When Chen Chuan returned to the car, he could not shake off the feeling that the whole operation was a joke and there was something off about it. However, it was not something he could uncover at the moment, so he did not dwell too much on it.
After he returned to the campus, he continued training.
Even though the whole mission had come to an end after this operation, he believed that no matter how this case progressed in the future, he needed to possess the power to solve anything thrown his way before it actually came knocking on his door.
While he was gaining a deeper understanding of his refined force, he reached a plateau. Hence, he cleared up some time to focus more on his saber training.
After the day off in the middle of November, Cheng Zitong examined him and said that his mutated tissue was not showing signs of rapid growth for the time being.
Cheng Zitong then added that they should observe it for ten more days. At the end of the month or around the middle of December, they would be able to know for sure whether there were any changes.
Cheng Zitong felt at ease and went to sit in the living room. He took out his thermos and took a sip of tea from it before asking Chen Chuan, “You’ve been practicing your saber techniques a lot lately, haven’t you?”
“Yes, Mr. Cheng. I also have some questions I’d like to ask you. I think there’s something special about this saber. I feel like I need to use some special method to bring out its full power,” Chen Chuan stated.
Cheng Zitong stared at him in surprise. “You sensed it all by yourself?” He chuckled. “That was an unnecessary question. You’re part of the intuition faction. You learn and figure things out by instinct. It’s completely normal for you to have sensed this. But even if you’re part of the intuition faction, it’s impossible for you to figure out how to use it before reaching a certain point. Hmm... Have a bit of patience. I’ll get a suitable training method for you.”
As he pondered over it, he left Chen Chuan’s room and drove to the lecturers’ residential area. After around ten minutes, he arrived in front of a house with a garden. He parked his car and went up to the house to knock on the door. The security guard recognized him and greeted him politely. “Hello, Mr. Cheng. Please, come in.”
After Cheng Zitong went in, he asked in a seemingly casual fashion, “Where’s Senior Brother Qiao?”
“In the backyard, teaching a disciple he took in recently.”
“At least my mentee showed up in class a few times. His disciple hasn’t shown his face on campus after the opening ceremony. He’s really just a student in name, huh?” Cheng Zitong remarked with a shake of his head.
While he spoke, he walked through the living room to the patio door, stepped on the cobblestone path right outside and walked into the garden. The path took him through an arched doorway before a large lotus pond. Even though it was already autumn, some lotuses still stood tall in full bloom.
There was a spacious waterside pavilion diagonally across the lotus pond. An old man in a traditional robe was sitting in it while teaching a handsome disciple, who was around seventeen years of age. He was also wearing Martial Valor University’s martial arts uniform.
Cheng Zitong walked around the pond until he reached the outdoor reception hall, then exited it and continued walking until he arrived outside the waterside pavilion. “I’ve come to visit you, Senior Brother Qiao.”
Qiao Linhu, his senior brother and one of the best mentors in the Weapons Department was focused on teaching his disciple a stance. Cheng Zitong went over to take a look and waited to be acknowledged.
After a long while, Qiao Linhu told his disciple to train nearby and walked back to the outdoor reception hall. He had a retainer brew tea for them while he sat down in the main seat. He beckoned Cheng Zitong to find a seat as well. “Sit. You wouldn’t visit without a reason, so I’ll skip the pleasantries. What is it?”
Cheng Zitong didn’t bother with the pleasantries either and sat down in a seat prepared for guests. “My mentee is currently practicing with a saber but lacks a suitable saber-based martial art. I recall that you have a saber manual passed down through generations within your family, so I came here to ask for it.”
“That’s your mentee, not your disciple. Why are you so attentive toward him? Besides, the university has saber-based martial arts too. Why would you want that outdated manual?”
“I could have taught him any other regular saber-based martial art without bothering you, but Ms. Ni gave my mentee a saber recently, and I believe that your saber manual is the only thing that will teach him how to use it well,” Cheng Zitong replied.
Qiao Linhu raised a snow-white eyebrow. “Is it a forbidden weapon?”
“Why are you talking about forbidden weapons in this day and age? No one cares about them now,” Cheng Zitong rebutted.
After some thinking, Qiao Linhu said, “I can give you the saber manual, but not for free.”
