Celestial Human Diagram

"Then hurry up."

The young man knew not to push too hard.

Mishiro Ara immediately called to the counter, "Shopkeeper, another bowl of noodles, please."

A moment later, a steaming, fragrant bowl of noodles was brought out. Several slices of half-finger-thick, marbled meat lay atop the coiled noodles, and chopped scallions floated in the clear broth. The sight alone was mouth-watering.

He immediately lifted the bowl, picked up a slice of meat, and placed it in his mouth, savoring it slowly. After letting out a sigh of contentment, he began to slurp the noodles with relish.

But after one bowl came another, and then another...

Watching the bowls by the table stack higher and higher, the young man grew impatient. "Why can’t you just order more at once? Why order them one bowl at a time?"

"Ah, please be patient."

Mishiro Ara replied, "I don’t know how many bowls I’m going to eat. Besides, if I order them in advance, they’ll get cold, and the flavor won’t be as good."

"Fine, just hurry up and eat."

Mishiro Ara ate for over two Hours. The bowls on his table were stacked high, but they had actually been cleared away several times already.

The young man tapped his fingers on the table incessantly, his impatience practically overflowing.

Finally...

CLACK. Mishiro Ara set down another empty bowl. He rubbed his stomach, which showed almost no change, and let out a long, warm breath.

"What a treat. I never thought I’d be able to eat such authentic noodles in Jibei Dao."

The young man said coldly, "Are you finished or not? If you’re finished, then hurry up and talk!"

"Ah, my apologies for making you wait so long."

Mishiro Ara gave him a slight bow. He wiped his mouth with a napkin, then sat up straight and said, "Just now, that Mr. Guan Chi from the Ferris Wheel Company found me and asked if I had come to Jibei Dao Central City to seek out Monarch Chen as an opponent."

The young man involuntarily sat up straight. "What did you say?"

Mishiro Ara said, "I told the truth, of course. I have indeed come to challenge Monarch Chen!"

"And then?" The young man stared at his face. "What else did that person from the Ferris Wheel Company say? Are they planning to make a move?"

"He asked if I needed the Ferris Wheel Company to issue a letter of challenge on my behalf, saying they could provide me with conveniences. I answered that it wasn’t necessary."

The young man waited a moment. Seeing that he had nothing more to add, he looked at him. "That’s it?"

"That’s it."

Mishiro Ara grunted and said, "Although it might differ slightly from the original wording, that was the gist of our conversation. I didn’t feel the need to hide it, but if you don’t believe me, I have no way to prove it."

The young man glanced at him a few times, stood up from his seat, and left without another word.

Seeing that the man hadn’t generously paid his bill, Mishiro Ara muttered to himself and called out to the counter, "Shopkeeper, the check."

The shopkeeper, a short, elderly man in his fifties, trotted over, bowed, and said, "Sir, the previous guest has already paid the bill."

"Is that so?"

Mishiro Ara turned and returned the bow. "In that case, please bring me a bowl of soup."

"Of course, sir. Please wait a moment."

Sun Rao had been waiting outside the whole time. He had initially wanted to stay out of his junior brother’s business, but they were partners now. The Bureau had assigned this junior to him, just as they had assigned him to mentor Chen Chuan before. He couldn’t just abandon him, so he had no choice but to follow.

He had been on high alert, but it seemed the situation was fine; the two hadn’t actually come to blows.

Now, seeing the young man walk out, he breathed a sigh of relief and said in a low voice, "Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?"

The young man glanced at him. "You’re too nervous, Senior Brother. He definitely has a clear objective for coming to Central City. He won’t do anything to us until he’s accomplished it."

Sun Rao said sternly, "Even so, you shouldn’t have put yourself in such a dangerous situation."

The young man walked a few steps away before turning his head to the side. "If you don’t even have the courage to face a strong opponent, how can you ever expect to reach a higher level?

Senior Brother, simple training is useless. In your heart, you’ve already placed yourself beneath others. How can you even talk about surpassing them?"

Sun Rao said in a low voice, "All I know is, if you had been killed today, you wouldn’t have a future."

The young man scoffed. "Then he would have been buried with me. He’d be dead, just like me. In some ways, we’re equals." With that, he walked directly toward the armored car.

Sun Rao caught up to him. "What did you find out just now?"

The young man activated his Realm Token. "Senior Brother Sun, I need to borrow your channel. I have to report the situation to the Bureau."

Sun Rao looked at him and granted him access. He then waited as the young man relayed the information he had just gathered to the Bureau. After the people from the Ferris Wheel Company had left, there was no more signal interference, so he had recorded the entire conversation.

A short while later, someone from the Bureau contacted him for confirmation. He replied, "Yes, this is the intelligence Wei Yujie gathered."

The Processing Bureau had already speculated about the purpose of Mishiro Ara’s visit, and now it was confirmed. They immediately had someone notify Chen Chuan to prepare and ordered increased surveillance on Mishiro Ara.

Ni Qianqian was responsible for contacting Chen Chuan. After briefly explaining the situation, she checked the Bureau’s messages again and said, "In just this short time, the news that Mishiro Ara has come to challenge you has already spread throughout the Fighter community. This must be the Ferris Wheel Company’s doing."

