Chapter 443: Chapter 173: Flask Bar
After returning to Wuyi Academy, Chen Chuan planned to rest for a few days. He didn’t intend to move into his new house just yet, since everything was so convenient at Wuyi.
Especially the sparring sessions with Hong Fu. This was something you couldn’t find anywhere else. Only at Wuyi could you purchase this kind of service. Once he left Wuyi, he wouldn’t be able to enjoy it anymore, unless he became an academy teacher.
’Maybe I should try to become a teacher at the academy after I graduate,’ he thought. ’It seems difficult, but it’s not urgent. I can worry about that later.’
After finally relaxing for a bit, he had a good night’s sleep. When he woke up the next day, he discovered that the memories left by this body’s parents had surfaced in his dreams once more.
He recalled the memory. From his perspective, he was practicing a fist form. The style was very familiar—it was the Orthodox Scattering Hand he often used.
But this time, it felt different. There was a hardness within the softness, and the transitions were seamless. Moments that required explosive power were executed without losing any force. The practitioner had clearly reached a high level of skill.
’This must be this body’s mother practicing,’ he thought. ’Judging by the force of her strikes, her power is about at the Second Limit.’
The memories didn’t seem to be chronological; they jumped around. This particular one seemed to be from before she met that other woman. In the memory, his mother looked to be only about eighteen or nineteen years old.
Normally, for students graduating from Wuyi Academy, even A-class students in the upper-middle echelon would be at about this limit. Even the Recommended Students were rarely exceptions.
’But I have this strange feeling, as if this memory was left specifically for me. Is it... teaching me this form?’
Although his own limit had long since surpassed this level, he had to admit that watching the form was still enlightening. Every single move contained an unyielding fighting spirit that yearned for the infinite, a quality worth savoring.
As he savored the feeling, he unconsciously forgot everything else, immersing himself completely. By the time he came to his senses, he realized he had already gone through the entire form himself.
’If I’d been injected with these potions before I came to Wuyi, I might have been able to experience all this directly and master it much faster.’
He’d tried searching for memory-related drugs before, but there seemed to be nothing of the sort on the market. It was likely either extremely rare or required special conditions to work. Otherwise, it would have already flooded Wuyi Academy and the various government agencies.
As he was mulling this over, the perspective in his memory shifted, moving to stand before a valiant-looking woman in her twenties. She had a single ponytail that reached her heels.
The woman had been watching from a distance as the form was being practiced, which hadn’t seemed unusual. But up close, she was exceptionally tall; one had to tilt their head back to speak to her.
Based on a comparison with objects in the memory, the woman was at least 2.2 meters tall, maybe even taller. But her proportions were so perfect that she didn’t look out of place from a distance.
Up close, he could clearly sense the powerful strength in her limbs. Her abundant Life Force radiated from her, completely undisguised.
’This must be my mother’s teacher,’ he thought. ’They seem to have a good relationship.’
From Chen Chuan’s perspective, his mother had already performed the form exceptionally well, but her teacher was still unsatisfied. She immediately pointed out a few key areas for improvement, mostly concerning the transitions between moves and certain aspects of Force Application.
Chen Chuan listened, comparing the advice to the form he had just performed in his mind, and grew pensive.
From his perspective, such minor details were optional. One could focus on them or ignore them entirely. After all, in a real fight, a person only ever uses a handful of techniques. It was enough to master a few key moves.
However, this advice wasn’t about increasing combat power, but about making one’s Force Application smoother and more fluid. He could discern a certain principle within it: leaving no "openings."
These "openings" were actually a concept difficult to describe in words. It was about a Fighter achieving a perfect, cyclical flow when applying force and executing strikes, leaving no vulnerabilities in their own form.
In reality, absolute, flawless perfection is impossible. This was more of a personal commitment—a form of integrity toward oneself.
This must be a kind of fighting philosophy, one that required long-term dedication. It would likely take a very long time to bear fruit, and might even prove useless over a lifetime.
He realized this might be a particular School of fighting, and they were teaching the real deal.
However, none of this involved core techniques, so it wouldn’t matter if it got out. In fact, if others learned it, the School would likely welcome it, as it meant their philosophy was spreading.
"Interesting."
Chen Chuan found this enlightening as well. He had a faint realization that true Fighters, regardless of their actual power level, all seemed to possess their own philosophy.
’Is it a form of perseverance? Or maybe a necessity for fighting against certain... beings?’
’And putting that aside, such a conviction might not be useful in the early stages. But once you reach a deeper level of practice, could it give rise to unique techniques that align with that conviction?’
And with that, the memory ended.
After the memory faded, he stood up, washed his face, and then looked up a location on his Realm Token. He found it quickly.
