Celestial Human Diagram

The next day, as the sky began to lighten, Chen Chuan opened his eyes, emerging from a deep meditative state.

He took a moment to assess himself. Cultivating in the Merging Land with special medicine seemed even more effective than in Central City.

But it also appeared to come with greater risks.

He looked at his Second Self. The signs of dissipation within it were obvious and clung to it persistently. It seemed this invasive effect was long-lasting; there was no telling how long it would take to fade.

This meant he needed to be more cautious about taking medicine to cultivate here. He couldn’t do it as frequently as he did in Central City, especially since he also had combat duties to perform.

He got up and washed his face. Just as he was about to go outside for some exercise, he suddenly heard a sharp whistle. Something was happening.

Realizing this, he changed into the uniform issued to him the previous day and walked out of his dorm. In the open area in the middle of the fortress, he saw the main gate open and a squad of garrison soldiers jogging out, but no vehicles were being mobilized.

He knew at a glance that there must be a problem in the immediate vicinity. He walked through the gate, saluted by the sentries on either side. Once outside, he didn’t even have to look for the anomaly; he spotted it immediately.

There, on the thick snow, not far from the railway tracks, was a series of enormous footprints. Each one was about two to three meters long, pressed so deeply into the snow that the dark mud beneath was exposed.

Judging from the tracks alone, they seemed to belong to some kind of massive quadruped. The trail came from the direction of the tracks and extended out of sight. At its closest point, it was only twenty to thirty meters from the fortress wall, having passed almost right alongside it.

Up ahead, a few technicians and an officer were standing by the footprints, discussing them. They were surrounded by several soldiers. Although they spoke in low voices, their words carried clearly to Chen Chuan’s ears.

"Looks like it was a big one, huh?"

"Not necessarily. In the Merging Land, what you don’t see can’t be counted, and what you do see can’t be fully trusted. So these footprints might just be footprints. Doesn’t mean something actually made them."

The officer called over a soldier who was on duty the previous night. "Anything happen last night?"

The soldier saluted. "Reporting, Sir. Everything was normal last night. We didn’t hear anything. These tracks were discovered by the morning patrol."

The officer seemed used to this. "Log it and file it away," he ordered casually.

Chen Chuan stared at the footprints for a while before turning back.

Since controlling his Activity Index was his top priority, he had submitted an application yesterday while going through the formalities. The session was scheduled for eight in the morning.

He went back, had a quick bite to eat, and met up with his two teammates. They headed to the training room, where the instructor responsible for teaching the Breathing Technique had already arrived.

This instructor’s surname was Zhai. He was also a Third Limit Fighter, serving as one of the base’s Fighting Guardians and instructors.

After the three of them arrived, he spoke a few brief words before beginning to explain the key points.

A fundamental skill like the Breathing Technique posed almost no difficulty for Chen Chuan and his teammates. After hearing the explanation once, all three mastered it with ease. All that was left was diligent practice.

Yuan Qiuyuan’s attitude toward this instructor was completely different from how he acted with Tian Yu; he was extremely respectful. After mastering the Breathing Technique, he stood up and asked, "Instructor Zhai, besides the Breathing Technique and medicine, are there any other ways to resist the encroachment of Activation?"

Instructor Zhai replied, "Yes. Implants are an effective way to avoid it. Since synthetic Implants have a low degree of activity, they’re very difficult to affect with Activation. That’s why they’re widely used. The regular garrison soldiers here are all fitted with Combat Implants."

"Fighters have corresponding Fighting Implants as well. If you need them, we can make the arrangements. However, matching an Implant for the Third Limit takes a very long time, as it requires samples of your Mutated Organization. So even if you submit an application, you’ll have to wait a while."

Yuan Qiuyuan shook his head. "I don’t need one. I only trust my own fists and weapons."

Instructor Zhai said, "It’s right to stay true to yourself, but we are combat personnel. What happens in the future won’t be decided by your own will, but by your enemies."

"I’ve served here for over twelve years. I’ve seen people whose limbs or organs underwent excessive Activation, forcing them to use Implants as replacements. Even more common are those who lost body parts in battle. They, too, went from rejecting the idea to accepting it. Many of them are still active on the front lines today and have become the backbone of our forces."

"In the forward areas, people like them are now the mainstream."

"Take me, for example. I’m the same..."

As he spoke, he rolled up his sleeve, revealing a muscular arm.

The lower half of his arm, from the elbow down, had been replaced with an Implant. On the surface, it looked no different from a normal arm, as it was covered by his own regrown skin.

But a closer look revealed some subtle differences.

"This Implant was adapted to my Mutated Organization. It feels almost the same as my original arm and doesn’t hinder my fighting at all. In fact, it’s even enhanced in some ways."

