Book 3, Chapter 265: Distant View

As they continued chatting in the pub, they received a beep on their Realm Passes. Then, they got their assessment points.

Chen Chuan took a look. Chen Bitong scored them out of a ten-point system, and Chen Chuan got nine points. When he observed the others at his table, some were sighing in relief, some felt lucky, and some were frustrated.

Lao Yan sighed regrettably. By the looks of it, he was correct in his own assessment. He picked up his glass. “The results are out. I hope you can continue staying for Instructor Chen’s lessons.”

Just as he was about to drink, one of his companions grabbed his arm and grinned. “Don’t drink just yet. How many marks did you get?”

“Kicking me while I’m down is

rude,

” Lao Yan said in resignation.

They chuckled, but the atmosphere turned warm again.

“Honestly, Lao Yan, tell us the problems you encountered so that we can avoid them,” the person said and patted his shoulder. “You won’t be doing it for nothing either. We’ll pay for your drinks, and whenever we gather again, one of us will pay for you. How’s that sound?”

He turned to the others.

Ding Mai and the rest agreed. Chen Chuan said nothing about it.

Lao Yan considered it before smiling bitterly, “It’s mainly my vitalization rate. I couldn’t keep it low enough.

“I think it was five years ago. I had just become a Third Limit martial artist and was sent to the merged space. Then, I was assigned to a six-man unit to carry out a mission in the wilderness.

“The mission was successful, and we were about to go back. People were coming to pick us up, so we were all relaxed. One of my team members cracked a joke, and we couldn’t stop laughing.”

He paused.

“Then, I saw a white tentacle crawling out of a team member’s ear. It was wriggling about, as if it was really happy.”

The listeners trembled.

“All of us saw it. I had yet to register what had happened when I heard a gunshot. The captain had blown the man’s brains right in front of our eyes. The bits splattered on our faces.

“We had no idea when he had gone through vitalization. We were paying attention on our way back, so it might have happened in an instant.

“If the captain hadn’t shot him, all of us might have ended up the same as him.”

He took another swig of his beer. Once he put his pint down, he said, “After going back, I had nightmares for several months. Every few minutes, I had to check my vitalization rate. Whenever it increased, I got nervous.

“I know that I’ll be fine if I have medicine and the right breathing technique. Even so, I can’t stop myself from checking it. Whenever it goes up, I become so nervous.

“When I was in the hologram, I kept glancing at my vitalization rate and couldn’t fight properly. I couldn’t do much of anything Instructor Chen showed me.”

Two people felt a sympathetic pang in their hearts and offered him words of comfort. They repeated that as long as he practiced his breathing technique and brought medicine with him, he would be fine.

As Chen Chuan listened to them, he realized that Chen Bitong hadn’t taught the others how to maintain their mental states. It was likely he taught them different things according to their specialties.

Ding Mai didn’t seem too bothered by this. He was incredibly talented in this area, and his vitalization rate was always the slowest to increase. In his mind, he would shoot himself before anyone needed to do it if he ever started going through vitalization. It was nothing big.

Another student changed the topic. “Didn’t Instructor Chen say that he’s going to send our assessment points to the World Ring Defense System?”

“I heard about that. In any case, I can only stay for three days, so I’m not worried about blasting Instructor Chen with questions. I already asked Fang Zhixin through the Realm Pass about it. The assessment points are mainly for the development squad to see who to pick for their squad. Don’t mind it too much. It won’t affect you too much. If you’re afraid of the assessment points affecting your promotion, why bother coming, am I right?” Ding Mai answered.

The group relaxed, and hopeful looks appeared on some faces.

The development squad was the elite among elites. They also did the most dangerous missions, so their turnover rate was also the highest. Still, it was an honor to join and a way to make their resumes look much nicer.

All those who had been part of the squad and survived got promoted faster and higher than anyone else.

Chen Bitong was once part of the development squad. Apparently, those who had been in the squad with him now occupied incredibly high positions.

Ding Mai turned to Chen Chuan. “Captain Chen, you’re the strongest among us. I think you have the highest chance of joining the development squad.”

Lao Yan and the other three looked over as well and agreed to that statement.

They had watched Chen Chuan win against Ding Mai in one strike, and they were impressed with his strength. If anyone among them were to join the development squad, it could only be Chen Chuan.

Chen Bitong had suggested it as well, but Chen Chuan didn’t have any plans for it for the time being.

He was still in the process of building his own squad, and he believed that he wasn’t skilled enough for the development squad. The most important thing of all, though, was that he was still in a period of rapid growth. He didn’t know how long the development squad’s missions took, and they could stall his training progress.

