Just before reaching their destination, Bu Siqi finally asked, "Junior Brother, is there anything else you need my help with?"
"Hmm." Su Chen deliberated briefly. "The potions I use for training are almost depleted. I can probably mobilize around twenty thousand gold on my end. Could I trouble Senior Brother to purchase so for ?"
Bu Siqi's expression didn't change upon hearing the first half, but the mont Su Chen ntioned paying out of his own pocket, he smiled and inquired: "What potions do you use?"
"Currently, 2nd-tier Mist Fiend Potions and 2nd-tier Illusion Essence." Su Chen said, then produced a black dagger—likewise spoils taken from Pan Yu, and too risky to sell back in Nanfeng: "Add this in as well."
"Hmm, this weapon is probably worth sixty or seventy thousand. Should be enough for about seven or eight vials of each." Bu Siqi took it, hefted its weight, and mused: "Probably won't be enough to last you, but I'll try to scrounge up what I can. If it cos up short, don't bla your senior brother." Brothers were brothers, but if Su Chen wanted charity, he'd naturally decline. Yet Su Chen appeared to have already "bankrupted himself."
And what Bu Siqi ought to help with, he would help with.
"Not at all." Su Chen said repeatedly. "I appreciate the trouble, Senior Brother. Could you also help find an E-grade ditation thod?"
"That's easy." Bu Siqi nodded, then asked: "Anything else?"
Su Chen studied him for a few monts, gauging that he was serious, before adding: "Could you also keep an ear out for any news about Mist Demon Beads?"
"Mist Demon Beads?" Bu Siqi was surprised, but nodded. "Potions, ditation thod, Mist Demon Beads—got it."
Watching Bu Siqi depart, Su Chen returned to the hotel and stepped into the elevator. "Once I enter the Adjudication Court, there should be resource allocations."
"Ordinary mber, Inner Court Seed—the higher the status, the greater the allocated resources, and the various privileges will differ too. Searching for clues about the 'Crimson Fla Responding Thunder Great Exalted' would also beco more promising."
"Ink Jade..." Su Chen couldn't help thinking. "I still need to focus on the 【Saint】. If I can successfully advance into it, my ntal talent should break through Red Gold and reach the Ink Jade level."
"Requirents impossible to fulfill—Elder Sang made it sound so ominous. Just how difficult can it be?"
After a simple night of training, Su Chen headed to the Class Decoding Departnt again first thing the next morning.
"You're here?" Sang Hanhai wasn't surprised to see Su Chen, seemingly having predicted his arrival.
He imdiately called Su Chen over to the workstation. On the instrunt screen beside it, massive amounts of symbols flickered ceaselessly.
"Based on the information you provided, I've deciphered so additional details." Sang Hanhai pointed at characters on the screen that Su Chen couldn't read, and said: "I speculate that one of the complete advancent requirents calls for an upper-grade 2nd-tier ntal-Type profession."
"Upper-grade?" Su Chen feigned surprise, but inwardly he was muttering—this Elder Sang truly had real skill. Given the key terms, he'd cracked it in a single night.
"Correct." Sang Hanhai nodded, his eyes revealing excitent. "Furthermore, I already have a rough conjecture about this profession. In all likelihood—nine chances out of ten—it creates a dinsional space, using a ntal imprint as the key, in order to achieve the function of retrieving items at will."
"A portable storage space?!" Su Chen's surprise deepened. "There's actually a profession like this?"
"Professions co in all shapes and sizes. You'll have plenty more surprises ahead." Sang Hanhai was quite pleased with himself, though he added: "However, the reason progress has been this fast is largely thanks to the supplentary information you provided."
"Currently, two advancent requirents have been confird: a Spatial Crystal and an upper-grade 2nd-tier ntal-Type profession."
At this point, Sang Hanhai frowned again. "Under normal circumstances, we could recruit volunteers from various institutions to attempt a Forced Advancent."
"After a successful advancent, deducing the remaining requirents becos much simpler."
"However," he said sowhat helplessly, "this profession doesn't just require a Spatial Crystal—it also demands an upper-grade 2nd-tier profession. Anyone who ets those conditions is a treasure. Forced Advancent carries risks, and there's no way anyone would hand them over to ."
His gaze fell upon Su Chen.
"Not ." Su Chen shook his head vigorously. "I'm only upper-grade 2nd-tier. I don't qualify."
