"Since that is the case..." Chiyang hesitated slightly, his gaze falling upon the cauldron not far away, where a prominent fissure could be seen.
A torrent of crimson fire surged forth, wrapping around the edges of the crack. The tallic spikes on the surface gradually lted into liquid before reshaping into a small stele about the length of an arm.
Two large, gilded words surfaced on the crimson tal—Chiyang.
It drifted down lightly, landing right in Su Chen's hands.
He extended both hands to receive it respectfully and declared, "I will keep it safe."
He owed this figure a massive favor, after all. Paying respects during festivals wouldn't take much effort, and pleasing the old man was naturally part of his reasoning.
Of course, it also served as an absolute trump card.
Leaving aside the vast and boundless Sea of Mortal Stars, the internal factions of the Bronze Cult were a tangled web. As the sole inheritor of Chiyang, he would naturally be under the Ancient King's protection.
But who knew what the future held? If sothing truly went wrong, he could just take this stele, throw himself before the Ancient King, and wail. He would like to see who could stop him then.
Out of the four matters discussed, only one was truly related to Su Chen himself.
As for more detailed requests, such as his future treatnt and standing, those went without saying.
"Go," the Ancient King commanded, seeing that Su Chen had finished his business.
"Understood," the group replied in unison. Qingcang guided the crowd, leading them away from the top of the cauldron and descending toward the ground.
"How did it go?"
"It looks like it's over. Even those aggressive people from the Royal Court have left."
"Has the Chosen One been born? Weren't they supposed to select an inheritor or sothing?"
Among the onlookers below, many were still completely in the dark about what had happened.
Although Su Chen had been the first to stand out, the attention of many was still fixed on the giant screen, eagerly anticipating the fierce battles to co.
In the end, the sudden anomaly atop the cauldron had caused the giant screen to vanish as well.
Chong Jingtian and Xia Hanshi didn't dare look away for even a second, staring intently at that area.
'It can't be...' Lan Hao muttered in his heart. He already had a premonition, but he still found it utterly unbelievable, repeatedly chanting the word 'impossible' in his mind.
"Soone is coming down! Why is there such a large group of people?" soone suddenly shouted. With everyone's attention already locked onto the cauldron, no reminder was truly needed.
That is... Xia Hanshi's pupils shrank. Suddenly, half of his body sank. Turning his head, he saw the hidden excitent in Chong Jingtian's eyes as a heavily veined hand clamped down fiercely onto his shoulder.
'This bastard!'
Xia Hanshi cursed angrily in his heart, yet for so unknown reason, his mind, which had long been tempered like cold iron, was actually throbbing with a trace of emotion in this mont.
With the eyesight of these two n, they could naturally see the group of people being guided down by Qingcang.
Mingled within the crowd, Zhou Yanwu was completely bewildered. Hadn't Qingcang said the people trapped inside couldn't be saved? How were they being brought out now?
A mont later, Qingcang arrived with the group, and pairs of eyes imdiately converged upon them.
Aside from Chong Jingtian, Xia Hanshi, and a few others, the rest actually had a very vague concept of Qingcang's purpose, what the Chosen One was, or the aning of an inheritor. They only knew it was important—important beyond asure.
Therefore, they all wanted to know what exactly had just transpired.
But for a ti, no one spoke.
"Ling Yue, Zhipeng, Yu Hao!" Xia Hanshi darted forward instantly, landing beside the group behind Qingcang and imdiately pulling out three young n.
At this mont, they were only just slowly waking up, still looking sowhat disoriented.
Among the three young n in front of Xia Hanshi, the tallest one stared blankly and called out, "Teacher?"
"Yes," Xia Hanshi replied. His heart surged. The emotions he had suppressed for years were like a volcano on the verge of erupting, ready to burst forth, yet he forcefully choked them back down.
His gaze flicked toward Ji Rou nearby. He had already cleanly and efficiently checked the vital signs of the three students in front of him, but now he felt a bit sluggish and hesitant.
"Ji Rou?" Chong Jingtian had already flown forward, calling out with uncertainty.
"You are..." Ji Rou, having just woken up, frowned slightly as she studied the man in front of her. "Brother Chong?" she asked tentatively.
Chong Jingtian's heart fluttered. He nodded and replied, "Yes, it's ."
"It really is you. How did you end up looking like this?" Ji Rou couldn't help but marvel, looking him up and down.
"It's a long story." Chong Jingtian shook his head with a complex expression, then repeated, "I'm afraid it can't be explained in just a few words."
'Good heavens...' Peeking from the shadows, Su Chen muttered in his heart, 'Old Xia really is hopeless here. Don't tell he's actually a massive simp?'
"Ji Rou..." Xia Hanshi finally dawdled over. His voice was low, and his eyes—which usually resembled a fierce falcon or a ghostly fla—were actually sowhat evasive.
"Are you... Hanshi?"
Xia Hanshi had aged far more noticeably than Chong Jingtian, yet Ji Rou recognized him much faster.
"How did you..." Ji Rou's eyes trembled slightly. Unconsciously, she reached out, her delicate palm climbing up to cup Xia Hanshi's withered cheek, trembling gently.
