From the beginning to the middle of April, Chen Chuan stayed in his room to train every second he had.

He needed to master the techniques Xue Shou taught him as soon as possible in order to reap as many benefits as he could when the Gate to Heaven opened.

Every day, he summoned Hongfu to use the tempering method to help him refine his mind. Due to his strong physical foundation and his abundant resources, his mental energy was getting stronger at a steady rate. His mental energy grew increasingly transparent and bright. It no longer just glowed but was beginning to let out a bright light.

He did not give up on polishing his physical foundation either.

Xue Shou had advised him to focus on both nourishing his body and tempering his mind. The mind was always going to rely on the body to get stronger and remain steady. Only a solid physical foundation could support immense power.

As his mind continued getting stronger, Chen Chuan began sensing a barely noticeable wall standing in his way.

It might just mark the limit of the human body.

Once a martial artist reached that state, their physical body and mind wouldn’t be able to get stronger. Their next task was then to turn around and fix their flaws to polish their body and mind to perfection.

But everyone was different, and there was a huge difference between each individual person. It might be even greater than the difference between certain species. Hence, when a person reached perfection, it did not mean that they reached the theoretical human limit.

Chen Chuan’s goal was to reach and overcome that limit. Because of it, he had been working so hard.

If he could fuse with his second self after he reached new heights, his goal would no longer be an unattainable dream. It would be entirely possible to achieve.

But right now, he didn’t know the conditions to fuse with his second self a second time. He wondered whether it would happen when he reached his personal limit.

It was likely since it was only at that moment that he couldn’t improve anymore but longed deeply to keep getting stronger and resonate with his second self more than ever before.

He would only know whether that was the case when the time came.

***

While Chen Chuan was training every day, Ling Jianxing was busy coordinating the Martial Valor University lecturers and students with no fixed duties from his office on the seventy-second floor of the Arcane Palace.

Since the university had also received an official letter from the municipal government, they needed to send their lecturers and students over to work with the government to maintain order during the Fu-Mu Entity’s split.

Martial Valor University was an organization within Jibei Road’s Central City that possessed a large number of martial artists. It could be said that it was the place with the most elite martial artists, right behind the Resolution Department and the World Ring Defense System.

All of the lecturers were Third Limit martial artists. Since the university itself had ample resources, the lecturers were also stronger than the martial artists outside the establishment. If they used equipment and weapons, they could form an incredibly intimidating force.

Hence, when the Fu-Mu Entity split in the past, Martial Valor University worked with the municipal government to maintain order in Central City. They had done this so many times that it was a standard procedure for them.

But things were different this time. Aside from the Fu-Mu Entity splitting, the gap in the World Ring was a major underlying problem.

“This is something that only happens in a blue moon. Of course I’ll work together with the government,” Ling Jianxing said into his Realm Pass.

He was smiling when he said this. This situation was incredibly beneficial for what he was going to do next. He would even say that it was a great help for him.

“Have you set things up on your side?

“Alright. We’ll act according to plan. You don’t have to change anything. It’s not the time for us to do anything yet. We need to be patient.

“Yes. I’ll pay attention. I know. We can’t possibly accomplish our goal on our own. I’ll find suitable people to join our cause.

“Just wait. I told you before. Be patient.”

Once he ended the call, he summoned a group of photos belonging to noteworthy students and lecturers with a swing of his arm. When he reached Chen Chuan’s photo, he paused for a moment before smiling meaningfully and looking at the next one.

***

Chen Chuan finished his training for the day and went into the bathroom to take a shower. Once he was out, he sipped a warm drink on the sofa while contacting Zhuang Ke of Photon Nest.

Half a month had passed. He had been busy with training, so he only asked about Dawncall once every five days. It had been a few days since his last check, and he wondered how the Bird Reptile was.

“Mr. Chen, your pet’s vital signs are stable. Its mutated tissue is growing in the direction you chose.

“But we’ll need to observe it for another two months at least. If its mutated tissue doesn't show any deformities and doesn’t fall into a slump, there won’t be any other problems.

“If nothing goes wrong, it’ll become a strong bioweapon.” Zhuang Ke ended with a chuckle.

Chen Chuan nodded. If Dawncall’s growth was going to take two months or more, then it would end after the Fu-Mu Entity finished propagating. By the looks of it, he wouldn’t be able to bring Dawncall to this fight.

Judging by the current situation, once the Gate to Heaven opened, all sorts of people would swarm into Central City, and there was no telling how things would end up. It would not be good to bring Dawncall to the fight before it had fully grown. It was better for it to stay safe.

