Book 4, Chapter 3: Recommendation

The night passed. After having breakfast with his family, Nian Fuli went to the Constabulary, and Yu Wan sent the children to school. Chen Chuan got some things ready before returning to the living room. He picked up the phone and called a number.

A moment later, the call went through. “Wen Tong speaking.”

“Mr. Wen, it’s me, Chen Chuan. I’ve read the booklet you gave me, and I have some questions I’d like to ask you face to face. Do you have time now?”

“Coincidentally, I do,” Wen Tong said gently.

“Alright. I’ll go to your house,” Chen Chuan said.

Once he got permission to visit, Chen Chuan hung up and changed into a set of casual clothes. He straightened them up in front of a mirror, picked up the booklet Wen Tong gave him, and left.

He walked along the path within the residential area. In just around eight minutes, he reached his destination.

The gate was open. When Chen Chuan went inside, he saw Wen Tong in a martial arts uniform. He was standing in the courtyard with a gentle smile, so Chen Chuan went up to greet him politely. “Hello, Mr. Wen.”

“Hello to you too. Let’s talk inside,” Wen Tong said and turned to the side.

Chen Chuan nodded and followed him into the living room. There was a brewed pot of tea already sitting on top of the table. Wen Tong motioned at the couch. “Have a seat.”

“Thank you.” Chen Chuan only sat down after Wen Tong did.

“Did you understand it?” Wen Tong asked.

Chen Chuan knew what he meant and nodded. “I did.”

Light sparkled in his eyes, and he clenched his fist. A loud, thunderous boom blasted out from his hand.

A brief flash of surprise appeared in Wen Tong’s eyes. “The Heartborn Force, huh?”

He could tell that this was the Heartborn Force executed on the basis of the Cloud Ripping Palm.

To learn the Heartborn Force, a martial artist needed to train up their mental energy to a certain degree. When a martial artist reached that stage, it was indeed time for them to think about how to continue down their path.

“You told me to open this book when I reached a bottleneck. I did, but I found that I still need to look for you to solve the problem that I’m facing, which is why I came here to ask for your guidance,” Chen Chuan said and took out the booklet. He placed it on the table.

Wen Tong cast it a glance. With a heart full of emotion, he said, “Honestly, I thought that you’d need around three or four more years to come looking for me. I wasn’t expecting you to seek me out so soon. I’ve underestimated your talent, it seems. But since you came here, it means that you know that the higher-ups have sealed off pure essence, don’t you?”

Chen Chuan nodded.

“There’s a huge bottleneck between the Third Limit and Fourth Limit. At the Fourth Limit, a martial artist’s destructive power jumps to a whole other level. If someone who does whatever they want reaches the Fourth Limit, a lot of lives would have to be sacrificed to take them down. The governments and companies don’t want and can’t let such an uncontrollable situation happen. That’s why it was a necessity for them to seal off pure essence.

“But no single person should be allowed to decide who gets to improve or not.

“In the past, while there were issues with all the members in the mega alliance supervising who got pure essence, the system was somewhat maintained. Once the mega alliance collapsed, the ones who could make the decision in this regard became the governments and mega corporations, or to be more specific, a small group of people within them.

“This world is built on violence, and all order is built on the foundation of brute force. Martial artists played a part in building this structure, so they can also destroy it. The ones in control of brute force are the ones in control of the world’s lifeline, and they won’t let go of it.

“Fortunately, the world hasn’t reached the stage where it has become stagnant. Due to great external pressure, the firm wall is unstable and cracking. It needs more power to support it, or it will collapse. This is what’s going on, and no one can go against it.

“Yet even if those in power know that maintaining the wall will cause the whole world to collapse with them, they refuse to make any changes. So, others have to do something about it.”

At this point, he looked into Chen Chuan’s eyes and asked, “How much do you know about the factions?”

Knowing that they had moved to the main point of the conversation, Chen Chuan pondered the question for a moment before answering. “I don’t know much, just a few names. Both you and Mr. He are in the purity faction. Some of the enemies I fought against were in the implant faction. I’ve also seen a fight between martial artists from the wilderness faction and the implant faction.

