Chapter 507: The Financial Backer's Considerations |
"Senior Brother Qing Cang?"
A familiar voice came. Qing Cang regained his senses and looked straight ahead. It was impressively Su Chen, evidently having just received the news and hurrying over.
Behind him followed a few people; Wei Zhenghong and Shen Yi'an were both there.
"Su Chen..." Qing Cang's expression changed, his eyes flickering. Meeting everyone's gaze, he abruptly bowed deeply: "Junior Brother, thank you for this opportunity for Metamorphosis."
Su Chen was startled and subconsciously jumped away, but there was faintly a resistance pressing down from the void. He ignored it, using Sky-Scars to forcefully smash it open.
Boom!
The void actually let out a muffled explosion, air waves rolling, almost blowing Wei Zhenghong and Shen Yi'an away. They stumbled to steady their bodies, their faces looking as if they had seen a ghost.
Fortunately, the exploding air waves were almost instantly suppressed by some kind of power.
Standing on the side, Chu Lingyuan's heart jumped rapidly. What's with this kid's body... I actually couldn't suppress him. Even if it was just a casual suppression, I'm a Morning Star at any rate.
"We are of the same sect, there's no need to talk about these things." Su Chen shook his head. Previously, Lao Qing had also helped him a lot, and he had hollowed out more than half of the Bronze Sect's savings.
Qing Cang had already stood up, his heart inevitably complex. Heaven knows how Unimaginable it was when he received Chu Lingyuan's message.
First of all, he fundamentally didn't expect that a 9th-tier Class User could actually still evolve into a Morning Star, and that this kind of opportunity could actually fall on his head.
The Lifespan limit of a Dual Ninth-Rank was only over six hundred years. But evolving into a Morning Star granted a thousand years. If he could temper more Morning Fires, his Lifespan would naturally be prolonged. To call it the grace of a second life was absolutely not an exaggeration.
Qing Cang's Thoughts couldn't help but return to the Crimson Thunder Planet, and he sighed, "I truly shouldn't have considered testing you back then."
Qing Cang blurted out this sentence out of nowhere, and the expressions of the other few people all changed somewhat.
The matter of Qing Cang originally intending to test Su Chen, leading to a student becoming a Junior Brother, could be said to be widely circulated in the Bronze Sect. The few people present had all heard of it.
The originally somewhat solemn atmosphere instantly dissipated, and even Chu Lingyuan almost couldn't hold it in.
Only Lin Langtian complained a bit. Qing Cang pulling such a stunt without even telling him made it so his steps couldn't keep up, making it awkward whether he should bow or not now.
Su Chen was even more speechless... I treated you as a Senior Brother, but you treated me as a disciple, right?
"How about Senior Brother bows again, I won't dodge this time." Su Chen said exasperatedly.
"Once you miss this village, you won't find this inn again." Qing Cang shook his head.
Chu Lingyuan laughed helplessly and said, "Catalyzing a Morning Star requires several months, so let's not delay. Let's go directly."
After Taixuan Hong's death, Su Chen returned to the Bronze Sect once, so there wasn't much catching up to do now.
And Wei Zhenghong and Shen Yi'an also walked over, their expressions quite excited. They were going to undergo the Divine Radiance Metamorphosis. The method was different from the True Phoenix Metamorphosis and required going to the Core of the High Three Heavens.
This was also the reason why Chu Lingyuan returned to Bronze Heaven.
Watching the few of them step onto the rainbow bridge, Su Chen sighed with emotion: "All the benefits and Reward distributions are hosted by Shangxiao, Taixiao, and Yuxiao Heavens. No wonder they are called the High Three Heavens."
However, he didn't leave. He merely stood with his hands behind his back, looking up at the continuously operating periphery of High Heaven, pondering secretly, "That Ni Zhan wanting to meet me probably harbors intentions of testing me..."
About half an hour later, Chu Lingyuan returned. Seeing Su Chen waiting here, he wasn't surprised either.
"Everything arranged properly?" Su Chen inquired.
