Atlas of Heaven and Man

Chen Bitong was silent for a moment, then said, "We can have a good talk, and this place is just right."

The two of them were positioned right on the dividing line, so they didn't have to worry about anyone interfering or overhearing their conversation at that moment.

Chen Chuan said, "I'm listening."

Chen Bitong looked at him seriously and said, "Captain Chen, you have a bright future. I didn't want to involve you in this, but you've convinced me with your strength."

He leaned against the long spear, looking towards the front of the rift.

"I've guarded the World Ring for twenty years, and I can't remember how many times I've resisted invasions from the outside. In my earlier years, I had a bad temper, and I considered myself a person who adhered to principles. I was very strict with my subordinates, unwilling to socialize with powerful figures and superiors, and my relationship with my colleagues was not harmonious.

At that time, I stubbornly believed that as a soldier, it was enough to fulfill my duty to guard.

My two children admired me very much, so they both applied to military academies. They also had good talent, entering the Third Threshold at the ages of eighteen and nineteen respectively, graduating early, and joining the defense department to guard the World Ring with me.

It's just... they eventually sacrificed themselves there too."

Chen Chuan slowly said, "I've heard about it."

Chen Bitong reached out and took out two small swallows and tigers carved from wood, "These were given to me by them when they were five years old, and these two things are their names."

Chen Chuan glanced at them, and each had two rows of small characters engraved on them, namely "Chen Xiaohu" and "Chen Xiaoyan." These two animal wood carvings were very childlike, and it was obvious that they were carved by two pairs of tender little hands.

Chen Bitong stroked the pair of wood carvings and slowly said, "They weren't injured at the time, but they were contaminated by something from the other side. After I heard about it, I rushed to the rear.

The officers there informed me that people infected with this thing would inevitably be controlled by a certain existence on the other side. There was currently no way to solve this thing, and there was also a certain possibility of it being transmitted to others. They hoped that I could find a way to deal with it as soon as possible. If I couldn't bring myself to do it, the defense department could do it for me."

He said in a low voice, "After Xiaoyan and Xiaohu learned about this, they didn't want to see their father in trouble, so when I came back, they left a letter and once again turned around and went to the battlefield..."

Chen Chuan didn't speak, he just listened silently.

"I remember that the letter said: Dad, in our hearts, you have always been a hero. We admire you, we are proud of you, and we hope you can be proud of us too."

Chen Bitong's eyes were slightly moist as he said this, then he took a deep breath, carefully put the wood carvings back close to his body, and finally pressed them carefully. Even during the most intense moments of the battle just now, even when he seemed to have become another person, he did not allow these two wood carvings to suffer any damage.

He sat there, murmuring, "After I went back that time, I changed Xiao Jing's name to Xiao Jin..."

At this point, he paused, took a slight breath, and then stiffly changed the subject back: "In the time I later guarded the World Ring, I encountered many similar things, including many comrades who had fought alongside me for a long time. The advice given by the rear was to deal with them as soon as possible, or to have someone supervise the disposal.

So most of the team members who were contaminated, after entrusting their families to the care of other team members, turned around and rushed to the front line.

We always thought this was the correct way to handle things, until one time, a young military officer who came to the front line with a superior for inspection was also contaminated with this thing, but the higher-ups didn't deal with it like that, but sent him to the rear overnight for treatment.

Two months later, I saw him at a celebration party. He was talking and laughing with people, and his military rank had been raised by one level.

After I and these people die, nothing will change because of my actions. Things will still be the same as before, and what is supposed to happen will continue to happen."

Speaking of this, his voice became slow, steady, and powerful: "Only by making this change big enough, so big that it can affect the central city, and even the entire Da Shun, or even the entire world, will it be meaningful."

Chen Chuan looked at him, feeling that what this person was trying to do might be very extraordinary.

"There are some things in the world that originally belong to everyone, but they are tightly held in the hands of certain people who use their power and influence, becoming their own exclusive possessions."

