Chapter 586 322: Divine Dawn

Hearing this, Chu Ran explained from his spot in front of Su Chen, "I asked Han Xingliu the same thing. He said it's just black."

"Tsk..." Su Chen fiddled with the vial. Chu Ran added, "My grandfather has already confirmed it. This thing is definitely Morning Star Essence. The blood is probably black due to the Traits of the person it was extracted from."

His panel showed no prompts through the glass, and a strange look crossed Su Chen's face.

'Could this have been drawn from the slumbering Prison King?'

Chu Ran grinned. "That's what I guessed too. The Royal Court only has five Morning Star Tiers to begin with. The Profound Turtle King is too old; drawing a single vial might just kill him. The other Morning Star Tiers probably aren't willing to harm themselves, either. That only leaves the Prison King for them to mess with as they please."

"Putting everything to good use," Su Chen remarked, putting away the Morning Star Essence. "Thanks for the trouble."

Because of Qin Tianlin's death, anyone trying to get close to him, a Star Seed, now had to undergo strict screening. There was no way they would let someone from the Royal Court make the delivery.

"It was nothing." Chu Ran waved his hand dismissively, then glanced left and right like he had a guilty conscience. He lowered his voice and asked, "I heard you were there when Qin Tianlin died. What exactly happened?"

Chu Ran had been dying of curiosity for the past two days. All sorts of rumors were flying around, and he had no idea what was true and what was false. Even his grandfather hadn't witnessed it firsthand.

"There's not much to tell. It was over in the blink of an eye. I didn't see a thing," Su Chen said, shaking his head.

"Really?" Chu Ran couldn't hide his disappointment and sighed. "Even though I wasn't on good terms with Qin Tianlin, his sudden death still feels... abrupt. If Old Wei were here, he'd probably be a little happier about it."

The two made small talk for a bit longer before Chu Ran took his leave.

'I have everything I need...' A glint appeared in Su Chen's eyes as he muttered to himself, 'I'll wait another two days. If I transform to the Divine Dawn Level the moment I get the Morning Star Essence, people might connect the dots afterward. I also don't know the exact status of the Royal Court's research. It would be bad if they used this to break through a bottleneck.'

Although the Purifier had requested these two items, Su Chen believed it wasn't without reason. The Morning Star Essence might play a crucial role in the Postnatal transformation process to the Divine Dawn Level.

He had no desire to 'aid the enemy'.

......

The arena didn't reopen until the fifth day after Qin Tianlin's death.

"You're quick off the mark, Brother Luo. The arena just reopened and you're already here."

Standing before the arena entrance, Shen Jiqing greeted Luo Chen as he saw him striding over with his head held high.

Luo Chen glanced at him and said indifferently, "While Qin Tianlin's death is regrettable, it adds a layer of mystery. To have been targeted by Black Tuo, he must have had something extraordinary about him."

"He'll probably be removed from the rankings before long, so naturally, I had to come see for myself."

"Yes, such a pity." Although Shen Jiqing said the words, his eyes held an unmistakable hint of schadenfreude.

The Five Great Sects, with the Royal Court reigning supreme, monopolized the vast majority of the Dust Star Sea's resources, which had long bred resentment among the middle and lower tiers of society.

Normally, no one would dare say anything, but now that misfortune had struck, they were happy to see it.

Luo Chen shook his head to himself and walked straight into the arena, faintly hearing Shen Jiqing greeting a few others behind him.

'So narrow-minded. To think someone like that could Melt a Holy Profession,' Luo Chen scoffed internally. He casually picked an empty room and went inside. The target he selected, naturally, was Qin Tianlin.

......

BOOM! BOOM!

Muffled impacts echoed incessantly as a dense storm of Energy erupted at the center. Luo Chen raised a hand to block the incoming projection, clearly seeing every dark-gold rune that flared to life on his opponent's fist.

The projection's skin was the color of dark gold, as if cast from molten copper. A look of surprise crossed Luo Chen's face. 'This seems to be the Immortal Vajra... He could Melt a Holy Profession at Tier Six?'

'As expected of the Bronze Sect. To think they've mastered the ability to Melt a Holy Profession at Tier Six. Is it related to the Creation Copper Heart?'

The projection of Qin Tianlin attacked with immense, heavy force, but deep within Luo Chen's pupils, layers of golden rings contracted, allowing him to find openings and even weak points the instant Qin Tianlin struck.

He handled the attacks with ease. After sparring for a moment, however, his brow furrowed slightly. 'To have this kind of strength at Tier Six... being able to defeat He Muyang is indeed terrifying.'

'But it still doesn't seem like enough to warrant a Great Deceitful God like Black Tuo making a move personally.'

'Or is there something about him that I'm not seeing?'

After a moment, Luo Chen sensed that the projection of Qin Tianlin had no other transformations. This was the limit of his strength.

'This is his limit...' He announced in a clear voice, "I forfeit."

In an instant, the projection that was about to strike him disintegrated.

'Melting a Holy Profession at Tier Six... so that's how Qin Tianlin defeated He Muyang. Su Chen is probably similar, though his overall strength should be a bit higher than Qin Tianlin's.'

Luo Chen mused to himself and couldn't help but sigh. 'Melting a Holy Profession at Tier Six... The resources of these great Sects are terrifying, placing them far beyond other factions.'

He had already roughly estimated Su Chen's strength, and his interest waned slightly.

'But since I'm already here, I might as well take a look.'

"Challenge target confirmed: Star Seed Su Chen..."

The projection of Su Chen gradually took form before him. Luo Chen found himself marveling at how the legacies of the Five Great Sects' Ancient Kings were unending. Even if a certain era only had one or two Morning Star Tiers, the very existence of the Ancient Kings allowed them to remain standing tall over the Dust Star Sea. The Jidao Alliance, by contrast, only had one Morning Star Tier, and he wasn't even a Star Seed. His future achievements were capped at the Double Ninth Tier. With enough diligence, he might be able to contend with a weaker Morning Star Tier, but if he were to encounter a Divine Dawn Level Star Seed like Sheng Huaixu, he would be no match. Luo Chen felt a faint sense of sorrow. And now, the Bronze Sect could Melt Holy Professions at Tier Six, giving their members an even more profound foundation and making them even harder to catch up to...