Inside the fissure, Chen Chuan sat suspended in midair. Outside him, the spirit visage sat cross-legged as well, its eyes half-closed, radiating waves of platinum-white light.
After these past few days of cultivation, his spirit visage had expanded slightly outward. He had not deliberately pushed for this; it was a natural growth that came with practice. Since the spirit visage was the first to bear the brunt of external encroachment, it was bound to be the first to undergo transformation.
Yet this growth came hand in hand with encroachment, much like swallowing potent medicine—fraught with both benefit and harm. According to what the manual described, in just ten days' time, toxic, defiling vapors could take root in a cultivator's body, seeping into the skull and polluting the mind.
It was not merely external alienation; it could also trigger a fundamental shift in a person's disposition and perception. In the end, one might even come to regard the corruption as a wondrous elixir and a blessed boon, while scorning the normal body they had forged through arduous toil.
Therefore, after passing each stage, one generally had to find a way to pause, neutralize the toxins, and purge their desires.
There was an art to this. Aside from medicinal remedies, the Old Religion made use of religious rituals and scriptures to preserve a practitioner's fundamental nature. However, by relying on such methods, one inevitably became dependent on them, making it exceedingly difficult to forge a path of one's own.
The method used by the former imperial household, on the other hand, seemed to resolve the issue through the metamorphosis of flesh and blood.
Although the manual offered no in-depth explanation, observing how quickly the remnants of the fallen dynasty had integrated into the Melded Lands made it easy to deduce their approach. Perhaps from the moment they ascended to that throne, they were already fundamentally different from ordinary people.
Chen Chuan had no need for such processes. As long as his second self held out, he could cultivate here indefinitely. What primarily limited him right now was that the fissure cut open by the Xuejun Saber could only stay open for four hours at a time.
Although he could slash it open again, the duration would diminish substantially. He could tear it open roughly three times a day, amounting to only around eight hours in total.
Currently, connecting the heavenly bridge was his primary path of cultivation, and eight hours was far from enough. Only a third of each day could be devoted to it. For those capable of using various external resources to resist defilement, their total cultivation time might not be any less than his—in fact, it might even be more.
Fortunately, he kept the Xuejun Saber by his side during every session. He could sense that as he progressed, the saber was also gradually growing, and the duration the fissure could remain open would steadily increase.
Beyond this, he also discovered a very peculiar phenomenon: after the spirit visage remained here to cultivate for long periods, it expanded a field uniquely its own within this space.
It seemed that his mere presence exerted a certain influence upon the surroundings as well.
He reckoned that anything arriving and managing to exist in this realm likely brought about such changes to some extent, though the impact produced by a spirit visage was undoubtedly far greater.
This was by no means a bad thing. With such an area sheltering him, it was difficult for anything nearby to detect him unless another field drew close to his own. Unless something was deliberately searching for him or he reached out proactively, it was generally improbable that anything would locate him. In this way, he could cultivate here with greater peace of mind, without having to fear discovery or disturbance by entities on the outside.
As his strength grew, this zone would likely expand further. This might also be why martial artists of the Aspect of Divinity could abide here for extended periods.
He could faintly sense, however, that the formation of this field was not merely a matter of self-expansion; there were likely specific techniques involved.
He could try looking for some information on it. Even if he had no use for it right now, he might need it later.
Just as this cultivation session was drawing to a close, a notification chime suddenly rang out from the meditation room behind him. It came from the field creature he had specifically stationed there to relay messages.
Since a boundary credential was also a semi-biological entity, bringing it into the fissure could alienate it within moments, so it had to be left outside. Yet whenever he entered the fissure, he stayed for hours; had an urgent message arrived, he might have missed it. With the field creature, he could be alerted at any time.
With a shift of his will, the entire spirit visage dispersed into swirls of milky-white mist. Chen Chuan picked up the Xuejun Saber sheathed into the ground, stepped out from the fissure, and put his boundary credential back on. He saw that the message had come from the Government Affairs Department.
The International Investigation Team had arrived.
After reviewing the contents, he tidied up, changed his clothes, and walked out. When he reached the entrance of the villa, an armored staff car was already parked out front.
"Section Chief!" An orderly saluted and held the car door open for him.
Chen Chuan nodded, climbed inside, and settled into his seat. The armored car pulled away smoothly.
The villa district was not far from the Government Affairs Department; in just ten minutes, the car pulled up beneath the mooring tower.
The surrounding plaza was already filled with armed guards and numerous security personnel, placing the entire area under martial law and strict lockdown.
Right around this time, the members of the investigation team began disembarking one after another. Getting out of the car, Chen Chuan glanced up at the two airships moored above, letting his gaze linger briefly on the insignia before walking forward.
