Chapter 499: Is Su Chen Trying to Snatch a Cheap Victory? |
Sure enough, after obtaining the Azure God Rebirth Technique, finding analogies through it, The Unsullied finally had a reaction.
Su Chen scanned through it and briefly compared them.
"The Unsullied didn't waste its efforts either. The original Azure God Rebirth Technique was too cumbersome, required numerous materials, and also needed ritual assistance. It would take a lot of energy to truly collect them all. Moreover, it had to be done step by step, with every step carrying risks."
The Unsullied's method massively reduced the materials. Furthermore, it wasn't required to integrate a material into the body the moment it was collected. Like before, it could complete the metamorphosis all at once, saving the pressure of time constraints.
More importantly, unlike the materials for the Azure God Rebirth Technique, no one would cause any trouble or delay his time throughout the whole process.
"The Azure God Rebirth Technique seems to be based on the Five Elements, while The Unsullied's is a metamorphosis of flesh and blood. The Unsullied's is still better..."
Su Chen couldn't help but nod, but heard Old Yuan's phantom image speak: "Additionally... the Dao Sovereign and the other Radiant Suns have urgent matters. They won't return for at least three to two years, and at most five to six years."
Hearing this, Su Chen felt even more secure. Old Yuan also knew that a Radiant Sun could see through it, and even managed to find out the approximate time of the Dao Sovereign's return. Old Yuan was still the kindest...
"Many thanks, Sect Master," he said, bowing.
"These materials..." Su Chen focused his gaze on the materials needed for the Azure God Metamorphosis. He hadn't even heard of the vast majority of them.
He tried searching within High Heaven. The vast majority had no stock, except for one.
[Mysterious Mother Soul Core: Quoted price is four thousand five hundred portions of Faith Essence. It might only be born within the Great Return to Ruins Realm, accompanying the Profound Mother Fetal-Membrane. It can mold Spiritual Sacred Classes and assist in catalyzing characteristics.]
"Four thousand five hundred..." Su Chen's cheek twitched. "That's already more than the Profound Limit Celestial Light."
"No, the Profound Limit Celestial Light is only needed for the True Radiance metamorphosis. This is for the Azure God metamorphosis; this price is actually... normal."
He noticed that this thing accompanied the Profound Mother Fetal-Membrane, and the Profound Mother Fetal-Membrane was an important material for the Azure God Rebirth Technique. He roughly guessed who was selling it.
Su Chen searched on the Abyssal Void network again and found two types: [Imperishable Bone], [Nine-Orifice Flesh Lingzhi Heart].
The quoted prices were three thousand five hundred portions of Faith Essence and four thousand two hundred portions of Faith Essence respectively.
Just these added up, the number of Faith Essence portions spent would already exceed ten thousand.
"The total for these five materials is probably heading towards twenty thousand..." Su Chen only felt a toothache. "That's enough to buy ten portions of Cinders to temper twelve streams of Morning Fire."
But calculating carefully, his expression became somewhat strange. After all, if he could metamorphose into an Azure God, nine times out of ten he could become a Moon Seed and advance to Radiant Moon.
No matter what, its value was much higher than a Morning Star.
"It seems like it's not that much after all." Su Chen sighed. "As long as I have Faith Essence, I can buy these materials. It's just the remaining two that I can't find for now."
"For now, I'd better pick up the Faith Essence right at my feet first."
Su Chen restrained his thoughts and entered the Nether Realm again. He arrived at the property he purchased and set up some arrangements.
Then, he suddenly opened the status panel to the dispatch page, gave strong hints for those five materials one by one, and then his consciousness descended into his clone.
Anyway, next he only needed to wait, letting his body train on its own. He controlled the clone to head to the black market to see if he could find the remaining two materials.
......
Time passed in a flash.
On this day, Su Chen's main body opened his eyes. The floating dragon and tiger figures around him trembled and all returned to his body.
"35%..."
He first checked his development progress. Su Chen then stood up. He had controlled his clone to wander outside for more than half a month. The time was too short, so he didn't have any major harvests.
Of the remaining two of the five materials, he only found one in the black market—[Spirit-Nurturing Marrow], valued at four thousand seven hundred portions of Faith Essence.
Moreover, no one was selling it currently. The last time someone sold it traced back to five years ago.
These things basically all had the ability to enhance Sacred Classes and catalyze characteristics, making them extremely valuable.
"Let's take it slowly... Maybe one day, a dispatch will give me a surprise." Su Chen opened the dispatch page and gave strong hints again.
Normally, the state of the Seven-Branch Wondrous Tree was primarily [Pentaelemental Rotation], which could greatly enhance the synergy of the dispatched professions.
"The Abyssal Hidden Star Ranking update is today. I wonder what the situation is." Su Chen left the house and headed to the Martial Proof Hall.
The Abyssal Hidden Star Ranking updates were also conducted in the Martial Proof Hall, which was connected to the Cosmic Void from there.
As long as they went through the specialized equipment, whether they were members of the Five Pillars or other ordinary factions, everyone could fight with their true bodies.
"This Xu Yingshen has actually defeated five guys who obtained the Recognition of the Three Dragons... It's only been two months..."
