Chapter 99: Restrictions

When Cheng Zitong arrived behind the man with Chen Chuan in tow, he said, “Lao He, I brought my mentee.”

He Xiaoxing turned his head sideways. His hair danced with the wind to reveal a staunch face that screamed that he was someone of firm determination. As he turned his body around, his penetrating gaze landed on Chen Chuan.

Chen Chuan observed him too.

He Xiaoxing’s mighty frame was incredibly imposing, especially when he turned around to face him head-on. Chen Chuan could sense a wave of energy that could gush out of him at any moment. That energy was like a volcano that had been lying dormant for years and was just waiting to explode, but was also like an underwater whirlpool, churning quietly under the surface of the ocean in an unpredictable manner.

“Xiao Chuan, this is Lao He, He Xiaoxing. You can call him Mr. He. The university wanted him to be your mentor, but he wasn’t interested back then. He only changed his mind after learning that you picked the All-Encompassing Force,” Cheng Zitong said.

He Xiaoxing said, “Martial arts are a highly personal thing. If a martial artist has their choices influenced by the external world and cannot stand by their own decisions, they won’t be able to go far as martial artists.”

His voice was strong and sonorous, with every syllable landing like the blow of a hammer.

Cheng Zitong agreed with that and lamented, “You’re right, but even if you say that, not many know exactly what they need. How can they know whether their choices are correct? After all, we can’t just cast aside all of our predecessors’ experiences. Even if I believe myself to be part of the intuition faction, I’m not an exception to that.”

He Xiaoxing stared at the Hall of Judgment. His gaze was intense, but, just like his breathing, it was contained, as if he was making the storm of emotions within him sink into the bottom of the ocean.

“Three years ago, I took Shen Zheng as my mentee here. He chose the Arcane Phase Force, but only because that was what the university wanted from him and because I practiced that refined force.

“Yet I knew that this wasn’t the best choice for him.

“He knew it too, but he had too heavy of a burden on his shoulders, and he didn’t want to let people down. That’s why he made that choice. Back then, I knew that his path was bound to be filled with hardships and obstacles. If he wanted to ascend to higher levels of power, he would either have to crush others under his feet, or he would end up being the one crushed.”

“He was really talented. If I recall correctly, you only taught him for half a semester, didn’t you?” Cheng Zitong asked.

“More accurately speaking, it was three months. I went to train in the wilderness after that and only left him with a notebook for guidance. He figured out everything himself.

“When I heard about him next, I learned that he got into an accident. I was surprised, but also not.”

Chen Chuan thought about it, then made a decision and asked, “Mr. Cheng, Mr. He, I’ve heard quite a number of upperclassmen talk about this person, but they never told me anything about him. What exactly happened back then?”

He Xiaoxing did not answer. He just stood there silently.

Cheng Zitong replied instead. “Yeah, it’s about time I tell you about this, especially since you’ve already gotten the weapons permit and have the right to try getting the next permit. This accident is related to that permit. I wanted Lao He to tell you about it when he mentors you, but since he won’t be able to stay, I’ll tell you about it.

“Usually, if you get your permit following the order laid out by the university instead of sitting for the test, it takes a couple years, which makes it hard to get the other permits.

“But if you pass the weapons permit test, you have ample time to sit for the other tests. One of the permits is called the unrestricted defense permit. I’m sure that you can figure out its purpose from the name. With this permit, whenever someone wants to harm you, you have the right to defend yourself however you want.

“When the country is in a crisis, you will also automatically be given restricted authority to enforce the law. Because of that, some people also call it the law enforcement permit.

“Over the past decades, the recommended students have monopolized the unrestricted defense permit, because with this permit, they can exercise ‘rightful defense.’ Of course, even without the permit, the powerful families have plenty of ways to do it. Still, they want that permit. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Chen Chuan thought for a moment before nodding in understanding. Defending oneself was usually a passive act, but if one had power, they could blur the boundaries of defense and offense.

Honestly, when one was in a position of power, having that permit was just the icing on the cake. It was not that important to them. What was important, though, was that after the recommended students monopolized that permit, the other first-class students could not get it.

Hence, this was really just a cautionary act to not let the people from the other social classes have a way to break the restrictions imposed on them by social rules, even if the whole purpose for the permit may have been a way to give a weapon to those people.

Cheng Zitong sighed. “Shen Zheng was just like you. He got his weapons permit early. Honestly, before he came, due to certain reasons, the moral climate in the university was horrible. Many of the first-class students ordered the second-class students around like servants. The Mutual Aid Group kept taking in outstanding students to be part of their group and used the contract to enforce various obligations on them after they graduated. The Agent Association also had a tight control over the university management because of the people behind them. Things were simply horrible.

“If you wanted to change the situation, you had to start from the students. Shen Zheng knew this, and he led the students into forming the Aspiration Club.

“He did not fight against the Mutual Aid Group head-on. Instead, he led a group of students with the same aspirations as he did to try to correct the culture of the first-class students oppressing the second-class students. They provided help and guidance to the underclassmen and gave training to aspiring examinees outside the university who wanted to enroll into Martial Valor University.

