"This..." A chilling terror gripped his heart. He couldn't believe itâwas he really defeated in a single move?
But a moment later, his vision blurred. He vaguely saw that divine, overwhelming figure of Su Chen ruthlessly looking down upon him once more.
He muttered unconsciously, "Is this... not how it should be?"
"Warning. The challenge target's class ability is prone to leaving permanent mental trauma. Please seek a high-tier mental-type professional for treatment as soon as possible."
In an instant, the expression of the silver-haired butler standing outside the door abruptly changed. With movements so fast they were almost invisible, he rushed into the challenge room.
Seeing Lan Hao kneeling on the ground with a dazed expression, the butler's face turned grim. His pupils emitted an eerie, blood-red light that pierced straight into Lan Hao's mental world.
He quickly snuffed out the mental trauma Su Chen had left behind.
The silver-haired butler's expression fluctuated between dark and light before he whispered, "Where did such a sinister class ability come from? It wasn't enough to just defeat him; it even leaves behind mental trauma."
As a high-tier professional, he instantly recognized the viciousness of such an ability.
"Young Master!" he called out repeatedly.
Only then did Lan Hao slowly regain his senses. He looked up blankly before a violent shudder ran through his body, a flash of pure terror surfacing in his eyes. "What was that just now?"
"A mental shadow. If left untreated, it would likely subconsciously brainwash you into becoming Su Chen's servant, or something similar," the silver-haired butler explained.
"Thisâ" Lan Hao secretly swallowed hard, unable to stop himself from asking, "Can a Tier 4 class really give birth to such a monstrous ability?
"
The silver-haired butler remained silent. He didn't understand what was going on either; a Tier 4 class absolutely shouldn't be able to produce an ability of this intensity.
It might be the result of a certain special class, but the difficulty of obtaining such a class must be extraordinarily high. Considering Su Chen's age...
"Perhaps it's a fusion of class abilities..." the silver-haired butler guessed.
"Ability fusion?" Lan Hao couldn't help but look over. As a primary class continuously advanced, it was inevitable for abilities to overlap. If their affinities were similar, they could be fused to become even stronger.
But this wasn't something that could be done just by saying it. So-called abilities weren't just the application of one's own power; they also embodied class traits.
The difficulty of fusion was immense, and if it spiraled out of control, the risks were incredibly high.
After thinking about it for a long time, there seemed to be only one phrase that could explain it...
Lan Hao murmured, "Truly worthy of being a Star Seed..."
"Grandfather..."
Qin Tianlin pushed open the door and looked at Qin Yun's back, calling out with a respectful expression.
"Mm." Qin Yun turned around. Looking at his most outstanding descendant, his expression softened, but he couldn't help sighing. "It's a pity. I truly didn't expect that Su Chen would gain the acknowledgment of the Ancient King Stele."
At the mention of this, Qin Tianlin's expression tightened. Barely a day had passed since the incident, and he still hadn't completely calmed down.
However, hearing his grandfather's words, he could only say, "Rest assured, I am confident that in a little while, I too will gain the acknowledgment of the Ancient King Stele."
His talent was extremely high. He had already triggered three anomalous phenomena, so he felt certain of his success.
Qin Yun nodded, not surprised by this. He changed the subject, "I will soon set off for the Royal Court to attend the birthday banquet of the Vast Sea Emperor. While I am away, you need to keep a low profile. Don't let Chu Lingyuan catch you making any mistakes."
This was something that had been decided long ago, and Qin Tianlin originally didn't have any thoughts about it. But now, he couldn't help but ask, "Roughly how long will you be gone? If we let that Su Chen completely establish a firm footholdâ"
Su Chen had already gained the acknowledgment of the Ancient King Stele. For every day that dragged on, more people would learn about it.
Once the consensus that his virtue matched his position settled in, it would be difficult to overthrow him.
Hearing this, Qin Yun frowned. "What's the rush?"
"Your grandson misspoke," Qin Tianlin hurriedly apologized.
