Book 4, Chapter 80: The Whole Story

After Chen Chuan introduced himself, Tian Rui was shocked for a while, then frustration filled him. Soon though, all the fight left him. He showed a whole range of expressions.

In the end, he slumped down, as if he had run out of energy. Dejectedly, he said, “They sent you to capture me, didn’t they? Go on ahead, but please, don’t hurt my children.”

He cast a glance at Chen Chuan. “You don’t look like a bad guy.”

Then, he ducked his head back down. As if he was trying to convince him, he mumbled, “You wouldn’t do that. No. No, you wouldn’t...”

Chen Chuan watched him and wondered how Tian Rui managed to hide for fifteen years when he was like this. Still, he took out the piece of paper from his pocket, went up to Tian Rui, and raised it in front of him. “Mr. Tian, you wrote this, didn’t you?”

Tian Rui gave it a look. Suddenly, he looked a little conflicted and mumbled, “Yes, but please believe me. I don’t want to hurt you. I just... I just want you to leave. You can’t win against him...”

“Him?” Chen Chuan asked. Then, he realized that Tian Rui was talking about the target.

While they were talking, Tian Wo rode back and immediately saw Chen Chuan. “Huh? Aren’t you...”

He took note of his father sitting with slumped shoulders while Chen Chuan stood tall in front of him. Immediately, he sensed that something was wrong and ran over to Tian Rui without even caring about parking his bicycle properly. “What’s going on, Dad?” he asked anxiously.

He then whirled around to face Chen Chuan. With anger blazing in his eyes, he demanded, “Who are you, and what do you want?!”

Tian Rui grabbed his hand and said uneasily, “This is my problem, Xiao Wo. It has nothing to do with you. Go inside.”

His words frustrated Tian Wo even more. He broke free of Tian Rui’s grasp and yelled, “You say that every time, old man! You always get into trouble, and even if I don’t want to care, Mom and I are the ones who have to save you every time. Just tell me. Who do you owe money to this time? Or did you promise to do something for someone again?”

Tian Rui blushed, but he still defended himself, “N-No. It’s really not—”

Tian Wo huffed. He didn’t believe him at all. “I know you.”

“It really isn’t! You have to trust me, Xiao Wo.”

“So? What’s going on?”

“I-I...” Tian Rui stammered. When he saw Tian Wo looking at him in disdain, he panicked and blurted out, “It’s from the past! It’s none of your business!”

“From the past?” Tian Wo was stunned.

Then, he bristled and grabbed Tian Rui to drag him back a few steps. “Where is he from, Dad?”

“He’s from—Wait, no! Stop!”

When Tian Rui was about to answer, he saw Tian Wo turning toward Chen Chuan. Tian Wo shoved him back, so Tian Rui staggered. Panic filled his body, and he yelled at Tian Wo to stop.

Right before Chen Chuan’s eyes, Tian Wo left behind an afterimage, and he raised an eyebrow at that.

Such speed belonged to the Third Limit.

This wasn’t what he showed during the street fighting competition. His rhythm hadn’t been that of a Third Limit martial artist’s.

As Tian Wo’s fist drew closer to him, Chen Chuan reached out, blocked it, shoved it aside, and smacked away Tian Wo’s leg too.

In a single instant, Tian Wo attacked him dozens of times, but he managed to block them all with just one hand.

Tian Wo was stunned.

He looked down on regular martial artists, because from a young age, he reached his breakthroughs easily, and had yet to meet anyone who could fight him one-on-one.

He had kept this a secret from Tian Rui and fought against Third Limit martial artists. These people couldn’t compare to him either. Due to his outstanding talent, Tian Wo had always used a method a certain person taught him to hide his true strength. Hence, before today, he had always been absolutely confident in himself.

But now, he could sense that he couldn’t break through Chen Chuan’s defenses, and Chen Chuan’s feet never even moved. With just one hand, he blocked all of Tian Wo’s attacks, which was impossible to accept.

Tian Rui charged over and dragged Tian Wo back. He hissed in a panic, “Stop this, Tian Wo!”

Tian Wo staggered back but kept his eyes trained on Chen Chuan as his chest heaved.

Chen Chuan looked at him and said, “I can tell that you’ve never received proper training. You never polished any of your techniques and reached your current level based solely on your talent.

“Hmm... You should have practiced a unique refined force that allows you to hide your movement rhythm. That’s why the refined force you display is at the level of someone from a lower limit.

“The person who taught you this method should have done so to make sure that you don’t stand out and catch attention, but if you do this for a prolonged period of time, you’ll end up with a skewed perception of yourself and your opponents.”

“Shut up! I didn’t ask for your opinion!”

