Chapter 17: Sparring with Chu Wan

When Zhou Yan returned home, he happened to see Luo Ke happily carrying a plate of dishes out of the kitchen to set on the table.

Catching sight of Zhou Yan, her eyes instantly lit up, and she ran over excitedly. "Zhou Yan, Sis said you got your Divine Machine! Where is it? Take me to see it!"

The corners of Zhou Yan's lips curved upward. "I rented a separate garage at the property management office, and it's parked there now."

"You even had to rent a separate garage? It really is a motorcycle?" Luo Ke became even more enthusiastic.

Zhou Yan smiled and nodded. "What's more, it's not just any motorcycle. You'll understand once you see it—your Brother Zhou Yan's Divine Machine is super cool."

"Whoa," Luo Ke let out a look of eager anticipation.

With a roll of her eyes, she sidled up to Zhou Yan. "Brother Zhou Yan, how about we go down and take a look first, and eat later?"

"No."

A cold voice rang out as Luo Xuan walked out of the kitchen carrying a bowl of soup, saying sternly, "It's too late. Eat dinner first, and go look tomorrow."

As she spoke, her gaze met Zhou Yan's, then quickly averted. She walked briskly over to the dining table and sat down.

"Blech—" Luo Ke made an annoyed face at her sister.

Even so, she obediently went over to join Zhou Yan for dinner.

No talking at the table.

After the meal, the two sisters went to the kitchen to wash the dishes.

Luo Xuan looked at Luo Ke, who was still humming a cheerful tune while washing, and said softly, "Yicheng might be unstable these next few days. Don't go out unless necessary, so you don't run into danger."

Luo Ke turned back to look at her sister, her mouth splitting open to reveal a neat row of little white teeth. "Hehehe, don't you worry, Old Sis! Since you've just arrived at the Vermilion Fire Pavilion, I won't cause you any trouble."

Then, she flashed Luo Xuan a sly smile. "Sis, if I'm a good girl, what reward do you give me?"

Luo Xuan thought about it seriously before replying, "If you truly behave yourself, I'll go apply with Pavilion Master Cong and take you to the Logistics Division's Divine Machine Workshop to broaden your horizons."

"Really!?"

Luo Ke's eyes lit up. "Sis, a promise is a promise! Lately, I've come up with a lot of ideas for upgrading your Luo Hand, Zhou Yan, and I was just thinking about looking for some reference materials!"

Watching her happy younger sister, Luo Xuan couldn't help but curve the corners of her lips. "Have I ever lied to you?"

"Awesome!"

Luo Ke abruptly stood on tiptoe, leaned over, and gave Luo Xuan a "mua" right on the cheek. Then, blissfully squeezing past her, she eagerly started taking over the dishwashing duties.

The two sisters stood squeezed together by the sink, playfully nudging and bumping against each other.

There was no trace of their usual tit-for-tat dynamic at all.

When the two of them finally finished washing the dishes and came out together, Zhou Yan, who had just finished sweeping and mopping the floor, was somewhat stunned by the sight.

A rare sight indeed!

"You two look like you just hit the jackpot," he asked curiously.

"Hehehe." Luo Ke walked over happily and said with a boastful tone, "Sis says she'll take me to see the Divine Machine department inside the Vermilion Fire Pavilion."

I see.

Watching Luo Ke's smug little expression, Zhou Yan couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth. "That's great. So, what unequal treaties did you agree to with her?"

"Hehehe, you guessed wrong this time." Luo Ke turned back, wrapped her arms tightly around Luo Xuan's, and rested her head on her shoulder. "Sis is the best person in the world to me. How could she bear to let me suffer?"

She blinked at Zhou Yan. "As long as I obediently behave these next few days and stay home, it doesn't count as a condition at all～"

"Oh—" Zhou Yan nodded, understanding Luo Xuan's intentions.

The situation in Yicheng was treacherous right now, and organizations like the Pyre Society—which sounded like a cult just from the name—certainly didn't subscribe to the philosophy of "trouble doesn't reach the family."

Wait!

A thought suddenly popped into Zhou Yan's mind. He looked straight at Luo Xuan. "Xiaoxuan, I have a suggestion. For this period, let's temporarily move into the apartments provided by the Vermilion Fire Pavilion."

