Atlas of Heaven and Man

Throughout July, Chen Chuan trained methodically. As his mastery of Grand Dispersing Hand deepened, his application of various techniques became increasingly skillful.

Now, even without 'Second Me' and without any protective gear, he could dominate Lu Ke in a fight.

This was largely due to the significant advantages of the Breathing Method, which comprehensively enhanced physical fitness. Otherwise, Yu Gang wouldn't have called it a shortcut.

Compared to those students who had been training since childhood, he was likely no match. This was normal, because without 'Second Me', this was a trade-off for his own life and the potential overdraw of the future.

Under normal circumstances, such an exchange wouldn't be equal, because once those students also mastered the Breathing Method, this advantage would disappear and the gap would widen again.

In late July, Chen Chuan received a notice from the Martial Courage Academy and went there again.

This time, he didn't enter the campus but simply picked up a booklet at the gate, which contained specific information that incoming students needed to know, as well as the registration process for the re-examination.

Next, in addition to his own training, he was also preparing for admission, returning home a little earlier each day.

One day, as he was running home from Fist Home, passing by a shed, several men were standing behind an open window on a three-story building by the roadside, watching his figure with unfriendly eyes.

One of them, a short man with an open-chested plaid shirt and a gold watch, pointed and said, "Brother Qi, that's the kid."

"Brother Qi" was a man in his late twenties with a buzz cut and a bracelet on his thick arm. He looked down and said, "Are you sure? Is it this kid?"

"No mistake, Brother Qi. He went to the Martial Academy a few days ago, and we recognized him then. He's the one who embarrassed Brother Dan!"

Brother Qi said, "Is the place ready?"

Brother Qi said, "Then I'll leave it to you."

"Don't worry, Brother. I'll handle it properly."

Time quickly came to the last day of July. Yu Gang seemed to have something to do and went out after lunch. Chen Chuan, because of tomorrow's matter, didn't continue training in the afternoon but helped Lu Ke tidy up some things.

After finishing, Lu Ke took Chen Chuan to the rooftop, where there was a table, reclining chairs, and a sunshade. Beside them, in a beverage basket, were a few bottles of sarsaparilla soda.

Lu Ke walked over, picked up two bottles of soda, opened them with a bottle opener, and handed one to Chen Chuan, saying, "We martial artists should drink less alcohol, so I'll make do with soda. You're going to the Martial Academy tomorrow, so I'll toast you."

Chen Chuan took the soda bottle and clinked it against his, took a sip, and then the two of them sat down. Lu Ke exhaled and looked at the leisurely white clouds in the sky, saying, "Brother Chen, when you came, I was always targeting you. You must dislike me a lot, right?"

Chen Chuan said, "Not really. Everyone has their own reasons for doing things, but I want to say that as long as you don't regret it, other people's opinions don't really matter that much."

Lu Ke's hand paused, then he brought the soda bottle to his mouth and took a few gulps. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, placed the soda bottle on the table, and pointed northeast, "See over there? Jiao Mountain."

Chen Chuan looked over. There was a huge circular gray shadow. That was Jiao Mountain, said to be a relic of the pre-era, but now it had become an endless garbage dump.

Lu Ke looked there, and said absentmindedly, "I was born in the Jiao Mountain area. I can't compare with you city people. I don't have the qualifications to go to school in the city. People there can only make a living by picking up garbage in the mountains."

Chen Chuan looked at him and said, "I heard that most people who live in Jiao Mountain get a kind of incurable lung disease?"

Lu Ke said in a low voice, "You're right, I do, and almost everyone around me, including my family, has this disease. My father disappeared when I was very young, and my mother was paralyzed in bed for many years. When I was only three or four years old, I often coughed. Only my sister was lucky enough not to get it. She's about ten years older than me. Ever since I can remember, my sister has been taking care of the family.

It's just that six years ago, the village supposedly found something very important to a big shot. Someone wanted to keep it in their hands and sell it for a big price. There was no way, the village was too poor, but how could those gangs negotiate prices with us? That night, they rushed into the village to search and rob, and clashed with the villagers, because my sister happened to be coming back from picking up garbage and was innocently crippled."

As he spoke, he wiped his eyes with his arm, "Later, I followed my master and practiced boxing with him, just wanting to earn money in the future to bring them all out and let them all live a good life."

He took another gulp of soda and said, "That day, I couldn't beat Ding Shuo, not only because I didn't take my medicine, but also because I was afraid. I was afraid of getting hurt. Now my sister and my mother are counting on me, so I must not have anything happen to me! That day, my master asked me to try the Breathing Method, and I stopped halfway because I was scared…"

As he spoke, he turned his head and looked at Chen Chuan with a complex expression: "I really envy you. You can study in the city, you don't have to bear these burdens, you can go to the Martial Academy. Seeing you, I was thinking, why can't I have such a life, why can't I be the one who passes the Martial Academy…"

"Chen Chuan!"

His voice suddenly rose, he wiped his face hard, raised the bottle high, his eyes a little red, "I toast you, I hope you gain a foothold in the Martial Academy, you can't be worse than me!"

Chen Chuan silently picked up the bottle, clinked it hard against his, and took a sip.

Lu Ke finished the whole bottle of soda in one go. He raised his hand, seemingly wanting to smash the bottle to vent the emotions in his chest. But then he thought that recycling could earn him some money, so he lowered his hand and carefully placed it on the table.

