Roadmap to the Boundless Sky

Book 3, Chapter 372: Path

After leaving the martial arts school, Chen Chuan drove away.

Chen Bitong’s final request contained far too many things.

Even though he didn’t actually ask Chen Chuan to do anything, he had gotten pure essence because of what Chen Bitong told him, and he had also gotten two types of refined force, along with other forms of guidance and tips.

He really appreciated this gesture.

That was why Chen Chuan was willing to help Chen Xiaojin as much as he was able.

While Chen Bitong had died as a hero in the official records, the higher-ups were displeased over the fact that he had caused pure essence to spill into the world. Even though they might not be interested in Chen Xiaojin, their subordinates might be vermin and resort to doing some terrible things.

Once Chen Chuan showed that he was willing to take care of Chen Xiaojin, those people might just be intimidated enough to stay away.

Just then, Chen Chuan sensed that some people were watching him. One of the gazes even gave him a sense of deja vu, but when he looked over, they looked away.

Then, Chen Chuan remembered something. A few days ago, Fang Zhixin had been rescued on the way to prison, so they were unable to extract any information from him.

He had a feeling that Fang Zhixin was the one watching him just now.

He was the only one who would pay so much attention to Chen Xiaojin.

It seemed like Fang Zhixin was worried about Chen Xiaojin studying martial arts in the school alone and wanted to protect him from the dark.

Since Chen Bitong had been made a hero, Fang Zhixin didn’t have a bounty placed on his head. After all, he was Chen Bitong’s assistant. But some people were definitely looking for him from the shadows. The National Ad Hoc Special Operations Committee had taken over this matter, so this had nothing to do with the Resolution Department, and Chen Chuan pretended to not have detected Fang Zhixin.

He called his cousin instead. “Gao Ming, I’ll be going over to your place now.”

He had spoken to Gao Ming yesterday and agreed to meet today to discuss things, so he went straight to Majestic Light District after leaving Deep End District.

Before the Fu-Mu Entity’s propagation, he had told Gao Ming to be careful, so his cousin had stayed in the law firm during the entire period.

His district’s defenses were among the greatest, and everyone inside received the best possible protection. Only a small number of gaps and a few insects had appeared in the district. They were the worst they got, and just because they were unavoidable.

Once Chen Chuan reached the office where they last met, he parked his car and went to the seventieth floor. Gao Ming was already in the lounge where they had agreed to meet.

Chen Chuan went to the meeting table by the floor-to-ceiling window and sat down across from Gao Ming.

An airship drifted past the window. When it passed by the shining screen with all its brilliant colors, a gorgeous, crisscrossing pattern appeared on it.

Chen Chuan cast a glance at the brewed tea in front of him and said, “A few days ago, I took part in the Crisis Management Center’s safety check. On the surface, they were checking to see whether we were corrupted by the existences from the other world, but in truth, they were looking for something more important.

“The higher-ups wanted to find whether we took any substance that had been sealed off by the governments and companies. They won’t allow any of it to be found outside.”

Gao Ming nudged his glasses up and said, “Could you give me the details?”

“Sure.” Chen Chuan told him about pure essence, the higher-up’s stance on the matter, and the situation he ran into during the safety check. He hid nothing at all.

Even though he didn’t reveal certain details to Gao Ming, he was certain that his cousin would be able to figure them out on his own after he learned about the entire process.

After hearing it all, Gao Ming said, “Since you’re the last person to see Chen Bitong, the municipal government—whoops, I’m just assuming it’s them—believe that you got pure essence. That’s why they set up the safety check.

“Regardless of whether you got it or not, we need to come up with a plan.”

He grinned. “Let’s say you have it and got the right to head to a higher limit, but the higher-ups have strict rules about this. This means that even if you manage to make it to a higher limit, you’ll need an explanation for where you got your pure essence.

“Perhaps you might become strong enough that you won’t need to explain yourself, but I still think it’s better to have a reason.”

“That’s what I think too.” Chen Chuan nodded.

Even if he got to the Fourth Limit and became much stronger, he couldn’t fight against the whole world alone. He should answer the question of where he got his pure essence.

He could only run away from answering that question if he left Central City and never came back, but that wasn’t the best choice. Chen Chuan didn’t believe that the Fourth Limit was the peak, and he wanted to climb even higher.

Gao Ming laced his fingers together and placed them on his stomach before smiling. “Then, only two questions remain. Are you willing to sign that contract? If you don’t, but still want to get pure essence, what should you do?

