Roadmap to the Boundless Sky

Book 4, Chapter 29: A Gift

At 3 p.m., Talu returned from Luowang Island without anyone following her. She didn’t appear to have been rebuked harshly.

Gan Guo sighed, while Chen Chuan thought this was to be expected.

Single Flow School kept to its own secluded corner and never showed its teeth. Regardless of whether it was Azure Dragon or Ocean Development Corporation, it was impossible for them to act ruthlessly against a school like this at their very first meeting, not that they needed to.

If they could bring a Third Limit martial artist to their side, such a person could end up as a great helping hand. If they chose to go up against a Third Limit martial artist instead, they would just be using precious resources. Besides, if word about it got out, the other martial arts schools would feel uneasy, and things would get really messy.

Once Talu returned to the shack and drank the water that a disciple gave her, Gan Guo asked her about the situation.

She wiped her mouth and said, “They only want me to register the martial arts school again and ensure a minimum number of disciples enrolled in the school at all times. If one of the disciples reaches the Third Limit, I am to report it immediately. They also asked me to train a group of disciples for them every year. Aside from paying me, they’d give us subsidies and support.”

Gan Guo considered it. Training disciples for external forces wasn’t a bad thing. They could earn money from this.

While they weren’t interested in keeping the school’s secret techniques to themselves like a dragon keeping its hoard, he was worried that as time passed, the companies would influence the martial arts school more and more. In the end, they might end up unable to decide anything on their own.

“They said that they’re not imposing this on Single Flow School alone. They’re doing the same thing to the other martial arts schools, including the three main ones,” Talu added.

“Oh?” Gan Guo thought this was good news.

If all martial arts schools were put under restrictions, the three main martial arts schools were surely going to receive the harshest ones, especially Serene Radiance School. Because of this, it would be hard for them to do anything to Single Flow School.

Chen Chuan just thought that if restrictions were imposed across the board, the three main schools were definitely going to be impacted greatly.

That was to be expected, since they all had some ties with Ferris Wheel.

It was especially the case for Windforest School. Over the years, they were the closest to Ferris Wheel and received the most resources from the company. The number of their disciples becoming employees was also the highest among the three main schools.

Now that Ferris Wheel was gone, the three schools were going to be targeted and suppressed by the companies.

Talu continued, “They also said that they’re going to set up a power plant on the island, provide us with technicians and experts, build roads for us, set up a school and windbreaks, and provide us with agricultural stuff or something.

“They’re eager to give us a lot of things, but not for free. They said that they can provide us all of it at a low interest and give us an interest-free loan. I didn’t understand a single thing, so I brought the papers back.”

With a wave of her hand, a disciple who followed her brought out a stack of documents from his crossbody bag.

Gan Guo took them with a grave expression and skimmed through them before sighing. “We don’t need these things, but the villagers do.”

After some thinking, he clamped the papers under his arm so that he could go back and give them an in-depth read later. Then, he asked in concern, “Did they... ask about the gap?”

He was worried that those were all excuses, and Ocean Development Corporation’s main goal was the gap. After all, the strange phenomenon in the ocean region was too obvious. After Ocean Development Corporation arrived, they would find out what was going on with a little bit of digging.

This was a gap, after all. There was no way the big companies would just leave it lying around.

“No,” Talu said with a shake of her head.

Gan Guo sighed in relief before saying, “You’ve learned the secret legacy in the gap. After Mr. Chen finishes using it, we should use it sparingly, only if something special occurs. Then, they won’t find it.”

Chen Chuan had nothing to say about that. Strictly speaking, the gap belonged to the purity faction, so it definitely had its plans on how to deal with the gap.

Since Talu was fine, Chen Chuan excused himself and went to meditate on the lotus flower seat.

Everything was calm over the next few days. No one came to bother them. In the blink of an eye, it was the twentieth of August.

After Chen Chuan finished meditating, he checked his watch and stood up. The feelers closed the hole, and the light was shut out.

This was the last day of his training. He was going to go back today.

He examined his mental energy. After such a long period of training, his mind had become much stronger than before.

But he hadn’t reached perfection yet, because his physical foundation was too strong. His mind had a high ceiling.

This was a good thing, yet at the same time, it meant that he needed more training resources and more time for his training.

Hence, after going back, he needed to think of other ways to improve.

This meant that he needed another gap.

After some thinking, he got some ideas.

This was something he should worry about in the future, though. It was time for him to leave.

Chen Chuan picked up the Frost King Saber and the waterproof bag before leaving the gap and swimming toward the lit up water near the surface.