From those deep wrinkles, she seed to feel the years, the pain, and the tornt that Xia Hanshi had endured. Her eyes gradually reddened, and her voice wavered. "Just how much ti has passed..."
Xia Hanshi's iron-hard heart shuddered, and he remained silent. But Ji Rou suddenly burst into laughter, adding, "Still, you're just as dense as you used to be."
'Good heavens...' Peeking from the shadows, Su Chen inhaled sharply.
'So Old Chong is the real simp! You really are sothing, Old Xia.'
'And then there's Old Pu, holed up in that house researching so divine language for years, and his stuff didn't even co in handy.'
'No wonder this Ji Rou could keep Old Xia pining for so long. She strikes right at the heart the mont she speaks. Who could possibly resist that?'
'She really was saved...' Xia Hanshi didn't even know what to feel right now.
He just felt a rare sting in his nose. It had been a very, very long ti since he last felt this way, and the sourness hit him with an unusually fierce and blazing intensity.
It was almost more than he could bear. His hardened mindset from over the years made him subconsciously avert his gaze, only to lock onto a pair of sneaky, peeping eyes.
'This brat...' Xia Hanshi's brow twitched, and the stinging in his nose suddenly vanished without a trace.
He never would have imagined that the one to save Ji Rou would actually be Su Chen. His thoughts drifted. He had gone to Southwind rely because he noticed so subtle clues regarding the Holy Banquet.
He hadn't expected to run into Su Chen there. At first, he only thought the boy was a seedling with a bit of potential, but Su Chen's later performance had far exceeded his expectations.
The secrets hidden within him were likely massive beyond belief.
No wonder Su Chen had specifically ntioned these few people. Watching the reactions of Xia Hanshi and Chong Jingtian, Qingcang understood clearly in his heart.
The other rescued individuals also woke up. They ca from various cities, and while they were a bit dazed upon awakening, they quickly found the people belonging to their respective factions.
Upon learning that many years had passed in the outside world and that their friends and family had long since passed away, their expressions inevitably filled with shock and dazed sorrow.
Qingcang expressionlessly withdrew his gaze from Xia Hanshi and the others, unable to stop a sliver of resentnt from rising in his heart.
If they had only told him about Su Chen's situation earlier, this guaranteed disciple wouldn't have slipped right through his fingers.
But on second thought, he sighed inwardly. He only had this mindset because the matter was already set in stone, and he had developed quite a favorable impression of Su Chen beforehand.
However, if he had learned of Su Chen's situation the mont he arrived in Yingfeng, without having built any sort of relationship with him first, it was hard to say what he would have thought back then.
It was all up to timing and fate.
"Ahem..." Su Chen eavesdropped for a while. Seeing that the trio's emotions had more or less settled, he finally stepped forward, enveloped a small area in a barrier of wind, and spoke. "Teacher, Chief, regarding the trouble with the Holy Banquet, we currently have two thods."
Two thods? Chong Jingtian couldn't help but be surprised. He cast a glance at Qingcang outside the barrier; that guy had explicitly stated there was no way to solve it.
"You've beco the Chosen One," Xia Hanshi said, his tone hovering between a question and a statent of fact.
Beside him, Ji Rou evaluated Su Chen with curiosity. To think that Hanshi had actually taken in a student.
"Yes," Su Chen nodded. Chong Jingtian ca to a sudden realization—no wonder there were suddenly thods available.
"The first thod is for the Ancient King to handle it personally, but the cleanup won't be very thorough," Su Chen continued. "The second thod is to temporarily banish the nether mist from the entire planet, but we'll have to deal with the Cultists of the Eldritch God ourselves."
"The mist can be banished?" Chong Jingtian instantly beca imnsely excited.
"The Ancient King said it's only a temporary banishnt. The Crimson Thunder Planet is located right here; even he has no way to permanently isolate it," Su Chen explained.
Once the nether mist returned and so ti passed, Cultists of the Eldritch God would inevitably be born once again. There was simply no helping it.
"That's more than enough." Chong Jingtian nodded repeatedly and spoke rapidly, "Our biggest problem right now is that we can't find those cultists. If the nether mist is gone, wiping them out shouldn't be a major issue."
"More importantly, once the mist is banished, we can survey the entire planet and excavate more ruins. The benefits are trendous."
"I understand." Su Chen nodded. Just as he was about to dispel the wind barrier, Xia Hanshi coldly interjected, "Hold on. The other three cities cannot be allowed to reap the rewards without doing any of the work. I don't want to deal with their constant scheming after we've already resolved the Holy Banquet."
The freezing killing intent radiating from Xia Hanshi gave Ji Rou a fright. Realizing this belatedly, Old Xia quickly restrained his aura.
Su Chen almost laughed out loud. After receiving a glare from Old Xia, he finally said, "Don't worry, they won't entertain the thought of opposing Yingfeng ever again."
Xia Hanshi raised an eyebrow. He watched as Su Chen withdrew the wind barrier and turned his attention toward Qingcang.
His hushed conversation had already attracted quite a bit of attention. Especially after the people supposedly trapped within the Crimson Thunder Cauldron had been rescued, everyone was burning with curiosity about what had actually happened up there.
