Second Invitation

Second Invitation

Chen Chuan thought for a moment, unlocked the door with his key, stepped aside, and said, "Senior, please come in." Just then, Luo Kaiyuan suddenly said, "If you need help, you can call me."

Chen Chuan gave him a surprised look, nodded, and sincerely thanked him. "Thank you, Student Luo."

The senior, however, seemed not to have heard their exchange. Wearing a faint smile, he followed Chen Chuan into the dorm room.

Chen Chuan invited him to sit, poured him a glass of water, then sat down opposite him and asked, "May I ask how to address you, Senior?"

The senior smiled. "Let me introduce myself first. Yu Ruizhi, a second-year student of the Wrestling Department."

"A senior from the Wrestling Department?"

Chen Chuan looked him over. His build did not make it obvious at all. Someone like Zhong Wu, on the other hand, looked like he had come from the Wrestling Department at a glance.

However, wrestling encompassed many different disciplines, and people of all kinds of builds practiced it, including smaller ones. So it was not particularly strange. He asked, "May I ask why you have come, Senior Yu?"

Senior Yu maintained his gentle smile. "Does Student Chen think I came to hold you accountable?"

He shook his head and added, "Not at all. Everything Student Chen did during the examination complied with the rules and cannot be disputed, so no one will pursue the matter. I came today to invite Student Chen to join the Mutual Aid Society."

Chen Chuan looked at him. "Perhaps I was not clear enough last time. Let me give you a formal answer today, Senior: I have no interest in accepting any support from the Mutual Aid Society."

Yu Ruizhi smiled. "Student Chen, I did not come this time to offer you any support. I simply came to invite you to join the Mutual Aid Society." He raised a hand in a gesture asking him to wait. "Student Chen, do not rush to refuse. I can tell you what you stand to gain from joining the Mutual Aid Society. You can give me your answer after hearing me out."

He looked at Chen Chuan, pushed up his glasses, and said, "Student Chen, you must first understand that a skilled fighter cannot be made by casually training a little. That is merely the level of fighters in street boxing gyms. Anyone who truly wishes to achieve something in this field must undergo purposeful, systematic training.

"This kind of training is important—extremely important." As he said this, he repeatedly stressed the point, his voice carrying an inexplicable deeper meaning.

"You may say that the school has training instructors and guidance instructors. But your teachers do not truly understand you. They merely teach you based on their own past experience, using themselves as the model. Even with the many methods available to assist now, there are still many unsatisfactory aspects. Sometimes, even the slightest deviation can keep your potential from being fully realized and prevent you from reaching the height you should have been able to attain."

At this point, he emphasized, "And the Mutual Aid Society can help you achieve that."

Chen Chuan said, "Oh? The Mutual Aid Society is that capable?"

Yu Ruizhi answered confidently, "Of course. The Mutual Aid Society has resources beyond your imagination. If you join us, you will receive a comprehensive physical examination, training methods tailored specifically to you, help building your own combat system, and all manner of supplementary medicines for training. The Mutual Aid Society can provide all of it.

"And that is only for now. Once you graduate, if your performance is good, we can even recommend you to Mo Lan Company. Cui Hong, the current deputy head of security at Mo Lan Company, received our support in rising to his position as well. That company has a foothold even in Central City. You do not need me to explain what that means for your future."

Chen Chuan thought for a moment and asked, "I have a question. Why did you come looking for me?"

Yu Ruizhi said, "In fact, Student Chen is not the only one we have approached. Every year, past and present, we extend invitations to all students with potential."

He smiled again. "Student Chen, it was evident from your examination that you have mastered the Breathing Method. Yet unlike others, you did not begin combat training from childhood. That is rare. Ordinary people find it difficult to endure such pain without prior foundational training. But you did, and naturally gained the strength to contend with the evaluated students.

"That gave you value ahead of time.

"Forgive my offense in using the word 'value,' but a person can indeed be measured by value—and can also depreciate."

He stared at Chen Chuan, seemingly trying to pressure him. "You gained strength at the cost of overdrawn potential, but that debt will have to be repaid sooner or later. What awaits you are injuries and decline within a few years, or perhaps other terrible outcomes...

"This may come even sooner than you imagine. Many Class A Students have not yet begun training, but once they start practicing the Breathing Method, they will quickly catch up to you. The advantage you possess now will vanish completely."

"Is that so?" Hearing this, Chen Chuan suddenly grew curious and asked, "Senior Yu, since you say that, do you have a way to make up for overdrawn potential?"

"Of course!" Yu Ruizhi answered with complete certainty. Sensing that Chen Chuan seemed interested, he explained with great care.

"Some medicines produced by pharmaceutical companies in Central City can repair your potential and compensate for your deficiencies. However, not only are these medicines outrageously expensive, they are also prohibited outside Central City. Only the Mutual Aid Society has channels to obtain them. And the Mutual Aid Society can promise that once you join, you will immediately be able to see medicines of this kind."

Seeing that Chen Chuan remained silent, he added, "Of course, if you feel medicine is unsuitable and are unwilling to use it, there are other options as well. For example... Implant Bodies."

Upon hearing that, Chen Chuan could not help looking at him. He repeated, "Implant Bodies?"

Yu Ruizhi said, "You may have heard of them, or perhaps not. They are a kind of biologically cultivated body—military-grade Bio-Implant Bodies that can grant you strength beyond ordinary people in an instant."

Chen Chuan said, "If that is the case, then if one were implanted into an ordinary person, could it immediately create a formidable combatant?"

Yu Ruizhi shook his head. "It does not work that way. How well an Implant Body's power can be brought out depends on the host's capacity. The higher a person's upper limit of capacity, the greater the power they can wield. So a good body is essential."

Chen Chuan fell into thought.

Yu Ruizhi waited a while before saying, "I have said so much. What does Student Chen think?"

Chen Chuan looked at him and decisively refused. "I appreciate the Mutual Aid Society's goodwill, but I would rather walk my own path."

"Is that your answer? Understood."

Yu Ruizhi still wore the same polite, gentle expression, as if Chen Chuan's refusal had not angered him in the slightest.

He took out a name card and placed it on the table. Rising to his feet, he smiled and said, "Student Chen, if you change your mind, you may come find us at any time. Ah, and one more thing: combat arts are not merely combat arts, and the world is not as simple as you think. Well then, I look forward to seeing you again. Oh, there is no need to see me out."

After saying that, he nodded to Chen Chuan and walked out. Once he reached the corridor, he gave a meaningful smile before casually closing the door behind him.

Chen Chuan thought about it. Yu Ruizhi's final words seemed to suggest that he was certain Chen Chuan would eventually seek them out. Was there some scheme behind it? Or some other reason? He walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and looked down at the campus. At this moment, lights were lit everywhere within the school grounds, especially the Administration Building and the lamps lining the roads around the lake.

Yu Ruizhi had promised quite a lot, but there was no doubt that all of it would require an even greater price. He had come here and learned combat precisely so he would not be bound, so that this body could rise to greater heights.

He lifted his head to gaze at the scattered stars beyond the clouds. No matter how bright the lights on the ground were, how could they compare to the vastness of the starry sky above?