Chapter 296: An Extremely Casual Inquiry |
"Let's try augmenting it to the 7th-Tier." Su Chen took a deep breath and first liberated the Four Seasons Chakra. Familiar chaos-colored runes spread beneath his skin, wrapping around every single cell.
Immediately, as if his body had been put into a juicer, a continuous stream of Physical Stamina was extracted. It sank into his various Mastery Secret Tools, which existed within his body in an unknown form.
Su Chen took a deep breath. The power surging within his body grew increasingly terrifying, and his face gradually flushed red.
Up until a certain moment, as if reaching some kind of limit, Su Chen's pupils abruptly shrank. He felt as if his body was about to be stretched until it exploded.
Every single pore overflowed with a nearly tangible blood mist. But only upon closer inspection could one realize that it was highly condensed Elemental Power, squeezed out by a body whose strength had been elevated by an unknown amount.
"This feeling... it's too fierce..." Even though Su Chen was prepared, he was still startled.
It wasn't just because he had an extra Thunder-Dash Great Hammer, but also because along with the increase in Tiers, the disparity between Tiers was also increasing.
Augmenting a 6th-Tier Mystic Tool to the 7th-Tier was a much larger leap than from the 5th-Tier to the 6th-Tier, and the resulting augmentations were correspondingly stronger. This could be clearly seen from the consumption of his Physical Stamina.
"Even in the state of liberating the Four Seasons Chakra, I'm afraid I won't be able to last too long."
A muffled boom rang out, like an iron hammer smashing onto an anvil, erupting with blazing sparks.
"I actually smashed a crater into it."
Su Chen was completely unharmed, only the clothes on his body had become tattered again. He looked at the depression in the metal, golden electric arcs still lingering on the edges, his eyes growing increasingly bright and blazing.
This Training Room came with the floating island. It was of standard strength, with its upper limit being the 7th-Tier. In the past, no matter how much he wreaked havoc, he had never left any damage on it.
"Perverted, it's truly too perverted. I've only just advanced." Su Chen couldn't help but mutter. He deactivated the fusion state, and a sense of emptiness assaulted him at once, making him somewhat unaccustomed to it.
"With this level of strength, nine times out of ten I can resolve those mid-level Mist Embers. I wonder if it's an illusion caused by the explosive surge in power."
Su Chen pondered inwardly. After all, he hadn't personally experienced its strength, so it was hard to judge. His Mystic Tools were finished upgrading, and it would be very difficult to improve further in the short term, so he prepared to head over to the Ancient King to test it out.
"But it's still somewhat troublesome to meet the Ancient King."
Su Chen took out new clothes from his Storage Space and put them on. Within the sect, under normal circumstances, there were virtually no channels to see the Ancient King.
"I still have to go through Lao Qing."
He thought for a moment and downed a few mouthfuls of Nutrient Potion. While waiting for his body to recover, he opened his Comm-Bracelet, found Qing Cang, and sent a message over: "Senior Brother, you there?"
He waited for a moment, but there was no response.
"Tch..." Su Chen walked out of the Training Room, arriving outside the Main Building, and looked up at the Satellite City currently under construction.
"I can't possibly go looking for him, where would I even find him?"
He glanced at the chat box, thought for a moment, and drafted another message: "There is a major matter involving the Ancient King!"
The message was sent. In the first second, there was no response.
In the second second, Su Chen abruptly looked up. He only saw a cyan wind pillar slice across the firmament, reaching from heaven to earth, emitting a sharp sound like tearing silk.
His eyelids twitched. In the next second, as if the floating island's defense system didn't exist, a figure fluttered down.
It was precisely Qing Cang. However, his face was as dark as still water, and his mood seemed very poor.
"It shouldn't be that bad, right. Does he still remember what happened last time?" Su Chen muttered secretly.
"You advanced to the 6th-Tier?"
After landing, Qing Cang restrained his expression a bit. His gaze swept over, and he couldn't help but ask in astonishment.
