Roadmap to the Boundless Sky-Chapter 147: Off To The Test

At the end of May, Chen Chuan was fully prepared for the test. He told Yu Wan and Nian Fuli that he would be going out for special training with Cheng Zitong and might be staying in the wilderness for some time, so it would be difficult for them to call each other.

He had also written some letters, which Cheng Zitong would send for him. This way, he could ease his family’s worries while also creating the false image that he was elsewhere.

The letters were not limited to his family alone. He had prepared letters to the people he was familiar with in the company, university friends, and even friends from high school. But in order to not seem too deliberate in his efforts to conceal his tracks, those were just a backup. Cheng Zitong was not going to send those letters unless absolutely necessary.

Chen Chuan had to exercise this level of caution. Shen Zheng had killed himself in the very place he was going to take his test, and at that time, he had already gotten his unrestricted defense permit. It only made sense to be extra careful.

He had also seemingly unintentionally mentioned to his university friends that he was going to go out to train with his mentor, so they were already somewhat aware of this. It wouldn’t seem like he was leaving out of the blue. Many of them just wished him luck during his training.

At around 11 p.m. on the thirtieth, Chen Chuan got into Cheng Zitong’s car with a luggage bag and a box containing the Frost King Saber.

Cheng Zitong drove west until they left Yangzhi City. It took more than six hours to reach Uptown Wharf City, located southwest of Yangzhi City. It was positioned at an intersection between two prefectures and was an important water-land transport hub.

According to the test procedure, Chen Chuan needed to make a call here. Then, someone from the examination committee would come and give him a train ticket. He was then to take the train to his next destination.

From that point on, he had to head to the exam venue on his own.

After he got out of the car, he said, “Please go back, Mr. Cheng. I need to walk down this path on my own.”

Cheng Zitong stared at him for a bit before he sighed with emotion and walked up. “You’ve grown taller. Time sure flies. Focus on your test. I’ll hold the fort when it comes to the university and your family, so don’t worry about them. Also, be careful. I’ll be waiting for good news back in Yangzhi City.”

He patted Chen Chuan’s shoulder.

Chen Chuan nodded and said, “I’ll keep your words close to my heart.”

“I’m going back now. By the way, I left some things for you in the box. You might need them. Look through them when you have time.”

Cheng Zitong waved him goodbye and got into the car again. The engine came to life, and he drove back. Chen Chuan watched him leave, then pushed his hat down and turned to the station square.

He checked his watch and found that while it was not even 6 a.m., the place was filled with people carrying bags of various sizes. The sun shone from behind him and lit up the square as well as the thick walls of the train station.

Chen Chuan found a row of phone booths by the edge of the square. He went over and found a booth with a relatively shorter queue. When the person inside came out, he went in, picked up the receiver, inserted a coin in, and called the number the examination committee had given him. After a while, the call went through.

“I’m at the designated station,” he said.

“Wait there,” the person said and hung up with a click.

Chen Chuan walked out of the phone booth and bought a newspaper and two fiction magazines from the newspaper stand by the road. He then sat down on a chair and started waiting.

Half an hour later, an average-looking man sat down next to him and handed him a train ticket in a natural, relaxed fashion. “Your train departs at 7:50 a.m. Once you arrive, call this number. Before you enter the Chaotic Land—that’s another name for the wilderness, by the way—someone will check your items and whether anyone’s trying to help you or follow you. Do you have any questions?”

Chen Chuan checked the note that came with the train ticket and saw a phone number written on it. After some thinking, he asked, “If the phone number is wrong or I can’t contact anyone once I reach my destination, what should I do?”

“You can call me again, and I’ll make the necessary arrangements. The delay won’t be counted as part of the total time you took for your test, but you need to pay for any extra expenses during the wait. The examination committee is not responsible for that,” the man supplied.

“I have no other questions.” Chen Chuan nodded.

The man rolled up his newspaper and stood up before walking away. He blended into the crowd and disappeared.

Chen Chuan did not move immediately. Instead, he read the newspaper for a while longer before standing up and heading into the train station.

