"This..."
Su Chen looked at the myriad of text floating on the panel, feeling a sense of astonishment. To think that this Flawless One could actually consult with a Great Venerable.
Moreover, it seemed they had actually figured out a way to proceed.
"The blood of a Divine Radiance talent possessorā"
Su Chen immediately thought of Qin Tianlin. He was the only Divine Radiance talent in the entire faction.
However, his brows furrowed slightly. "Making a move on Qin Tianlin is a bit too difficult."
Setting aside whether he could actually defeat the man, the Bronze Core was swarming with high-level classholders. He would likely be discovered the moment he made a move.
"Can we find another solution?" Su Chen spoke to the empty air.
But this time, the panel offered no response.
Clearly, if he wanted to forge a path to the Divine Radiance level, bloodline analysis was probably the simplest method.
Feeling helpless, Su Chen looked back at the paper documents in front of him. "Can a Morning Star rank actually birth a Divine Radiance talent?"
According to the faction's general estimates, a Crimson talent possessorāassuming they didn't pursue any other special classesāhad a certain probability of reaching the ninth rank before their talent decayed, though their combat strength would be somewhat weak.
Some special classes were strongly tied to one's primary class rank. Fulfilling the requirements at a lower tier might not be too difficult, but trying to prepare for a special class after reaching the ninth rank would be phenomenally hard.
For instance, forging weapons barehanded. Forging a Rank Nine weapon with bare hands was something even a Morning Star rank expert would struggle to accomplish.
With a Mysterious Purple talent, becoming a Rank Nine classholder wasn't a major issue, and one could even aim for the Holy Class sequence.
A Star Amber talent naturally anchored itself to the Morning Star rank, allowing one to pursue more than one Holy Class and yielding devastating combat power.
As for the Divine Radiance level, its ceiling should be the Ancient King rankā
It felt genuinely strange that the descendant of a Morning Star rank could be born with a talent level leading straight to the Ancient King rank. Su Chen rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Thinking deeper on it, however, it started to make sense.
These theoretical talent ceilings were actually formulated based on the environment within the Bronze Faction, where highly talented classholders almost never had to worry about resources.
With a single word, someone would step up to solve the tedious requirements of their class advancements, vastly improving their speed and efficiency.
It was no exaggeration to say that the environment provided by the faction could elevate a person's talent ceiling by one or even two entire tiers.
If placed in a smaller organization, they might never reach such heights. And if they were back on the Red Thunder Planet, the results would naturally be even worse.
Whoosh!
A wisp of crimson flame appeared on Su Chen's fingertip and fell onto the papers in front of him. Like fire meeting boiling oil, it violently erupted with a swoosh.
With the faint firelight reflecting in his eyes, Su Chen muttered to himself, "I wonder if there's any place in the faction that has Qin Tianlin's blood stored?"
When the Bronze Tower conducted biological sampling, they had definitely drawn Qin Tianlin's blood.
However, the core clearance required to access that was absurdly high. He certainly couldn't retrieve it, so he had to find another way.
"Could the Medical Center have it?"
Su Chen pondered internally. He checked the time; it was still the Dark Sun period. Song Yang and the other two hadn't been gone for long. He decided to leave the floating island, head toward the Bronze Core, and take a stroll through the Medical Center.
The environment of the Nether Domain began to melt away like a waterlogged oil painting, replaced by a cacophony of noise gradually flooding his ears.
This was an extremely narrow and crowded spaceship cabin. The air was stale, filled with a complex, suffocating mixture of sweat and cheap air freshener.
The Black Buddha Divine Son twitched his nose, seemingly disgusted. His current disguise was that of a scrawny young man wearing a washed-out, faded button-down shirt.
He shifted his body, which was pressed tightly against the person next to him. The seating consisted of nothing more than metal benches bolted to the sides of the cabin, covered in worn, pilling synthetic leather.
Another person sat beside him, keeping their head lowered the entire time. It wasn't until the Black Buddha Divine Son regained his awareness that this person seemed to notice. A voice, inaudible to anyone else, drifted over. "Hei Zhao, what did your believers say?"
"Everything is arranged," the Black Buddha Divine Son replied, a glint flashing through his eyes.
The voice continued to drift over. "Ever since the crisis with the Spirit Fire, the Bronze Faction's screening of its believers has become incredibly strict. I am genuinely curious, how exactly did you manage to connect with a higher-up in the Bronze Faction?"
"Wu Wang, aren't you concerning yourself with a bit too much?" Hei Zhao's voice was frigid.
Wu Wang chuckled. "I'm just worried about being deceived and walking straight into a trap, aren't I?"
"These factions aren't like those minor organizations. They have the power to obliterate us entirely."
"Do you think I'm like you, capable of fumbling things even on some barren planet?" Hei Zhao glanced at him and spoke flatly.
Wu Wang's expression turned cold, but Hei Zhao continued, "What was that man's name again? Teng Liang, wasn't it?"