On the way, Su Chen browsed the Selection Ranking List. This guy's probability of obtaining the selection jumped straight to 10%. After all, he had walked the furthest on the Ordained Path.
Chang Geming had only defeated three.
"However, the most fierce one is still Qin Guanyu. His probability has actually reached 15%, and he defeated a Morning Star with the Recognition of the Three Dragons..."
Su Chen was quite amazed. Qin Guanyu's strength was top-tier to begin with. Including Mingxin, no one could pat their chest and guarantee a 100% victory against this guy.
Therefore, no one had challenged him all along. The one person he defeated was an opponent he sought out himself, also a Morning Star belonging to High Heaven.
"...If Qin Guanyu continues with this momentum, making the Spirit of the Vast Sun believe no one can contend against him, after completing the Ordained Path, he might instantly become the Chosen One..."
Su Chen didn't know who wrote the comments behind the selection probabilities, but it was clearly drawing aggro towards Qin Guanyu.
There were already few Morning Stars who had obtained the Recognition of the Three Dragons. It would probably be difficult for this guy to finish it for a long time.
Having roughly caught up with the news over the past month, Su Chen walked out of the residential area. He immediately noticed something unusual and scanned his surroundings.
People were coming and going, and the professionals in the firmament were flying about rapidly, their movements hasty.
His eyes flickered: "There are exceptionally many people today. Is it because of the Abyssal Hidden Star Ranking update?"
He soon arrived at the Martial Proof Hall. Unsurprisingly, there were indeed many people here, gathering in twos and threes. The firmament was even packed with people, waiting for the update to begin.
Those top-tier guys were all seeking the selection of the Sovereign of the Purple Zenith, but the middle and upper-middle tiers of the younger generation still attached great importance to this matter.
If they could squeeze into the top hundred, there would be some benefits.
This Abyssal Hidden Star Ranking update could not be concluded in a single day; its duration lasted for a full month. If one missed the starting time, they could still participate later, but the number of battles would be fewer, which might affect their ranking.
And the reason he came right at the beginning was because he had never been on the leaderboard before. For his first time participating in the update, he had to go through the whole process.
"Su... Chen?"
Not far away, someone suddenly called out, looking quite astonished.
His face was not unfamiliar in High Heaven; after all, he was still hanging at rank one on the Lingxiao Hidden Star Ranking.
Moreover, he was also on the Selection Ranking List, with the comment about being exceptionally favored by the Spirit of the Vast Sun. It was hard not to recognize him.
"Who?"
"Su Chen?"
"Why is he here."
"He couldn't be here to participate in the Abyssal Hidden Star Ranking update, right?"
"......"
Voices overlapped. Originally, everyone was discussing their own topics, but with Su Chen's arrival, the topics quickly converged into one.
Many people nearby even consciously made way for a path leading straight to the front row of the Martial Proof Hall.
Is this really necessary... Su Chen was inwardly speechless, but had to walk over calmly, with numerous gazes following his back.
"It's truly incredible. This person has been in High Heaven for almost a year now, right? This is my first time seeing him in person. Even Tong Zhuo, and Zhong Yue who is undergoing Azure God Metamorphosis, I've seen more than once..." Someone whispered: "He's too capable of enduring loneliness."
"Is he really planning to participate in the update?"
"Why not? He defeated Tong Zhuo head-on. Chang Geming, Xu Yingshen—they are all seeking the Sovereign of the Purple Zenith's selection, they have no time to participate at all."
"In other words, among the people participating in the update this time, nine times out of ten no one is his match. He might be able to snatch first place."
"Holy crap, it seems so. Not nine times out of ten, it's simply set in stone." Someone realized and let out an exclamation of surprise.
"How many years has it been since someone from our High Heaven got first place on the Abyssal Hidden Star Ranking?"
"But isn't he afraid of accidents occurring? It's not like when he first arrived at Bronze Heaven. His intelligence is already flying everywhere. If any one of the top three participates, wouldn't he be finished?"
The discussions were endless. Although failing in this kind of leaderboard update naturally wouldn't pose any danger to one's life—with the Martial Proof Hall around, they wouldn't even be left with injuries.
But if he ran into another recognized individual, the impact of the battle's outcome would be too great.
"Although those guys nine times out of ten won't participate, it's not like there are no risks. There's no need to gamble."
Someone shook their head and suddenly proposed a guess: "If standing from Su Chen's perspective, naturally there's no need to gamble. But what if standing from Bronze Heaven's perspective?"
"If no one from the top five or top three participates, and Su Chen gets first place, the harvest Bronze Heaven can obtain is simply too massive."
"Even if an accident occurs, someone participates and defeats Su Chen, he'd still be at least second place. Bronze Heaven's gains would still be substantial."
"For Bronze Heaven, this is a sure-win business. As for being the Chosen of the Sovereign of the Purple Zenith, although Su Chen is young, it's exactly because he's too young. How would those tiger- and wolf-like guys give him time to grow?"
"Rather than chasing that illusory possibility, it's better to grab the immediate benefits..."
