Out on the sea, the steamship carrying the field creature had been pushed some distance away by the surging waters, wave after wave spilling across the deck.
With the hull rocking and heaving continuously, the crew aboard could only grab onto whatever handholds were near to steady themselves.
Before the waters could even fully calm, they suddenly saw a dazzling streak of light burst forth from the sea. Involuntarily holding their breath, they felt a wave of tension wash over them.
Once the light reached the sky above, it hovered in place. As that piercing radiance gradually faded, a crewman with keen eyesight leaned out as far as he could to get a look, then suddenly cried out with excitement, "Look! It's Section Chief Chen! Section Chief Chen won!"
His voice was somewhat hoarse, brimming with the joy of surviving against the odds.
Hearing his words, the crew below looked up one after another, their faces alight with thrilled relief. Moments later, a cathartic cheer erupted across the deck.
Chen Chuan gazed out at the wide expanse of sea and sky. Mild, brilliant golden sunlight shone down on the azure waters, and the once wildly churning sea was steadily subsiding.
Standing in midair, he adjusted his breathing. That battle just now had truly pushed him to his limits; the energy stored within his body had been significantly drained. Even so, what remained was enough to support his current movements, leaving him with at least enough stamina to fight another battle against an ordinary martial artist.
He glanced down at the steamship below, tapped his boundary credential, and sent a message there. Then, after casting a few more glances into the distance, he dived back into the sea. Before long, he brought back up the case containing the Mind-Knocking Block.
Once he confirmed that the ship had received his message, he gave a nod to the people aboard. With a stomp of his foot, he transformed into a streak of light and instantly vanished into the distance, a rolling boom echoing through the air only after he was gone.
The crew aboard watched the departing light with profound shock and awe. A few indigenous sailors recruited from the Outer Ocean islands dropped straight to their knees, prostrating themselves toward the direction he had flown while muttering prayers.
After quite a while, the person in charge aboard finally came to his senses and said, "Quick! Quick! Send word back!"
They had only managed to capture fragmented footage just now and had no idea what had actually transpired. All they could do was relay the message Chen Chuan had sent them along with whatever footage could be transmitted, confident that those back at headquarters would be able to piece together an assessment.
Aboard a rescue vessel currently heading toward the nearest island, Mr. Zhuan lay on a medical bed inside the cabin. He had already regained consciousness, his body covered in intravenous lines pumping vast amounts of nutrients into him.
Thanks to thorough preparations made beforehand—which had even accounted for the possibility of martial artists going to sea for defensive operations—supplies for rescue and replenishment had been staged at various points along the route, and they were now being put to good use.
The cavity that had been torn in his chest was now covered by a translucent biological membrane, through which his missing bodily tissues and heart could be seen regenerating.
A small portion of the heart had already regrown. As more nutrients were absorbed, it would likely recover fully before long. Although he currently possessed virtually no combat strength, he was barely able to manage some simple movements.
By now, he also knew that Chen Chuan had gone after Zhao Zhenye. With a grave look on his face, he glanced at the mask fragment beside him and asked,
"You didn't try to stop him?"
Mr. Mask protested indignantly, "What could I do? He said he's the head of our Purist Faction branch and the director of the Jibei Dao Defense Department—that he has duties he must shoulder! What was I supposed to do?"
Mr. Zhuan stared at him.
Mr. Mask insisted, "Old Zhuan, I don't mean to criticize, but you're just too stubborn, and you underestimate Councilor Chen far too much. Councilor Chen isn't the reckless type.
"He made plenty of preparations before setting off. He asked us about every detail of our fight with Zhao Zhenye, and he even took the Mind-Knocking Block with him. I'd bet he made other preparations, too. He's not one to throw his life away lightly.
"Besides, didn't you notice that Zhao Zhenye didn't go out of his way to finish us off? Was that out of mercy, sparing our lives? Of course not! It was because he was terrified that killing us would draw down the upper echelons of headquarters and Great Shun.
"If he spared even us, then with Councilor Chen's standing, he'd be even less likely to do it. You can rest easy."
Mr. Zhuan said in a low voice, "That may be so, but—"
Just then, a sound came from outside. "Is Mr. Zhuan awake? Pardon me, I heard you speaking. News just came in regarding Councilor Chen. Center City instructed that if there's any update, you should be informed immediately."
Mr. Zhuan replied at once, "Come—" Then, remembering something, he quickly grabbed the remaining mask fragment and covered his face with it, though it only concealed a quarter of it.
The orderly who entered was momentarily taken aback, but he was professional enough to keep a straight face, showing no sign of surprise. "Mr. Zhuan, I'll transfer the information to you right away."
He tapped his boundary credential to transmit the footage from that steamship. However, as they were approaching the sea zone, the signal was somewhat weak and transmission was slow. He offered an apology:
"Please wait a moment, sir. It should finish receiving in a few minutes. Please rest; I'll take my leave." With that, he offered a salute, stepped out, and pulled the door shut.
Once the orderly left, Mr. Zhuan tapped his boundary credential immediately. After a brief wait, the transmitted image showed the scene of Chen Chuan confronting Zhao Zhenye.