Luo Xuan was slightly startled, then immediately reacted. "You're right. Let's temporarily move there for a few days."

Clearly, there was no safer place in Yicheng than the Vermilion Fire Pavilion.

As she voiced this decision, the brows and eyes that had remained somewhat stern finally relaxed a bit.

*

The next day, Luo Xuan and Zhou Yan brought Luo Ke directly to the Vermilion Fire Pavilion.

Having received a call from the two of them beforehand, their superior, Chu Wan, came downstairs to the apartment building to meet them.

Seeing the Luo Ke brought along by the pair, the dazzling beauty broke into an approving smile. "Actually, I wanted to bring this up to you yesterday. In extraordinary times, rather than living outside, it's better to bring your younger sister along to stay here."

As she spoke, she gave Luo Ke a thorough, appraising look. "You must be Luo Ke. Such a cute girl, your sister talks about her genius little sister to me all the time."

"Really?" Luo Ke's eyes lit up. She cast a stealthy, smiling glance at Luo Xuan, then turned back to Chu Wan. "Hehehe, Sister Chu Wan, you're so pretty, and so sexy!"

Luo Xuan frowned nearby. "Luo Ke, how can you use the word 'sexy' to praise a respectable woman?"

Chu Wan, however, reached out and patted Luo Ke's head. "Don't listen to your sister. I'm hardly a respectable woman, and Xiaoxuan's praise makes me very happy～"

As she spoke, she cast an intentional or accidental glance at Zhou Yan beside them and batted her eyelashes at him.

What a wicked woman!

Faced with the other party's teasing, Zhou Yan maintained a poker face.

Luo Ke, on the other hand, looked at Chu Wan with glowing eyes. "Sister Chu Wan, you're so cool. I want to be just as dashing as you when I grow up."

Chu Wan smilingly pinched Luo Ke's slightly chubby cheek. "Then you still have a lot to learn. Come on, I'll take you all to look at your rooms."

Luo Ke immediately scampered along after Chu Wan like an eager puppy.

Luo Xuan watched speechlessly as her easily abducted sister walked away, feeling a strange sensation in her heart.

The next second, she shivered slightly, widened her eyes, and turned her head.

It turned out Zhou Yan had gently pinched her left hand, releasing his touch almost instantaneously.

Before Luo Xuan could muster her anger and demand an explanation, he cut off her impending spellcasting, offering the girl a slight smile. "Let's go."

Before long, the three of them were led by Chu Wan into a spacious room near the top floor of the apartment building.

Chu Wan stood in the doorway, gesturing for the three of them to enter.

Crossing her arms, she leaned against the wall, pushing up her expansive upper curves as she chuckled lightly, "A two-hundred-square-meter suite. Daily cleaning is handled by the housekeeping staff, and you can go straight to the cafeteria for meals. Living here is much more comfortable than that rental house of yours."

"Ooh, ooh, ooh!" Gasping in admiration, Luo Ke dragged Luo Xuan around to explore the various rooms of the suite.

Chu Wan glanced at Zhou Yan standing to the side and raised an eyebrow. "Little Brother Zhou Yan, aren't you curious as to how I know this place so well?"

Zhou Yan gave her a look, and Chu Wan immediately raised her arms with a wicked smile, lifting up the colossal assets resting against them.

DUANG～

Good grief!

Zhou Yan kept his mind at peace, retracting his gaze just in time before his vision could be captured by the opposing side's prominent anti-personnel devices.

With a steady tone, he replied, "I suppose Department Head Chu also lives in a suite here."

"That's right, right next door. If you can't sleep at night, you're welcome to come over and share a couple of drinks with me," Chu Wan smiled faintly at him.

"I need to cultivate at night." Zhou Yan's gaze shifted to Luo Ke, who was dashing back and forth across the living room.

"Ah, speaking of cultivation!" Chu Wan finally turned serious. "Did Xiaoxuan teach you the Pulse-Burning Method?"

Zhou Yan nodded in confirmation. "She taught it to me last night."

After dinner last night, Luo Xuan had taught him this cultivation secret technique, which was even more advanced than breathing techniques.

