Free Web NovelChapter 421: Chapter 151: The Fog Sets In
Chen Chuan couldn’t just utilize urban legends; he also had a grasp of some simple Esoteric Rituals. Since he had reference materials, he could actually perform even more complex ones if given enough time and the right Ritual Materials.
However, Esoteric Rituals had many drawbacks. Most required being drawn on the ground or on buildings in advance, making it nearly impossible to use them to restrain a Fighter.
Powerful Fighters, even those who didn’t understand how to use a Biological Domain, possessed an exceptionally keen sense of danger. They would immediately evade the moment they sensed something was wrong.
Moreover, they could easily destroy the patterns, so drawing them directly on a building was not a good idea—it would be a complete waste of effort.
His current plan was to draw the ritual patterns on the inside of his Protective Clothing and prepare a supplementary sacrificial ritual. The offerings would be none other than his impending enemies.
He spent the afternoon carefully drawing the patterns on several articles of clothing, then managed to add some to his gloves and protective mask as well. A complete set would be sufficient.
Once he was finished, while waiting for the Ritual Materials to set, he logged onto the academy platform.
Last month, he had submitted his application for Third Limit cultivation. The academy replied five days later, informing him that it was in the approval process and that he should wait.
Then, in early October, they informed him that they had received confirmation from the Processing Bureau. Learning that he had already signed a confidentiality agreement, they were able to bypass some procedures. However, they sent him another agreement, primarily to ensure the knowledge of Third Limit cultivation would not be privately disseminated.
Once he signed this document, the Third Limit cultivation knowledge was made available to him on the platform.
He had looked through it before. It contained materials from both the old and new eras. Most of the old-era materials were free, but the new-era cultivation methods mostly required purchase. The prices weren’t low, but they were all within his means.
Even so, some knowledge remained restricted, such as methods for taking specialized medicines and related services, which were all listed as unsearchable.
This was because the academy required an official government record of specialized medicine distribution before granting access; they did not recognize records from corporations.
But that didn’t matter. With his Second Self, he didn’t particularly need them anyway.
He focused mainly on key cultivation principles and knowledge, such as methods for better refining Essence Blood and accumulating Divine Constant.
These two were extremely important. From his own experience, he knew that Divine Constant could be used to stabilize himself and prevent mental deviation. Essence Blood, on the other hand, acted as a stable anchor, allowing a Fighter to maintain their physical existence and prevent the body from undergoing unforeseen transformations.
The new-era methods were a constant refinement and optimization of the foundations left by their predecessors, making them the most efficient. He felt they were well worth the purchase, and he had been applying these methods for the past several days.
However, the old-era methods were not without merit. Because the medicines of that time contained more impurities and came from inconsistent sources, there were many methods for identifying them and tailoring their use. They also emphasized application techniques for various extreme environments.
For example, one method allowed a person to continue cultivating and maintain their fighting strength even when severely injured. Another described how to maintain cultivation while dreaming.
There were even techniques for how to use the small, remaining portions of Mutated Organization to continue cultivating and unleash explosive combat power after losing most of one’s limbs. It was all a real eye-opener for him.
Besides all that, his main focus was on the Third Limit’s methods for Emitting Force.
At this stage, Power and the methods for honing it became more complex and refined. At higher levels, it even required the synergy of Essence Blood and Divine Constant, something far beyond what the First and Second Limits could compare to. The techniques for applying the Furnace Breathing Method that he had previously encountered were a prime example.
This was because any Fighter who reached the Third Limit inevitably had a high degree of Mutated Organization coverage. According to the platform’s data, the coverage rate had to be at least forty-five percent.
At times, coverage rate could even be a standard for gauging the strength of a Third Limit Fighter. Of course, in a real fight, far too many factors came into play for a simple number to be decisive, but it was enough to illustrate the significant role it played.
To increase their coverage rate, some Third Limit Fighters would go to great lengths to compensate for their shortcomings. Others would resort to using Implants and prohibited Mutated Organization transplants.
Since he cultivated the Circulation’s Strength, which followed a path of full coverage from the start, he didn’t need to go back and play catch-up. He just needed to keep moving forward.
In theory, he could learn most of the methods for Emitting Force from these courses, but he currently lacked the time and energy. So, he just selected a few of the more practical ones to focus on, mainly to diversify his offensive techniques.
During this time, he continued to purchase and study various cultivation materials from the academy while also taking his medicines without pause. His strength saw a small, subtle increase almost every day.
