Book 3, Chapter 266: Challenge

After leaving the building, Chen Chuan headed west and soon left Majestic Light District. He went to Deep End District, the place with the highest level of greenery.

When Chen Chuan saw Chen Xiaojin looking outside curiously, he said, “You don’t often come out, do you?”

“My nanny says that it’s dangerous outside, and I shouldn’t come out if I don’t have anyone to protect me. I was only ever allowed to move about Majestic Light District and have never been to the other districts,” Chen Xiaojin answered.

“Your nanny is right,” Chen Chuan agreed.

Security in Majestic Light District was great, but the same couldn’t be said for the other districts. If a violent criminal ran into Chen Xiaojin, they weren’t going to ask him who his father was before attacking him.

Half an hour later, Chen Chuan stopped in front of Lu Fang’s martial arts school.

On the way, he had told Lu Fang that he was coming, so after he parked his car, Lu Fang came outside to greet them.

When Lu Fang saw Chen Chuan, he was taken aback for a moment.

It had been two months since they last met, and Chen Chuan seemed different again. It was as if there was a light shining in his eyes.

While it wasn’t sharp and blinding, it seemed capable of capturing the soul. An invisible pressure came off Chen Chuan.

Clearly, Chen Chuan had gotten stronger yet again.

Lu Fang sighed with emotion. This was what it meant to be truly talented. Lu Fang was working hard, but he still felt like he was a distance away from reaching the Third Limit. Yet Chen Chuan seemed to be improving periodically.

Still, he went up to greet him before turning to Chen Xiaojin and asking, “Is this Xiaojin?”

“He is. Xiaojin, this is Mr. Lu. You can study under him from now on,” Chen Chuan said.

Lu Fang had been teaching in the martial arts school for more than a year, and he had taught children and teenagers of various ages, so it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that he had accumulated a lot of teaching experience. He was also a good, responsible man at heart, which was what reassured Chen Chuan the most.

Also, Chen Xiaojin would have plenty of peers, with whom he could spar, here.

“Mr. Lu,” Chen Xiaojin greeted him.

Lu Fang observed him for a moment before exclaiming, “You’ve practiced your first breathing technique already?”

“His father is a martial artist,” Chen Chuan supplied.

Lu Fang didn’t ask why Chen Xiaojin came here despite having a martial artist as a father. He had a feeling that it was for a reason beyond his control.

Since Chen Xiaojin had already picked up his first breathing technique, he could be considered a martial artist. There weren’t many such people who studied martial arts in a martial arts school. Most of the ones who stayed were older than Chen Xiaojin. There were only four of them, but Lu Fang could make the necessary arrangements.

He beckoned Chen Chuan and Chen Xiaojin to enter the martial arts school before contacting someone on his Realm Pass. Soon, an eighteen-year-old walked out and gave Lu Fang a fist-and-palm salute. “Mr. Lu.”

“Chu Wu, this is Chen Xiaojin. Spar with him for a bit,” Lu Fang said before turning to Chen Xiaojin. “Try going up against him. I’d like to check your foundation.”

“Okay!”

Chen Xiaojin had never fought against anyone before. When he faced off Chu Wu, his heart thrummed with nerves, but he was eager to fight.

They exchanged a look, and Chen Xiaojin threw the first punch. Chu Wu grabbed his elbow and threw him easily on the floor.

With a flip, he got to his feet, but Chu Wu threw him down again. Even so, he didn’t give up. Chen Xiaojin got to his feet and continued fighting.

Still, the difference between their fighting experience was like the difference between night and day. After Chen Xiaojin was thrown on the floor more than ten times, Lu Fang asked them to stop and told Chen Xiaojin where he went wrong. He also told him how to seize the correct moment to strike. Lu Fang didn’t forget about Chu Wu either. He taught him how to more efficiently save up on energy and what moves had been unnecessary.

When Chen Xiaojin fought against Chu Wu again, he did better, so right away, he became convinced that Lu Fang could be his teacher.

Upon seeing this, Chen Chuan called Chen Xiaojin over when they had another break. “Learn under Mr. Lu today. I’ll send you back in the evening. If you have any questions, you can ask me later.”

“Okay. Thank you, Captain Chen,” Chen Xiaojin replied seriously.

Chen Chuan gave him a nod before patting his shoulder and leaving.

As Lu Fang walked him out, he said, “Don’t worry. I’ll have Shi Yi keep an eye on the school. If anything happens, she’ll contact you immediately.”

“Thanks. Charge me the usual fees. You don’t have to take anything else into consideration. I’ll be leaving now, but I’ll pick him up in the evening,” Chen Chuan said once they reached the entrance.

After parting ways with Lu Fang, he walked out of the martial arts school. When Chen Chuan reached his car, he cast a glance at the man standing across the street. He was looking at him.

The man had never bothered to hide his tracks while following them, so Chen Chuan believed him to be the person in charge of protecting Chen Xiaojin.

