Book 3, Chapter 116: The Shattering Of Illusions

After exchanging a few words, Mr. Bai waited for Chen Chuan to put on his coat before heading back together. He then asked, “Are you going to watch the tournament?”

“I’m not in the mood for it anymore,” Chen Chuan said with a shake of his head.

“That’s true. You don’t need to watch it. Go back. If you feel like it later, you can sit in on my lectures for free. I can’t promise to teach you anything useful, but perhaps I can give you some inspiration,” Mr. Bai said with a smile.

“Thank you, Mr. Bai,” Chen Chuan thanked him seriously. All Third Limit martial artists had their own philosophies and techniques, and they would only display those things in the university.

A look of approval shone in Mr. Bai’s eyes. To be frank, he wasn’t a fighter. Wei Wusheng was strong, and if Mr. Bai had stepped forward to fight, he wouldn’t have been able to win. He would have been patting himself on the back if he could just survive the encounter.

Chen Chuan had used his fists and kicks to kill Wei Wusheng, and he was still young, too. To think that he had that sort of strength and achievements at his age...

Even so, Chen Chuan remained humble and kept a low profile. That was a rare trait. If Mr. Bai were to be honest, if he had been this strong when he was at Chen Chuan’s age, he would have started strutting around like a peacock.

As for now, he had come to know plenty of things, and he couldn’t find it in himself to feel arrogant.

He sighed with emotion and said, “I’ll see you later, Chen Chuan.”

Chen Chuan nodded and parted ways with Mr. Bai. After he left, Chen Chuan pondered over whether to grab Wei Wusheng’s hammer. Deciding that it was his spoils, he went over and picked it up. He had to bring it back.

Even though the hammer was a piece of evidence, it wasn’t needed to prove that Wei Wusheng had done all the killings.

The Resolution Department officers saw Chen Chuan’s actions, but didn’t say anything. When they learned that he wanted to go back, they even arranged a driver for him.

The higher-ups in the Resolution Department were pleased with Chen Chuan and were thinking about how to reward him.

No matter what, he was a back-up law enforcer of the Resolution Department and had killed Wei Wusheng in front of all the citizens in Central City. This swept away all the negative reputation the Resolution Department had gained over this period of time.

Even more importantly, Chen Chuan had become a Third Limit martial artist. They couldn’t treat someone like that as a mere student, especially since Chen Chuan was a martial artist trained by the national education system and had reached the Third Limit before he was even twenty years old. Anyone with eyes could tell that he had a bright future ahead of him and could go wherever he wanted.

In more exaggerated terms, plenty of people would be fighting to have him, so they had to give him enough rewards and benefits to show the public that he had ended Wei Wusheng’s life under the Resolution Department’s instructions.

Once Chen Chuan got into the car, he headed back to the university. Just then, he noticed plenty of voice messages in his Realm Pass. When he played one of them, he heard Wu Bei’s excited voice. “Chen Chuan, you’re amazing! Did you know that I even wanted to punch myself a few times just now?”

This was one of the few Third Limit fights that Wu Bei had seen, and this time, with the frequency band adjustment provided by the tournament’s organizers, he had been able to see the entire fight from a first person’s point of view. Words couldn’t describe how exciting it was.

After listening to the message, Chen Chuan played another one and found that it was from Pan Xiaode. “We already fought once, didn’t we? I’ll definitely have to fight you again once I reach the Third Limit.”

Next came the voice messages from other acquaintances he had added to his list of contacts. There was even one from Zuo Handan. He had sent a message telling Chen Chuan that the Secret Python Cult provided services for Third Limit martial artists as well, and they were willing to provide the first few services for free.

Just then, Chen Chuan noticed a large amount of money being transferred into his bank account.

At the same time, he saw Tan Zhi’s message.

Tan Zhi: That’s Wei Wusheng’s bounty. Since you killed him, all of us agreed to give it to you. Also, you saved us the first time we ran into him, didn’t you?

Chen Chuan: I just fought to save myself.

A moment later, Tan Zhi replied.

Tan Zhi: No matter what, I still have to thank you.

While Chen Chuan was on the way back, the footage of him killing Wei Wusheng didn’t stop circulating just because the arena had stopped playing it. Someone had recorded it and spread it via various channels, and its impact kept spreading.

***

An Cheng watched the entire fight in stunned silence from his sentry post; he couldn’t describe exactly how he felt. Chen Chuan had become a Third Limit martial artist, and his spot as a sponsored student was emptied. He would no longer fight for resources, but An Cheng still felt defeated, as if he had lost before the fight even began.

Just then, someone contacted him, and he answered it the moment he saw the name.

“Sun Rao?”

“You saw it, I guess?” Sun Rao’s voice traveled into his ears.

