On June 12th, Chen Chuan boarded his personal airship. This time, he was returning to Yangzhi, primarily to settle matters with Yuangan Company.
He brought along his aunt and her family. His aunt and uncle had stayed in Center City for quite a long time and had constantly wanted to return to Yangzhi to visit their old neighbors and former coworkers, so he took them with him.
The weather early that morning was delightful. The June sun cast a gentle, melting warmth, and the sky was virtually cloudless—a vast expanse of flawless, radiant azure stretching thousands of miles. The contours of the earth below were sharply delineated. Looking down from above brought an expansive lightness to one's chest.
Yu Wan and Nian Fuli sat beside an angled porthole, gazing at the scenery below.
They had only flown on an airship a handful of times, so the novelty had not yet worn off. Moreover, since they were returning to Yangzhi, it was obvious that their spirits were exceptionally bright.
Not far from them stood a potted Evergreen Grass that reached half the height of an adult, its blossoms unfurling toward the sunlight in vibrant splendor. Chen Chuan had specifically searched for and obtained it from the Melded Lands on his way back; it had the efficacy of repairing bodily wear and tear. Over the past few days, the crow's-feet at his aunt's eyes had visibly smoothed, Nian Fuli's back stood considerably straighter than before, and his voice held far more vigor.
The two little rascals were brimming with energy, tearing wildly about the cabin. Every so often, they would hug Chaoming, jumping and bouncing against its soft feathers. Having a rare couple of days free from studies at home had left them beside themselves with joy.
After making a round through the airship, Chen Chuan returned to the table. He sat down and chatted with his aunt and uncle, and the conversation soon turned to his cousin, Han Cheng.
Han Cheng had arrived in Jibei Dao over a month ago. At that time, Chen Chuan had been away hunting and training in the Melded Lands. After staying at Chen Chuan's villa for a few days, Han Cheng had moved out to live on his own. He had now registered and opened a commission agency, spending his days cultivating connections and building up business.
He had his own crew as well and had brought them along this time. However, he no longer dared touch the sort of shady business he used to run. Everything he took on now was legitimate work, mostly connected to freight transport.
This was actually a very smart point of entry. In the sphere of ground transport, ever since Lianwei Heavy Control Company had been penalized, no enterprise of sufficient weight had stepped in to take its place. On the one hand, Lianwei Heavy Control Company continued to suppress competitors to pave the way for its own eventual re-entry into the market;
on the other hand, the Jibei Dao Government Affairs Hall was doing its utmost to expand air transport, which also served to lay the groundwork for building a transport network connecting outward across the Outer Ocean to Hedong, Huainan, and various other daos.
Thus, at a time like this, survival in this competition came down to whose backing was firmer, whose operational capability was stronger, and who was better equipped to withstand high-stakes corporate warfare. For now, since Chen Chuan had not given the word, Han Cheng did not dare fly his banner and was relying entirely on his own hustle.
Chen Chuan was willing to look out for him in this regard. Capability was secondary; what mattered most was that he stayed within the rules and did not cross lines without moral boundaries.
After speaking for a while, Chen Chuan took a cup of hot drink and sat down by himself on the other side, leafing through the newspapers a flight attendant had brought over.
Everything printed on them consisted of reports and commentaries regarding the recent incident in Jibei Dao Center City. One could tell that some were mouthpieces operated under the sway of the Municipal Council; these outlets expressed deep anxiety over the situation in Jibei Dao Center City, subtly suggesting that this might mark the beginning of the breakdown of Great Shun's state institutions.
The more aggressive ones directly denounced the senior leadership of the Jibei Dao Government Affairs Hall as heinous tyrants who stripped the populace of their right to participate in politics and enslaved the citizenry, claiming that their conduct completely ran counter to the original purpose of national governance.
They argued that such actions would plunge Great Shun into chaos and division, and they pleaded for and demanded that an international investigation team step in to promptly correct these errors.
Meanwhile, certain Center City councilors made public statements expressing hope that during the National Policy Resolution held every five years, certain details would be revised and amended.
Behind all this was a vast horde of media figures and hired scribes launching bitter verbal and written attacks, beating their chests as they declared that "this incident is a brutal political persecution, a flagrant trampling of the nation's institutions, and power must be returned to the people," and so forth.
Interestingly enough, every spearhead was leveled squarely at Qi Weizhao, yet hardly touched upon Chen Chuan.
This was mainly because the former was the Director-General of Government Affairs, a target out in the open. Even if they cursed and criticized him, he could hardly run over and do anything to them. But Chen Chuan, as a martial artist, genuinely possessed the means to strike at them.
Fortunately, no one raised the cry that the martial prowess of martial artists ought to be constrained and locked away in a cage. These people were clever; whoever dared shout that right now would certainly be crushed underfoot in an instant.
Alongside the domestic press, several foreign political and economic newspapers were attached. Chen Chuan read through them using the boundary credential to translate. Most discussed the potential fallout of the incident, and a considerable portion focused on the topic of whether advanced active conscious entities could match martial artists.
Someone stepped forward to explain that there was nothing inherently wrong with the active conscious entities themselves. The reason they had shown no outstanding performance in this incident was entirely because the Great Shun martial artist who appeared in the operation possessed exceptional strength, making it impossible to measure him by ordinary standards.
However, this explanation found little acceptance. Internationally, there appeared to be a broad call for technical upgrades and restructuring to phase out the obsolete older models.
Reading up to this point, Chen Chuan realized that he might very well face even more formidable active conscious entities in the future.
Yet even without him, these technical iterations had always been ongoing; they had merely been accelerated a bit now. Taking the broader perspective into account, in facing the Great Impact that might come in the future, this was actually beneficial for constructing the global security framework.
