Celestial Human Diagram

Chapter 300 - 32: Lost

As for Gong Zhanyi, when he saw the people from the Processing Bureau approach, he got back into his car and had the Steward go and make contact.

After more than ten minutes, the Steward returned, got into the car as well, and said to him, "Young Master’s Hall, they were indeed only here for Xiong Jianyi. I have already told them that we were unaware a wanted criminal was present. We later feared he might harm Young Master’s Hall, so we chose to kill him."

Gong Zhanyi said, "As long as it’s been explained, that’s fine. Let’s keep moving."

After the convoy was back on the road, a few minutes passed before he spoke again. "Who killed Xiong Jianyi?"

The Steward was looking at something on his Realm Token. A moment later, he answered, "Young Master’s Hall, it was Zuo San. He fired the shot to Xiong Jianyi’s head."

Gong Zhanyi said, "Good. That’s good. As long as it was one of ours, it’s fine." His expression suddenly relaxed a little. "It’s not a bad thing that Xiong Jianyi is dead. They probably won’t pay us any more mind."

The Steward said, "I’m afraid the Processing Bureau will still keep an eye on us. Their people just told us that by opening fire and killing Xiong Jianyi, we are also suspected of attempting to harm their team members. They’re holding us responsible."

Gong Zhanyi thought for a moment, then said, "Give the Processing Bureau some compensation to make this go away. We can’t have them using this as an excuse to watch us. Go and negotiate with them later."

The Steward respectfully acknowledged the order.

Meanwhile, Ni Qianqian quickly received the news. She immediately contacted the Bureau and said triumphantly, "Brother Chen completed the mission successfully. See? I told you he had it in him."

The person on the other end said, "Take a look at this first."

Ni Qianqian was sent a visual feed. She took one look and saw a pile of powerful, fast-acting stimulants, all of them used. She was stunned. "Did he really..."

"Yes, he took all of them."

Ni Qianqian said in surprise, "But he looks completely fine to me."

The person on the other end said, "He seems fine for now, which can only mean his body is able to adapt to these drugs. But that’s not a good thing. He might be fine now, but that’s no guarantee for the future. You need to give him a reminder. Tell him to be more careful and not be so reckless."

"Well, will you look at that. Did the sun rise in the west today? Since when do you care about newcomers?"

The person on the other end said in a grim voice, "He was willing to go all out, holding nothing back. That means he truly believes in what we do. He’s one of us now, a brother-in-arms. So of course we have to look out for him."

Ni Qianqian said, "So, does this mean he passed the Bureau’s assessment?"

"I couldn’t see his actual performance because of the Domain interference, but judging by the results, it was nothing short of excellent."

Ni Qianqian huffed. "I told you he was more outstanding than the other two trainees we’re investing in, and you didn’t believe me. If you ask me, the Bureau should focus its resources on him from now on. The other two trainees haven’t had a performance nearly as brilliant as Brother Chen’s."

The person on the other end didn’t take the bait. "You can handle briefing him on what comes next. Let’s leave it at that for now."

After leaving the ambush site, Chen Chuan replayed the battle in his mind.

’In terms of raw power, Xiong Jianyi was actually weaker than Teacher Wu,’ he mused. ’He must have only recently broken through to the Third Limit. If that’s the case, I could have gone all out and killed him within a few moves myself.’

’But something felt off during the fight. It seemed like Xiong Jianyi was injured, so he was holding back. Even without an injury, the outcome would have been the same, but his counterattacks could have been much stronger.’

’The thing is, ordinary injuries don’t really affect a Third Limit Fighter, even one who’s just broken through. It would have to be a severe wound to impact his fighting strength.’

’But Xiong Jianyi’s body looked perfectly fine. Was it an internal injury? Or was it related to that sense of incorporeality I felt at the very end?’

As he was pondering, he heard a notification tone. He realized he might have left the interference zone, as his Realm Token had returned to normal. Both Wubei and Ni Qianqian were trying to contact him.

He sent a quick message to Wubei, then patched Ni Qianqian in.

Ni Qianqian’s voice was full of praise. "I knew you had it in you, Brother Chen! You took care of Xiong Jianyi in no time at all. A job beautifully done!"

Chen Chuan said, "Xiong Jianyi was killed by the Gongshi people in the end."

Ni Qianqian said, "I already know. The Gong Family just delivered the killing blow, right? They’re desperate to wash their hands of it. They shot at you too, didn’t they? Don’t worry about that, the Processing Bureau will make them give you an explanation... Hmm, there’s a file from the Bureau. You need to accept and confirm it..."

Chen Chuan saw that a file had come through on the communication interface. It stated that the mission target had been eliminated, with his name listed under "Executor," and was awaiting his confirmation.

He confirmed it immediately. An internal notification followed, informing him that the mission was complete and instructing him, per regulation, to return and await further orders and a routine debriefing.

Ni Qianqian said, "There, you don’t need to read the rest. It’s just procedural stuff. The rest of this has nothing to do with you. Oh, right, we recommended several technique instructors to you. Have you picked one yet?"

Chen Chuan said, "I’ll decide today."

The academy gave him three days to select an instructor to improve his Saber Technique, and today was the deadline. He had already deliberated carefully, though, and had decided which teacher he would learn from.

Ni Qianqian said, "Alright, that’s up to you. Also, you should go to this place in a few days when you’re free." She sent an address as she spoke.

"We’ve arranged a teacher for you there. They will guide you in all aspects of your cultivation. It’s best if you reach the Third Limit sooner rather than later. Even if your body can handle the drugs, you can’t rely on them every time."