"Upper-grade isn't impossible to attempt." Sang Hanhai's voice turned tempting. "Even if the advancent is barely forced through, it would grant you incomparable convenience—like a personal pouch you carry around that nobody else can see. Only you can access it."
"Just thinking about it is exciting."
"You'd best find soone more capable." Su Chen expressed his disinterest.
If he agreed, the attempt would certainly be conducted under full scrutiny, likely with all manner of monitoring instrunts.
"Tch." Sang Hanhai sighed. "Then we can only decipher it bit by bit."
Then a smile returned to his face: "I'm actually quite eager. After all, the practical applicability of this type of profession is simply too broad."
"Let give it a try—maybe I'll produce another resonance today." Su Chen said.
"Haha." Sang Hanhai chuckled. "You've already resonated twice consecutively. The probability of a third resonance is extrely low."
"What if—just what if—I succeed? Could you then give the 【Saint】?" Su Chen seized the opportunity.
"The Saint? You're still fixated on that—" Sang Hanhai shot him a look. "That scheming heart of yours never rests."
Su Chen grinned sheepishly. Sang Hanhai shook his head, yet said: "The Saint belongs to the sealed class of professions. Under normal circumstances, it can no longer be disclosed externally. I do have the authority to retrieve it. You're certain you want it?"
"I humbly request your indulgence." Su Chen replied without hesitation.
"Xia Hanshi, oh Xia Hanshi..." Sang Hanhai shook his head, glancing at Su Chen. "Very well then—let Heaven decide whether or not you're ant to have it."
"If you manage to produce a resonance today, I'll retrieve the Saint for you to see."
Sang Hanhai placed the power of choice in the hands of fate.
Su Chen drew a deep breath, his expression gradually settling into calm, as though adjusting his ntal state.
Sang Hanhai shook his head inwardly. Resonating with a Saint Word Stone followed no discernible pattern—it bore no connection to one's personal condition whatsoever.
He watched Su Chen slowly make his way to the Saint Word Stone and stare at it intently.
A mont later, the kid's eyes suddenly widened. His entire body staggered backward several steps, gasping for air in large gulps.
A resonance produces this kind of reaction? Sang Hanhai's mind churned with bewildernt.
"Elder Sang." Su Chen looked toward Sang Hanhai, his chest heaving for a spell before he managed to squeeze out a smile. "It seems Heaven is on my side."
"You actually resonated?" Sang Hanhai was astonished.
"Mm—" Su Chen appeared to be processing sothing, speaking hesitantly: "It seems like... it seems like... you need to pass through so kind of rift—"
"A rift?" Sang Hanhai instantly shifted into work mode, his expression growing excited. This ti he didn't even bother verifying first, pacing back and forth. "A spatial fissure? That's it—you need to be imbued with spatial properties, pass through the rift, use a Spatial Crystal as the core to construct a dinsional space, then use ntal energy as the key to open it..."
"Record—record this—" he ordered sternly. "Entry number 2437. Spatial-type auxiliary profession. Rating: A. Na: Spatial—"
Sang Hanhai uttered two characters, then fell into deep thought.
"Storage Adept?" Su Chen said in a soft voice.
"Good—" Sang Hanhai's eyes glead. "The na shall be Spatial Storage Adept. Advancent requirent one is... requirent two is... requirent three is..."
"Prepare to initiate the verification protocol."
The establishnt of a profession involved many procedures. If a single data point contained an error, it could lead to massive casualties.
The staff swiftly sprang into action. Sang Hanhai turned his gaze upon Su Chen, his eyes filled with emotion. "This is the fastest decryption I've ever done. No wonder my teacher constantly spoke of Heavenly-Mandated Class Decoders—the assistance is imnse."
"What a sha they're impossible to find on demand. Besides, a Heavenly-Mandated Class Decoder only resonates with a single Saint Word Stone—"
Su Chen's eyes flickered. He couldn't help asking: "Has there ever been a Heavenly-Mandated Class Decoder who could simultaneously resonate with multiple Saint Word Stones?"
"Hm?" Sang Hanhai's expression turned peculiar. "People like you are difficult to encounter even over many years. Let alone one who simultaneously resonates with multiple Saint Word Stones."
"However—" Halfway through, his tone shifted. "Whether one truly exists or not, I honestly can't say."
"Actually..." Sang Hanhai deliberated briefly, observing the longing that surfaced on Su Chen's face, and couldn't help but share: "In recent years, internal discussions within the Class Decoding Departnt regarding Heavenly-Mandated Class Decoders have reached a divergence."
