Chapter 560 - 309: Peak Star Arena

This time, that voice also fell silent.

After that small interlude, Han Xingliu, Sheng Huaixu, and the others slowly returned to their respective groups.

Chu Ran was rather blunt. "Qin Tianlin sure has it all figured out. He fights when he wants to fight and talks peace when he wants to talk peace. Things are never that easy. It’s not the Qin Family’s turn to run the Sects yet."

"It’s a bit strange. Why would Qin Tianlin choose to talk peace now..." Jiang Mufeng mused from the side, finding it hard to understand.

Su Chen didn’t speak. He stood silently to one side, opening his panel to look at the Sun Residual Fire.

’Is the Spirit Fragment wrapped within it left behind by that Sun Tier Professional?’

’Sun Tier... There are no records of it in the Dust Star Sea. The Ancient Kings were already terrifying enough, to say nothing of the Sun Tier.’

Curiosity did stir within him. He was tempted to stuff this Sun Residual Fire into the dormant Great Venerable, but he didn’t know what changes it might cause.

’I’d better wait until I get back...’ Su Chen thought as he closed the panel.

Not many people paid much mind to this little interlude. As time went on, more and more people arrived.

Su Chen even ran into Wan Chen and Lin Yue, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time. The two of them came from major families within the Sects, so they were naturally qualified to attend.

"Second on the Holy List..." Wan Chen’s expression was complicated, even a little dazed. The scene of his first meeting with Su Chen still faintly surfaced in his mind.

After returning to the Sect, he hadn’t met with Su Chen many times. He wasn’t the sycophantic type, and Su Chen didn’t go out often, so it was normally quite difficult to see him.

"Brother Su, I didn’t expect to see you here." Someone else greeted him. Su Chen turned his head and saw that it was Lan Hao.

That "Brother Su" rolled off his tongue with incredible smoothness.

Ignoring the somewhat disdainful looks from Wan Chen and Lin Yue, Lan Hao casually sidled up and said, "I’ve been meaning to pay you a visit, but I was afraid of disturbing you."

After a series of ordeals, his mindset was no longer as difficult as it had been.

While he and Su Chen had a history of minor conflict, that very history now gave him an excuse to start a conversation. Building a connection now would surely be beneficial.

’This guy has changed quite a bit.’ Su Chen couldn’t help but find it a little strange. When he faced Lan Hao in his guise as one of the Deceitful God’s Followers, all he could see was the other man’s fear, making it hard to notice any change.

"It’s no problem. If you want to visit my Floating Island, just let me know in advance," Su Chen said with a smile.

"Great!" Lan Hao was thrilled. He had been fully prepared to be given the cold shoulder, never expecting Su Chen to be so magnanimous.

Looking back with his current mindset, he found it hard to understand why he had been so annoyed with Su Chen over such a trivial matter back then.

The number of people grew, and the entire venue was filled with a low, droning hum.

WHOOSH~

A fierce wind descended from the sky as a shadow expanded across the ground. The crowd’s chatter ceased in unison as everyone looked up to see a black dot in the sky growing larger.

’What is that thing...’ Su Chen thought, squinting his eyes.

The shadow grew larger and larger until it enveloped everyone like a giant inverted bowl. However, the crowd didn’t panic and began to murmur amongst themselves.

WHOOSH!

The gale howled, but it was always contained within a controllable range.

The object drew closer, and its several-meter-thick, solid metal walls became clearly visible at the edges.

’Old Qing sure loves his theatrics...’ Su Chen had already guessed what this thing was.

The peripheral walls drew closer to the ground until everyone felt a slight tremor. With a dull thud, the metal walls fitted together with the ground, leaving no gaps.

The metal at the edges seemed to come alive. It merged with the foundation, Energy conduits connected automatically, and fluorescent pathways lit up from the bottom of the walls.

The surroundings were dim at first, but as the soft light gradually brightened, everything became clear.

"So this is the venue for the Peak Star Conference. It’s a little different from previous ones," Chu Ran said, looking up.

"Master Qing is hosting it this time, and it’s being held on a brand-new satellite city. It’s only natural that it’s a bit different," Jiang Mufeng remarked, scanning their surroundings. It was a massive, cylindrical metal structure that extended tier by tier to the very top, with each tier holding numerous partitioned rooms.

