Book 4, Chapter 218: Traveling Afar For An Old Cause
Book 4, Chapter 218: Traveling Afar For An Old Cause
The purity faction’s branch members had gathered together to have dinner. Then, they had a short meeting to decide their general development plan.
They decided to focus on expanding the branch, finding more members, and gathering strength. Actively fighting against the other factions was out of the question.
Since they were only at the beginning stages of building the branch, the headquarters was going to give them funds in batches. Of course, they also had to gather some of the money themselves.
Chang Dong had invested in multiple areas, especially in the renovation and upgrading of most of the old areas in Roaring Victory District brought by Proto-Being and other companies coming into the district. He was full of ambition and believed that this was a good time to invest in this market.
At a little past 8 p.m., Chen Chuan left with Xu Chan and went back to his villa in Majestic Light District. Back home, he put the branch’s concept design Chang Dong had given him on the wall of his lounge.
The design showed a tower at the center. It was on an elevated platform surrounded by various buildings.
According to Chang Dong, the purity faction’s branches were usually built in such a fashion. The tower was known as the central pillar and was mainly for defense purposes.
It was a tradition passed down from the old era, from when the purity faction had entered the merged space or the other world to fight against the existences. Central pillars were built at the gaps as houses and sanctuaries.
Whenever they wanted to expand, they would do it laterally, layer by layer. They would then build passages and checkpoints inside. If the outer layers fell to enemy attack, they would retreat. This was basically a multi-layered fortress. Hence, aside from the building on the ground, they also built multiple underground passages for emergency retreats.
Right now, they only planned for the tower to have seven floors. As long as they could use it, it would be enough. They didn’t need any outer layers. Chang Dong didn’t forget about the exit tunnels, though. The moment he started building the branch, he also dug them out.
In Chang Dong’s words, “If anyone actually attacked the branch, we wouldn’t have to worry about it with you around. But if you aren’t, then there’s no point in defending it. We’ll just give up on it to protect our precious members. There’s no point for us to fight to the death for this plot of land.”
Of course, this was only because they only had a handful of members in the branch and no important items. Once they started expanding, things would be different.
Chen Chuan stared at the design. The enemies of the purity faction were all powerful people and organizations.
Even so, he had to finish his tasks one by one, so he was going to solve his current problem first.
What Chen Chuan needed to do now was to find the teacher his mother had set up for him and ask them about what had happened in the past. Ni Xiaolin should know something about it. This lecturer had given him the Frost King Saber and knew his mother, so she should also know about the teacher.
Chen Chuan picked up his phone and called his telegraph clerk to send a telegram to Yangzhi City.
Since it was late, he guessed that Ni Xiaolin would have gone to bed and didn’t wait for a reply. Instead, he went to the underground training hall.
At around 8 a.m. the next day, his phone rang.
Chen Chuan was feeding Dawncall. When he heard the phone ringing, he picked up the receiver and said, “Chen Chuan speaking.”
Ni Xiaolin’s voice came through. “I got your telegram, Chen Chuan. I woke up early, so I hope I didn’t disturb your rest.”
“Of course not. I was the one who bothered you,” Chen Chuan refuted seriously.
He owed Ni Xiaolin a favor for the Frost King Saber. Mutated weapons weren’t easy to come by. Among the opponents he met, all those who had mutated weapons were elite Third Limit martial artists.
Ni Xiaolin didn’t waste time on small talk and cut to the chase. “My junior sister and I studied under Master Chi Yun, a martial artist famous in the north during the old era. Fang Zhuoying—my junior sister, that is—upheld our master’s will. After our master’s passing, she traveled abroad to spread our master’s martial arts ideals.
“Right now, she’s working in Veshahan’s Vakrahn Central City as a martial arts teacher and is pretty famous there. It’s been a long time since I contacted her, but if you want to look for her, you can send a telegram.”
Then, she gave Chen Chuan a telegram frequency.
“Thank you, Madam Ni,” Chen Chuan said sincerely.
“You’re welcome. Being able to help you youngsters means that these old bones are still useful. Go on with your day. If I start talking about the past, I won’t be able to stop, so I’ll be hanging up now.”
Chen Chuan thanked her again and hung up. After some thinking, he decided that a telegram wouldn’t help him explain everything that had happened. There might be some secrets too. If they communicated too frequently through telegrams, those secrets might get leaked.
With that being the case, he should just go to Veshahan himself.
The only problem was that it wasn’t easy for a martial arts master to leave a country. It involved so many things that two countries would need to work together for some time to make sure everything went without issue.
