Although Ni Chuan was in a sour mood, that only ant he had failed to obtain the Morning Star-tier spirituality. It did not an Lan Hao had failed.
Had Lan Hao truly succeeded in slaying the three dragons against all odds?
Even Lan Hai found his own speculation hard to believe. He knew exactly what his son was capable of.
However, Qing Cang had only brought three people in total. It wasn't Wan Chen, and it wasn't Lin Yue. That left only Lan Hao.
He looked at Ni Chuan, seemingly seeking confirmation. Ni Chuan froze for a mont, then the corners of his mouth twitched upward before he burst into sudden, uproarious laughter. "Hahahaha..."
""
Truth be told, Lan Hai's wild guess had genuinely amused him. Even the lingering frustration in his heart dissipated quite a bit.
"You really dare to dream, don't you..." Ni Chuan chuckled breathlessly.
Lan Hai's expression darkened. It seed his guess was wrong. "Are you mocking ?" he demanded angrily.
Wiping a tear from the corner of his eye, Ni Chuan shook his head, a lingering smile still on his face. "A Chosen One was indeed born. His na is Su Chen."
"Su... Chen?" A blank look flashed across Lan Hai's eyes. The na rang absolutely no bells in his mind. Just who was this person?
Just as he was about to press for details, Ni Chuan's expression shifted slightly. His silhouette suddenly collapsed, vanishing into thin air.
"Bastard!" Lan Hai cursed. His expression shifted rapidly as he racked his brain, but he still couldn't match the na to anyone he knew.
"What is it now?"
Ni Chuan's consciousness returned from the Nether Realm. His expression was grave. His body was blaring warning signals, every hair standing on end as a terrifying surge of energy emanated from outside.
He hurried down to the cabin, where Ni Bin was standing by the porthole with a look of absolute horror.
Stepping forward to look out, Ni Chuan felt a jolt of shock. In the sky not too far away, pillars of crimson and cyan light intertwined to form a massive canopy. Under its glow, the dense nether fog was rapidly dissipating.
"Are they... expelling the nether fog?" he murmured under his breath. "Qing Cang couldn't possibly possess this kind of power. It has to be the Ancient Bronze King."
"To think the Ancient Bronze King would personally intervene. That Su Chen must have asked him to," Ni Bin couldn't help but say. It truly was a teoric rise to the top.
Ni Chuan furrowed his brows. "This is rely a fraction of the Ancient Bronze King's power. Expelling the nether fog from an entire planet will likely drain whatever he has left."
At this thought, a sudden thrill pulsed through his heart, and he quickly turned and left.
Lan Hai was still waiting for him in the Nether Realm. Seeing him return, he imdiately pressed, "Who exactly is this Su Chen? Did another faction set their sights on the Crimson Thunder Planet?"
Ni Chuan narrowed his eyes. Deciding not to keep him in suspense any longer, he stated plainly, "Su Chen is a native of the Crimson Thunder Planet."
"A native?" Lan Hai's face darkened. "Ni Chuan, I wasn't the one who exposed you. There's no need to keep playing these gas with ."
"Believe it or not, it's the truth. This native beca the Chosen One," Ni Chuan replied coolly.
Seeing Ni Chuan's deanor, Lan Hai realized he wasn't joking. Yet, that only made it harder to believe. He couldn't help but ask, "He's one of the recognized talents on the Crimson Thunder Planet? What is his aptitude?"
"Dual Ink Jade."
"Impossible!" Lan Hai snapped. "There has never been a precedent for this. Do you honestly expect to believe a Dual Ink Jade aptitude beca the Chosen One?"
"Naturally, I didn't believe it either," Ni Chuan shook his head before adding, "But I saw it with my own eyes. The Ancient Bronze King said his compatibility was so incomprehensibly high that the spirituality entirely ignored his aptitude."
"Incomprehensibly high compatibility," Lan Hai muttered. "To think such a thing is actually possible..."
