Chapter 292: The Star Prime's Reward, Drinking Molten Iron |
"Calculating the time, the probability of it being the Marrow of the Morning Star is very high."
Su Chen deduced inwardly. The personnel the Royal Court truly sent to participate in the Celestial Star Assembly had probably set off long ago when it was finalized.
And according to what Jiang Mufeng said, this Black Tortoise King had only set off from the Royal Court not long ago. It seemed to line up perfectly with the time he mentioned the Marrow of the Morning Star to the Ancient King.
Su Chen was quite invigorated. After he mentioned this matter to the Ancient King, the Ancient King hadn't sent him any news, so naturally, he couldn't go and hound him about it either.
However, since the Ancient King hadn't given him accurate news, this matter most likely hadn't been settled yet.
He hoped no accidents would occur...
Chu Ran couldn't help but ask: "Can't he just use a projection to greet him? It's nothing more than going through the motions."
Jiang Mufeng cast a glance at him and shook his head: "How could it be that simple? When they don't want to cause trouble, it would be fine even if the Ancient King didn't go to greet him."
"At a critical juncture like this, being off by even the slightest margin will become one of the reasons for them to make trouble."
Su Chen couldn't help but think—restrained yet compelling, constantly maintaining a delicate balance. This was probably controlled conflict.
"Dammit..." Chu Ran muttered a few words under his breath, though it was unclear what he was saying.
They couldn't influence this matter either, so Wei Zhenghong pulled the topic back to the Peak Star Tournament itself: "Not just Sheng Huaixu, but also Luo Yao; this guy is also a Divine Radiance Tier Star-Seed."
"Moreover, he is someone from the Celestial Vault Order. His sect's unique 'Star Rhyme' can increase class strength to a certain extent. His accumulation is deep and not to be trifled with."
Celestial Vault Order... the last of the Five Great Sects.
Su Chen had specifically looked into the special abilities of the various sects before. He had already come into contact with the Bronze Sect, Profound Heaven Sect, and Sacred Cauldron Sect.
The True Martial Sect excelled in forging weapons. The average strength of the weapons they forged was much higher than those of the same tier, and they had unique insights especially when it came to forging Morning Star Artifacts.
The Celestial Vault Order possessed this power of Star Rhyme, capable of increasing class strength? It was somewhat similar to Divine Power of the Sly Fox...
The topic everyone was discussing gradually landed on who were strong contenders for the position of Star Prime. Several names were brought up; some Su Chen had faintly heard of, while others Su Chen had never heard of at all.
It seemed Old Wei and the others all believed that Qin Yun's matter wouldn't cause any severe negative consequences for the sect, and their focus had all landed on the Peak Star Tournament.
It made sense; as long as the Four Great Sects weren't of one mind with the Royal Court, and the Ancient King's body was fine, the problem wouldn't be big.
Su Chen gradually understood the nuance of the situation, yet heard Jiang Mufeng say: "There's another person you all shouldn't forget: Han Xingliu of the Royal Court!"
"We could forget anyone, but we couldn't forget him," Wei Zhenghong sneered. "This guy's age is perfectly aligned. He'll only be 49 years old two years from now, older than both of those guys. Coupled with the various resources of the Royal Court, his strength is unfathomable."
"It's a pity—" Shen Yi'an seemed somewhat helpless. "A Peak Star Tournament held within our sect has the least suspense, suppressing the influence of mindset, combat experience, and other factors to the absolute minimum."
Hearing Shen Yi'an say this, Su Chen was quite curious, secretly asking Chu Ran what he meant.
Chu Ran responded: "It's because our sect's Challenge System is connected to the Fortune Bronze Core. The margin of error between the simulated Virtual Projection and the true body's strength does not exceed 1%."
"Whether it's the preliminary screening, the mid-stage elimination, or even the final battle, thanks to the existence of the Training Projections, everyone gets more than one chance to fight."
So that was how it was. Su Chen couldn't help but realize.
If it were a conventional tournament with real people fighting one-on-one, strength level was definitely the biggest aspect. But if the difference in strength wasn't too large, mindset and combat experience played a massive role. However, the Bronze Sect's Challenge System was unusual.
One could even challenge 10 times, or 100 times, reducing the influence of factors outside of pure strength to the minimum to ensure the maximum fairness of the results.
However, for the people of the Bronze Sect, this could more or less be considered an advantage.
Su Chen listened for a bit longer and was surprised to discover that while it was expected for Wei Zhenghong, even someone with Shen Yi'an's temperament was quite eager for that position of Star Prime.
He secretly asked Chu Ran again: "Aside from the title, are there any other tangible benefits to this position of Star Prime?"
"Of course there are," Chu Ran's mental fluctuations grew much larger. "The benefits are numerous. If one becomes the Star Prime, the absolute core resources of all the sects will be brought out as rewards."
"For example, our sect's Fortune Bronze Core. Under normal usage, it can only support class requirements up to around the 8th-Tier."
