"Have we arrived... at the Crimson Thunder Planet?" An ancient voice emanated from the little bronze figure, sounding sowhat bewildered. "The concentration of the Nether Mist here is incredibly high. My connection with the main body is very blurry."
"Reporting to Master, it is at fifty-two percent..." Qing Cang replied respectfully.
"No wonder," the little bronze figure said in realization. "Did you secure the spirituality?"
"Reporting to Master..." Qing Cang maintained his obedient deanor, head bowed. "The occupational spirituality was split into two. I only obtained half. The other half is within the ruins left behind by Martial Uncle. They will take there very soon."
"Junior Brother actually left behind ruins?" The little bronze figure seed quite surprised.
"I am unaware of the specifics. I can only investigate further once we arrive at the ruins," Qing Cang explained.
The little bronze figure pondered for a mont before instructing, "I understand. Once you reach those ruins, do not recklessly destroy anything. Summon ."
This would likely cause another delay. Qing Cang thought of the Holy Banquet, but after a brief hesitation, he nodded. "Understood."
"What about those two who were acknowledged?" the little bronze figure asked again.
"One of them is dead." After saying this, Qing Cang hurriedly explained, "He died before I arrived. It should have been the result of infighting."
"The other is still alive. He possesses dual Ink-Jade talents, but he is highly compatible with the Crimson Fla Echoing Thunder Exalt, attracting the favor of two spiritual dragons."
"I intend to test him. If his character is sound, I will take him as my disciple."
He gave a detailed report, and the little bronze figure nodded. "I see."
Just those short words. He did not press for more details.
Qing Cang was not surprised. The only reason his master had taken an interest was because two acknowledged individuals had appeared here in succession.
But since there was nothing truly extraordinary about them, he naturally would not pay them much more attention.
"However..." he ventured cautiously. "Among the people I brought, Wan Chen received the favor of three spiritual dragons. He might have a chance to beco the chosen one. Would you..."
"We will consider that when the ti cos." The little bronze figure shook its head, transforming into a streak of light that vanished into Qing Cang's body.
Qing Cang let out a sigh. His master no longer accepted personal disciples. If Wan Chen managed to beco the chosen one, perhaps he could catch his master's eye through their existing connection.
Otherwise, as a re physical-path Mystic Purple talent, his master would not even spare him a glance.
He could not help but feel a bit fortunate. Although his own talent was not considered high, when he started following his master, his master had not yet beco the Ancient Bronze King.
But at this thought, Qing Cang's expression inevitably darkened. 'Master has sat in withered ditation upon the Eternal Silence Star for a century, yet his fla grows weaker and weaker. I do not know...'
In a room not far away, Lan Hao wore a gloomy expression. 'The favor of three spiritual dragons. This Wan Chen...'
Although he had expected it, witnessing it with his own eyes still filled him with despair.
'If he becos the chosen one, won't my father have to bow down to his father?'
Lan Hao pondered nervously, his hand reaching into his coat multiple tis as if to take sothing out, only to pull back empty each ti.
'But I might not be completely out of options. As long as I defeat him in a head-on clash, using my two dragons to suppress his three, the spirituality will naturally lose faith in him...'
Lan Hao's expression shifted uncertainly. Spirituality did not solely rely on talent, but he had not seen Wan Chen fight in a long ti, so he had no idea what level of strength the man currently possessed.
'Rumor has it that his occupational build is nearly complete, ticulously calculated by several analysts, and it serves as the groundwork to vie for a certain holy class...'
He paced back and forth across the room. Striking recklessly would only bring humiliation upon himself if he failed.
'If soone could test the waters for first...'
The mont the thought popped into his head, Lan Hao imdiately latched onto it. Lin Yue's figure subconsciously surfaced in his mind, but he quickly shook his head. 'That woman isn't an idiot. I doubt she would strike rashly either.'
'But only the three of us ca this ti. If Lin Yue won't work...'
