With a jerk of his arm, Zhao Zhenye let Mr. Zhuan slide off. He watched as the man fell into the ocean with a splash and sank beneath the surface, vanishing from sight.
Just like that, the trouble posed by the two of them was dealt with.
Although exposing his true strength did not quite align with his original plan, fortunately, the appointed time was not far off anyway. And once he—
Reining in his thoughts, the massive, semi-substantial vapor behind him trembled and slowly contracted. He drew back the power he had unleashed, returning once more to his original state, and descended from midair to stand steady upon the undulating swells of the sea.
His bangs obscured his eyes, yet the profound light beneath them still faintly shone through.
Leaving aside their defensive forces, the conventional strength the two Center Cities of Jibei Dao and Haidong Dao could deploy was limited. Without Mr. Zhuan and his companion, even if everyone else came after him together, he could easily dispose of them.
Therefore, there was no longer any need for undue caution. He would first destroy the field information relay station ahead, then wreak havoc along the route all the way to the vicinity of Haidong Dao Center City.
However, he would not take the initiative to attack the Center City, nor would he even show himself there. Doing so would provoke the Great Shun government too severely and might trigger a violent reaction, which did not align with his plans.
As long as he disrupted the transmission of the Skyline, those factions within Great Shun that had opposed the Skyline Project in the first place would naturally step forward to obstruct, delay, or even derail the endeavor once they saw this. After that, there would be no need for him to do much else.
He glanced toward the island, where the Mind-Knocking Block still remained. Once exposed in the open, that thing would continuously affect anyone nearby and cause interference even for him, so he had no desire to touch it at all.
Turning around, he looked in a certain direction and kicked off. A stream of silvery-white light shot out, vanishing across the sea in moments.
Ten or so minutes later, the distant sea seemed parted by a white line that sped straight toward this place. Upon reaching the front of the island, it came to an abrupt halt with a rumbling echo, sending waves churning violently outward.
Chen Chuan stepped out from the surging swell. An invisible force parted the water to either side as he walked step by step onto the shore, where he took in the sight of the heavily devastated coast, riddled with scars.
Turning his gaze, he spotted Mr. Zhuan sprawled on the beach. Beneath the man was a trail left by crawling, his fingers clutching a hard reef rock. Straight through his back was a gaping hole that went entirely through his torso, emitting silvery-white streams of light that drifted and dispersed in wisps into the surroundings.
His eyes narrowed. Quickening his pace, he arrived at Mr. Zhuan's side and found that the man was completely unconscious. Following the trail beneath him with his eyes, he saw that Mr. Zhuan had likely crawled back ashore after falling into the sea. Much of the blood that had flowed beneath him had already been washed away by the ocean, while some remained soaked into the wet gravel.
Chen Chuan immediately reached out, his hand flaring with a blaze of platinum-white qi, and pressed down upon the silvery-white Spiritual Fire. A brilliant flash erupted at once. The stream of light proved extraordinarily stubborn. His brow ticked upward, and as he increased his power, he gradually suppressed and snuffed it out.
Once no trace of it was visible on the exposed wound, he took some medicine from the pocket of his coat and sprinkled it over the injury.
He inspected the man carefully. Mr. Zhuan's heart had been destroyed, and a large chunk of his lungs was missing. Fortunately, for a martial artist, injuries of this scale were not immediately fatal.
However, recovering would be no quick matter. The heart was one of the sources that carried a martial artist's power; regenerating it required a vast amount of nourishment. Mr. Zhuan had severely overtaxed his body and was currently in no condition to do so.
Furthermore, Chen Chuan had only cleansed the Spiritual Fire on the surface. Finer traces had penetrated deep inside, clinging to the mutated tissue in various parts of his body. Those could only be cleared slowly by Mr. Zhuan himself once he awakened; an outsider could hardly assist.
After a thought, he gestured up toward Chaoming, who had followed him in the sky. Spotting his hand signal from afar, Chaoming let out a chirp, wheeled around, and flew at top speed toward the nearest island.
Chaoming's boundary credential held a recording of a few brief words he had left beforehand, which would serve to notify the personnel there to mount a rescue.
Right then, a voice suddenly sounded from nearby: "Councilor Chen, is that you?"
Chen Chuan glanced over and saw a broken mask fragment scattered among a pile of rubble. He walked over. "Mr. Tang?"
The mask said, "It's me, it's me. Hey, Councilor Chen, is Old Zhuan all right?"
Chen Chuan replied, "His life isn't in immediate danger." Pausing for a beat, he asked, "Was it Zhao Zhenye?"
"Yeah," the mask sighed. "Neither Old Zhuan nor I expected that Zhao Zhenye had already attained the realm of the Longevity View."
Chen Chuan's heart tightened. "The Longevity View?"
