Atlas of Heaven and Man

“At 11:20 AM, the Lianwei Heavy Industries warehouse located on Bo Street in the Shenwei District was attacked by armed thugs. As of this report, there are over twenty casualties, five vehicles destroyed, and the loss of property is unknown…”

“Mr. You Shan, a security consultant for Lianwei Heavy Industries, stated that they have raised the security level and will rigorously investigate the instigators behind the scenes, and ensure that the business of Lianwei Heavy Industries will not be affected.”

“…A large-scale conflict occurred between the Elephant Gang and the Swordfish Gang in the Yinglu District…”

The Skyscraper Company is currently being watched by all sides, and under these circumstances, retaliating against Lianwei Heavy Industries seems unwise.

However, thinking about it again, it may be precisely because it has been under pressure from the external situation that Skyscraper must make a fierce and tough response.

Just like an injured and stressed beast, its aggressiveness is often at its strongest at this time.

Lianwei Heavy Industries is much larger in scale than Skyscraper, but it is only a branch in the central city of Jibei Road. The power that can be projected here is not much. Skyscraper's headquarters is here, and it is backed by the Outer Ocean Islands, and can get support at any time.

The conflict between the two gangs in Yinglu District should also be related to this matter, because the Swordfish Gang is backed by the Skyscraper Company.

After being driven back, the Elephant Gang huddled in a corner and couldn't get out. Now that they are fighting again, it is impossible without the support of another force, most likely Lianwei Heavy Industries.

However, after thinking about it again, both companies suddenly adopted such a fierce way of confrontation. He always felt that it was more than just these superficial reasons, and there might be bigger changes involved behind the scenes, but he still couldn't know for the moment.

He shook his head. He didn't need to think about these things. All he needed to do right now was to take care of his own cultivation.

After returning to the dormitory and changing the water and food for Chao Ming, he placed the fragrant medicine he had just purchased from the academy on the table.

This kind of medicine that cooperates with meditation has a time limit. Now he has to collect it every day. If he goes to the Convergence Land, it's okay in the garrison, but once he goes out to perform a mission, if he is delayed on the road for a few days, then there will be no way to cultivate, so his recent goal is to quickly get through this stage.

At this time, he couldn't help but think of the booklet that Instructor Wen had given him, but it was said that he would have to wait until he found his own path before opening it, so he should wait a little longer.

He took out a few nutrient sticks to eat, then changed his clothes, and after entering the training room and sitting down, he began today's meditation practice.

This sitting lasted until the fragrant medicine burned out.

He got up and moved around, drank a glass of water, and then returned to the center of the field and said, "Hongfu."

Inside the training room, a touch of red shadow appeared.

Chen Chuan said, "Hongfu, I need you to assist me in exercising the External Refinement Method."

The eyes behind Hongfu's veil looked at him and nodded slightly. Immediately, the surrounding scenery changed, and the two seemed to be instantly placed in a temple.

The copper furnace was filled with curling smoke and incense, and there were bursts of mysterious chanting. Behind them was a statue of a god whose face could not be distinguished. Looking up again, not only in front of them, but above the clouds at this moment, there was a statue of a god overlooking them, and the two were standing in the upward-facing palms of the god's hands.

After looking at it, he withdrew his gaze, took a breath, and sat down.

But as soon as he entered the state, he felt a mass of red light penetrating into his spirit. Unlike the bright light like the great sun displayed by Teacher Xue, what Hongfu showed was like a sky full of scorching fire, constantly burning and forging the heart jade he condensed and maintained.

Hongfu will increase the intensity according to his specific performance, just right within the range he can bear, without adding or subtracting a single bit.

However, Teacher Xue reminded him that the External Refinement Method should focus on not consuming Shenchang, because Shenchang is what he has worked so hard to cultivate through meditation, just like essence and blood, it can save his life in battle, and it has greater uses in later techniques, so there is no need to waste it on this.

After the External Refinement Method is over, you can perform the Internal Refinement Method yourself. Although the progress is not as fast as the External Refinement Method, it does not consume too much of yourself. This combination of internal and external is far better than the previous refinement method.

It's just that he also had doubts before. It seems not difficult for those people in the past to find someone to help them with external refinement.

Teacher Xue's answer is that this External Refinement Method is not as simple as you think. Not just anyone can use it. There is a complex set of techniques in it. In addition to the accumulation of generations of predecessors trying to explore, there is also the result of repeated calculations with the help of active consciousness bodies.

Another reason is that this approach is risky after all. If you are not careful, you can easily wipe out your spirit. Few nobles in the old era dared to do this.

After he finished practicing the External Refinement Method, he opened his eyes, and a bright light flashed in his eyes. He nodded to Hongfu, expressing his gratitude and saying, "Thank you."

Hongfu returned a salute to him, and the red shadow disappeared without a trace, and the surrounding scenery faded away.