It was the address Lu Ke had given Nian Fuli over the phone. He hadn’t had time to go after returning to the academy from break due to a series of incidents, but now he was free to check it out.
He also wondered how the repairs on Teacher Yu’s Implant were coming along. ’If he needs anything,’ he thought to himself, ’I should be capable of helping now.’
He changed into a set of casual clothes, went downstairs, and drove his Gard Car out of Wuyi Academy, following the address displayed on his Realm Token.
The place was located on the edge of Hongsheng District, near an oil refinery. He drove for more than half an hour and finally found the address on a wide street: the Flask Bar. The sign was distinctive—a giant glass flask that constantly dripped what looked like wine or oil.
Through his Realm Token’s interface, the liquid appeared to splash at his feet in a multi-colored shower of light, like raindrops falling through neon lights on a rainy night. It flowed in a circle on the ground before the bar’s entrance, forming a ring of fire.
He stepped out of his car and over the fiery ring. As he pushed the door open, the flames behind him flared up with a WHOOSH. It was a nice touch.
Once inside, he glanced around. The decor was a mishmash of different styles. Exposed pipes wrapped in metal coils ran across the ceiling. The surrounding brick walls were covered in colorful graffiti, and long light strips were set into the floor, with pulses of light periodically flowing through them.
The place was spacious, large enough to hold over a hundred people. Even in the middle of the day, three or four tables were occupied.
He scanned them with his Realm Token. Most were customers with temporary residence permits or no identification whatsoever. They were outfitted with numerous cheap, second-hand Implants. However, none of them had a warrant out for their arrest. It seemed the bar’s owner was quite influential and also maintained a sense of order.
The patrons had been boasting and chatting boisterously, but when they saw him walk in, they all subconsciously quieted down.
Even though Chen Chuan had retracted his Domain and was wearing casual clothes, his height and the rhythm of his walk instantly marked him as a Fighter, giving him an intimidating presence.
He walked straight to the bar. The bartender was a sturdy man of about fifty. His expression was perfectly at ease as he asked, "What can I get for you, sir?"
Chen Chuan didn’t drink, but he still slid a banknote across the counter and ordered a random drink. "I’m looking for a ’Mr. Kangaroo,’" he said. "A friend of mine left an address and said I could find him here. He’s supposed to show me the way."
The bartender looked him over, then broke into a hearty smile. "You must be Mr. Chen, right?"
"Yes, that’s me," Chen Chuan confirmed.
The bartender chuckled. "I knew it was you. Brother Lu told me a handsome young fella might be stopping by and that I should keep an eye out. That’s gotta be you."
"The name’s Zhan. You can just call me Old Zhan. Have a seat for a bit, young man. I just need to say hi to a few regulars, then I’ll take you where you need to go."
Chen Chuan agreed.
Noticing that Chen Chuan hadn’t touched the drink on the counter, Old Zhan discreetly replaced it with a hot beverage. He then went over to greet the other tables, had a sharp-looking young man take his place behind the bar, and finally grabbed a hat. "Alright, let’s go," he said, putting it on. "Did you drive here, young man?"
Chen Chuan nodded.
"It’s not a good place to drive to," Old Zhan said. "Why don’t you take my car?" When Chen Chuan didn’t object, he added, "Wait here a sec." He turned and walked outside. A moment later, an old, beat-up Gard Car pulled up, and he leaned out. "Brother Chen, hop in."
Chen Chuan walked over, opened the door, and got inside.
"Your car will be fine here. Nobody around here dares to touch a car belonging to a Flask Bar patron," Old Zhan said, turning the steering wheel and pulling out. "So, Brother Chen, you’ve never been to the Lower City District before, have you?"
Chen Chuan knew he meant the *true* Lower City District, not just the ghettos where the undocumented congregated. "Never been," he said.
"Lu Ke mentioned you two are friends, and that you used to train in fighting together under Mr. Yu?"
Chen Chuan asked, "You know Brother Lu well, Mr. Zhan?"
Old Zhan replied, "My bar gets a lot of business from the folks at Lu Tong Logistics. One of their security captains is a disciple of Mr. Yu’s. She often brings her people here for a few drinks, and sometimes she brings Brother Lu along. So yeah, you could say we’re acquainted."
"Mr. Yu taught me a great deal," Chen Chuan said. "I consider myself one of his students."
"Then you’re one of us."
Old Zhan’s demeanor grew even warmer. They chatted as he drove along the empty roads for about ten minutes, eventually arriving at the mouth of a tunnel.
Old Zhan glanced in the rearview mirror. "This tunnel here will take us down into the Lower City District," he explained.
Roadblocks were set up both inside and outside the tunnel entrance, manned by a few guards. Old Zhan slowed the car and exchanged a greeting with them. Once they moved the barricades aside, he sped up again and drove into the tunnel.
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