Book 4, Chapter 208: A Promising Road At The Horizon

Before Chen Chuan agreed to help Ocean Development Corporation, they had promised to compensate him and give him a satisfactory reward for the operation.

Since he knew that he was going to need a lot of medicine for his training, Chen Chuan submitted a list of medicines, though he hadn’t expected the corporation to be so quick in getting everything ready.

When he heard about it, he wasn’t in a hurry to pick the medicine up. Instead, he grabbed the glass of nectar on the table and took a sip before asking Hu Kan, “What are you going to do next, Big Brother Hu?”

“Continue being a corporate slave. I reckon I’ll be given other work to do after going back. Speaking of which, they’re definitely going to calibrate Serene Radiance School’s gap so it leads to the merged space. This means we’ll need to occupy this space to get the resources we need from it. It’s going to be a lot of work. I’m going to be so busy,” Hu Kan mock complained.

“You don’t seem against the idea,” Chen Chuan pointed out.

Hu Kan laughed. “If I don’t fight and polish my techniques, I feel like I’m going to fall behind.”

He patted the hammers on the floor. “I rely on my strength to put food on the table. If I can’t win anymore, I won't be able to eat, you know?”

Chen Chuan nodded.

That was right. Even the techniques of martial arts masters would grow rusty if unused, and their battle instincts would also grow dull if they relaxed and didn’t fight for a long time.

Those stationed long-term at the frontlines were the strongest. No martial arts masters could win against others just by training behind closed doors.

Of course, this also meant that they needed to keep their bodies in top condition. If they didn’t stay at top form because of not getting enough nutrients, their physical condition would deteriorate. Even though martial arts masters usually didn’t die of old age, many things were required to sustain their longevity. If they didn’t get enough nutrients, they would grow old and breathe their last.

Chen Chuan’s goal now was the next stage within the Fourth Limit. In the books from the old era, it was known as the Longevity Stage. After reaching it, martial arts masters could maintain their own strength and wouldn’t automatically deteriorate just because they lost a bit of energy.

There was a way within the True Mandate of the Arcane Void that could help reach this stage, but Chen Chuan was far away from it. He needed to master the Furnace of Heaven and Earth, the Blinding Blaze, and the Fist of the Vast Sky, then train his body and mind until they became one entity. It was only then that he could try to reach the Longevity Stage.

Hu Kan looked outside and drew closer to Chen Chuan. “Brother, you’ve heard of the Skyline Project, right?”

“Yeah,” Chen Chuan answered. Ni Qianqian had told him about it. After becoming a lead investigator, he had also read up on it.

The project’s goal was to connect all Central Cities, but it faced many obstacles. After all, too many interest groups were going to be affected. Hence, even though people all around the world lobbied for it, the countries and companies whose interests would be affected negatively were against it.

The companies were worried that if an even larger centralized power appeared, it would be no different from the mega alliance. The small countries, meanwhile, were worried about ending up under the control of large countries. As for the large countries, they didn’t want other countries infiltrating them, much less sharing their resources with anyone.

Forget the entire world, there was no consensus within each country itself, so the Skyline Project was still in the proposal stage.

“There’s no way to get this settled in one go, but I heard from the company that some ambitious leaders are very determined to get this project going, so the coastal Central Cities will be the first to be joined together. They intend to set up a Central City in the sea,” Hu Kan said.

“There are no Central Cities among the island nations. This is because of the lack of gaps, but more than that, it’s because the Great Shun Republic and the Linacrox Union didn’t allow for them to be established. Now that Ferris Wheel collapsed and there is no longer a foreign power ruling over the sea, we need to set up a Central City. Then, not only could we turn the island nations into a line of defense against foreign powers, but also get a bridgehead against the Linacrox Union.

“By the way, you’re from Jibei Road, aren’t you? If a new Central City gets set up, Jibei Road’s Central City is definitely going to be connected to it, and we’ll still have a chance to fight together!”

“Yes, we will,” Chen Chuan agreed.

After speaking to Hu Kan for a little while longer, he left the lounge and went to the cabin the warship crew had prepared for him. He stopped at the ship’s rail, and stared at the churning waves underneath, then sent a message with his Realm Pass.

After a while, the liaison officer approached him.

They greeted each other, and the liaison officer handed a list to Chen Chuan. “We’ve found the main medicines on your list. We’ve also sent people to look for the medicines you said you weren’t in a hurry to get. We’ve found half of them.”