This was to be expected. Other Fighters didn’t have access to an abundant supply of specialized medicines as he did. They were typically only distributed by corporations or the government after a Fighter had accumulated sufficient merits and contributions.
To prevent potential problems with the Fighters, the interval between doses was sometimes deliberately extended. It was a far cry from his situation, where he could use the medicines nonstop.
In between his training, he remained mindful of security. He tried to schedule his training sessions for midday, as the manor was unlikely to be ambushed in broad daylight when observation and personnel deployment were easy. Therefore, any attack would certainly come at night, or in the hours just before dawn.
During these periods, he would remain fully dressed, his firearms and blades always within reach. He replaced sleep with seated meditation so that he could react instantly to any sound or disturbance he sensed.
A few more days passed. By late October, the maple forest outside had mostly turned red.
After finishing his cultivation for the day, Chen Chuan glanced at his Realm Token. The weather alert showed that Central City could expect heavy fog over the next two days.
He gazed at the swaying branches outside, which were making a RUSTLING sound like ocean waves, sending red leaves drifting everywhere. ’They’re coming,’ he thought.
「Two days later. October 23rd, 4:00 a.m. The outskirts of Motie Mountain.」
Gao Changge stood alone under a streetlight, gazing at the empty road before him. The distance was shrouded in a hazy mist, and even he couldn’t see very far.
Just then, he heard the sound of car engines. Bright headlights pierced the mist. A lead armored vehicle broke through first, its damp chassis painted with the logo of some security company. After it, one by one, similar armored vehicles emerged from the mist.
The convoy slowly came to a halt nearby. The front door of a modified, extended armored vehicle opened, and a hunched-back figure in a gray tunic stepped out.
He was gaunt, with protruding eyes, and his hands hung so low they nearly touched the ground. Even so, he stood over two meters tall. He spoke to Gao Changge in a hoarse voice, "Xiaosheng, the boss is calling you."
Xiaosheng hurried forward. As he reached the car, the rear window slid down smoothly, revealing a man in his forties with slicked-back hair sitting inside.
A cane rested in his hand, and he wore a high-collared, foreign-style suit. His lips were thin and bloodless, and a snake-shaped pendant hung from his left ear. When his gaze shifted toward someone, it felt as if he were staring right through them, which was deeply unsettling.
Even though Xiaosheng had faced him many times, his heart still skipped a beat. He quickly lowered his head and said respectfully, "Boss."
The middle-aged man asked, "Is everything ready?"
Xiaosheng replied, "A small problem. I’ve been trying to send a contact signal every day for the past few days, but there’s been no response. I believe it’s highly likely the client’s inside man has been purged."
"This means even if our Resonator can break through the outer Domain blockade, we still won’t be able to get past the inner defenses in the short time we have. We can’t count on an inside job anymore."
The middle-aged man didn’t seem troubled by this. "Then use the domain-shielding creature," he said.
Xiaosheng said, "But Motie Mountain’s Biological Domain is quite strong. If we use that method, we’ll only have about half an hour to forty-five minutes for the raid. That has to include our retreat, so the time we’ll actually have on target is probably only fifteen to twenty minutes. But if you could give me a few more days to prepare..."
The middle-aged man cut him off. "The client is pressing us. We don’t have time to wait. Besides, this weather is perfect for the operation. Proceed according to your plan. You’ve never disappointed me before."
Xiaosheng said solemnly, "Yes, Boss."
"Get in the car."
Xiaosheng immediately ran to a car further back in the convoy. Once inside, he glanced back. Seeing that everyone had removed their Realm Tokens as planned, he felt a little more at ease.
The convoy started moving again, heading toward the interior of the Motie Mountain Manor. They weren’t stopped upon entering the defended zone. Through a series of prior maneuvers, they had become the temporary proprietors of a residence on Motie Mountain and had obtained the necessary access credentials. Otherwise, there would have been no way to enter the Motie Mountain residential area so brazenly.
The first part of their journey was uneventful. But as they drove toward the Meng Manor, two patrol cars approached and hailed them over their comms:
"Convoy ahead, in accordance with nighttime traffic safety regulations, please pull over. Present your residency information and state your current destination."
The convoy did not continue forward. Instead, the vehicles slowly pulled over, one after another.
The two patrol cars approached. One pulled up close to the front of the convoy, while the other hung back at a distance. The officers’ hands hovered where they could easily draw their guns, and also over the alert function on their Realm Tokens. The moment they sensed something was wrong, they would sound the alarm, and the entire Motie Mountain security system would spring into action.
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