"Three months at the shortest, half a year at the longest. Once I return, I will naturally have a way to deal with him," Qin Yun said indifferently, seeming to have a well-thought-out plan. "Back then, I only made my move against Wei Zhenghong after you were born. Even so, I nearly drove him to his death. If the Ancient King hadn't shown him favoritism..."
At this point, Qin Yun shook his head.
This calm demeanor also influenced Qin Tianlin, lifting his spirits slightly, though he still couldn't resist saying, "What if the Ancient King intervenes again this time..."
"He won't," Qin Yun interrupted, his tone decisive. "I refuse to suffer a loss twice over the exact same issue."
Qin Tianlin paused, a surge of admiration welling up in his heart. This was his grandfather... a man who planned thoroughly before making his move. Even if some unexpected variables popped up, they wouldn't change the final outcome.
But right at that moment, someone knocked on the doorâhurriedly and loudly.
Looking displeased, Qin Yun asked, "What is it?"
"Master..." The voice outside was low. "Su Chen has been placed on the ranking board."
It was news about Su Chen. Both grandfather and grandson narrowed their eyes.
"What rank?" Qin Tianlin asked impatiently.
Qin Yun felt a twinge of dissatisfaction. It had only been a single day, yet Tianlin was already allowing news of this person to dictate his state of mind.
So what if he was placed on the board? He was merely a Tier 4 professional. How high could he possibly be?
'Never mind, I shouldn't be too demanding. That Su Chen really is out of the ordinary,' Qin Yun thought to himself.
Meanwhile, a voice echoed from outside the door, carrying a slight tremble. "Rank 299. Tier 5, Champion."
"What?!" Qin Tianlin's face changed drastically. He subconsciously looked at his grandfather, only to see a look of shock mirroring his own on the older man's face.
His grandfather actually...
Naturally, Su Chen was unaware of the storm brewing in the outside world.
He had already leisurely returned to his floating island. There was also a group of people who were just a step slower, following closely behind him onto his island.
Su Chen had only just stepped out of his aircraft. He watched the large transport vessel in front of him as its cabin doors opened, revealing a man beaming with
a face full of smiles walking out.
"Your Excellency Su Chenâ" he called out enthusiastically. He was short, plump, and jovial. He introduced himself, "I am Ding Fan, a deacon of the Logistics Department."
Someone from logistics? Su Chen's eyes flickered. The Bronze Cult was massive and highly complex.
Some departments managed external affairs, while others handled internal matters.
The Logistics Department was one of the rare factions that needed to do bothâpurchasing supplies externally and distributing resources internally.
The previous director of this department was Hu Qi, and now it was a man named Chang Youqi.
When he was chatting with Wei Zhenghong earlier, the older man had mentioned that Chang Youqi was a subordinate of his teacher, Venerable Chu Lingyuan.
"Deacon Ding, what's all this?" Su Chen asked, as various pieces of information flashed through his mind.
Ding Fan quickly replied, "The Sacred Rankings updated, and we received the news right away. These are your rewards. The architects for your challenge room and other facilities are right behind us; they will arrive shortly."
"Rewards from the Sanctuary?" Su Chen was slightly surprised. "Word travels that fast?"
"The Logistics Department received the notification the very second the rankings updated. I was completely shocked at the time," Ding Fan said with exaggerated expressions. "I had to look at it several times to confirm it. You truly are a Star Seed; a Tier 4 professional becoming the Tier 5 Champion."
Although his expression was exaggerated, his words were true. If not for that, he wouldn't have rushed over so quickly.
Su Chen listened to him shower him in praises for a few moments before Ding Fan transitioned to introducing the items he had brought. They were mostly potions, weapons, and equipment.
Su Chen had looked into this before. Low-tier rewards weren't of much use to him, as his Star Seed privileges already covered everything.
After listening to the introduction, he simply asked, "Can all of this be converted into Star Coins?"
"Of course!" Ding Fan replied without hesitation. "We will convert them at market value and deposit the funds directly into your account."
Seeing how enthusiastic the man was, Su Chen thought for a moment before asking in a low voice, "I have some Eldritch God Power on hand..."
