Book 3, Chapter 20: Tampering

Chen Chuan understood what Wu Ruo was implying. Multiple parties were involved in driving the changes of the university’s management, and their interests might cause them to target the official students.

Even the recommended students weren’t safe. They might have some power back at home, but that wasn’t necessarily the case in Central City, especially when it concerned the interests of multiple mega corporations.

Since Chen Chuan was an official student with no powerful background and no support, it was highly likely that he would end up being the first to be targeted. They might not use direct and crude methods to force him to comply, but they had plenty of ways to target a student.

“If you’re telling me this, does that mean that you have a solution?” he asked.

“Yes. There’s one way to avoid it. If you reach the Third Limit, you can avoid these troubles,” Wu Ruo said while looking him in the eye.

“Wouldn’t a Third Limit martial artist be an even greater draw if he joined the tournament?” Chen Chuan asked.

“The Third Limit is a threshold. Once a student reaches it, they can no longer be seen as just a student. Even if they would be an even bigger draw, the organizers would have to consider their destructive power and how people would feel watching them fight. Some countries’ laws also forbid Third Limit martial artists from participating in tournaments.

“In other words, investors would need to invest a lot more in the tournament if they brought in a Third Limit student, and the rewards might not necessarily be all that good. They could also invite all sorts of trouble. It’s possible to bring a Third Limit martial artist to fight in private tournaments, but no one would let one join public tournaments.”

Chen Chuan stared back at Wu Ruo. “And you asked to see me because you can help me reach the Third Limit?”

“Yes. I believe so. Void Training can help you reach the Third Limit as quickly as possible and avoid this danger,” Wu Ruo said frankly and sincerely while meeting his gaze.

“Why do you want to help me?” Chen Chuan asked.

With a sigh and a bitter smile, Wu Ruo said, “Honestly, after Mr. Tan started pushing for reforms, the students aren’t the only ones affected. The lecturers are no better off. If we want to continue staying at the university, we need to pass a lecturer’s test every year. One of the standards is bringing up a strong student.

“But I’ve taught too many civilian students, so the recommended students refuse to pick me as their teacher, making it hard for me to bring up anyone strong enough to reach the passing mark.”

He then looked at Chen Chuan hopefully, and his voice became laced with emotion.

“But you’re an exception, Chen Chuan. I don’t think you’ll look down on me because of this. I’ve seen your resume. You’re a naturally-gifted student. I believe that we’d complement each other perfectly. We should work together to weather this storm. What do you say?”

Chen Chuan didn’t answer immediately.

Wu Ruo noted his silence and added, “You don’t have to give me an answer right away. Take your time to understand what I said, but don’t grow lax. I believe that some people are already eyeing you up, and they won’t let you wait long. I hope that you can make your decision soon.”

He then stood up and looked outside. “I’ve already paid the bill. Enjoy this rare, relaxing night. You might not have many opportunities like this in the future.”

Wu Ruo left.

Chen Chuan wasn’t in a hurry to leave. Instead, he sat in silent contemplation while sipping the hot drink on the table. It was rather bitter, but gave him a burst of energy.

Based on the information Wu Ruo gave him, those who reached the Third Limit were in a completely different category.

It wasn’t just their strength that was different. Even their status changed.

He remembered seeing a probability of him reaching the Third Limit in his entrance exam. Since Hongfu had listed this probability in its own section, this was definitely more complicated than it seemed.

Reaching the Third Limit had always been his goal, but just like when he was in the First Limit, he wanted to do everything he could to expand his mutated tissue to a certain degree before advancing. While he could think of ways to speed up the process, he wasn’t going to do it hastily.

Besides, was everything Wu Ruo said real?

Chen Chuan tapped on his Realm Pass and contacted Wu Bei. The resonator answered the call quickly and asked excitedly, “What is it, Chen Chuan? Are you going to take on another mission?”

Chen Chuan chuckled at that. “No. I intend to rest for a while, but I’d like you to look into someone for me. He’s a lecturer from Martial Valor University. Will you be able to do it?”

“Sorry, but I’m not skilled enough for that. I won’t be able to find any crucial information you’d want from the university,” Wu Bei answered bashfully.

“Just find as much as you can. I’ll send what I have about him to you,” Chen Chuan said.

“Alright. I’ll try.”

Chen Chuan sent the things Wu Ruo gave him and all his other publicly available information to Wu Bei. Then, he sipped at his drink slowly while waiting for the results.

After a few minutes, Wu Bei answered, “Got it. A lot of the information Wu Ruo sent you is fake.”

“Is it?” Chen Chuan’s heart stirred.

“Yeah. While the students’ reviews and evaluation points are real, the university’s campus portal doesn’t acknowledge them. That’s why he changed it.

“He made it seem like he sent the information to you via the university campus portal, so it looked legitimate, but he actually sent it to you through a message board.

“If you go to the campus portal through the message board, some details will be hidden, but if you check directly through the campus portal, you’d see something else entirely.

