Celestial Human Diagram

Chapter 315 - 47: Progress

At five o’clock the next morning, Chen Chuan got up, washed, and packed, preparing to leave. Once he was dressed, he sensed something and glanced toward the door.

He adjusted his collar, walked over, and opened the door. Unexpectedly, a person he hadn’t anticipated was waiting there: the Wilderness Sect Fighter, Gaoqiu.

He said, "Elder Gao?"

There were no bandages on Gaoqiu. Other than his missing hand, his demeanor seemed no different from when he had taken the stage yesterday.

He said very solemnly, "Chen, I learned of your quarters from the cruise ship management. I came specifically to thank you. If it hadn’t been for you yesterday, I would have died there."

As he spoke, he tossed something over.

Chen Chuan caught it and opened his hand to look, seeing a smoothly polished, pointed fang pendant.

"If you’re ever interested in wilderness training, you can use this to find us. The Wilderness Sect will welcome you."

Chen Chuan nodded. He glanced again at Gaoqiu’s empty right sleeve. Having lost an arm—and knowing the Wilderness Sect wouldn’t use any Implants—this man’s combat effectiveness would likely be greatly diminished from now on.

Gaoqiu noticed his gaze but was quite calm about it. "Normally, if I could have recovered the shattered bones and had them reattached, it would have grown back, but it seems that’s impossible now.

"But it doesn’t matter. I fought with all my strength. The experience of failure is a treasure in itself. I will pass it on to the younger generation so they can carry on the legacy. The Wilderness Sect isn’t just one person; it’s all of us. Those who remember their failures will find their way to success."

He glanced to the side. "Looks like someone’s here for you. I’ll be going now. See you around."

Chen Chuan turned his head and saw Lu Shiqi walking toward him from one end of the cabin corridor. The difference was that, overnight, his severed arm had been completely restored. Chen Chuan couldn’t tell if it had been reattached or replaced with a new one.

This was the advantage of Implants; certain body parts could be replaced and implanted via surgery.

As Lu Shiqi passed Gaoqiu, they nodded to each other. Though they were opponents in the ring, there was no deep-seated hatred between them.

Lu Shiqi walked up to Chen Chuan and said, "Chen, I’m not good with words. I’m here on behalf of my company to thank you. In their words, you recovered company assets." He handed over a card. "This is a token of the company’s gratitude. I hope you’ll accept it."

Chen Chuan took it and saw that it was a Golden Card from the Wansheng Conglomerate. ’They’re just giving me money this time?’ Lu Shiqi’s company’s gratitude seemed very practical.

He put the Golden Card in his pocket and said, "In that case, I’ll accept."

Seeing him accept it, Lu Shiqi said no more, gave him a nod, and turned to leave.

Chen Chuan returned to his room and finished packing. At 6:30 in the morning, the four of them left the Rhino Cruise Ship and took a speedboat back to the port. Before they went their separate ways, Pan Xiaode said eagerly, "Chen, we haven’t had a match yet. How about we find a place and have one right now?"

Tan Zhi said, "Can’t we just be friendly? Do you really have to fight?"

Pan Xiaode held out a fist. "We Fighters communicate with our fists. Only after you’ve taken a punch from a friend can there be true friendship between you."

’Looks like I’ll have to use my fists next time,’ Chen Chuan thought.

He said sincerely, "If I were to fight Pan, it would be hard to say how long it would take. I have an appointment with my teacher and can’t keep him waiting. We should schedule it for another day."

Pan Xiaode completely agreed. He felt his skill level was close to Chen Chuan’s, so a fight between them would surely be a grind lasting at least half an hour or an hour. If they were evenly matched, it could last all day. It really would be hard to manage the time. Besides, if he and Chen Chuan were to have a match, they couldn’t just leave Qi Huixin out, could they? Yes, they’d have to find a better time.

He said with regret, "Then we’ll have to wait until next time."

After parting ways with Pan and Qi, Chen Chuan took Tan Zhi’s car. This time, he didn’t return to the Profound Palace Building, instead having Tan Zhi drop him off directly at Teacher Zheng’s residence.

He said goodbye to Tan Zhi in front of the house and went inside. He found Teacher Zheng and greeted him. Teacher Zheng smiled and said, "You had a good day off, I take it?"

Chen Chuan said, "It was full of surprises."

"That’s good," said Teacher Zheng. "You young people should be focused when it’s time to be focused, and relaxed when it’s time to relax. Hmm, today’s training will be defense again. Come with me."

Chen Chuan followed him into the training room. After a brief warm-up, he saw that Zheng Tongtong was already ready.

The previous two training sessions had been for parrying a Heavy Blade and a light blade, respectively. This time, however, Zheng Tongtong held a blade in each hand. Only after she pointed it out did he realize that one was light and one was heavy. They looked completely identical, and it would have been difficult to tell them apart even with prior warning.

Logically, a person holding two blades of different weights should have slight differences in their center of gravity and footwork, yet there was no discernible sign of this when Zheng Tongtong moved.

This skill alone was enough to show that her Power level was extremely high; otherwise, she couldn’t have achieved such a feat. ’If I could do that,’ he thought, ’Xiong Jianyi would never have been able to predict my next move by observing my rhythm back then.’

