Chapter 599 - 329: Blockade

Chen Bitong fell silent for a moment. "We can finally have a proper talk," he said. "And this is the perfect place for it."

Their position was right on the dividing line between the two sides, so they didn’t have to worry about anyone interrupting or overhearing them.

Chen Chuan said, "I’m listening."

Chen Bitong looked at him earnestly. "Captain Chen, you have a bright future. I never wanted to involve you in this, but you’ve convinced me with your strength."

He leaned back against his Long Spear, gazing toward the front of the Rift.

"I’ve been a Guardian at the World Ring for twenty years. I’ve lost count of how many invasions from the outside I’ve repelled. In my younger days, I had a terrible temper. I saw myself as a man of principle—extremely strict with my subordinates, unwilling to curry favor with the powerful or my superior officers, and my relationships with my peers were strained.

Back then, I stubbornly believed that as a soldier, fulfilling my duty as a guardian was all that mattered.

My two children admired me greatly, so both of them enrolled in military academies. They were gifted, too. They reached the Third Limit at eighteen and nineteen, respectively. They graduated early, joined the Defense Department, and stood with me as Guardians before the World Ring.

Only... they ultimately sacrificed their lives there."

Chen Chuan said slowly, "I’ve heard."

Chen Bitong fumbled in his clothes for a moment and pulled out two small wooden carvings: a swallow and a tiger. "They gave these to me when they were five. The carvings represent their names."

Chen Chuan glanced over. A line of small characters was carved on each: "Chen Xiaohu" and "Chen Xiaoyan." The wooden animals had a childish charm, clearly the work of two pairs of small, tender hands.

Chen Bitong stroked the pair of wooden carvings. "They weren’t injured at the time," he said slowly. "They were contaminated by something from the other side. When I heard, I rushed to the rear.

The commanding officer there told me that anyone infected would inevitably be controlled by some entity from the other side. He said there was no known cure, and that it might even be contagious. He... hoped I would ’deal with it’ as soon as possible. And if I couldn’t bring myself to do it, the Defense Department could handle it for me."

His voice dropped. "When Xiaoyan and Xiaohu found out, they didn’t want to put their father in a difficult position. So, by the time I got back, they had left me a letter... and returned to the battlefield one last time..."

Chen Chuan said nothing, listening in silence.

"I remember what the letter said: *Dad, in our hearts, you’ve always been a hero. We worship you, and we’re so proud of you. We hope you can be proud of us, too.*"

As he spoke, Chen Bitong’s eyes grew moist. He took a deep breath, carefully tucked the wooden carvings back into his clothes, and patted the spot gently. Even during the most intense moments of their battle, even when he seemed to have become someone else entirely, he had kept these two carvings from any harm.

He leaned back, muttering, "After I went back... I changed Xiaojing’s name to Xiaojin..."

He paused, taking a shallow breath before stiffly steering the conversation back. "In my later years guarding the World Ring, I encountered many similar incidents. This included comrades I had fought beside for years. The advice from the rear was always to ’deal with them’ quickly, or they would send someone to supervise the ’disposal.’

So, most of the squad members who got contaminated would entrust their families to their comrades’ care and then turn right around, charging back to the front line.

We always believed that was the right way to handle it. Until one day, a young officer accompanying a superior on a tour of the front lines also got contaminated. But the higher-ups didn’t dispose of him. Instead, they sent him to the rear for treatment that very night.

Two months later, I saw him at a victory celebration. He was laughing and chatting with people. His rank had even been raised by one level.

I had someone pull his file. His so-called ’meritorious service’ was getting infected. The report said he fought valiantly on the front line and nearly died. In reality, he was there for less than three hours and never once left his vehicle.

I later learned he was the son of a high-ranking official in the Defense Department. His mother’s family, it seemed, held an even higher status.

Later, I did some digging. I learned through various channels that the infection wasn’t incurable at all. It required special medication, approved from on high. But certain people kept these drugs in their possession, hidden from those below them, and used them only to treat those they deemed ’worthy’ of saving."

At this, Chen Chuan spoke up. "So, Teacher Chen, is what you’re doing now a form of revenge for your comrades... and your children?"

Chen Bitong shook his head, his voice heavy. "I have been a soldier my entire life. I have duties I must uphold. Xiaoyan and Xiaohu were soldiers, too. Once you step onto the battlefield, you must be prepared for anything. I don’t resent anyone for what happened, nor am I seeking revenge.

Besides, taking revenge on those people wouldn’t solve the real problem.