“Even though the Aspiration Club took club fees, they allowed its members to only pay after they graduated and did not charge any interest. They did not have demanding conditions like the Mutual Aid Group either. Even if the aspiring examinees failed the entrance examination, they were allowed to pay back their club membership fees over as much as ten years. The club members were also allowed to bring talented relatives and friends to study with them.”

Chen Chuan mulled over this. If the Aspiration Club was just trying to right the horrible moral climate, they really had nothing to do with the Mutual Aid Group. However, when they provided guidance to the underclassmen and helped aspiring examinees train but did not impose any conditions on them, they were practically headhunting the Mutual Aid Group’s potential members.

“By doing that, he definitely got into a conflict with the Mutual Aid Group,” Chen Chuan said with certainty.

“You’re right. The Mutual Aid Group argued with him several times because of this. They even challenged him to a few duels,” Cheng Zitong said.

Chen Chuan had guessed that things would progress that way, because this was the simplest and easiest way to solve a conflict. Everything that Shen Zheng did was based on the confidence he had from his prestige and strength.

But those two things were fragile. All his enemies needed to do was find someone who could defeat him and crush his prestige. After all, only a few students had firm beliefs and ideals to change the moral climate. Most of them were just sitting on the fence and following the crowd.

Cheng Zitong sighed again and said, “But the Mutual Aid Group failed to defeat him. Even the senior recommended students who got the right to go to Central City couldn’t defeat him in a duel.”

Just as Chen Chuan thought, Shen Zheng’s strength was the basis behind his actions, but he did not find this a good thing, because while blatant attacks were easily avoidable, the ones from the shadows were not. If his enemies could not win against him fairly and squarely, they had plenty of ways to take him down from the shadows.

“This brings us to the key point. The reason behind why that incident two years ago happened is most likely because he went to sit for the unrestricted defense permit’s test and got it,” Cheng Zitong said gravely.

He stopped talking for a moment and turned to look at the silent He Xiaoxing. After some thinking, he said, “The only information I have about what happened is from the investigation report. I don’t know the details.

“Shen Zheng was found dead in an abandoned factory. The report said that he inflicted all his wounds on himself. No one had attacked him. Even now, we don’t know why he did what he did.

“We are only certain that he wasn’t the only one there back then. There were many others that the university narrowed down to a certain group of students, but there was nothing to charge them with. It is a fact that they did not do anything to Shen Zheng during the incident. After a day’s questioning, they were released.

“The report stated that Shen Zheng went mad from practicing his refined force too much while rushing to gain success. That was why he killed himself. Of course, this lame excuse was only used to hide the truth and close the case. Everyone knows that this isn’t the case.”

At this point, he turned to He Xiaoxing. “A group of people were wary that you’d go back and take revenge for Shen Zheng, since you were his mentor. Those people were nervous for quite some time.”

“That’s the path he chose for himself, and he should be responsible for it until the very end,” He Xiaoxing said gravely. “He took on responsibilities that he shouldn’t have shouldered, and some of them were far beyond what he could handle. I wasn’t surprised when he crumbled under that weight.

“And if those people chose to attack him, that means that they were fully prepared. If I stood up for him, I’d just be jumping into the trap they set, and all it would do is add me into the mess. That’s meaningless. Instead, as long as I’m around, I’ll be a blade hanging above their heads at all times, and the stronger I get, the more ill at ease they’ll be.”

Chen Chuan nodded. He Xiaoxing made the right choice. If he had lost his composure and taken revenge back then, he might have ended up falling right into the enemies’ trap. Instead, he chose to take a step back. This gave him room to maneuver. Everyone knew that the incident had not come to an end yet, and as He Xiaoxing continued getting stronger, it was prolonged torture to those people.

For example, after word about Tan Wang being chased out got out, some people were probably going to lose sleep over this.

“Shen Zheng did many things while he was in the university, but his sense of justice was just too strong. He shouldered too many things, to the point that he practically took on everything by himself,” Cheng Zitong lamented regretfully.

“No one else in the Aspiration Club could shoulder those burdens and serve as their leader after his passing. Because of it, quite a number of members quit. The remaining members have always hoped that someone would be able to step forward and bring them back to their former glory.”

As he spoke, he gave Chen Chuan a somber look. “Xiao Chuan, you’ve gotten the weapons permit now, and it shouldn’t be too hard for you to get the armor permit. If you stop there, it’ll be fine.

“But if you decide to take the test to get the unrestricted defense permit, you’ll make the recommended students and their organizations wary, because not only are you trying to get what they want, you might also end up causing them real harm in the future. They might react even more violently this time, since Shen Zheng is there as a precedent. The stronger you become, the bigger threat you’ll face, understand?”

“I believe I understand, Mr. Cheng.” Chen Chuan nodded.

“Then, what’s your decision?” Cheng Zitong asked as he stared at him.

He Xiaoxing also turned to him.

The night breeze blew, and their clothes and hair fluttered.

Chen Chuan looked at the streetlights at the foot of the hill, then at the dimly visible stars in the sky. “I’ll break free of all the shackles placed on me one by one. If I can’t even overcome this little difficulty, how could I overcome the difficulties I’ll face in the future? I believe that the hardships I face right now are not the hardest around.”

Cheng Zitong laughed. “Well, Lao He? What did I say? This is my mentee! Mine! Cheng Zitong’s!”