“I don’t know what he’s hiding, though. The university’s biofield and active biosentient entity are too strong. I can’t check.”

Chen Chuan nodded and said, “Thanks, Wu Bei.”

Once the call ended, he entered the campus portal and checked Wu Ruo’s information. Just as Wu Bei said, it showed completely different results. Wu Ruo’s reviews and evaluation points were really low, practically at the bottom.

Based on this, if Wu Ruo wasn’t able to get better evaluation points and change his reputation by the end of the semester, he wouldn’t be able to stay in Arcane Palace.

When he was done reading, Chen Chuan exited the campus portal. To think that Wu Ruo had been able to change his evaluation points and reviews through such a simple method...

But the average person wouldn’t have been able to figure out he did this. Since they could check the reviews and evaluation points on the message board, why would they waste the effort to check on the campus portal?

So, was what Wu Ruo said just now fake too?

Chen Chuan mulled over it. Most of what he said was probably true, such as how the university’s management had been going through a reform for the past three years. Wu Ruo wouldn’t have been able to lie about it. After all, Chen Chuan would know if he asked the other students.

Then, what was his goal?

Was he trying to win Chen Chuan’s trust to help him reach the Third Limit and secure his place in the university?

This was possible, but once the semester started, someone would definitely find it strange that Chen Chuan went to study under Wu Ruo, and if he asked Hongfu about it, she would definitely give him Wu Ruo’s evaluation. Then, all of his lies would be exposed.

Wu Ruo should know this, which meant that he did not intend to keep this a secret for long. Was he confident that Chen Chuan wouldn’t care by the time the truth came to light?

While he was thinking, he received a notification on his Realm Pass.

[Chen Chuan, you’ve received a reply to your telegram. Would you like it delivered to your room, or will you retrieve it yourself?]

“I’ll grab it myself,” Chen Chuan answered.

He walked out of Golden River Drinks, crossed the square, returned to Arcane Palace, retrieved the telegram, and returned to his room.

Once he sat down, he read He Xiaoxing’s reply. There was indeed a complementary refined force and technique for Furnace Breathing Technique, but Chen Chuan would need to reach the Third Limit before he could practice it. He Xiaoxing also reminded him not to get any implants if he wanted to practice it.

After reading the telegram, Chen Chuan sucked in a deep breath. It seemed like the Third Limit was indeed a threshold. Everything around him was pointing him in that direction.

He would have to reach the Third Limit as soon as possible.

But he couldn’t be impatient for results and had to focus on building his foundation first.

The university had actually given him plenty of ways to strengthen and reinforce his foundation, such as the Radiant Light. But it cost a lot of money, and he might not even be able to get it anyway.

It wasn’t as if he didn’t have any methods to get more resources. For example, he could get sponsors from mega corporations, though that would mean signing contracts with demanding clauses and participating in implant testing. Then, the company would provide him with free medicine.

Chen Chuan was never going to take that path.

He looked for scholarships, but the program had been canceled three years ago, which made sense. After all, most of the students in the main campus were recommended students.

Even the university management of Yangzhi City’s branch campus was considering canceling the scholarships. Based on the number of people who received them, there weren’t many available. They were there just because they were better than nothing.

Hence, in Chen Chuan’s current situation, he had multiple paths ahead of him, but he had to pay a price whichever one he took. This wasn’t like back in Yangzhi City’s branch campus. Back there, he had Cheng Zitong to help him. Here, he had to think of ways to achieve his goals himself.

Chen Chuan thought about what he could do, and a possibility crossed his mind.

He got up and went to his luggage bag to search around for the list of implants from the Secret Python Cult.

It wasn’t just a list of implants available for purchase for its members. The picture of the three snake heads was the sign used to log onto the cult’s service platform.

Once he arrived in Central City, Chen Chuan did some digging around and found that the Secret Python Cult didn’t just sell their implants to the public, but also provided all sorts of illegal services. Perhaps he could understand just what sort of services from the platform.

He would need to ask Wu Bei for help with it so that he didn’t run into any problems.

Chen Chuan contacted Wu Bei again and sent him the picture.

Half an hour later, he got his answer.

“I checked. This is an open platform, but you can only log in after verifying your account’s grade.”

Chen Chuan remembered just how poor Tan Wang had been. “Then, the owner of this account shouldn’t have a high grade.”

“That’s true. They allow anyone to log onto their platform, so I made a fake ID for you. I’ll send it to you for logging into it. That way, they won’t be able to trace the account back to you.”

Chen Chuan soon received the fake ID and did as Wu Bei had told him. Then, he was able to log onto the platform without leaving behind any traces that would lead back to him.

He stared at the picture through his Realm Pass, just as Wu Bei told him to do. The process lasted for a little more than ten seconds before his Realm Pass turned dark. After a while, a crack opened, and a dangerous-looking, yellow snake eye appeared.