Chapter 444: Hopes of Laundering One's Talent |
"If such methods exist, doesn't that mean a Chosen can be replaced at any time? The competition must be absolutely fierce."
Su Chen couldn't help but think — back in the Dust Star Sea, the phrase "born at the wrong time" was used all too often. No matter how high your talent or how resilient your mind.
If you were born during an era with no vacant Morning Star Spirits, all you could do was wring your hands in helpless frustration.
And killing the existing Chosen wasn't simple either. One misstep would create a blood feud, and the Chosen's faction wouldn't condone it.
But here in High Heaven, none of that was an issue. Not strong enough, not good enough — the Chosen could simply be stripped of the title.
"What about Old Wei and Shen Yi'an..." Su Chen's heart stirred. He couldn't help glancing at the two of them — their expressions even grimmer than before. Chu Lingyuan looked much the same, clearly having reached the same conclusion.
Wei Zhenghong and Shen Yi'an had been impressive in the Dust Star Sea, but in High Heaven, they didn't even qualify for registration.
"Let's go." Qi You looked at Su Chen. "My teacher specifically instructed me. You've just arrived. If you wait until everything's settled before registering, it'll take quite a while."
"Coming." Su Chen could only acknowledge and follow. They walked a short distance before Qi You summoned the rainbow bridge once more.
In a flash, the scenery shifted again. Before his vision even cleared, the noise of a crowd reached his ears.
Before him lay what appeared to be a plaza, paved with pale jade bricks that gleamed with cold light. Rainbow shimmer trickled through the cracks between the stones, as if countless fine threads were weaving through the seams.
People streamed endlessly — some arriving via rainbow light, others descending from the firmament above. Their appearances were wildly varied: one had some sort of star beast perched on their shoulder; another wore metallic mechanical armor. Su Chen even spotted an elder with two leaves growing from the top of his head.
All were converging toward the towering ring-shaped building complex at the plaza's center.
Su Chen swept his gaze around, then couldn't help asking, "Brother Qi You, this rainbow light doesn't seem to be a standard mode of transportation."
"You mean the rainbow bridge?" Qi You's steps paused slightly. He nodded. "Correct. The rainbow bridge isn't freely available — it costs a small amount of 'Spirit Essence' per use."
"Spirit Essence?" Su Chen had his suspicions. "Brother Qi You, what exactly is Spirit Essence?"
"Hmm..." Qi You tilted his head slightly and said, "You seem to be the Bronze Heaven Lord's student. There's no need to call me 'Lord.' Just address me as 'Senior Brother.'"
"Senior Brother Qi You." Su Chen was naturally happy to close the distance.
Qi You nodded and continued walking, explaining as they went, "Spirit Essence is effectively the high-level universal currency of High Heaven — and the entire Abyssal Void. It's derived by splitting Faith Essence."
"One portion of Faith Essence can be split into one hundred Spirit Essence points. You should know what Faith Essence is."
"I do." Su Chen nodded, somewhat surprised. He'd heard from the Remnant Spirit before that Faith Essence was extremely important even in the Abyssal Void. Now it seemed "important" was a massive understatement.
One portion of Faith Essence, decomposed into a mere hundred Spirit Essence points — which was to say, a hundred rainbow bridge uses. Tsk...
"Since it's that widely used, there must be more ways to refine it beyond just extracting it from Evil Gods." Su Chen mused quietly as he followed Qi You toward the great hall ahead.
"Martial Uncle Qi You..." Someone at their side paused and greeted Qi You, who merely gave a simple nod in return.
Su Chen could clearly sense the other person's gaze lingering repeatedly on him after greeting Qi You. They'd obviously guessed where he was from.
At first, no one paid them much attention. But as more and more people greeted Qi You, the attention drawn their way steadily increased.
And at least half of that attention was directed at him. The gazes varied — scrutinizing, appraising, curious, indifferent — a full spectrum.
Su Chen wasn't surprised. As newcomers, it was natural for people to be curious about Bronze Heaven.
After walking with Qi You for a stretch, he asked quietly, "Senior Brother Qi You, is High Heaven's screening really this strict? Even Star Amber doesn't qualify to become a Morning Star?"
'Our High Heaven...' This fellow slips into character fast. Doesn't seem like a young man at all, Qi You thought with some surprise. He nodded. "It's not that High Heaven is strict per se — it's that the ceiling for non-Divine Dawn talents is simply too low."
"Even dual Star Amber talents can rarely temper more than nine strands of Morning Fire. And since there's no shortage of Divine Dawn talents, why let Star Amber-grade individuals into the mix?"
"I see..." Su Chen fell into thought. The Dust Star Sea lacked Ascension Refining methods and hadn't explored the Morning Star tier sufficiently.
After becoming a Chosen, one could almost certainly advance to Morning Star. But how far one could go after that was extremely hard to predict.
Of course, the most crucial part was the second half of that statement — 'no shortage of Divine Dawn talents.' Only such abundance gave them the right to be so wealthy and overbearing about it.