“Thanks for taking care of Dawncall for me. I might be busy with something over the next few days, so I won’t be able to come and visit it so often anymore,” he said.

“We can understand. Your requests are always our top priority. Besides, you’re using our internal channel to communicate with us. Don’t worry. No matter what happens outside, we’ll do our best to ensure your interests,” Zhuang Ke said with a smile.

“Thank you, then.”

After their conversation, Chen Chuan took another sip of his drink before looking at the scenery outside.

Over the past few days, he paid attention to the changes in the domain above him whenever he took the special medicine and noticed that more black spots had appeared on the barrier covering Central City. The barrier had also become incredibly unsteady.

Even though it should be able to last a while longer, the Fu-Mu Entity was close to splitting.

Chen Chuan did wonder whether the municipal government would try to delay its split or push it forward. If he were them, he would push it before the other parties were ready for it. But he couldn’t tell what the municipal government and congress was thinking, and they were the ones who made the final decision. They might not have such resolve.

Chen Chuan tapped on his Realm Pass and went to the niche channel.

He hadn’t left his room over the past few days, so most of his knowledge about the outside world came from there. These days, the most commonly discussed topic on the platform was how a lot of famous foreign martial artists had come to Central City and how strong they actually were.

The niche channels had connections with certain mercenary platforms, so the speakers were well-informed, and their information was reliable. Chen Chuan even suspected that the government also searched for information in the niche channels.

Two people were the most widely discussed among the mercenaries mentioned.

Chen Chuan took a look at the photo at the very top. It showed a handsome young man with long, golden hair tied up in a ponytail and a heavy build. He was in the stance of the famous Cana Fist.

The man’s name was Draco Lovac, and he was from Albion Waters Alliance, which was in the Western Continent. He was the master of a private martial arts school and was known worldwide.

Since he was handsome, young, rich, and powerful, many people idolized him. The comments about him were mixed with the good and the bad, and the discussions about him were the most intense.

The other person wasn’t given the same treatment as Draco. All the comments about him were negative.

The man had tall eyebrows, a narrow forehead, a well-defined jaw, and a face weathered by hardship.

Based on his appearance, Chen Chuan guessed that he might be an Oceanlander. The moment he saw the name and nationality, his instincts were proven true. The man was Zomali of the Linacrox Union.

The name screamed of the natives of Oceanland.

Chen Chuan could understand why the commenters were mocking and criticizing him, because the Linacrox Union loved sending children from the descendants of natives or mixed bloods to training camps, where they were brainwashed since young in the name of “education” to become spies or martial artists. Then, they were sent to target their fell countrymen.

Since they looked similar to the people of the Great Shun Republic, the Linacrox Union often sent them to the country to carry out missions, which was why their reputation was horrible.

Based on the comments, Zomali had broken the law in the Great Shun Republic before but was pardoned later on. He left after that. Now, he had come marching right back with a swagger. He was also a flashy person and even asked the people on the platform whether they missed him, so it made sense that the people on the platform kept insulting him.

Chen Chuan took a look at the others. Regardless of whether it was these two or the other martial artists, all of them shared certain characteristics—they were famous and strong. This made it easy for them to attract the people’s attention.

Chen Chuan believed that they were under various organizations’ control and were sent out into the open to draw the municipal government’s attention.

This would have been fine at any other time. After all, the active and passive biosentient entities would monitor them, and they wouldn’t be able to do much, no matter how many of them came. However, the largest active biosentient entity in Central City was going to be unable to function soon, and the large number of passive biosentient entities relying on it were likely to be affected as well.

With that being the case, the municipal government would have to use countless people to monitor these martial artists and fend against them. But no one was omnipotent. If they focused on one area, their attention would be weaker in other areas.

While the municipal government could monitor all Third Limit martial artists entering the city, they weren’t able to use many of their other tactics during such an unusual situation.

If Chen Chuan were these foreigners, he would hide outside the city or in the lower city district until the Fu-Mu Entity split. When the Gate to Heaven was about to open, he would sneak in during the chaos. Even if Central City decided to go into a lockdown before the Fu-Mu Entity started splitting, Chen Chuan didn’t believe that they could stop everyone from entering.

By the looks of it, the situation he would have to face was going to be pretty complicated.

As Chen Chuan stared at the photos and the martial artists in their different stances and faces, he finally understood why Xue Shou said that he wouldn’t run out of opponents. If he had the chance, he would love to fight against them.