"But if the Ancient King activates it personally, it can assist with requirements for advancing to the 9th-Tier or even the Morning Star Tier. However, even within our sect, those who can use this kind of opportunity are few and far between."
Chu Ran gave an example, and Su Chen grew thoughtful.
Chu Ran continued his narration with great enthusiasm: "Such as the Sacred Cauldron Sect's top-tier potion that takes several years to concoct, which can even temporarily elevate one's talent. There's also the True Martial Sect's forging opportunity; as long as you provide the materials, they can even forge a Morning Star Artifact..."
"And then there are the other sects and the Royal Court..."
"The rewards truly are numerous..." Su Chen clicked his tongue upon hearing this. Rewards of this scale were extremely precious even to people with the status of Shen Yi'an and Wei Zhenghong, saving them a great deal of resources and energy.
While the two of them conversed privately, the others kept talking endlessly.
Su Chen listened for a while longer before learning that this Han Xingliu was originally planning to come to their Bronze Sect anyway. As for the purpose, it seemed to be for the Profound Heaven Instrument, intending to bring it back to the Royal Court.
However, the incident with Qin Yun interrupted the original itinerary, though he ultimately still came.
Everyone exchanged quite a bit more information. Wei Zhenghong was in a genuinely good mood; when he finally saw them out, a grin remained on his face the entire time.
On Cloud Dragon Star, the Qin Family Compound covered an extremely vast area. Tall buildings and skyscrapers dotted the region, and various aerial flight paths had to detour around it from far away.
But outside the metal gates, the atmosphere was very tense.
Wu Feng was leading people from the Punishment Hall in a standoff against the people of the Qin Family, the expressions on both sides looking quite poor.
At a certain moment, a figure drifted over gracefully, and the Qin Family crowd parted to make way.
Wu Feng looked at the Qin Yun before him with a heavy expression, frowning: "Why won't Venerable let me investigate? I, Wu Feng, will absolutely not target anyone, nor will I show favoritism toward anyone."
"Qin Guang died in the Satellite City, harmed by an Evil God Cultist. This falls exactly within the jurisdiction of my Punishment Hall, yet the Qin Family won't let me intervene. Does Venerable not trust me?"
He rushed over the moment he received the news, but he was constantly blocked outside the Qin Family.
Qin Yun looked at the Wu Feng before her, the expression on her face not changing at all as she shook her head faintly: "Hall Master Wu's character is beyond doubt. However, this matter has nothing to do with anything else; it is purely a lack of trust."
"It is not a lack of trust in Hall Master Wu, but in others. The death of my son is full of suspicious points; there must have been people from within the sect involved. If we use people from within the sect to investigate, they might hear rumors of some sort."
"It is best to leave this matter to my Qin Family to handle ourselves."
Wu Feng's brow furrowed tightly; this reason could not convince him.
But Qin Yun was ultimately still a Venerable, and it was her son who died. If she was unwilling to let him investigate, he had no other recourse. He could only say helplessly: "Since that is the case, we will leave. If Venerable needs anything, simply notify the Punishment Hall."
Qin Yun watched Wu Feng leave, her figure gracefully vanishing once more.
Deep within the Qin Family, Qin Guang's mourning hall was already set up. His corpse was placed in a crystal ice coffin in the center, solemn and respectful.
Qin Tianlin stood to the side. Although his brows were slightly furrowed, there wasn't much sorrow on his face.
Before long, Qin Yun drifted over gracefully. She cast a glance at the corpse in the coffin, a hint of a ripple faintly appearing deep within her eyes, but it quickly faded away.
Her gaze fell upon Qin Tianlin, formless light radiating from her body to envelop the two of them. "Plundering professions... is it really so?"
Hearing this, a hint of excitement couldn't help but surface on Qin Tianlin's face: "Correct. I have already verified it; it indeed can plunder professions. Grandfather, look..."
He reached out a finger and tapped the void, and a phantom, crimson-white Long Spear surfaced. "This Saint Lancer is the initial profession of Dawn's Heaven Punishment."
"I found roughly 20 former Holy Hall members who once underwent Job Entry for Saint Lancer. It took me less than half an hour to extract this profession from them."
An irrepressible excitement painted Qin Tianlin's face as he spoke rapidly: "As long as I find enough people, in one month—no, ten days—I can fuse all the required professions for Dawn's Heaven Punishment into my own body. When I advance to the 7th-Tier, then that will be—"
His words weren't finished before being interrupted by Qin Yun: "Then have you thought about exactly how many people are needed to pave the way for you?"
"This—" Qin Tianlin's expression stalled.
Qin Yun continued: "The initial profession is one thing, and the second sequence or third sequence might still be simple, but what about the fourth sequence? The fifth sequence?"
"Those people are already 7th-Tier, 8th-Tier, or even 9th-Tier. How will you find them?"
It was still the same problem; anyone qualified to come into contact with Holy Classes was at the very least in the Top 100 of the Saint Rankings.
The old, weak, sick, and disabled that Qin Tianlin found previously were actually the minority in the growth process of those guys; the majority had long since reached high tiers.