Suddenly, Lan Hao stopped in his tracks as a dull-looking figure surfaced in his mind. 'That guy nad... Su... Su Chen.'
'He has a decent foundation. He might be able to draw out so of Wan Chen's tricks. Even though Wan Chen is already at the Fifth Tier, if Qing Cang intervenes, the two of them could still put up a fight.'
'Furthermore, with Qing Cang intending to take him as a disciple, Wan Chen will have reservations, which might reveal even more.'
The more Lan Hao thought about it, the more suitable it seed. The only issue was how to provoke Su Chen into challenging Wan Chen. In his eyes, however, this was hardly a problem.
Their group had descended from the sky and snatched the spirituality away. He refused to believe that guy did not harbor any resentnt. Combine that with the matter of the Holy Banquet, and as long as he added so fuel to the fire and provoked him a little, Su Chen would naturally charge forward.
"You want the three cities of Yuandu, Lieyang, and Tianqing to bring all their stored Evil God power to the ruins?"
In an office within the Tribunal, Chong Jingtian jumped in fright. He glared at Xia Hanshi in front of him and demanded furiously, "If you hadn't ntioned it, I would have almost forgotten! I was just about to ask you, where did all the Evil God power in the forbidden vault go? What exactly did you do?"
This was no small matter. It was only because Xia Hanshi had killed Hong Xuan, requiring them to deal with Wu Chenpei, and the subsequent encounter with the people from the Royal Court, that Chong Jingtian had temporarily pushed the issue to the back of his mind.
Had these events not occurred, Xia Hanshi would have undoubtedly faced a severe investigation. A leak of that much Evil God power was an enormous disaster waiting to happen.
If he didn't firmly believe he knew Xia Hanshi well enough to know the man would never collude with the Evil God Cult, he would have ordered his imdiate arrest—a fate anyone else would have suffered instantly.
"Do you think that Faceless Divine Son just walked right up to our faces on his own?" Xia Hanshi looked at the infuriated Chong Jingtian, his tone remarkably flat.
"Are you saying..." Chong Jingtian hesitated, a mix of shock and suspicion in his voice. "Teng Liang..."
Teng Liang? Xia Hanshi almost lost his composure. Only then did he rember that right before the Faceless Divine Son perished, he had singled out Teng Liang to spit so vicious final words.
Chong Jingtian and the others had all seen that recording.
But he couldn't be bothered to explain further. Doing so would only waste breath. Chong Jingtian was the type to overthink and worry about everything, likely demanding verification. There was no ti to bicker with him right now. Instead, he simply stated, "I will just say this: help get all the Evil God power from the other cities, and I might have a way to locate those Evil God cultists hiding in so dark corner preparing for the Holy Banquet sacrifice."
"You have a way?" Chong Jingtian's eyes narrowed as he asked urgently, "What way? Does it involve the Evil God power?
The Faceless Divine Son? Did you find him using this thod?"
Xia Hanshi did not answer the barrage of questions. He rely said, "Just tell , will you requisition it or not?
"You—" Chong Jingtian flared up in anger. He already had enough on his plate, and Xia Hanshi was still playing coy. Unable to hold back, he berated, "Do you have any idea what ti it is? You're still keeping secrets from , expecting to mobilize all this Evil God power based on a single empty promise!"
"Setting aside how I'm supposed to negotiate with those people, what happens if we take that filth out of their heavily guarded forbidden vaults and the Evil God cultists sense it and ambush us halfway?"
"Then you won't requisition it." Xia Hanshi didn't waste another word, standing up to leave.
"Stop right there!" Chong Jingtian was so enraged his head spun. He pointed a trembling finger at Xia Hanshi, speechless.
Xia Hanshi's expression remained indifferent. Even if Chong Jingtian dropped dead from anger right then and there, he wouldn't feel the slightest ripple of emotion.
After a long ti, Chong Jingtian let out a deep breath and asked wearily, "How confident are you?"