Chen Chuan thanked her and ended the call. He knew that the people from the Processing Bureau had seen the drugs he had intentionally left behind. Now they had a plausible explanation for his level of power.

’Still,’ he thought, ’this whole business with Xiong Jianyi probably isn’t as simple as it looks on the surface.’

Especially...

Just as he was thinking, a familiar car pulled up in front of him. The window rolled down, and Old Qi greeted him from inside, "Brother Chen, Brother Wu sent me to pick you up."

Chen Chuan immediately contacted Wubei. "Brother Wu, thanks."

Wubei chuckled. He was a little disappointed that he hadn’t been able to see the action unfold due to the Domain interference, nor had he gotten a chance to match wits with the enemy’s tech personnel. But then he remembered that by sticking with Chen Chuan, there would be plenty more opportunities like this in the future, and his spirits lifted.

After getting in the car, Chen Chuan thanked Old Qi, who replied, "Don’t mention it." He then started the car and drove toward Wuding District.

Chen Chuan asked, "Old Qi, has your daughter started school?"

"She has." A smile appeared on Old Qi’s face. "It’s also thanks to you, Brother Chen, for giving me that money. I was able to pay her tuition on time because of it."

"That’s good."

Chen Chuan then looked at his Realm Token, contacted the academy’s platform, and found one of the teachers—one of the ones the Processing Bureau had recommended to him.

"Is this Teacher Zheng?" he asked. "My name is Chen Chuan. I’m a student, and I’d like to learn the Saber Technique from you."

After a short while, a hearty laugh came from the other side.

"Chen! I heard you completed a Bureau mission today, and you handled it all by yourself, without any backup. Good! Well done! That’s the kind of guts a person who wields a saber needs to have! I’ll accept you as my student. I won’t hold anything back, and I hope you can master everything I have to teach as soon as possible."

His mind made up, Chen Chuan immediately confirmed his choice on the academy’s platform. He then asked, "When is Teacher Zheng usually available?"

Teacher Zheng said, "If you have time, you could come over right now... Hmm, actually, you just got back from a mission. Never mind today. You should get some rest. I’ll send over a demonstration video. You can try to study it on your own first."

Chen Chuan said, "Okay, thank you, Teacher Zheng."

The Processing Bureau had initially recommended four teachers to him. Looking at their introductions, the others had all demonstrated various brilliant techniques. This one, however, had simply executed a single slash toward his Realm Token.

It was a simple, direct slash, yet it gave him the distinct feeling that the blade was about to slice through the Realm Token and strike his own body. It even gave him the urge to back away and dodge. It felt that way no matter how many times he watched it.

The other instructors didn’t exude this same sense of threat. That’s why he chose this one. Whether the others possessed a similar level of skill or not, at least this one had been willing to display it to him.

He then noticed Teacher Zheng had also sent a Wuyi emblem. ’The way to use this seems to be...’

At the same time, the Gongshi convoy had arrived at the Ferris Wheel Company.

In a luxurious suite, Gong Zhanyi’s voice was filled with shock and rage. "What? It’s gone?" He glared at the Steward. "What happened? How could it possibly be gone?"

"The item was clearly on Xiong Jianyi before. If one of our people killed him, then it should be on our person. How could it have just run off by itself?"

’How much work had they done to avoid Central City’s surveillance this time? They had even used a wanted criminal like Xiong Jianyi as a mule, all to smuggle that thing into Central City. It was a crucial link in the chain. Without it, many of their subsequent plans would be impossible.’

The Steward asked, "Young Master’s Hall, could it have been that man from the Processing Bureau?"

"Impossible!"

"Xiong Jianyi was clearly still alive at that point," Gong Zhanyi said. "How could the item have ended up with him?"

The Steward thought for a moment. "Young Master’s Hall, after he got off the ship, Xiong Jianyi met with his senior martial brother, Wei Wusheng of the Celestial Forgiveness Gang. Is it possible the slip-up occurred then?"

"The Celestial Forgiveness Gang..."

Gong Zhanyi frowned. That was indeed the only other opportunity for something to have gone wrong. He said in a low voice, "Go investigate this man. And remember, be careful. Don’t let any information leak."

After taking the car back to the Profound Palace Building, Chen Chuan said goodbye to Old Qi and took the elevator up to his dorm. He washed up first, then went to his private training room. He stared through his Realm Token, his gaze fixed on the emblem.

A moment later, Hong Fu’s voice sounded in his ear. "Chen, initiating instructional simulation. Based on your student evaluation score, you have one Hour of usage time per day. Do you wish to begin?"

Chen said, "Begin."

As he spoke, he looked through the Realm Token and saw Teacher Zheng’s figure appear before him. The figure began demonstrating Saber Techniques, just as if the man himself were really there.

He nodded involuntarily. This kind of instructional demonstration was far more intuitive than a simple video. Even though the man wasn’t physically present, he could observe the subtleties of force and rhythm.

He reached out, picked up the Snow Monarch Blade, and moved to the side to begin practicing. This time, however, the moment he drew the blade even slightly from its sheath, the figure in front of him flickered, as if hit by some kind of interference.

His reaction was swift. He immediately slid the blade back into its sheath, and the flickering image stabilized once more.

’I can feel it now,’ he thought, concentrating. ’It seems like there’s something extra on the Snow Monarch Blade, something foreign. And it appeared at the exact moment Xiong Jianyi died.’

’What could it be?’

He gripped the hilt and slowly drew the blade once more.

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