"Eldritch God Power?" Before Su Chen could even finish his sentence, Ding Fan's face immediately changed, the fat on his body trembling. He hurriedly pulled Su Chen aside. "Why are you bringing that up?"
'Is it that serious?' Su Chen muttered to himself, before saying aloud, "No need to be so tense. I brought this Eldritch God Power from the desolate planet. Senior Brother Qingcang was there watching the whole time; he knows all about it."
"I just wanted to ask if there's a channel to exchange this Eldritch God Power into Star Coins?"
If he flatly stated he wanted to buy some, it would inevitably cause trouble. But since it could be converted into Star Coins, he could definitely use Star Coins to buy Eldritch God Power, provided he found the right channel.
"Couldn't you just submit it to the Cult? The Cult can convert it into Contribution Points..." Halfway through his sentence, Ding Fan noticed Su Chen's calm expression and smiled awkwardly. "However, the Cult's recovery price is indeed a bit unsatisfactory. Eldritch God Power is quite rare in the Dust Star Sea. If you put it on the black market, you could probably sell it for more than three times the price.
"So..." Su Chen looked at him expectantly.
Ding Fan's expression flickered. The Ancient King Stele... Rank 299... Gritting his teeth, he actually switched to mental transmission. "Because it's you, I'll say this. I wouldn't dare leak a single word to anyone else. If you want to sell this stuff for a high price, you can only do it through the black market."
"Low-tier Eldritch God Power goes for around a million Star Coins. Mid-tier costs five to six million. As for high-tier, that requires tens of millions. Which kind do you have in your possession?
""
"It's that expensive?" Su Chen's eyelid twitched. To synthesize a single drop of essence, he needed at least nine portions of mid-tier Eldritch God Power, which amounted to fifty to sixty million Star Coins.
Even if he was mining Underworld Domain Mother Stones, he would need to dig up five or six of them.
'However, I can synthesize and dismantle Eldritch God Power. I wonder if I can profit off the price difference,' Su Chen pondered inwardly.
The buying and selling prices would inevitably be different. He still needed to figure out the exact market rates.
"Where is the black market?" he asked, not answering Ding Fan's question.
Ding Fan shook his head. "There are definitely no black markets in the core area of the Cult. Your identity is sensitive, so you can't go either. Find someone you can trust to connect with me, and I'll take them there."
"Someone I trust?"
Ming Lin's figure immediately surfaced in his mind. Su Chen nodded. "Alright, I understand. Thank you, Deacon Ding. I'll keep this favor in mind."
"Don't mention it." Ding Fan beamed with joy. This promise was exactly what he wanted from Su Chen.
Black market transactions were a quasi-violation within the Cult. If no one mentioned them, everything was fine, but the moment someone did, it became a massive headache.
Risking himself to reveal this naturally meant he wanted something in returnâbut not from the current Su Chen.
The two chatted idly for a few more sentences before Deacon Ding hurriedly left with his belongings.
Soon, another, even larger transport aircraft arrived. This contained the architects he had mentioned.
Su Chen designated an area for them, and they began constructing the challenge room.
Those present were all high-tier architects, capable of deploying and assembling various materials to form structures. However, a high-spec challenge room required highly complex materials, making the fusion process rather slow.
Initially, Su Chen found the process somewhat fascinating, but after watching for a while, he lost interest and simply returned to his training room.
Glancing at the time, he couldn't help but sigh. At most, he had been in the Cult for barely a day and a half, yet so many things had already happened.
Su Chen stretched his body, causing faint popping sounds to echo from his bones. After a moment of thought, he opened his interface panel, and the three newly acquired classes came into view.
His gaze first fell upon his two main classes. He had plenty of excess Eldritch God Powerâmore than enough to tune these two classes to perfection.
He already knew the steps and procedures by heart. First, he would use the mid-tier Faceless Ghost God Power to erase requirements, then use the Cunning Fox God Power to increase the difficulty, and finally, depending on the specific situation, use the Crimson God Power to lower the difficulty.
