A Passage Still Remains

That evening, Chen Chuan had his first meal in Center City together with his aunt's family inside the villa. His aunt and Nian Fuli watched the field screen rising on one side of the dining room, looking at the various programs and news displayed on it with great fascination. They had never seen anything like this in Shannan Dao's Center City. With this, even without stepping outside, they could receive all sorts of information from within Center City and beyond. Yu Wan touched the boundary credential Chen Chuan had given her beside her ear and asked, "Chan'er, can I contact your eldest aunt from here?" Chen Chuan said, "Not yet, because the Center Cities don't communicate with one another." Nian Qian chimed in, "Mom, the Center Cities are isolated islands of information. There's no way to communicate between them." Nian Fuli remarked, "Putting up walls and just living their own lives." Chen Chuan said, "Uncle is right. That's how every Center City is at the moment. But the higher-ups are trying to change this. It's difficult right now, but progress is being made. Aunt, maybe one day Shannan and Jibei Dao will be able to communicate directly face-to-face." Yu Wan said, "I was just asking. If we can't use the boundary credentials, making a phone call would be fine too." Back in Yangzhi City, there had been no direct telephone line to Shannan Dao, and they could only send telegrams during holidays and festivals. In Center City, however, calls could indeed be made, though only Center City citizens possessed that privilege, and the fees were extraordinarily high—far beyond what ordinary people could afford. Moreover, domestic and foreign companies alike preferred using telegrams over transmitting information through these telephone lines, as it was virtually an open secret that calls would be monitored by the government and covert agencies. Of course, with Chen Chuan being a martial artist and head of the Defense Office, hardly anyone would dare do such a thing to him. After dinner, Nian Fuli and Yu Wan took the two younger children out for a stroll. Chen Chuan, meanwhile, placed a call to Senior Cao. Due to Senior Cao's sensitive background, Chen Chuan, now a martial artist, could no longer visit Mount Motie in person, as doing so would provoke too many people. Not only those wary of the former imperial family, but also certain people harboring unrealistic notions might get ideas. It would have little effect on Chen Chuan himself, but peace would likely elude Senior Cao, easily bringing the senior immense trouble. Thus, they now communicated only by telephone, keeping each conversation brief. This call was simply to let him know he had returned to Center City. Once the call ended, Chen Chuan set down the receiver and pondered for a moment. The Defense Office kept a dossier dedicated to this senior. Of course, it was not aimed at the man himself; the government was actually at ease regarding Senior Cao personally, or the Disposal Bureau would never have arranged for him to guide Chen Chuan in the first place. What they mainly guarded against were those seeking ties with him and hoping to push him into the limelight. Those people were key targets of the Disposal Bureau's surveillance. And unless the legacy of the former imperial family was completely eradicated, Senior Cao's semi-reclusive existence would continue. For now, there was no way to change that. Chen Chuan went upstairs, spent some time reading reports and the news, and then took the elevator down to the underground training hall to cultivate. The next morning, Chen Chuan set out early in his dedicated vehicle and visited Wansheng Financial Firm to retrieve the crate won from Qi Huishi, which had been shipped over from Haixi Dao. Returning to the villa, he opened it to examine the contents and found that most of it consisted of high-energy nutritional ingredients collected by Qi Huishi. Only one item was rather peculiar: a piece of mutated tissue from a convergence zone creature. Checking it with his boundary credential, he found it appeared to be an epiphytic growth from the brain of some hawk-like bird. If ingested, it could directly bolster a martial artist's mental strength, making it considerably valuable. Qi Huishi walked the path of the Visage of Man. Those on this path needed to strike a balance between mind and flesh. Yet during cultivation, one aspect would inevitably surge ahead of the other, requiring measures to shore up what was lacking. Drugs and specialized biological tissues were the simplest methods, and this item had likely been prepared for Qi Huishi's own use. Now, it had all gone to Chen Chuan. However, Chen Chuan figured that upon returning, Qi Huishi would surely find a way to recoup his losses; otherwise, no one could expect him to exert himself if something similar happened again. The people backing him would understand this, so Qi Huishi probably wouldn't end up too out of pocket. Added to the nutrients supplied by the Shannan Dao Government Affairs Hall before his departure and the resupplies from Yuangan Company, the quantity was already substantial. In fact, there was more. Gao Ming had returned to Center City two days ahead of him. Chen Chuan had received word on his way back that the Municipal Council had agreed to provide him with a corresponding batch of high-energy nutrients, which would be delivered by tomorrow at the latest. This meant that the high-energy nutrients at his disposal would be more abundant than ever before, allowing him to consume them without restraint. Once his routine affairs were settled, he could devote himself entirely to cultivation. The stage of "Longevity View" was his current goal. Only by reaching