The next morning, Chen Chuan went through his usual training routine. At noon, he contacted Wubei and decided to go take a look at Liuyu Street, the place Teacher Wu had ntioned.
He had just had Wubei look it up. The place was located in the Yinglu District, southeast of Central City. It was a gathering spot for many foreigners, especially those from the Outer Ocean Island Countries.
Teacher Wu’s publicly known residence was in a high-end apartnt building, and the small hill didn’t seem to be a secret either. Only this location was unsearchable, making it the likely candidate for his safe house and secret base.
’In the end, Teacher Wu canceled the ssage he was about to send, so his final words must have been true.’
’Besides, Teacher Wu had only just died, and he didn’t have a monitoring Implant. Even his contacts probably don’t know the news yet. This is the perfect ti to go investigate.’
After making so preparations, he left the school and took a tram heading directly there.
While on the tram, he glanced at his communication platform. He had previously selected a random default avatar—a simple, pitch-black silhouette with no special features or flashy effects. He considered changing it but ultimately decided against it. ’It’s fine this way,’ he thought.
When the tram arrived, he stepped out of the station directly onto Liuyu Street. It was a bustling downtown area. From his vantage point, he could look up and see the sa rainbow-like skybridge he’d noticed from outside Central City. At this distance, it seed to stretch across the very horizon.
The skybridge extended directly over the sea, connecting to an offshore island. At its far end stood the Consultation Building, jointly constructed by various corporations and the governnt. Even from his current location, he could vaguely make out the building’s silhouette, partially shrouded in sea mist.
After looking for a mont, he walked into the crowded Liuyu Street. The buildings here were relatively short and small, though the storefronts were spacious. Most doorways were adorned with large, decorative noren curtains. The majority of pedestrians were foreigners from the islands; Dashun People were a rare sight.
Of course, there were taller structures too. He spotted what could almost be considered a local landmark: a massive, slowly turning Ferris Wheel.
It belonged to the Ferris Wheel Company.
In fact, once he was on the street, he realized the company’s logo was ubiquitous. He rembered Old Feng ntioning that it was a relatively new corporation backed by several of the mariti island nations.
After he had been walking for a little while, Wubei’s voice ca through. "Brother Chen, no tails, no surveillance. Everything is normal."
Chen Chuan said, "Alright."
Wubei said enthusiastically, "Brother Chen, I’ve marked the location for you on the map. All you have to do is follow it."
Chen Chuan saw the marker appear on his Realm Token. After a quick thanks, he stopped wandering and headed directly for the location.
The path led to a deep alley branching off from the street. A few drunks were passed out on the ground, surrounded by suspicious puddles and vomit.
Chen Chuan glanced over. Judging by their breathing, they were just ordinary people. He proceeded deeper into the alley, passing two-story houses on either side that were spaced far apart. He walked all the way to the last house, its number plate reading ’47’.
He picked up his pace. With a single step on the wall, he vaulted over the periter fence and landed gracefully in the yard. A quick scan revealed nothing out of the ordinary. He went to the front door and gave it a light push. The lock bolt snapped cleanly in two.
He grabbed the doorknob, pushed the door open, and peered inside. The house was sparsely furnished and felt empty, looking as if it hadn’t been visited in a long ti.
He entered and did a quick sweep. The upper and lower floors held nothing of interest, but he did discover a basent with its entrance locked. He ripped off the padlock and the heavy chain, opened the door, and descended the stairs.
Once downstairs, he scanned his surroundings. There wasn’t much there aside from so exercise equipnt and a large, built-in wall safe.
He spotted a flashlight on a nearby table, picked it up, and flipped the switch. It still worked. He walked over to the safe, shone the light on the lock, and slowly began to dial the combination Teacher Wu had told him.
A mont later, after a series of soft clicks, he pulled the handle and slowly opened the safe. He swept the flashlight beam up and down inside and found boxes of dicinal herbs stacked within.
He took one of the boxes out to inspect it and found that it contained dicine used for Third Limit cultivation. There was a significant amount. ’This probably wasn’t for Teacher Wu’s daily use,’ he thought. ’It looks more like a stockpile. The safe doesn’t show signs of being opened often.’
He soon found a small number of First and Second Limit dicines as well. ’Teacher Wu would have had no use for these himself,’ he realized. ’They were probably for the students he was training.’
In a hidden compartnt, he also found a stack of docunts and notebooks, which he took out to look through.