"There wasn't much to arrange. Qi You was already waiting and led them away." Chu Lingyuan said. Although Bronze Heaven had only joined High Heaven for over a year, they had already reaped many benefits through Su Chen's matters.
However, these were all explicit rules of High Heaven. He also didn't think the High Three Heavens would play tricks in such matters.
"Mm." Su Chen nodded. The two waited here for over ten minutes before seeing the rainbow bridge flash, and two figures appeared here.
Standing in front was impressively Ni Zhan, and following behind was Ye Chutong. Her light blue dress outlined her curves perfectly, the hem slit up to her thigh, her jade-like skin faintly visible.
"Senior Brother Ni." Chu Lingyuan immediately went up to welcome him, and Su Chen followed, addressing him as: "Heavenly Lord Ni."
Seeing this, Ni Zhan was quite surprised. He first glanced at Su Chen and couldn't help but say, "I didn't expect the two of you to actually be waiting here."
"Senior Brother Ni is Acting as the Heaven Lord after all. It would be one thing if we didn't know previously, but since we knew you were coming, naturally we had to be thorough in etiquette." Chu Lingyuan explained, adding another sentence: "And we were just seeing off a Senior Brother."
Qing Cang's arrival wasn't a secret. If he said they were specially waiting here for Ni Zhan, in case he found out the truth later, he might feel a bit disgruntled in his heart, so it was better to be straightforward.
"I see." Ni Zhan was in a good mood. Regardless, the fact that the other party was waiting here was enough to show they valued him. His gaze moved past Chu Lingyuan and fell on Su Chen, inevitably sighing: "Chutong told me before that Su Chen is not only young but also exceptionally handsome. Seeing you today, it is indeed so."
Su Chen glanced at Ye Chutong, seeing her shy appearance, and felt somewhat speechless in his heart. When she was blown up by his punch back then, she didn't look like this.
"Senior Sister Ye's beauty, I've also heard people in High Heaven mention many times." Su Chen said tactfully.
He wasn't very sure if this Heavenly Lord Ni bringing Ye Chutong was preparing to use some rather ancient methods to win him over.
But this Senior Sister Ye's reputation truly wasn't very good. He couldn't be bothered to figure out how much of it was just To spread falsehoods and how much actually happened. It was better to clarify his stance early on.
Ye Chutong's expression stiffened slightly, this little brat...
Ni Zhan laughed helplessly, but didn't say anything either. Led by Chu Lingyuan, they entered Bronze Heaven. Su Chen naturally fell behind the two, walking alongside Ye Chutong.
"You wouldn't believe those rumors outside, would you?"
A mental fluctuation echoed by his ear. Su Chen glanced at her and asked back, "What rumors?"
Ye Chutong almost laughed out of anger and couldn't help but say, "Then what did you just mean by saying people mentioned me many times?"
"I was talking about Senior Sister Ye's beauty, right?" Su Chen feigned surprise.
What a difficult guy... Ye Chutong's eyes flickered, and she could only take the initiative to explain: "Those are all baseless things, maliciously spread by guys who coveted me but couldn't get me."
"Oh." Su Chen's reaction was flat. "Why is Senior Sister Ye telling me this? And what baseless things?"
"Stop pretending." Seeing Su Chen being impervious, Ye Chutong truly gritted her teeth a bit, puffing out her chest, "Are my breasts pretty? And my legs, I saw you sneak a few peeks just now."
"Sneak a peek?" Su Chen wasn't embarrassed either, asking doubtfully: "If I was sneaking a peek, with my strength, could Senior Sister Ye still discover it?"
"Natural appreciation for beauty is something everyone has. Seeing beautiful things, one naturally appreciates them from the bottom of their heart. Since I'm appreciating it, it shows my aesthetic sense is still online. Senior Sister Ye should be able to understand."
Appreciate? Ye Chutong couldn't catch her breath, Vitality surging up, her delicate skin gradually covered in a layer of pink. This was more than just difficult; his skin was thicker than a city wall.
In front, conversing with Chu Lingyuan, Ni Zhan had a strange look in his eyes. Naturally, he could sense their mental fluctuation exchange, only it seemed Ye Chutong was at a disadvantage verbally.
