuan stepped over to the side and looked at several photographs hanging on the wall. They were all pictures of the operator together with Principal Yao, and the two shared a slight resemblance, suggesting they were likely blood relatives.
In the photographs, Principal Yao was dressed in casual clothes. In one picture, a young child was perched atop his shoulders, clutching his hair and laughing joyfully toward the camera. Principal Yao was making silly faces, grimacing playfully—not bearing the slightest trace of the imposing figure who had wielded a thick-backed broadsword that day.
Chen Chuan reflected then that whether it was Principal Yao or Senior Wan, both of them must have walked the path of the Human Visage. And as Teacher Xue had noted, this path was exceedingly difficult to tread—most likely easy to enter, but brutally hard to master.
The operator emerged from the room just then and said, "Teacher Chen, the telegraph has been dispatched to headquarters. I'm afraid we'll have to wait a bit for their reply."
Chen Chuan asked, "How long does it usually take?"
"If it were standard correspondence, it might take a few minutes, or a few hours at most," the operator replied. "I've never handled an application like yours before, Teacher Chen, so it's hard to say for sure. Why don't you wait on campus for a while? As soon as I receive word here, I'll notify you."
Chen Chuan checked the time. It wasn't even two o'clock yet. Having been away for nearly a month, he could take this chance to check on his three students. "Then I'll trouble you," he said.
"No trouble at all, no trouble at all!" the operator said hastily.
Leaving the office, Chen Chuan took the elevator back to his faculty apartment. Tapping the regional field screen, he contacted his three students: Jiang Xin, Kong Yao, and Fan Cheng.
When the three had learned that Chen Chuan might have become a martial artist, they had naturally been ecstatic. Jiang Xin was shrewd and hadn't shown too much on the surface, but Fan Cheng and Kong Yao felt as though they were living in a dream.
Back then, they had purchased Chen Chuan's course only because they were truly desperate to find someone who could resolve their physical issues. Yet the gains had been immense. After all this time, their conditions had improved markedly, leaving them profoundly grateful to this teacher.
Never did they imagine Teacher Chen's status would undergo such a dramatic leap, prompting every student and teacher across the entire academy to view them in a whole new light. This was completely unexpected. In fact, the sudden enthusiasm from some teachers and peers had bordered on terrifying, leading them to hide inside their dorm rooms over the past few days, hardly daring to venture out.
So when they suddenly received a message on their boundary credentials and saw it was Chen Chuan reaching out, they let out gasps of surprise, instantly growing nervous and excited. They accepted the call and logged into the teaching platform at once. Trying hard to steady their breathing, they greeted him with trembling voices, "Hello, Teacher Chen."
Chen Chuan hummed in acknowledgment and said, "Hello to you as well. I happen to be on campus today, and since I haven't checked on your progress in nearly a month, I thought I'd see how you're doing. Has your cultivation been going smoothly lately?"
"Smoothly, very smoothly!" Fan Cheng and Kong Yao nodded repeatedly. Jiang Xin's voice also came through just then: "Teacher Chen, I haven't run into any issues either."
Chen Chuan looked at the three through the field screen. Even though they weren't face-to-face, with his current perceptive abilities he could clearly discern each person's physical state, confirming that they had maintained a consistent, rigorous, and effective training routine over this period.
There was no need for extensive corrections. He had the three perform their forms in place once more and made minor adjustments to their breathing rhythm at specific points. Once they had grasped the adjustments, he told them they could contact him via boundary credential if they had any further questions, and then brought the call to an end.
He considered the matter. There were still two months left until the end of the year, and these three students still had room for growth.
The academy's rules could no longer bind him, but things ought to have a proper beginning and end; he intended to instruct the three who took his classes as well as he possibly could.
After waiting around the academy for the afternoon, a message from the telegraph operator came over his boundary credential: "Teacher Chen, a reply has arrived from headquarters. Your application has been approved, and an emissary will deliver the materials to Jibei Dao later."
Upon seeing the message, Chen Chuan replied with a word of thanks. After finishing a hot beverage, he stood up and departed Wuyi Academy.