As the Energy transfer channels connected, light flooded the structure from top to bottom. In the central area, fluorescent lights intertwined, and a colossal screen that ran the height of the entire building gradually materialized.

’This is...’ Su Chen looked closely. At the top was a golden "1," followed by a silver "2," and then a bronze "3."

"Did Master Qing move the entire Holy List here?" Chu Ran asked in surprise.

"The intensity of this Peak Star Conference will likely be the most fierce in its history," Jiang Mufeng murmured, raising his head.

’To make a name for oneself...’ Han Xingliu thought, also looking up. In the past, even for the conferences held at the Royal Court, the preliminaries had been extremely tedious, partly due to the sheer number of matches.

They had to be spread out across various areas, starting with live battles, as it was merely a screening process.

The rankings were only determined at the very end, and the final stage was very short, so its impact wasn’t that significant.

Only the Bronze Sect’s highly mimetic challenge system could pull off something this theatrical. But they had never been so ostentatious before; the list was never deliberately made public.

After all, the Dust Star Sea was enormous. It was only because of the natural advantage of their status that Star Seeds like him received some attention. But even so, to most people, they were just a vague impression.

Not to mention the younger generation from slightly lesser factions. If they could rank on that list and look down upon all the other experts of their generation in the Dust Star Sea...

At this thought, even his eyes couldn’t help but flash with a fiery glint, but he quickly suppressed it.

Except for the Star Seeds who had explicitly been allowed to skip the preliminary round, the slightly younger ones were now breathing heavily. They glanced around, their eyes surging with burgeoning battle intent.

"The myriad factions of the Dust Star Sea, gathered in one city, competing for one list. Things are about to get lively," Qi Heng remarked. "Perhaps it will bring a few unexpected surprises."

"As expected of Qing Cang. Tricks like this to inspire people come so easily to him."

As the group was discussing this, a figure descended from the sky, trailing turbulent winds. It was Qing Cang.

"Everyone." Qing Cang glanced around, offering a greeting before giving a simple introduction. "This is the main venue for this Peak Star Conference, which I call the Peak Star Arena."

"I assume our Bronze Sect’s challenge system needs no further introduction..."

Qing Cang briefly explained the rules. Although the preliminary selection was open to the entire Dust Star Sea, in reality, it was still decided by the Four Great Sects and the Royal Court.

Any rules had to be approved by the other Sects and the Royal Court.

Su Chen listened carefully. The process was actually quite simple; it was the same system as the Holy List. Every Professional who came to participate in the preliminaries first needed to undergo a ranking placement. After the placement, they would be given a suitable rank based on comprehensive data.

If they were not satisfied, they could challenge those ranked higher.

Weapons could be used, and battle records could be freely accessed by anyone.

The several Venerables exchanged glances and, having no objection to the rules, nodded one after another.

Next, Qing Cang gave everyone a brief tour.

Even though the True Martial Sect and the Bronze Sect didn’t get along, Sheng Huaixu couldn’t help but praise them. "The Peak Star Conference has been held for over three hundred sessions, but only those hosted by the Bronze Sect are truly commendable. Their impact, both during and after the event, is always profound."

The group ascended to a higher level and looked down. Directly opposite them was the golden number "1." It was currently vacant. Sheng Huaixu, Han Xingliu, Wan Chen, and Lan Hao all couldn’t resist staring at it for a few extra moments.

Su Chen listened from the side. The first Peak Star Conference had been held nearly four thousand years ago.

The fundamental reason for its creation was an ice-breaking attempt by the Five Great Sects and the Royal Court after many years of conflict, which led to the first Peak Star Conference.

It was rather crude back then, with participants only from the Five Great Sects and the Royal Court. At first, it was held once every fifty years. Later, as more factions joined and it spread throughout the entire Dust Star Sea, it became an event held once every thirty years.

Later, the Five Great Sects and the Royal Court discovered that this sort of massive-scale event was extremely beneficial to the development of the entire Dust Star Sea, and even to themselves.

So, they shortened it again, making it once every ten years.

Factoring in travel, preliminaries, preparations, and the final wrap-up, there were barely five or six years when the Dust Star Sea *wasn’t* affected by the Peak Star Conference.

Its influence had already penetrated every aspect of life. Some minor factions even used the Peak Star Conference to resolve their conflicts and grudges.