"Then by that logic, only True Radiance talent holders have the right to compete for Radiant Moon Spirits?" Su Chen extrapolated further.
"Correct." Qi You walked at a measured pace. Though the ambient noise was a low murmur all around them, his voice reached Su Chen with perfect clarity.
"Does High Heaven possess methods for talent metamorphosis? Like metamorphosing from Divine Dawn to True Radiance?" Su Chen seized the opportunity to ask.
He could clearly sense Qi You's peripheral gaze sweeping over him after that question. After a moment's deliberation, the reply came: "Methods for talent metamorphosis naturally exist. As for metamorphosing from Divine Dawn to True Radiance — that too can be done. But the cost is far from trivial."
At this, he seemed to hesitate, as if wanting to say more. But upon noticing Su Chen's quiet sigh of relief, he ultimately held his tongue.
He could roughly deduce Su Chen's thinking — likely hoping to advance to True Radiance in order to inherit the Bronze Heaven Lord's position and keep the lineage from slipping to outsiders.
However, while becoming a Chosen in the Dust Star Sea might be a permanent arrangement, in High Heaven things were different. Even after being Chosen, one couldn't afford to rest — one had to defend their position.
Even if Bronze Heaven had priority selection rights, that didn't mean their Chosen couldn't be challenged and dethroned.
But he didn't voice these concerns. He hadn't known Su Chen long enough, and saying such things might lead to unnecessary misunderstandings.
'As long as it exists...' Su Chen relaxed considerably. Speculation was just speculation — it needed to be confirmed. If High Heaven didn't have talent metamorphosis methods, the situation would have been rather troublesome.
With the Bronze Sect's reserves, they could certainly afford the cost.
"I need to launder my professional tier and talent as quickly as possible. Otherwise, I'll have to tread carefully at every turn. And the Taixuan House doesn't have many surviving members — if they sift through every single one and still can't find Taixuan Hong, someone's going to realize he might not be a Taixuan at all..."
Su Chen's brow furrowed. That was a major hidden danger. But capturing every last fugitive would hardly be a quick endeavor.
"Focus on the immediate first..." he thought. "The key question is the method. If it's not some under-the-public-eye metamorphosis, the metamorphosis opportunity could be stockpiled and given to someone else."
His reason for hiding was the bombshell alter ego of Taixuan Hong. Others didn't share that concern.
Even if the Bronze Sect later produced a Divine Dawn talent who then "mysteriously" metamorphosed to True Radiance, it wouldn't invite suspicion.
Su Chen was tempted to inquire about the specific metamorphosis method, but Qi You was vague and evasive — clearly it touched on certain secrets.
The two chatted desultorily as they arrived before the grand hall. Eight massive jade pillars rose from the ground, faintly coursing with pale cyan streaking light, supporting the imposing palace above. People came and went in great numbers.
"Senior Brother Qi You?"
A tall, burly man with a big beard strode over, clearly on familiar terms with Qi You. "What brings you to the Yingyuan Office?"
"Junior Brother Jiang..." A faint smile appeared on Qi You's face. "I'm bringing Bronze Heaven's Star Seed, Su Chen, for registration."
'Star Seed?' The same term. The Dust Star Sea's founders had come from the Abyssal Void, and many designations had carried over.
Su Chen discreetly studied the big-bearded man before him. His vital aura was astonishingly vigorous — obviously also a Morning Star.
How many Morning Stars might High Heaven hold? Su Chen privately speculated.
"Bronze Heaven's Star Seed..." The big beard's eyes flickered, his gaze settling on Su Chen.
"Senior Brother Jiang..." Su Chen hesitated briefly, then offered a greeting.
"Quite the elevated seniority." The big beard nodded, gave a perfunctory response, then withdrew his gaze. "I'll leave you to it, then."
With that, he headed for the exit.
"A Morning Star from Eternal Dragon Heaven..." Qi You's voice suddenly sounded in his ear.
It was a psionic transmission. Su Chen gave a slight nod, but noticed Qi You's deep gaze lingering on the departing figure for a moment before pulling away.
The hall was crowded. It appeared to be a task exchange hub, divided into individual counters. But the ones manning them were metallic pixiu — six sharp-angled mechanical legs planted firmly on the ground, surfaces gleaming with cold metallic luster.
Embedded in each one's forehead was a constantly rotating miniature holographic projector, casting pale blue light patterns.
When someone stepped up, holographic symbols would appear. Some people presented plants wreathed in mist; others dragged out bloody corpses, which the metallic pixiu swallowed whole in a single bite.
Qi You brought him to one of the few manned windows. The person inside had noticed Qi You's entrance and was already sitting at attention, fully prepared.
"Star Seed registration." Qi You motioned for Su Chen to step into the forefront, where he was enveloped in a framework of pale blue light that seemed to shield against external probing.
"Right away, one moment." The worker's gaze carried a hint of curiosity as it swept across Su Chen. He reached out and produced a white jade token.
"Your name, age..." he asked.
