Atlas of Heaven and Man.

Chapter 1474 A Close Meeting at the Imperial Palace

After leaving the square, Chen Chuan got into Fan Zhentong's private car, which was there to pick him up, and drove into Zhongjing City.

As everyone watched the two leave, Peng Jinghui stood there silently, while several members of the Secret Cult Review Bureau looked at him with some sympathy.

They just received news that this person has been temporarily suspended from their duties.

It's obvious that this person was intentionally pushed out as a scapegoat, and someone was waiting for problems to arise so they could push him into a trap while simultaneously distancing themselves from the situation.

Fortunately, that person didn't seem to care, otherwise, their future might not have been so good.

They and the others present watched the departing car with awe in their eyes. The Supreme Security Advisory Group—entering that place meant standing at the pinnacle of power in the Great Shun Dynasty.

Inside the car, Fan Zhentong said, "The power of the Domestic Fighters Council comes from the authorization of the advisory group."

However, the council is also a member of the World Fighters Council, and councils from different countries also exchange representatives, so they are sometimes inevitably affected by international factors.

Through such procedures and frameworks, fighters from smaller countries can be coerced and managed by larger powers. Our Great Shun, as a large power, is also a beneficiary, but sometimes we are inevitably affected as well.

Chen Chuanchuan said: "Mr. Fan is saying that the arrival of that Director Peng was influenced by international forces."

Fan Zhentong said, "There are definitely internal ones involved, but at most they play a role in fueling the fire. They can't find any evidence against us. Of course, they can be investigated if they want to, but it depends on your attitude, Consultant Chen."

If you want to get to the bottom of this, you can get rid of a group of people, but as long as the organization is still there, the interest groups behind it will still be there, and essentially nothing will change.

As the organization that manages fighters, the most useful thing the council has for fighters is that set of rituals. By following the rituals step by step to advance to the highest level, they will receive certain benefits.

This might be useful to ordinary people, but not to us. Once Consultant Chen holds your inauguration ceremony, the benefits you'll receive will only be greater, and you won't need to go through those ritualistic steps.

As he spoke, he reached into the nearby refrigerator and took out a bottle of chilled beverage, poured a glass and handed it to Chen Chuan, "Jade Heart, a new drink from the Advisory Group Service Agency, have a try."

Chen Chuan took it, took a sip, and instantly a refreshing, cool sensation permeated his entire body.

But this was just incidental; I could feel a slight boost in spirits and a minor improvement.

This is no simple feat. At his current level, even a slight improvement would be extremely difficult, yet this drink manages to do so. Unsurprisingly, the ingredients inside are from beyond the heavens.

Fan Zhentong also poured himself a drink, but judging from his expression, the drink seemed quite ordinary, not something particularly rare.

He added, "Advisor Chen, since you were unwilling to come back before, the advisory group, for the sake of face, did not announce the list of advisors who joined this year in advance."

Therefore, many people are probably unaware of your situation, which gives some people room to test the waters.

Chen Chuan had also been thinking about how the advisory group planned to operate this time.

Since he was appointed by Tian Shu, directly announcing the list would conflict with the people previously recommended by the advisory group, which would inevitably lead to speculation and questions. It seems simple now, so the advisory group simply decided not to announce it.

Although this is different from the usual practice, no one is going to question the advisory group's actions, so it's been overlooked.

He asked, "Is no one questioning this?"

"Of course there are."

Fan Zhentong said, "The two advisors, who come from the nature school, have been questioning this matter."

However, the five-person advisory group agreed to this approach, so in the end, the voices of the two individuals were silenced.

Chen Chuan pondered for a moment and concluded that this was probably to save face for the advisory group and protect its overall interests. It seemed that this was a consensus among most of the advisory group members, or at least the group members.

However, if he gets there, there will definitely be no "you're nice to me, I'm nice to you" kind of thing.

Those who disagree or do not share the same stance should be removed as soon as possible, since time is running out.

At this moment, he couldn't help but think of what Fan Zhentong had just said and asked, "Mr. Fan just said that nothing can restrain us except ourselves. If there are no restraints at all, some people may be fine, but I can't trust some people."

Fan Zhentong said, “Like you, I don’t trust them either. But although all the advisors are not responsible to those below, they are responsible to those above. If we do not follow the rules set by those above, or if we act too drastically, then Tian Shu will naturally correct our behavior.”

