Celestial Human Diagram

Chapter 388: Chapter 118: Spreading Repercussions

The moment Chen Chuan opened the fringe channels, he was met with a dense wall of discussion threads. Unsurprisingly, they were all about the battle between him and Wei Wusheng from earlier that day.

The most discussed topic was Chen Chuan’s identity.

One user commented that they thought Chen Chuan was just an ordinary Wuyi Student, never expecting him to be the Processing Bureau’s Killer Move. Everyone must have completely misjudged him, right?

There was an undercurrent of gloating in the words, clearly directed at those who had bet on the wrong person.

Indeed, some people came out to complain, asking why he was so low-key when he was obviously so strong.

But they didn’t dare to be too harsh, because he was a Third Limit Fighter—and one from the Processing Bureau at that. They truly didn’t dare to offend him.

Others deduced that the person who stopped Wei Wusheng on the cruise ship wasn’t Du Geng at all, but this powerhouse!

They reasoned that Wei Wusheng had actually been beaten and driven away by him back then, which was why he had specifically sought out Chen Chuan this time. Judging by his route and preparations, he was clearly targeting him. But this time, he still couldn’t win and didn’t even manage to escape, getting hammered to death on the spot in the end.

This immediately drew gasps of astonishment and realization, which then sparked a discussion about the difference in strength between the two fighters.

Because it involved Third Limit combat, they found it difficult to accurately analyze the fine details, so they could only make rough judgments based on their impressions.

Although there were some die-hards who argued that Wei Wusheng was defeated because he was previously injured, didn’t perform at his best, and had lost his weapon—in short, anything but a lack of skill—the majority believed Chen Chuan’s victory over Wei Wusheng was a case of sheer, overwhelming power, with no other factors involved.

After all, it was plain to see: Wei Wusheng was at a disadvantage from the very beginning and never managed to inflict any damage on Chen Chuan.

However, as the one who was actually there, Chen Chuan knew the fight had not been without its perils. The most dangerous moment was when Wei Wusheng got back on his feet at the very end.

He didn’t know what had happened, but he could feel two forces inside Wei Wusheng’s body merge into one, and his injuries had started to gradually heal.

’If I had been even a fraction of a second later, the outcome would have been uncertain. I might have had to face a Wei Wusheng at full strength, or perhaps with his power doubled.’

That’s why he had acted decisively at that moment, overlapping with his Second Self and unleashing that strike with all his might.

’Currently, the Second Self’s power is relatively weak, far from my current level. But when you reach a certain level of strength, even the slightest boost is a significant help.’

He had already thought it through at the time: if that strike wasn’t enough, he would have no choice but to find a way back to get the Snow Monarch Blade, or wait for reinforcements from the Processing Bureau to arrive.

Amid the discussions, it was no surprise that one person in particular received the most scorn.

"Han the Cat doesn’t live up to his name! He got himself killed by a mortally wounded Wei Wusheng. And to think I had such high hopes for him. Fuck..." What followed was a string of profanities. This person had clearly placed a heavy bet on Han the Cat.

Many others chimed in with agreement, and almost no one defended him. After all, Han the Cat’s death had been pathetic, and he had blatantly tried to kill-steal. Most people despised that type of person.

The comments were almost entirely one-sided.

But then, the user "Dancing on the Bottle Cap" expressed a different opinion.

"Han the Cat had bad character, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he was weak. His movements and techniques were exceptionally fast. He thought Wei Wusheng was already dead at the end—which wasn’t a bad assumption. Didn’t you see that even Mr. Chen had already walked away?

But for some reason, Wei Wusheng wasn’t dead. So he got caught. He couldn’t use his strengths, since close-quarters combat was his biggest weakness, and that just so happened to be Wei Wusheng’s greatest strength.

I think if they had fought normally, Wei Wusheng would have never even touched Han the Cat. There’s no way he would have lost. His arrogance was justified; it was his greed that got him killed."

His words immediately drew refutations from users who seemed to specifically target him, and the topic shifted to a comparison between the Pei Brothers, Zuo Shidao, Han the Cat, and others. Since they were all dead, people could comment without restraint, unafraid of anyone coming to cause trouble for them.

Chen Chuan scrolled for a little while longer before taking out the book Cao Guiqi had given him and began to slowly flip through it.

In the Deep Unexplored District, inside an underground Fighting Hall, the sky had not yet completely darkened, but the lights were already on. Many students would come to train in the evening.

Taking advantage of the break, Lu Fang ate a few tubes of Nutrition Paste and then went off to the side to diligently practice his forms.

He always remembered Chen Chuan’s words: only by breaking through to the Third Limit would he be qualified to learn about those matters.

So, these past few days, he had used every spare moment to train desperately, even more diligently than when he was at the academy.

Fortunately, Chen Chuan had promised to supply him with a batch of medicine, so he didn’t have to worry about his training for the time being. Although Chen Chuan hadn’t mentioned anything about repayment, Lu Fang was determined to slowly pay him back once he had the money. He etched this favor deep in his heart.

His efforts over the past few days left his two seniors speechless, and it even instilled in them a sense of urgency.

After Lu Fang finished a set of his techniques, Senior Brother Yu walked in. "Junior Lu, take a break. I’ve got something cool to show you."

Lu Fang said, "Is it a recording of a tournament match?"