Tian Wo was shocked and frustrated, because Chen Chuan managed to pinpoint his exact situation. A desire to win rose in him. He sucked in a deep breath, and a wisp of hot air rose from him.

Chen Chuan gave it a brief glance. “Oh? The Furnace Breathing Technique?”

Tian Wo’s skin started burning. After pushing Tian Rui back, he dashed over once more. His strength and speed had risen to another level, but he had a feeling that he still wouldn’t be able to break Chen Chuan’s defenses head-on, so he started circling him in order to find a chance.

Chen Chuan remained still and composed, which meant Tian Wo was unable to find any openings.

Even so, he refused to give up. When he circled to the front again, he stopped trying to find an opening and rushed over to launch another flurry of attacks.

Chen Chuan continued blocking with just one hand. Nothing changed. No matter how Tian Wo attacked or sped up, he just couldn’t break through Chen Chuan’s defenses.

The effectiveness of the Furnace Breathing Technique was largely dependent on the energy stored in the body, and it drained a lot of stamina. After half a minute, Tian Wo’s body gave in, forcing him to retreat and gasp for breath. Sweat covered his body to the point where it looked like he had just gone swimming.

He clenched his fists and teeth while staring at Chen Chuan, who didn’t seem that much older than he was, but was so strong that he left Tian Wo in the dust. This was a huge blow to his confidence.

Chen Chuan turned to Tian Rui. “Mr. Tian, did you teach him the Furnace Breathing Technique?”

Tian Rui grimaced at that. “I didn’t teach him. He stole it from me.”

“Even if you taught him, it doesn’t matter. I have yet to learn the truth, so you’re still part of the purity faction, and it’s not up to me to decide what sort of techniques you teach your son. But now, can we talk?” Chen Chuan asked.

“Talk?” Tian Rui was taken aback for a moment before Chen Chuan’s words truly sank in. “Oh, yes. Of course. W-Why don’t we go inside to talk?”

Very nervously, he added, “I’ll tell you everything.”

Chen Chuan cast him a glance before nodding and following him into the living room.

Tian Wo stayed outside alone. At this point, he had also noticed that things weren’t as he expected. He wiped off his sweat and went into the house without another sound.

Tian Rui asked Chen Chuan to take a seat before pouring a glass of water for him and sitting down across from him. He asked tentatively, “What should I tell you about, Lead Investigator Chen?”

Chen Chuan watched him and said, “Why don’t you tell me about what happened in the past? The faction has always wanted to know why you suddenly disappeared and went radio silent for fifteen years.

“If you wanted to leave the purity faction for a good reason, I don’t think the faction would have stopped you, but you left without a word. Don’t you think you should tell the faction why you did it?”

Tian Rui slumped. “Yes. It’s my fault. I didn’t want this to happen either, but...”

He clenched his fists. “I just couldn’t watch it happening. I couldn’t.”

“What exactly happened? Could you tell me? If something unfair happened to you or someone tried to stop you from leaving, you can tell me. If you’re in the right, I’ll do my best to defend you before the faction.” Chen Chuan patiently tried to coax some answers out.

Tian Rui shook his head. Then, he turned to Tian Wo, who was hovering nearby, and said, “Step away for a bit, son. There are some things you can’t hear.”

“I’m not leaving.” Tian Wo rejected the idea.

“This is faction business. You’re not part of the faction, so you can’t listen in,” Tian Rui said sternly.

When he saw his father’s rarely seen stern expression, Tian Wo was caught by surprise and clicked his tongue before leaving.

Tian Rui’s stern expression collapsed, but then he thought of something and stood up from his armchair to check outside.

“You have great soundproofing here, Mr. Tian, but if you’re worried about your son listening in, we can talk through our Realm Passes,” Chen Chuan suggested.

“Oh, okay.” Tian Rui hunched his shoulders, feeling embarrassed. He connected with Chen Chuan’s signal.

Then, after sucking in a deep breath, he started messaging Chen Chuan.

Tian Rui: The captain did break the faction’s rules, and it was bad, but the boy is innocent. I couldn’t just watch a child get dragged into this.

Chen Chuan: Hang on. Whose child? Yours or the captain’s? Does he have a child?

Chen Chuan had to interrupt Tian Rui, because that came out of nowhere.

Tian Rui’s expression turned complicated.

Tian Rui: The captain’s.

Chen Chuan watched him.

Chen Chuan: I don’t remember hearing about collective punishment in the faction, or are you saying that someone wanted to kill his child? Does that have to do with what happened?

Tian Rui ducked his head and gripped his knees so hard that his fingers trembled.

Tian Rui: Yes. The child is the captain’s.

His grip tightened even further, and cracking sounds came out. He was gripping himself so hard that he was about to shatter his own kneecaps.

Tian Rui: The child was born from a union between him and an existence from the other world.

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