He smiled. “Maybe. If I have the chance.”

“It makes sense to not join now. It’s very dangerous, and it’s not as if you can’t get promoted without it.”

Lao Yan thought about something. “Did you hear? Yu Lie is going to come too. Don’t get into a fight with him. That guy is crazy when he throws a tantrum.”

“That menace?”

Everyone but Chen Chuan looked troubled and annoyed.

Ding Mai glared into his pint and hissed, “Why is he allowed to come? How did he pass the test? Didn’t the higher-ups say that he got into so much trouble that he’s not allowed to participate in anything anymore?”

“Someone among the higher-ups still thinks he’s valuable, I guess.”

“Heh. Instructor Chen is here. How could he not come? It’s only to be expected.”

“Setting aside his rotten personality, he’s really strong. In any case, I won’t be coming tomorrow, so you guys be careful,” Lao Yan said.

Chen Chuan asked about Yu Lie and learned that he was a rabid Chen Bitong fanboy. Wherever Chen Bitong went to teach, he would follow.

But Yu Lie was infamous for not obeying military rules. While he didn’t break any major rules, he kept breaking the minor ones. He was a true menace, but since he was strong and came from a good family, no one could do anything to him.

“Be careful of that brat, Captain Chen. He doesn’t care about the rules. He wanted to be Instructor Chen’s assistant and went to bother Fang Zhixin in private. If not for the fact that Fang Zhixin came from a good family himself, he might have ended up being chased out. Then, we’d be all in trouble. Who knows what trouble he’s going to cause just by joining as another student,” Ding Mai cautioned.

“Thanks for the warning,” Chen Chuan said with a nod and a smile.

After staying for a while, the group went off to dance, so Chen Chuan parted ways with them and went to the recreation room downstairs. Chen Xiaojin was training there.

The moment he saw Chen Chuan, his eyes lit up, and he stopped. “Captain Chen.”

Chen Chuan went over and beckoned for him to sit before sitting down in a chair himself. “Why did you start learning martial arts?”

Chen Xiaojin was taken aback for a moment, then ducked his head and gave it a thought. After a while, he looked up, and with clenched fists, he said, “I want to show them all that I can do what they can.”

His voice had the quality of when boys went through a voice change, so he sounded really determined.

“What heights do you envision yourself reaching?” Chen Chuan asked.

“Same as him...” Chen Xiaojin said. “Do you think I can do it?”

“What I think doesn’t matter. What matters is what

you

think. If you’re determined enough, no matter how far your goal is, you can keep getting closer to it bit by bit,” Chen Chuan said while looking into his eyes.

Chen Xiaojin thought about it before declaring, “Then, I want to be the same as him. No, I want to surpass him!”

“Then, don’t let yourself be all talk. You’ll need to overcome countless obstacles. I hope that you will always remember that goal and do whatever you can to achieve it,” Chen Chuan said.

Chen Xiaojin nodded.

“I know you want to learn refined force. While you’re at the right stage, martial arts training doesn’t end after you learn refined force. There are many other things involved, and you need plenty of resources,” Chen Chuan pointed out.

“My mother left behind a lot of things for me. I’m not lacking in resources,” Chen Xiaojin said.

Chen Chuan nodded. “That’s half the battle won, but you have another problem. While I can teach you some necessary things, I can’t stay here with you. If you want to keep getting stronger, you need a teacher, who is available all the time.

“Also, just practicing isn’t enough. If you don’t spar with others, your skills will just be for show.”

Chen Xiaojin’s shoulders slumped in dejection. “But aside from you, no one else wants to teach me.”

“I have a solution for that. Can you go out?” Chen Chuan asked.

“Yeah. No one cares where I go,” Chen Xiaojin said.

Chen Chuan stood up. “Pack up and change. We’re going somewhere.”

“Okay!” Chen Xiaojin agreed in excitement and ran off to pack.

Chen Chuan waited for him, then brought him downstairs and left in his car.

***

Fang Zhixin received a notification about this, and he immediately ordered someone to follow along to ensure Chen Xiaojin’s safety. Then, he whispered to Chen Bitong about it. “Sir, Captain Chen left with Xiaojin.”

Chen Bitong grunted at that, but did not say anything.

At that moment, he was observing dozens of students who came for his lessons. These students didn’t have access to domain resources, but that was fine. They weren’t Third Limit martial artists.

They were seeds waiting to grow. Some of them were bound to reach the Third Limit in the future, so he was trying to help them make correct judgments and walk down the right path.

He didn’t have much time left, so he needed to seize every second to train up those who were worthy.