Celestial Human Diagram

Chapter 287 - 19: Change

After the call ended, Chen Chuan recalled the platform’s evaluation of this teacher. While it wasn’t very high, it wasn’t too low either—it was average.

He opened the materials the other party had sent him. It was a technique called "Empty Practice." According to the description, this technique was cultivated through a combination of specific static stances, as well as internal and external stimulation with the aid of medication.

This didn’t seem particularly strange, as the basics of most Fighting Skills were similar. However, there was a note further down stating that once one learned this technique, mastering any other combat skill would be twice as effective with half the effort.

It wasn’t just a description; it also provided an example of a static stance, supposedly for interested students to try out first.

Chen Chuan took a look. It was a very strange posture. One foot was placed behind the other, the body bent down and then backward, before stretching forward with all one’s might. At the same time, the hands coiled upward along the body.

How to describe it... the entire body looked as if it were twisted into a spiral. No matter how he looked at it, it didn’t seem like something a normal person could do.

He then read the theory behind the technique, which was somewhat interesting.

According to Teacher Wu, cultivating this Empty Practice technique could stimulate one’s nerves and brain, thereby promoting the growth of Mutated Organizations there. This would allow a Fighter at the Second Limit to experience some of the benefits of the Third Limit, and their learning speed would also accelerate as a result.

Upon reading this, his interest immediately vanished.

He needed a solid foundation and holistic progress, not this kind of leapfrog advancement that rushed his development. While it might not count as prematurely exhausting his future potential, it still wasn’t what he needed.

’I might not need a technique like this, but that might not be true for others. If it’s really that effective, there’s no reason for its evaluation to be so low.’

So, he tried searching again and instantly understood. The so-called three hundred-plus students of this Teacher Wu were not all Wuyi Academy students.

Just as there were many Martial Arts Halls that took in students in Yangzhi City, the same was true in Central City, where a large number of people also learned Fighting Skills.

It was just that the Profound Palace Building mainly focused on training its internal students. For outsiders, it only offered a template-based curriculum aimed at corporate security personnel and the middle-to-upper classes. The demand for Fighting Skills from the lower classes was met by these Martial Arts Halls.

Besides these two, there was also private tutoring. People with some financial means would pay to hire Fighter instructors for private lessons or small group training sessions.

Many of Teacher Wu’s students came from this source. Although they left plenty of reviews, their feedback had nowhere near the same weight as that from Wuyi Students. The more such reviews he got, the more it likely dragged down his standing.

This was because Recommended Students would never even consider learning the same techniques as people from the lower classes; they had many better options.

Indeed, it was difficult for most ordinary people to achieve much. After all, the vast majority hadn’t been trained from a young age and could barely cultivate any Mutated Organizations.

These people were also very pragmatic. After studying for a few years, they would usually choose to get a second-hand or third-hand Implant, which would give them a basic level of combat capability.

This couldn’t be helped. An ordinary person’s potential had a ceiling. No matter how hard they worked, they could never defeat someone with an Implant. A few years of grueling training couldn’t even compare to someone else simply taking a single injection.

After some consideration, Chen Chuan sent a polite reply to Teacher Wu, stating that he had thought about it carefully and felt the technique wasn’t suitable for him. He ended with a thank you.

After sending the message, he left his room. Following the Realm Token’s directions, he found a telegraph station in the building and sent a telegram to He Xiaoxing. He asked if there were any accompanying application methods for the Furnace Breathing Method and, if so, whether he could learn them.

He then returned to his dorm, picked up the Upper Jawbone from his desk, and sat down on a soft cushion. He placed the object to his side, rested his hand on it, and began to cultivate the Furnace Breathing Method.

The object only produced its invasive effect upon direct contact. Although this made cultivation a bit more troublesome, he felt it was actually for the better. He hadn’t forgotten that it also affected his Realm Token, which likely meant it was impacting the Biological Domain. If this influence were to leak out, he might not have been able to bring it into the academy at all.

Meanwhile, in a narrow, dark room with the curtains drawn tight, Teacher Wu was lying motionless on a sofa. A reply notification appeared on his Realm Token. He immediately sat up to look at it, but his expression changed drastically after reading. His face twisted with fury as he snarled, "You refused? You actually refused?!"

But after that suppressed snarl, his expression quickly calmed, and he said blankly, "You shouldn’t have refused me."

As evening fell, Chen Chuan finished his day’s cultivation, washed up, and started browsing the news.

One of the advantages of Central City over Yangzhi City was that he didn’t have to rely on broadcasts. With just a Realm Token, he could see what was happening all over the city, although the public news was usually filtered to some extent.

However, Wubei had given him a fringe channel, through which he could see events from every corner of the city. This greatly broadened his perspective.

