Chapter 647 - 351: An Unpleasant Misunderstanding, Crisis of Identity Exposure

Qing Cang glanced at him, knowing exactly what he wanted to ask. He shook his head and said, "Our Sect doesn’t have any. We had some in storage before, but because the Flame Fire was entangled by Fog Ashes, Master used them all up in the early days to maintain the Flame Fire’s existence."

That meant only the other Sects and the Royal Court would have them. Su Chen felt quite helpless; as he had expected, neither of these two items could be obtained in a short amount of time.

"If you really want them," Qing Cang’s heart stirred slightly, a strange light gradually shimmering in his eyes, "there is actually a way to get them in the short term."

"What way?"

"The Peak Star Conference!" Qing Cang declared.

Su Chen looked slightly shocked. "Aren’t the rewards already set? Can they still be changed?"

"Not changed..." Qing Cang shook his head, inevitably elaborating a bit more. "Because of that unknown powerhouse, several Ancient Kings are feeling a sense of urgency. To find the Chosen One as soon as possible, the competition format of the Peak Star Conference will likely be altered. It won’t be like in the past."

Su Chen was rendered speechless inwardly, realizing a single encounter had triggered so many chain reactions. He listened as Qing Cang continued:

"The main goal should be to shorten the timeframe, while still giving the many Divine Dawn Levels a chance to show off their skills. Furthermore, they need to ensure that the Star Amber Levels, other participants, and various factions can’t find any faults with it.

"The conference system has been established for a long time. Rashly changing it, even for the Ancient Kings, requires them to consider the repercussions. Therefore, they will bring out more rewards to distribute among the ranked Professionals as compensation."

The higher the ranking, the greater the rewards. Naturally, Professionals nurtured by more powerful factions would be stronger, thus occupying the top spots. In other words, this was a move to placate the factions just below the Sects and the Royal Court. As for the rest, they naturally wouldn’t be able to stir up any waves.

"As for the Star Champion, the value of the extra rewards will naturally be the highest." After speaking, Qing Cang stared at him with burning eyes. "You’ve already advanced to Tier Seven now, and your strength should have reached a whole new level. Perhaps you have a shot at becoming the Star Champion in this Peak Star Conference."

Qing Cang hadn’t considered Su Chen’s situation just a moment ago, but upon mentioning it and thinking carefully, he couldn’t help but feel faintly excited. He naturally understood Su Chen’s strength. Although other Professionals could also melt a Holy Profession after advancing to Tier Seven, thereby rapidly narrowing the gap between peers in the same tier, Su Chen was different.

Judging from Su Chen’s previous performance, even as a newly advanced Tier Seven, he was highly competitive. The hidden danger of his Holy Profession consuming too much energy should also have been compensated for. After all, to be able to purify mid-level Fog Ashes at Tier Six... such a profound foundation would likely continue to give him an immense advantage at Tier Seven.

"You’re only twenty-three this year. A Star Champion under the age of twenty-five—if that really comes to be, I’m afraid it will shock the entire Dust Star Sea." The more Qing Cang thought about it, the more excited he became, his face turning faintly flushed.

The Star Champions born over the years basically all came from the Five Great Sects and the Royal Court. For years after the Peak Star Conference ended, they would still be widely discussed, bringing a great deal of prestige to their respective factions. Su Chen’s potential was even more terrifying. A Star Champion under twenty-five—once born—would inevitably elevate the Bronze Sect’s reputation to a whole new level. That would truly be a case of extreme misfortune turning into ultimate blessing.

Could the Star Champion’s extra reward be substituted with Flame Fire Golden Sand?

Su Chen was thoughtful but eventually shook his head. "Senior Brother, it’s hard to say. There’s Sheng Huaixu and Luo Yao, as well as a few guys with a Single Divine Dawn, and that Xiao Linfeng. None of them are simple."

"Hmm..." Hearing this, Qing Cang reined in his excitement quite a bit. "True."

Qing Cang had been too caught up in his excitement. He had momentarily forgotten that a Tier Seven who had merely melted a single Holy Profession wouldn’t necessarily be Su Chen’s match. However, those top contenders hadn’t just melted a single Holy Profession; they possessed other professions and were actively advancing toward their second Holy Profession.

He pondered for a moment. "Sheng Huaixu and Luo Yao are both Divine Dawn Level Star Seeds, and Xiao Linfeng has Twin Divine Dawns. They are all much older than you and have profound foundations. They are indeed not easy to deal with.