"Hmph." Wu Wang coldly snorted. He wanted to argue back, but ultimately held his tongue. Instead, he abruptly asked, "Your goal isn't just to slip the Mist Ashes into the Bronze Faction's remnant fire, is it? Su Chen is also a target?"
The Black Buddha Divine Son's expression shifted slightly, though he quickly concealed it. "That shouldn't be hard to guess. Your mission is only to assist me. Don't overthink it."
Wu Wang fell silent upon hearing this. He didn't respond, his mind drifting to the conversation he'd had with the Father God not long ago.
Black Buddha harbored an immense obsession with that Su Chen. From the Red Thunder Planet all the way to the Bronze Faction, this Black Buddha Divine Son had been making moves, with believers of the Deceitful God scheming in the shadows.
However, he hadn't expected a Faceless Believer to actually establish a connection with Fan Zhao. This might give them a bit of an advantage.
He was also immensely curious. For Su Chen to draw so much of Black Buddha's attention, the man had to be extraordinary. He wondered what kind of secrets Su Chen was hiding.
His own defeat on the Red Thunder Planet had been baffling, leaving him deeply intrigued by the people and events there. If the opportunity arose, he would definitely snatch this person away for himself.
Among Deceitful Gods, cooperation was common, but stabbing each other in the back was even more so.
"Tsk, the Medical Center probably doesn't have any stock."
Su Chen walked out of the Medical Center and bid farewell to the administrator beside him.
The man offered a warm smile, watching him leave before finally turning back inside.
It took almost no effort for Su Chen to deduce that there was absolutely no way Qin Tianlin's blood would be kept there.
The people he saw at the Medical Center were mostly Sanctuary members with no significant background. Yet, even during their treatments, they were always asked whether they wanted their blood, shed skin, or muscle tissue preserved or destroyed.
Class abilities were bizarre and incredibly diverse. The ability to perform long-distance curse killings using blood or skin tissues definitely existed.
"This makes things even more troublesome. No matter what channel I use, attempting to acquire Qin Tianlin's blood will definitely attract a lot of attention."
Su Chen merged onto the main road, occasionally returning the greetings of those who passed by.
As he crossed the central plaza where the Bronze Tower stood, his footsteps involuntarily paused, his gaze falling upon the Ancient King Monument.
A lone figure was standing right beneath it.
'Qin Tianlin...' His eyes flickered. This guy frequently came to the Ancient King Monument to attempt communication, hoping to gain its acknowledgment.
Faction members passing by would occasionally cast appraising glances his way, but they quickly averted their eyes.
"Star Seed Su..." Someone in the crowd greeted him again, and Su Chen nodded instinctively in response.
"It's rare to see you out and about."
Su Chen was surprised. Generally speaking, the vast majority of people he met on the road merely greeted him; very few actually struck up a conversation.
He cast a glance over and saw a capable, powerfully built young man who looked vaguely familiar.
"I was feeling cooped up on the floating island, so I came out for a walk." Su Chen replied warmly, even as he racked his brain trying to remember where he had seen the man before.
As long as the other party showed no malice toward him, he was more than happy to extend his own goodwill.
"Don't remember me?" The young man seemed to notice Su Chen's internal struggle and laughed boisterously. "My name is Wang Ye. Back at the Challenge Center, I witnessed you taking the crown of the fifth rank with my own eyes!"
"Oh, it's you," Su Chen said with a look of sudden realization, though in reality, he still hadn't remembered.
Seeing that Su Chen wasn't opposed to chatting, Wang Ye leaned in closer, unable to hide a hint of resentment in his voice. "Your training projection is way too abnormal. Honestly, just seeing you now makes me feel an uncontrollable sense of reverence.
"Well, it can't be helped," Su Chen sighed. "That's just how the ability works."
"But I feel like I'm almost used to it!" Wang Ye said, brimming with excitement.
"Used to it?" Su Chen was stunned. He couldn't help but ask, "Have you been continuously challenging my training projection?"
"Yeah!" Wang Ye nodded, speaking as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "I've probably challenged it around a hundred times by now."
Su Chen's eyelids twitched. The deacons at the Challenge Center were quite responsible. 'How has this guy not turned into my believer yet?'
He felt somewhat speechless and couldn't help but advise, "There's really no need. If you're looking to temper yourself, you could always find someone else."
"No, no, no!" Wang Ye shook his head mysteriously. He glanced left and right before lowering his voice. "Actually, your ability has another benefit that nobody else has realized yet!"
"Another benefit?" Su Chen was slightly taken aback, genuinely intrigued now. "What kind of benefit?"
"Doesn't your ability leave behind a psychological shadow? That shadow forms something like a mental construct inside my head, and I can actually fight it!"
"Even though failing against it increases my reverence toward you, I've tested it. As long as I don't exceed three attempts, the feeling simply deepens into awe without mutating into fanaticism."
'Mutating? Mutating into what? Mutating into my believer?'
'This guy...' Su Chen wore a strange expression.
Meanwhile, Wang Ye continued with an excited look on his face, "It offers massive benefits for tempering one's mental resilience."
Su Chen was utterly at a loss for words.