"Confident?" Hearing this, a sudden surge of unexplainable anger washed over Xia Hanshi. His face darkened and his voice grew louder. "Since when is anything guaranteed in this world? I'm asking you one last ti, are you going to requisition it or not?"
Anger flared up in Chong Jingtian's heart again, but he forced it down. Resigned, he said, "Fine. I'll go talk to Wu Chenpei. I have a rough idea of what Yuandu is hiding; they will agree."
"If we join forces and pressure Lieyang and Tianqing, they will have no choice but to agree as well."
To this day, Lieyang and Tianqing were probably still clueless about the Crimson Fla Echoing Thunder Exalt. With the first and second commands joining hands, no matter what they demanded, the others would have to pinch their noses and accept it.
"That's your problem, no need to tell ." Xia Hanshi, who had already reached the door, stopped and said in a frigid tone, "There are many things we cannot change. We can only do our best and leave the rest to fate. If it succeeds, great. If it fails, it's just death. What's the point of overthinking?"
Chong Jingtian froze. Xia Hanshi had already left. His gaze lost focus as he let out a bitter laugh.
Turning his head, his eyes drifted through the floor-to-ceiling window, landing squarely on the statue of the first Chief Inquisitor towering over the plaza.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye. The preparations on Yingfeng's side were mostly complete. Chong Jingtian and Zhou Yanwu led the team heading to the ruins, with the primary mbers being the three Inquisitors: Xia Hanshi, Jiang Shumo, and You Shan.
Then there was Su Chen, with Ming Lin tagging along.
The arrival of the Royal Court envoys remained a secret known to very few.
Ming Lin had only found out right before their departure. He had been so shocked that he was still struggling to digest the information.
Boarding the aircraft and heading out of the city, Ming Lin found Su Chen and smiled bitterly. "With things as they are...
...what am I even doing following along to the ruins?"
"Inquisitor You is probably worried I'll be taken away imdiately," Su Chen guessed.
He didn't share that concern. Qing Cang was scouting for potential talent, not raising enemies. Taking a few family mbers and friends along, or making a return trip, wouldn't be much of a hassle. There was no way he'd be forbidden from ever returning.
"Sigh... To think... there's actually a Royal Court..." Ming Lin had clearly taken a heavy blow. He couldn't help but look at Su Chen. "Did you know about the Royal Court's existence a long ti ago? Is that why you couldn't be bothered to focus on the Tribunal's internal affairs?"
"I didn't find out much earlier than you did," Su Chen shook his head. "I just genuinely enjoy occupational developnt."
Ming Lin was left speechless, though he couldn't help feeling envious. Being specifically requested to be taken away was clearly a completely different treatnt than just tagging along.
"Those guys still haven't returned. I wonder how Wei Yufan and the others will react when they find out. They're probably still obsessing over the Tribunal's petty drama." Thinking of this, Ming Lin felt quite a bit better.
The group soon arrived at the designated location, which wasn't too far from Yingfeng City. Qing Cang had no intention of riding in Yingfeng's airships; in his words, they were simply too slow.
This couldn't help but make Su Chen a bit worried. Old Xia had told him yesterday that Chong Jingtian had smoothed things out with Yuandu, Lieyang, and Tianqing.
They were going to transport their stored Evil God power to the ruins, but if the timing didn't align, it would be a bit troubleso.
"So those are the people from the Royal Court."
Stepping off the aircraft, Ming Lin looked on with intense curiosity. This was his first ti seeing Qing Cang and the others.
Su Chen, however, stared at the massive dark spaceship before them. It looked like a small mountain, perfectly matching his ntal image of a cosmic spacecraft. It boasted a streamlined structure, its hull covered in dark gray composite armor with a layered surface design resembling biological scales.
Slender wings extended from both sides of the bow, and several clusters of anti-gravity engine thrusters lined the ship's belly. A three-story bridge structure towered over the midsection, its observation windows arranged in a diamond pattern.
The group boarded the ship via the gangway. If there were any substantial differences compared to the vessels they usually rode, they couldn't imdiately spot them.
