Book 4, Chapter 22: Arrival

After getting the messenger settled down, Gan Guo hurried over to Talu with the letter. He then asked the students to leave before saying with a stern expression, “Talu, it’s from Serene Radiance School.”

The moment Talu heard the school’s name, she became serious as well and opened the letter to read it.

The letter was written in the Great Shun Republic’s national language in decorative, gilded script. It started with a series of greetings before touching briefly on the ties between the two schools. Then, the letter went into the true goal of its sender.

It talked about how the two schools had a tradition of learning from each other since the old era.

When the former Talu was still around, the two schools had an exchange, so Serene Radiance School intended to send its disciples over to spar against the current Talu as well.

While the letter was written politely and humbly, it was actually a notice telling Talu that this was what they were going to do. They didn’t care about what she thought about it.

“They’re not coming here as friends. The timing also makes it obvious that they’re here for the gap. If they bring that, the moment Mr. Chen goes to train at night, they might just figure out where our gap is,” Gan Guo said worriedly.

“Is that thing really in their hands, Gan Guo?” Talu asked.

“Your master said that, so it’s likely true,” Gan Guo said.

When the fistmaster fought against Serene Radiance School’s sabermaster, he had brought with him a token. Apparently, it could detect gaps from a distance.

But the gap had disappeared back then, so everyone thought that the gap was permanently gone. The token became just a memento. However, Serene Radiance School never sent the fistmaster’s corpse back, so it was highly likely that they took the token.

After the former Talu rediscovered the gap, the token became valuable again, and Serene Radiance School could have figured out its use. If they brought it with them, the moment they got on the island and Chen Chuan went to train at night, they would discover the gap’s true location.

The issue was that even if they asked Chen Chuan to stop training, it wouldn’t change much. After Ferris Wheel’s collapse, Serene Radiance School was bound to start eyeing Single Flow School. This period of time was the best moment for Serene Radiance School to achieve its goal, so they were going to do whatever it took to find the gap.

If they couldn’t find it, they would at least ensure that no one else had it. Gan Guo couldn’t tell what Serene Radiance School might do, and that was what worried him the most.

After some thinking, he said, “Talu, we’re going to have a difficult time winning against Serene Radiance School by ourselves. We need to talk to Mr. Chen about this.”

“Let’s go look for him,” Talu said with a nod.

***

Chen Chuan was sitting on the lotus flower seat when he sensed their arrival. He opened his eyes and stood up. “Is Serene Radiance School about to do something?”

Gan Guo was shocked. “How did you know?”

Chen Chuan smiled. “Your minds told me what you’re about to face.”

Their biofields and minds were in an extreme state of wariness and caution, which would only happen when someone was about to face a powerful opponent. Talu’s biofield remained lively and spirited, though. She wasn’t scared of her opponent. Instead, she looked forward to them.

The most likely cause for this reaction was Serene Radiance School. After all, they were the only enemies the two had told Chen Chuan about before.

His relaxed expression made Gan Guo relax as well. He composed himself and said, “Serene Radiance School sent us a letter, and it’s no different from a letter of challenge. They should arrive in two days.”

Chen Chuan nodded at that. He was mentally prepared for this. If a response unit like Urtik’s had been able to notice Mistlight Island, how could Serene Radiance School spare them, when it had been vying for Single Flow School since a long time ago?

If they missed this window of opportunity, they wouldn’t get such a chance again.

“Gan Guo, Talu, I’ve told you before that since we’re all part of the purity faction, this matter concerns me too. I’ll fight with you,” he said.

Gan Guo became much less worried upon hearing this. Setting aside Chen Chuan’s performance yesterday, the fact that he was able to see the secret legacy gave him a huge boost of confidence.

The former Talu had only been able to see it when he was almost fifty years old, and he had been really strong back then. Aside from the sabermasters who never showed their faces, no one among the island nations could give him a proper challenge.

Gan Guo felt that even if Chen Chuan hadn’t reached that level of strength and was only close to it, he should be able to win against the people from Serene Radiance School. Even so, he had another worry.

“Serene Radiance School might send Yejian Hong,” he said.

Chen Chuan had heard that name before when he was talking to Sancheng Huang, and he had learned some things about him from other sources, but that was the extent of his knowledge about the eldest disciple, because even Sancheng Huang had never met the man. “How strong is Yejian Hong?”