Qing Cang faintly felt that Su Chen seemed somewhat different. It didn't seem to be just because he had advanced to the 6th-Tier, but exactly what it was, he couldn't say.
"This advancement speed of yours..." The words caught in his throat. He was truly curious, but thinking of Su Chen's teasing last time, he ultimately didn't ask.
'Lao Qing's mood isn't very good, but it doesn't seem to be because of me,' Su Chen surmised inwardly. He explained, "I just advanced a couple of days ago, and was thinking of going to find Sect Master to test the intensity of those Mist Embers. I truly couldn't contact you, Senior Brother, which is why I resorted to this last resort."
"No matter..." Sure enough, Qing Cang didn't care about this.
He had seen Su Chen's first message when he sent it, but since he had the free time to spout nonsense with him, it proved it wasn't an urgent matter. Right now, there were a multitude of matters to deal with, and he couldn't be bothered to respond.
But since it involved the Ancient King, no matter how small, it was a major matter.
"However..." Then, Qing Cang hesitated again. "For you to go immediately after just advancing to the 6th-Tier, isn't it a bit too early?"
Su Chen wasn't entirely certain whether his confidence was an illusion produced by advancing to the 6th-Tier, coupled with the explosive surge of power during the Weapon Lord's augmentation, so his response was relatively conservative:
"I also just want to test the intensity first, so I can have a good idea in my heart."
Qing Cang cast him a glance, not believing this excuse. He roughly guessed that it was probably because Su Chen had previously purified Mist Embers, so now that he had advanced to the 6th-Tier, he was naturally impatient to resolve the Ancient King's worries.
As for whether he could accomplish it, Sect Master had already said that he would have to at least be at the 7th-Tier and forge a Holy Class before it was possible.
But he didn't try to dissuade him either. Weren't young people all like this—fearless newborn calves? It was only the outermost Mist Embers, and with Sect Master watching, there shouldn't be any problems.
"Testing it is fine as well. Then I will send you over right now." Qing Cang walked to Su Chen's side and placed a hand on his shoulder. Cyan wind currents rolled outward, and the two shot straight out of the floating island.
'When will I have this kind of extreme speed?' Su Chen couldn't help but feel envious in his heart.
Having advanced to the 6th-Tier, he could now fly, but his speed couldn't be called fast, much less cross vast distances in a short amount of time.
"Senior Brother, you seem to have something on your mind?"
Seeing Qing Cang return to that state of his face being as dark as still water, his brows tightly furrowed, Su Chen considered his words and asked.
Hearing this, Qing Cang's eyes shifted, his voice low and deep. "The Four Great Sects and the Royal Court are arriving together today."
"So fast?" Su Chen couldn't help but freeze when he heard this, looking at the Satellite City he had just brushed past, which was still under construction. "Isn't that Satellite City still not finished being built?"
"The Satellite City primarily accommodates the other factions of the Dust Star Sea, as well as a large number of unaffiliated Professionals. The Royal Court and the Four Great Sects are naturally different."
Qing Cang shook his head, his voice chilling. "The others are one thing, but that old immortal Black Tortoise King, what is he coming to join the excitement for?"
Su Chen thought of his previous conversation with Jiang Mufeng and the others, and couldn't help but ask, "Does Sect Master absolutely have to go and welcome this Black Tortoise King?"
"That old tortoise's seniority is indeed high. The previous generation's Ancient King, Martial Uncle Jin Siye, had a deep friendship with him," Qing Cang said helplessly. Moreover:
"Ever since the Crisis of the Flames occurred, an evil wind would occasionally blow through the Dust Star Sea, claiming that our sect's Starfire is about to be extinguished, and even Sect Master's body has been affected. The problem is immense, and a successor might have to be chosen ahead of time."
Speaking to this point, he cast a glance at Su Chen. "Especially after the anomalous movement of the Ancient King Monument a while ago, coupled with the Royal Court fanning the flames from behind, these rumors have been flourishing again recently."
"Uh..." Su Chen's gaze shifted shiftily. How did this involve him too?