"Everyone, the rooms have been arranged." Qing Cang waved his hand, and the staff prepared to guide them to their quarters.
"Your Excellency Qing Cang..." Su Chen suddenly spoke up, asking in a low voice, "Do the rooms here have gravity training chambers?"
"Gravity training chambers?" Qing Cang paused slightly.
"Equipnt that can amplify gravity multipliers to assist in accelerating occupational developnt," Su Chen explained. The Exalt's blessing still hadn't faded after a month.
Over the past two days, he had nearly stuffed his storage space full of auxiliary potions. He had drained Yingfeng's short-term production capacity, and he couldn't afford to waste any ti during the journey.
"I know what they are," Qing Cang chuckled. He wasn't surprised by the request itself, but rather that Su Chen was still so focused on his occupational progress even while traveling.
Two days ago, he had deliberately told Wan Chen to leak his intention of taking Su Chen as a student. Yet over the last two days, he had completely ignored the boy just to see how he would react.
Now it seed Su Chen hadn't been disturbed at all. ntioning the gravity chamber—even if it was a deliberate performance in front of him—indirectly showed that the young man possessed a competitive drive.
Having a competitive drive was good. Without it, he might as well stay on this planet and wait for death. The more he looked at him, the more satisfied he felt.
"However, we don't use gravity chambers," Qing Cang mused. "But as for 'Spiritual Pressure Rings,' we don't have any spares."
"I'll give mine to Brother Su Chen first," Lan Hao suddenly interjected from the side. He pulled out a silver tal bracelet and handed it to Su Chen.
Lin Yue looked over in astonishnt, Wan Chen was quite surprised, and even Qing Cang seed sowhat taken aback.
"This..." Su Chen hesitated.
"We are all friends, take it," Lan Hao said generously, forcing it into Su Chen's hands. He then added, "Co, co, I'll take you to your room."
This guy's sudden burst of enthusiasm made Su Chen suspicious. Standing to the side, Ming Lin grew even more envious.
Chong Jingtian and Qing Cang went to confirm the coordinates while the others dispersed.
"Your Excellency Lan Hao..." Su Chen gripped the unexpectedly heavy tal bracelet. A notification even appeared on his interface:
[Special Item—Spiritual Pressure Ring: Engraved with precise symbols, it can create a localized suppressive environnt based on physical tolerance while simultaneously mobilizing ntal activity.]
This gadget was excellent—essentially a portable gravity chamber and spiritual realm device combined. It was exactly what he needed.
"Don't be so polite. I'm two years older than you, so just call Brother Lan." Walking down the tallic corridor, Lan Hao waved his hand dismissively. "We both received the favor of two spiritual dragons; we can be considered kindred spirits."
"Brother Lan." Su Chen smoothly went with the flow. Regardless of anything else, this guy had at least given him sothing incredibly useful.
Lan Hao's smile grew even wider as he lowered his voice. "Speaking of which, I'm actually a bit ashad. This Crimson Fla Echoing Thunder Exalt was born on your planet, after all. Yet we ca here unannounced and are taking him away."
"Then there is the Holy Banquet. The Evil Gods are glaring like tigers watching their prey, but I can't do anything to help the countless innocent people on this planet."
'What on earth is this guy trying to pull?' Su Chen wondered inwardly, but replied aloud, "The Morning Star tier goes to the virtuous. There is no such thing as who should or shouldn't have it."
'Goes to the virtuous?' This guy's words actually made a lot of sense. Lan Hao shot him a suspicious glance. 'Is he truly this open-minded, or just pretending?'
He lowered his voice further. "Actually, soone with two spiritual dragons also has a chance to beco the chosen one. If you beco the chosen one, the crisis of the Holy Banquet could be resolved instantly."
"Oh?" Su Chen raised an eyebrow, putting on an act of listening intently.
"That is to suppress three dragons using only two," Lan Hao said solemnly.
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