Book 4, Chapter 106: Preparation

Chen Chuan raised an eyebrow at that. It was unexpected, but when he remembered the two martial arts masters he encountered, both of them seemed to have some rather... unique habits, and what Zhuan Liang said suddenly made sense.

“According to the former national religion, this stage is known as Dragon Sealing The Heavenly Gate. The martial artist needs to sacrifice the mark of a dragon to cross the threshold. This mark of the dragon can be an emotion, whatever belief is keeping them going, or a hobby. It depends on what you’re willing to sacrifice. This method has been proven to have the highest success rate.

“The records from the old era also show that the former national religion tried to sacrifice a lot of people in order to help some leaders reach the Fourth Limit, but to those people, these lives were worth nothing, so it wasn’t effective. Thank goodness for that too, because due to that it didn’t become popular.

“The leaders didn’t want to give up their power and status, so very few members of the royal family who had real power reached the Fourth Limit. Those who did couldn’t remain at the top anymore.”

Zhuan Liang’s voice became more serious. “You need to think about this carefully. While it’s true that you can get more power by giving up on more things, some things are too important. There are certain beliefs that we need to protect. If you stop caring about them, you won’t be fit to be called a human anymore. You won’t even be yourself.”

Chen Chuan nodded at that. This was a given. He had to stay true to his morals, or breaking through would be meaningless.

If a martial artist who originally valued his family and friends gave up on them, they would end up becoming someone completely different.

Of course, those who truly valued these things might not necessarily do such a thing, but some of the more radical people may do it for more power, even if it might come with unpredictable consequences.

Even if they weren’t radical, Chen Chuan could think of various strange oaths and methods. At the end of the day, though, it all depended on the martial artist’s decision, which meant that they couldn’t just do whatever they wanted. If they weren’t sincere, they could deceive other people, but they wouldn’t be able to lie to themselves.

All in all, this step was a method to solve the issue of a weak mind. If the mind was strong enough, this step could be skipped.

“I mentioned this first because just like how most martial artists’ strength is determined by their natural gifts, the foundation of your mind will determine your future success. Once your mental energy reaches a breakthrough, it’ll be the same as being reborn. The stronger the foundation is, the better.

“So, you need to think carefully about what you’re willing to give up.”

Chen Chuan nodded again.

“Next, I’ll tell you the specific techniques and methods to reach the Fourth Limit,” Zhuan Liang said, and his eyes shone.

Immediately, Chen Chuan sensed mental energy entering his mind. Since he had experience with this from when he learned under Xue Shou, he opened his mind. In an instant, he received a lot of information.

“Since you’ve managed to reach your current stage, these techniques won’t be difficult for you. The key is for you to reach the threshold of the breakthrough on your own, so I won’t give you any unnecessary details. Go back and take a look. If you don’t understand something or have any questions, come and ask me.

“I also brought with me something you will need for your breakthrough. I planned to give it to you later, but since you’re not far from that stage, you can have it now.”

He grabbed his luggage bag, took out a square box of around twenty centimeters in each direction, and pushed it to Chen Chuan.

“Thank you, Mr. Zhuan.” Chen Chuan was grateful.

“You’re welcome. I hope that you will do your best to teach those who come after you too,” Zhuan Liang said.

“I will.” Chen Chuan nodded sincerely. “By the way, I need to tell the faction something. I will be going to the merged space in a few days.”

“The merged space? You’re off on a mission, then? Be careful,” Zhuan Liang said.

Chen Chuan knew what he meant. Even though martial arts masters seldom showed up in Central Cities, the merged space didn’t place a lot of limits on them. The traitor of the faction also seemed to be in the merged space.

But in order to fend against the imperial army and certain existences from the other world, Jibei Road’s Central City had stationed a martial arts master of their own in the merged space. According to the information Chen Chuan had, this martial arts master was likely to be Mr. Zheng, the chancellor of Martial Valor University’s main campus, who had never shown his face in the university.

“I’ll be careful,” he said.

“You still have duties, so I won’t hold you here any longer. Remember to read through what I gave you. Before you leave for the merged space, if you want to see me, just come here,” Zhuan Liang said with a smile.

“Okay.” Chen Chuan picked up the box from the table and stood up, then bowed. “I’ll be leaving now, Mr. Zhuan.”

Once he stepped out, he went to say goodbye to Chang Dong and Gao Yanjun before driving back to the main city area.

