Chapter 7: The Meeting, the Secret Map of the Star Chasers

Zhou Yan remained for a while in this world of “communication” constructed from mist, but no other figures appeared.

So he withdrew.

The instant he made that decision, the scene before him had already transformed back into his room.

Zhou Yan immediately checked the time and discovered that nearly ten minutes had passed.

“I felt as though I had been inside for about ten minutes as well.”

After a brief recollection, Zhou Yan arrived at a preliminary conclusion.

“So the passage of time in the ‘communication’ space is different from the rules of ‘Calamity Realm Walking’? During communication, time flows at the same rate as in reality, while during Calamity Realm Walking, the Walker’s time exists independently of the main world?”

Therefore, whenever he used the communication function in the future, he would have to make sure he was in a safe environment where he could not be exposed.

“Then… do those thirteen seats represent thirteen Walkers capable of entering the communication space?”

“Were those seats there from the beginning, or do they increase as more qualified Walkers appear?”

“Judging from the ‘meeting time’ written on the note, it was phrased very briefly. Does that mean the person or group organizing the meeting is located in the same main world as me?”

In any case, he would definitely attend the meeting that opened at midnight tonight.

By then, many questions would be answered.

*

Eleven fifty that night.

Zhou Yan stopped circulating his breathing technique.

He locked the bedroom door, then secretly summoned a Malice Locust and placed it where it could see both the doorway and his bed.

He then returned to bed, pulled the air-conditioning blanket over himself, and assumed a sleeping posture.

With a slight movement of his mind, the world before him changed in an instant.

Amid the drifting mist stood the familiar stone table.

He had returned to the “Place of Communication.”

He did not immediately observe his surroundings. Instead, he switched his awareness to the Malice Locust.

He then gained access to the locust’s field of vision.

Within the quiet room, he saw himself lying on the bed with his eyes closed.

“Not bad… It seems that only my consciousness—or perhaps my soul—has entered this place…”

With the locust keeping watch, Zhou Yan felt somewhat reassured.

He left a small portion of his awareness with the insect, then raised his head.

Only then did he discover that among the thirteen chairs arranged around the stone table, four figures had already taken their seats besides himself.

They were all cloaked figures made of mist, just like him. No difference could be discerned from their outward appearances alone.

All four mist figures were now turned toward Zhou Yan, seemingly watching him.

When they saw him raise his head, the person seated diagonally across from him threw both hands into the air and spoke in a low voice:

“The person in the thirteenth seat has actually appeared! Now Boss One and Boss Zodiac have really been separated. My favorite couple has been torn apart!”

Although the voice was low and flat, without the slightest fluctuation in tone, Zhou Yan could infer the speaker’s mood from those exaggerated movements.

This person occupied Aha’s seat.

Neither the figure nor the voice revealed any indication of gender.

Even the language they spoke was one Zhou Yan had never heard before, yet he could somehow understand its meaning.

He could not help turning his head toward the seat two places beyond Aha.

That was the seat belonging to the eccentric who had chosen the codename “Let’s See How Long a Codename Can Be.”

Of course, it might just as easily have belonged to an eccentric woman.

Zhou Yan admitted that this person, who still found time to fool around with the functions of the Order Walkers, had indeed attracted his attention.

Unfortunately, that seat was empty. Its occupant was absent.

Taking the opportunity, Zhou Yan looked around and said, “A pleasure to meet you. I’m Thirteen. You are all—?”

Hmm?

Had his words been censored?

Zhou Yan paused, somewhat puzzled.

At that moment, Zodiac, seated to his right, said, “Anything that might actively or passively reveal your identity, or ask about someone else’s identity, will be blocked by the Boss.”

“I see. Understood.”

Zhou Yan nodded.

The figure seated to his left, One, extended a finger and tapped the tabletop.

“First, welcome to Thirteen. This is the ninth meeting, held punctually every ten days after being agreed upon by everyone previously. Five people are present today, while eight are absent. As usual, we will begin by sharing information about the Calamity Realms. I’ll go first.”

One spoke with considerable efficiency.

“During the recess, I made one Calamity Realm journey. The setting was an enclosed ruin with an ‘air wall.’ Judging from the weapons carried by the humans I encountered, the background was modern.

