Atlas of Heaven and Man

When Chen Chuan returned by car, he always had a feeling that this arrest operation seemed extremely farcical, and there might be something hidden behind it. However, this was not something he could solve at the moment, so he didn't dwell on it too much.

After returning to school, he continued to train.

Although the mission was interrupted, he believed that no matter how things developed, he needed to have the ability to solve problems when they arose.

Currently, his understanding of Jin (internal force) was deepening, but he had also entered a plateau. Therefore, he also devoted some time to strengthening his knife techniques.

After the mid-November rest day, Cheng Zitong examined him and determined that the mutated tissue in his body was not showing any signs of accelerated growth.

He felt that he could observe for another ten days or so, and by the end of the month or mid-December, he would be able to clearly understand the subsequent changes.

Cheng Zitong was temporarily relieved at this time. He sat in the living room, picked up his thermos cup, took a sip of tea, and said to Chen Chuan, "I've seen you diligently practicing knife techniques these past few days?"

After Cheng Zitong entered, he casually asked, "Where's Senior Brother Qiao?"

"He's in the backyard teaching his newly accepted disciple."

Cheng Zitong shook his head and said, "My student at least shows his face in class a couple of times. His disciple only appeared once at the beginning of the semester and hasn't been seen outside since. He's really just a figurehead."

As he spoke, he passed through the front hall, walked along a pebble path through an archway, and a large lotus pond was revealed in front of him. Although it was autumn, there were still a few upright lotus flowers.

From here, he could see a spacious waterside pavilion diagonally across the lotus pond. Inside, a small old man wearing a retro-style Chinese jacket was instructing a disciple. The disciple had handsome features and looked to be about sixteen or seventeen years old. He was wearing the training uniform of the Wuyi school.

He walked around the lotus pond along the corridor, entered a flower hall, walked a short distance, and arrived outside the waterside pavilion. He said, "Senior Brother Qiao, I've come to see you."

Senior Brother Qiao ignored him and continued to concentrate on teaching his disciple a stance. Cheng Zitong came over to take a look and waited on the side.

After a while, Senior Brother Qiao told his disciple to practice on his own, then walked to the flower hall, asked his attendant to prepare tea, and sat down in the main seat. He said, "Sit down. You wouldn't come to me if you didn't have something to ask. I won't stand on ceremony with you. Tell me, what is it?"

Cheng Zitong also didn't stand on ceremony with him. He sat down in a guest seat and said, "My student is currently practicing swordsmanship, but he lacks suitable sword techniques. I thought that Senior Brother has a family heirloom sword manual, so I came to ask Senior Brother for it."

Qiao Lin Hu glanced at him and said, "This is your student, not your disciple. Why are you so concerned? Besides, there are also sword techniques in the academy. What's so valuable about my outdated stuff that you're thinking about it?"

Cheng Zitong said, "If it was just ordinary swordsmanship, I would have taught it already. I wouldn't bother Senior Brother. Isn't it because Old Mrs. Ni recently gave my student a sword? So I think that only Senior Brother's sword manual can make good use of it."

Qiao Lin Hu raised his thick, gray eyebrows and said, "A prohibited weapon?"

Cheng Zitong said, "What era is it? Still talking about prohibited weapons? Who cares about that now?"

Qiao Lin Hu thought for a while and said, "The sword manual can be given to you..." He raised his hand to signal Cheng Zitong to wait and said, "It can't be given casually." He pointed two fingers towards the waterside pavilion outside, "I want your student to be my disciple's assistant for three years."

Cheng Zitong immediately became unhappy and said, "Senior Brother, this isn't the past anymore. Why are you still doing that kind of personal attachment thing? What? Is my student inferior to your disciple?"

Qiao Lin Hu shook his head and said, "The rules still have to be followed. The rules set by our master cannot be broken in my hands. Besides, everything should be based on closeness. If he follows my disciple, I can give him things."

Cheng Zitong said, "What you're saying, disciple and student, the old man's stuff should have been thrown away long ago."

Qiao Lin Hu leisurely said, "You go and tell the master. If the master says it can be thrown away, then I'll throw it away without saying a word. Otherwise, we have to follow the rules."

Cheng Zitong said, "I say, this is Senior Brother's family heirloom sword manual, not the old man's. Why follow that broken rule? Senior Brother, your disciple is preparing to practice Jin (internal force) stances, right? He needs a lot of good medicine, right? I can help him get it cheaper."

Qiao Lin Hu said, "Your senior brother, I still have some savings. It's more than enough to teach a disciple. The sword manual is indeed mine, but the rules are passed down from generation to generation. The master followed them, I follow them, and my disciple will continue to follow them in the future. They must never be broken."

Cheng Zitong knew that he couldn't reason with him and said, "Okay, consider me coming here for nothing, but..." He turned his head and said, "Senior Brother, don't regret it in the future."

Qiao Lin Hu said, "Are you saying your student is better than my disciple? Then we'll wait and see, but I'll put my words here. Even if he's better, my rules won't be broken."

Cheng Zitong grabbed his briefcase, "Okay, I'm leaving."

Teacher Qiao said, "Junior Brother, have dinner before you leave?"

"I'm already full of anger."

Cheng Zitong walked outside, took a deep breath, looked at the tall buildings outside, and suddenly felt much more relaxed. He looked back and said, "Old rules? Heh, my student was right. They are all a bunch of old things immersed in the past. If I can't find it here, can't I find it somewhere else?"

In the evening, Cheng Zitong came to Chen Chuan's dormitory again. After entering, he took out a yellowed and old sword manual from his briefcase and said, "Take a look."

Chen Chuan picked it up and saw that it was a handwritten copy written vertically, like something from the 1980s or 1990s.

Cheng Zitong said, "An old-style sword manual. When I found it, this thing had been pressed at the bottom of the box for forty or fifty years without anyone touching it. If I hadn't mentioned that their ancestors had such a thing, they would have forgotten it themselves."

Chen Chuan asked, "Teacher, is this thing expensive?"

Cheng Zitong said, "Fifteen yuan a copy, good quality and low price, cash on delivery, and it saved me a favor. Only some old guys who stubbornly adhere to the rules still treat these things as treasures."

He gestured with his chin, "The sword techniques inside are not important. The main thing is the Jin (internal force) method of using the sword. You can try practicing it. If it's not suitable, I'll take a look. If you're not satisfied, I'll find another one."

Chen Chuan said, "Teacher, can you find similar ones?"

Cheng Zitong said, "Then you underestimate Teacher too much. In this era, sword manuals can't be eaten. If Teacher is willing to accept them and puts the word out, I can collect seven or eight copies in half a day.

In the early years, these Jin (internal force) methods were very unique, guarding them and refusing to teach them, but the more they didn't teach, the fewer people learned them. Now, many of them have lost their inheritance. Some impoverished descendants are guarding things that they can't eat or wear, so they might as well exchange them for money. Look, people are much more practical, unlike some people who stubbornly cling to the old rules."

Chen Chuan listened to his meaning. It seemed that he had asked someone for a sword manual but didn't get it, so he was full of complaints. But since he could find these sword manuals, why ask someone for one? Perhaps that person's identity was not simple?

He didn't think much about it, picked up the sword manual and flipped through it for a while. Because the surface was missing, he found a simple and unadorned sword force name inside: "Heavy Chop Sword Force?"

...