Once he was back on the cliff, he made a gesture, and Dawncall chirped before landing beside him.

After packing up, he approached Talu and Gan Guo. “Talu, Gan Guo, it’s time for me to leave.”

Since he had already told them that he was going to leave two days ago, they were ready to send him off.

While smiling, Gan Guo said, “Thank you for helping us, Mr. Chen. I talked with Talu about giving you something as thanks. We don’t have much on the island, but we do have some local specialties.”

He took out a can and patted it. “When Master Hongfa traveled east, he only brought with him a scroll and a bamboo staff.

“He planted the bamboo staff on the island, and it grew into a bamboo forest. Every year, it bears fruit known as Enlightenment Fruit.

“This fruit can increase a person’s potential to a certain degree, and it’s suitable for people of all ages. Some people find it effective, while others find it useless. If you don’t sense anything after eating it the first time, then it’ll be useless even if you eat it again. These are all the fruits the bamboo forest produced this year. We’d like to give them to you.”

Chen Chuan knew that the fruits were great things, so he nodded and said, “Thank you. I’ll take them.”

Then, Gan Guo took a set of clothes from the disciple beside him.

“This martial arts uniform is made of silk of sea bollworms and woven using traditional methods. All the masters and predecessors of the school wore these clothes. They provide good protection and are incredibly breathable. While they can’t compare to modern clothes made of bio-materials, this martial arts uniform is much more comfortable. Take it as a memento.”

“Thank you.” Chen Chuan nodded.

“This too.” Gan Guo took a rectangle-shaped package wrapped in cloth. When he opened it, Chen Chuan saw that it was a long piece of bone. The edges were lined with sharp, jagged protrusions, and it looked like some creature’s spine.

“One of our predecessors killed a huge sea monster that came out from a gap. After he cut the stomach open, he found this.

“We tried a lot of things to figure out its use, and in time we found that those who have cultivated mental energy can fight against this sea monster in their dreams through this bone. It gives them fighting experience.

“According to the companies, this is an artifact.”

“An artifact?”

Surprise flickered in Chen Chuan’s heart. He knew about artifacts. The companies and governments were doing everything they could to collect them, and he heard that many companies’ products and services were tied to them. He wasn’t expecting Single Flow School to give such a thing to him.

If he sold it to the government or a company, he would get a lot of money from it.

“Gan Guo, Talu, this is too valuable,” he said.

“We know, Mr. Chen, but we’ve never thought about selling it. This is just a memento and a tool to help with training. Besides, now that you’ve helped us obtain the secret legacy, this bone is no longer of much use to us.”

“That’s right. I used this a few times. My master did too. But we didn’t get much from it. It’s useless to us. We don’t have much else to give you as thanks, so please accept this, Mr. Chen,” Talu added.

Chen Chuan considered it before nodding. “Thank you, you two. If you run into any problems again, please tell me.”

“Of course!” Talu said with a laugh.

Chen Chuan nodded.

After parting ways with them, he descended the mountain. On his way down, the disciples he had taught before gave him things from their houses.

When he arrived, he only brought with him a simple luggage bag. When he left, he had an extra bag packed full of gifts.

Once he reached the harbor, he took a group photo with everyone and boarded the ferry while they saw him off.

He had come on a sailboat, but he was returning in a small ferry. Apparently, Ocean Development Corporation gave it to the island so that it would be easier for them to travel back and forth to Luowang Island.

While they gave the ferry for free, Mistlight Island needed to buy the algae fuel on their own. However, Single Flow School had its own land and farm, so the earnings from the land let them be able to afford the algae fuel.

After the ferry set sail, Chen Chuan stood in the open-air cabin and watched Talu, Gan Guo, and the disciples wave at him. Some of them weren’t tall and were worried that Chen Chuan couldn’t see them, so they kept jumping up and down.

Chen Chuan laughed and waved back at them.

Dawncall flew a few circles around the teenagers and children before going to the ferry.

It was only when Mistlight Island became small that Chen Chuan sat down.

The ferry swiftly traveled to Luowang Island. When he first came here, he had needed an entire morning before to reach Mistlight Island. Now, the return trip took less than two hours. Soon, he saw Luowang Island.

When they passed by the region where the traveler had offered fifty thousand devs for a ring, there were no longer any ships there.

Chen Chuan asked a crew member about it, and he was told that Ocean Development Corporation chased them away a few days ago. They also said that the couple who lost the ring were scammers and that the ring wasn’t worth any money, so the reward was a lie. People stopped coming after that.

The ring might be fake, but the couple did want to find something.

They reached Luowang Island’s harbor.