His voice was neither loud nor soft, but many people heard it and revealed thoughtful expressions.
Indeed, looking at it from Bronze Heaven's perspective, this looked like a sure-win business no matter what. Why wouldn't they let Su Chen participate?
"To think the teacher forced Su Chen to participate in the Hidden Star Ranking update..." In another corner, Wei Zhenghong's face looked somewhat ugly.
"Venerable Chu Lingyuan is not that kind of person. Perhaps this is Su Chen's own idea." Shen Yi'an shook his head, feeling deep respect.
After all, even if the hope of becoming the Chosen of the Sovereign of the Purple Zenith was slim, it was still a Radiant Sun. If he missed this opportunity, it would be gone. There was indeed no need to take even the slightest risk.
Wei Zhenghong's expression also softened, but he was still somewhat uncertain. His teacher was indeed not this kind of person, but the problem was, they weren't in the Dust Star Sea right now.
Compared to the other Heavens, Bronze Heaven was simply too weak and urgently needed to accumulate foundation.
The two of them were too far away from Su Chen and didn't think of squeezing through.
"Su Chen actually came..." In another corner, Tan Qingzhu concealed her figure and silently and stealthily walked out of the crowd, secretly grinding her teeth: "This guy actually wants to snatch a cheap victory too."
She naturally also had the idea of taking advantage of the fact that not many experts were participating to ruthlessly shoot up the rankings and get some benefits.
But seeing Su Chen's arrival, she could only extinguish this thought. If the two of them were matched together, her status of having the Recognition of the Three Dragons would also be ruined. She was still counting on this status to get some benefits.
Not just her, if one looked across the entire Martial Proof Hall, one could see several others quietly leaving.
"Su Chen..."
At the front of the Martial Proof Hall, Qi You turned around somewhat surprised, looking at Su Chen who was walking over.
"Senior Brother Qi You." Su Chen nodded.
"Why did you come?" Qi You was more or less somewhat puzzled.
"Can't I come?" Su Chen asked back.
"It's not that, it's just..." Qi You paused, didn't say much, and smiled: "This is indeed an opportunity. Our High Heaven hasn't had anyone rank first on the Abyssal Hidden Star Ranking in many years. If Junior Brother succeeds, it's also a great fortune."
He couldn't be bothered to figure out why Su Chen took the risk to participate. It might be for Bronze Heaven, or it might be for other reasons. To him, it didn't matter.
This leaderboard had no connection whatsoever with competing for the Chosen. Even if Su Chen got first place, it wouldn't increase his probability of becoming the Chosen by even a tiny bit.
"Then I'll borrow Senior Brother's auspicious words." Su Chen's superficial courtesy was naturally impeccable.
The two didn't have much to say. Qi You came because there were too many people, and a Morning Star needed to hold the fort to prevent any accidents.
Time passed minute by minute, and the discussions about Su Chen from the crowd behind did not cease, but instead became increasingly heated.
"This person is acting so grandly and openly; isn't he afraid of being sniped?"
"Sniped?" Someone sneered, full of an "I have seen through everything" expression, and commented:
"This is exactly where Su Chen is brilliant. Only the top five, or even the top three, can snipe him. If the fourth-ranked thinks about sniping him, will he consider whether the third-ranked will also snipe? What if he doesn't snipe Su Chen and runs into the third-ranked instead? What then?"
"He might instead extinguish the thought because of this. The only person who fears nothing is Chang Geming, but back when facing Taixuan Hong, he and Su Chen were the only two who didn't make a move."
"With that person's personality, he might have some feeling of mutual appreciation and won't necessarily go snipe him."
"In that case, this grandness is actually an advantage?"
"..."
What nonsense are they spouting... Su Chen listened to the faint clamor coming from behind, feeling quite speechless inwardly.
"It's starting, you can go in." Qi You suddenly spoke. The Martial Proof Hall trembled slightly, faintly rippling. Thick pillars of light extended from the void, piercing into it, connecting with the Cosmic Void system.
It's finally starting... Su Chen took a step forward and disappeared from there.
He's truly bold, or does he really have no intention of competing for the Chosen position?
Su Chen used to live in seclusion, and even people in High Heaven rarely ran into him, let alone those from the Outer Pillars. But right now, no matter where one was, they could fight with their true bodies. I'm afraid some people might think of eliminating this threat.
After all, the four words "exceptionally favored" still carry some hidden dangers... Qi You's gaze was profound. The flow of people beside him crisscrossed, also entering one after another.
Inside the Martial Proof Hall, white mist surged before his eyes, and a familiar holographic screen appeared before Su Chen. "Star Seed Su Chen, because this is your first time participating in the Abyssal Hidden Star Ranking update, your High Heaven Star Potential Ranking position will temporarily be used as a reference."
"Because you are ranked first on the High Heaven Star Potential Ranking, you will skip the initial positioning. Matched opponents will be within the top ten range, expanding sequentially over time. Do you have any adjustment suggestions?"
"Quite intelligent..." Su Chen raised his eyebrows. "No suggestions."
"Matching target, please wait..."
The holographic screen changed, and three small dots appeared, blinking sequentially.