Chapter 50: The Hall Of Judgment
When Cheng Zitong heard his answer, he gave him a reminder, “Think about this carefully. This choice is not without risk. If you fail, you’ll be demoted to a second-class student, and you’ll lose all that you’ve gained.”
“The path of a martial artist is one of gains and losses, but you won’t lose the things you’ve learned. Besides, I’m confident in myself,” Chen Chuan shot back.
“Alright. No matter what the future is like, you’re my only mentee. Since you’ve made this decision, then I will do my best to provide you with all the help that I can,” Cheng Zitong declared.
“Thank you, Mr. Cheng!” Chen Chuan expressed his gratitude sincerely.
“Let’s look into this and solve the problems you will face one by one.
“The seniors are not allowed to take the test. It’s only open to freshmen and sophomores. Even so, I believe that only a handful of freshmen have your strength. That’s why your main competitors are going to be sophomores.
“You have a total of six months from the moment you register until the test itself, and the deadline for the registration is the end of the year, which means that over the next three months, you need to do at least three important dispatch missions with outstanding evaluations. Only then will you be allowed to register for the test. I’ll think of a way to get those missions for you. People need to show me some respect, so they’ll have to help me if I ask.
“But the other requirement is for you to master refined force. I won’t say much else about this. If your mutated tissue continues growing at the same rate, your life will be in danger within three months, and we’ll need a way to restrict their growth.”
Yes. This is the most crucial thing right now, and it’s the prerequisite for everything else. If I can’t master it, then I can forget about all else, Chen Chuan thought.
Cheng Zitong looked straight into Chen Chuan’s eyes and said, “Determination leads to action. Now comes the most important part of your training. I will teach you how to master refined force. Go and change into your martial arts uniform and come with me.”
“Alright. Please wait a moment,” Chen Chuan said.
After giving it some thought, he returned to his room and changed into his black martial arts uniform. He also tied the black headband around his forehead.
Cheng Zitong nodded once he saw Chen Chuan step out of his room. Chen Chuan had always been handsome, and once he changed into his martial arts uniform, he looked elegant, with handsome, heroic features. As his mentor, Cheng Zitong could hold his head up high.
He beckoned Chen Chuan over. “Let’s go.”
They went downstairs, stepped through the gate, and approached a white Palroy car. Cheng Zitong opened the driver’s side door and motioned for Chen Chuan to get inside.
After they fastened the seatbelts, Cheng Zitong drove to the east side of the university.
Around ten minutes later, there were no longer any buildings around them. Instead, two hills about four hundred meters tall rose before them.
Martial Valor University’s territory was huge and contained three small hills. The main two hills were the North Peak and South Hill. They were located in the north and south of the university respectively.
Cheng Zitong drove to the foot of South Hill, then went up the winding path. Soon, they reached a building that gave off a retro feel. It had upturned eaves, white walls, and black tiles. Blue-gray bricks paved the square in front of it, and pine trees flanked either side of the building.
Once Cheng Zitong parked the car, both of them stepped out. Chen Chuan could see the river flowing down North Peak and the villas surrounded by flower gardens, which made the place look like a gigantic manor. It was where the recommended students stayed.
The first- and second-class students seldom had any interactions with the recommended students. Even though they studied in the same university, they lived in two different worlds.
Cheng Zitong went to the building and spoke to the security guard stationed there before beckoning Chen Chuan over. They walked through the courtyard and a martial arts training ground covered in square bricks. At last, they came to the main building, located at the tail end of the place.
The place was made with modern construction materials, but built in the style of old. Security guards also patrolled the whole area.
Cheng Zitong walked up the stairs until he reached a thick double door. He inserted a key into the lock and turned it. Then, with a push from one hand, the two doors swung inward. He turned around and said, “Change out of your shoes before coming in.”
Chen Chuan went over and changed into a pair of thousand-layer cloth shoes in front of the door. After he walked through the entrance, he entered a spacious training hall. The floorboards were polished so well that they shone. A plaque hung near the ceiling of the wall across from him with the words “The Hall of Judgment.” A row of retro bookshelves lined the walls on both sides. They had bundles of retro bamboo slips that could no longer be found in their day and age.
“Stand there, and don’t move,” Cheng Zitong ordered.
Chen Chuan did as he was told.
