Teacher and Student

Cheng Zitong could tell that when the student before him said those words, he was filled with a sincere, heartfelt sense of excitement.

Never before had any student reacted like this upon hearing the truth about combat techniques. He really is a special student. But this is good—very good!

Only with such an attitude could one face this matter more proactively and turn the impossible into possible.

To be honest, he was not confident about this himself.

There was simply too little time left. Judging by the progression of Chen Chuan's Mutated Tissue, the time he had given him might have to be shortened considerably. What he had said earlier was merely because he did not want to put too much pressure on the student.

But now, he was no longer as worried about that.

He said, "Good! Starting today, I'll begin personally guiding your training. You don't need to concern yourself with any public school activities—I'll help you turn them down. No matter what, none of those are more important than your life."

Chen Chuan nodded. After giving it some thought, he said, "Teacher Cheng, I have a question."

"Go ahead."

Chen Chuan said, "I heard that learning force was quite difficult, and not everyone could master it. Then how did the academy deal with students who could not restrain their Mutated Tissue in time?"

Cheng Zitong said, "Not everyone's Mutated Tissue grows endlessly. Its growth comes in stages. Some people reach a certain limit in their training and then stop growing, even remaining stagnant for life. Naturally, they don't have this problem.

"So most ordinary people never get this opportunity. The most common outcome is what was written in the materials I gave you: a simple operation at the hospital can remove it.

"And in order to gain greater combat power, some people instead use drugs to stimulate it, hoping to promote further growth of the Mutated Tissue. Quite a few medicines have been developed as a result.

"Only people with innate talent like you may have Mutated Tissue that continues growing through several stages. But while that gives you an extremely high ceiling, it also makes things far more dangerous."

Chen Chuan nodded. After thinking for a moment, he asked again, "Teacher Cheng, do all the academy's students know about this?"

Cheng Zitong laughed. "This sort of thing was originally not permitted to be disclosed to students still enrolled in the academy. There was no need for those without talent to know, and everyone who did know had to sign a confidentiality agreement during and after their time at the academy, so as not to affect the students' studies or cause unrest outside.

"But I don't care about that. Since they asked me to be a supervising instructor, I have the responsibility to explain these matters clearly to my students, so they won't be clueless about what they're doing. Just don't casually reveal it to others. We can talk about the agreement later."

Chen Chuan looked at him. Teacher Cheng, you just said you volunteered to be my supervising instructor. But he did not expose him, nor did he care much about it. Taking a breath, he asked, "Teacher Cheng, when does my training begin?"

Cheng Zitong said, "Don't rush. We have to take things one step at a time." He took out a carbon-copy form from his briefcase. "Sign this. I'll submit it to the Recruitment Office for filing. From then on, you'll be my student, and I'll be responsible for everything during your instruction. Of course, this thing isn't particularly binding. If you feel I'm not doing my job properly, or that my skills aren't up to par, you can apply to switch instructors after a month."

Chen Chuan took it and wrote down his name without hesitation before handing it back to Cheng Zitong.

Cheng Zitong signed it as well, tore off the top copy, and gave the bottom one back to Chen Chuan. "All right. From now on, I'm officially your supervising instructor. I'd say I can be a good teacher—not because my skills are so exceptional, but because other instructors have at least several or even a dozen students, while I only have you. If I still can't teach you well, then I'd be completely incompetent."

Chen Chuan accepted the form and asked, "Teacher Cheng, I haven't asked yet—which department are you from?"

Cheng Zitong put on his decorative sunglasses and smiled faintly. "I came from the Weaponry Department, but I'm currently with the Logistics Department."

Chen Chuan was somewhat taken aback. "The Logistics Department?"

Cheng Zitong laughed. "What, do you look down on the Logistics Department? Are Logistics Department teachers not teachers? Can't they be your supervising instructor?"

He pointed at himself. "Your teacher here has a proper supervising instructor certification. And let me tell you, I'm the deputy director of the Logistics Department. At Wuyi Academy, everyone has to show me some respect."

Chen Chuan looked at his somewhat round, prosperous-looking face. I can tell.

Unaware of what he was thinking, Cheng Zitong raised his briefcase and went to pick up his coat. After thinking about it, he simply tossed it onto the sofa. "I'll go to the Medicine Repository and get your medicine first. Training force also requires medicinal support. Wait here until I get back."

Chen Chuan agreed, then remembered something. "Teacher Cheng, could you bring back some Kai Lian Powder while you're at it? A friend of mine also needs to begin training, and he needs that stuff."

Cheng Zitong said, "That's easy. It isn't expensive. Oh, let me tell you first—in order to prevent students from abusing them, the medicines I prescribe for you later will be limited to a fixed quota each semester. If you go over that amount, you'll have to pay for it yourself. I reckon you might exceed the quota, but your teacher has connections. I'll find a way to get you the lowest price... No need to see me out, no need. The Medicine Repository isn't far away. I'll be back soon. You're just too polite."

After seeing him out, Chen Chuan returned and slowly paced around the living room. A question came to mind: the Mutated Tissue in his body should have formed through the long-term, uninterrupted stimulation of the basic Breathing Method. It should have been acquired later in life, completely different from those who had been born with it.

Strictly speaking, he was not someone with "innate talent." In that case, if he reduced the time he spent on the Breathing Method or paused it altogether, would the mutation process weaken or stop?

No, he would not do that.

According to Teacher Cheng, it was clear that this mutation proceeded in stages. Once a period of rapid growth had passed, it might simply stagnate from then on.

And because the next stage might never come, some people even had to use drugs to stimulate it and make it grow again.

But this depended on talent. Once it stagnated, it might very well end there, with no further stage of growth. He was not sure whether he was like that, so not only could he not take the initiative to restrain it, he had to find a way to maintain it and even accelerate it! As for the pace of his training, with the Second Self, he was confident he could catch up.

No matter what, he had to do everything he could to master force next!

Just half an hour later, Cheng Zitong returned. He tossed a packet of medicinal powder to Chen Chuan and said, "Kai Lian Powder. Pharmaceutical technology has been improving, and medicinal powders are more refined now. This one packet is enough for two people, though the medicine is still just as potent. Tell your friend to be careful when using it and not take too much."

Chen Chuan caught it. "Thank you, Teacher."

Cheng Zitong said, "Why be so polite with your teacher?" He took out two more packets. "These are pills and medicinal powders for external application and ingestion, meant to accompany your practice of the new Breathing Method and force. They'll be enough for a month. Use them first, and we'll see how things go after a while.

"Oh, there were also some suppressants that I didn't take. They can slightly inhibit the growth of your Mutated Tissue—not that they do much. But I believe it's best to rely on your own training for growth. The greater the downside, the greater the benefits you can gain from it in the future. So don't use them if you can avoid it. We'll talk about it if it really comes to that."

Chen Chuan said decisively, "No need, Teacher Cheng. I won't use them."

Cheng Zitong said, "Good. We're short on time. Trying to develop force within two or three months is extremely difficult. Most students spend several months to a year adapting to a Breathing Method, then another one to two years pursuing the force that suits them and building their own combat system. That's for elite students; for ordinary students, that would already be considered fast."

At this point, he said solemnly, "Now I'll teach you a Breath Regulation Method. It will further awaken your potential and accelerate the growth of your Mutated Tissue. It may be very uncomfortable, but it is a necessary prerequisite for practicing force, so it cannot be skipped. You must prepare yourself mentally."