Atlas of Heaven and Earth

When Chen Chuan was on his way back by car, he had a feeling that this arrest operation seemed too casual, and there might be something hidden behind it. However, it was beyond his ability to solve it at the moment, so he didn't dwell on it too much.

After returning to school, he continued training.

Although this mission was interrupted, he believed that no matter how things developed, he needed to have the ability to solve problems when they arose.

Currently, his understanding of Strength Technique was deepening, but he had also entered a plateau period. Therefore, he allocated some time to strengthen his knife techniques.

After the holiday in mid-November, Cheng Zitong examined him and determined that the Mutated Tissue in his body did not show any signs of accelerated growth for the time being.

He felt that he could observe for another ten days or so, until the end of the month or mid-December, when he would be able to clearly know the subsequent changes.

Cheng Zitong was temporarily relieved. He sat in the living room, picked up his thermos cup, took a sip of tea, and said to Chen Chuan: "I've seen you diligently practicing your knife techniques these past few days?"

Chen Chuan said: "Yes, teacher, I have a question to ask. I feel that this knife is quite peculiar, and it seems that special techniques are needed to unleash its true power."

Cheng Zitong looked at him with some surprise and asked, "Did you figure that out yourself?"

He pondered this matter. After leaving Chen Chuan, he drove to the school's faculty residential area. More than ten minutes later, he arrived in front of a flower garden residence. He parked the car and went up to knock on the door. The doorman recognized him and said politely, "So it's Supervisor Cheng, please come in."

After Cheng Zitong entered, he casually asked, "Where's Senior Brother Qiao?"

"Teaching his newly accepted disciple in the backyard."

Cheng Zitong shook his head and said, "My student at least shows up in class occasionally, but his disciple has only appeared once at the beginning of the semester, and hasn't been seen outside since. He's just a nominal disciple."

As he spoke, he passed through the front hall and walked along a pebble path through an archway. In front him was a large lotus pond. Although it was Autumn, there were still a few upright lotus flowers.

From there, he could see a spacious and expanded pavilion diagonally across the lotus pond. Inside, a small old man wearing a retro-style Chinese jacket was instructing a disciple. The disciple looked handsome, about sixteen or seventeen years old, wearing Wuyi training clothes.

He walked around the corridor along the lotus pond, entered a flower hall, walked a short distance inside, and arrived outside the pavilion, saying, "Senior Brother Qiao, I've come to see you."

Senior Brother Qiao ignored him and continued to concentrate on teaching his disciple a stance. Cheng Zitong looked at him and waited on the side.

After a while, Senior Brother Qiao let his disciple practice on his own, then walked to the flower hall, asked a servant to make tea, and sat down in the main seat, saying, "Sit down, you wouldn't come to me if you didn't have something to do. I won't stand on ceremony with you, what's the matter?"

Cheng Zitong also didn't stand on ceremony with him. He sat down in a guest seat next to him and said, "My student is practicing knife techniques now, but he lacks suitable moves. I thought that Senior Brother has a family heirloom Knife Manual, so I came to you to ask for it."

Qiao Hulin glanced at him and said, "This is your student, not your disciple, why are you so concerned? And if you want knife techniques, the Academy has them too. What's so special about my outdated stuff that's worth your attention?"

Cheng Zitong said, "If it were just ordinary knife techniques, I would have taught him already. I wouldn't bother Senior Brother. Didn't Old Mrs. Ni give my student a knife recently? So I thought that he could only use Senior Brother's Knife Manual well."

Qiao Hulin raised his thick, gray eyebrows and said, "Illegal weapon?"

Cheng Zitong said, "What era are we in? Still talking about Illegal weapon? Does anyone even care about that now?"

Qiao Hulin thought for a while and said, "The Knife Manual can be given to you…" He gestured for Cheng Zitong to wait and said, "I can't just give it away." He pointed two fingers to the pavilion outside, "I want your student to be my disciple's assistant for three years."