Once he was in the waiting hall, he checked the train schedule and picked a chair to sit down on. After an hour or so, the speaker announced that the train he was supposed to take had already arrived, and he could proceed to boarding.

Chen Chuan stood up and joined the line at the ticket inspection counter. With his ticket verified, he walked onto the railway platform. A black train was already waiting there. Chen Chuan stepped aside to let a cart selling snacks pass through, then boarded the train through its narrow entrance. After passing through a few carriages, he found his seat and placed his luggage bag and the Frost King Saber on the shelf above him before sitting down.

It seemed that the examination group’s budget was really tight. The train ride to the wilderness took almost an entire day, but the ticket they got him didn’t come with a bed, just a seat.

But he was fine with it. As a martial artist, he had a tough body and had little need for comfort in such matters. He could rest even while sitting upright.

Chen Chuan grabbed a tube of nutritional paste, tore it open, ate it, and continued reading the newspaper.

This was the first time he was traveling so far. Usually, the news reported in Yangzhi City were all about the area, so they learned very little about the world outside. It was the same thing here. News about Uptown Wharf City took up most of the pages within the newspaper, but since it was a transportation hub, it also had some news about the other cities along the railway.

A short man came over with a train ticket in hand. After checking the number, he was sure that he had found his seat, but his luggage was quite heavy. It kept sliding down even after he tried putting it up on the shelf on his tip-toes. With a long face, he asked Chen Chuan, “Lend a hand, brother?”

Chen Chuan stood up. With just a lift of his arm, he placed the luggage bag on the shelf.

“Thanks, brother. You’re really tall and well-built. Are you a martial artist?” The man looked at Chen Chuan in envy, then cast a glance at the box containing the Frost King Saber. He took out a cigarette and handed it to him.

Chen Chuan lied that he wasn’t before sitting back down, but the man didn’t mind. He was obviously the friendly sort, because once he sat down, he started asking where Chen Chuan was going. Chen Chuan gave a perfunctory answer and let the man ramble on. He talked about how many people were in his family, where he was going for business, how it was not safe traveling in this area, and how hard it was to be a businessman.

As he chattered, he occasionally looked around him. Chen Chuan never showed any signs of annoyance and just read the newspaper.

Some time later, a few hostile-looking men walked over. They took note of the man talking as well as Chen Chuan sitting across from him. They sized him up a little and hesitated for a bit before they whispered to each other and left.

The man sighed, seemingly relieved.

Some more time passed. The train horns blared, and the train finally started moving. The man fell silent and admired the scenery outside.

After three stations, the man reached his destination. He quickly put his hat on and jumped up to grab his luggage bag. Before he left, he whispered, “Thanks, brother.”

Chen Chuan gave him a look and a nod.

As the train arrived at different stations, the passengers across from him kept on changing. The sky also turned dark, and everything went black.

When it was almost time to sleep, Chen Chuan went to the bathroom, washed up, and returned to his seat to close his eyes and rest.

He had noticed that after he started growing the mutated tissue in his organs, they did not just fuse with his organs. No, it wasn’t that simple. His mutated tissue seemed like another set of organs and could exchange places with his original organs, thus allowing them to take turns resting.

When one was in dormancy, the other would become active. Chen Chuan would even say that these organs had grown for him to get used to fighting.

The moment there was any strange movement around him or something abnormal showed up, his senses would immediately give him a warning, and he could react.

But Chen Chuan didn’t look like an easy target, and he also had that invisible, imposing presence of martial artists, so even if he was in a train filled with all sorts of people, he didn’t run into anyone stupid enough to bother him. The obvious pickpockets avoided him like the plague. Clearly, they had good judgment.

The next day, when the first rays of light peeked out from beyond the horizon, Chen Chuan opened his eyes and looked outside. The scenery had become incredibly barren. Only a handful of people were left in the carriage too. They were silent, and some of them were clearly martial artists.

They were likely going to the same place as he was. After all, the first thing one needed before going to that place was strength to protect oneself.

