Book 4, Chapter 225: The Three Forms Return To One

Saybal answered honestly. “Yes. I side with Norland, but they’re far from us. We can use their strength, but they can’t control us effectively. This would give us room for autonomy instead of being controlled in all areas.

“They’d also be supporting us with everything they have in order for us to be able to fight against the Great Shun Republic. This would get us more chances to develop our technology and businesses.”

Chen Chuan considered it. In order to get ready for the Great Crash, the big countries were trying their best to gather resources, which led to a competition between them. To not fall behind and let other countries become too powerful, the big countries constantly sabotaged each other. Because of it, the small countries became sacrifices stuck between them.

Not only did they need to provide various resources for the big nations, but they were also pushed forward to fight against other countries like they were participants in a tournament. It was true that they were in a difficult position.

Saybal continued, “Heh. Now that I think about it, Jenkar might already know that I’ve returned to the country. That’s why he has been hiding instead of doing something. He’s been waiting for a chance to attack. You won this round.”

Jenkar was the martial arts master in Vakrahn Central City.

Chen Chuan disagreed with this.

The Great Shun Republic’s Foreign Intelligence Department didn’t know that Saybal had returned, which meant that there was no way Jenkar could know. If he did know, he would have told Chen Chuan instead of hiding it.

After all, Jenkar didn’t know Chen Chuan’s strength, so he would not have pushed him to fight against two martial arts masters alone. If anything went wrong, the Great Shun Republic was bound to hold him responsible.

“Do you know why Atamur was willing to die by my hand?” Saybal asked.

Before Chen Chuan could reply, he continued, “Because of the assemblage of three forms. In the Pushan Canon, Shile the Creator created the heavens and the earth. Then, he split into three forms—Dabushar the Heavenly King, Damolite the War God, and Piro the Immortal.

“Each of us is practicing one of the three forms. When the three forms gather into one, we will become Shile the Creator, and it will boost our original power. If I got Atamur’s power, I could go back and ask Jenkar to give up his own, and then, Veshahan would no longer be a weak country!”

Chen Chuan couldn’t tell whether the assemblage of the three forms would lead to one transcending into an even higher state of being, but it was likely that one of them could surpass the current limit.

Martial arts masters varied in strength. If a powerful martial arts master showed up, they would indeed have a certain degree of decision-making power. They might even be able to expand their country’s territory a bit.

But for three forms to become one, two others would have to be sacrificed. All three of them must have thought about becoming the one, and this was the perfect chance to do so.

“This should be your secret. Why tell me?” Chen Chuan asked.

“We lost the fight, so Jenkar would definitely like to take our strength to perfect himself. What will you do about it? Kill us or bring us back?” Saybal said.

Chen Chuan understood then. It was no wonder why Saybal told him about it. If he killed the two, public opinion would turn against the Great Shun Republic, and it would give the other countries a chance to stick their noses into Veshahan’s affairs.

If he didn’t kill them, Jenkar would end up being the one who benefits and gains new power. Would he still listen to the Great Shun Republic after that?

Saybal didn’t want to die, nor did he want to be brought back, which was why he said these things.

“I won’t kill you, but I won’t leave you two here either. I’m going to bring you back to Vakrahn. I’ve already done everything that I should do. The rest is Veshahan’s business. Solve it on your own,” Chen Chuan declared.

Saybal was shocked. He was clearly against the idea, so he tried to argue further. “Shouldn’t you not do this for the sake of the Great Shun Republic’s interests?”

“There’s no need to care about that,” Chen Chuan said.

Then, as if he came to an understanding, Saybal asked, “Do you think that even with the assemblage of three forms, the Great Shun Republic will be strong enough to oppress us? You’re underestimating the assemblage of three forms’ power. Also, once someone’s strength reaches a certain degree, no one can keep them down through stronger power anymore. Whoever wants to suppress them needs to show sufficient respect. If Jenkar succeeds, he won’t respect the Great Shun Republic as much as before. Other countries will try to recruit him too.”

“Isn’t that good for your country?” Chen Chuan shot back.

Saybal found himself rendered speechless.

“I don’t know how strong any of you will get after the assemblage of three forms, but you will need an equivalent amount of resources to the power you gain to sustain it.

“And based on what I know, Veshahan is already hard-pressed to provide for two martial arts masters. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have run off to another country. After the assemblage of three forms, whoever gets it will need even more resources. Veshahan won’t be able to provide you with it and will need to ask for help. Meanwhile, Veshahan is right next to the Great Shun Republic, and our support is much cheaper than that of other countries. That’s why I believe that even if that happens, the situation won’t change much.”

Saybal’s expression shifted, and he fell silent.

Chen Chuan turned his face to the sky. With the pressure of the upcoming Great Crash, many new martial arts masters had appeared, and every nation in the world was supporting them, so they were left with no choice but to start consolidating power. It was also why multiple big countries and regions had appeared after the collapse of the mega alliance.

Small countries like Veshahan only existed as buffer zones between big countries. The amount of martial arts masters they could provide for were definitely on the lower side. Their martial arts masters couldn’t be too strong either. If they were, the country would have to ask for help from big countries for resources. That was why, no matter how they struggled to get free, it was useless.