this realm would his physical form avoid wear and regression, remaining in peak condition at all times. However, this required him to complete the Grand Firmament Forms, the Grand Radiant Light Forms, and the Heaven and Earth Furnace breathing technique. At noon, he went to the Security Office, called together several deputy heads, and held a brief meeting to handle the matters that had piled up during his absence. He also sent a telegram to Yuangan Company to inquire about their progress. They replied quickly, stating that the separation of the relic had already begun. By current estimates, counting from February, it would take over a hundred days, though it might finish early. They would report their progress every ten days. When he returned in the evening, Nian Fuli and his aunt approached him. They had decided that for their first year in Center City, Nian Mo and Nian Lu would study at home, and only be sent to an academy once the family had acclimated to life in Center City. Chen Chuan agreed. He glanced into the living room and saw the two youngsters tossing plush balls back and forth with Chaoming, letting out whoops of cheer now and then. These past few days were probably the happiest period of their lives, spent playing joyfully from morning to night. From now on, however, their playtime would dwindle, and each day would be spent under the watchful eyes of their parents and tutors. Standing nearby, Nian Qian took some gloating delight in their impending misery, practically picturing the two little heads sobbing over their textbooks. Just then, a thought struck him, and he asked, "Cousin, do you think Xiao Mo and Xiao Lu could become fighters?" Chen Chuan smiled and said, "Back in Shannan Dao, Cousins Xiao Jing and Xiao Huan also ran over to ask me if they could become fighters." Nian Qian said, "I feel Xiao Huan is a bit too old, but Xiao Jing is just about at the right age to start training." Curious, he added, "Cousin, what did you tell them?" Chen Chuan replied, "Xiao Jing and Xiao Huan have a bit of talent, but not much. Even under ideal conditions, reaching the Second Limit would be a long shot at best, and the third limit is practically impossible." "The third limit... that really is a monumental hurdle. Not reaching it is only normal..." Nian Qian recalled that the third limit fighters in the army were absolute elites. At that thought, he couldn't help looking at Chen Chuan, thinking to himself, *Though you're an exception, Cousin.* He could never fathom how his cousin, who had seemed utterly ordinary as a child, had suddenly become a martial artist. Shaking the thought aside, he continued, "Oh, right, what were we talking about? What about Xiao Lu and Xiao Mo? Is there no hope for them either?" Chen Chuan said, "They aren't old enough yet. Their bodies haven't begun developing, so it's impossible to tell their specific potential. But if I nurture them with specialized medicines right now, or expose them to moderate stimulation from contaminants, it's possible to raise the ceiling of their talent to some degree. "The key to this approach lies in piling on resources, which is how certain martial clans pass down their traditions. Even then, whether one can advance to higher tiers still comes down to the individual. For a fighter, apart from talent, what matters most is personal perseverance and willpower. "With no shortage of resources, combined with sufficient effort and drive, one can turn the impossible into reality. Without those qualities, even if pushed upward by resources, one will only end up a crippled fighter." Take his mother, Yu Zhen. Her talent had not been particularly exceptional, but looking back through his memories, her perseverance and willpower had been extraordinarily resolute. Thus, after receiving some resource support, she managed to break through to the third limit before disappearing. She had no longer been young at that time, yet she never gave up, persevering day after day. Such willpower actually influenced mutated tissues, driving them to advance alongside oneself toward higher realms. He walked over to pour a glass of water and added, "Actually, if someone simply wants to gain power, they don't necessarily have to become a fighter. With advancing technology, implants can offer ordinary people hope." Nian Qian nodded. "Implants really are a way forward for ordinary people." He thought of his comrades in the military. Many knew only the basics of combat, yet through drugs and implants, they wielded formidable combat capability. For those without exceptional talent, there truly was no need to walk the path of martial arts. With a sigh, he said, "If technology keeps advancing, maybe fewer and fewer people will be willing to practice martial arts, huh?" Chen Chuan said, "It's possible. But that might not be entirely a good thing." For martial arts represented the evolution of one's own life; the strength attained belonged entirely to oneself. Implants, on the other hand, depended upon an entire external infrastructure—once cut off from that system, all that power would vanish in an instant. Currently, at least martial arts could still be cultivated. This path remained open, giving talented individuals hope to rise. If technology advanced to the stage Nian Qian described, the vast majority of ordinary people at the bottom would likely become wholly dependent on implant technology, incapable of forging a path with their own strength. And from what he knew, the upper echelons had never abandoned certain pursuits—such as what he had witnessed in his mother's memories... As he was thinking, a chime suddenly sounded from his boundary credential. He tapped it. "Set for tomorrow? Good, I understand." ... ...