Book 3, Chapter 50: Treasure Paste

The matter was settled once Chen Chuan agreed, and Cheng Shang pointed at the cup of tea in front of him. “Try it.”

Chen Chuan had noticed it when he stepped into the pavilion just now. The color of the tea was like amber and shimmered with a translucent hue. He took a sip, and a warm, smooth taste instantly filled his entire mouth.

Once he swallowed, he felt a comforting warmth envelop his body. A lingering sweetness also stayed on his teeth and tongue, refusing to fade away. It made him perk up.

Cheng Shang, too, took a sip and said, “If you find it nice, take a bag back with you. It’s good for nourishing the body.”

Cheng Shang seemed to be subtly pointing out that he knew that Chen Chuan often took medicine, but he didn’t offer any explanation and just said, “I’ll gladly take it, then. By the way, Officer Ni, when will the exchange be?”

“It’s set to be on the next day off of the month, and it’ll take the whole day. Of course, we’re not just bringing you over alone. We’ll be asking plenty of other students to spar, though theirs will be on a different date and won’t clash with yours. I’ll pick you up when the time comes,” Ni Qianqian stated.

“Alright. I’ll wait,” Chen Chuan said.

“I need to tell you this first: Don’t underestimate them just because they’re not from the university. Their foundation is solid, and they’re learning everything the university is teaching. I’d even say that they learn more than what you guys are learning,” Ni Qianqian added.

Cheng Shang then joined the conversation. “Times have changed. The youngsters nowadays have become stronger. I have to admit that we weren’t as strong as they were at their age.

“But each new generation should be better than the last. When we were younger, we didn’t have so many resources and had to worry about other things. The youngsters only need to focus on training now, so it’s only right for them to surpass us.

“Unlike them, we went through hardships they’ve never experienced. When I think back on it now, that’s something incredibly valuable to us. Perhaps I’m a stubborn old fool, but I think that youngsters need to go through some hardships to truly become successful.

“That’s why you should not hold back for my sake. Bring out your true strength and make them suffer. If you want their information, I can give it to you. After all, it’s only after you win against them that they’ll be able to realize their faults. Otherwise, they’ll suffer greatly in the future.”

“Is it really right for you to set them up like this?” Ni Qianqian wondered.

“If I set them up, they’ll have a chance to make a comeback, but if someone else sets them up, they might just end up dead,” Cheng Shang replied.

“Elder Cheng, I won’t look down on any of my opponents, but I don’t want their information. Otherwise, it won’t be an exchange, but a performance,” Chen Chuan declared. Having information on his opponents and being without it were two completely different things. If he could form strategies ahead of time to target his opponents, he would have far too great of an advantage over them.

Cheng Shang didn’t force him and said, “This is just a spar, so we won’t let you take any medicine. Remember, don’t underestimate them. They’re all really outstanding. Also, get to the Third Limit as soon as possible. Then, you’ll realize just what sort of path you want to take.”

With that said, he covered his teacup with a lid.

Ni Qianqian stood up as well. “Time to leave, Chen Chuan.”

“Goodbye, Elder Cheng,” Chen Chuan got up.

Cheng Shang just gave them a wave as a goodbye.

With a bow, Chen Chuan left with Ni Qianqian.

Once the two of them were a distance away from the pavilion, a middle-aged man walked over and cast a few glances in the direction Chen Chuan left. “Is that young man the disciple Senior Brother Cheng has always been praising, Martial Uncle?”

“That’s him. Also, he’s Cheng Zitong’s mentee, not disciple,” Cheng Shang answered.

“Senior Brother Cheng always emphasizes that he’s only teaching a mentee, but with how attentive he is to the boy, he’s his disciple in everything but name.” The middle-aged man laughed.

“Is that important? You should be thinking about how to help the youngsters win,” Cheng Shang pointed out.

The middle-aged man regarded Cheng Shang in surprise. “You think so highly of him? I was observing him just now. Based on the rhythm of his movements, he’s above average, but don’t you think it’s a stretch to say that he can win against Liu Yin and the others?”

“It’s true that Liu Yin and the others have been taught one-on-one since they were children and have solid foundations. They had plenty of resources poured into each step of their growth. Chen Chuan can’t compare to them in that regard, but he has been through real, life-and-death fights. How many of such fights have Liu Yin and the others fought? Can you really consider them to have fought real fights after just fighting some gang members?

“Chen Chuan risked his neck every step of the way while fighting his way up. Retreating or failing even once would have meant death. Do Liu Yin and the rest have the determination to fight back from the brink of death?”

The middle-aged man’s smile faded a little as he said meaningfully, “If your view of that young man is so high, then I’ll have to go back and warn the boys to be more careful.”

“Telling them that will be useless. They won’t listen. The lesson will only stick in their heads after fighting with Chen Chuan,” Cheng Shang said with a shake of his head.

***

Meanwhile, Ni Qianqian sent Chen Chuan back to the Arcane Palace. After he got back to his room, Chen Chuan took out the Treasure Paste he got from Cao Guiqi.