“The Calamity Cause was the ‘Beast of Evolution.’ The enemy was a strange beast with tough skin, highly acidic blood, great agility, and a certain degree of intelligence. It was oviparous. Its young resembled scorpions. After clinging to a prey’s face, they would enter the body through the mouth or nostrils. Eventually, they would burst out through the abdomen. As long as they had enough meat to feed on, they could grow rapidly. The mature form looked somewhat like a hybrid of a dinosaur and a human.

“The average individual possessed combat strength roughly equivalent to Gamma rank by international standards. The strongest individual I encountered was comparable to Beta rank.”

Gamma rank. Beta rank.

Zhou Yan listened silently to the account and recalled the knowledge he had found online.

The international ranking system of the main world was not based on the martial-artist classifications of the Celestial Origin Imperial Empire. Instead, it used the categories Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta.

A human of Gamma rank possessed combat strength roughly equivalent to the Wonder level of the Celestial Origin Imperial Empire, while Beta rank corresponded to the Extreme level.

One paused briefly, then added, “Of course, given our special identities, I should describe it using the Calamity Realm’s ranking system. This beast is rated as one-star, zero-order.”

“Ha! An enemy of that level poses no challenge at all to Boss One. That was practically a sightseeing trip.”

Aha immediately picked up the conversation.

One shook his head slightly. “There would still be some danger if you were careless. If you encounter one, watch out for the highly acidic blood.”

The others nodded.

After finishing, One fell silent. The next seat, Emperor’s, was empty and remained unoccupied.

Everyone looked toward the seat after that, belonging to Fool.

Fool shook his head.

“I’m still—days away from entering my next Calamity Realm.”

So the interval between Calamity Realm journeys was censored as well.

Zhou Yan silently committed that information to memory. The others remained perfectly calm, suggesting that they were already accustomed to statements being silenced in this manner.

Another seat was empty, and the discussion passed directly to Aha.

Aha sprang to his feet.

“Let me tell you, my journey this time was insanely exciting!”

He waved his arms and chattered endlessly, mixing his account with a great deal of meaningless nonsense.

Even so, Zhou Yan was able to extract the essential details.

Aha had entered a world resembling Japan. The Calamity Cause was a videotape that had already begun spreading. Anyone who watched it would be killed within seven days by a white-clad evil spirit that crawled out of a television.

It was an unmistakable Ring-style scenario.

Aha had then carried out a series of outrageous stunts. In the end, he broadcast the videotape’s contents on giant screens in famous public squares across various countries, and even arranged for numerous official news channels to air it, spreading the deadly curse throughout the world.

Because the number of people infected and the area affected had suddenly become so vast, the white-clad evil spirit apparently could not kill them all. It never managed to find Aha before the allotted time ended.

When Aha described this, he stamped his feet in regret, lamenting that he had not been able to exchange more than a few blows with the white-clad evil spirit.

Everyone seemed more than a little speechless at his actions.

Zhou Yan began to doubt himself.

Was the Boss behind the Order Walkers really “Order”?

Why would Order take an interest in someone who did nothing but cause trouble?

However he looked at it, Aha seemed far better suited to the side of “Chaos.”

Afterward came Zodiac, who had spoken near the beginning.

Like Fool, he had not entered a Calamity Realm.

When it was Zhou Yan’s turn, he shared his experience in the Calamity Realm where “A Hundred Ghosts Ran Riot.” However, when he mentioned obtaining knowledge of the “Obscured Mark” and “Onmyodo,” everything was censored.

Zodiac, seated beside him, told him, “Thirteen, knowledge or certain special objects obtained within a Calamity Realm cannot be disclosed to others.”

Zhou Yan nodded to show that he understood.

Once Zhou Yan finished sharing, One tapped the table again and continued presiding over the meeting.

“That concludes the Calamity Realm reports. If anyone encounters a world with a similar Calamity Cause in the future, you may use these experiences as a reference where appropriate. Even so, remain vigilant. Do not let overconfidence cause you to fail.”

As he said this, One looked toward Zhou Yan.