Ni Chuan had more important matters to ask about, so he straightforwardly explained the entire sequence of events, eventually concluding:
"So... your Bronze Faction suddenly has a person of incredibly high status appearing out of nowhere. The final disciple of Venerable Crimson Sun, regarded by the Ancient King as half a disciple himself."
Lan Hai was stunned, unable to process the information for a long ti. He never would have imagined that the situation on the Crimson Thunder Planet would conclude in such a manner.
An obscure native had suddenly leaped to beco one of the most esteed figures in the Bronze Faction, even securing the status of a Star Seed.
He couldn't even begin to fathom the kind of impact this would have within the faction.
After all, there had never been a precedent for this in the Dust Star Sea.
"There is another matter at hand. Just now, I saw the Ancient King use his mighty power to expel the nether fog from the Crimson Thunder Planet," Ni Chuan said, then asked, "In your opinion, after clearing the nether fog, how much of the Ancient Bronze King's power will remain?"
"Oh?" Lan Hai looked up, a thoughtful glint flashing through his eyes. "He actually drove away the nether fog for that planet."
"According to my guess, there shouldn't be much left. The Ancient King's attention is entirely focused on the Eternal Silence Star; he can't spare much power. What are you planning?"
"What do you think?" Ni Chuan retorted.
"Don't take things too far," Lan Hai frowned.
Ni Chuan paused, then let out a cold sneer. "Isn't it a bit too late for you to back out now?"
"Back out from what?" Lan Hai feigned ignorance.
"You..." Ni Chuan's expression turned icy. "You fed the information about the Crimson Thunder Planet. Did you really think you could just flip the script and pretend it never happened?"
"It was rely a transaction. Besides, the information you gave earlier was just as crucial." Lan Hai shook his head, looking completely unfazed. "The matter is now settled, which ans our transaction has concluded."
"Whatever you decide to do next has absolutely nothing to do with ."
With those words, Lan Hai's phantom vanished, his consciousness returning to his physical body.
He was sitting cross-legged in the center of an empty room. The walls were lined with grayish-brown tal, making the space feel incredibly gloomy. Slowly rising to his feet, he murmured, "Su Chen... Su Chen... Who would have thought..."
Lan Hai walked over to the window. Uniquely designed skyscrapers stretched all the way to the horizon, while various models of aircraft wove through the sky.
"The family is suffering from a lack of capable successors. The one with the best aptitude is my third brother's son, but even he only possesses a Single Mystic Purple aptitude, and we are still at odds..."
"This Su Chen has no foundation whatsoever. If he were to marry into my lineage..." A myriad of thoughts crossed his mind. Not a single person in his clan had any hope of becoming a Chosen One.
If Su Chen ca here, there would be no need to target him. Pondering this, he pushed the door open and left. "I still need to tie up loose ends regarding my transaction with Ni Chuan."
On the other side, Ni Chuan bore a frigid expression as he put away the Nether Realm Stone, its color gradually fading to transparency.
The sheer shalessness of Lan Hai far exceeded his expectations.
"Those who try to play both sides never et a good end."
"As for this spirituality..." A ruthless glint flashed through his eyes. "I absolutely cannot let Qing Cang take it back so easily!"
Without the obstruction of the nether fog, the spaceship's speed was indeed incredible.
Su Chen first retrieved the Phantom God energy transported from the Blazing Sun faction. The pilot flying the ship had noticed the strange changes in the nether fog and hadn't dared to proceed any further.
Next, he headed to another location and intercepted the Phantom God energy from Yuandu. He gathered it all up, planning to find a secluded spot back in Yingfeng to absorb it.
This entire sequence of events had only taken three or four days.
"Have Ni Chuan and the others left?"
Inside the command room, Su Chen listened to Xia Jie's report.
"Yes." Xia Jie had already grown accustod to Su Chen's change in status and replied with a solemn expression. "According to the ship's sensors, they just departed the Crimson Thunder Planet and plunged into the nether fog."
"Giving up just like that? There has to be so sort of conspiracy, right?" Su Chen asked dubiously, feeling uneasy. With the Ancient King's power supposedly exhausted, shouldn't that guy be making a coback?