His expression froze, his gaze locking onto the screen, gradually giving way to astonishment.
That was... the Grand Firmament Forms? And... the Grand Radiant Light Forms?!
Had Chen Chuan merely displayed the two forms, he would not have been so shocked. But the sun-like brilliance shown in the footage and the forcefield sending rippling shockwaves through the atmosphere were clearly the power formed only after integrating both great stances!
Yet how was that possible? He couldn't help wondering whether he had actually been in a coma for several years.
Seeing him freeze there, Mr. Mask grew anxious and blurted out, "What do you see? What did you see? Let me see! Let me see!"
Back when his mental power had been intact, he could directly perceive the information received on the boundary credential. But now he was fragmented and no longer possessed that ability, and Mr. Zhuan's reaction was clearly abnormal, making him desperately impatient.
Mr. Zhuan snapped out of his daze and tapped his boundary credential. A light screen immediately projected before him, displaying the footage.
Mr. Mask took one look and instantly reacted, "Eh? Eh—Ehh?!"
His voice rose through three distinct pitches, ending in sheer wonder and disbelief. "Old Zhuan, my eyes aren't playing tricks on me, are they? That's Councilor Chen, right? Has he... has he integrated both great stances?!"
Mr. Zhuan nodded. "Your eyes aren't playing tricks on you. It's just..." In his heart, he thought: even so, that probably wouldn't be enough to defeat Zhao Zhenye.
Mr. Mask urged impatiently, "What about after that? What comes next? Is there only this one frame? Keep looking!"
Mr. Zhuan tapped the credential, and after a moment's wait, the next set of images finally appeared.
What followed were fragmented glimpses of the two clashing. In the sky, two clusters of radiance flashed incessantly, making it hard to make out the exact state of the battle; one could only sense that it was extraordinarily fierce.
Toward the end, however—perhaps because the ship had drifted further from the heart of the clash—one frame was actually rather clear. The two clusters of light in the sky had merged into one, within which two figures were faintly visible. One could roughly discern that one of them was driving a blade into the other's chest.
Seeing this, Mr. Zhuan instinctively straightened up, pulling at his wound and letting out a muffled grunt. Mr. Mask hastily said, "Old Zhuan, take it easy!"
Mr. Zhuan didn't answer, his eyes fixed firmly on the light screen. Once the transmission had progressed sufficiently, he immediately clicked to the scenes that followed, only to see vast swells of seawater surging with both figures gone, and the same was true further along.
At this point, however, it was no longer just still images, but video footage. A streak of light burst out from the sea, the white-gold radiance around it gradually fading to reveal a figure holding a long saber, standing suspended in the sky, turning his head to look in their direction.
Mr. Zhuan stared blankly for a moment, then his entire body relaxed, and he let out a long breath.
"He won? He won? He really won?! I knew it, Old Zhuan! I knew Councilor Chen could do it!" Mr. Mask yelled with excitement.
Mr. Zhuan couldn't help frowning slightly, as if finding his voice too loud, and said slowly, "If these scenes haven't been deliberately altered or embellished, then that should indeed be the case."
Mr. Mask grew wildly ecstatic. "Zhao Zhenye was at the Longevity View! The Longevity View! If Councilor Chen beat him, does that mean he's already reached the Longevity View too?"
Mr. Zhuan shook his head. "No, he shouldn't have." Then he looked out through the porthole. Yet it was precisely because he hadn't that made it all the more astonishing.
The advantage of the Longevity View was incomparable; in the past, there was virtually no precedent of anyone successfully challenging it from below. The few isolated exceptions had all occurred under extreme circumstances and could not serve as a benchmark.
Mr. Mask calmed down a bit. "That's true. Councilor Chen attained his current level less than two years ago; there's no way he could have stepped into the Longevity View so soon.
"Still, it's not entirely out of the question. I remember that after integrating the Two Great Stances... after integrating the Two Great Stances, one can—" He abruptly cut himself off. "Right, Old Zhuan? You know what I'm trying to say."
Mr. Zhuan thought for a moment and said with some hesitation, "He shouldn't be able to control that kind of power yet."
Mr. Mask muttered, "Who knows? After all, if you had told me someone could integrate both great stances within a year or two, I wouldn't have believed that either. Even that person at headquarters took three full years, didn't he?"
Mr. Zhuan's expression darkened.
Mr. Mask realized at once that he had misspoken, forgetting that he shouldn't have brought that person up in front of Mr. Zhuan. He gave a cough. "In any case, Councilor Chen won this time, and Zhao Zhenye must be dead, right? Doesn't that settle what happened back then in Jibei Dao? Old Zhuan, you don't need to worry about this anymore."
Mr. Zhuan pondered for a moment, then said, "Councilor Chen appears to have won, but whether Zhao Zhenye is truly dead is something I still need to confirm with him."
"Yes, it needs to be confirmed. But heal up first—no rush, no rush," Mr. Mask said. "The Skyline connection is only a few days away, isn't it? Councilor Chen has plenty of responsibilities on his hands. Better to wait until that matter is over before going to see him. By then, your injuries should be mostly healed, too."
Chapter 992