“Especially you, Thirteen. Of the eight people absent from this meeting, Emperor, Extreme, and Unmarked have never appeared at all. We do not know whether they are alive or dead. Among the other five absentees, only Five Fingers, Try It, and War attended the previous meeting but are absent this time.”

One paused, then continued.

“As for Four and Ten, they have now missed three consecutive meetings. Based on what they said when they previously attended, they do not seem like people who would refuse to communicate. Therefore, it is reasonable to suspect that they perished during one of their Calamity Realm journeys.”

“Thirteen, judging from the journey you described, you are still in the relatively early stages. You must be especially careful.”

Zhou Yan nodded. “Understood. Thank you for the warning. I’ll be twice as cautious during future journeys.”

It seemed that dying in a Calamity Realm truly did result in death in reality as well.

He had finally confirmed the consequence of failing a journey.

After warning Zhou Yan, One said, “Then we will proceed to the next agenda item—mutual assistance.”

He looked at Zhou Yan again.

“Thirteen, as a newcomer, you are naturally our ally. Is there anything you need our help with?”

After hearing One’s words, Zhou Yan looked around and saw that none of the others objected.

He thought for a moment, then said, “I’d like to ask whether there are stages beyond Alpha rank that are even stronger.”

At Zhou Yan’s question, silence settled over the stone table for two seconds.

Then Aha, seated across from him, leaned forward and propped his head up with one hand, supporting his chin. In a completely toneless voice, he laughed several times.

“Heh, Thirteen. It seems you’re one of the rare ‘ordinary people’ among us.”

“Ordinary people?”

Hearing Aha’s exclamation, Zhou Yan could not help savoring its underlying meaning.

Aha had immediately determined from his question that he was an ordinary person. That meant the question he had asked was something only an ordinary person would ask.

In other words, there really were ranks stronger than Alpha.

Alpha was the highest level of human strength that he had been able to find through publicly available information online.

If Gamma corresponded to the Wonder level and Beta to the Extreme level, then Alpha was what they called a Grandmaster.

According to the information he had found, a Grandmaster of the Celestial Origin Imperial Empire was a top-tier martial artist who had tempered their body to the human limit and possessed combat techniques and awareness so powerful that they were nearly inconceivable. There were roughly three thousand of them.

Zhou Yan had watched videos of those people fighting. His evaluation had been simple:

Captain America with martial arts.

Or, to put it more directly, something akin to the Five Greats of Jin Yong’s novels.

They were undeniably powerful, especially from the perspective of ordinary people. Without considering endurance, every one of them could defeat a thousand opponents in close combat.

However, there were three thousand of them.

Although, in an empire with a population of more than a billion, three thousand Grandmasters amounted to only one in several hundred thousand—a truly minuscule proportion—it still inevitably gave Zhou Yan the feeling that there were simply too many of them.

And if there were so many, surely some of them had to be mediocre.

Naturally, this also made Zhou Yan feel that there must be even stronger individuals above these experts.

It was possible that such a level had already exceeded ordinary understanding, which was why it remained a secret.

Aha continued laughing.

“Heh heh. Of course there are classifications for those stronger than Alpha rank. It’s just that I know more about the situation of—”

He paused, then clicked his tongue.

“Sure enough, it’s censored. Perhaps Boss One or Boss Zodiac should explain it instead?”

Zodiac, seated beside Zhou Yan, took over.

“There is no internationally recognized ranking above Alpha. Each country divides those levels according to its own system. You know about the Celestial Origin Imperial Empire, one of the Four Great Nations, right? Its classification is particularly representative.”

“Yes, I do.”

Zhou Yan’s thoughts stirred.

Zodiac nodded and continued.

“Take the Celestial Origin Imperial Empire, a nation of martial arts, as an example. At the ordinary stage, its martial artists are ranked from low to high as Ordinary, Fierce, Wonder, Extreme, and Grandmaster. Grandmaster corresponds to Alpha rank. In other words, Alpha refers to the level at which an ordinary person reaches the peak of physical ability, technique, and consciousness.