Cheng Zitong immediately became unhappy and said, "Senior Brother, this isn't the old days anymore. Why are you still doing that personal attachment thing? What? Is my student inferior to your disciple?"

Qiao Hulin shook his head and said, "The rules still have to be followed. The rules set by our master can't be broken in my hands. Besides, everything needs to be based on closeness. If he follows my disciple, I can give him things."

Cheng Zitong said, "What are you saying about disciples and students? The old man's stuff should have been thrown away long ago."

Qiao Hulin leisurely said, "You go tell the master that he said it can be thrown away, then I'll throw it away without saying a word. Otherwise, we have to follow the rules."

Cheng Zitong said, "I'm saying, this is Senior Brother's family heirloom Knife Manual, not the old man's. Why are you following that broken rule? Your disciple is probably preparing to practice Power Stance now, right? He'll need a lot of good medicine, right? I can help him get it cheaper."

Qiao Hulin said, "Your senior brother still has some savings. I'm more than capable of teaching a disciple. The Knife Manual is indeed mine, but the rules are passed down from generation to generation. The master followed them, and I follow them now. My disciple will continue to follow them in the future, and they must never be broken."

Cheng Zitong knew that he couldn't reason with him and said, "Alright, I might as well have not come. But…" He looked back and said, "Senior Brother, don't regret it in the future."

Qiao Hulin said, "Are you saying your student is better than my disciple? Then we'll wait and see. But I'll put my words here, even if he is better, my rules won't be broken."

Cheng Zitong grabbed his briefcase and said, "Alright, I'm leaving."

Teacher Qiao said, "Junior Brother, have a meal before you leave?"

"I'm too angry to eat."

Cheng Zitong walked outside, took a deep breath, looked at the tall buildings outside, and suddenly felt much more relaxed. He looked back and said, "Old rules? Heh, my student was right, they're all a bunch of old fogeys who are stuck in the past. If I can't find it here, I can find it elsewhere, right?"

In the evening, Cheng Zitong came to Chen Chuan's dormitory again. After entering, he took out a yellowed and old Knife Manual from his briefcase and said, "Take a look."

Chen Chuan picked it up and saw that it was still a vertically written manuscript, like something from the 1980s or 1990s.

Cheng Zitong said, "An old-fashioned Knife Manual. When I found it, it had been pressed under a box for forty or fifty years without anyone touching it. If I hadn't mentioned that their ancestors had such a thing, they would have forgotten about it themselves."

Chen Chuan asked, "Teacher, is this thing valuable?"

Cheng Zitong said, "Fifteen yuan a copy, good quality and low price, cash on delivery, and it saved me a favor. Only some old guys who stubbornly adhere to the rules still treat these things like treasures."

He gestured with his chin, "The knife techniques inside aren't important, the main thing is the Strength Technique for using the knife. You can try practicing it, if it's not suitable, I'll take a look, if you're not satisfied, I'll find another one."

Chen Chuan said, "Teacher can still find similar ones?"

Cheng Zitong said, "Then you underestimate teacher too much. In this day and age, Knife Manuals can't be eaten. If teacher is willing to collect them, I can put the word out and collect seven or eight copies in half a day.

In the early years, these Strength Techniques were very unique and were guarded and not taught. But the more they weren't taught, the fewer people learned them. Now, many of them have lost their heritage. Some destitute descendants are guarding things that can't be eaten or worn, so it's better to exchange them for money. Look, people are much more practical, unlike some people who cling to the old rules."

Listening to him, it seemed that he had failed to ask someone for a Knife Manual, so he was full of complaints. But since he could find these Knife Manuals, why did he ask someone for one? Perhaps that person's identity was not simple?

He didn't think too much about it. He flipped through the Knife Manual for a while. Because the surface was incomplete, he flipped to the inside and found a simple and unadorned knife energy name: "Heavy Slashing Knife Technique?"

……

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