Yet, the very first sentence out of Su Chen's mouth after dispelling the barrier left them all utterly horrified.
"Senior Brother... Qingcang," Su Chen called out, pausing in the middle as he was still sowhat unaccustod to the title.
'Senior Brother?'
Mingled within the crowd, Jiang Shumo and the others swallowed hard, their expressions filled with thrill.
Ming Lin stared blankly. As expected of Su Chen...
The people from the other three cities were wide-eyed. They were crystal clear on Qingcang's background. That man could effortlessly plow through their ho bases ten tis over without breaking a sweat.
Wasn't Su Chen supposed to beco his student? How did he suddenly beco his junior brother?
There was a world of difference between a disciple and a junior brother!
Lan Hao's eyes bulged, and his vision went black. He nearly fainted on the spot. It really... it really was Su Chen! This guy had actually beco the Chosen One!
'Ni Bin, Wan Chen, what the hell are those two even good for?!'
Wan Chen vaguely sensed Lan Hao's unfriendly gaze and frowned, completely clueless as to why he was being glared at.
Qingcang's lips twitched. He never expected that there would actually co a day when soone called him 'Senior Brother'.
Truly... He didn't even know what to feel about it, so he simply nodded.
"Please inform Master that I choose the second option," Su Chen requested.
'He says 'Master' so smoothly... Why not just call him Martial Uncle while he's at it?' Qingcang was left speechless. It seed that this portion of Master's power was destined to be consud here no matter what.
The journey back would likely not be peaceful. Although he felt anxious in his heart, Qingcang didn't say anything more and faithfully relayed the ssage.
Upon receiving the response, Qingcang's expression shifted slightly. 'So it's like that?'
'Master truly is thorough in his considerations. That settles it, then.' The slight crease between his brows smoothed out as he announced loudly, "Everyone, step back."
The crowd, though confused, obediently followed Qingcang and retreated further.
Soon after, a thunderous boom rang out as the massive cauldron before them violently trembled.
From atop the cauldron, a mottled verdigris light shot into the sky, forming a brilliant pillar. It suddenly exploded at its peak, cascading down like a teor shower as a magnificent phantom spanning the horizon materialized.
"So... big," Su Chen muttered, swallowing hard as he looked up. That colossal bronze face occupied nearly the entire sky.
Simultaneously, countless spots of verdigris light sward toward the Crimson Thunder Cauldron like exhausted birds returning to their nest. The mont they touched the fissures on its surface, they transford into liquid tal streams, andering and seeping into the network of scars.
This active bronze energy rapidly solidified at the breaches, fusing with the original material to forge new tal adorned with bronze patterns.
The heavily damaged Crimson Thunder Cauldron gradually returned to an intact state. However, it was now completely saturated with two distinct colors—crimson and bronze—giving it quite an eccentric appearance.
Following that, the giant tallic cauldron slowly levitated. Wisps of ripples undulated across its surface. From the rim of the cauldron, three thick, chanical tal pillars suddenly extended, their surfaces surging with interwoven torrents of crimson and bronze energy.
BOOM!
The earth quaked, and fierce gales battered against them. Everyone watched in dumbfounded shock as the crimson-bronze energy pillar blasted into the sky from the cauldron's mouth. Its blazing radiance bathed everyone in a blinding white glare.
The massive energy pillar plunged into the depths of the nether mist, acting like a highly concentrated drop of cleaning solution splashing into a pool filled with thick gri and oil.
The nether mist shrouding the firmant was instantly blasted apart. The crimson-bronze light steadily expanded, squeezing out the mist's remaining space and rapidly pushing it far away.
"...You shouldn't have made the Ancient King expend his power to solve this Holy Banquet problem."
Su Chen was staring with rapt attention when Wan Chen's voice abruptly echoed in his ear. Staring straight ahead, Wan Chen only communicated via ntal transmission. "With Ni Chuan here, the news from this place can't possibly be concealed. The stone slabs bearing spirituality also need to be transported back. Without the Ancient King present, I fear unexpected complications will arise."
Judging from his tone, Wan Chen seed extrely bitter about it as well.
Su Chen wasn't surprised by this. It was perfectly normal to feel bitter. If it were him, he wouldn't be resigned to it either.
He thought for a mont before asking, "Among those who might cause complications... does that include you?"
Wan Chen's expression stiffened slightly. He shook his head and replied, "I belong to the Cult."
Su Chen narrowed his eyes, the brilliant pillar of light reflecting in his pupils. "Things must be handled one at a ti," he said calmly.
As his voice fell, the crimson-bronze pillar shooting from the cauldron gradually vanished. Su Chen felt as if the entire world before him had suddenly beco crystal clear, finally rid of that hazy, grayish filter.
Right at that mont, an explosive thunderclap bood, shaking the very depths of everyone's hearts.
Before their eyes, the battered Crimson Thunder Cauldron violently exploded. A shockwave swept outward as countless crimson tal fragnts shot in all directions, unexpectedly rging directly into the crimson-bronze barrier that now shrouded the heavens.
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