Chapter 647 - 386: Acquisition

Teacher Yang’s techniques followed the path of stealth and tracking. Even his Power was geared toward concealment and high-burst damage.

In the old era, this would have been the art of an assassin, used specifically for hunting down enemies and assassinating high-ranking officials and nobles.

His stealth skills were outstanding; while hidden, an opponent could walk right past him without noticing a thing.

His Force Technique even included a Shrinking Technique. A master of this art could shrink themselves down and hide inside a small pot.

The most incredible part was that if someone were to pick up and move the pot, he could use a kind of power-based levitation technique to momentarily mask its true weight.

And now, here in the forest, he could hide among the plants and trees or burrow silently underground. This environment was, without a doubt, his natural home turf.

Chen Chuan glanced at the dense forest around him. The requirement for this assessment was to find Teacher Yang within half an hour and defeat him in battle.

If it were only the latter condition, it would have been simple. But finding someone... that was a true test of skill.

’This assessment isn’t about overpowering my opponent with brute force. It’s about analyzing tracks and employing tactics to achieve the goal within the time limit.’

In fact, tracking and analyzing traces, as well as pursuit and combat in different environments, was also an assessment subject at Wuyi Academy.

Within the Processing Bureau, cadets were sometimes required to master these skills after becoming proficient in the basics.

But Chen Chuan’s evaluation scores had maxed out before he even reached that stage of learning, so the Processing Bureau no longer had such requirements for him. A Third Limit Fighter’s survival capabilities were strong enough that they could practice and learn in actual combat, which was far more efficient than studying in an academy.

’But bringing it up now is clearly targeting my weakness.’

’But I can’t say it’s unfair. From the academy’s perspective, if you want to become a teacher, even if you haven’t mastered these skills, you must have the ability to deal with them. If you can’t pass, then you’re expected to go work on your shortcomings and wait for the next assessment period.’

This assessment wasn’t just being watched by the few people present; it had attracted the attention of many teachers. Teacher Bai, Teacher Jiang, and others were watching the assessment on a light screen.

When they saw the assessment’s requirements, their interest was piqued.

If it had been a simple fighting match, they felt there would have been little suspense, given the strength Chen Chuan had shown in the rumors. But an assessment like this was far more interesting. Now, they were all eager to see how he would handle it.

Chen Chuan stood in the dense forest. He knew it was too late and pointless to try and use any conventional tracking and searching techniques now. No matter how good he was, he couldn’t possibly be better than Teacher Yang, who specialized in this field.

’So, what I need to do is play to my own strengths.’

And so, with a single thought, he instantly released his Domain. WHOOSH. It spread outwards, only stopping when it reached a radius of over four hundred meters.

’But this isn’t my limit. It’s an assessment, and many people are watching. It’s also being recorded, so there’s no need to reveal all my cards.’

This was enough, though. He could sense any and all disturbances within this range.

At this moment, he couldn’t sense Teacher Yang’s presence. ’Either he’s incredibly well hidden, or he’s moved to a farther distance.’

But he was certain the man was within this area; his Stealth Techniques were just superb.

’Even if he wants to hide, he won’t just curl up in one spot and stay put. That’s the most passive form of engagement. As a Fighter, you must keep track of your enemy’s movements. Besides, Teacher Yang doesn’t know the full extent of my abilities beforehand, so he wouldn’t risk going all-in on a single strategy.’

’If he were hiding outside my Domain’s range and wanted to know my movements, his only option would be to probe with his own Domain. If that happened, our Domains would collide when I released mine.’

’There’s no such disturbance now, which means he must be nearby.’

Meanwhile, on another floor, Teacher Jiang was gazing at the two individuals on the light screen.

He himself was an expert in Domain techniques and immediately understood Chen Chuan’s method and intentions.

His assistant behind him asked in confusion, "Teacher Jiang, why are they both standing still?"

Teacher Jiang replied, "Well, because there’s no need to move. But it won’t be long before one of them can’t hold out and makes the first move."

"Teacher Yang’s Stealth Techniques are superb, but he can’t possibly stay hidden for too long, especially under the constant pressure of Manager Chen’s Domain. It’ll be a feat if he can last a few minutes without any issues."

The assistant asked, "Why is that?"

Teacher Jiang explained, "Because a person’s Domain can never completely vanish. It can disappear from plain sight only because it has merged with the surrounding environment. But now, Manager Chen has also released his Domain to blanket the area. A Domain itself interferes with the environment, which forces Teacher Yang’s Domain to constantly adapt. This kind of action is mentally exhausting and cannot be sustained for long."

Back in the arena, Teacher Yang was indeed starting to feel the strain. Under normal circumstances, his hiding technique could be maintained for ten days to half a month without a problem. In the old era, some could even sustain it for half a year on a single breath.