His mentality was quite good. Given Ye Chutong's beauty, if she could be squeezed to the point of her Vitality surging up, he estimated Su Chen wasn't affected.
His purposefulness was also extremely strong, almost never doing meaningless things. His two moves since arriving at High Heaven both procured immense benefits for himself and the Bronze Sect.
Besides that, one could almost never see this person Su Chen in High Heaven.
He was rich in benevolence and righteousness. Last time against Taixuan Hong, judging by Su Chen's performance in defeating Xu Yingshen, he indeed had a very high Probability of defeating Taixuan Hong, thereby occupying an advantage on the path to competing for the Sovereign of the Purple Zenith, but he didn't attack.
Not bad... Ni Zhan nodded secretly.
Investments were also divided into big and small. Like Eternal Dragon Heaven and Sangwu Heaven, because they had Radiant Moons, they mostly just gave verbal promises to Bronze Heaven, placing a piece on the board along with the flow.
But Ni Zhan's boldness was much greater, so regarding Su Chen, he naturally had to consider him more.
Could he get a return, and how big could the return be?
Whether Su Chen himself could hold on until the moment he saw the return, all had to be figured out.
"Chutong, you wait here."
Arriving before the guest reception Grand Hall, Ni Zhan didn't let Ye Chutong enter. Ye Chutong couldn't help but be slightly stunned, seemingly not having reacted.
Looking at Su Chen, who was equally somewhat puzzled but followed inside, she couldn't help but grind her teeth.
"Senior Brother Ni, Chutong she..."
Chu Lingyuan reached out, inviting Ni Zhan to sit down, and asked with some confusion.
"Since Martial Nephew Su Chen didn't take a fancy to her, it's better not to let her know some things." Ni Zhan spoke very straightforwardly, so straightforwardly that even Chu Lingyuan didn't quite react.
This guy... Su Chen's heart slightly chilled. Worthy of being a guy Acting as the Heaven Lord. Ye Chutong was definitely carefully cultivated as well, inevitably not an outsider, yet she was directly excluded from this conversation.
"Senior Sister Ye's beauty is known to everyone. It's not that I didn't take a fancy to her, just that I temporarily have no ambitions in this regard." Su Chen explained.
"Isn't that still not taking a fancy to her?" Ni Zhan chuckled lightly. "Martial Nephew Su, this matter has already passed; you don't need to dwell on it."
Hearing this, Su Chen could only nod, yet he increasingly understood that this guy probably wouldn't be easy to brush off.
But he wasn't surprised either. After all, in the eyes of others, he was indeed the one with the highest chance right now, but how could the Five Pillars' Blockade be so easily broken through?
The financial backer naturally had to consider it.
Ni Zhan went straight to the point, his gaze looking directly at Su Chen: "...Great Heaven, Buddha Land, and also the Machine Domain have already notified the Abyssal Void through various information channels. Any Materials related to the Azure Deity Metamorphosis are not allowed to be sold to High Heaven."
"Their movements are slower than I imagined." Su Chen pondered.
The Ranking List Updates had already ended for half a month, and the other Pillars were only taking action now. It was indeed somewhat slow.
Seeing Su Chen unhurried and unagitated, Ni Zhan nodded secretly. Strictly speaking, Su Chen was almost only a step away from becoming the Chosen—Evolving into an Azure God.
Seeing this path nearly completely blocked, yet still able to remain calm, this state of mind wasn't something just anyone could have. The worry in Chu Lingyuan's eyes was almost overflowing.
"This kind of Blockade isn't just a matter of a single sentence. On a smaller scale, it's for the sake of their own disciples; on a larger scale, it can also be interpreted as apprehension."
"Moreover, they still have to notify a portion of Factions in advance to form a resonance and create a general trend in order to make more Factions obey." Ni Zhan explained the reason why the other Pillars were so slow in their actions, and added: "...The High Three Heavens haven't expressed any opinions on this, and I estimate they won't express any opinions either."
Chu Lingyuan couldn't help but say, "Are they truly not going to care? The Blockade from the other Pillars targets the entirety of High Heaven; are they just going to watch helplessly?"