"Sigh." Qing Cang sighed. He didn't mean to blame Su Chen. "These rumors have always been there; the Ancient King Monument was nothing more than an added bonus."
Who told the Ancient Bronze King to almost never appear in the interstellar field of vision after the Crisis of the Flames? It was inevitable there would be slanderous talk.
Qing Cang actually knew Sect Master's situation; it wasn't actually as serious as the outside world claimed. The anomalous movement of the Ancient King Monument was truly because of this kid, Su Chen.
But if he truly didn't appear, even if there was no problem, there would become a problem.
Su Chen pondered for a while and asked probingly, "Can Sect Master truly not even move at all?"
After remaining silent for a moment, Qing Cang finally said slowly, "Twenty years ago, because of Wei Zhenghong's matter, Sect Master left the Ancient King Palace for the first time. That time, it caused the Starfire to be extinguished for three full months."
It also involved Old Wei? Su Chen was somewhat astonished. Only then did he understand that the Ancient King wasn't completely unable to move, but once he moved, the Starfire would be suppressed, thereby leading to its extinguishment.
Qing Cang's voice was chilling. "The arrival time of this group of people was specifically chosen during the Solar Period. What kind of thoughts they have is abundantly clear."
Su Chen appeared thoughtful. This time might merely be a probe, but if they truly probed out something, the next time might not necessarily be a probe anymore.
But the Royal Court and the various Great Sects had indeed brought Star Seeds along, not making it look like they truly wanted to do anything.
This line was grasped to death.
In just a few sentences of conversation, the two had arrived before the Ancient King Palace.
Hmm?
Right after entering, before the words "Sect Master" could even be spoken, Su Chen perceived that the Ancient Bronze King's gaze had already landed on him. His entire body felt as if it had been seen through.
'This cheap Sect Master of mine has definitely seen that my Mental Core is gone.' Su Chen hadn't expected his physical state to be able to deceive the Ancient Bronze King.
"Sect Master." Acting as if he hadn't noticed anything, Qing Cang called out respectfully, "Su Chen has advanced to the 6th-Tier. He specifically came to test the intensity of the Mist Embers wrapping the Starfire."
"En." The Ancient Bronze King didn't seem surprised.
"Then I will take my leave first. The people from the Royal Court and the Four Great Sects should be arriving very soon," Qing Cang said. He was just preparing to leave when he heard the Ancient Bronze King say:
"The Black Tortoise King has history with Martial Uncle Siye. I will personally go and welcome him."
Qing Cang's expression stalled, and he couldn't help but exclaim in shock, "You will go personally? What about the Starfire—"
"It is nothing more than expending some price to maintain it from extinguishing." The Ancient Bronze King spoke casually, but Qing Cang's expression shifted continuously. Even for an Ancient King, the price expended probably couldn't be called small.
Words caught in his throat, but he ultimately didn't speak any words of dissuasion.
This was the best method. He even felt somewhat fortunate, fortunate that Sect Master could at least expend a price to forcefully support the Starfire.
Otherwise, if the Royal Court discovered that Sect Master couldn't even expend a price to keep the Starfire from extinguishing, then their subsequent methods probably wouldn't be polite anymore.
At this thought, Qing Cang couldn't help but feel somewhat sorrowful, saying in a low voice, "It is we who are useless."
"The Crisis of the Flames originated from me. What does it have to do with you all?" The Ancient Bronze King shook his head. Qing Cang remained silent, leaving the Ancient King Palace in a somewhat dazed state.
Only after Qing Cang left did the Ancient Bronze King's gaze fall upon Su Chen again.
A humanoid phantom, just like last time, walked out from his massive body, quite astonished. "What profession did you advance to? Why is your Mental Core gone?"
Su Chen scratched his head, looking utterly bewildered, and spoke with vague prevarication, "I don't know what happened either. When advancing, some kind of anomaly seemed to occur. A crimson figure appeared, and my Mental Core suddenly shattered."
"I was even startled, thinking my advancement had failed."