Chen Chuan went outside. After walking around, he found an SUV with a full tank. Then, he went back, grabbed Atamur and Saybal, put them inside, and drove back.

Around two hours later, the wind started growing weaker, and he met up with Dawncall again. Then, with Dawncall’s guidance, he found his driver heading over. Upon learning that Chen Chuan was done with his business, he was glad and took out the telegraph set to send a telegram to the rear. With that done, they headed back.

The next day, when it was about time for the sun to start rising, Chen Chuan saw light coming from within the inner ring of Vakrahn.

It was like a giant basin of fire had descended on the mountain. The buildings around it also had light coming from them, making them look like stars. The place looked really lively. The other places in Veshahan couldn’t hope to compare to this place.

The hot-air-balloon-like airship Chen Chuan saw before flew out of the city. It was still releasing colorful smoke. Once it drew closer, it started descending slowly.

Chen Chuan stopped as well.

When the airship stopped, a man dressed in traditional Veshahan robes got out. He was Master Jenkar, the one treated like a god in Vakrahn Central City.

He had an elegant face and kept good care of his skin. Physically, he looked like he was only in his thirties, but rather than a martial arts master, he resembled a religious leader with his head buried in scriptures.

He bowed to Chen Chuan in the manner of Zen monks before speaking fluently and gently in the Great Shun Republic’s national language. “Mr. Chen, thank you for solving our problem. I’d be honored if you could come to Vakrahn as a guest.”

“There’s no need for that. I’ve already gotten what my country asked me to get, and I need to bring it back as soon as possible. Since these two are Veshahanese, I’ll leave them to you. Deal with them as you wish,” Chen Chuan said.

Jenkar cast them a glance before bowing respectfully to Chen Chuan. “Thank you for sparing them, Mr. Chen.”

“Enough with that, Jenkar,” Saybal mocked him. “We’ve sworn before that if either of us defeats the other two, they have the right to take their power to become Shile. You’ve won. Even if you made use of the Great Shun Republic’s power, we’ve always valued wisdom as well as strength. That’s why you’ve still won. Since you’re the victor, you should do it.”

“Even if I became Shile, what would it change?” Jenkar sighed. “I’d just be increasing Veshahan’s burden. Our territory in the merged space is only big enough to support one martial arts master with a little leftover for a second one. If it weren’t because of this, you wouldn’t have left to look for other paths.”

He turned to Chen Chuan. “Mr. Chen, I’ve gotten the benefits from the situation, yet I’m saying such things. Do you think I’m a hypocrite? But I know that even with my skills, I wouldn’t be able to change the top-down approach the country takes to running things. If I wanted to change it, I’d need to destroy it, and while destroying things is easy, building something from the ground up is hard.

“How can a wounded, weak animal fight against a predator stalking it?

“Veshahan only wishes to find a reliable shelter that won’t collapse on it. This way, perhaps, we can last for a few more years. We don’t dare to think about anything else.”

Chen Chuan knew that this was Jenkar stating his stance. Regardless of whether he was being truthful or not, the leaders were the ones who were going to consider what he said. “I’ll bring your words back to the government.”

“I won’t keep you any longer, then. My people will show you out. Also, I wasn’t able to be a good host to you, even though you came to our country. That’s terribly rude of me, so I prepared some gifts as an apology. Please take them,” Jenkar said.

Chen Chuan didn’t reject the gifts. After handing over Atamur and Saybal, he called out to Dawncall and got into the driver’s SUV.

Jenkar watched him and bowed to him respectfully. Even after a long time passed, he didn’t straighten his back.

Saybal mocked him, “That’s enough. He’s already far away. You don’t have to kiss his butt so much.”

Jenkar didn’t defend himself. Instead, he came back and untied Saybal and Atamur.

Saybal was surprised. “Don’t you want to take my power?”

Jenkar took two steps back and looked down. “The Great Shun Republic will only help me if you leave.”

That took Saybal aback, and then he chuckled. “At least you’re honest. Jenkar, while what you said has some logic behind it, you don’t have to worry about it. It’s not as if we can’t get training resources. I know of one way.”

Jenkar sighed. “You’ve approached them?”

“They’re the ones who came to me and said that they’re willing to give me resources. How could I say no? The Great Crash could be here at any minute now. Who knows what’s going to happen then?” Saybal defended himself.

“The Great Shun Republic and Norland aren’t countries that we can easily manipulate and deceive,” Jenkar countered. “Do you really think that they’ll lose control of our country the moment I’m gone?

“Over the past few decades, the Great Shun Republic has brought plenty of Veshahanese over to train them. If we do something too out of line, someone else will take our place.”

Saybal was shocked. His expression changed a few times before he hissed in indignation. “You’re saying that we can’t change anything?”

“We’ve tried before. Even if we managed to get some benefits when the Eastern Continent weakened, it didn’t matter. In the end, we had to return all that we took. We shouldn’t think about taking what isn’t ours. But the impending change in the world might be a chance. By then, who knows what’s going to happen?”

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