"Senior Brother Qing Cang, what do you think?" Su Chen looked at Qing Cang beside him.
"Xia Jie, leave us for a mont." Qing Cang didn't answer imdiately. Xia Jie nodded and stepped out.
Once it was just the two of them, Qing Cang waved his hand to conjure a barrier before finally speaking. "Ni Chuan will never give up so easily. Leaving now might simply be a ploy to lower our guard."
"Then what should we..." Su Chen asked tentatively.
"There's no need to worry." Qing Cang didn't have the bad habit of keeping people in suspense. He rely extended his hand. A dense stream of verdigris data converged in his palm, materializing into the illusory figure of the Ancient King.
"Master?" Su Chen was startled.
'Didn't he say his energy was exhausted? Was he lying? How could he be this devious?'
The phantom didn't respond; it seed to be nothing more than pure energy.
"A portion of Master's consciousness is slumbering." Qing Cang closed his hand. eting Su Chen's inquiring gaze, he explained, "Master's power has not been depleted. Martial Uncle Crimson Sun burned away the Crimson Thunder Cauldron using his spiritual fragnts, which allowed a fraction of Master's power to be preserved."
"So that's how it is..." Su Chen was amazed. It then dawned on him that when the Ancient King claid his energy was running out back at the cauldron, he had probably been baiting a trap.
"Just watch," Qing Cang said calmly, his gaze profound. "So may co for the spirituality, while others may co for you."
Coming for the spirituality was easy enough to understand. Take Ni Chuan, for example. Snatching the spirituality while conveniently killing him to select a new Chosen One made perfect sense.
But soone coming solely for him? Now that was interesting.
Su Chen pondered this thoughtfully. However, knowing that the Ancient King was there to back him up finally gave him a solid sense of security.
The ship trembled faintly as it touched down outside Yingfeng City. Qing Cang and the others chose not to follow, remaining aboard the vessel.
Chong Jingtian, Su Chen, and the rest returned to Yingfeng, heading straight to find Shi Yunzhou's trio.
Shi Yunzhou had been anxiously awaiting their return. A few days prior, the sudden appearance of a crimson and cyan barrier in the sky had given him a massive fright, making him think the Holy Banquet had begun.
Instead, the nether fog gradually thinned out until it completely vanished. He had far too many questions that desperately needed answering.
Wu Chenpei was also present. Since Hong Xuan's death, he had been fairly cooperative in most matters. Thus, he hadn't been strictly imprisoned; otherwise, dealing with him would have required quite a bit of effort.
"Su Chen... beca half a disciple to that Ancient Bronze King?" Shi Yunzhou was deeply shaken and couldn't help but stare at Su Chen.
Through the tidbits of information Wu Chenpei had leaked, they had managed to gain a basic understanding of the situation in the outside world.
The Ancient Bronze King was among the absolute strongest entities in the Dust Star Sea. His power and status were practically stratospheric.
"Just a stroke of luck," Su Chen nodded.
"It actually happened?" Wu Chenpei couldn't hide his utter astonishnt. Hong Xuan's most perfect hypothetical scenario was exactly what Su Chen had just achieved.
"What about the Holy Banquet?" he couldn't help but ask.
Chong Jingtian stepped in to explain. "Su Chen requested the Ancient King's intervention. For the next six months, the nether fog won't reappear. We have plenty of ti to explore the planet and eradicate the Phantom God cultists..."
"That is... absolutely wonderful." Shi Yunzhou and the other two let out long sighs of relief, feeling a massive weight lift from their shoulders.
Not only was the crisis resolved, but Su Chen had successfully leaped through the dragon's gate. They wouldn't have dared dream of such an ideal outco.
Beside Chong Jingtian, Zhou Yanwu's expression was complicated. Now that the Holy Banquet crisis was averted, did they still need to leave the Crimson Thunder Planet?
