After exchanging a few words, Teacher Bai waited for Chen Chuan to put his jacket back on. Then, he walked back with him and asked, "Chen, are you still going to the arena to watch the matches later?"

Chen Chuan shook his head. "I’m not in the mood anymore."

"That’s true. You don’t need to watch these anyway."

Teacher Bai smiled. "Then you should head back. If you’re interested in the future, you can come to my class—free of charge, of course. I can’t claim I’ll be able to teach you anything, but perhaps I can give you some inspiration."

Chen Chuan said earnestly, "Thank you, Teacher Bai." ’Experts at the Third Limit all had their own unique methods, and it was only at the academy that he could see them so easily.’

Admiration showed in Teacher Bai’s eyes. To be honest, he wasn’t a practical combatant. Wei Wusheng’s fighting strength was immense; if Teacher Bai had gone up against him, he almost certainly would have lost. He would have been lucky to escape undefeated.

But Chen Chuan had actually pummeled Wei Wusheng to death with his fists. And he had achieved such strength and such a battle record at such a young age.

Yet despite all this, Chen Chuan remained low-key and humble, which was incredibly rare. ’Honestly,’ he thought, ’if I’d had that kind of ability at his age, I would’ve been showing off long ago.’

’As for now... the more I know, the less I feel like showing off.’

He sighed emotionally and said, "Well, Chen, I’ll see you later."

Chen Chuan nodded, and they parted ways. After Teacher Bai had gone, he thought for a moment, then walked over and picked up Wei Wusheng’s hammer. It was his spoil of war, and he had to take it back with him.

Although the hammer was technically evidence, there was more than enough proof of Wei Wusheng’s crimes without it.

The people from the Processing Bureau saw him take it but said nothing. In fact, upon learning that he was leaving, they specially arranged a car for him.

The upper echelons of the Processing Bureau were very pleased with Chen Chuan’s performance and were already considering how to reward him.

After all, Chen Chuan was considered a reserve Law Enforcer for the Processing Bureau. By stepping up to eliminate Wei Wusheng and broadcasting the entire process clearly to the citizens of Central City, he had almost single-handedly reversed the Bureau’s poor public image.

More importantly, Chen Chuan was now a Third Limit Fighter. A Fighter of his caliber could no longer be treated as a mere student.

This was especially true for someone like Chen Chuan, who had been trained within the state system and had reached this limit before the age of twenty. Anyone could see he had an incredibly bright future ahead of him; he could go anywhere he pleased.

To put it bluntly, countless factions would be fighting to recruit him. The Bureau had to find a way to reward him generously. Only by giving him substantial benefits could they cement the narrative that Chen Chuan had terminated Wei Wusheng under the Processing Bureau’s authority.

After getting in the car, Chen Chuan started heading back to the academy. He then noticed his Realm Token had many new voice messages. He opened one, and Wubei’s excited voice burst forth, "Brother Chen, amazing! That was absolutely amazing! You know, at that moment, I was so hyped I felt like punching myself..."

It was a rare opportunity for Wubei to witness a Third Limit fight. He had managed to piggyback on the arena’s frequency adjustments to watch the entire battle from a first-person perspective, and it was beyond thrilling.

After listening to that message, Chen Chuan opened another. It was from Pan Xiaode. "Chen, we’ve fought once before, right? When I reach the Third Limit, I will definitely challenge you to a rematch."

Following that were messages from other acquaintances he had as contacts. Even Zou Handan had left one, saying that the Secret Snake Sect had service packages for Third Limit Fighters and was willing to offer him several free sessions.

Just then, he discovered that a large sum of money had been deposited into his account.

At the same time, he found a message from Tan Zhi:

"Chen, this bounty money is for you. Since you were the one who killed Wei Wusheng, the team that posted the bounty unanimously decided to transfer it to you. Also... that last time we ran into Wei Wusheng, it was you who saved us, right?"

Chen Chuan sent a message back: "Tan, I was just saving myself at the time."

A moment later, a reply came from Tan Zhi: "In any case, we have to thank you, Chen."

Meanwhile, as Chen Chuan was on his way back, the broadcast of him pummeling Wei Wusheng to death hadn’t ended with the venue’s feed. The footage had been recorded and was now being continuously disseminated through various channels, its influence gradually spreading.

Inside a certain outpost, Ancheng stared blankly, having watched the entire event. He couldn’t quite describe the feeling in his heart. Chen Chuan had become a Third Limit Fighter, which meant a spot had opened up, and they would no longer be competing. Yet, he was overwhelmed by a sense of defeat—the kind you feel when you’ve already lost before the competition even starts.

Just then, his Realm Token chimed with an incoming call. He glanced at it and answered, "Sun Rao?"

Sun Rao’s voice came through. "You saw it too?"

"I saw it," Ancheng replied.

Sun Rao said, "Don’t dwell on it. Some people are just destined to be different."