"In several other cities, so people believe that what produces the resonance with a Heavenly-Mandated Class Decoder isn't the profession itself, but rather the Saint Word Stone."
"Just as Evil God Cults can use Saint Word Stones to communicate with the Evil Gods behind them, Heavenly-Mandated Class Decoders may similarly possess this trait to so degree—hence the resonance."
"Unfortunately, individual cases are too few. A large-scale screening was conducted so years ago, but it stirred up so trouble and was shelved."
Su Chen grew pensive. Viewed in this light, there might indeed be an avenue worth pursuing.
But for now, he didn't intend to expose anything more. Currently, his only personal identity was that of Xia Hanshi's student. He hadn't even entered the Adjudication Court yet—he lacked any institutional backing.
"I've gone off on quite a tangent." Sang Hanhai waved his hand, his expression turning considerably more solemn. "I'll ask you one last ti—do you truly want the Saint?"
"If not, you could save it to trade for a 4th-tier, or even 5th-tier profession later. Even within the Adjudication Court, professional information isn't given out for no reason."
"I only want the Saint." Su Chen didn't hesitate.
Sang Hanhai said no more: "Wait here for a mont. I'll go retrieve it."
He wasn't the one responsible for decrypting the Saint. To access it, he had to go through proper channels.
Sang Hanhai left the laboratory. The room fell quiet; aside from the hum of instrunts and the soft footsteps of staff moving about, all was still. Occasional glances were cast his way, surreptitiously sizing him up.
Su Chen found a seat and waited quietly.
He didn't wait long before Sang Hanhai returned, the expression on his face even more peculiar.
Leading Su Chen to a rest area off to one side of the laboratory, Sang Hanhai—under Su Chen's dumbfounded stare—popped out his left eyeball and placed it in a cleaning device.
"Looked at sothing I shouldn't have looked at back in the day. Lost the eyeball." Seeing Su Chen's stunned expression, Sang Hanhai laughed, then cautioned: "High-tier professional information carries inherent danger. If you encounter it in the future, approach it with care."
Su Chen couldn't help thinking about the "Crimson Fla Responding Thunder Great Exalted"—brazenly engraved right there on those nine arc rings for all to see. Surely the Class Decoding Departnt was aware?
"The Class Decoding Departnt's 'sealed professions' category all feature requirents that are either impossibly harsh to fulfill, or carry extre danger to others." Only then did Sang Hanhai get to the point, smiling bitterly: "But I still never imagined the Saint would carry these kinds of advancent requirents."
"Listen carefully."
Su Chen steeled his focus. Sang Hanhai recounted slowly.
【Discovered Special Profession — Saint. Can be advanced into upon fulfilling the advancent requirents.】
【Advancent Requirent One: Possess ntal-Type Red Gold talent.】
【Advancent Requirent Two: Personally rescue one thousand people.】
【Advancent Requirent Three: Never take the life of a living being in one's entire lifeti.】
Su Chen's gaze went unfocused. The first requirent of Red Gold talent was still within reason.
But the second was no small feat. "Rescue" sounded incredibly broad—did it an psychologically or physically?
Rescuing a single person was troubleso enough, let alone a thousand.
Even gaming the system with external help would consu enormous ti and resources.
And the third requirent was even more outlandish—he wasn't allowed to kill at all?
"These requirents are difficult yet not impossible in isolation, but also far from simple—especially the last one." Sang Hanhai smiled bitterly. "I spoke at length with Old Hai, who was responsible for the decryption. The third requirent is the most troubleso."
"Living beings with sentience probably includes all mutant species, humans included."
"He speculates that even if the other two conditions are t, if you've broken the taboo against killing, the profession will collapse—not only would the professional abilities vanish, but the person themselves would suffer trendous trauma."
Sang Hanhai said helplessly: "It's also possible our decryption is incomplete. But this profession genuinely cannot be advanced into. It's worthy of the na Holy Class."
Su Chen, however, wasn't disappointed—because he still had the panel. Sure enough, the mont the profession was discovered, there was an imdiate reaction.
【The Scholar and the Sage have discovered an old friend they haven't seen in a long while. They are quite excited, warmly conversing with the Saint, reminiscing about the ti they were once one...】
Once one?
Su Chen swiftly seized upon a critical keyword. "Does this an they were once a single profession? Perhaps it's not a prerequisite for so other profession, but rather... a fusion?"
His mind raced in many directions. He even speculated whether it might be one of the advancent conditions for the "Crimson Fla Responding Thunder Great Exalted."