He motioned for Cheng Zitong to wait and not get too excited yet. He then pointed at the waterside pavilion outside. “I want your mentee to be my disciple’s assistant for three years.”
Cheng Zitong would not have it. “We’re no longer living in the past, so why are you still doing this whole servitude routine? What’s this? Do you think that my mentee is not as great as your disciple?”
“We have to obey the rules. Our master set these rules, and I can’t just break them. Besides, don’t we perform favors for others based on how close we are to them? I can only give him the manual after he serves my disciple,” Qiao Linhu said with a shake of his head.
“Listen to yourself. What’s with all this talk about disciples and mentees? You should throw the old man’s teachings out of the window already,” Cheng Zitong shot back.
“Tell that to our master. If he says we can cast them aside, I’ll do it without another word; otherwise, we’re doing this based on the rules he set.”
“Seriously, the saber manual is your family heirloom, not the old man’s. Why are you obeying his stupid rules? How about a deal instead? Your disciple is going to start practicing stances to learn a refined force, isn’t he? He’ll need a lot of good medicine to do that. I can get it for him for cheap.”
“I have some savings, and they’re more than enough for me to pay for my disciple’s medicine. The saber manual is mine, yes, but the rules have also been passed down through generations. Our master obeyed them in the past, I obey them now, and my disciple will obey them in the future. They cannot be broken.”
At this point, Cheng Zitong knew that he could not convince Qiao Linhu to change his mind. He said, “Fine. Guess I wasted my time coming here, but don’t you regret your decision in the future.”
Qiao Linhu retorted, “Didn’t you say that your mentee is better than my disciple? We’ll just have to wait and see, then, but I’m saying this first. No matter how good he is, I won’t break the rules.”
“Alright. I’m leaving now.” Cheng Zitong grabbed his briefcase.
“Why don’t you leave after lunch instead?” Qiao Linhu offered.
“I’m too angry to eat, thanks.”
Cheng Zitong left the house. As he stared at the tall buildings outside, he sucked in a deep breath and felt much more relaxed. He took a glance at the house and said, “Rules? Heh. Chen Chuan is right. You’re all a bunch of fossils stuck in the past. If you won’t give it to me, I’ll get one somewhere else.”
Cheng Zitong returned to Chen Chuan’s room when the sun was about to set and took out an old saber manual from his briefcase. “Take a look at this.”
Chen Chuan picked it up and found that it was a handwritten book with the Chinese characters still written top down instead of from left to right. It seemed like it was a product from around ninety years ago. Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵✦𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖✦𝙣𝙚𝙩
“It’s a saber manual from the era of old martial arts. I found it at the bottom of a chest, having been untouched for around half a century. If I hadn’t mentioned that their ancestors had this manual, those guys would have had no idea about it.”
“Was it expensive?” Chen Chuan asked.
“Fifteen devs. It’s cheap despite being a good saber manual. I got it immediately after I paid for it, and I didn’t even need to cash in any favors. Only certain fossils who insist on obeying old rules still treat these things as treasures.”
He then gestured at the manual with his chin. “The saber techniques inside aren’t what’s important. The key is the refined force meant for the saber. You should try practicing it. If it’s not suitable for you or you’re not happy with it, I’ll look for a different one.”
“You can find similar ones?”
“You’re underestimating me if you think I can’t do it. You can’t earn money through saber techniques in this day and age. If I want these manuals, all I need to do is spread the word, and I will get tons of them in just half a day.
“These refined forces were unique in the past, and those with the manuals kept them a closely guarded secret, which they refused to teach to outsiders. But if they refuse to teach it, then no one will learn it. Many of them are no longer passed down and have faded in the passage of time, while others are in the hands of struggling descendants. Instead of protecting manuals that can’t give them food or clothes, it’s better to just sell them for money. Some people are much more practical, unlike a certain someone who sticks to the rules and refuses to share.”
Chen Chuan could guess that Cheng Zitong had not managed to get a saber manual from someone he knew, which was why he was ranting up a storm about it. But since he could get so many other manuals, why did he ask this particular person for his? Was it because he was someone important?
Chen Chuan did not think too much about it. He picked up the saber manual and started reading through it. Since the cover was missing, he only found the saber-based refined force’s simple and humble name on the second page. “The Heavy Slash Force?”