He didn’t return to the department, but went back to his house. He needed to receive some packages he had bought to take to the merged space.

The moment he got home, he saw a familiar car parked in front of his gate. When Advisor Pei saw him, he got out and waved at him.

Chen Chuan slowed down and wound his car window down. “Were you looking for me, Advisor Pei? Should we talk in the house?”

“I won’t be going in. I’m just here on behalf of Special Officer Liang to tell you about some things. I’ll be leaving after that,” Advisor Pei answered with a smile.

Chen Chuan nodded and opened the front passenger seat’s door. Advisor Pei got in and tapped on his Realm Pass.

Chen Chuan immediately received a map of the merged space.

It showed a huge area and included various entrances to the merged space, military forts, airship mooring ports, battlefields where the merged space military was in a stalemate with the imperial army, and some unidentified areas that hadn’t been fully explored.

Advisor Pei then tapped on a spot in an unidentified area. “We got word that this is where the artifact appeared. It’s also where Captain Xu’s team is headed. Based on their route and speed, they should almost be there.”

Chen Chuan took a look. Even though it was only a small dot on the map, it was actually a large area, and its entire surrounding region hadn’t been properly developed, so there weren’t any military forts around. It was such a dangerous, primitive zone that it was marked with red on the map.

Advisor Pei said, “We’ve fought with the imperial army for a few months, so we’re both currently resting and recuperating. While there aren’t any major battles anymore, we still have occasional skirmishes. We believe that there will be a major battle before the end of the year, so this month or so will be the downtime.

“We received information from a reliable source that the imperial army is also searching for the artifact. Our enemies aren’t just the ones we’re currently seeing. Be careful, Lead Investigator Chen.”

Chen Chuan nodded. He was expecting this and was mentally prepared for it.

“If any changes happen to the merged space, the map will update itself. Once you set the time for your departure, I will escort you,” Advisor Pei continued.

“Okay,” Chen Chuan answered.

“I won’t keep you from your duties now. Goodbye,” Advisor Pei said.

“Okay. See you again,” Chen Chuan replied.

Once Advisor Pei said goodbye to him, he returned to his own car and drove off.

Chen Chuan drove into his courtyard. Once he got out, the housekeeper from Border Fusion told him that a lot of the things he ordered had been delivered, and the servants had sent them to his training room, just as he instructed.

Chen Chuan took a shower before going to the training room on the third floor. Its floor was covered in his purchases.

They were items and weapons he bought based on Chen Bitong’s knowledge. Every one of them had their own use.

After scanning them, Chen Chuan went up to a box. It had a weapon known as the Dragon Hunting Spear, though it resembled a coiled white rope.

The spear was fifteen meters long and was a mutated weapon. When dormant, it coiled up like rope, but once refined force was injected into it, it would instantly become firm and straight. It was a must when fighting against mega creatures. The Dragon Hunting Spear was a weapon that could not be used without enough refined force.

Chen Chuan was of the opinion that if he was strong enough and used the correct technique and method, he could use the spear against humans as well.

He checked the box again. When he saw that there were no other weapons inside, he shut it and went to another box to take a bizarrely-shaped cannon. It needed to be fixed to the chest and stretched to his arm.

This was a weapon from the Resolution Department that was made by Dragon’s Roar. It was incredibly powerful and suitable for martial artists. The cannon was strong enough to kill various creatures in the merged space and could also be used against humans.

Even Third Limit martial artists without body hardening-type refined force would find themselves either dead or incapacitated if they were hit by it at close range.

Aside from these, Chen Chuan had also bought rope, nets, various medicines, small tools, and some small bioweapons.

All of these items were bought relying on Chen Bitong’s experiences. Medicine alone wasn’t going to be enough to move around the merged space. Small bioweapons could effectively hunt and kill small insects in the area, thus ensuring that he wouldn’t be bothered by them.

Chen Chuan also bought a large amount of ritual materials through the Cult Investigation Bureau.

Staying overnight in the merged space’s wilderness was incredibly dangerous, and Chen Chuan had no intention of relying solely on the World Ring Defense System’s tools. It was important to have a backup plan.

He then grabbed the short saber he seldom used. He had asked the Resolution Department to attach a rope to the end of its hilt. When he drew it, the mirror-like surface of the blade reflected his cold gaze.

Aside from taking out the Union and Linacrox Union’s armed combatants in the merged space, he might as well find a chance to go to the place Qi Qianyang mentioned and see whether he could kill the target.

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