“Judging by what you told me, you might be able to find it in the merged space. I don’t know the details and don’t have enough evidence to come up with a judgment, but I believe that it won’t be easy to get it. That Instructor Chen you mentioned was strong, but he couldn’t get any pure essence from there. Does it mean that getting pure essence from the merged space is just as hard?”

Chen Chuan thought so, because pure essence was important. Even if there was some in the merged space, it should be treated as a tactical resource. Those without connections could forget about getting any.

But it didn’t seem like Chen Bitong didn’t have any way of getting pure essence.

The problem was that Chen Bitong had been defending the World Ring for twenty years and was loyal to his duty, which made it impossible for him to concede to the existences from the other world. Later on, he had more people to worry about, so that option became completely off the table for him.

Gao Ming continued, “On the surface, there are only two ways to get pure essence. First, from the governments. Second, from companies.

“But I remember you once telling me that there are factions that have survived up to now, and they might have their very own martial arts masters.

“Take Fierce Wave School, for example. You mentioned you fought against their disciple on your way back. I heard that they have a martial arts master. But the island nations don’t have a Central City and no way to obtain pure essence. Can we then assume that their martial arts master has pure essence?

“You told me that pure essence was everywhere in the world in the old era. From this, we can assume that the factions and major forces of power that have survived up till now all have pure essence.

“Perhaps getting it from them is a path you can take. Even though it might seem difficult, it’s still easier than getting it from the governments and companies.

“If we assume that you already have pure essence, you should also get some from these factions. You don’t need a lot of it. Just a bit will do. What you need is just a clear explanation of how you got your pure essence. The details aren’t important.”

Chen Chuan nodded. Gao Ming was right.

There were more than twenty martial arts schools among the island nations, but now, only three were left. It was likely that all of them had pure essence.

The higher-ups had sealed off pure essence, so there would come a day when they would run out of it. If they didn’t have their own Central Cities and mega corporations, it would only be a matter of time before their strength declined.

Now, he could somewhat understand why the martial arts schools supported Ferris Wheel.

Only when Ferris Wheel became strong enough and joined the Union would they be able to get pure essence. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

Gao Ming continued, “Still, I think that aside from this method, there might be other ways to get pure essence.

“Recently, I read that due to the destruction of Ferris Wheel, the Department of Administrative Affairs wants to help a new company rise to power to take over Ferris Wheel’s business.

“The department is more inclined to build up a new company, but they’re not against dividing Ferris Wheel’s business to other companies that have cooperated with them before. They’re not going to hand the business to Azure Dragon and Ocean Development Corporation, though.

“That’s to make sure that these two companies don’t grow too big. They don’t want that, even if they’re state-owned companies.

“Let’s say Border Fusion takes over a part of the business or maybe even the entire thing. Then, as the company continues growing, you might be able to get pure essence.

“But that’s just an option. There would be a lot of difficulties and uncertainties if you use this method.

“What I’m trying to say is that while it looks like you have no way of getting pure essence, there are a lot of openings you can exploit if you just want it for yourself and not some noble goal.”

Chen Chuan nodded. That was true. There was another way as well. Many other martial artists had tried it—sneaking beyond the World Ring.

But it was too dangerous. Unless it was absolutely necessary, Chen Chuan had no intention of walking down that path.

Gao Ming picked up his tea and took a sip. He didn’t set the cup down and held it in his hand as a serious look appeared on his face.

“There’s also something else that I think you need to consider. If you reach a higher limit, you’ll definitely get a higher position. If you don’t stop and continue climbing upward, you’ll meet even more people and start to compete against more forces of power and people.

“There’s also the upcoming Great Crash.

“No matter how strong you are, you can’t do everything alone in a fight against some company or organization.

“To deal with them, you don’t just need support from above and from your peers. You also need your own force of power, and it has to keep growing.”

He nudged his glasses. “Yangzhi City is basically a natural, ready-made foundation for you.

“You’ve got the highest position from all Yangzhi City locals. Anyone from the city who comes here will naturally join your side.

“I suggest you bring more Yangzhi City locals into Central City and support them.

“This won’t stand in your way to become stronger. If you walk down your path with a group sharing your interests and goals, it’ll be much easier than walking alone.”

Chen Chuan considered it before saying, “I understand. Thank you, Gao Ming. I’ll think over your suggestion.”

They drank tea and talked about some more relaxing topics before Chen Chuan left the office.

Once he got into his car, he placed his hands on the steering wheel and fell into deep contemplation. He could take his time going over Gao Ming’s other suggestions, but his most important task right now was to figure out an explanation for how he got his pure essence.

The most reliable and doable method seemed to be getting pure essence from one of the factions. The first to come to mind was the purity faction.