The Resolution Department had also given him one, so he had three right now.

He took one box out and found that it contained two sorts of medicinal paste: one black, and the other green. According to the instructions, he was supposed to take the green paste first.

He could take the paste either orally or by breathing it in. Martial artists who had mastered breathing through their skin could also spread it on their skin to increase the efficiency of absorbing the medicine.

Chen Chuan took three spoonfuls of it with water before spreading the rest evenly on his skin.

In the beginning, he couldn’t feel anything, but after a while, with his breathing technique’s help, the medicinal effects began showing up. He noticed that the treasure paste that entered his body started moving to his mutated tissue like it was alive and formed a membrane over it.

Since his organs were relatively soft and did not need to generate power on a daily basis, like his bones, fascia, muscles, and tendons, he couldn’t train them through straightforward and simple methods. He could only nourish them by improving his cardiovascular fitness and increasing his blood flow so that he could provide the organs with more oxygen and nourishment. It was either this, or using various breathing techniques and refined force stances to massage them.

But that sort of training was superficial, while the Treasure Paste could stimulate the mutated tissue on the organs. It would gain an urgent need for all sorts of nutrients and started growing on its own instead of doing so passively.

After that, Chen Chuan took the black paste. It had the nutrients necessary for the mutated tissue’s growth.

The green paste also had another function. Before the membrane disappeared, it could strengthen the organs and increase the durability of the mutated tissue, allowing the martial artists to go through training beyond their physical limits for a short period of time. They could also use breathing techniques that could not be used due to their partially harmful nature, thereby stimulating the organs even further and making it easier to absorb the black paste.

In order to achieve that effect, Chen Chuan began practicing Principal Sanshou and letting go of the inhibitions on his mutated tissue so that all of them became active.

Even though all sorts of emotions rushed into his heart, his movements never wavered. Instead, sometimes, he would get ideas he usually wouldn’t even think of, and all of them inspired him.

When it came to Principal Sanshou, Chen Chuan had already formed his own understanding of it. On the surface, it didn’t seem all that different from the original Principal Sanshou, but the ways in which he generated refined force and some details were completely different from the original.

This was normal, because Principal Sanshou was the most basic of all foundations. As he grew stronger, he needed to continue building upon it and expanding it.

After ten cycles of Principal Sanshou, Chen Chuan’s body heated up, and he knew that the medicine was taking effect. So, he picked up the Frost King Saber and began practicing his saber techniques. He did his best to put power into every attack.

The medicine’s effects would last from half a day to a day. It would then nourish and strengthen his internal organs for around ten days. Chen Chuan could not help thinking that if he used it along with a Radiant Light session, the effects would be even better.

An average person would need a few days to grow and recover after a Radiant Light session, so they had to split up taking the Treasure Paste and going through a Radiant Light session, but Chen Chuan believed that he could do them together.

The green paste’s effects also gave a boost in fighting power. However, if someone like Cao Guiqi could only get two boxes every month, that just went to show just how rare the medicinal paste was.

Chen Chuan had also checked and found that the university had already finished distributing all medicine with similar attributes at the start of the year. Each unit cost more than ten thousand devs. Since Chen Chuan didn’t have the money to buy them, he had to think of how to get them through the Resolution Department.

According to Ni Qianqian, aside from what he received, he could get an additional unit by competing with the other two students. Since there was a possibility, he had to do his best to get it.

From the afternoon until night, Chen Chuan kept practicing his techniques and generating the refined force required for them. The abundant medicinal effects only faded away after 9 p.m.. After this, he could take another unit ten days later and hopefully arrange a Radiant Light session alongside it. Oceanview Hall wouldn’t let him bring it inside, but he could take the medicine before going in.

Just then, he remembered what Cheng Shang had told him during the day and couldn’t help but wonder what secrets he would be exposed to when he reached the Third Limit.

Still, that was something he would only need to consider later. He should instead focus on completing his training. While he had to get to the Third Limit as soon as possible, he couldn’t lose control of his pace. Keeping a steady pace was better than charging forward in a hurry.

With his plan set, he left the training room, took a shower, and went to bed as usual.

The next morning, he returned to Mr. Zheng’s house for training.

After mastering attacking with the heavy saber, next was the light saber. This time, he had to use his speed to force Zheng Tongtong back. Just like before, it took him around three days to do it. Then, he moved on to wielding both the heavy and light sabers. This was harder.

Zheng Tongtong had managed to wield two sabers of different weights through her amazing technique, but Chen Chuan needed two days just to wield them properly. Then, he needed another three days to force her back.

On the ninth day, Mr. Zheng no longer asked him to switch his weapons or talked to him about the next stage. Instead, he casually picked up a saber and stood on the training ground.

“Chen Chuan, offense and defense aren’t two completely separate things. I’m going to teach you something new. In order for you to remember it, attack me with every ounce of your power and with everything you’ve got,” he said.