"Killing 20 7th-Tiers, 20 8th-Tiers, or even personnel still on the Holy List all at once—do you really think the Ancient King is blind?"
"This—" Qin Tianlin stalled, feeling somewhat dissatisfied in his heart. So what if a few people died? If they nurtured him, he would become the strongest Morning Star Tier by a wide margin, perhaps even resulting in the sect gaining another Ancient King.
Qin Tianlin's expression shifted, and he said in a deep voice: "Leaving other Holy Classes aside, Indestructible Vajra is our family's Holy Class..."
"What do you want to do?" Qin Yun's face turned cold. "Pave your path with the blood of our clansmen?"
Hearing these words, Qin Tianlin couldn't help but say: "It's nothing more than sacrificing a few people. Why can't I?"
"If I say no, then it's no," Qin Yun said coldly.
Qin Tianlin's face looked ugly. He didn't know what his grandfather was so afraid of. As long as they were careful not to be caught, with their Qin Family's status, even if others had suspicions, they could only swallow them back into their stomachs.
He couldn't sacrifice his own people, nor could he sacrifice outsiders. Then what use was this ability?
Emotions surged in his heart, but due to Qin Yun's past majesty, he didn't voice any words of rebellion.
Qin Yun cast a glance at him, her tone softening slightly: "Do not be anxious about this matter. Your future is still very long. Do not lose the greater picture for small gains; set your sights further."
"Moreover, whether this ability has hidden dangers is hard to say. Since you have already plundered a profession, wait and see."
"I told you long ago that this grandfather of yours is timid and afraid of trouble. It's impossible for him to put his full effort into nurturing you."
A faint voice suddenly sounded by his ear, making Qin Tianlin freeze.
Looking at Qin Tianlin, who kept his head lowered in silence, Qin Yun emphasized once again: "That fire is bizarre and unpredictable. If any situation arises, tell me immediately. Do you understand?"
Hearing Qin Yun's concerned words, Qin Tianlin couldn't help but raise his head and nod, yet he still couldn't help but say: "Grandfather, couldn't we at least start gathering information first? Even if we don't act, it would be good to have a—"
"Shut up!" Qin Yun's face darkened. Her gaze swept over Qin Guang's corpse, the dissatisfaction in her eyes growing more intense. "Your father just died. Keep vigil for him here first!"
Qin Yun flicked her sleeve and left, leaving only Qin Tianlin standing there, his expression mercurial.
"Do you really think this guy is considering your well-being? He promised me to give this body of yours to me."
"However, I am currently more interested in that Su Chen, which is why I haven't forcibly occupied your body."
"Su Chen?" Hearing this name, Qin Tianlin's face turned even uglier. He silently clenched his fists, his gloomy gaze sweeping over Qin Guang's corpse.
"Are you certain that as long as I follow what you say, I can step by step become the strongest?"
"Naturally, as long as you don't forget to give that Su Chen to me."
"Rest assured." Qin Tianlin's lips curled. "I won't forget."
"Star Seed Su..."
When Su Chen returned to the floating island, someone was already waiting there. It was Song Huo, whom he hadn't seen in a long time. He greeted Su Chen and then handed over a crimson metal box radiating rolling waves of heat.
"The item you wanted."
"Sorry for the trouble," Su Chen accepted it and thanked him.
"No trouble at all, you're too polite," Song Huo said repeatedly, declining Su Chen's invitation before turning and leaving.
"Hmm..." Su Chen looked at the metal box in his hand. The surface was etched with complex symbols flickering with faint light. He seemed to think of something, the corner of his mouth twitching.
Returning to the Training Room, he opened the crimson metal box. The wave of heat instantly distorted his vision, the air rippling like water.
Inside the metal box was a black metal bowl containing a bowl of cyan-red liquid. The scorching temperature distorted the air all around it; it was precisely the melted Heaven-Forged Item.
Fusing a Heaven-Forged Item into one's body—this requirement could be said to be difficult, yet it could also be said to be simple.
In order to save time, he was using the most fanatical method: melting it, drinking it directly, and forcing his body to absorb it.
But even for him, when the moment came, he couldn't help but feel a bit hesitant. The temperature of this thing was even higher than magma.
Su Chen's throat rolled. Just in case, he first integrated his Mastery Secret Tool into his body. Thanks to the characteristic of the Weapon Lord, the physical enhancement from fusing the Mystic Tool was comprehensive, naturally including the throat, esophagus, and the like.
Gritting his teeth, he downed it in one gulp. A burnt aroma mixed with a metallic tang filled his mouth, and the boiling hot liquid slid down his esophagus like molten iron, plunging into his stomach.
There was a faint burning sensation in his abdomen, but he could still withstand it.
"Hmm, it's a good thing I have the Weapon Lord's augmentation, otherwise it would be very hard to withstand it just on my own," Su Chen comprehended.
At the same time, the Stomach of Gluttony was also operating with difficulty, gradually digesting and breaking it down.
The reason he chose this method was because it wouldn't delay his Profession Development Progress; the two were carried out simultaneously.