Atlas of Heaven and Man

In the seventh car of the convoy, Xiong Jian sat with his arms crossed, his large frame making the two security guards on either side of him seem petite.

His face was expressionless, and he sat motionless in his seat, while the two security guards watched him vigilantly. Even the driver in front would occasionally glance at him through the rearview mirror above.

At this moment, the car passed through a bend, and its speed slowed down. However, Xiong Jian's expression suddenly changed, and he leaned back abruptly.

Outside the car, a blade of light like a wheel fell from above, slicing through the middle of the vehicle, the force from the blade instantly tearing the entire car into two sections!

The front and rear sections of the car instantly tumbled and flew up, but the people inside were obviously not weak. Including the driver, they all curled up and protected themselves at the first sign of trouble.

However, the rear section of the car only flew up a little before being pushed away by a powerful force, flying far away and continuing to bounce and roll after landing.

A tall figure was revealed inside, at least 2.1 meters tall, with a black tight-fitting protective suit wrapped around bulging muscles. His arms were very long, and his fingers seemed to easily reach his knees. This person wore goggles and had his hair tied back in a ponytail.

Xiong Jian!

From his movements and the force he displayed, Chen Chuan immediately recognized him as a third-limit fighter!

As expected.

Without this level of strength, this person probably wouldn't dare to return to Da Shun.

But none of that mattered. All he knew now was that this was his target.

He didn't have time to confront this person now. The Gong Clan also had guards, and more trouble would come if they surrounded him later.

So he slowly straightened up from his slashing posture, met his gaze, tightened his grip on the hilt of his knife, and then suddenly charged forward, his long knife simultaneously slashing upwards!

Xiong Jian had no weapons at hand. The Gong Clan's people were watching him closely, but he didn't rely on that anyway. He was best at grappling, and he wore a special protective suit all over his body, which, combined with his own strength, could slightly resist the weapons of fighters.

Facing the blade of light, he retreated, leaning back to narrowly avoid the edge, while observing the direction of Chen Chuan's entire body through his goggles.

Next will be a slash...

The blade changed, turning from a rising slash into a downward slash, and he continued to move back, the tip of the knife passing within a hair's breadth of his nose.

He continued to stare at Chen Chuan, and then... a thrust!

Sure enough, after the slash failed, he saw Chen Chuan's knife hilt lowered to his waist, his strength sinking, and his left hand also gripped the hilt, the tip of the knife pointing directly at him, seemingly about to burst forward.

Xiong Jian was waiting for that moment!

He could feel the muscles in his back wriggling. At the moment Chen Chuan thrust forward, at the end of that burst of strength, he would need to retract and gather strength to organize the next attack. He could break in during this gap, instantly disarm him, and break his bones!

Chen Chuan's eyes were deep and still, staring at the opponent in front of him. At the instant that thrust was about to be delivered, he completely released the limitations of his mutated tissue, and at the same time, the Furnace Breathing technique was activated, his blood suddenly boiling. Then, he used all his strength to stab the Snow Monarch Saber forward!

His knife stance initially looked slow, seemingly no different from the previous speed, but halfway through, it suddenly accelerated, turning both man and knife into a fleeting image that even Xiong Jian could hardly capture.

What?

Xiong Jian's eyes widened behind his goggles. His judgment of Chen Chuan's movements was based on the previous three slashes, but this sudden change caught him off guard, and his nervous reaction couldn't keep up at all.

But the intense stimulation caused his body to react instinctively. Under the layered push of the mutated tissue, his arms suddenly lifted, crossing to protect his chest, while his body moved backwards.

However, that swift blade of light instantly pierced through his crossed arms, then passed through his chest, and emerged from his back with a soft sound.

With just one move, Xiong Jian was seriously injured.

People at the third limit had tenacious vitality. He wouldn't die at this moment, but because his arms were pierced by the blade, and he was best at grappling, he could be said to have lost his ability to fight back in an instant.

But he knew that if Chen Chuan pulled out the knife, he would definitely die. If the two of them fought one-on-one, no matter how much he struggled, it would be in vain.

Fortunately, the Gong Clan's guard team was on both sides, and they would soon react and offer him assistance, so he suddenly tightened all the muscles and mutated tissue in his body, firmly clamping the blade.

In front of the convoy, Gong Zhanyi's armored vehicle stopped. He didn't seem flustered by the sudden attack and calmly asked, "Which side is it from?"

Now that the bio-field was being interfered with, he couldn't confirm the situation himself, but the experienced person next to him took one look and said uncertainly, "Master, that windbreaker... it looks a bit like the General Affairs Bureau..."

Gong Zhanyi's expression changed. They had anticipated that the Administration Bureau might intervene this time, but the Administration Bureau was fine. If it was the General Affairs Bureau...

With his order, the other members in front of the convoy unhesitatingly raised their guns towards the rear.

In the rear, at the instant Xiong Jian clamped the blade, Chen Chuan exerted force on his hand, pulling the blade towards himself.