Ancheng was taken aback. "Are you trying to comfort me?" he asked, surprised.

"No. I’m just telling you to accept reality."

Ancheng grimaced, but in his heart, he felt this was more like it.

Sun Rao continued, "It’s not a bad thing to recognize this early on. The Bureau will probably arrange an official position for Chen. They might even pick a new replacement from the academy. You’d better not let another rookie surpass you."

Ancheng scoffed, "Me? Surpassed by a rookie?"

However, after the call ended, he suddenly felt a wave of uncertainty.

Talent, after all, was an unreasonable thing. He had put on a tough front for Sun Rao, but if another person like Chen Chuan came along, he would genuinely start to doubt himself.

「Central City, a corner of the Underground City District.」

In a two-story shack built from scrap metal and simple planks, Lu Ke was wiping some exercise equipment under an old lamp.

At that moment, an irregularly shaped projection screen outside his window suddenly lit up.

His attention was captured. He walked over to the window, equipment still in hand, and pulled the curtain back a little.

As residents of the Lower City District, even with Realm Tokens, they couldn’t directly access information from Central City through normal channels. This was because Central City used a Domain to shield the areas below ground.

But this didn’t mean the Lower City District and the Upper City District were completely cut off from each other. Important information was sometimes relayed by Resonators using certain technical methods.

Many of these Resonators worked for the gangs and organizations in the Underground City District, but some selflessly shared what they saw with its ordinary people.

These individuals called themselves Light Keepers. Ironically, while no one from Central City above paid them any mind, they were often hunted by other Resonators—those working for the gangs and factions of the Lower City District. The broadcast before him was likely the work of one such person.

Lu Ke was only curious at first, as he wasn’t particularly interested in the affairs of Central City above. But once he got a clear look at the scene and the people involved, he suddenly became agitated. "Master, it’s Brother Chen! It’s Brother Chen!"

A tapping sound came from the doorway, and Yu Gang entered, leaning on a cane. One of his legs had been replaced by a prosthesis, but the pant leg for the other was empty. Likewise, he only had one arm, its counterpart an empty, dangling sleeve.

He came to the window and watched the scene on the screen. "It is him," he said, a note of wonder in his voice.

Lu Ke said excitedly, "Senior Sister never believes me when I tell her how incredible Brother Chen is. Now she can’t say I’m just bragging anymore."

He watched the screen, seeing Chen Chuan casually swat aside a flying car and display all sorts of incredible speed and destructive power during the fight. He stammered, "Master, that kind of destructive power... does that mean Brother Chen has reached the Third Limit?"

"It’s the Third Limit. There’s no doubt," Yu Gang said in a heavy tone. He looked up at the screen and added silently, ’And probably not just an ordinary Third Limit, either.’

Lu Ke touched his Realm Token. "I have to show this to Senior Sister." With that, he dropped what he was holding and clattered down the stairs.

After the car dropped him back at the academy, Chen Chuan first returned to his dorm to wash up and change his clothes. He decided to make a trip to Motie Mountain a little later.

Even though he had reached the Third Limit, he felt he still had questions that needed answering.

「Half an hour later.」

He left again, driving a Gard Car to the Cao Manor.

This time, Uncle Ding’s attitude toward him was completely different. If before he had treated Chen Chuan as just an ordinary guest, maintaining only the most basic courtesy and even showing a hint of distance, now he was exceedingly respectful and much more enthusiastic.

Once inside, he met with Cao Guiqi and was immediately invited to take a seat. Cao Guiqi asked Uncle Ding to brew tea, then said, "I just watched your duel. To display such strength right after entering the Third Limit... your talent is even greater than I imagined."

Chen Chuan said, "Senior, though I’ve reached this limit, I find I have more questions than before. I was also hoping to ask for your guidance on how to proceed from here."

Cao Guiqi said, "There’s no hurry. We have time today, so we can take it slow. You broke through to the Third Limit using the Old Method, correct? So, are you familiar with some of the old-era terms for a Fighter’s cultivation?"

Chen Chuan nodded. "One of my teachers once explained it to me. He said that in the old-era terms, the first layer is called ’Primordial Truth Seed,’ and the second is called ’Guardian of the Heavy Mandate.’"

Cao Guiqi nodded. "Correct. Your teacher clearly understands the Old Method. And as for the third layer, the old era gave it a name: ’Illusion Breaker’!"

He said in a low, serious voice, "When a Fighter reaches this layer, the talented among them can see what ordinary people cannot, hear what they cannot, and sense what they cannot.

Some of these perceptions can completely subvert one’s prior understanding. In the past, this led ordinary people to see them as individuals who could communicate with Divine Beings. This is also why many old-era Fighters became entangled with Esoteric Buddhism and other heretical sects."

Hearing this, Chen Chuan’s heart skipped a beat. He suddenly recalled the strange visions he had seen earlier. ’So that’s what those were.’

...

...