"As your instructor, let me give you a piece of advice: don’t reject something that can save your life, even if it doesn’t seem that great at first. Staying alive is more important than anything. Times change. You never know when you might get a chance to fix what you’ve lost."

Yuan Qiuyuan pouted. Although he respected the instructor, he still wanted no part of something like that. ’I have higher aspirations,’ he thought. ’If I get one of those, my progress will be entirely dependent on technology.’

After the Breathing Technique class ended, the three of them went to a screening room to continue their lessons. This time, the main topic was the environment of the Merging Land.

They were in the near-end of the Merging Land, still far from the World Ring as most people understood it. This area was also the most deeply conquered, developed, and controlled region, effectively a rear echelon.

But that didn’t mean it was truly safe. The Merging Land was simply too vast. They could only control the areas along the railway and a small portion of the land surrounding their military outposts.

Yuan Qiuyuan raised his hand. After getting permission to speak from Tian Yu, he said, "I was told we came here to protect the World Ring, but from the sound of it, it’s really far away. Will we even get a turn to fight there?"

Tian Yu said, "In terms of conventional distance, yes, it’s very far. But the World Ring isn’t merely a physical entity. Because the world on the other side tends to invade on a spiritual level, the Ring is actually an isolation zone made of Domains, jointly constructed by all of the Domain Creatures from the Central Cities."

"You three Executioners should know that the Central Cities are located at the very forefront of the collision between the two worlds. They are the breach points, the anchor points for the other world. So, when the Domains that resist these anchors are gathered together, they form a tight seal, blocking all passages into our world."

As she spoke, she pointed with her teaching stick, and the projector displayed all the Central Cities across the globe. Above each city was a massive glow of light representing its Domain.

"...And when they are all connected, it looks like this."

Chen Chuan watched as the lights of all the Central Cities linked together, forming what looked like a shimmering nebula belt, spiraling and intertwining.

"Because their physical manifestation in the Material World looks like a giant ring when all the Central Cities are connected, that is the origin of the name ’World Ring.’"

"However, the presentation of the Domains on the spiritual plane is likely very different. When the physical and spiritual defensive fronts are combined, they are collectively known as the ’Ring Screen.’"

At this point, she said sternly, "Because the Biological Domain leans toward the spiritual plane, it’s possible for the minds of certain unique Fighters and powerful Resonators to penetrate this barrier and approach or even reach the other side, given specific conditions."

"So, the World Ring may be far away, but in a way, it is also right beside you."

"So what exactly is on the other side of the World Ring?"

Yuan Qiuyuan asked curiously from his seat.

"Executioner Yuan Qiuyuan, please raise your hand if you have a question."

Yuan Qiuyuan immediately shot his hand up and asked again, impatiently, "Instructor Tian, what’s on the other side?"

Tian Yu replied, "That’s classified. Disclosure is strictly forbidden by the higher-ups. Furthermore, the government and major corporations strictly prohibit anyone from privately crossing the World Ring, because such an act is itself a form of damage to the World Ring."

Her expression hardened, and she raised her voice in a stern reminder. "And you Executioners shouldn’t even think about crossing over. Anyone with that kind of ability is either eliminated or recruited by the government and corporations. They will intercept and locate anyone who attempts to cross recklessly."

"Once confirmed, a joint task force from the various national governments and corporate Federations will be dispatched to eradicate them. After the primary defense protocol is confirmed, they have the right to eliminate any individual or faction that oversteps this boundary, without a trial."

Yuan Qiuyuan shrugged. "Alright, forget I asked."

Qin Qingque then raised her hand.

"Executioner Qin Qingque, what is your question?" Tian Yu’s tone softened slightly.

"Our enemies."

Qin Qingque asked seriously, "Since we are here to participate in the defense of the World Ring, may I ask: who are our enemies, and where are they?"

"It seems the three of you are getting a bit impatient." A voice came from the side of the screening room’s stage.

From his seat, Chen Chuan looked up and saw a military officer with a ramrod-straight posture walk out from a side door. He was wearing a uniform and a peaked cap.

He walked to the front of the stage, saluted the three of them, and said, "I am Ding Mou, a tactical staff officer from the command center. I am here under orders to deliver your squad’s operational arrangements."

Hearing this, Yuan Qiuyuan’s eyes lit up.

Qin Qingque’s entire body tensed instinctively, entering a state of readiness.

Ding Mou looked at Chen Chuan and said, "Mr. Chen, since you’ve only just arrived, the higher-ups originally planned to let you rest for two days to familiarize yourselves with the environment and the necessary precautions before assigning you some adaptive tasks."

"However, an urgent message just came in from another outpost. All other teams have been deployed to the front lines, leaving your combat-capable squad as the only one available. Therefore, you may have to end your training schedule ahead of time."

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