Chapter 9: The Highest-Level Meeting, Discussion on Lin Chen
Soon, accompanied personally by Wang Lishan, and escorted by dozens of fully armed soldiers, Lin Chen left the Martial Arts Research Institute.
As he stepped out of the institute, Lin Chen found himself in a city that resembled a forest of steel.
All around were towering skyscrapers, reflecting blue and red lights. Above the city, there were interconnected sky bridges and traffic lines, with "hover cars" speeding through them.
Above this metropolis, there was a massive transparent glass dome, covering a vast area of over several hundred thousand square kilometers, protecting the entire capital city.
In the high martial arts era, Blue Star's technology had reached an advanced level.
A thousand years ago, facing threats from foreign races and beastly monsters, Blue Star had entered the era of interstellar colonization.
However, due to technological limitations and vast distances, humanity had only established civilizations on four planets, including Blue Star.
Blue Star was the mother planet, and the remaining three planets acted as satellites, guarding Blue Star in the middle and reducing the population pressure on the mother planet.
Lin Chen boarded a military vehicle and quickly headed toward the Martial Artists' Military District.
The scenery outside the window blurred as the military vehicle sped through the streets. In just ten minutes, it reached the heavily guarded Kyoto Martial Artists' Military District.
The Kyoto Martial Artists' Military District was the largest military district in the Great Xia Nation, and one of the strongest military districts on Blue Star.
The vehicle passed through without any hindrance and entered a steel fortress within the military district.
Standing outside the fortress, Lin Chen took a glance. He had seen this building in the news before.
This was the Martial Arts Palace, the meeting place for the leaders and high-ranking officials of the major factions in the Great Xia Nation.
Every decision made here represented the will of the entire Great Xia Nation!
It affected every human being and could easily alter the situation on Blue Star.
After entering the Martial Arts Palace, Wang Lishan led the way inside the building.
Meanwhile, Wang Xinyu accompanied Lin Chen into a reception room.
"We'll wait here for a while. The old guys probably won't come to a conclusion right away," Wang Xinyu said.
Lin Chen nodded. Given the magnitude of the matter, it was indeed difficult to reach a conclusion in such a short time.
Wang Xinyu went to the vending machine and took two bottles of cola, handing one to Lin Chen.
"Cola, would you like one?" Wang Xinyu said, taking a sip herself, her face slightly flushed.
Lin Chen took the cola, opened it, and took a sip. It was quite refreshing.
This kind of pre-Old Era drink was rare on Blue Star now, and it was said that drinking it helped martial artists' cultivation in some mysterious way.
Given Lin Chen's background, it was rare for him to drink it.
"Is there a martial arts training room here? I'd like to test my current strength," Lin Chen asked, feeling a little bored after waiting for a while in the reception room.
Wang Xinyu chuckled when she heard that. "You really can't sit still, can you? Alright, I'll take you there."
The two of them walked toward the martial arts training room within the building.
Meanwhile, in the highest conference room of the Martial Arts Palace:
Dozens of middle-aged individuals, dressed in martial arts uniforms and military attire, were attending a meeting.
At the conference table, Wang Lishan was presenting the information about Lin Chen to a virtual screen.
The video footage of Lin Chen's world-crossing event was repeatedly shown, almost like a series of slices, being scrutinized by these high-ranking figures.
But even they could not discern any pattern or clues from it.
"This meeting is to discuss the report about Lin Chen."
"He claims to have the ability to travel to a cultivation world…"
Wang Lishan reported the information he had received from Lin Chen earlier.
The entire conference room was unusually quiet, with the big shots either furrowing their brows or lost in thought, unsure of what to make of it.
After a while, a muscular man in martial arts clothing stood up. He had one eye tightly closed, with a noticeable scar over it.
"Everyone, have you ever heard of Time-type Martial Spirit?"
"This is an ability that exists only in legends... what happened to this student, Lin Chen, might be explained by this."
After hearing these words, some of the big figures around nodded slightly, as if agreeing.
If it's the rumored Time Martial Spirit, then it might make sense?
However, when Wang Lishan heard this, he shook his head and refuted:
"Tang Li, you're overthinking this... that kid is just a martial artist, and he's nowhere near awakening his Martial Spirit yet!"
"In my opinion, the cultivation world he speaks of is, most likely, real!"
A Martial Spirit refers to a "special spirit" awakened by a martial artist once they reach the Martial Spirit realm. This spirit grants the martial artist various extraordinary abilities and is extremely powerful.
But clearly, the so-called "Time-type Martial Spirit" was simply too far-fetched to believe.
Upon hearing Wang Lishan's words, Tang Li sat back down, while the other big figures in the room quietly discussed the authenticity of this ability.
Wang Lishan frowned and knocked on the table to gain everyone's attention.
"Everyone, I think discussing the origin of this ability isn't the most important thing."
"What matters is that Lin Chen has a patriotic heart. He possesses this ability but didn't keep it to himself—he voluntarily reported it… we cannot let him down!"
"According to what he said, he can bring back spiritual rice and even spiritual energy from the cultivation world… These are things that could completely alter the martial arts landscape of the Great Xia Nation!"
After a pause, Wang Lishan expressed his viewpoint.
"The key point is that as long as the things Lin Chen brings back can greatly benefit the Great Xia Nation and even the entire human race, then it's worth pursuing!"
After hearing Wang Lishan's words, the big figures in the room nodded in agreement.
While they were curious about Lin Chen's ability and even yearned for the cultivation world he described, what they cared most about was how many resources and benefits Lin Chen could bring back from the cultivation world, and how it could impact the Great Xia Nation and even the entire human race.
After all, as people in positions of power, they represented not only their own interests but also the interests of the entire Great Xia Nation and its hundreds of millions of people.
At this point, an elder in the audience asked:
"Wang, do we have detailed information about this Lin Chen?"
"With such an important ability, I think we need someone completely trustworthy…"
After hearing this, Wang Lishan looked toward the side and waved his hand.
Soon, a female secretary walked up to the podium, holding a file and began reporting Lin Chen's detailed information.
"Lin Chen, born in June of the New Era 3006, is still six months away from turning eighteen... He attends Kyoto High School."
"He was selected for the 'Sequence Program,' and is one of the ten Sequence candidates this year…"
"His parents were martial masters, but they died in a martial arts accident ten years ago. He was then raised by his uncle, Lin Jianhe."
"Lin Jianhe is also a military man, who retired five years ago after being injured. He has a daughter…"
"Lin Chen comes from a poor family, but he has outstanding talent and receives scholarship aid from the school every year…"
After hearing the detailed information about Lin Chen, the big figures in the room fell silent.
Both of his parents died in service, and his uncle was injured and retired…
In other words, Lin Chen was the child of martyrs, a genuine descendant of Great Xia military heroes, with a clean background—he was someone very trustworthy!
Wang Lishan, hearing this, also sighed:
"Lin Chen is a determined and patriotic young man… Even though his parents were martyrs, they taught him from a young age to contribute to the Great Xia Nation and humanity."
"And because of that, Lin Chen would report his ability without hesitation!"
After listening to Lin Chen's information, the elder who had previously asked the question sighed:
"Sigh, Lin Chen is a good young man… and the country owes him…"
(End of Chapter)