Wu Chenpei felt a wave of bitterness, his expression mixed. From now on, Yingfeng would be the supre authority. He had no idea how much longer he would be allowed to live.
The group still had matters to discuss, but Su Chen had no interest in joining them. He took his leave, contacted Bu Siqi and Teng Liang, and arranged to et at Old Xia's residence.
"Ling Yue!" Bu Siqi exclaid as he entered. Staring at the three people standing behind Su Chen, his eyes nearly bulged out of his head. "You guys got out?"
Teng Liang, who had hurried over upon hearing the news, also looked visibly moved.
"Senior Brother Bu, it's been a long ti," Ling Yue said nostalgically. "We owe it all to our Junior Brother."
"Badass." Bu Siqi was at a loss for words. Not knowing exactly what had happened over there, he simply gave a thumbs-up.
Then, leaning in with keen curiosity, he whispered, "You managed to get these three out, but what about..."
"Master's wife is out too," Su Chen nodded.
"Tsk... We really have to hand it to you," Bu Siqi sighed in admiration. "That was our teacher's deepest obsession."
Imdiately after, an ambiguous look washed over his face. He teased playfully, "Judging by the condition of our three junior brothers, I'm guessing our Master's wife is still quite young too. If mory serves, they were barely thirty years old back then."
Su Chen's expression turned exceedingly odd. His eyes darted around, looking as though he wanted to say sothing but held back. Bu Siqi smirked widely. "I wonder if our teacher still has it in him..."
"Still has what in him?" Before he could finish, a chilling voice drifted over.
Bu Siqi's face completely froze. Without him noticing, Xia Hanshi had silently appeared behind him like a ghost. Ji Rou walked by his side, a gentle, elegant smile permanently resting on her face.
"N-nothing at all!" Bu Siqi shook his head stiffly. A mont later, seeing Xia Hanshi walk right past him, he couldn't help but mutter internally, 'Looks like the old tree is blooming again in spring.'
'Normally, at a ti like this, he would have already smacked across the face.'
Xia Hanshi gestured for everyone to sit down and concisely summarized the situation.
But Bu Siqi only processed a single sentence. Swallowing hard, he blurted out, "Junior Brother, you beca the student of the Ancient Bronze King?"
"Does that an that Qing Cang and I are from the sa generation now?"
Smack!
Xia Hanshi didn't lift a finger. Teng Liang, utterly incapable of holding back any longer, slamd a fist onto Bu Siqi's head, eliciting a string of wails.
After a bout of playful roughhousing, the group finally sat around a single table—a rare sight. Looking absolutely thrilled, Bu Siqi raised his glass to drink heartily.
It was only three or four in the afternoon. Su Chen ended up drinking with them in one continuous stretch until seven or eight in the evening. Unable to handle her liquor, Ji Rou headed upstairs to rest.
Halfway through, Ming Lin also arrived after hearing the news. Having been directly involved and witnessing the entire sequence of events firsthand, he felt even more sentintal.
After several rounds of drinks, Ming Lin brought up a certain matter. "Not long after the Chief returned, he stripped Wei Yufan of his Core Seed status and banished him from the Tribunal."
"The charges were nurous: deserting in the face of the Faceless Ghost threat, disobeying direct orders, and a host of other offenses committed within Yingfeng City..."
"The Adjudication Office has already crippled him. Right now, there's nothing left but a ruined husk."
"Oh?" Su Chen paused slightly before downing the rest of his drink.
Xia Hanshi sneered. "He moved quickly, didn't he? How incredibly thoughtful of him to leave the kid half-alive. Su Chen..."
Stripping him of his Core Seed title, kicking him out of the Tribunal, and keeping him half-alive... It was blatantly obvious he was left for Su Chen to vent his anger on.
"Boring," Su Chen said, shaking his head. Unsurprised, Xia Hanshi nodded, lowering his gaze. "Teng Liang."
Even if the boy was just a crippled husk, he had no intention of letting him off the hook.
"Understood," Teng Liang nodded, his voice dangerously flat. "Leave no one alive."
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