They weren’t official citizens, so they weren’t eligible to watch the matches live. But there were always ways around the rules. Despite not having official status, some people managed to get their hands on bootleg recordings of the matches afterward, and for a pretty reasonable price.

This was because many people were in the business; the longer you waited, the lower the price. By the next year, besides the fighters who were still competing, almost no one would watch the previous year’s matches, so it was better to sell them off early.

Senior Brother Yu gave a mysterious smile. "It’s a fight, but this one’s different. It’s a battle between Third Limit Fighters. So, wanna watch?"

Lu Fang froze, asking in amazement, "Third Limit?"

"That’s right! Third Limit!"

Senior Brother Yu said smugly, "I had to pull some strings to get this. Am I a good bro or what?"

Lu Fang knew this was indeed a rare opportunity. But he was knowledgeable enough to have his doubts. "A fight between Fighters of that level... can we even see it clearly?"

"Don’t worry," Senior Brother Yu said in a low voice. "This recording was leaked from one of the fighting arenas. The Domain frequency has been modulated so that ordinary people can see it clearly. I heard the high-end recordings even let you see some of the combat details, but unfortunately, I couldn’t get my hands on one of those."

Lu Fang was genuinely curious and wanted to broaden his horizons. "In that case, let me treat you to a meal later, Senior Brother."

"It’s a deal. I’ll send it to you now." Senior Brother Yu touched his Lower Realm Token to Lu Fang’s, transferring the content.

Lu Fang’s Realm Token was just a standard, second-hand model, so it took a long time to receive the full file. But the moment he opened it and got a look, he was stunned by the person on the screen.

’Junior Chen?’

Seeing his shocked expression, Senior Brother Yu felt extremely satisfied. "Not bad, huh?" he said, patting Lu Fang on the shoulder.

The entire life-or-death battle only lasted a few minutes, so Lu Fang finished watching it quickly. But the impact the fight left on him was immense.

And within his heart, the feeling was even more profound, a mix of shock and inspiration.

’Third Limit...’

He thought of what Chen Chuan had told him, his heart filled with emotion and admiration. ’Junior Chen,’ he thought, ’you did it.’

Senior Brother Yu sighed. "I wonder when we’ll ever reach that level."

Lu Fang said with determination, "No matter how long or difficult the road is, we have to keep walking it."

Senior Brother Yu seemed to be thinking about his own years of hard work. He fell silent for a moment. "Yeah, we have to keep walking." After a pause, he added, "No matter how hard it gets, we have to keep walking."

At that very moment, somewhere on Motie Mountain, inside a manor that occupied an entire hill, Meng Shu sat with her back ramrod straight on a long sofa in the grand living room. A female steward was speaking eloquently, presenting something to her.

The female steward was in her thirties, wearing a pair of delicate, feminine glasses. She had an intellectual and polite demeanor. The embedded filament for her built-in Realm Token by her ear was so fine it was almost invisible.

"Recruiting qualified Fighters is our next priority. Fighters who want to advance often face competition from others at the same level. Therefore, most of them will seize every opportunity they can get, and most of those opportunities can only be provided long-term by corporations and the government."

Meng Shu said slowly, "Resources are finite."

The steward replied, "Yes, resources are finite. That statement holds true everywhere. Fighters can also be seen as a type of resource, and our company must compete with other companies to secure this resource.

Fighters with potential are often invested in from the very beginning by major corporations and government departments. Although our company has invested in many people before, the director in charge of this project seems to have a poor eye for talent. The individuals she invested in either performed mediocrely, failing to meet the company’s expectations, or have since had their names struck from the records.

In the past two years, the company has backed no fewer than two hundred Fighters, allocating large dedicated funds annually. We’ve scouted from Wuyi Academy, gangs, and various Fighting Styles, but the results remain unsatisfactory.

It’s proven that this scattered investment model isn’t very effective. What we need now are elites. One elite is worth a hundred mediocrities. As for ordinary Fighters, Implants are sufficient."

Meng Shu asked in a cool, detached voice, "The company has been researching high-end Implants. Are they still not up to our requirements?"

The steward said, "That brings us to another problem. Some of the company’s high-end Implants can barely meet the requirements, but the implantation surgery requires the recipient to adapt slowly, taking several years, or even more than a decade, for full replacement and integration.

We’ve tried to shorten this period, but the consequence is a drastic reduction in the recipient’s lifespan. This remains a technical hurdle we have yet to overcome.

I must also remind you, Miss, that Implants for certain specialized body parts are only possessed by top-tier mega-corporations. We would need to purchase them externally, and the recipient would also require a large amount of compatibility drugs.

And these can only be bought from powerful pharmaceutical companies like Celestial Hundred Herbs, Cyan Bag Jade Workshop, or Talide. All of this leaves us constrained by other corporations."

She waved her hand. "This is just the big picture, Miss. If you want to inherit the company and compete with your cousin, you must produce better results. Our available resources are currently insufficient, so we can only use them in a concentrated manner, selecting targets that require less investment but are worthy of it.

A correct choice can yield a return of a hundred, or even a thousand, times the investment."

Meng Shu nodded lightly, seemingly in approval of the proposal. She asked, "The candidate?"

The steward adjusted her glasses. "We have already found a suitable one."

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