After returning to the airship, Jiang Kui first went to check on Consultant Bai, who was kept under guard.
Seeing her injuries up close, along with the wisps of golden-white vaporous light seeping from her body, and feeling the psychic force pulsing from that spiritual radiance, he felt the mutated tissue across his entire body tremble in response.
He could not help thinking to himself that even without the long needle their teacher had given them, this woman likely would not have been able to recover from such severe wounds anytime soon.
A companion standing beside him was equally shaken by the sight. "I heard that at first, Teacher only wanted Councillor Chen to hold Consultant Bai back for a short while so she wouldn't interfere with our operation. Who would've thought Consultant Bai would get battered into a state like this? It's truly unbelievable."
Jiang Kui felt mixed emotions. Sighing, he said, "Tell me about it."
In the past, he had accompanied his teacher to meet Consultant Bai several times. On every occasion, she had exuded a cold, detached, almost unearthly presence, like a deity perched high above the mortal realm. Back then, he had held her in immense awe and reverence. Yet he had never imagined she could be beaten into such a miserable, unrecognizable state. That man truly had not held back in the slightest.
No, wait—he *had* held back. Otherwise, she would have been beaten to death right on the spot.
His companion suddenly perked up. "Senior Brother Jiang, I heard that Councillor Chen is the head of the Jibei Dao branch?"
Jiang Kui replied, "Yeah, he's the head of the Jibei Dao branch. But Jibei Dao isn't like our Shannan Dao branch. According to Teacher, something happened years ago that wiped out their branch completely, but Councillor Chen and a few comrades rebuilt it from scratch just recently."
The companion gasped. "That couldn't have been easy at all!"
Jiang Kui nodded. Indeed, it had not been easy. He had heard his teacher comment on the matter and explicitly express admiration.
Here in Shannan Dao, the Purist Faction was not weak, yet other factions had plenty of influence, leaving them feeling constrained and tied down when taking action. Meanwhile, the Jibei Dao branch had been built almost out of nothing—one could only imagine how immense the resistance and difficulty must have been.
No wonder Teacher had decided to launch the operation the moment he heard Councillor Chen had arrived. Jiang Kui had previously thought it was a bit risky; if it failed, not only would future efforts become vastly more difficult, but it might even trigger severe backlash. As facts proved, their teacher's judgment had been spot on.
***
As for Chen Chuan, after watching the airship fly away, he walked straight back toward the garrison residential quarters. Twilight had gradually settled in. The streetlamps along both sides of the road and the lights in the housing complex flickered on. From the curbsides, from behind curtains, and from upper balconies, many people cast reverent, fearful gazes toward him.
He paid them no heed. Under everyone's watchful eyes, he walked down the middle of the wide avenue and passed through the front gates of the Han family villa.
Once his silhouette completely vanished from sight, someone could not help murmuring, "The winds are shifting..."
Although they still did not know the exact details, the appearance of an airship visibly belonging to the Confluence military, coupled with the preceding events, allowed them to deduce the general picture. Anxiety and panic swept through many of them. Some threw caution to the wind, getting into their cars and speeding away, while even more lingered, refusing to give up and waiting on edge.
Not long after Chen Chuan entered the house, the drone of rotor blades echoed from above as several more airships appeared overhead. Searchlights mounted on their hulls swept back and forth across the ground below, instantly ratcheting the tension to its peak. At the same time, armored combat vehicles rumbled down the distant roads.
Once the vehicles ground to a halt, soldiers disembarked. Covered by the airships, they swiftly seized control of several major thoroughfares and took up high ground. Under the command of an officer, they rapidly fanned out and jogged toward several prominent villas. Anyone with eyes could see that every single one of those villas belonged to high-ranking officers of the garrison.
After returning to the villa, Chen Chuan comforted his eldest aunt's family and his youngest aunt's household. Then he returned to his own room. He first wiped clean the captured sword before putting it away, and then opened the briefcase.
He found that besides some high-energy nutritional medications, there was actually a beating heart inside. It was this very object that contributed most to the briefcase's weight.
Picking up the sealed pouch containing the heart, he brought it before his eyes and felt the heavy, rhythmic thumping pulsing from within. This item likely belonged to some creature from the Confluence; simply holding it in his hand allowed him to sense a surging vitality emanating from it.
Next, he noticed the dense, intricate patterns across the heart's surface, as well as its peculiar, slightly curved shape. His gaze flickered slightly.
If his guess was correct, this should be the heart of a "Bogong fish," a creature that lived near the Ring of the World.
Not only did it possess immense nutritional value, but it was also of tremendous aid in supporting the cultivation of the Heaven and Earth Furnace breathing technique. Clearly, Comrade Chang had gone out of his way to find it and gift it to him.
Such treasures were exceedingly rare; finding one depended purely on luck. Furthermore, its shelf life was short, perhaps lasting only around ten days or so. Using this as compensation for his battle against Consultant Bai went far beyond fair value—it would have easily covered four or five such fights, let alone just one.
Clearly, this comrade was not merely offering compensation, but using this gift as an extra token of gratitude for his help.