Behind the newspapers, he discovered a public letter of invitation.
It was from an internal publication belonging to a martial artists' organization headquartered in the Northern Alliance of Norland that enjoyed a measure of international prestige. They had already decided to bestow upon him this year's award for the Most Influential National-Level Martial Artist.
He glanced at the picture. The prize was a trophy. And the trophy was quite intriguing—carved from an ancient Norland tree, it held within it a fourth- to fifth-grade relic. These relics were donated by certain ancient families, and the awarders themselves did not know what function they served.
This did pique his interest somewhat, and he decided he would send a reply after he returned.
The morning passed in flight. By midday, the airship arrived in Yangzhi. Chen Chuan let his aunt's family disembark, arranging a dedicated car to take them back to their old residence.
He himself could not conveniently linger, as doing so would only alert the local Yangzhi government again. Thus, the airship soon took off once more, flying toward a research center belonging to Yuangan Company located to the north.
More than an hour later, the airship touched down upon a mooring tower situated on the barren wasteland. Liao Donghai, the director in charge, had received word in advance and was waiting below with a gathering of the research facility's management personnel.
When Chen Chuan descended from the mooring tower, Liao Donghai immediately piled a smile onto his face, briskly stepping forward to shake his hand and exchange greetings. After brief pleasantries, he invited Chen Chuan inside the research institute, heading first toward the place where the two ancient martial artists were restrained.
It was a warehouse constructed from steel frameworks and simple building materials. The two ancient martial artists lay at the center of an esoteric ritual. Their bodies were smeared completely with esoteric cult materials, from which patterned lines extended outward all the way to the walls on both sides, as though their physical bodies had been fused directly into the ritual array.
At that moment, a young man of about twenty-four or twenty-five, dressed in robes of the old-era Xuan religion, was inspecting something inside. He had heavy dark circles beneath his eyes, and a young girl accompanied him, helping to take notes and carry various tools. She was quite tall, but she looked rather young, fifteen or sixteen at most.
Liao Donghai explained, "Our institute's underground levels don't have enough space to accommodate an esoteric ritual designed to imprison martial artists, so we could only set it up aboveground. Section Chief Chen may rest assured—this place is very sturdy. Barring an attack by outside military forces, nothing will go wrong under normal circumstances."
Chen Chuan offered neither agreement nor disagreement. He looked at the young man for a few moments and asked, "Is that the ritual specialist you hired?"
"Yes. The esoteric rituals here were all arranged by the two of them, and the process of extracting the relics was also overseen by them.
"That young man is named Lan Shengu, a relative of one of our directors, entirely trustworthy. His ancestors once held priestly offices in the former state religion, so he possesses a deep family legacy. Many corporations hire him to set up esoteric rituals; he is widely trusted in the industry. That girl is his cousin, Miss Mo, who serves as his assistant."
Chen Chuan nodded. From his limited understanding of esoteric rituals, these two were undeniably very skilled.
At that moment, Lan Shengu walked out of the warehouse. When he saw the two people standing at the entrance, his attention was first drawn to Chen Chuan. His steps hitched involuntarily, though he quickly recovered his composure, came up before Liao Donghai, and said, "Supervisor Liao, I can only guarantee that this ritual will hold for another fifteen days. Any later, and it will be impossible to control."
Liao Donghai was taken aback. "Only fifteen days left? Why? Mr. Lan, you never mentioned this situation before."
Lan Shengu replied, "After the relics were extracted, the two of them no longer relied entirely on the support of the relics, and their bodies' self-sustaining functions began to gradually recover. While the esoteric ritual binds them, it also stimulates and stirs their spirits. Once their activity reaches a certain threshold, the two of them will awaken."
Liao Donghai frowned, half-doubting. "Is that so?"
Chen Chuan said, "That is indeed the case. Martial artists have formidable adaptability. Even without the relics being stripped away, under identical restraining conditions over time, they would gradually adapt on their own. This esoteric ritual has likely already been readjusted internally once; otherwise, it wouldn't even hold for fifteen days."
Lan Shengu could not help glancing at him in surprise.
Liao Donghai promptly introduced, "Mr. Lan, this is Section Chief Chen. He was the one who took down these two ancient martial artists."
Lan Shengu looked gravely at Chen Chuan, his mind caught in unknown thoughts for a moment.
Chen Chuan said, "This matter is easily settled." He cast a glance toward the two prisoners. A faint glimmer flickered within his gaze, which Liao Donghai scarcely registered.
Yet Miss Mo beside Lan Shengu could not suppress a soft gasp.
The light in Chen Chuan's eyes receded. He looked at the two cousins, noticing that they seemed momentarily tense. Saying nothing of it, he told Liao Donghai, "I have already suppressed their spirits. They will not awaken within the next two months."
Liao Donghai breathed a sigh of relief. "That is excellent, excellent indeed." He added, "Section Chief Chen, now that you have seen the prisoners, shall we go take a look at the extracted relic?"
Chen Chuan nodded and walked away with him.
Once the two had left, Lan Shengu's previously rigid expression relaxed. He turned his head and said sternly to Miss Mo, "Xiaoyi, stay composed from now on. You cannot reveal your ability so casually, or it will bring us trouble."
The girl let out an acknowledging murmur. "I understand, Cousin." She thought for a moment and added, "That big brother just now was incredible. The spirits inside those two were suppressed by him in a single instant. I've only ever seen spiritual power that strong in Brother Liu."
Hearing her words, Lan Shengu looked surprised. "Xiaoyi, are you certain?"
Xiaoyi nodded emphatically.
Lost in thought once more, Lan Shengu stared blankly toward the direction where Chen Chuan had departed.
Chapter 918