When it was past six in the morning, the train finally reached the final station of Chen Chuan’s journey. The grinding of wheels against the rails started to slow until the train came to a halt. The steam valve opened, releasing the last of the boiler’s pressure, while the chimney let out a long howl. Chen Chuan could hear everything clearly.

He retrieved his luggage bag, put the box containing the Frost King Saber on his back, and got out of the train. When he walked out of the train station, a cold blast of wind blew against his face. There was still snow on the ground, and many of the people around him were wrapped up in thick layers. Unlike them, Chen Chuan found the temperature comfortable, but in order to not stand out, he took out a scarf and wrapped it around his neck.

The passengers were all moving in a hurry. Only a handful gathered together to talk. There were also security guards armed with guns walking around the train station. All of them had sharp gazes and occasionally glanced at the crowd.

After spending some time observing the area, Chen Chuan found a phone booth at the edge of the square. Once he inserted a coin into the slot, he called the number the man gave him. When it went through, he said that he was at the station and recited the number on the paper.

A husky woman’s voice came through. “Coming.”

In less than fifteen minutes, a modified SUV drove toward him and stopped not far away. The driver motioned at him with a flick of her head. “Get in.”

She was around twenty-eight years old and wore a short jacket. She also had a pair of goggles propped on her forehead. At first glance, she was quite pretty, but there were lines around her eyes that spoke of years of hardship, and her gaze was incredibly sharp. She did not seem like someone to be trifled with.

Chen Chuan went over and got in. Once he was seated, the woman asked, “Are you Chen Chuan, the kid taking the test?”

Chen Chuan nodded and asked, “May I have your name?”

“Don’t need to be so polite. I’m Hu Xian.”

“Ms. Hu, then. Thank you for picking me up. Are you part of the examination committee?” Chen Chuan asked.

“That’s right. I’m part of the committee. I’m also in charge of giving you information, weapons, and logistics support,” she answered casually before casting a glance at the rearview mirror. “Of course, I’m also in charge of collecting your dead body if you die.”

Her eyes were fixed on Chen Chuan when she said those words, as if she waited for some reaction, but Chen Chuan remained calm.

“I can tell that you’re experienced, but every year, examinees end up being heavily injured or dying here. I hope that you won’t become one of them. It’d be troublesome for me otherwise,” she said.

“Have you been here for long?” Chen Chuan inquired.

“It’s my job. No one else wants to come to this stupid place, but I’m fine with it. Not that I can be transferred back even if I want to. Besides, I’ve been here for a very long time. Whenever we get a new leader, they always say that I’ve been doing a good job. When they check my file, they also see that I’ve been in the committee for a long time and have never caused any trouble, so they pat my back and tell me to continue staying here.”

Hu Xian poked fun at herself a little before flooring the gas pedal. The SUV surged forward in a flash. Around ten minutes later, they arrived in front of an old-fashioned hostel. She brought Chen Chuan in, grabbed a key from the pretty receptionist at the counter, and tossed it at Chen Chuan.

“I own this hostel. It’s my private property. You get the first three days for free, but you have to pay from the fourth day onwards. If you need anything, tell Lao Wan. He’s that big guy with the mustache guarding the hostel. He might look rough around the edges, but he’s real attentive. How should I put this? He’s strong enough to wrestle horses but also has enough finesse to do delicate work. If you have any problems, just let him handle it.” 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Chen Chuan followed her up to the second floor and entered a room. A thick carpet covered the living room floor, while a chandelier hung from the ceiling. Sitting at the center was a long, wooden table, and a dart board hung on the wall.

Hu Xian walked over to open the window. “The view here is decent, and you can get sunlight shining into the room. Of course, if you don’t think it’s good enough, you can change rooms, but that’s as far as you can get here. This is also the best room in the hostel.”

Chen Chuan looked around and nodded. “I don’t need to change rooms.”

He set down his luggage bag and motioned at it. “Do you need to check it? The one who gave me the instructions to come here said it’s part of the procedure.”

Hu Xian side-eyed it and said nonchalantly, “No need. How much stuff can you possibly bring, anyway? You can get whatever you want here too. Hang on a second.”

She left the room but soon came back and tossed a booklet on his table. “Your test objective.”