After venting, he seemed to recover a bit. After a while, he said, "You've improved so quickly after practicing the breathing technique. It seems that the breathing technique really works. I must master it too, but I can't be as reckless as you. I can only take it slowly."

Chen Chuan said, "Taking it slow is fine. Anyway, you're already a 'half-step breather'."

"Cough, cough." Lu Ke coughed twice, then laughed. He stood up from the ground, "Come, I'll teach you something."

Chen Chuan saw him walk to the railing on the roof and got up to follow him. Lu Ke pointed, "See there?"

Chen Chuan looked over and saw two sparrows standing on a utility pole, about fourteen or fifteen meters away. Lu Ke flicked his wrist, and one of the birds suddenly fell down, while the other was startled and flew away.

Chen Chuan couldn't help but be surprised and asked, "This is…"

Lu Ke opened his palm, revealing two small, finely crushed stones, about the size of a fingertip, polished very smoothly.

Chen Chuan's heart skipped a beat when he saw this.

"The throwing technique."

Lu Ke made a throwing motion, saying, "From a distance of ten or twenty meters, you can use simple polished stones to kill or injure your opponent. My master told me that due to certain restrictions, the Martial Arts University won't teach this, but it's very useful. If you practice it well, even someone with much higher strength than you can be rendered unable to fight from a long distance."

Chen Chuan couldn't help but nod, deeply understanding this. His predecessor was killed by a stone, but the distance was hard to judge, feeling like it was hundreds of meters, or even further.

Lu Ke tossed the stone, saying, "I can teach you. The main thing is the trick to generating force. You've learned the breathing technique, so it should be easy to learn."

Chen Chuan asked, "Did Mr. Yu teach you this? Can you teach it to others?"

Lu Ke said indifferently, "This is just the simplest throwing technique. I haven't mastered the more advanced ones, so I can't teach them even if I wanted to."

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Chen Chuan looked at him and asked, "Are there many people who know this kind of throwing technique?"

Lu Ke thought for a while and said, "Master didn't say anything about this, but it's not difficult for ordinary people to master it as long as they put in the effort and practice hard. But reaching a high level is not easy. Come, I'll tell you how to throw it."

Seeing that he was very enthusiastic, Chen Chuan didn't stand on ceremony and learned from him. It's always good to have another skill, and he really had a reason to understand it.

This throwing technique wasn't difficult because the main thing was the stance and the trick to generating force, so it was very easy to get started. But to be accurate and fast, you needed to constantly refine it.

There was also a key factor: the stones. It was best to use polished ones, not too light or too heavy. According to Lu Ke, there were many such stones in Zhang Mountain, which was originally a place that produced good stone materials.

Chen Chuan's heart stirred when he heard this. He suspected that the stone that killed his predecessor was Zhang Mountain stone. If so, he had to find time to take a look, maybe he could find clues to the black hand who killed his predecessor.

After practicing with Lu Ke for a while, because tomorrow was the enrollment day and the time to register for the re-examination, he said goodbye to Lu Ke and left, taking two stones with him in his pocket before leaving.

He still maintained his usual habit, running back.

In a temporary rented room on the third floor of the long alley that he passed every day, Brother Qi and the man in the floral shirt were waiting there.

Brother Qi asked, "Have you taken care of everything?"

"Brother Qi, everything is settled."

Brother Qi looked into the distance. A man was standing against the wall at the corner of the street, wearing a vest and work pants. His face was unfamiliar. He asked, "Who is that?"

The man in the floral shirt said, "Brother Qi, that's a clean out-of-towner we hired with money. The brothers thought that since that kid got into the Martial Arts University, he must have some skills, so having such a person would be more secure."

"Bullshit."

Brother Qi said contemptuously, "He's not one of those rich people's sons. What skills does he have before entering the school? But since he's here, forget it. Let's see if he's worth it."

He took out a cigarette, and the man in the floral shirt immediately took out a lighter to light it for him. He took a puff, blew out a smoke ring, and said, "After it's over, call the brothers who are tailing him and go to Chunfu Restaurant for a meal together."

The man in the floral shirt said, "Okay, okay, I'll thank Brother Qi for the brothers." He looked at his watch and glanced into the distance, excitedly saying, "Brother Qi, he's here. He's early today."

Chen Chuan ran into the long alley according to his usual route. This section of the road was relatively flat, so he would usually speed up slightly.

But this time, when he had only run to the middle section, he suddenly felt something was wrong. He saw five or six people with water pipes in their hands walking over from the opposite alley, with playful and sinister expressions on their faces.

When he saw them, he immediately stopped. As if aware of something, he looked back and found that the place he came from was also blocked by many figures.

The people on both sides were slowly walking towards him, while tapping and scraping the walls with the water pipes in their hands, making harsh noises, as if to increase the pressure on him.

At the same time, in a building somewhere, the young man was doing handstand push-ups. He also saw this scene, "Huh? Did this little brother offend someone?"

Brother Qi, with a cigarette in his mouth, looked contemptuously downstairs. From his position, he could clearly see the people on both sides slowly approaching.

Chen Chuan looked up. The two sides of the long alley were old walls, covered with broken glass, making it difficult to climb over. Moreover, entering a residential house would only bring trouble to others.

Since he couldn't leave, he wouldn't leave.

He unbuttoned his chest, revealing the white shirt inside, and took off his coat, throwing it far away to the side.

While the clothes were still in the air, he stepped down, and the second me and him instantly merged into one. A cloud of dust rose from the ground, and the whole person had already窜 out!