"A unique feature of the Bronze Faction..." Su Chen could not help but look over, noticing the strange expression on Wan Chen's face.
Perhaps feeling the setting was inappropriate, Wan Chen hesitated. He opened his mouth to speak but ultimately swallowed his words, settling for a simple nod.
'Sothing is definitely wrong here...' Su Chen realized. None of the other factions had this Dark Sun period; it was completely exclusive to the Bronze Faction.
Unique feature or not, the first phrase that popped into his head was 'energy conservation.'
'Could there be sothing wrong with the faction's fla?'
In just that brief mont, the dazzling golden-white radiance of the sun faded to a dull red, then shifted to an iron-gray, leaving behind only a dark red halo that resembled burnt-out embers.
A bone-piercing chill surged from all directions, making even Su Chen feel a bit cold. The temperature drop should have been much more drastic; they must have used so thod to mitigate it.
"It extinguished so quickly. It really isn't a star..." Su Chen murmured, looking up at the iron-gray sphere hanging in the sky.
He initially thought 'fla' was just a taphorical na for a star. But looking at it now, the speed at which it went out was terrifying. The ignition speed was probably just as fast. It definitely wasn't a natural star.
'How strange...' he muttered in his heart.
The people around him were already accustod to this Dark Sun period and paid it no special attention.
As the group left the plaza, Su Chen finally asked, "The Bronze Spirit arranged a residence for . The designation is F-107. Do you know where that is?"
"F-107?" Wan Chen seed a bit surprised upon hearing this, but he quickly concealed his reaction and pointed into the distance. "It's right over there."
The direction Wan Chen pointed wasn't deep within the core, but rather outside of it. Su Chen followed his gaze and could faintly make out scattered black dots in the hazy distance.
"Those are floating islands," Wan Chen explained, a fleeting look of envy flashing across his face. "They orbit the core. Everyone who lives up there is part of the faction's upper echelon."
To put it bluntly, a residence was just a place to eat and sleep.
The reason he was envious was solely because of the location. This was the absolute center of the Bronze Faction. With so many high-ranking officials living there, it was incredibly convenient for networking. The wealth of connections was self-evident.
Let alone the floating islands, he wasn't even qualified to live on the Bronze Core right now.
"An entire island to myself." Su Chen was genuinely surprised. That wasn't bad at all; it would certainly be peaceful, though he would have to rely on aircraft to get around.
According to Wan Chen's explanation, anyone living on the Bronze Core had to be at least a deacon, a Tier 7 professional, or in the top one hundred of the Sanctuary Rankings—which granted a one-year residency qualification.
As for the floating islands, they were reserved for hall masters, departnt heads, and similar figures. The bare minimum requirent was Tier 8.
Moving even further up the hierarchy, figures like the Seat Heads returned to the Bronze Core, but they resided in its most central, restricted depths.
However, aside from the two Morning Star rank experts who concurrently served as Seat Heads and remained stationed here year-round, Seat Heads like Lin Langtian were posted externally. They were akin to feudal lords guarding the borders and wouldn't return unless assigned a special mission.
"My father is calling . It's probably about what just happened. I'll be taking my leave,"
Lin Yue suddenly spoke up from behind them. She turned off her virtual screen, waved goodbye to the group, and departed.
"Well, I should get going too." Lan Hao's eyes darted around, looking rather stiff. He could clearly tell he didn't fit in with this group at all and couldn't even find an opening to speak. Staying would only be awkward.
That left only Ming Lin following behind the two of them. Su Chen thought for a mont before asking, "Is there a departnt here that handles the Nethermist?"
"Right, you still haven't purged the Nethermist from your body." Wan Chen finally rembered and frowned. "It should be at..."
He didn't seem very familiar with it either. Since the day he was born, he had never once needed to undergo a Nethermist purification procedure.
He opened his wristband and asked a few people before finally figuring it out. "Let's go. I'll take you there."
Wan Chen turned a corner at the intersection ahead. The crowds along the sides of the road had thinned out significantly, as most people were still gathered at the plaza.
The architecture on the Bronze Core consisted entirely of low-rise structures. Aside from the Bronze Tower, the buildings were at most four or five stories high. The exterior walls were mostly constructed from a blend of matte bronze alloy and dark gray materials.
Compared to the three nearby satellite cities, this place actually possessed a certain rustic simplicity.
After walking for a while and seeing that there was no one around, he sighed and said, "You must have so guesses about the Dark Sun period...
...right?"
"Mhm." Seeing the other's expression, Su Chen knew his guess was probably close to the mark. He nodded and quietly waited for him to continue.
"Actually, this Dark Sun period only started a little over a century ago," Wan Chen said as they walked. "I wasn't even born yet. The faction was at the height of its power back then. According to my father, even among the Five Great Factions, our Bronze Faction vaguely held the position of the undisputed leader."
"Four Morning Star rank experts coexisted at the sa ti. We were at our absolute peak."
Su Chen couldn't help but be shocked upon hearing this. Four Morning Star ranks coexisting?