The man walked over and greeted Chen Chuan. “Hello, Captain Chen. Mr. Fang asked me to follow Xiaojin.”

Chen Chuan called Fang Zhixin and confirmed it.

“Is Xiaojin coming back today?” Fang Zhixin asked.

“I’ll send him back in the evening. I believe you know what he wants to learn,” Chen Chuan said.

Fang Zhixin sighed before saying, “I know. If Xiaojin likes the school, I’ll send him over every day. You won’t have to go out of your way to pick him up and send him back.”

“If Xiaojin thinks the school is good, then I’m fine with it, but you don’t have to pick him up today. Since I brought him, it’s only right for me to send him back,” Chen Chuan said.

Fang Zhixin thought that the arrangement made sense and said sincerely, “Thank you, Captain Chen.”

“It’s nothing. Instructor Chen taught me plenty of things.”

After leaving the school, Chen Chuan went back to his house. He had learned plenty of things today, including a few new ways to generate power and refined force. He also learned how to stabilize his mind and perform image reading, so he needed to review what he learned to let everything sink in.

He practiced until the evening, then headed back to the school to pick up the still excited Chen Xiaojin.

It had only been one afternoon, but Chen Chuan could tell that Chen Xiaojin had become much livelier and happier.

When they made it back to the office building, Chen Bitong was standing inside and looking down through one of the windows. Upon seeing the skip in Chen Xiaojin’s footsteps, he watched in silence for a while before turning away.

***

The next day, Chen Chuan went to the training center. Just as Lao Yan mentioned, he had been kicked out, and a new person took his place.

Chen Bitong’s lessons were tough. Over the next two days, Ding Mai left to return to duty, and the other two Third Limit martial artists were also kicked out.

Because of it, of the five students of the first batch, Chen Chuan was the only one left just three days after the start of the lessons. The others had all left.

However, even if the other four left after only studying under Chen Bitong for one or two days, they still learned plenty of things, and they were going to need a long time before everything truly sank in. If they could master all that they had learned, then their skills when fighting against enemies and their personal strength would increase substantially.

It made sense why so many people wanted to join the classes now.

The four replacing the first batch were good and able to keep up with Chen Bitong’s lessons for a few days. However, they were friends with each other and formed a social circle so tight that no one else could join them. They also seemed to be ostracizing Chen Chuan a little, because they didn’t talk to him at all.

Chen Chuan didn’t bother talking to them either. Later on, he learned from Advisor Pei that these people were all from the National Ad Hoc Special Operations Committee.

They might have come to the training center for a similar goal as Chen Chuan’s. On paper, they were studying under Chen Bitong, but in truth, they had been ordered to monitor as well as investigate him.

Then, Advisor Pei warned Chen Chuan that the members of the committee were extremists, and he should avoid getting close to them. If they did something out of line, though, he didn’t have to hold back against them.

“Got it,” Chen Chuan answered. The lessons were all held one-on-one, and the students didn’t usually talk to each other. Besides, the four hadn’t bothered him up till now.

Another two days passed. On the third day, when Chen Chuan stepped out of the elevator, he heard a loud voice coming from the training center.

“Instructor Chen is wasting his time teaching all of you!

“And you know I’m right! Only elites are worthy of learning from him!

“Instructor Chen is wasting his time on mediocre people like you! This doesn’t fit his principles, and you’re making the true elites miss the chance to learn from him!”

Then, Chen Chuan heard a mocking answer. “That elite you keep talking about is you, right, Yu Lie?”

Yu Lie admitted it without an ounce of shame. “That’s right. It’s me. Who else could it be aside from me? You? Don’t make me laugh.”

At this point, Chen Chuan arrived at the entrance of the training center and saw a tall man with shoulder-length hair wearing a suit. He appeared to be around twenty-eight years old and had a strong jaw, tall cheekbones, a well-defined face, and a wild, devil-may-care look on his face.

At that moment, he had a hand in one pocket while he toyed with a coin in the other as he mocked the other students. “Do you think Instructor Chen would be against me doing this?

“He isn’t.

“I’ve been studying under him for a long time, and I know him. Only the true elites catch his eye, so if I defeat all of you today, he won’t yell at me for it. To him, it’ll only show that I’m as valuable as all of you.”

Yu Lie grinned maliciously and rolled his wrists and neck. “Come at me together, all of you. If I lose, I’ll leave and won’t ever show my face in front of you again. If I see you in the future, I’ll even turn around and walk the other way. Well? Don’t say that I didn’t give you a chance to fight me now.”

The four sneered. If they went up against him alone, they wouldn’t be able to win, but he was being too arrogant saying he could fight all of them at once.

Yu Lie had only said what he would do if

he

lost, not the other way round. So, even if they did lose, they could stay.

Hence, after a brief strategic discussion, one of them said, “Sure. Let’s fight.”