Xiong Jianyi's body was pierced, making it impossible for him to exert his full strength. His body tilted involuntarily, and Chen Chuan thrust a palm towards his head.

Xiong Jianyi sensed danger. The mutated tissues above his shoulders writhed, protecting his neck. Simultaneously, he lowered his head sharply, and his long hair lashed out at Chen Chuan like a whip.

Chen Chuan ignored the incoming hair. He slammed his palm onto Xiong Jianyi's forehead. Force erupted, and blood gushed from Xiong Jianyi's mouth and nose. His head snapped backward, exposing his neck.

Chen Chuan then placed his fingers on his cheek, gently sliding them down. When he reached the throat, he hooked his fingers and tore downwards, ripping the soft tissues and flesh away with a sickening sound!

Xiong Jianyi let out a wheezing, air-leaking sound. Blood spurted from the mangled wound, splattering onto Chen Chuan's scarf.

Just then, Chen Chuan sensed an unusual movement behind him. He immediately twisted his blade, using Xiong Jianyi's body to shield himself.

"Bang, bang, bang…" A series of gunshots rang out.

The bullets struck Xiong Jianyi's body, most of them glancing off his protective suit.

However, Chen Chuan heard a strange sound amidst the barrage and felt Xiong Jianyi's muscles suddenly relax completely.

The gunfire ceased.

Chen Chuan looked up and saw a large hole blown through Xiong Jianyi's forehead. A bullet had entered from the back of his head, a precise and fatal shot.

Even for a third-limit fighter, having their brain destroyed meant certain death, no matter how tenacious their life force.

At that moment, he suddenly noticed a strong sign of virtualization on his second self, but it only flickered for a moment before disappearing.

Rapid footsteps approached from behind. The security team from the Gong family's convoy had arrived. They spread out, raising their guns and aiming at his back.

Chen Chuan, however, seemed oblivious. With a forceful pull, he calmly extracted the blade from Xiong Jianyi's body.

As the gleaming blade reappeared in the daylight, he gripped the hilt, flicked his wrist, and flung the blade to the side. At that moment, Xiong Jianyi, devoid of support, fell backward, limbs splayed, crashing heavily to the ground.

The people sent by the Bureau to meet Chen Chuan had arrived, but unexpectedly, before they could even act, it was all over.

They had actually arrived very quickly, but from the moment Chen Chuan jumped off the balcony, severed the vehicles, to Xiong Jianyi being shot to death, it took less than twenty seconds in total.

When they arrived, they only saw Xiong Jianyi collapsing in the distance, while Chen Chuan stood in the middle of the road, holding his blade. Before and behind him were the Gong family security personnel, drawing their guns and staring at him nervously.

Chen Chuan turned to look at them, recognizing them as members of the Bureau from their uniforms. A thought flashed through his mind, and he immediately understood that they were likely there to clean up after him in case something went wrong. So, he waved his blade and walked towards them.

At the front of the convoy, the manager turned to look at Gong Zhanyi, who shook his head. Without his order, no one fired a shot, and they watched him walk away.

Shao Heng, the team leader, watched him approach and signaled to a nearby team member. The person understood and went to the residence inside the courtyard.

When Chen Chuan walked over, the team member came out from inside and tossed a scabbard to him. "Little Brother Chen, your thing."

Chen Chuan caught it, thanked him, and then looked at Shao Heng, the team leader, saying, "Senior, Xiong Jianyi is confirmed dead. According to the task execution regulations, I need to go back for debriefing."

Shao Heng grinned, "Young man, you're great. Go back, the rest is not your business, we are responsible for handling it."

Chen Chuan nodded to him and the surrounding team members, straightened his scarf, sheathed his long blade, and then strode away.

Shao Heng looked ahead, signaling a team member to approach the Gong family. Just then, his comms suddenly came back online, and Captain Li's voice came through: "What's the situation there?"

Shao Heng replied: "Captain Li, Xiong Jianyi is dead."

Captain Li asked: "So fast? Did you guys handle it?"

"No, it was that newbie, Chen, Chen Chuan, right? He had already taken him down when we arrived."

Captain Li was silent for a moment.

"What did you say?"

Shao Heng raised his voice: "I said, he... had already... taken him down when we arrived!"

Captain Li seemed somewhat disbelieving, "Can you confirm?"

Shao Heng looked at Xiong Jianyi again and said: "His head has a hole blown through it, it's all a mess inside, I don't think he can be saved, right?"

Captain Li took a breath and said: "Bring Xiong Jianyi's body back."

"And then?"

"Then withdraw the team, leave the follow-up to the people above."

After ending the call, the team member who had gone to get the scabbard earlier took out some things, "Brother Shao, look."

Shao Heng looked at them, also surprised. Good heavens, they were all potent drugs to stimulate potential. Wouldn't taking them all at once risk blowing himself up? Are all the newbies these days so desperate?