Su Chen?
After a brief silence, the many Sect members gathered here suddenly erupted into a cacophony of discussion.
"It’s that Star Seed again. What’s the Ancient King Stele doing on his Floating Island? Could he have been chosen?"
Someone suddenly blurted out the question, drawing sideways glances from many others.
But a white-haired Vice Hall Master quickly and sternly refuted it. "The Ancient King is still alive and well. How could Su Chen possibly be chosen?"
"Then what’s happening right now? The Ancient King Stele came here uncontrollably. Su Chen must have attracted it somehow," someone muttered under their breath. They likely had a significant background, or they wouldn’t have dared to speak after being rebuked by a Vice Hall Master.
For a moment, no one had an answer.
But some couldn’t help but look up at the dazzling Flame Fire overhead, their faces etched with worry. ’Could something really have happened to the Ancient King?’
’So, is the Ancient King Stele anchoring its chosen one in advance?’
’But this Star Seed isn’t even at the Morning Star Tier yet. Besides, this stele is just a stele, not a true Moonlight Tier Spiritual entity.’
’It’s him again!’
In the crowd, Qin Tianlin silently clenched his fists, his expression twisting as he listened to the discussions around him.
No one knew what this strange movement from the Ancient King Stele signified, but it had broken its chains and made a beeline for Su Chen. Something about him must have attracted it.
It had to be something extraordinary.
...
’It’s Su Chen?’
Chu Lingyuan and the other two stood in the Star Universe. As Tier Nine and Morning Star Tier masters, their eyesight was superb. They had already seen Su Chen standing on the Floating Island through the Energy Barrier.
Qing Cang was astonished. ’What did that kid do? The Ancient King Stele actually broke its chains and rushed over so eagerly.’
’Could it be...’
His heart trembled with a bad premonition. ’Master, he...’
The worry in Chu Lingyuan’s eyes vanished as quickly as it appeared.
’So that’s Su Chen?’
Lu Huai’s eyes narrowed slightly. He watched as the Ancient King Stele trembled, lifted off the Floating Island, and shot into the sky, heading straight for the Flame Fire.
"It’s heading for the Ancient King Hall..."
The worry in Chu Lingyuan’s eyes intensified. It was hard not to associate the stele’s unusual activity with the possibility that something had happened to the Ancient King.
’Rumors from the outside world claim the Bronze Ancient King has been corrupted by the strange transformation of the Flame Fire and is in grave trouble. Could they be true?’
"That kid really can’t stay out of trouble. Causing such a huge commotion again," Chu Lingyuan suddenly said, a hint of helplessness in his voice.
Lu Huai was taken aback. ’What does he mean? This isn’t the first time?’ he wondered.
"For some reason, the Ancient King Stele just favors him so much. If he causes a stir like this a few more times, I’m afraid it’ll be difficult for anyone else to be acknowledged by it. It’s probably for the best that Master is taking it away," Chu Lingyuan said with a sigh.
Hearing this, Qing Cang guessed it was a diversionary tactic from Chu Lingyuan. He had never heard of Su Chen causing any unusual activity with the Ancient King Stele before.
"Is that so?" Lu Huai looked astonished. "No wonder he’s been like a hidden dragon soaring to the heavens ever since leaving the Desolate Planet. It seems your new Star Seed is truly extraordinary."
Lu Huai spoke with a tone of admiration, but he was naturally filled with suspicion. ’Is it really just because of Su Chen?’
A sharp glint flashed in his eyes. In the hand held behind his back, fine golden particles materialized from the void, gathering in his palm to form a fist-sized, pale-gold, hollow sphere with a swirling vortex of faint light at its core.
With a slight tremor, an invisible ripple suddenly spread out from it.
...
’Good thing it didn’t come crashing down...’
Su Chen watched the Ancient King Stele fly away, his heart relaxing. He figured that if the stele’s Spirituality were any higher, it probably would have smashed down on him.
’Now that the Ancient King has taken it, I wonder if he’ll notice anything unusual?’
"Probably not. Spirituality is just Spirituality; it can’t communicate with people," Su Chen muttered to himself. ’At least, a Morning Star Tier’s Spirituality can’t.’
’I don’t know if the Moonlight Tier is any different, but this stele doesn’t have true Moonlight Tier Spirituality anyway.’
"This incident probably caused quite a stir," Su Chen said as he walked to the edge of the Floating Island and looked toward the Copper Heart Department.
Sure enough, even from a great distance, he could see a massive, dense crowd gathered at the edge.
"They’re sure eager to watch the show. I wonder what kind of rumors will spread now."
Su Chen shook his head. He felt a faint warmth spreading through his body as he looked at the panel that appeared before him—
"Devouring successful. The Purifier has obtained a new ability—Divine Dawn Foundation: Please obtain the Heart of Spiritual Light and the Morning Star Essence, and use the Xuan Tian Reformation Method to merge them into your body."
’The Heart of Spiritual Light... that sounds like something from the Nether Realm. And the Morning Star Essence... don’t tell me it’s the bone marrow of a Morning Star Tier expert...’
’And this Xuan Tian Reformation Method... could it be related to the Profound Celestial Sect?’
Su Chen glanced at the text and felt a headache coming on. He could only plan things out slowly, but at least he now had a path forward and wasn’t just fumbling around like a headless fly.
However, he had barely taken two steps after turning around when he froze. He saw specks of light beginning to emerge from the surface of his skin, rapidly converging into a pillar of light that shot toward the sky.
"What’s happening now?"
Su Chen’s heart tightened. He didn’t feel any pain or sense of danger, though.
But the pillar of light emanating from his body was undeniably real. Its sudden appearance made him uneasy. He took a few steps forward, and the pillar moved with him.
"It really is radiating from my body. What in the world..."
Su Chen’s brows furrowed, but this was the heart of the Bronze Sect. There shouldn’t be any danger.
As he calmed himself slightly, he suddenly realized the color of the light pillar was familiar.
’Dark gold, mixed with shimmering golden light like flowing sand... This looks like the color of the Star Amber Talent. Is this pillar a manifestation of my Talent?’
Su Chen was astonished. ’But why is it glowing for no reason?’