He consumed one portion of each of the three Eldritch God Powers.
Soon, the only remaining class requirement for the Thunder Aura Flame Warrior wasâ[Class Requirement 3: Obtain the heart essence blood of a Thunder Qilin Emperor and the core molten stone of a Purgatory Flame Emperor. Within a Thunderfire Purgatory, fuse them into your body to form a Thunder Aura Tinder. (Completing this requirement and taking on the class will grant additional rewards.)]
It was worth noting that because of the primary class's body-tempering requirements, applying the Cunning Fox God Power to the first requirement would increase the required body-tempering methods from three different types to five.
The Crimson God Power used for lowering difficulty was very hard to save, so he had applied the Cunning Fox God Power to the third requirement instead.
"I still have a portion of the [Punishing Thunder Potion] gifted by the Grand Exalt, which can directly complete any class requirement related to the thunder element. Doing it this way allows me to save a portion of Crimson God Power."
Although he still had an average of three to four portions of mid-tier God Power left, no matter how small the gain, it was still a gain; he had to save wherever he could.
"Hmm... Let's first look at the help available within the Cult and see what the requirements are. If it delays things for too long, I'll just use the potion."
Su Chen calculated in his head. The requirements for the Thunder Aura Flame Warrior were practically fulfilled. He just had to max out his class progression, and then he could directly advance.
"There's also the Black Tuo God Power... I'll use it later along with the Divine Thunder Caller."
Su Chen shifted his gaze down. After another round of operations, the requirements for the Divine Thunder Caller were also reduced to oneâ[Class Requirement 2: Persist for one day in the Babbling Trial.]
He was very lucky this time. What got erased was the third requirement, an incredibly complicated ritual that would have required gathering a flock of believers.
Finally, it was time for the Black Tuo God Power.
[Corrupted by the Power of Black Tuo, the Thunder Aura Flame Warrior has unlocked the path of metamorphosis. Please obtain one Thunder Radiance Crystal and one Heart of the Flame Lord.]
[Corrupted by the Power of Black Tuo, the Divine Thunder Caller has unlocked the path of metamorphosis. Host a Crimson Sacrificial Ritual and steal a portion of its divine power.]
Both classes revealed the items needed for metamorphosis. One required collecting items, while the other actually demanded stealing the power of an Eldritch God.
Su Chen frowned slightly. "They say that the higher the tier of a mental-type class, the deeper its connection with the Eldritch Gods becomes. It seems that's really the case."
For anyone else, this would be beyond troublesome. But Su Chen himself possessed the identity of a Crimson Priest. Furthermore, there was no specified tier for the divine power requiredâa low-tier one would suffice.
The problem wasn't too big, it just needed to be done secretly.
As for the Thunder Radiance Crystal and the Heart of the Flame Lord... although he had never heard of them, he checked the Cult's internal exchange system and found them immediately.
[Thunder Radiance Crystal: A product from the edge of the Thunderstorm Plateau. A condensed variant of the thunder element. Requires 15,000 Contribution Points.]
[Heart of the Flame Lord: A relic of a Fire Elemental Sovereign. Requires 20,000 Contribution Points.]
"Together, that's thirty-five thousand Contribution Points, which translates to three and a half million Star Coins. That's really not expensive..." Su Chen quickly did the math and then glanced at his account balance.
Ding Fan worked fast. The Star Coins had already been transferred, with his rewards converted into three million Star Coins.
"I'm still a little short..." Su Chen pondered for a moment. He found Wei Zhenghong's contact and sent him a message, though the other party didn't reply right away.
Su Chen didn't mind and temporarily put the matter aside.
The Thunder Aura Flame Warrior requirements should be resolved soon. The Divine Thunder Caller was a bit troublesome, but there was no immediate rush. He could undergo metamorphosis even after advancing.
Su Chen let out a long breath. Operating his body-tempering method and meditation technique simultaneously, the training room was gradually enveloped by a sea of crimson flames. Tier 5 was already within reach.