Chen Chuan understood. ’They’re trying to put me on the spot, leaving me no room to refuse.’

Ni Qianqian was very dismissive of this. "Just some useless little tricks. Don’t pay them any mind."

This wasn’t the old era anymore. There was no longer a code where you’d be condemned for not accepting a challenge. Even if you were, with so much information flowing every day, how many people would even remember this in a few days?

Chen Chuan thought for a moment, then asked, "Sister Ni, does the Bureau have Mishiro Ara’s contact information?"

Upon hearing this, Ni Qianqian asked, "You want to contact him proactively?"

Chen Chuan nodded. "Since he came looking for me, I might as well set a time with him." He smiled. "Actually, I’m quite looking forward to this opponent."

Ni Qianqian was a Fighter herself, so she understood this mentality. Rather than waiting for the opponent to come to you, it was better to go to them, which gave you a psychological edge. Besides, she had confidence in Chen Chuan.

She said, "Brother Chen, are you sure? Alright, wait a moment."

Chen Chuan received Mishiro Ara’s contact signal. The other party’s avatar was a person lying spread-eagled on a beach, their face covered by a bamboo hat. After a glance, he tried to contact him. The call connected after a moment, and a somewhat lazy voice came through: "This is Mishiro Ara. May I ask who is calling...?"

"Mr. Mishiro?" Chen Chuan said, "This is Chen Chuan."

"So it’s Monarch Chen!" Mishiro Ara’s voice perked up.

Chen Chuan said, "I hear that you’ve come to Central City this time hoping to arrange a match with me, Mr. Mishiro?"

Mishiro Ara said, "Yes, that is my intention."

He added, "Monarch Chen, this has nothing to do with my junior brother, Jian Chengsheng. He was sent out by our master to do a job. Even though he failed, he fulfilled his duty.

As for me, I have long since completed my apprenticeship. The hall did not ask me to do this; it is purely my own decision."

Chen Chuan replied in a relaxed tone, "Regardless of your reasons, Mr. Mishiro, I am personally very interested in having an exchange with you."

"So Monarch Chen feels the same way," Mishiro Ara said, his spirits lifting. "In that case, Monarch Chen, shall we agree on a place?"

Chen Chuan said, "Where would you like to set the location, Mr. Mishiro?"

"I’ve only just arrived in Central City and am unfamiliar with many places. However, I saw a location that is very secluded and seems perfect for a duel." Mishiro Ara solemnly named the spot:

"Qingding Mountain, the Mo Temple."

"Qingding Mountain?"

Chen Chuan nodded. "You’ve just arrived in Central City, Mr. Mishiro. Why don’t you rest first? If it’s convenient, how about we set the match for the morning after tomorrow?"

"Excellent. That is very thoughtful of you, Monarch Chen. I am most grateful." Mishiro Ara added, "The morning after tomorrow, I will await you on Qingding Mountain."

"I will be there before nine in the morning, the day after tomorrow."

After ending the call with Mishiro Ara, Chen Chuan reported the time of the match to the Bureau and returned to the training ground to continue his practice.

The matter of the duel had no negative effect on him at all; on the contrary, it made him feel a little excited.

An opponent like Mishiro Ara, who came from Langtao Hall and was clearly gifted in Spiritual Cultivation, was especially someone he could use to temper his own spirit.

「Two days passed in a flash.」

On March 26th, Chen Chuan changed into a set of training clothes, took his Snow Monarch Blade, and left the Profound Palace Building, driving to the base of Qingding Mountain.

Although he had never been to this place, he had heard of it.

A Fighter who had been on the same cruise ship as him was a disciple from the Mo Temple on this very mountain, which was why Wei Wusheng had killed everyone in the temple, including the Temple Priest.

But since the temple had no suitable successor, the entire area was taken over by the Central City Government. And because this region was far from the city, practically on the remote outskirts, it was currently in a state of semi-disrepair.

After parking his car at the foot of the mountain, he glanced at a break in the guardrail, got out of the car, and entered through the gap, heading up the mountain along the stone steps.

Not much time had passed, after all. Aside from a few more dead leaves and a bit more dust, the steps and surrounding structures were still very much intact. When he reached the summit and arrived at the plaza, he saw that Mishiro Ara was already there.

He was dressed in an antique-style white martial arts uniform of Outer Ocean design. His hair was neatly groomed, and at his waist was a long blade in a black sword scabbard. He looked exceptionally solemn.

Chen Chuan observed him for a moment. ’This man’s Spiritual Cultivation is clearly more solid and restrained than Jian Chengsheng’s. That’s to be expected.’

The disciples of Langtao Hall were all carefully selected as children. The immature or unqualified were weeded out long ago. This man looked to be about ten years older than Jian Chengsheng; it was only natural that his level of merit was superior.

He walked over calmly and came to a stop before Mishiro Ara. As soon as he was still, the latter gave him a solemn bow and said, "Monarch Chen."

Chen Chuan held his blade and cupped his fist. "Mr. Mishiro, I have come to keep our appointment."

...

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