Chen Chuan then continued the Internal Refinement Method. This method did not have as obvious an effect as the External Refinement, but his spiritual power accumulated little by little, step by step, very solid and powerful.

After a round of cultivation, two hours had passed.

He felt exceptionally refreshed, but continuing further would not only gradually reduce the effect but also likely lead to fatigue, so he decided to stop there.

However, he wasn't finished yet; he still needed to try the cleansing method that Teacher Xue had taught him.

He suggested that after mastering it, he could perform it about every ten days to half a month, and no matter what method he used to temper his spirit in the future, this method should not be abandoned.

He recalled the key points: during this process, he needed to temporarily forget his own existence, clear his mind and ego, leaving only a trace of awareness, and then gradually gather back the scattered fragments, while those that were too aggressive could be left outside; although they wouldn't truly disappear, they wouldn't occupy the dominant position.

He adjusted his internal and external state and began to try.

He cultivated continuously in his dormitory for seven days, stopping just before the mid-month rest day.

He could feel that he had made great progress; in terms of physical fitness alone, there was only a slight improvement, but as he embarked on the path of spiritual cultivation, his control over himself and his understanding of various techniques became more profound.

This was only the effect of half a month of training, and he was still only in the initial stage; in the future, with progress, his strength should advance rapidly.

Tomorrow was the rest day. As evening approached, he relaxed a little, poured a cup of hot drink beside him, and while listening to lively and rhythmic music on his interface device, he browsed the newly released film introductions.

After watching for a while, Ni Qianqian's avatar flashed, and he connected, "Sister Ni?"

Ni Qianqian's voice rang out: "Little Brother Chen, have you been following the news from the Bureau lately?"

Chen Chuan said: "Sister Ni, are you talking about the conflict between the two companies? I saw it."

These days, he had been paying attention to the outside world; the conflict between the Ferris Wheel Corporation and Lianwei Heavy Industries had not subsided but had intensified.

Ni Qianqian said: "This matter should have been intentionally promoted by the Ferris Wheel Corporation. They probably want to escalate the situation, let the government departments put pressure on the Bureau, and then make us compromise. Director Wu has been called to several meetings."

Chen Chuan asked: "What does the Bureau plan to do?"

"Ferris Wheel, through its own 'investigation,' believes that this was the personal behavior of a company executive. Currently, this person has been fired and has committed suicide.

Their condition is to compensate you personally and for the Bureau's losses, pay a fine, sign a guarantee, and publicly apologize in the media.

The higher-ups believe that the situation is still under control, but if it continues like this, other companies may get involved, so they also think it's time to control the situation."

Ni Qianqian then asked: "Little Brother Chen, the Bureau wants to know what your opinion is?"

Chen Chuan replied: "The Bureau's handling is very good; I have no objections."

After talking with Gao Ming and Director Lei, he knew that this matter was very complicated, with many restrictions, but that didn't mean he had given up on pursuing it; he just wouldn't act for the time being and would wait for an opportunity.

It was like facing a strong and powerful fighter who was almost impossible to knock down with a single blow; he had to patiently maneuver with him, slowly consume his stamina, and then strike after finding a weakness.

"Okay, then I'll report this to the Bureau. Director Wu said that this is the best result that can be achieved at present, and your compensation will not be small. Oh, right, do you know Director Lei of the Secret Sect Bureau?"

Chen Chuan nodded, "I know him."

"Director Lei directly stationed an investigation team in the Ferris Wheel Corporation. The Ferris Wheel Corporation is dissatisfied with this matter and has complained about the Secret Sect Investigation Bureau, and has dispatched lawyers and public relations teams to lobby and pressure government departments and members of parliament."

Ni Qianqian chuckled, "But it's useless. The Investigation Bureau received an inquiry letter from the government, and the response was also very simple: if Ferris Wheel has no problems, then why is it afraid of the Investigation Bureau's investigation? Hehe, the Ferris Wheel Corporation really thinks that their set of tricks can work everywhere?"

Chen Chuan nodded slightly. If ordinary government departments were to conduct such an investigation of the Ferris Wheel Corporation, they would indeed be easily restricted. For example, the Processing Bureau, the logistics support for the defense plan, and a large part of the Bureau's daily operating expenses were borne by the Central City Government.

Although the two do not have a direct affiliation, it is impossible not to be affected and restricted by the Central City Government.

But the Secret Sect Investigation Bureau is different. This department is relatively independent, and both its funding and personnel are directly under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Capital.

This stems from Da Shun's extreme vigilance against cults. Anything involving this kind of thing is basically unreasonable.

At this moment, he suddenly saw a connection request on his interface device. It was Counselor Pei looking for him. His heart stirred, and he apologized to Ni Qianqian, ended the call, and accepted Counselor Pei's signal.

"Captain Chen, can we meet?" Counselor Pei paused, "About that matter."

Chen Chuan understood. Calculating the time, it was about time. He said, "When?"

"Now. I'm already in front of the Xuangong Building."

Chen Chuan said, "I'll be right there."

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