That was practically on par with the current Royal Court.
"However..." Wan Chen's tone shifted, and he sighed. "Perhaps things reverse when they reach their extre, and prosperity inevitably leads to decline. No one knows what went wrong, but the fla of our Bronze Faction was extinguished for an entire half a year."
"My father told that people were in a constant state of panic during those six months. Countless outsiders speculated that the Bronze Faction was on the verge of collapse."
"Even though the fla was reignited half a year later, the Dark Sun period began. The fla goes out once every twelve hours. Furthermore, two of those four Morning Star experts suddenly disappeared. It wasn't until the selection began that the outside world finally understood they had already perished."
'They were selected at the sa ti. No wonder their ages and ranks are so close...' Su Chen suddenly recalled the two Star Seeds ranked first and second.
"So..." Wan Chen said helplessly, "Even today, rumors are still rampant in the outside world that there's a fatal flaw with our Bronze Faction's fla, that it could abruptly collapse at any mont and let the billowing Nethermist swallow us whole."
"And ever since then, the Ancient King has never left the fla's side. To so extent, this has only lent more credibility to those rumors."
"Is that so..." Su Chen fell deep in thought. There must have been a catastrophic issue to keep the Bronze Ancient King anchored there.
"I just hope the Ancient King can find a solution." Wan Chen sighed softly. Although no one in the faction openly talked about it, everyone knew the fla was truly broken.
Of course, considering the sheer scale and power of the Bronze Faction.
Even if the fla shattered entirely, as long as the Ancient King and the Morning Star experts lived, the faction would endure. They would simply suffer a devastating blow, and the living planets under their dominion would descend into a state like the Crimson Thunder Star.
"Looking at it that way, the Royal Court's location is truly blessed by the heavens. Surrounded by the Five Great Factions on the outside, it naturally isolates them from the Nethermist," Su Chen remarked.
"Not exactly..."
Wan Chen shook his head. "The Nethermist doesn't just invade step by step from the outside. In places the fla can't reach, over a long period of ti, the Nethermist will slowly breed and manifest on its own."
"That's why communications in the Dust Star Sea frequently get cut off and navigation routes have to be adjusted."
"I heard my father ntion before that the locations of the factions and the Royal Court were actually ticulously calculated. That's the only way they can ensure no massive outbreaks of Nethermist occur within the confines of the Dust Star Sea."
"I see..." Su Chen finally understood. This was all information he had never been exposed to before.
He pondered for a mont before asking another question, "If that's the case, our faction's fla is incredibly important. It doesn't just concern us. The Royal Court and the other factions should logically offer their assistance, right?"
Wan Chen looked hesitant. "You're right in theory, but as for whether anyone else helped when the fla was reignited back then, I'm really not sure."
The topic had hit the limits of Wan Chen's knowledge. Su Chen asked a few other miscellaneous questions, and they soon arrived at their destination.
It was a five-story tal building. The exterior walls were stitched together from matte alloy panels, with a faint, ghostly blue light flowing through the seams between them.
There was a considerable amount of foot traffic. The aura exuded by these people was distinctly different from Wan Chen and his peers; they all looked quite fierce and ruthless.
Wan Chen whispered, "These are all field operatives. It's inevitable that they encounter Nethermist in so of the more dangerous zones, so the faction takes responsibility for purifying them."
Stepping through the main doors, the interior space was far more expansive than it appeared from the outside. tal pods were neatly lined up across the lobby, with queues ford in front of them. The people waiting seed quite excited, whispering amongst themselves.
So sharp-eyed individuals noticed Su Chen walking in and imdiately clamped their mouths shut, frequently exchanging aningful glances with their companions.
"Your Excellency Su Chen..." A staff mber hurried over to greet him.
These staff mbers weren't considered true mbers of the faction, rely addressing him respectfully as 'Your Excellency.' They seed to have been notified in advance and spoke with deep reverence. "Please follow ."
'A private room on the second floor again...' Su Chen was already used to this VIP treatnt. He followed the staff mber upstairs.
"Damn it, I felt nauseous the whole way back, but I finally feel comfortable now." A young man cracked his neck, seemingly having just sat up from one of the tal pods, and stared straight at Su Chen going upstairs.
From his angle, he could only see a profile. He hesitated for a mont before exclaiming in astonishnt, "Is... isn't that Su Chen? He ca here?"
"Smack!" A crisp sound rang out as a heavy slap landed on the back of his head. A booming voice scolded, "What do you an 'that Su Chen'? That's our Star Seed! From now on, you address him as 'Your Excellency' or 'Martial Granduncle'."
"Senior Brother... what?" The young man looked completely bewildered as he was hauled to his feet, allowing the burly man to lie down in the pod instead.
After listening to the low murmurs echoing around him, his eyelids twitched, entirely dumbfounded.
What did they an he gained the Ancient King Stele's acknowledgnt the mont he arrived?
Was this... f*cking human?