He gazed at the item. Since it could not be kept for long, it was best consumed within the next day or two. With that thought settled, he unsealed it at once, took out the relic censer brought back from the Biesa Khanate, lit it, placed it before himself, and sat down cross-legged.
Cradling the still-beating heart in his palm, he began to guide the Heaven and Earth Furnace breathing technique.
Matching his breathing rhythm, the heartbeat gradually fell in sync with his breath and pulse. As intense heat radiated from his body, a scarlet glow gradually emanated from within the heart, turning into a red mist resembling spiritual radiance. It followed his breath into his body, then billowed forth from the crown of his head as a steaming, rolling red vapor.
With every cycle of guided breathing, he could feel more mutated tissue being engaged. Under ordinary circumstances, mobilizing these tissues might require much longer periods of deeper guidance, yet now it was achieved with effortless ease.
Of course, the relic censer played a part as well. The combined effect made his cultivation progress remarkably smooth this time, yielding advancements far surpassing any previous session.
When the night had passed, the heart resting in his palm had turned an ashen white. With a gentle clench, it crumbled into a handful of gray ash. His eyes shone with extraordinary brilliance, taking quite a while to slowly return to their normal state.
The Heaven and Earth Furnace breathing technique served as the foundation for employing the Grand Radiant Light Forms and the Grand Firmament Forms. Deepening his mastery of this breathing method would help him grasp both sets of techniques much faster.
He stood up, drew back the curtains, and let the sunlight from outside stream in. The armored convoy and airships that had entered during the night were already gone. Evidently, matters had reached a conclusion.
***
Outside, many in the garrison residential quarters had spent the night in restless anxiety. Han Kuang's family, however, had slept with total peace of mind. After all, with a martial artist in their home, there was simply no need to worry about anything.
Around nine o'clock that morning, the telephones upstairs, downstairs, and in the living room began ringing off the hook. Han Kuang and his wife each picked up receivers.
After quite a while, Yu Jie ran upstairs, her voice tinged with excitement. "Old Han, did you hear? The entire Ming family, plus the Fan family's eldest and second sons, have all been arrested!"
"Yeah, I heard."
Han Kuang's expression was conflicted. Those were far from the only ones arrested; there was also Chief of Staff Bai and Deputy Commander Liu. From the news received so far, the driving force behind this operation was the Garrison Superintendent of the Confluence, but the orders had originated from the Defense Department, likely coordinated with the Government Affairs Hall.
"That Ming family used to be so smug, walking around with their noses practically pointing at the sky. Only in the last couple of days, when they heard Chuan was staying with us, did they plaster fake smiles all over their faces for me. So utterly phony!
"And that wife of the Fan family—Old Han, you know her, right? Ever since Chuan arrived, she sidled up to chat with me a couple of days ago, hinting left and right about how wonderful her daughter is. She was definitely setting her sights on Chuan, wasn't she?"
Han Kuang chuckled dryly. "She probably wasn't aiming for Chuan, but for Han Cheng. Marrying into our family would make them Chuan's relatives all the same—wouldn't that be as good as securing a get-out-of-jail-free card?"
Yu Jie spat in disdain. "In their dreams!"
Han Kuang remarked, "When I went out with Old Bai previously, the second Fan brother was tagging along. Their family has always excelled at that sort of maneuvering. It's a good thing your second younger sister didn't end up with him back then."
Yu Jie's brows shot up. "As if my second sister would ever look twice at him! Is he even worthy of her?"
Han Kuang looked at her, thinking to himself that he should have kept his mouth shut, and changed the subject: "Didn't you say you were going to stew chicken soup for Chuan today?"
"Oh, right! I almost forgot!" Yu Jie slapped her forehead and hurried back downstairs.
Han Kuang stood there for a moment and chuckled wryly. After a moment of thought, he picked up the receiver and dialed a number. "Connect me to headquarters. I'd like to speak with Commander Zhao."
After a brief pause, Commander Zhao's deep, resonant voice came through: "Han Kuang?"
Han Kuang replied, "Commander, it's me."
The voice on the other end said, "Staff Officer Han, I was just about to contact you about this. I've received a transfer order from higher-ups. A new commander will be arriving shortly to take over my duties."
Han Kuang was startled and hurriedly said, "Commander, this matter had nothing to do with you—"
"No need to say any more. I undoubtedly bear responsibility for what Deputy Commander Liu did. The decision has already been finalized." The voice on the other end emphasized sternly, "Remember, don't mention that again."
Han Kuang instinctively snapped to attention. "Yes, Commander."
Having delivered the news, Commander Zhao added with a sigh of emotion and a touch of envy, "Old Han, you have a fine nephew. If not for him, who knows how long it would've taken to carve out this rotten flesh. Pass the word along to him: I, Zhao, am grateful to him."
Han Kuang replied solemnly, "Commander, I will deliver the message."
In his heart, he had always felt grateful toward this commander. If not for Zhao's protection, he and several of his colleagues would either have been dragged down with the rest or sidelined to marginal departments under trumped-up pretexts, never having lasted until today.
"Good. Staff Officer Han, there's one more thing." Commander Zhao paused before continuing, "I have recommended you to the incoming commander. Be prepared."
Chapter 867