"Su Chen, twenty-seven by traditional reckoning."
The worker traced a symbol in midair that merged into the token. Faintly, runic light flickered in his pupils.
"Divine Dawn, 7th... 7th-Tier?"
Upon discovering Su Chen's professional tier, he looked rather stunned. After a moment, he recovered and entered the relevant data.
"Simpler than I imagined..." Su Chen relaxed. He'd expected some rigorous examination.
Instead it was just a casual probe. He estimated this worker's tier was also around 7th.
"Makes sense. Nobody hides their talent. Other than tanking your own benefits, there's nothing to gain." Su Chen muttered to himself.
"Your blood and psionic samples, please."
As he was thinking, two containers were pushed through the window.
'Blood?' Su Chen's heart tightened. His physical form was concealed not only by Shadow of the Past but also by the Ancient King's techniques. Ordinary people wouldn't notice anything.
But an 8th-Tier person's blood was completely different from a 7th-Tier's.
"What are the blood and psionic samples used for?" Su Chen asked with feigned ignorance.
The worker explained, "Oh, the blood is primarily used for verification at certain core locations. As for the psionic sample, that's for confirming life or death status."
Su Chen naturally knew what the blood and psionic samples were for — joining the Bronze Sect had involved a similar procedure. Asking was simply a way to sidestep this step.
"I see." He put on a conflicted expression. "Does it have to be done right now? I'd like to wait for my Master to return..."
"Well..." The worker was visibly hesitant, glancing at Qi You.
Qi You's expression shifted slightly. "It's fine. He can supplement it later."
He understood what Su Chen was being cautious about. Bronze Heaven had just arrived. Being asked to immediately hand over blood and psionic samples — sensitive bodily materials — naturally warranted some wariness.
Even explaining that there was no harm in providing them would be meaningless. Besides, skipping this step only inconvenienced Su Chen himself.
His teacher's instructions had been fulfilled. This minor matter could be supplemented later.
With someone vouching for him, the worker didn't press further. He presented the white jade token with both hands and reminded, "This item is activated by psionic power. It connects you to all of High Heaven, grants passage in and out of the Nether Realm, distributes resources, and serves as the basis for accessing all facilities."
"If lost, please come in immediately to deregister it."
"Additionally, your resource allotment will be distributed through this item."
'In and out of the Nether Realm?'
Su Chen reached out and accepted it, catching the implication hidden in the worker's phrasing. The Nether Realm seemed to hold considerable importance here. Otherwise, he wouldn't have specifically mentioned it.
As psionic power flowed into it, a virtual screen immediately appeared—
[Su Chen]
[Star Seed of Bronze Heaven]
[Spirit Essence: 0]
[...]
Like an identity card. Su Chen understood. There were many sub-pages above, but now clearly wasn't the time to explore them.
He put it away casually. Qi You spoke up at the right moment. "You don't have any Spirit Essence yet. I'll escort you back."
"Thank you, Senior Brother Qi You." Su Chen said, following him out.
Quite a few gazes had been tracking him throughout. After watching him leave, people immediately crowded around the worker at the window. "Feng Yuan, that was Bronze Heaven's Star Seed, right?"
"Who else could it be?" Feng Yuan glanced at the crowd pressing in.
"So what's his deal?" someone asked curiously. Even those standing further away tilted their ears to listen. From the Star Seed level, one could roughly extrapolate Bronze Heaven's overall strength.
"Twenty-seven years old, 7th-Tier..." Feng Yuan said.
"What?" The hall erupted with surprise and chatter.
"A 7th-Tier at twenty-seven?"
"That powerful. True Radiance?"
"No, actually." Feng Yuan chuckled. "His talent is Divine Dawn."
"Divine Dawn?"
The surprise on their faces was replaced by skeptical frowns.
"How could a Divine Dawn talent advance to 7th-Tier at twenty-seven?"
A middle-aged man stroked the green vine coiling around his left hand, musing. "It's not impossible. He's from an outer realm, after all. They might not place importance on Holy Classes, or perhaps they lack strong Ascension Refining methods. If he advanced only his main profession, with dedicated effort, it could indeed be achievable."
The Abyssal Void frequently discovered outer realms. Their cultivation systems were generally backward — most didn't even have a classification for Holy Classes.
"True... we can't apply the Abyssal Void's standards."
The crowd came to their senses. Some remarked with pity:
"So this Bronze Heaven Star Seed is at a pretty big disadvantage. He's already 7th-Tier — trying to supplement his Holy Classes now would be quite late. Unless he's willing to pay a steep price and build them up slowly."
Others couldn't resist gloating. "Tsk, focused purely on his main profession? His actual combat strength might not even match mine. He probably can't hold onto his Chosen status. The other Heavens have plenty of Divine Dawn talents hungry for a shot."
"You're overthinking it." The middle-aged man from before shook his head. "High Heaven has rules. For newly joined factions like Bronze Heaven, existing Star Seeds are covered by protective provisions. They're not subject to challenge."