“I did,” An Cheng replied.

“Don’t think too much about it. Some people are destined to be different,” Sun Rao offered.

“Are you comforting me?” An Cheng asked in surprise.

“No. I’m just telling you to accept the truth.”

An Cheng grimaced at that.

That’s more like him.

“Accepting the truth earlier isn’t a bad thing. I think the department will soon give Chen Chuan an official position. They might also look for another student to take his place. What you need to do now is to not let another newbie overtake you,” Sun Rao continued.

An Cheng sneered. “I won’t let another one do that.”

But after their call ended, he found himself not feeling so sure.

After all, talent wasn’t boxed in by the constraints of logic. Even though he had spoken with confidence to Sun Rao, if the department found another student like Chen Chuan, An Cheng was going to have an existential crisis.

***

In Central City’s lower city district was a two-storey building built with old metal boards. Lu Ke was wiping some training equipment under an old lamp within it.

At that moment, the asymmetrical screen at the window lit up, catching his attention.

With the training equipment and cloth in hand, he went to the window and drew the curtains.

Since they lived in the lower city district, even if they got their hands on Realm Passes, they couldn’t obtain any news through the official channels. Central City performed a permanent domain interference on the lower city district.

This didn’t mean that the lower city district was completely isolated from the upper city district. Some resonators passed them important information through other technology.

Many of these resonators worked for gangs or organizations in the lower city district, though some of them did selflessly share what they saw with the people in the lower city district.

These resonators called themselves enlighteners. Ironically, though, no one in the upper city district restricted them from doing such things. Instead, they were frequently hunted by the resonators from the gangs and organizations in the lower city district.

Whoever was sharing this news should be the same.

Lu Ke watched whatever was shown on the screen out of curiosity. He wasn’t that interested in the upper city district’s affairs, but when he saw the details of the fight and one of the fighters involved, he became excited. “Master! It’s Chen Chuan!”

Clattering sounds came from outside the building, and Yu Gang walked in with a cane. An implant had taken the place of one of his missing legs, but the other leg was still empty. It was the same situation for his arms. One arm remained missing.

Yu Gang went to the window and watched the fight on the screen before saying in a voice full of emotion, “It’s him.”

With great excitement, Lu Ke said, “Senior sister never believed me when I told her how strong Chen Chuan was. She’ll finally stop saying that I’m lying.”

As he watched Chen Chuan casually pushing away a car thrown his way and displaying crazy speed and destructive power, he asked in shock, “Master, look at that power... Has Chen Chuan reached the Third Limit?”

“It’s the Third Limit. There’s no mistaking it,” Yu Gang said gravely. He looked up and thought,

He might not be your average Third Limit martial artist either.

Lu Ke put a hand on his Realm Pass. “I’m sending this to senior sister.”

He set down the cloth and the training equipment before running away.

***

After returning to the university, Chen Chuan took a shower, then changed into a fresh set of clothes. He had decided to head to Motie Mountain in a bit.

While he had reached the Third Limit, he still had some questions that required answers.

Half an hour later, Chen Chuan left his room and drove to Cao Guiqi’s manor.

This time, Mr. Ding acted differently than before. In the past, the butler treated Chen Chuan like he was any other guest by only showing him the most basic of courtesies and keeping him at a distance. This time, he treated Chen Chuan with great respect and was much friendlier.

When they went inside, Chen Chuan met with Cao Guiqi and was told to take a seat. Cao Guiqi then asked Mr. Ding to brew tea for them before saying, “I just watched your fight. Considering the fact that you managed to do all that so soon after you entered the Third Limit, you’re much more talented than I thought you were.”

“I might have reached the Third Limit, but I still have a lot of questions. I’d also like to ask for your advice about the path I should take next,” Chen Chuan said.

“Patience. We have time today, and we can have a nice, long discussion. You reached the Third Limit through a method from the old era. Do you know any sayings regarding it?” Cao Guiqi asked.

“My mentor once told me that in the old era, the First Limit was known as the True Seed Reserve, and the Second Limit was known as the Life Guardian,” Chen Chuan said.

Cao Guiqi gave an approving nod. “He’s right. Your mentor did know about the methods of the old era. In the past, the Third Limit was known as the Shattering of Illusions.

“At this stage, the talented ones can see what ordinary people can’t see, hear what ordinary people can’t hear, and sense what ordinary people can’t sense.

“Some of the things they see overturn what they previously knew. Hence, those in the Third Limit were known as people who can communicate with the gods. This is also why many martial artists in the past associated themselves with secret religions and cults.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Chuan felt a stir of emotion in his heart. Suddenly, he remembered the strange sights he saw. Those had to be the things Cao Guiqi mentioned.