Fortunately, Fang Zhuoying was in Veshahan.
This country was right next to the Great Shun Republic and was largely shaped by it. The two countries also had frequent communications, and the national language of the Great Shun Republic was common in Veshahan. It wouldn’t be too difficult for Chen Chuan to go there.
It was religious countries like Palanio or Rolo that were much more complicated. A martial arts master’s appearance there would garner a lot of attention and cause them to enter a state of high alert. They would need to make adjustments in various matters, so if the martial arts master didn’t have a good enough reason to visit them, they were even likely to say no.
Chen Chuan checked flight routes. If he took an airplane, he would need around seven days. This meant that if things went smoothly, a round trip might take him more than half a month.
Still, it wasn’t too long of a time.
Since it was the beginning of December and the end of the year was approaching soon, he decided to leave as soon as possible. With that thought, he sent his application to the Department of Administrative Affairs. His excuse was good too: To visit an old acquaintance.
If the department passed his application, they would consult and report it to the National Martial Artists Council. Chen Chuan didn’t need to submit another application.
He thought that he would need a few days to get a reply, but he got his application approved that afternoon itself. Basically, the moment he submitted it, he got a green light.
Even if he signed a Class Five contract, applications for travel usually weren’t approved so quickly, so he believed that there was more to it.
Just then, his phone rang. Once he picked it up, he heard a stern voice. “Good day, Director Chen. I need to talk to you face-to-face about something. Do you have a minute?”
“Mr. Cao?”
It seemed like the National General Affairs Bureau was behind his application being approved so quickly. Something was going on.
He took a look at the time. It was around 2 p.m., so he suggested, “How about meeting at the entrance of Martial Valor University at 3 p.m.?”
“Alright. I’ll see you there,” Mr. Cao said.
After putting down the phone, Chen Chuan changed into casual clothes and went to the underground parking lot. The cars he got from Phantom Form and the new car from the Department of Administrative Affairs were all here.
Since he was meeting up with Mr. Cao, Chen Chuan decided to drive his usual car. He went over, opened the car door, got in, and drove off.
Forty-five minutes later, he parked on the curb of the road leading to Martial Valor University. After waiting for a while, he saw Mr. Cao walking toward him in his rearview mirror. He opened the car door and let Mr. Cao into the front passenger seat. Once Mr. Cao settled down, they shook hands, and Mr. Cao said sternly, “I received orders to talk to you about something.”
“What is it?” Chen Chuan asked.
“We were supposed to have a batch of goods shipped in from Veshahan, but due to their opposition and resistance groups interfering, the goods have been stuck in Veshahan for more than two months. When the leaders learned of your trip there, they expressed a wish for you to bring the goods back if it’s not too much trouble. This isn’t a compulsory task, just a favor between departments. If you can’t do it, you can say no.”
Chen Chuan didn’t ask about what the goods were. He simply said, “Do you have any information?”
Mr. Cao gave Chen Chuan a stack of documents. “This is the basic details. If you agree to help, we’ll have someone liaise with you there. They’ll have more detailed information.”
After Chen Chuan finished reading, he got the gist of the situation. Light flashed on his hands, and the papers were reduced to ashes. Calmly, he said, “Got it. I’ll bring the goods back.”
Mr. Cao cast him a glance. “The airship picking you up will arrive tomorrow. It’s provided by the National Martial Artists Council. The leaders will also provide you with all the nutritional fluid you will need over this period of time.”
With that said, he extended his hand to Chen Chuan. “I wish you luck, Director Chen.”
Chen Chuan shook his hand again. Mr. Cao gave him a nod, pushed his top hat down, and got out of the car.
After taking a few steps, he reached a corner of the street and watched Chen Chuan slowly drive away. A myriad of emotions filled his heart. The student had become the director of the Defense Bureau. It had only been three years since then, but he had changed so quickly.
A black limousine arrived beside him. The door opened, and Mr. Cao got in. He said to the telegraph clerk sitting in front of him, “Tell the leaders that Director Chen said yes. Please also tell them to get everything ready.”
***
Once Chen Chuan returned, he started packing up for the trip and used the Fu-Mu Entity to make arrangements for the Defense Bureau’s operations while he was gone. He also asked the Fu-Mu Entity to notify the Department of Administrative Affairs about it.
Every month, the safety policy panel in Jibei Road’s Central City held a meeting, though the time was never set. It was sometimes in the middle of the month while at other times at the end of the month. As part of the panel, Chen Chuan needed to attend it, so they could only hold it after he came back.