"Moreover, the new format seems to involve close-quarters combat, which adds a lot of variables. Treating it as a chance to accumulate experience is fine too... Even if you wait until the next conference, you’ll still only be in your early thirties, and you can still break records." Qing Cang offered a word of comfort, then changed the subject. "Of course, in this year’s Peak Star Conference, the Star Champion title is actually secondary."

Qing Cang emphasized, "Actually, the most important thing is whether you can be acknowledged by the Spirit of Sun. The Spiritual aspect doesn’t just depend on strength. In the entire Peak Star Conference, only you and Xiao Linfeng have the Dual Divine Dawn Talent, and you are younger than him. Your chances of being acknowledged are very high."

He couldn’t help but reveal a bit of envy in his eyes as he urged, "That’s the Spirit of Sun. Even if you’re only acknowledged, there might be massive benefits."

Su Chen had already been acknowledged, so naturally, he didn’t care about this. He was merely calculating in his head. Even if their profession progress was much higher than his, and they could use weapons... with his two Holy Professions, even Xiao Linfeng shouldn’t be his match.

"There’s nothing else, right?" Seeing him stay silent, Qing Cang stood up. "That unknown powerhouse in the Flame Fire provoked the Ancient Kings quite a bit. I need to hurry and take care of the tasks Master assigned me."

Hearing this, Su Chen quickly gathered his thoughts and asked, "How is it related to that..." After a brief hesitation, he managed to squeeze out the rest of his sentence, "...unknown powerhouse again?"

He had been discovered by the Ancient Kings inside the flame, which seemed to have triggered some chain reactions. Naturally, he had to figure out what was going on.

Qing Cang briefly explained, "Why do you think the Ancient Kings traveled thousands of miles to get near the Sun Flame? Naturally, it was for the Spirit of Sun. Now that someone has beaten them to it, they definitely need to find out that person’s situation in order to make further arrangements."

Su Chen’s heart skipped a beat upon hearing this. Suppressing his rising unease, he feigned confusion. "Do the Ancient Kings have a way to find out that person’s identity and background?"

"Identity and background?" Qing Cang shook his head. "That, I don’t know. Master merely said they would see if that person has been acknowledged or Chosen." He truly didn’t know; to him, it was just an order from his Master, and there was no need to ask too many questions.

But Su Chen felt uneasy. He asked tentatively, "This method was mentioned by the Sun, right?"

Qing Cang nodded. "Naturally, it was the Sun. When it comes to the Spirit of Sun, the Ancient Kings don’t have that many methods up their sleeves."

Su Chen’s mental alarm bells rang loudly as he thought, "It really is that guy."

That Residual Spirit was a real troublemaker. Who knew how wicked this method was? What if it could see his face or pinpoint his identity through the Residual Fire or some other means...

After exchanging a few more emotional remarks, Qing Cang prepared to leave. Su Chen walked him out of the pavilion. Just as Qing Cang was about to take off, Su Chen finally asked, "Senior Brother, what mission were you executing a while back? You were gone for so long."

"Chu Lingyuan temporarily assigned me to investigate the activity traces of some Deceitful Gods. It seems several Great Deceitful Gods have secretly united, intending to stir up some trouble," Qing Cang explained casually, not seeming to take it to heart. "I looked into it briefly, and it seems there’s some truth to it. The specific details will require more people to investigate. However, with the Ancient Kings around, those Deceitful Gods won’t be able to make any major waves."

For many years in the Dust Star Sea, the Ancient Kings had always been the stabilizing pillars.

Watching Qing Cang turn into a stream of wind and leave, Su Chen frowned deeply and returned to the main building. The several metal boxes that had just dropped to the ground floated up again, following closely behind him. Back in the training room, an invisible force opened the metal boxes one by one, revealing the various materials inside shimmering with brilliance.

Su Chen’s gaze, however, was somewhat unfocused as he was still digesting the information he had received from Old Qing. The other pieces of information were secondary. The most critical issue was exactly how far the unknown method prepared by that Residual Spirit could reach.

Su Chen furrowed his brows, thinking, "If it’s just to confirm whether a Chosen One has been born for the Spirit of Sun, that’s fine. But if they can further confirm my identity, I’ll be in huge trouble."

Even if the Bronze Ancient King made up his mind to protect him, fighting one against five offered no possibility of winning. Besides, the Bronze Sect couldn’t just run away. Between the Bronze Sect and himself, Su Chen didn’t want the Ancient King to face such a multiple-choice question. Furthermore, even if this current method couldn’t explicitly pinpoint his identity, that Residual Spirit might still have other tricks up its sleeve...