Driving back to his residence in Wuding District, he drew the Xuejun Saber, slashed open a fissure, and began the daily cultivation he had yet to perform.
Time flew, and October twenty-eighth soon arrived. On this day, an airship approached from the northwest and moored at the docking point in Weiguang District. Emblazoned on its hull was an emblem: a spherical surface nestled within infinite lines of latitude and longitude, seemingly evoking the concept of a spherical heaven and square earth.
A group stepped down from the airship, all bearing stern expressions. Those in front wore uniform attire, while behind them walked four figures cloaked in black robes and bamboo hats that concealed both body and face. At a glance, neither their sex nor their age could be discerned; one could only see white masks fastened beneath the brims of their hats.
After staff sent by the Government Affairs Department escorted them to their designated quarters, the squad leader gave a subtle nod to a subordinate at his side. The team member promptly tapped his boundary credential, waited for the call to connect, and spoke:
"Mr. Chen, we are from the Great Shun National Fighters Council. I presume you have already received the notification from the Government Affairs Department? Splendid. We have arrived under orders from above regarding certain confidential matters that we must discuss with you in person, Mr. Chen. Do you have time? ... Yes, very well. We shall await your arrival on the fiftieth floor of Section 3 in the Jujiao Building, Weiguang District."
In less than an hour, an extended armored vehicle pulled up before the building. An orderly opened the door, and Chen Chuan stepped out. Glancing up at the skyscraper, he walked inside and rode up to the fiftieth floor, where someone was already waiting to usher him into the hall.
Inside the hall stood a long table with metal legs and a plain tabletop. A white-haired middle-aged man stood at the head of the room with several assistants behind him, while in the corners of the hall sat the four figures in black robes and white masks.
These four gave him a faintly familiar feeling. Were they from the Esoteric Cult Examination Bureau?
"Hello, Mr. Chen." The middle-aged man came forward to shake hands, speaking courteously. "My name is Can Miao. I am the team leader dispatched by the Fighters Council to liaise with you this time. May I ask if you have heard of us before?"
Chen Chuan shook his hand. "A teacher of mine mentioned you."
Can Miao smiled. "Then we must thank your teacher; that makes our work considerably easier." He gestured toward a seat. "Mr. Chen, please have a seat. There are quite a few matters we need to clarify with you today."
Chen Chuan sat before the long table, and Can Miao took the seat opposite him. Looking solemn, Can Miao said, "Mr. Chen, first, we must state that the legality of all our actions derives from the oversight and authorization of the National Supreme Security Advisory Board.
"Every word we speak now and every movement you make at this moment will be explicitly recorded and archived. During our conversation shortly, there may be points that cause offense; please understand. Should you have any objections or grievances, you may file a complaint with the Supreme Security Advisory Board after the fact."
Chen Chuan nodded slightly.
Can Miao took a form from an assistant and pushed it across toward Chen Chuan. "First, we must trouble you to fill out this form, Mr. Chen."
Chen Chuan picked it up and looked it over. There were numerous questions and choices—skimming through, at least several hundred items. A cursory glance confirmed what Teacher Xue had told him: it was primarily designed to gauge his inclinations toward the state and the corporations, as well as his personal stance.
However, as an Investigation Supervisor in the Handling Bureau, he would approach these questions from that exact standpoint.
Taking a prepared pen from his pocket, he ticked and filled in the options one by one. In about ten minutes, he was finished and pushed it back across the table.
Can Miao picked it up and flipped through the pages. Seeing that nothing had been missed, he handed it to an assistant beside him to store away safely. His expression then grew more solemn.
"Mr. Chen, as you must know, the destructive potential of a martial artist is immense. In these perilous times, to maintain the stability of each Center City, the Melded Lands, and the Ring of the World, we must impose reasonable and effective restraints on every martial artist in the country."
He produced another document and slid it slowly in front of Chen Chuan. "Please look over this agreement first. If there is anything you do not understand or disagree with, you may raise it with us right now, and we will work to address it with you."
...
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Chapter 796