Chen Chuan was quite surprised. The ones that he mentioned weren’t a must were actually rare, expensive medicines that were practically never found on the market. They required going through special channels to get them, so he hadn’t expected the Ocean Development Corporation to find them for him. He only listed them in passing, but Ocean Development Corporation showed that they were a powerful company. They managed to find most of them within a short time.

“The remaining medicines you need are in the hands of state-owned enterprises like Green Satchel Pharmacy and Tiancong Baicao. They require special permission from the government to buy them. There is also a limited quota every year. We’ll submit a request, but we can’t guarantee that we’ll get them,” the liaison officer explained.

“I understand. The ones on this list will be enough for me. Thank you for your help,” Chen Chuan said gratefully.

“Don’t say that. We’re the ones who bothered you and asked you to fight for us,” the liaison officer quickly countered. “Mr. Chen, would you be willing to work with us?” he asked earnestly.

They had gotten more information about the fight just now and learned that Chen Chuan was the one who did the heavy hitting. It could be said that he was the one who helped them get two out of the three major martial arts schools on the island nations, but even more importantly, Chen Chuan didn’t have a proper position yet. If they could poach him, it would be a great victory for them.

Even if they failed, it would still have been worth a try.

Ocean Development Corporation and Azure Dragon were bound to fight against the Linacrox Union, so recruiting an outstanding martial arts master would be great news for them.

“Mr. Chen, the government is working hard to develop the western and eastern fronts of the country. Due to certain reasons, there hasn’t been a lot of progress made on the western front, but the eastern front is a different story. That’s why the government will definitely give us a lot of investment.

“We can give you all the training resources you’ll need. If you’re lacking in anything, we’ll find it for you. You can trust us.”

Chen Chuan didn’t give a concrete answer and only said, “I’ll think about it.”

The liaison officer wasn’t hoping for an answer right away. As long as he showed enough sincerity, then even if he failed this time, he could try again in the future.

He stopped talking about this and changed the topic. “You were going to rest, so we won’t bother you anymore. As compensation, we’ll provide you with everything you need while you’re here.”

Chen Chuan considered it. Coming all the way here wasn’t easy, and Ocean Development Corporation never told him how much time the operation was going to take. Since they were going to provide him with his daily necessities, he should find a place to practice the Blinding Blaze. “Is there a quiet island with a nice scenery in the area?”

The liaison officer thought about it before tapping on his Realm Pass. A screen showed up and displayed a map of the island nations. He tapped on a particular spot. “This is Tall Rocks Isle. It was once a private island of the Gong family. They had a villa there with beautiful scenery that was carefully maintained for more than a thousand years. After the collapse of Ferris Wheel, the Gong family surrendered the island to us.

“We’ve turned it into a private holiday island, where only those invited by the corporation can go. Since you got rid of an obstacle for us, you’re an important guest of ours. You can rest there for a while.”

Chen Chuan checked the marked place on the Realm Pass. It wasn’t far away from where they were; they could reach it within a day. “Please get the arrangements done.”

The liaison officer immediately left. An hour later, Chen Chuan grabbed his spoils, boarded an airship, and headed to Tall Rocks Isle.

When he left, two other airships landed on Hollow Mountain Island, and a large group of people in top hats and black trenchcoats walked out.

***

Mr. Cao was at the front of the group wearing black trenchcoats. “Have we locked down the port?”

“Don’t worry, Mr. Cao. Our informants secured the port right after Xiaoyue Zhai died. After the two martial arts masters, no one else has left the place. Over the past few days, only three ships left the island. We’ve secured two of them, while Mr. Peng went after the last,” one of his subordinates replied.

“Have you checked Xiaoyue Zhai’s corpse?” Mr. Cao asked.

“Not yet, but we’ve locked down the place. Mr. Chen seems to have taken Xiaoyue Zhai’s weapon with him,” that same person whispered.

“That doesn’t matter. Xiaoyue Zhai crafted his own weapon. It’s not the one we want.” Mr. Cao waved it off.

Just then, someone touched his Realm Pass to check a message from the airship. He said, “We got a telegram, Mr. Cao. Mr. Peng has successfully intercepted the artifact.”

“Have they inspected it?” Mr. Cao asked.

“They have. It’s a Class Three artifact, which has nothing to do with the one we want.”

“Send it back,” Mr. Cao ordered. Then, he brought his group to Clear View Hall to search and examine the place.

A few hours later, his subordinates brought a huge stack of files into the hall.

Mr. Cao looked at them and said sternly, “Read through everything carefully. Don’t miss a single line.”