Cheng Zitong went behind him and used a special technique to tap along his spine. “Do you feel any pain, numbness, or swelling?”
“No,” Chen Chuan replied.
Cheng Zitong’s expression relaxed a little. “If you’re not showing any of the symptoms, it means you’re well-matched with the Respiration Node Breathing Technique. Your mutated tissue has not seized control of your body, but as long as they keep growing, that’s going to happen sooner or later. The breathing technique I taught you has helped you build a foundation. Now, we’re going to officially begin your training. Wait here.”
“Okay,” Chen Chuan said.
Cheng Zitong walked through a side door and came out after a while. He had changed into a dark-brown martial arts uniform. Even though his face was rounder and softer than most men’s, he gave off a sort of elegance when wearing his uniform.
He went to the center of the training hall and sat down cross-legged on a cushion as he said, “Sit.”
Chen Chuan sat down cross-legged as well on the cushion in front of him. Just then, he smelled a nice fragrance, and when he looked in the direction of the scent, he found that Cheng Zitong had lit up the censer at some point of time. The scent was pleasant and made his mind calm down.
You sure like your formalities, huh, Mr. Cheng? Chen Chuan thought.
Cheng Zitong pointed behind him. “Do you know why this place is called the Hall of Judgment? Because learning has no end, and you have to treat it with respect and caution. While a student can make mistakes, the teacher can also make mistakes. We need to always reflect on ourselves. So, all the martial artists in the past question each other under this plaque and confront them on their faults.”
Chen Chuan nodded. He had noticed that while Cheng Zitong seemed like a laidback person based on the way he spoke and acted, as if he did not care about the old rules, the mark of the past was deeply embedded in him.
“So, I’m not going to dictate how you train without listening to your thoughts. If you do something wrong, I’ll point it out, but if I make a mistake or say and do something you think is wrong, you should also point it out. That’s good for me as well, understand?” Cheng Zitong said.
“I do, but you’ve been a great mentor to me.” Chen Chuan shook his head.
Cheng Zitong sighed. “Don’t say that. Everyone makes mistakes. You have to say something if I make a mistake.”
He schooled his features and said, “From today on, I’m going to teach you how to generate and train refined force, but before that, I’m going to tell you what exactly refined force is.
“You already know that refined force is generated through mutated tissue. This is the first stage in the process of guiding and using the mutated tissue. It consists of generating refined force until the mutated tissue stops generating any more. We now call this the First Limit, but it was once known as the True Seed Reserve.
“Of course, some ignorant religions and cults in the past also called this the Monstrous Embryo Nurturance Stage. No matter what, this stage has long been regarded as extremely important. This is the beginning of anyone’s journey in using the mutated tissue, and it’s the one true thing that will support them on their way toward high-level martial arts. Any questions?”
After some thinking, Chen Chuan said, “I was wondering about something. If we can use surgeries and medicine to stimulate or restrain the growth of mutated tissue, how did the martial artists of old solve this problem?”
“Based on existing records, it was uncommon for mutated tissue to grow nonstop in the past. Most of them stopped after a while. Cases of unceasing mutated tissue growth began to rise after the Algae Sap Revolution.
“As for the reason, some people believe that it’s due to the frequent use of medicine and biotechnology. Some people believe that such cases have always existed, but we only came to see them more frequently after our information gathering and exchange channels improved. Others think that it’s simply because the number of martial artists has increased. All these theories are logical.
“But you must understand that before firearms, war was a frequent thing in the past. Martial artists joined the army or the militia, and the stronger they were, the higher were their chances of dying. Very few people died of old age back then. Many died before such problems could even manifest.
“Another reason is that regardless of whether a martial artist was the backbone of the empire or part of the militia, they had an effective solution that they found after years of observation and analysis. They would search for people suited to learn their martial arts. They kept the suitable ones as their disciples, and sent away the ones who weren’t. Sometimes, they even destroyed their ability to train as martial artists, which indirectly saved them from such problems.”
“Thank you for answering my question.” Chen Chuan nodded.
“Do you have any other questions?” Cheng Zitong asked.
Chen Chuan stood up and said seriously, “I understand everything now. Please teach me how to generate refined force and use it.”
He then did a fist-and-palm salute toward Cheng Zitong.