But Chen Chuan’s Domain constantly enveloped the area, making him extremely uncomfortable. Just as Teacher Jiang had said, he had to constantly change along with the altered environment. At this rate, he was destined to not last long—ten minutes or so would be a struggle.

Upon realizing the problem, he devised a new strategy. He remained hidden and motionless, but when about half the time had passed, he suddenly leaped out from behind a large tree. Using the environment and his explosive speed, he rapidly retreated into the distance, planning to hide again once he was far away. From there, all he had to do was evade for another half hour to succeed.

However, the moment he moved, he instantly gave himself away. Before he could get far, the trees behind him began to explode one by one as a figure charged toward him at an astonishing speed. The sheer power and velocity of the approach horrified him.

Before the figure could get close, he immediately rolled downward, dropping to the ground and trying to hide himself among the complex web of vines and foliage.

But he was only halfway through the motion when a hand reached out from behind and seized him by the neck. At the same time, a surge of Power penetrated his body. He shuddered, and all the strength suddenly drained from his limbs.

The hand lifted him up by the neck, but then immediately set him back down. He then heard a voice: "Teacher Yang, my apologies."

Teacher Yang came to his senses and looked at the standing Chen Chuan with a complicated expression. He hadn’t expected to be caught after just a few moves.

But he admitted to himself that another attempt would likely yield the same result. He was thoroughly convinced. "Manager Chen, I admi... ahem, I mean, you’ve passed."

Chen Chuan said politely, "Thank you, Teacher Yang."

At that moment, the surrounding scenery began to disperse, reverting to the original arena. Hong Fu’s voice quickly rang out: "Assessment complete. Examinee Chen Chuan has met the assessment procedures and requirements. Assessment passed."

Assistant Ling walked up then, extending a hand toward Chen Chuan with a smile. "Manager Chen, welcome to Wuyi."

Chen Chuan glanced at him, took his hand, and shook it. "I’ve always been here."

Assistant Ling smiled. "Manager Chen’s teaching certificate will be registered on the Wuyi platform starting tomorrow. The physical copy and related items will be delivered by a dedicated person later. I look forward to working with you in the future, Manager Chen.

"Well, I have other matters to attend to, so I’ll take my leave." With that, he nodded at Chen Chuan and departed.

Teacher Yang and several teaching assistants also came up to shake Chen Chuan’s hand and congratulate him before leaving one after another.

After they had all left, Chen Chuan stood there for a moment in thought. ’I can’t shake the feeling that today’s test had some ulterior motive, and it’s likely related to Assistant Ling.’

’But regardless of what his intentions are, I should just focus on my own affairs for now.’

He straightened his mostly uncreased clothes, left the area, and instead of returning to his dorm, took the elevator down to the ground floor and exited the building.

This time, he didn’t call for his private car but drove a Gard Car toward Motie Mountain.

He was planning to return to Yangzhi in a few days, but before he left, he wanted to bid farewell to Senior Brother Cao.

Senior Brother Cao had previously told him the manor would be closed until May. It was now June, so it should have reopened. The timing was quite precise.

After a little over an hour, he approached Cao Manor. As he drove up, he could see the mountain road flanked by blooming, colorful Chinese roses. A faint floral fragrance drifted through the air, and many petals had fallen onto the path.

Just then, he saw a car coming down the mountain road. From its direction, it must have just left Cao Manor.

As the vehicles passed each other, he glanced toward the other car. Despite the tinted window, he could sense a pair of sharp eyes within.

As they drove past each other, the gaze quickly vanished.

Putting it out of his mind, he continued driving up and soon arrived at the parking lot in front of the manor. Uncle Ding was waiting there. When Chen Chuan got out of the car, Uncle Ding approached, bowed, and said respectfully, "Greetings, Manager Chen. The young master is waiting for you. Please follow me."

With that, he led him inside.

Chen Chuan followed him into the residence. This time, they didn’t go to the main hall but took a detour to a waterside pavilion by a lotus pond.

He saw Cao Guiqi gently tossing bait into the water. Beneath the emerald-green lotus leaves, gleaming golden carp were scrambling to the surface, vying for the food.

Uncle Ding stopped upon reaching the pavilion.

Chen Chuan walked up to Senior Brother Cao. The latter handed him a portion of bait and said, "I heard about your promotion to Investigation Chief. With the merits you’ve accumulated, junior brother, it’s well-deserved. However, the standards you’ll be measured by from now on won’t be based on these things."

He scattered another handful of bait, and the carp below immediately churned the water into a frenzy of splashes. Gazing down, he added, "It’s a different set of rules."

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