After leading his team down, Team Leader Thorlaksson shook hands with Qi Weizhao. Taking in the guards and security personnel holding virtually the entire plaza, his blue eyes fixed upon Qi Weizhao as he spoke in fluent Great Shun:
"Director Qi, given this manner of welcome, am I to understand that the situation in Center City is tense?"
Right off the bat, an unsparing interrogation.
Qi Weizhao maintained his smile. "Every center city has its own style. Your delegation has only just arrived, so it may feel unfamiliar, but you will grow accustomed to it in time. I trust you will see the true Center City."
Thorlaksson nodded slightly. "I will see for myself."
Just then, he noticed Chen Chuan approaching from a distance.
Qi Weizhao introduced him. "This is Section Chief Chen of our Security Defense Office. Section Chief Chen oversees primary security matters for Center City. Should your side have any security-related inquiries, you may direct them to Section Chief Chen."
Thorlaksson gave Chen Chuan a courteous nod and said, "Pleasure to meet you," offering nothing further.
For an ordinary person, exchanging pleasantries or posturing before a martial artist was entirely pointless. Superficial words posed no threat to them. So long as a martial artist retained their combat abilities and had committed no grievous transgression, no one could shake their standing.
This one would be best left to the martial artists on the team.
After greeting the officials from each major department of the Jibei Dao Government Affairs Department, Thorlaksson and the rest of the delegation were escorted inside the building.
Chen Chuan did not follow them inside, remaining instead on the upper grounds of the mooring tower. At that moment, the two martial artists from the investigation team made their way down.
Skarson and Corva presented a stark contrast walking together, one standing over two meters tall and the other barely surpassing one meter seventy.
They sized Chen Chuan up. Due to their duties with the investigation team, they frequently dealt with various martial artists, giving them sharp eyes and sound judgment; upon seeing a martial artist, they could roughly deduce the person's style and traits.
Yet the moment their eyes landed on Chen Chuan, their bodies instantly tightened, slipping instinctively into a state of alert.
It was an intuitive premonition of danger, a habit forged through long years of traveling to perilous places and dealing with dangerous figures.
Chen Chuan had become a martial artist less than a year ago; by all rights, he shouldn't have possessed such extraordinary prowess. But they knew well that some individuals were simply different. The gap between one human and another could sometimes be wider than the divide between species.
Moreover, Chen Chuan's combat record spoke for itself. Coupled with the circumstances above, it proved not only that his innate talent was extraordinary, but that his combat intuition was exceptional as well.
The two approached him cautiously and introduced themselves. Skarson then said, "Section Chief Chen, may we speak with you in private?"
"Certainly," Chen Chuan replied. "Please, follow me."
He led the pair away from the plaza. Eschewing a car, he walked across the avenue toward a landscaped park.
Weiguang District boasted extensive green spaces and excellent environmental conservation, with numerous towering ancient trees that had survived for centuries or even millennia.
Because of its proximity to the Government Affairs Department, most of those strolling through this area were people of status and standing. Well-dressed figures passed through from time to time, exchanging polite smiles and nods whenever paths crossed.
Strolling through the park, Skarson and Corva watched the sunlight filter through gaps in the foliage, listening to the occasional clear, melodious chirp of birds, and the tension that had gripped them eased somewhat.
After walking a bit farther, Skarson took the initiative to break the silence. "Section Chief Chen, the investigation team will conduct a thorough and rigorous assessment of what has happened and what is currently happening in Center City. As martial artists, the two of us are only concerned with Center City's armed martial forces.
"Section Chief Chen is a newly limit-broken martial artist currently stationed in Center City, and many of the recent incidents are tied to you to some degree. Therefore, we need to ask you several questions. Some might make you uncomfortable, so please do not take offense."
"That depends on the question," Chen Chuan replied. "I make no promise to answer every one."
While they spoke, Corva had turned to gaze outward. Just then, an attractive young woman walked along the path across from them. He whistled and gave her a wave.
The young woman glanced at him, saw he was a foreigner, offered a polite yet distant response, and hurried on her way.
Skarson paid him no mind, speaking in a grave tone: "Mr. Chen, I have reviewed the dossier provided to us by the Martial Artists Council and noted that at least five martial artists have lost their lives at your hands.
"When you killed those martial artists, did it ever occur to you that they might have become part of the defense upholding the Ring of the World?"
Chen Chuan looked at him. Qi Weizhao had told him beforehand not to find anything the investigation team asked surprising; it wasn't that they failed to understand reason, but rather that they used such questions to gauge the subject's inclinations.
He said calmly, "In my view, they threatened me and endangered the nation, so naturally I was entitled to retaliate in kind and exercise my right to unlimited defense—a legitimate right granted to me by both national law and international treaties. And while I was upholding the Ring of the World, what were they doing?"
Chapter 942