Chen Bitong raised his head and said, "Captain Chen, you are already standing at the doorway to a higher threshold, and you are not far from there. But if you want to break through that layer of limitation, in addition to what I just said, using the power from the other end to temper yourself, you actually need one more thing.

In the past, when the two worlds were attracting each other, whether it was during the period of change or the period of cold silence, this kind of thing was not difficult for old-era fighters who had reached the limit to find.

But things are different now."

He said in a solemn voice, "These things are now strictly sealed off. Except for the world's major powers and giant companies, no other individual has a way to obtain them."

Chen Chuan raised an eyebrow and asked, "Like special drugs?"

Chen Bitong shook his head, "Although special drugs are also controlled, as long as those cultivation schools outside have rifts, they still have ways to obtain them. In addition, special drugs are hard currency among the Third Threshold group, and they also circulate outside.

But the kind of thing I'm talking about has long been sealed off by the world's major powers and giant companies using the World Ring, and not a trace of it has spread outside.

Nowadays, all folk schools and small countries, if they do not have the legacy left by their predecessors, are almost unable to obtain this kind of thing without the approval and permission of the governments of various powerful countries and major giant companies.

Unless they take the method of sneaking around the World Ring, but the risk is very high. There is a joint force in the World Ring that is specifically responsible for剿 killing these people."

Chen Chuan thought for a moment. This matter was undoubtedly closely related to him, so he asked, "What is the reason for countries and companies to block these things?"

"The control of such things began during the Great Alliance period. At that time, it was believed that the destructive power of fighters was very great, and every fighter should be examined and restrained, so that major unrest would not occur in various parts of the world, and that everyone who becomes a fighter in the future could join the team against the other world.

Perhaps his original intention was indeed like this, but so many years have passed, and the channels for this kind of thing have long been controlled by a small group of people with vested interests. They have formed a large network, and if people who were not originally from their interest group want to obtain their alms, they can only sign harsh terms and agreements.

Such things cannot continue to happen!"

He looked towards the outside of the rift and said in a deep voice, "And what I want to do today is to break through that layer of blockade, at least to tear open a crack in that layer of blockade, so that those things can spread out and more people have the opportunity to obtain them."

Chen Chuan was silent for a moment and asked, "Using the rift?"

"Yes, the rift!"

Chen Bitong nodded, "But it's not just that, there are also fission sub-bodies. Fission sub-bodies can help us pass through the World Ring, which already has a gap, to connect to the place where that kind of thing is located. If the operation is proper, once successful, many people will no longer be subject to those constraints, and more changes will occur."

Chen Chuan thought for a moment. He didn't know how strong the higher-threshold fighters were, but he could imagine the destructive power that these people could possess just from the little bit of performance on Chen Bitong's body.

Even if there are only one or two more of these people, they are likely to change the pattern of a certain area.

It's just that here, he still felt that Chen Bitong hadn't made some things clear. Just as he was about to ask again, he suddenly sensed something and glanced outside the rift. Someone was about to come up, and it vaguely brought him a sense of threat.

It seemed that the person who came up this time was not simple.

He turned his gaze to the other side and saw that his Snow Monarch Saber was stuck there, and the expanding rift had wrapped the saber together.

He walked over, grabbed the hilt, and pulled it out. Although the saber had not yet recovered, it was enough to deal with the current situation.

He glanced at Chen Bitong again, "So Teacher Chen, did you open the gap in the World Ring?"

Chen Bitong was silent for a moment, then said, "I wouldn't actively do this, but I admit that I didn't stop it in time."

Chen Chuan stood in front with his saber, looking towards the front of the rift. After standing still, he turned his head and asked, "By the way, what is that thing called?"

"We now call it 'Pure Substance'."

Chen Bitong said, "I don't know what it was called in the past, because its real name has been erased from the archives and most records."

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