Su Chen looked to be feeling lingering fear. "And then I perceived that my Mental Core had fused into my body. Afterwards, I looked up a lot of information, but couldn't find any situation related to mine. I was just wanting to ask you what is going on."
Hearing this, the Ancient Bronze King's brow furrowed slightly. "I actually do know, but logically speaking..."
The humanoid phantom walked in circles around Su Chen's body. "Only at the Morning Star Tier does the state of Spirit-Flesh Unity occur. How can you achieve Spirit-Flesh Unity at the 6th-Tier?"
Su Chen's situation was completely unheard of even to the Ancient Bronze King. He walked around him for quite a while. Wisps of imperceptible data light streams sank into Su Chen's body, then returned once more.
"Such high physical strength, not inferior to an ordinary 7th-Tier. You must have undertaken Job Entry for quite a few professions focused on enhancing the physical body." He was quite surprised. No wonder he came itching to act right after advancing.
However, it was still far from enough.
'There is no aura or trace of Evil Gods, so it shouldn't have anything to do with those fellows. A crimson phantom? Is it the spirituality of the Crimson Flame Responding Thunder Great Exalted acting up again?' The Bronze King speculated in his heart. Could it be that because the spirituality of the Crimson Flame Responding Thunder Great Exalted swallowed a portion of Mist Embers last time, such an anomaly occurred?
No one had ever purified Mist Embers either, and given the situation before him, he could only associate it with the Mist Embers.
"Are there any drawbacks to this?" Su Chen asked "cautiously."
"Like this, a major trouble has actually been resolved ahead of time. Spirit-Flesh Unity at the Morning Star Tier is originally a major hurdle. At that time, the strength of the Mental Core will be worlds apart from what you have now, and your physical strength will also be extremely solid. Proceeding with Spirit-Flesh Unity then holds no small amount of danger."
The Ancient Bronze King stated the benefits first, before saying, seemingly somewhat uncertain, "As for the drawbacks, it's just when you advance in the future..."
He had never seen a situation like Su Chen's, and there was no precedent to follow. He pondered briefly before saying, "When you advance to the 7th-Tier, come find me. If any problems arise, I will be able to resolve them for you."
"Many thanks, Sect Master," Su Chen said hurriedly.
The Ancient Bronze King didn't mind. "Then let us go to the Starfire."
Su Chen nodded hurriedly. Just like last time, he was wrapped up by the Ancient Bronze King and headed toward the core of the Starfire.
The blazing light caused Su Chen to narrow his eyes. The Starfire was peeled back layer by layer, arriving in the inner space from last time.
Right as they settled down, the Ancient Bronze King saw Su Chen's gaze staring intently at the Starfire in the distance, and couldn't help but add a bit of caution:
"You are still young. Take your time. You have plenty of time; there is no need to rush this moment."
In his eyes, Su Chen would be able to handle the outermost Mist Embers sooner or later; it was nothing more than a matter of time.
However, he still felt somewhat gratified in his heart. Advancing to the 6th-Tier, Su Chen's first thought was to come and test the intensity of these Mist Embers.
Even if it was currently difficult for him to achieve, he still saw this sentiment in his eyes.
To Su Chen, undertaking this kind of attempt held no benefits, and these were, after all, Mist Embers capable of corrupting the Starfire and eroding spirituality. It wasn't just that tiny bit from last time.
Yet Su Chen was quite expectant in his heart. He didn't know what kind of impact it would cause after these mid-level Mist Embers were devoured by the Great Exalted, nor what kind of reward the Great Exalted would spit out.
"Rest assured, I understand." Su Chen retracted his gaze. At the same time, looking seemingly casual, he asked in an extremely nonchalant manner, "Right, Sect Master, regarding that Marrow of the Morning Star, did the Royal Court agree?"
He appeared casual, but his heart couldn't help but be tense. If the Royal Court refused, then he would be in a bind.
"The Marrow of the Morning Star..." The Ancient Bronze King pondered slightly. "What the Black Tortoise King brought is exactly the Marrow of the Morning Star."