“Above the Grandmaster level is a realm known as the ‘True Realm.’ At this level, one can use willpower to control the blood and vital energy within one’s body, develop ‘acupoints,’ and unleash explosive attacks that violate the ordinary laws of the flesh. Its manifestations have already surpassed the limits of humanity, so such people may be called transcendent beings.

“Other countries also possess experts capable of using willpower to influence their own bodies. They simply do not call this stage the ‘True Realm.’ Each has its own name.

“For example, the ‘Corporate Alliance’ calls experts at this stage ‘Limitbreakers.’

“The ‘Evangelical Theocracy’ calls them ‘Saints.’

“The ‘Iron Kingdom’ calls them ‘Ilyas.’

“And so on.”

Zodiac casually revealed one secret after another—information Zhou Yan had no chance of finding on his own.

Before Zhou Yan could speak, Aha sprang to his feet and began waving his arms.

“Why can Zodiac casually say so many things that I can’t? Tell me the truth. Are you a relative of the Boss?”

Zodiac looked at him.

“What you wanted to say was probably ‘indicative’ of your own identity in some way, which is why the Boss censored it. Perhaps you could say it in another way.”

“Forget it. I’m not saying anything.”

Aha made a zipping motion across his mouth, even though his head was nothing more than a mass of mist.

Zhou Yan listened quietly to Zodiac’s explanation, then nodded.

“Thank you for clearing that up. I understand now.”

At that moment, One tapped the table again.

“Thirteen, the information you asked about may be difficult for you to find, but for the few of us, it is common knowledge. You might as well ask for something more useful to you.”

“More useful…”

Zhou Yan thought for a moment.

Then he stated his request directly.

“I want to know how to surpass Alpha rank.”

“Heh heh…”

Aha laughed again.

“Just as I thought. I can help you with that too, but because of the Boss’s censorship, I doubt I’ll be able to actually teach you. You should ask them instead.”

Zhou Yan instinctively looked toward Zodiac.

After a brief silence, Zodiac said, “I have a—”

He keenly sensed that his words had been censored. He paused, then shook his head.

“Looks like I can’t teach you either.”

Zhou Yan was just about to look toward One, who presided over the meeting, when the unusually silent Fool spoke.

“The Iron Kingdom’s ‘Star-Chasing Secret Chart’ is widely circulated among their Alpha-level experts. Its characteristic is that those lacking spiritual strength have difficulty beginning. For ordinary Alpha-level experts, insufficient spiritual strength is a serious problem. For us, with our Life Armaments, it is easily remedied. Through it, you can learn how to use willpower to manipulate your body from within and develop ‘star positions.’”

Fool added, “Star positions and acupoints are simply different names for the same thing.”

After Fool finished speaking, One and Zodiac, among the other three people besides Zhou Yan, both nodded in agreement.

One continued, “Fool’s suggestion is sound. We do possess more advanced cultivation methods, but all of them point to our identities in some way and should be impossible to teach you. I have studied the Star-Chasing Secret Chart before. Although it is difficult to begin and develops only a limited number of star positions, that will not affect your ability to inherit other high-level secret arts in the future. You can learn it.”

Zodiac nodded as well. “It is indeed suitable.”

Aha said, “That method is far too ordinary. If I were teaching you, I’d have you learn—ugh, no, I’d help you modify it into—ugh, no, then I could teach you—”

Everyone: …

Aha: …

He crossed his hands and leaned back in his chair.

“Fine. I won’t say anything. Happy now?”

One said, “Very well. Fool will teach Thirteen the Star-Chasing Secret Chart.”

He turned toward Zodiac.

“Zodiac, at the previous meeting, you said you could retrieve the information about that rift.”

Zodiac replied, “Yes. Let’s discuss it over there.”

With that, the two of them stood and walked toward the other side of the room.

Aha called after them, “Boss One, Boss Zodiac, I want to listen too!”

Aha seemed to have no sense of boundaries at all. He went straight over to the two people preparing to speak privately.

Fool also rose from his seat and walked over to Zhou Yan.

“Thirteen, your memory is decent, right? I’ll teach you the contents of the Star-Chasing Secret Chart.”

Zhou Yan nodded silently.

“Then I’ll be in your care.”

***

This chapter is five thousand words. There will be another chapter today.