As he was browsing, a contact icon suddenly started flashing. It depicted a swaying willow tree, with a scholar sitting on a riverbank facing the water, a spread of scrolls laid out on the table before him.

It was Teacher Wu.

After a moment’s thought, he accepted the call. "Is this Teacher Wu? May I ask what this is about?"

Teacher Wu’s slightly deep voice came through. "Chen, I’d like to talk to you about your studies."

Chen Chuan said frankly, "Teacher Wu, thank you for your high regard. However, I have my own plans and don’t need to learn the technique you recommended at this time. Thank you again."

Teacher Wu said, "No, it’s not about that. I just want to talk with you face-to-face. There are some things you should probably know." He pleaded earnestly, "I promise, no matter the outcome, I won’t bother you again. Chen, would that be okay?"

Chen Chuan thought for a moment. "Now?"

Teacher Wu said, "If it’s convenient for you, you can come to the Jinwei Beverage Shop, southeast of the Profound Palace Building. I’ll be waiting for you there."

Chen Chuan found the location on his Realm Token. It was only a kilometer from the academy, so it wouldn’t take long to get there. "Alright," he said. "I’ll be there shortly."

He changed his clothes, left his room, and took the elevator downstairs. Following the route on his Realm Token, he went directly to the beverage shop. At this hour, there weren’t many customers. A quick scan of the room led him to a man sitting at a table, looking right at him.

He was a man under forty with a hint of melancholy in his eyes and deep-set lines on his forehead. His clothes were neat and tidy, but their style seemed a bit outdated compared to those around him. Judging by his eyes, he appeared to be a very gentle person.

He walked over. Teacher Wu stood up, extended a hand for a handshake, and said with a smile, "Hello, Chen. Please, have a seat. The hot local drinks here are quite good. I come here often. You should try one."

Meeting him in person, his voice was even more magnetic than it had been over the Realm Token, very pleasant to listen to.

After shaking hands and exchanging greetings, Chen Chuan sat down. After a bit of small talk, he asked, "Teacher Wu, what was it you needed to speak with me about?"

Teacher Wu smiled. "Chen, it seems you’re an efficient person, so I won’t waste your time." His expression grew serious. "Chen, how much do you know about the Central Hospital? Are you aware that over the past few years, Wuyi Academy has been changing its internal management methods?"

"Changing its internal management methods?"

Teacher Wu nodded. "It seems you don’t. Let me briefly explain. Three years ago, after Vice Principal Tan took office, he began to actively push for this to address some long-standing issues in the academy. Currently, he’s trying to create ’star students’ and is actively encouraging students to participate in academy-organized tournaments."

Chen Chuan raised an eyebrow. "Tournaments? Would the students agree to that?"

He knew that most students at the Central Hospital were Recommended Students. They all came from wealthy and influential backgrounds. Furthermore, anyone who could get into the Central Hospital was bound to be an A-class student from a branch campus, groomed to be a manager or a Law Enforcer. Why would they possibly agree to get on a stage and compete with others?

Teacher Wu said, "Of course, the original students would never agree. That’s why, about three years ago, Vice Principal Tan selected a group of talented and gifted students from the major Martial Arts Halls and recognized them as unofficial Wuyi students. He has them participate in the competitive martial arts tournaments promoted and organized by the various academies."

Chen Chuan thought for a moment and said, "As I recall, there have always been tournaments nationwide. For many Class B students at the branch campuses, this is their path forward. This doesn’t seem particularly special."

Teacher Wu shook his head. "It’s different. Those tournaments are only outside Central City and have almost no influence here. What makes this new tournament unique is..."

He paused before continuing slowly, "Every student participating in the tournament first receives an Implant manufactured by one of the major corporations. Because of this, it has the support of those corporations, and the citizens welcome it too."

Hearing this, Chen Chuan understood immediately.

Tournaments between Fighters with Implants—that was what set it apart from the tournaments outside Central City. For the common people, it was incredibly appealing.

’And it’s not just advertising the major corporations’ products,’ he thought. ’It’s also using the students’ bodies to test them.’

’Perhaps once this trend takes off, tournaments in other places will also gradually begin to include Implants. That’s definitely something the major corporations would love to see.’

After thinking it over, he asked, "Why is Teacher Wu telling me all this?" Since it was about unofficial students, it didn’t seem to have anything to do with him.

Teacher Wu said gravely, "I’m telling you this because this matter might affect you."

Chen Chuan raised an eyebrow. "Affect me?"

Teacher Wu looked at him and said slowly, "You should be well aware that you’re a rare commoner student, not one of the Recommended Students. Yet, you are an official student of the Central Hospital with no powerful background. If you were to be fitted with an Implant and sent into the ring, wouldn’t that be far more appealing than those half-baked students from the Martial Arts Halls?"

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