Roadmap to the Boundless Sky-Chapter 173Book 3, : Burning Bottle Pub

Chen Chuan intended to rest for a few days after returning to Martial Valor University. He wasn’t going to move into the villa yet. After all, it was much more convenient for him to do many things in the university.

He could spar with Hongfu here, which was a service he couldn’t get elsewhere. Once he left, he wouldn’t be able to enjoy this service, unless he became a lecturer here.

That was why Chen Chuan had been entertaining the thought of getting a position as a lecturer in the university after graduating, though that seemed quite difficult. There was no hurry, though, and he could think about it in the future.

After relaxing for a while, he went to bed. When he woke up the next day, he noticed that he had gained more memories from his parents in his dreams.

Chen Chuan took some time recalling them. He remembered seeing “himself” practicing martial arts. They were very familiar. It was Principal Sanshou, which he had often used in the past.

The person gave off a different feeling when they practiced Principal Sanshou. Their moves were gentle but also firm, and each one was linked seamlessly to the next. The person also managed to retain the power required for the moves that needed explosive force. Clearly, they had achieved a certain degree of mastery.

Yu Zhen, his mother, must have been the one practicing Principal Sanshou. Based on the power she displayed, she should be around the Second Limit.

The memories didn’t come in a chronological fashion. Instead, they jumped around. Chen Chuan believed that this memory was from before she met her best friend. At this point in time, his mother should have been around eighteen-nineteen years old.

First-class students who graduated from Yangzhi City’s Martial Valor University were at this limit whether they were average or outstanding. Even among the recommended students, there were few exceptions.

Chen Chuan had a strange feeling that this memory had been kept specifically for him, as if his mother was trying to... teach him martial arts.

Even though Chen Chuan had long since surpassed the Second Limit, the demonstration gave him some inspiration. The fighting spirit contained within it screamed of never giving up and always heading toward limitless possibilities, which made it truly memorable.

Chen Chuan started practicing Principal Sanshou himself, and as he threw himself into experiencing the moves, he forgot about everything else and put all his attention into the moves. When his mind returned to the present, he found that he had already gone through the entire set.

At that moment, a thought rose in his head. If I had this medicine before going to Martial Valor University, I might have been able to see this memory and pick up Principal Sanshou faster.

He had tried to find information related to memory medicine, but it didn’t seem to even exist in the market, which meant that it was highly likely that it was an incredibly rare medicine or something produced through really specific conditions. Otherwise, Martial Valor University and the government organizations would have vast quantities of it in circulation.

While thinking, he saw a heroic-looking woman in her twenties walking into view in the memory. She had a long ponytail reaching her calves.

As his mother was practicing martial arts, the woman was watching her from a distance. She seemed of average height from afar, but once she got closer, she showed up to be really tall, and his mother needed to look up to be able to talk to her politely.

By comparing the objects in the memory, the woman was at least two meters tall, perhaps even taller, but her body proportions were great. That was why Chen Chuan hadn’t been able to tell that she was ridiculously tall when she stood in the distance.

Once she got closer, Chen Chuan could sense her strength. She didn’t even bother hiding the abundance of energy from her body.

After some thinking, he believed that this woman was his mother’s teacher, and they shared a good relationship.

To Chen Chuan, his mother’s Principal Sanshou was pretty good, but her teacher didn’t seem too pleased. She had come forward to give a few pointers on the chaining of moves and the generating of power.

Chen Chuan listened to it and fell into contemplative silence as he reviewed his own Principal Sanshou.

To him, the minute details were optional. He could choose to take the pointers to heart, but he could also ignore them. After all, in a real fight, only a few moves could be used, so he only needed to master those moves.

However, those tips weren’t meant to increase his fighting strength, but to make his usage of refined force easier and smoother. He could pick up something from it—not to leave any gaps.

This concept was actually really difficult to describe in words, though put simply, it was meant to help a martial artist become fully rounded and flawless while attacking and using refined force so that they were without weakness.

But there was no such thing as having no weaknesses. If Chen Chuan applied the tips, he would just be sincere in his training and take responsibility for his own progress.

This should be a martial arts belief, which had to be carried out long-term. The results could only be seen after a long time or may not even be useful until the end of his life.

This might be some martial arts faction’s ideal, and the woman was teaching his mother its concepts.

Since this wasn’t something that contained crucial techniques, it would not matter even if Chen Chuan spread this knowledge around. If someone did pick it up, that would just make the faction more popular, because their beliefs had been spread to other people.

“Interesting.”

Chen Chuan felt inspired by it, and he had a vague feeling that all true martial artists had their own beliefs and ideas, regardless of whether they were strong or weak.

Was this some sort of resolve that kept them going, or a necessary thing to help them fight against certain existences?

Setting that aside, these beliefs might be useless in the beginning, but the more a person practiced martial arts and mastered them, they could develop a unique technique that matched their beliefs.

At this point, the memory came to an end.