They contained Teacher Wu’s past cultivation records and teaching notes. They didn’t touch upon Empty Practice techniques; instead, they were filled with his earnest insights on teaching. He detailed thods on how to help students improve, how to encourage them, and how to foster their confidence.
He checked the dates. They were from about ten years ago.
’It’s clear that, at that point, Teacher Wu was truly dedicated to his students,’ Chen Chuan thought. ’Only later, for so unknown reason, did he change into the man I knew.’
This material was extrely valuable. After all, it was the work of a Third Limit Fighter, containing not only his notes on ntoring students but also his personal cultivation records.
He skimd through each item, deciding to take them all for later reference. At the bottom of the stack, he found a heavily-worn notebook. He opened it to find many blank pages, and the writing within was ssy and full of corrections. Nevertheless, the content of the entries imdiately caught his eye.
"...The Third Limit is probably my peak. I may never reach the Fourth Limit. The period of indolence my own teacher once warned about has arrived. Perhaps this is the extent of my talent. Ordinary dicine is no longer enough to support my cultivation, unless..."
"Actually, compared to my students, I’m already quite fortunate. I still have a path, while they hit a dead end long ago."
"...Perhaps it’s feasible... This path could help more students advance... If it’s successful, could I bypass my own limits too? I’m not certain, but it’s worth a try... I’m short on funds and equipnt. I’ve thought of soone... maybe I can go to him?"
"He agreed! I’m so happy. If this Void Training thod can be popularized, then even if it doesn’t help , it should be able to help all those ordinary students..."
After this entry, many pages were torn out of the notebook.
"I can’t bring myself to do it. But he said they are necessary sacrifices for the good of the many. But by doing this... did I create this Void Training to save people, or to kill them?"
"He said that day is drawing ever closer, that the changes are accelerating, and that we must hurry and do *sothing*. That this is no ti for hesitation... I think he might have a point."
"The experints are progressing, and they seem to be going well. We’re just stuck at that one step. What exactly is the problem?"
"...Another failure. I need to find a new approach. I can’t sacrifice any more students. Perhaps I can try it myself? I’m a Third Limit Fighter; it should be fine."
"It seems there’s been a breakthrough..."
"I don’t understand! Why can’t I overco this one hurdle?! I don’t believe it. I have to succeed!"
"My thoughts have been getting more and more chaotic lately. He gave so dicine; it’s very helpful. I can finally calm down and think again..."
The entries ended there. After that, there were only scattered, incoherent scribbles. They were chaotic and fragnted, impossible to decipher, but the broken, frantic strokes of the pen suggested the writer’s ntal state had beco unstable.
Chen Chuan considered this, and a rough outline of the events began to form in his mind. ’Teacher Wu must have hit a plateau in his cultivation as a Fighter. Unable to find a proper way forward, he tried to create a shortcut to bypass his limits.’
He understood the concept of cultivation plateaus. Cheng Zitong had once told him that a Fighter’s Mutated Organization has a natural growth limit. For a talented person, the Mutated Organization can continue to grow for a very long ti, and its peak can be further delayed with dicine and proper Cultivation thods.
Those without such talent, however, could stagnate at a certain stage.
The "period of indolence" ntioned in the notebook was a theoretical concept.
Roughly speaking, if a Fighter’s Mutated Organization was in a state where it constantly threatened to usurp normal bodily functions, it was considered to be in a rapid growth phase. Training during this period yielded twice the results for half the effort. This phase typically occurred when a Fighter first began their cultivation.
If the Mutated Organization later subsided from this active state, it was said to have entered a dormant period. It might awaken again in the future, triggering another phase of rapid growth. However, if it never reawakened, it ant the Fighter’s Mutated Organization had entered the period of indolence.
If this state persisted and no thod could be found to reactivate it, the Mutated Organization would beco progressively more indolent until it fell completely silent. After that ca the period of decline.
He couldn’t help but think about his own situation. ’I wasn’t born with a Mutated Organization. I’ve only made it this far by relying on several tis the normal amount of dicine and the stimulation of many strange tales.’
’But aside from that initial phase, my Mutated Organization hasn’t shown any signs of a second awakening.’
’Then again, I’ve only been cultivating for two years at most. It’s still early.’
’Still, I have to start thinking about it. Based on what Teacher Wu’s notes revealed, it seems there might be a way.’
’In any case, I need to focus on reaching the Third Limit first.’
He looked over everything in the basent and decided to take it all. He couldn’t bring it back to the school, though. He’d have to find a temporary, secure place to store it.
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