Compared to the "Stellar-Chasing Secret Chart" he had previously acquired from other Order Walkers, this "Pulse-Burning Method" from the Vermilion Fire Pavilion was clearly a foundational technique leading into a more systematic secret art.

Once successfully cultivated, the Pulse-Burning Method yielded effects comparable to the "Rotation" tier of the Stellar-Chasing Secret Chart.

It could activate and accelerate the flow of Qi and blood along specific pathways, drastically strengthening bodily functions.

Reaching this level also meant breaking through the mortal threshold and stepping into the realm of the "True Realm."

However, unlike the Stellar-Chasing Secret Chart, which only taught gun-handling skills, the greatest advantage of this foundational cultivation method inherited from the Vermilion Fire Pavilion was that it taught one how to "forge a gun"—meaning it taught how to train and strengthen one's spiritual power.

This method relied on a special meditative technique: visualizing and reconstructing the "Vermilion Fire Chart" within one's consciousness. Through this process, one intensely consumed their own spiritual power, and amidst that consumption, grew increasingly spiritually resilient.

Only those whose spiritual power met the standard could use their willpower to influence the body, accelerating the heartbeat to drive the surge of Qi and blood and thus fortifying physical functions.

And only by further enhancing spiritual power could one fulfill the requirements of the cultivation method to "borrow the false to cultivate the true," mentally constructing the "Acupoints (Star Positions)" within the human body so that the true acupoints lying dormant within the physical form would manifest.

Then, through various secret arts, one could use willpower to stimulate those acupoints, unleashing special explosive power in battle that exceeded the human physical limit.

This added strength might not compare to the massive enhancement brought by a Divine Machine.

Yet, in a duel between two Mecha-martial Artists, the power amplification provided by similarly-tiered Divine Machines was actually quite comparable. At that point, the contest shifted back to the gap in the Mecha-martial Artists' own physical strength and martial arts prowess; naturally, the stronger martial artist had a higher chance of winning.

Moreover, the enhancement of spiritual power not only bolstered a martial artist's own strength but also served as the key to unlocking even greater power from their Divine Machine.

In terms of spiritual reinforcement of martial might, the elevation of the martial artist's personal self and the power of the Divine Machine were two manifestations of a single force—complementary rather than conflicting.

Looking at Zhou Yan, Chu Wan smiled slightly. "As a person with extraordinary spiritual power, even if you haven't practiced the Pulse-Burning Method, your current spiritual strength—which is tenfold that of an ordinary person—is already higher than Luo Xuan's. You can easily clear the threshold of this cultivation method. Furthermore, the accompanying spiritual training method of visualizing the Vermilion Fire Chart should yield exceptional results for you. You must practice it diligently from now on."

"I will," Zhou Yan nodded. Then, a thought stirring in his mind, he asked, "Speaking of which, Department Head Chu, you must have reached the True Realm by now, right?"

Hearing his question, Chu Wan wore an expression that seemed to say, "I've been waiting for you to ask."

With a giggle, she said, "If you want to know my strength, 'levels and realms' heard through words are always illusory. You should experience it for yourself."

At this moment, Luo Ke, having finished her rapid tour of the rooms, had already noticed the two of them talking and happened to catch the tail end of Chu Wan's words.

Curiosity appeared on her face as well. "So, Sister Chu Wan, are you planning to have a sparring match with Zhou Yan?"

"That's right."

Chu Wan gave a cheerful laugh and patted Zhou Yan on the shoulder. "If you hadn't looked so mentally exhausted yesterday, I wouldn't have let you off that easily.

"Now that you've delivered yourself to my doorstep today, don't blame me for seizing the opportunity.

"Since the apartment is all settled, let's head to the training ground right now.

"Little Brother Zhou Yan, I'm extremely curious about the details of that half-concealed Divine Machine of yours!"

Following Chu Wan's issued challenge,

Zhou Yan glanced at Luo Ke beside him.

He saw her looking at him with eager anticipation as well.

He shrugged, having no intention of spoiling the fun.

"Very well, then I accept your kind invitation."

***
*(Author's note: I really want to celebrate Black Myth: Wukong by adding an extra chapter, so I'm setting a goal here—I'll try my best for three chapters today, but no absolute guarantees! If there are only two, please go easy on the hammer～)*