Yes, I could probably kill them all. I could sacrifice my own life to take down everyone who covered it up. But so what?

After they and I are dead, my actions will have changed nothing. Things would go back to how they were. The same tragedies would keep happening."

At this, his voice grew slow, deep, and forceful. "Only a change that is big enough—big enough to affect Central City, all of Dashun, or even the entire world—can be meaningful."

Chen Chuan looked at him. ’What this man is trying to do,’ he thought, ’is anything but simple.’

"There are some things in this world that should belong to everyone, but certain people use their power to clutch them tightly, making them their own exclusive property."

Chen Bitong looked up. "Captain Chen, you are standing at the threshold of a higher limit. You’re not far from it now. But if you want to break through that barrier, besides drawing power from the other side to refine your body as I mentioned, there’s something else you need.

In the past, when the two worlds were drawing each other closer, whether during the Period of Change or the Cold Silence Period, these things weren’t hard to find for Fighters of the old era who had reached the boundary.

But things are different now."

His voice turned grave. "These things are now under a strict lockdown. Aside from the world’s major powers and mega-corporations, no other individual has any way to obtain them."

Chen Chuan raised an eyebrow. "Like the special medicines?"

Chen Bitong shook his head. "Special medicines are also controlled, but the various cultivation Schools out there can still get their hands on them, as long as they control a Rift. Besides, special medicines are like hard currency among those at the Third Limit; they circulate on the outside.

But the thing I’m talking about... the world’s great powers and mega-corporations used the World Ring to lock it away long ago. Not a single trace of it has made its way to the outside.

Nowadays, unless a civilian School or a small nation has an inheritance left over from a previous generation, it’s virtually impossible to obtain this substance without the approval and permission of the major world governments and mega-corporations.

Unless they try to sneak past the World Ring, but the risk is extremely high. There’s a joint task force within the World Ring dedicated to hunting down and eliminating such people."

Chen Chuan mulled this over. This matter was undoubtedly of personal importance to him. "What reason do the nations and corporations give for blockading these things?" he asked.

"The control over this substance began during the Great Alliance Period. The reasoning at the time was that Fighting Masters were incredibly destructive. Every Fighting Master needed to be evaluated and kept in check to prevent massive upheavals across the globe. It was also to ensure that anyone who became a Fighting Master would join the fight against the other world.

Perhaps the original intention was pure. But after so many years, the supply channels for this substance have long been seized by a handful of special interest groups. They’ve formed a vast web—a Large Net. If you aren’t part of their circle, the only way to get what they deign to give you is by signing their draconian contracts and agreements.

This cannot be allowed to continue!"

He gazed out of the Rift. "And what I intend to do today," he said in a low voice, "is to shatter that blockade. Or at the very least, tear a hole in it. Let those things flow out, so that more people have the chance to obtain them."

Chen Chuan was silent for a moment. "Using the Rift?" he asked.

"Yes, the Rift!"

Chen Bitong nodded. "But it’s more than that. There are also the fission-clones. The clones can help us pass through the already-breached World Ring and connect to the place where this substance is kept. If the operation is handled correctly, if we succeed... many people will no longer be shackled. More changes will follow."

Chen Chuan considered this. He didn’t know how powerful a Fighter of a higher limit truly was, but judging from the small fraction of power Chen Bitong had displayed, he could imagine the kind of destructive force they possessed.

Even one or two more individuals like that could potentially change the entire landscape of a region.

Still, he felt Chen Bitong hadn’t told him everything. Just as he was about to ask another question, he suddenly sensed something. He glanced outside the Rift. Someone was coming up, and he could feel a faint sense of threat from them.

’It seems whoever is coming this time is no simple foe.’

His gaze shifted. He saw his Snow Monarch Blade embedded in the ground nearby. The expanding Rift had enveloped the blade along with them.

He walked over, gripped the hilt, and pulled it free. The blade had not yet ’awakened,’ but it would be enough to handle the current situation.

He glanced at Chen Bitong again. "So, Teacher Chen, were you the one who opened the breach in the World Ring?"

Chen Bitong was silent for a moment. "I would not actively do such a thing," he said. "But I admit... I didn’t stop it in time."

Chen Chuan stepped forward, blade in hand, and faced the front of the Rift. Once he had planted his feet, he glanced back. "By the way, what is that substance called?"

"We call it Pure Essence now."

Chen Bitong said, "I don’t know what it was called in the past. Its true name has been erased from the archives and most historical records."

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