They had come this time to test the waters, to see what this new Star Seed was all about.
To their surprise, however, both Chen Hong and his companion only managed to fight to a draw. Liao Yunfan was the only one to win, and by a slight margin at that, yet he still looked absolutely miserable.
For a Tier Five to achieve such a result against a Tier Four—it was nothing to be excited or happy about.
And to make matters worse, the people from the Bronze Sect actually looked surprised, which was an undeniable humiliation to the visitors.
Liao Yunfan waved off the Steward who offered to heal his injuries. He just chugged a Potion and staggered out of the challenge center with his two companions.
After watching the trio leave, Wang Ye and the others finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness Su Chen was here to handle them. Otherwise, who knows how arrogant those three would have been."
...
"Su Chen is really something else."
On the main road, Liao Yunfan’s miserable condition drew many stares, though one could see his injuries gradually healing.
Xie Hong remarked after a long silence.
"His power is too bizarre. I could barely withstand the intensity of his spiritual shock, and that was with my Spiritual Resilience and defensive abilities."
"And his defense, speed, strength, and even his burst power are all impeccable."
Xie Hong’s words were tinged with amazement. "Just how many special professions did he have to take to reach this level? No wonder he became a Chosen One on a Desolate Planet. He’s truly extraordinary."
After this battle, both Xie Hong and Chen Hong felt a degree of admiration for Su Chen. Only Liao Yunfan remained silent.
...
"Grandfather is fine? He’s already on his way back?"
Qin Tianlin looked at Wen Jing, his face lighting up with joy. But for some reason, deep down, he felt a hint of disappointment.
"That’s good, that’s good," he repeated.
But Wen Jing’s expression was grim. He gazed out the window into the distance.
"Venerable Qin Yun is the only one from the Lost Flame incident who knows what happened. The other great sects and the Royal Court have already contacted us, hoping to learn the details."
"Then can’t Grandfather just explain it clearly and be done with it?" Qin Tianlin blurted out. Wen Jing fell silent. "That’s only if he *can* explain it clearly."
To this day, he hadn’t heard a word from Qin Yun about it.
"Master is a Venerable, after all. As long as he returns, the Ancient King will surely protect him." Fan Zhao paced the room, agitated. The Black Tuo Divine Son was due to arrive in a few days, but with Qin Yun’s sudden return, the resolve he had long since solidified was beginning to waver.
...
Within a kaleidoscopic Teleportation Route, a long, slender, pitch-black shuttle-shaped vessel advanced slowly.
Inside a cabin, Chu Lingyuan wore a cold expression. Qin Yun lay flat in an egg-shaped restoration pod, a pale green restorative fluid submerging him to his collarbones. Over eighty percent of his skin was a charred brown.
"This isn’t just about you. What exactly happened in the Lost Flame? If you can’t explain it clearly, do you have any idea how much trouble you’ll bring to the Sect?"
"I’ve already said, it took everything I had just to escape. Everyone else was burned to death," Qin Yun’s expression was cold and somber.
"Is that all?" Chu Lingyuan was blunt. "I can believe you. The Ancient King will believe you. But will the other sects believe you? Will the Royal Court believe you?"
"Surely you must know how much trouble this will bring upon the Sect?"
"So, what do you want me to do? Kill myself?" Qin Yun stared at him coldly.
Chu Lingyuan crossed his arms and said flatly, "It’s not about what I want you to do. It’s about what *you’re* going to do."
"However, if it were me, and things had truly reached an irreversible point, I would offer up a proper account of myself."
"If it were you?" Qin Yun’s tone was laced with a certain mockery, but he didn’t press the matter.
...
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The sound of forging echoed ceaselessly on the Floating Island, and the smoke from quenching rose in endless wisps.
Su Chen held a broad, single-handed metal battle blade. It was a dull, grayish-black, covered in fine, flowing forging lines.
Nearly a palm’s width, it gradually tapered from the handguard forward into a vicious curve.
"This blade’s thick spine and thin edge, the timing of both the forging and quenching—it’s all just right. Truly extraordinary," Song Yang praised from the side.
Su Chen flicked it with a finger. The blade vibrated, humming continuously. "If you all are going to kiss my ass," he said with a sigh, "at least be a little more creative. You keep repeating the same few lines."
"Haha..." Song Yang and the others laughed sheepishly. The more they interacted with Su Chen, the more they realized this Star Lord didn’t put on any airs. There was no need to be so formal in their daily conversations.
"By the way, you all don’t need to come tomorrow," Su Chen added. "In fact, you probably won’t need to come for the next week."