“I’ve read descriptions of some factions, but I only got some general information about them. I know that in the old era they focused on passing down their martial arts. In the new era, factions are made from martial artists sharing the same or similar ideals.”

“That’s about right. In the old era, factions existed solely to pass down martial arts. Now, there are more than a hundred factions in the Great Shun Republic, but only twenty or so have real influence. Among the twenty, most of them stick to tradition and rely on their legacy to maintain the ideals from back then.

“Others have chosen to actively participate in the changing world instead of staying the same.

“Aside from passing down their martial arts, they have goals and political ideals.”

Chen Chuan considered it. This resonated with what Wen Tong had said earlier about how brute force was the basis of everything. If a faction had enough strength, they could naturally change and influence laws.

“There are five such factions with widespread influence within the country and companies. The purity faction is one of them.

“Lao He’s teacher is a senior in the purity faction. As for Lao He, due to his teacher’s wishes, he wasn’t allowed to join. He only officially became part of the purity faction four years ago, after I recommended him.”

Chen Chuan thought about it. If Lao He was only allowed to join four years ago, then it must have been after what had happened to Shen Zheng. Lao He might have wanted to use the purity faction to take down Black Orchid Co. and the local powers in Yangzhi City.

“The purity faction can help you get what you need, though I’m sure that you’ve guessed the requirements for it: You need to join the purity faction,” Wen Tong said with a smile.

“What are the conditions for it?” Chen Chuan asked.

“What do you think about implants?” Wen Tong asked instead of answering.

Chen Chuan considered his words briefly before answering honestly. “Implants are a necessary technology to fight against the other world. As technology continues improving, implants will only grow to be more useful.

“But personally, if I have the choice, I don’t want to use implants to get stronger. I believe in the strength that comes purely from training.”

Wen Tong nodded and asked, “What do you think about the existences from the other world, then?”

“I’ve met two existences from the other world, so I don’t know much about them and wouldn’t even say that I have a working knowledge about them. What I do know is that I don’t want them invading our world,” Chen Chuan answered cautiously.

“What if you found out that you can use their power to achieve your goals? What would you do?”

Chen Chuan cast a glance at his second self before saying firmly, “When it comes to getting stronger, I only believe in myself.”

Wen Tong nodded at that and smiled. “When it comes to the purity faction, the first thing we emphasize is the purity of the self. Our belief is to use our purest self and our own strength to reach the peak of martial arts. As long as someone acknowledges this, has real intent to do it, and passes our test, they can become one of us.”

“A test?” Chen Chuan nodded in acceptance. That was within his expectations. No well-established group would accept members without one.

“Our faction observes, examines, and supports those with potential and talent. If they pass, we give them a chance to join us,” Wen Tong said.

“When Lao He taught you some of the purity faction’s techniques, he was already examining you. Later on, when he asked me to guide you, we moved on to the next step of the examination. Me giving you that booklet showed you my willingness to let you join the faction.

“Lead Investigator Chen, you are very outstanding. You’ve shown clear growth too. You even have Lao He as your guarantor. I’m also willing to recommend you.”

He paused for a moment. “But I do need to make one thing clear. We don’t have many restrictions for regular members. They can go wherever they please, but that also means that they get a limited amount of assistance.

“If you want pure essence and real help, you’ll not only need a guarantor and a recommender, but also need to go through a much harder test .

“If you clear it, you will have the right to learn the purity faction’s martial arts and use its resources. At the same time, we will have more requests for you, and you will need to obey more rules.

“If you can accept this, you’ll become an internal member of the faction, but you won’t be able to quit whenever you want.”

Wen Tong’s expression became more serious. “You must also know that since we have beliefs that we need to spread, we will run into obstacles. If you join us, you’ll get what you want, but you will also need to fight against our enemies. You must think this through.”

Chen Chuan nodded. He could understand the meaning behind his words. If he wanted to get something, he needed to offer something in return.

Besides, if he wanted to continue getting stronger, he needed to attach himself to some organization. Others could gang up on him, and it would be difficult for him to fight against them all by himself.

He smiled and asked, “Mr. Wen, would you recommend me?”