The three-way conversation didn't yield results imdiately.
Seeing Su Chen's expression shift, Sang Hanhai teased: "Kid, no take-backs. Retrieving this kind of professional information isn't without cost for either."
"Even if I can't advance into it, this was my choice." Su Chen said plainly.
Seeing how quickly Su Chen adjusted his mindset, Sang Hanhai nodded inwardly with approval. Having squandered a rare opportunity to trade for a profession and still maintaining such composure spoke volus about the young man's fortitude.
"However—" Su Chen's tone pivoted, carrying a hint of intent: "These past two days working alongside you have made quite curious about Saint Word Stone decryption. Might I continue visiting you to learn?"
"Learn?" Sang Hanhai was surprised. "You're a double Red Gold. Your stage belongs in the Adjudication Court."
If it were anyone else, there might be the angle of climbing the social ladder. But for Su Chen, the likelihood was low. He had Xia Hanshi as his backer and was himself a double Red Gold—there wasn't much necessity to expend effort cultivating ties with the Class Decoding Departnt.
Trying to break away from Xia Hanshi? The thought crossed Sang Hanhai's mind, but he dismissed it. They'd only known each other three days. If Su Chen had any brains at all, he couldn't possibly pin his hopes on Sang Hanhai opposing Xia Hanshi.
"Nanfeng is a small place. I never had exposure to this kind of work before. Now I find it quite interesting." Su Chen scratched the back of his head.
"Alright then." Sang Hanhai pondered briefly. "I'll hold onto your temporary pass for now. When you have ti, feel free to co chat with ."
He agreed. Setting everything else aside, Su Chen had conducted himself with propriety, knowing when to advance and when to retreat. He'd spared no effort in helping this ti, and Sang Hanhai had a favorable impression of him.
"Thank you for giving this opportunity, Elder Sang." Su Chen said with a cheerful grin. Sang Hanhai retrieved his eyeball from the cleaning device, placed it back into its socket, and prepared to exit the rest area.
Su Chen followed behind, seizing the chance to ask: "I just heard you ntion verification. Does our Class Decoding Departnt have a spatial rift?"
His Spatial Storage Adept still had one final advancent requirent unfulfilled. Su Chen kept it firmly in mind.
Our? Sang Hanhai couldn't help laughing. "Our Class Decoding Departnt doesn't have a spatial rift. Creating one is no simple matter. Even in all of Yingfeng, only a scant few individuals possess this capability."
Su Chen's brows furrowed slightly. Shifting topics, he asked: "I heard from my teacher that professions capable of retroactively enhancing talent are quite few. The Scholar, the Sage, and now this Saint are all among them."
"I can't help noticing how similar their naming conventions are. Is there a connection between them?"
"...You're quite the curious one." Sang Hanhai chuckled. "According to our conjectures, there should indeed be a connection between them, though we can't specify exactly what."
"I recall that over in Yuandu, there's a similar profession called 【Spirit Adept】."
"Spirit Adept?" Su Chen blinked. Before his eyes, the panel gradually materialized.
【The Scholar, Sage, and Saint, who were warmly conversing, hear a familiar na. They cannot help but be stirred by nostalgia, as if recalling sothing...】
【Path of the Unsullied: Gather all professions required for sublimation, and you may sublimate into the Unsullied.】
The Unsullied? Sublimation?
So this was the Scholar's and the others' superior profession?
A multi-in-one super-enhanced version? Presumably, it also increases talent?
His mind turned to the "Profound Purple" talent grade demanded by the "Crimson Fla Responding Thunder Great Exalted."
"Spirit Adept..." His thoughts diverged. He didn't know whether the Unsullied was still missing just one Spirit Adept, or perhaps even more.
Looking up, he suddenly realized Sang Hanhai had already reached the laboratory door. Su Chen was about to catch up when his steps froze.
The tal doors parted to either side. Soone was coming in.
"Old Yuan—" Sang Hanhai greeted familiarly. "It's been quite a while since your last visit."
"Haha." The newcor had entirely white hair and beard, and appeared to be getting on in years, but his fra remained imposingly large. His square-jawed face exuded an air of authority.
"Professor Sang, I wouldn't dare disturb you without good reason." He jested, striding into the laboratory with a natural commanding presence.
His gaze locked onto Su Chen at once—the only person not wearing a lab coat—and a subtle shift crossed his features.
"Su Chen?" he said.
Great—another one who knows .
(End of Chapter)
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