"No problem." The trio nodded and left the Floating Island.
After checking the time, Su Chen tidied up a bit and then headed to Wei Zhenghong’s Floating Island.
He never missed one of Old Wei’s banquets these days.
"Su Xingzhong..."
"Sir..."
"Old Su..."
The moment he arrived at the banquet, people came up to greet him one after another. This was Su Chen’s third time attending, and he was already familiar with most of the guests.
In the course of their conversations, many people subtly probed for information about the Ancient King Stele incident, but Su Chen gave them all vague replies.
A week had passed since the anomaly with the Ancient King Stele, and this was his first public appearance.
"Old Su, did you hear? Those guys from the Profound Celestial Sect went to challenge your training projection. Two draws, one narrow victory," Chu Ran sidled up to him.
"Oh really?" Su Chen was a bit surprised. "A narrow victory? Who was it?"
Chu Ran said, "A guy named Liao Yunfan. He’s a recognized candidate for a Morning Star Tier Profession in the Profound Celestial Sect and is competing with a few others to become the Chosen One. He’s a Tier Five Professional, by the way."
"Tier Five?" Su Chen paused, then remembered he hadn’t updated his training projection in a very long time. Its data was still from when he first arrived at the Bronze Sect.
’I almost compared that to my current strength,’ he thought. Shaking his head, he put the matter out of his mind.
"A narrow victory is still impressive. At least none of the Tier Fives under Su Chen have managed to beat his projection," someone nearby said.
"They’re from the Profound Celestial Sect; they have the Profound Celestial Instrument. That Liao Yunfan has a Star Amber Talent to begin with, so of course he’s extraordinary. Which of the Tier Fives under Su Chen has a talent of that caliber?"
"As for our Creation Copper Heart, you only get a chance to use it once you’re in the Holy Hall’s top one hundred. Its advantages only become apparent then. In other words, we’ll only have a clear edge at Tier Six."
Chu Ran chuckled. "It’s a good thing Su Chen was here. Otherwise, those three from the Profound Celestial Sect would have had a field day showing off."
Chu Ran wasn’t just trying to be nice.
It was likely that none of their Tier Five Professionals could have defeated the trio from the Profound Celestial Sect. If they had really been suppressed, it would have been a huge loss of face.
But now, even though Liao Yunfan had won by a narrow margin, Su Chen’s training projection was only Tier Four. It was nothing to brag about, so naturally, the visitors had kept quiet and been on their best behavior recently.
"Well, look who it is! Old Zhang’s here!" Chu Ran suddenly called out. He sidled over and teased, "How’s that Star Amber Level Talent treating you?"
The man furrowed his brow, pondered for a moment, and said modestly, "It’s not bad."
"Not bad, my ass," Chu Ran scoffed.
The man burst out laughing. This was Zhang Heng, the first person to use the Profound Celestial Instrument. His talent was originally Double Profound Purple, but his Spirit Talent had now been elevated to the Star Amber Level. The event had caused quite a stir a couple of days ago, something even Su Chen had heard about.
Chu Ran was also in the queue and would likely get his turn to use the Profound Celestial Instrument soon.
Shen Yi’an and the others arrived soon after. The group gathered together and started exchanging the latest news.
Jiang Mufeng’s expression was grim. "The Royal Court has invited representatives from the Five Great Sects to see if there is any way to awaken the Prison King."
"That’s hardly an invitation," Su Chen said, shaking his head.
Wei Zhenghong snorted. "They’re just making a show of proving they can’t do anything about the Prison King either. I’m afraid they’re preparing to target us."
Once the other sects confirm that the Prison King really can’t be awakened anytime soon, the only way to find out what happened in the Lost Flame will be to go after Qin Yun.
The Royal Court had reacted quickly with this move.
"What’s the word from Venerable Qin Yun?" Chu Ran couldn’t help but ask.
Shen Yi’an said flatly, "From what I hear, the Venerable claims to know nothing."
"Knows nothing?" Wei Zhenghong’s expression darkened. "Who does he expect to believe that? The Royal Court? The other sects? The ones who vanished weren’t ordinary Professionals—they were Morning Star Tier!"
"It takes enormous resources and time to cultivate every single one of them. Does he think he can just brush the whole thing aside with a simple ’I don’t know’?"
Everyone fell silent. The matter concerning Qin Yun was gradually spreading, and the other sects were already making discreet inquiries.
For now, their attitude was still polite, but they all knew that politeness wouldn’t last long.