“I heard that he’s only average in terms of talent,” Gan Guo answered. “If he’s alone, you shouldn’t have a hard time taking him down, but before the former Talu passed away, he said that the eldest disciples of Serene Radiance School might not necessarily be the strongest, but they’re the best at enduring a sabermaster’s mental projection.”

Surprise flickered in Chen Chuan’s heart. Mental projection, huh? This reminded him of Jiancheng Sheng.

“The former Talu said that the martial arts schools that have lasted until now on the island nations all have techniques that allow the sabermasters to put their mental projections on their disciples. Some are gentle, and some are violent, but all require the disciples to go through it as part of their training. Serene Radiance School is a mix between gentle and violent.

“Based on Serene Radiance School’s traditions, Yejian Hong became the eldest disciple not because he’s the most proficient with the school’s techniques, but because he’s the best at receiving the sabermaster’s power.”

Perhaps worried that Chen Chuan would be scared because of this, Gan Guo added, “Sabermasters are really strong, so while a disciple can accept their power, there’s a limit to how much power they can receive. Yejian Hong won’t be so strong that you won’t be able to win against him.”

Chen Chuan nodded. He agreed with Gan Guo’s words. It may be that some disciples could project more power, but they couldn’t become so strong that they broke the boundaries of logic. “If Yejian Hong comes to the island and asks for a duel, please let me fight him. While I’m not part of Single Flow School, you’re both fellow members of the purity faction. Besides, I won’t be able to avoid this,” Chen Chuan said earnestly.

“Thank you, Mr. Chen,” Gan Guo said gratefully and put on a somber expression. “If that’s the case, I’ll go back with Talu to write a formal reply to Serene Radiance School.”

Chen Chuan nodded.

After they left, he thought,

An opponent like that would definitely be really helpful in developing my Heartborn Force.

He turned around and sat back down on the lotus flower seat.

***

Seven days later, a ferry arrived on Luowang Island despite the huge waves. Once the ferry entered the harbor, a few martial artists in traditional robes and topknots walked out amid the pouring rain.

They wore Serene Radiance School’s martial arts uniform.

There were plenty of disciples belonging to the three major schools among the island nations, and they had plenty of branch schools, but only those from the main schools could wear the uniforms. This caused the people in the harbor to pay special attention to them.

The newcomers surrounded a short and thin person. His figure made him look like a teenager, but his face showed that he was an adult man.

There was a confused look on his face, as if he wasn’t all that intelligent, but the people following him were really respectful toward him.

The thin man turned to the side and broke free of the team to walk away. Someone behind him grabbed his arm and said, “We need to find a place to stay first. Once the weather improves, we’ll go to Mistlight Island. Please come this way.”

The thin man stared at him with even more confusion on his face. The others then stepped forward as well to persuade him to come back. When he eventually returned to their center, they headed to a hotel they had booked.

***

Two days later, the strong winds that had been raging for more than ten days weakened a little. The messenger then came to the island and delivered a letter to Gan Guo.

This was Serene Radiance School’s second letter, and it said that they had arrived on Luowang Island. They were about to visit Talu.

Gan Guo scowled.

Based on the itinerary, Serene Radiance School had practically boarded a boat to Mistlight Island the moment they sent the letter instead of waiting for a reply. They used fancy words to cover up their real intentions, but that was all they bothered to do to hide their ulterior motives.

Gan Guo checked his watch and saw that they were about to arrive in half an hour. These people were truly closing in on every side without giving them any time to react.

He exhaled and sent a few disciples to wait at the harbor. Soon, they saw a sailboat approaching.

Once it got closer and stopped in the harbor, disciples in Serene Radiance School’s uniform stepped out. Their gazes were sharp, and all of them carried sabers in their hands, as if they were about to attack.

Gan Guo approached them, and they whipped their heads toward him. Their eyes were like daggers.

Gan Guo remained calm and said gravely, “I’m Gan Guo, Single Flow School’s teaching instructor. Talu asked me to receive you.”

He bowed to them.

The group watched him for a while before one of them stepped forward and bowed as well.

“I’m Shiyuan Ba, a disciple of Serene Radiance School. I’ve come on orders from my master to accompany the eldest disciple to visit our fellow martial artists from Single Flow School. If we’ve offended you in any manner, please forgive us.”

“Mr. Shiyuan, is it? Well met.” Gan Guo looked behind him. “And who is Mr. Yejian?”

Shiyuan Ba’s expression grew stern. He straightened up and took a step to the side to reveal the confused-looking thin man. “This is Yejian Hong, the eldest disciple of Serene Radiance School.”