Within the entire political system of Da Shun, one of our responsibilities is to act as Tian Shu's agents in the world. This way, Tian Shu doesn't need to communicate directly with the ruling government; it only needs to convey its opinions to the advisory group. And if we have any problems or do anything that disrupts the overall situation, the higher-ups can see it and directly correct it. Chen Chuan nodded, understanding now that the advisory group's members came from recommendations from below, while the power came directly from above.

Power comes from force, so the advisory group undoubtedly occupies the top position in the country, and resources will inevitably be concentrated in their favor.

In this way, they don't need to do anything excessive, because they already have what they need. On the contrary, as beneficiaries, they need to try their best to stabilize the current situation and prevent it from being disrupted.

Fan Zhentong then briefly explained the situation of the advisory group to him:
"After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the advisory group initially consisted of only five members, all of whom were appointed by higher authorities. Later, the number of members gradually increased."

The biggest changes have occurred in the last thirty years. In order to cope with the ever-increasing threat of a major collision, the staff has been expanded several times. Today, there are sixteen advisory members, plus a five-person advisory group.

These consultants come from the five major schools of thought, as well as from state-owned enterprises, the military, and Wu Yi Academy. Occasionally, there are consultants from minor schools of thought, but they are not common.

He explained that since each advisor was essentially a representative of a relevant power, their interests differed, and sometimes even conflicted.

In order to improve efficiency and reach a consensus, a five-person advisory group was selected to mediate internal and external affairs that the advisory group could not decide.

Chen Chuan then had another question: "Since the Great Shun still has such power, it should be able to completely crush the old imperial family. Why not get rid of the old imperial family sooner so that it can buy enough time to develop?"

Fan Zhentong replied: "Leaving aside the conflict of interests and the international situation, if we only talk about the advisory group, simply put, it is because this is the last force of the country, the cornerstone of national stability, and also a reserve force to deal with the international situation and the global environment."

They have obligations not only to their own countries but also to the world. When they first established themselves, they faced a newly formed global order. When they collectively took to the field, it meant that all countries in the world had reached a critical juncture of life and death.

Even after the collapse of the Grand Alliance, this obligation remained due to the constraints imposed by the higher authorities. So, while one or two individuals might be able to act, as a whole, they would not easily mobilize.

Another point is that this isn't the advisory group's primary task.

"Main task?"

Fan Zhentong said in a deep voice: "The primary task of the advisory group is to make a breakthrough as soon as possible and become a member of the upper echelons."

Either make a breakthrough yourself as soon as possible, or dedicate yourself to cultivating and supporting people with potential.

In the current situation, nothing is more important than this.

The reason we don't expect everyone to achieve this goal is because breaking through to the higher levels is extremely difficult. Even for us fighters from the Dongxuan Temple, who have reached the pinnacle of martial arts, the chances of breaking through are still very low.

At this point, his voice turned solemn, "Even with sufficient resources, it's the same."

If it's just a simple defeat, that's fine; it's nothing more than death, disappearance, or a significant reduction in strength. But some people might be bewitched by the other side and become their demons.

Therefore, even as advisors, the advisory group would conduct an assessment before officially preparing to break through to the upper realm. If one's strength, willpower, and foundation were insufficient, theoretically, such an attempt would generally not be permitted under immature circumstances.

Chen Chuan asked, "Theoretically?"

"Yes, only in theory. The higher-ups encourage every advisor to try it out. Even if you become a demon, it doesn't make much difference to the other side whether you have one more or one less. But if you succeed, even if you only have one more high-level power, it will be a substantial enhancement for us."

Hearing this, Chen Chuan pondered for a moment, then looked up and asked, "Mr. Fan, according to the data I've seen, the number of martial arts practitioners in the country has increased relatively slowly over the past decade or so. Considering the loss of personnel, the overall number may have even decreased?"

Fan Zhentong said, "This is mainly a statistical issue. Most of the fighters in our Da Shun come from the five major schools, the military, and state-owned enterprises, etc. But people like you who left the Wu Yi and became fighters through their own training are truly rare. In the past, the data on the surface only counted this group of people."

This is a matter of national security. The strength of a country is directly related to the number of martial artists it has, and this information is not easily known.

Chen Chuan nodded. That made sense. At least when he was in Jibei Province, he couldn't see the real data, let alone the fighters that some private companies and forces secretly trained.

In fact, he could sense it. With the arrival of the Great Collision, there would be more and more talented people. Even so, countries and companies would try their best to increase the number of fighters. However, the control over fighters would become increasingly strict.

Then he thought of something else and looked up to ask, "Mr. Fan, are there many members of the current advisory group who possess the bloodline of the Secret Map?"

……

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(End of this chapter)