Su Chen hadn't been led to the second floor, but rather the third. Inside the private suite, the tal pods looked far more exquisite. They boasted a sleek silver-white exterior, with intricate patterns etched across the surface.
"Your Excellency Su Chen..." Inside stood a female staff mber in professional attire. She had a slender figure and wore a warm smile on her face. "I am the purifier for this session, Zhang Huaisheng. Please lie down inside."
The silver-white pod featured a seamless magnetic levitation sliding cover, which silently glided open.
"Hmm, do I need to take my clothes off?" Su Chen asked.
"No need." Zhang Huaisheng shook her head and carefully explained, "Once you lie down, we will first scan the concentration of Nethermist in your body, and then initiate the purification process. You might experience so irritation and pain during the procedure, so please don't be alard."
"Alright." Su Chen nodded and lay down inside. The cover slid shut soundlessly and gradually turned transparent, allowing him a clear view of his surroundings.
"This is a one-way mirror. If you find it uncomfortable, you can turn it off," Zhang Huaisheng's voice rang in his ears.
"It's fine." Su Chen didn't mind. In his heart, he couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
He had fully expected to run into so drama or trouble after arriving at the faction.
Yet, up until now, with the sole exception of Qin Tianlin, he had been t with nothing but smiling faces.
Hum— A glowing blue scanning beam swept over him. Su Chen felt a faint stinging sensation across his body. Zhang Huaisheng's voice carried a hint of astonishnt. "A concentration of ninety percent... This is truly... rare."
"Can it be purged?" That was the only thing Su Chen cared about.
"Of course, though it will take quite a bit of ti," Zhang Huaisheng replied. "If you are ready, I will begin."
Su Chen nodded. He watched as Zhang Huaisheng reached out her delicate hands. Pure white runes surfaced from her palms, and two pillars of light descended vertically from the runes, accurately sinking into the receiving nodes at the top of the tal pod.
The etched patterns on the pod's surface suddenly flared up. All the circuits lit up simultaneously, and the silver-white casing took on a cold, ethereal luster reminiscent of moonlight.
A high-frequency resonant hum echoed inside the cabin. Bathed in a milky-white light, Su Chen felt a wrenching sensation wrack his body, as if sothing were violently squeezing him from the inside out.
Soon, he saw wisps of grayish-black mist erge into the light surrounding him. Mixing with the milky radiance, the mist gradually coagulated into a flock-like, dark gray physical substance, which was rapidly suctioned away by the pod.
'Interesting...' Su Chen observed closely. The ambient pressure grew steadily heavier, forcibly wringing the Nethermist out from his very flesh and cells.
At first, it was rely a sharp stinging sensation. But as the process dragged on, Su Chen's neck went rigid, veins bulged on his forehead, and beads of sweat rolled down his skin.
The pain of purification far exceeded his imagination.
"Would you like to pause and rest for a while before we continue the purification?" Zhang Huaisheng asked considerately.
"No... need," Su Chen forced the words through clenched teeth.
Su Chen couldn't even guess how long the agonizing process lasted. All he knew was that by the ti he finally climbed out of the pod, the sky outside was bright—the fla had reignited.
"Phew..." He let out a long breath. The residual pain in his body gradually faded, swiftly replaced by an unprecedented sense of weightlessness.
In stark contrast, it felt as though he had previously been trudging forward with heavy weights strapped to his body every waking second. He could even vaguely sense a noticeable increase in his physical strength.
"You were deeply eroded by the Nethermist. Now that it has been expelled, all of your physical attributes will experience a slight boost." Having sustained the process for so long, Zhang Huaisheng's forehead was also covered in a fine layer of sweat, and her complexion looked sowhat pale.
"The Nethermist can actually suppress one's strength?" Su Chen was surprised.
Zhang Huaisheng explained, "The Nethermist severs one's lifespan, which inherently affects cellular vitality to so extent. Because you were eroded so deeply, the resulting change is quite obvious."
Su Chen nodded in understanding. He took a mont to adjust and carefully sensed the changes. The margin of enhancent to his physical attributes wasn't astronomically high; it was roughly a ten percent increase.
But more importantly, he reveled in the refreshing, unburdened lightness that radiated from the inside out.
"Thanks." Su Chen stood up and shifted his gaze to Ming Lin. "Do you want to get it done too?"
"Hmm, I'll just co by myself when I have free ti. It shouldn't cost any money here, right?" Ming Lin asked.
"There's no need," Wan Chen shook his head, explaining. "Just have Su Chen grant you the relevant permissions."
This was considered a basic welfare benefit of the faction; it only required the proper clearance.
Leaving the purification center, the trio arrived at an outer docking port. This ti, there was no need for Wan Chen to assist with the logistics. The mont Su Chen stood there, several staff mbers rushed over to serve him.
The man leading them appeared to be the manager of this particular port.
"Your Excellency Su Chen..." His attitude was extrely deferential. After inquiring about their requirents, he swiftly dispatched an aircraft for their use. The three of them boarded the craft and set off toward the floating islands.
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