Chen Chuan stood up and took a shower before searching for a place on his Realm Pass. Soon, he found it.

It was the address Lu Ke had given to Nian Fuli. After the summer holidays, due to the series of events, Chen Chuan hadn’t had the time to visit the place. Now, he could go and check it out.

He had no idea how far along Yu Gang’s recovery had gone. If he needed any help, Chen Chuan believed that he was capable enough to help now.

Chen Chuan changed into casual clothes and went downstairs before driving out of Martial Valor University. Based on the directions provided by the Realm Pass, he drove over to the place.

It was located at the edge of Roaring Victory District, near a fuel processing plant. After around half an hour, Chen Chuan arrived at the place and found Burning Bottle Pub on a spacious street. The pub had a unique sign: It was a large glass with a constant stream of either wine or oil spilling out of it.

Through the Realm Pass, Chen Chuan saw colorful lights splashing up when the liquid fell on the ground. It was just like the raindrops during a rainy night in Central City. They were dyed with those fluorescent lights when they fell down. There was also a ring of fire at the pub’s entrance.

Chen Chuan walked over and stepped over the ring of fire. When he opened the door, the ring of fire behind him shot up, and it looked really cool.

Once he was inside, he looked around. The place was decorated in a mix of styles. On the ceiling were naked pipes with metal wires looped around them. The bricks on the walls were full of colorful graffiti. Meanwhile, there were long bands of light on the ground that shone occasionally.

This wasn’t a small space and seemed to be able to accommodate more than a hundred people. Even though it was still light outside, five tables were occupied.

Chen Chuan checked them with his Realm Pass and found that most of them had temporary citizenship or no status at all. They also had plenty of cheap and secondhand implants, but none of them had any criminal record. It seemed like the pub owner was a pretty capable man and a law-abiding citizen.

The guests had been chatting up a storm, but when they saw him, they subconsciously lowered their voices.

Even though Chen Chuan had restrained his biofield and changed into casual clothes, his height and gait made it clear that he was a martial artist, and he intimidated all those who saw him.

Chen Chuan went straight to the bar counter. The bartender was a well-built man around fifty years old, and he appeared relaxed as he asked, “Would you like something to drink?”

Chen Chuan didn’t take any alcohol, but slid a bill over and ordered a random drink. He then asked, “I’m looking for Mr. Kangaroo. A friend of mine gave me the address to this place and said that I can find Mr. Kangaroo here. He said that he can lead me to him.”

The bartender watched him for a moment before grinning widely. “You must be Mr. Chen.”

“Yes, that’s me,” Chen Chuan answered.

The bartender laughed. “I just knew it’s you. Lu Ke told me that a handsome kid might come over and asked me to keep an eye out.

“Call me Lao Zhan. Take a seat. Let me serve a few regulars first, and I’ll take you to Lu Ke.”

“Sure,” Chen Chuan agreed.

When Lao Zhan saw that Chen Chuan wasn’t touching the alcohol, he quietly gave him something warm instead. Then, he told the guests that he was going to step away for a while before getting a smart-looking employee to take over. After putting on his hat, he said, “Let’s go. Did you drive here?”

Chen Chuan nodded.

“The place we’re going to isn’t car friendly. Why don’t we take my car instead?” Lao Zhan asked. When he saw that Chen Chuan wasn’t against the idea, he said, “Wait here for a moment.”

He then went out. A moment later, an old car from Jiade rolled over, and Lao Zhan looked out the window. “Get in, Chen Chuan.”

Chen Chuan went over, opened the door, and got in.

“You don’t have to worry about parking your car here. No one here will dare steal my customers’ cars. By the way, you’ve never been to the lower city district before, have you?” Lao Zhan asked as he turned the steering wheel to drive out.

Chen Chuan knew that Lao Zhan was talking about the real lower city district, not the place where those without citizenship gathered. “No, I haven’t.”

“I heard from Lu Ke that you aren’t just friends. You’ve trained together under Mr. Yu before. Is that true?”

“Are you close with Lu Ke?” Chen Chuan asked instead.

“I often serve people working for Clear Road Transport. Among them is a security guard captain who’s Mr. Yu’s disciple. She often comes here for a few drinks with a few of her team members. Sometimes, she brings Lu Ke over as well, so yes, I’d say we’re friends,” Lao Zhan answered.

“Mr. Yu has indeed taught me plenty of things. I can be considered his student,” Chen Chuan answered.

“Then, you’re a friend of mine as well.”

Lao Zhan became much friendlier. He kept talking to Chen Chuan while they drove down the spacious, empty road. Around ten minutes later, they arrived in front of a tunnel.

Lao Zhan took a look at the rearview mirror and said, “We’ll reach the lower city district after passing through this tunnel.” 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Chen Chuan saw road blocks positioned inside and outside the tunnel. A few people stood guard near them. Lao Zhan slowed down and greeted them. Then, the guards removed the road blocks. Lao Zhan sped up again and headed into the tunnel.