Just then, a surprised and doubtful voice rang out from the side, "There's a benefit like that?"
Someone had noticed Su Chen standing there and wandered over, catching the tail end of Wang Ye's sentence.
Wang Ye's expression slightly shifted. He glared over, looking quite displeased. "Eavesdropping on other people's conversations is extremely rude."
"I wasn't eavesdropping, I merely came over to greet the Star Seed." The newcomer rubbed his chin naturally, deep in thought. "I actually challenged it as well, but to avoid leaving behind any hidden dangers, I immediately had someone erase the effects. Looking at it now, maybe I should give it a try. Mental resilience is notoriously hard to improve, after all."
"Is mental resilience hard to improve?" Su Chen paused in surprise, recalling that meditation techniques frequently birthed abilities that enhanced mental resilience.
He estimated that his own mental resilience was no lower than that of a Rank Six classholder.
"Did you just say that as long as it's kept within a few attempts, you won't be affected by the psychological shadow?"
"Why should I tell you?" Wang Ye said with annoyance. The other party wasn't angered in the least. "I can trade you contribution points...
"
Su Chen standing there naturally attracted a lot of attention. Seeing him chatting with the two, quite a few people wandered over out of curiosity.
After hearing Wang Ye's unorthodox training method, they couldn't help but reveal thoughtful expressions, contemplating its feasibility.
In just a short moment, a large crowd had gathered.
Su Chen was speechless. However, amidst the chaotic chatter of the crowd, he managed to gather that mental resilience was indeed one of the hardest physical parameters to improve.
"Clank, clatter..."
Suddenly, a noise rang out from not too far away. The crowd's discussion abruptly halted, and everyone turned their heads in unison.
The Ancient King Monument was trembling slightly, causing its massive chains to rattle and clink.
"This guy triggered the phenomenon again," Su Chen noted in surprise, though he wasn't completely shocked. With a Divine Radiance talent, gaining its acknowledgment was only a matter of time.
The crowd gathered around Su Chen exchanged glances. Their eyes flickered briefly before they pretended not to see anything, turning back to continue their animated discussion about the psychological shadow.
Yet another anomalyā
Qin Tianlin felt a surge of excitement in his heart as he sensed that magnetic pull gradually receding.
Because of his grandfather's disappearance, many within his faction were in a state of panic. If he could obtain the Ancient King Monument's acknowledgment, it might somewhat stabilize their moraleāat least until there was a resolution regarding his grandfather.
And he estimated that he would receive that acknowledgment very soon.
Slowly opening his eyes, the hint of excitement on his face quickly faded. At a glance, he saw the massive crowd gathered in the distance and Su Chen standing squarely in the center of it.
Qin Tianlin's expression inevitably darkened, and a trace of desolation crept into his heart. In the past, whenever he triggered a phenomenon, it would inevitably draw a massive crowd of onlookers, surrounding him like stars clustering around the moon.
Now, however, there was barely a soul beside him.
Not only that, but he also thought of the matter with Fan Zhao. The theft of the Spirit Fire was no trivial issue, yet up until now, almost no one seemed to care.
Chu Lingyuan was definitely aware of it, but he showed absolutely no intention of dealing with it.
'So what if I have a Divine Radiance talent? If I can't advance to the Morning Star rank, everything is an illusion.' Qin Tianlin silently clenched his fists.
Right at that moment, the flame reignited. He directed his gaze toward that gradually brightening star, and a sense of deep resentment inevitably rose within his heart.
If the Ancient King hadn't appointed his grandfather to attend the banquet in order to protect Su Chen, his grandfather wouldn't be missing right now.
The Royal Court's invitation hadn't specified a particular person. Either Chu Lingyuan or his grandfather could have gone.
But after Su Chen's arrival, the Ancient King directly appointed his grandfather. It was clearly to avoid more trouble while Su Chen had yet to establish a foothold, and this had indirectly led to his grandfather's disappearance.
'Unfair, how unfair!'
'What is this guy imagining now?' Su Chen had been keeping an eye on Qin Tianlin all along. Seeing his expression shifting constantly, he figured the guy definitely wasn't thinking good thoughts.
Seeing that only a meager few had wandered over to Qin Tianlin while the vast majority were gathered on his side, he understood the situation clearly enough.
However, Su Chen knew that this situation hadn't occurred because Qin Tianlin had actually lost power.
It was simply because the two of them were already at odds. Since most people had already gathered around Su Chen, it was highly unlikely they would head over to Qin Tianlin's side no matter the circumstances, as doing so would clearly offend him.
'But Qin Tianlin might not be able to see through that...' Su Chen shook his head, not paying it much mind.
He squeezed his way out of the crowd, bidding everyone farewell as he prepared to return to the floating island.
Just as he left the plaza and merged back onto the main road, he heard a shout filled with pleasant surprise from the side, "Martial Uncle-Grandmaster!"
Without even needing to turn his head, Su Chen knew exactly who it was. A figure flashed before his eyes, and sure enough, it was Zhou Yunyang.