"No mistake about it. And he didn't just reach it recently, either. I suspect he was likely already there during our last encounter, only we didn't know what kind of secret transmission he was cultivating, so he didn't unleash the power inherent to it."
With lingering dread, he added, "Councilor Chen, it's a blessing you arrived a little late. If you'd been a step earlier, you might have run right into him. That man is beyond what you or I can deal with now. Take Old Zhuan back and submit a request to headquarters. Once they learn of this, they should dispatch people over."
Chen Chuan pondered. It was no longer a question of turning back. Zhao Zhenye had clearly come out this time to destroy the relay stations. As Director of the Security Defense Department and one of the primary promoters of the Skyline Project, there was no way he could simply ignore this.
Yet, the realm of the Longevity View...
He was deeply aware of just how formidable a martial artist at that level was. Passion and hot blood could never bridge an objective gap in strength. Even if he truly had to face this person, it would require comprehensive consideration. At the very least, he needed to devise a tactical plan with some chance of victory, rather than charging in on a reckless impulse.
Once his thoughts settled, he asked, "Mr. Tang, can you tell me the details of the fight just now?"
"Councilor Chen, are you thinking...?"
Chen Chuan glanced at Mr. Zhuan lying on the ground, then turned his gaze back to the mask fragment. "There are some things I want to try."
"But—"
Chen Chuan said, "I am the head of the Purist Faction's Jibei Dao branch, as well as a member of the Center City Security Decision-Making Group. Does Mr. Tang think I can stay out of this?"
The rest of the mask's words caught in its throat. It said, "That part is easy. There should be other fragments nearby. Find one."
Chen Chuan scanned the area and soon spotted another fragment not far away. Picking it up, he walked back. The moment he drew close, an attraction seemed to form between the two pieces, and a surge of mental power was transmitted toward him.
He chose to accept it, and immediately scenes flickered into view before his eyes—the battle between Mr. Zhuan's pair and Zhao Zhenye moments ago.
It was recorded from Mr. Mask's first-person perspective. By the time he had watched the entire process from start to finish, it was as if he had personally fought that battle, every sensation from that moment distinctly mapped into his mind.
At that moment, the fragment in his hand crumbled into fine powder, scattering from his fingertips with the sea breeze.
He then looked toward the Mind-Knocking Block. "Mr. Tang, what is that thing?"
Ever since landing on the island, he had periodically heard a sound emanating from it. Each time, his second self showed faint signs of fading, though it hadn't seemed severe, so he hadn't paid it any attention at first.
Yet from experiencing the battle, it appeared capable of blotting out certain aspects of perception. This had to be something Mr. Zhuan and his companion brought specifically to counter Zhao Zhenye.
"That thing is called the Mind-Knocking Block. It was originally a relic of the Chan Sect, left behind by Old Zhuan's elder brother. Their ancestors supposedly had some ties to the Chan Sect."
Recalling Master Hongfa's disciple surnamed Zhuan, Chen Chuan gave a slight nod. He asked, "How does one use it?"
Mr. Mask seemed taken aback. Even though he was only a broken fragment of a mask, he somehow managed to convey that emotion in full.
He said, "Councilor Chen, you want to use this against Zhao Zhenye? That thing doesn't distinguish between friend and foe. That's why Zhao Zhenye didn't bother taking it."
Chen Chuan said, "I know, but I believe it will be useful."
Hearing the firmness in his tone, Mr. Mask did not press further. "All right. I'll tell you how to work the thing. Pick me up."
Chen Chuan picked the mask fragment up from the ground as instructed. The piece suddenly grew scalding hot, and he immediately felt information transmitting across. At that moment, Mr. Mask's voice turned faint and feeble. "That's all of it."
Chen Chuan nodded. Walking over to Mr. Zhuan, he set the fragment down on the reef rock before him and said, "Mr. Tang, I've already sent Chaoming to find nearby rescue personnel. You two just wait here."
"All right, Councilor Chen. Be careful out there. If it doesn't work, just pull back. There's no need to fight to the bitter end. As long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood to burn."
Chen Chuan gave an affirmative sound and walked toward the Mind-Knocking Block. Reaching out, he tapped twice on the block's surface. When another tone chimed out, he quickly tapped twice more, then pressed his palm flat against the top. After a brief moment, he felt the vibrations gradually subside until it fell completely silent.
He packed the item into the suitcase beside it and lifted it up. Turning toward the two behind him, he said, "Gentlemen, I'll take my leave now."
Having said that, he got his bearings and looked in a certain direction. Though there had been a brief delay, the traces of field information left by Zhao Zhenye were still present, completely un-erased. All he had to do was follow them.
As platinum-white light surged around him, his silhouette vanished in a flash. Waves churned violently across the sea, leaving behind only a ceaseless rumbling echo between ocean and sky.
Chapter 986