"Bronze Heaven has, after all, joined for too short a time. It's very normal for the High Three Heavens to have misgivings. Also, with Tong Zhuo, Du Yunfei, and others around, it's already good enough that they didn't secretly join hands in the Blockade."
Su Chen, however, shook his head and said, "Bronze Heaven belongs to High Heaven. By remaining neutral, the High Three Heavens have already made their choice."
Ni Zhan remained silent. That was indeed the reasoning, but it wasn't good for him to state it plainly. Even if Su Chen punctured it, he couldn't easily take the bait, changing the subject: "However, my Jade Sea Heaven still has some friendly Factions. If we act secretly, we can indeed find some Materials."
"But previously, I heard Junior Brother Chu say that you seem to need Faith Essence more. May I ask why?"
Jade Sea Heaven was only preparing to invest, not being a sucker. It was impossible for whatever he said to go. They definitely had to inquire.
Su Chen already had a drafted response for this and said, "It's not that I need Faith Essence, but because of Profession Requirements, I need some other things."
"As for the Metamorphosis Materials, there's no rush at this moment. Right now, the news from the Pillars has just spread, and we are exactly in the tightest period of the storm. Seeking them now would instead be disadvantageous."
So calm... The consideration in Ni Zhan's eyes flashed past. Su Chen seemed completely unhurried about Evolving into an Azure God. Although it wasn't something that could be done Overnight, right now everyone was striving towards becoming the Chosen. Who knew if there would be variables?
Isn't he a bit too calm?
But it was impossible for Su Chen to give up on the Sovereign of the Purple Zenith. That was a Radiant Sun! As long as there was hope, no human would give up, let alone with such a great hope.
Fully Confident? Or blindly confident?
"What Materials do you need? How much Faith Essence?" Ni Zhan briefly pondered and asked.
"Five thousand Faith Essence..." Su Chen estimated and stated a number, "As for the Material, I'd ask Your Excellency to find one item for me, the Mystic Origin Spirit Fetus."
This was something whose name he couldn't even find, whether in High Heaven, the Abyssal Void, or the Black Market.
As for the Imperishable Bone, he decided he would still use money to buy it himself, because he discovered this Ni Zhan wasn't that easy to fool.
Ni Zhan had his considerations, and he also had his.
Right now, the other Pillars were indeed only blockading Materials related to the Azure Deity Metamorphosis, but if the news accidentally leaked from Ni Zhan.
Even if others didn't know what he wanted these things for, it wouldn't hurt to snatch them up first to disgust him. To those Pillars, a few thousand Faith Essence was nothing, so he decided to first state a Material he couldn't find at all to test the waters.
"Five thousand Faith Essence..." Ni Zhan raised his eyebrows slightly. This amount wasn't too much, but it wasn't little either.
Su Chen wasn't entirely sure whether the other party was willing to give it to him. After all, the Materials related to the Azure Deity Metamorphosis were considered the common interest of both parties, so Ni Zhan would also be motivated to help.
But giving these things was equivalent to letting him squander them himself.
"No problem." But Ni Zhan didn't think for too long before agreeing, then frowned and said, "But the Mystic Origin Spirit Fetus is only found in Great Heaven. It's used to craft physical bodies for some powerful Nether Realm Creatures, so its value is not cheap."
He actually knows it?
Su Chen sighed secretly. This was the gap in Foundation. Information on this thing couldn't even be found in the Black Market, yet Ni Zhan could state it as soon as he opened his mouth.
Ni Zhan's eyes flickered: "If they find out this item is what you want, it's estimated it will cause some waves. We still have to plan carefully."
However, he chuckled lightly again: "Leave this matter to me. Since it's not a Material for the Azure Deity Metamorphosis, I can still get it for you."
"Thank you, Heavenly Lord Ni." Su Chen thanked him sincerely. Five thousand Faith Essence plus this Mystic Origin Spirit Fetus, the estimated value was definitely over ten thousand.
As a financial backer, Ni Zhan could already be considered the type with few demands and lots of money.