Zheng Tongtong flourished her two blades. "Junior Brother, are you ready?"

Chen Chuan raised his blade, planted his feet firmly, and nodded.

Without another word, Zheng Tongtong lunged forward, unleashing a flurry of successive slashes with her two blades.

Because Chen Chuan only had one blade to defend himself, Zheng Tongtong started at a slower rhythm. But as he adapted, the pace quickened. For a time, the room was filled with the glint of flashing blades and the incessant ringing of steel on steel.

He soon discovered that defending this way was extremely difficult. Not only did he have to adjust his Power, but he also had to increase his speed. Often, just as he had neutralized the heavy blade, the light blade would come slashing in. Or, if he barely managed to block the light blade, he would have to scramble to change his Power to block the subsequent heavy slash.

He had to alternate his rhythm between two different defensive methods, reacting quickly and precisely. The difficulty was compounded by the fact that he had to stand his ground and could not dodge.

This time, it took him a full two days to adapt.

On the third day, Teacher Zheng called him over and taught him the Breathing Dharma Gate for adjusting and varying Power.

He then explained that he would be clapping a rhythm from the side. Whenever he clapped, Chen Chuan was to use the heavy-blade defense against the light blade, and the light-blade defense against the heavy blade. When the clapping stopped, he had to revert to the normal methods, all without the slightest confusion.

He told him not to worry about the impact from misapplying his strength, because Zheng Tongtong would adjust her own Power a step ahead of time. As long as he used the correct method, there would be no issue.

Simply dealing with the changing blade attacks was manageable on its own, but having to coordinate with Teacher Zheng’s clapping made it incredibly difficult, as it completely disrupted his rhythm.

The clapping was sometimes rapid, sometimes slow. Sometimes there was only a single, intermittent clap, and other times a sudden, continuous stream. The pattern was always changing, and it was timed specifically to disrupt the rhythm of his breathing. One moment of carelessness and his entire defense would fall into chaos.

And yet, through all this, Zheng Tongtong never made a single mistake. Her breathing could shift at a moment’s notice. ’She’s truly formidable,’ he thought. ’She must be completely accustomed to this kind of variation.’

Another two days passed before Chen Chuan finally grasped the knack of this Breathing Dharma Gate and could gradually keep up with the changing rhythm.

However, this was only the beginning. Teacher Zheng then changed the method again, informing him that when he struck a nearby surface with his fist, Chen Chuan was to block using the heavy-blade method, and when he struck with his palm, he was to block using the light-blade method.

Through this grueling, repetitive training of constant variation, Chen Chuan’s defensive skills improved steadily. But this was still only the foundation, because up to this point, all the attacks had been simple, horizontal slashes.

So, on the sixth day, Teacher Zheng had Zheng Tongtong add variations of Power to her blades.

This was actually more difficult than just dealing with the heavy and light blades. Before the moment of impact, it was impossible to judge what kind of Power was being used, forcing him to adapt at the very instant of contact. Moreover, Zheng Tongtong’s dual blades were a flurry of motion, her Saber Techniques constantly changing. It was an extreme test of his adaptive capabilities.

This time, it took him a full three days to barely keep up.

Seeing that Chen Chuan had adapted in a relatively short time, Teacher Zheng was quite satisfied. "You are progressing very quickly," he said. "You can now be considered to have a preliminary grasp of defensive techniques. That will be all for this month’s training. Next month, we will begin the next phase. I will teach you how to attack."

Chen Chuan nodded. Over the past several days, although it felt as if his entire Mutated Organization was sore and strained every evening when he returned home, the feeling of making progress every day was wonderful and incredibly fulfilling.

He had only experienced this kind of constant improvement once before, back when he first started learning the Fighting Skill from Yu Gang. It was a long-lost feeling.

This was not only due to Teacher Zheng’s dedicated instruction, but also because Zheng Tongtong was an incredibly conscientious sparring partner, performing every step with precision. Such a good training partner was truly hard to find.

He thanked them sincerely, "Thank you, Teacher Zheng. Thank you, Senior Sister Zheng."

Teacher Zheng smiled. "No need for thanks. When a student learns well, it makes teaching a pleasure. You should also take time to reflect on your own. What a teacher teaches you is one thing, but only what you comprehend for yourself truly becomes your own."

Chen Chuan agreed. After bidding farewell to Teacher Zheng and his daughter, he left the residence and went to the station. Before he could board the tram, a message from the Processing Bureau came through his Realm Token.

It was a notification that his Radiant Light irradiation session was scheduled for either tomorrow or the day after, and that he should choose a time for the Processing Bureau to arrange.

He thought for a moment. The day after tomorrow was a day off, so it would be better to schedule it for tomorrow. He quickly selected the time and submitted his choice directly through the Realm Token.

Just five minutes later, another voice message arrived. The source was listed as the Canglong Company. After accepting it, a voice spoke in his ear:

"Hello, Mr. Chen. My name is Yin Fang, assistant to Director Sun of the Canglong Company. We received a Radiant Light irradiation application from the Processing Bureau that has your name on it. Per Director Sun’s instructions, we will be providing you with an additional three-Hour quota each month. A physical voucher has already been sent. Please keep an eye out for it."

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