Chapter 592 - 324: First Hearing of True Radiance

In fact, if the outside world were to learn of this, more than half of the attention would likely fall upon the Profound Celestial Instrument, not him.

"It’s nothing. I’d just like to ask you to stay here a little while longer, Lu Huai," Qing Cang said in a gentle tone.

"A little while longer?" Lu Huai’s expression soured. "What do you mean? We already promised the Royal Court we would head over as soon as possible. It was bad enough that you kept delaying, unwilling to let me leave."

"But now you’re detaining me and cutting off all my external communications. What is this? House arrest?"

"Is your next step to make a move against me? And after that, to steal the Profound Celestial Instrument?"

Lu Huai fired off a volley of questions. It was no wonder he was so agitated. The enhancement from the Profound Celestial Instrument was probabilistic; even elevating someone to the Star Amber Level was exceedingly difficult, and a Divine Dawn Level was completely unprecedented.

He had no idea what had happened. ’Is the root cause the Profound Celestial Instrument, or is it Su Chen?’

But if the Bronze Sect became greedy because of this and decided to seize the Profound Celestial Instrument, it wasn’t out of the question.

"It’s a misunderstanding," Qing Cang explained. "The Bronze Sect and the Profound Celestial Sect have always been on good terms. We are not detaining you out of a desire for the Profound Celestial Instrument. It’s just that this matter of Su Chen’s transformation to the Divine Dawn Level needs to be kept under wraps for a while."

Lu Huai’s face remained tense. He asked bluntly, "Is this the Bronze Ancient King’s will?"

"Master wouldn’t concern himself with such details," Qing Cang answered evasively.

Lu Huai frowned. "It’s useless to detain me. It’s one thing if I don’t contact the outside world for a day or two. But after three or five days, then a week... sooner or later, someone will notice something is wrong."

"Besides, the Divine Dawn Light is extremely conspicuous. With Xiao Linfeng out there, it won’t be hard for him to deduce that this Twin Divine Dawns user is a member of the Bronze Sect. You can’t hide this for long."

Qing Cang sighed helplessly. "You have a point. But this all happened so suddenly; you have to give us some breathing room. Rest assured, though, the Bronze Sect will not harm you in any way."

Hearing this, Lu Huai thought it over. What Qing Cang said made some sense, and his wariness subsided slightly. Still uneasy, he asked, "How long are you going to keep me here?"

"Not for long," Qing Cang said, shaking his head. "In that case, we won’t disturb you any further."

With that, Qing Cang left with Su Chen. Only after they had boarded their ship and departed into the distance did Lu Huai relax slightly.

He glanced around, a flicker in his eyes as some improper ideas surfaced in his mind, but he quickly suppressed them.

’This is the heart of the Bronze Sect’s territory. Acting rashly might not help the current situation.’

Lu Huai took out the Profound Celestial Instrument again, holding it before his eyes for a close look. The iridescent light on its surface had dimmed, and more than half of its stored Energy had been consumed. He simply couldn’t figure it out. ’How on earth did he do it?’

The Profound Celestial Instrument had been in the possession of the Profound Celestial Sect for many years, yet Su Chen was the first and only case of his kind. He figured the root cause was, nine times out of ten, Su Chen himself, not the Profound Celestial Instrument.

’Even if the root cause is Su Chen, he still transformed inside the Profound Celestial Instrument. That must mean the instrument plays some kind of vital role, one we’ve never discovered before.’

Lu Huai’s brow furrowed deeply. ’In that case, the Royal Court’s research will almost certainly succeed. It looks like we’ll have to raise our price.’

With Su Chen as a precedent, transformation to the Divine Dawn Level was no longer an illusion, but a tangible possibility. The importance of the Profound Celestial Instrument was self-evident.

...

"Twin Divine Dawns... how did you do it?" Qing Cang asked, unable to contain his curiosity as soon as they boarded the airship. "That Profound Celestial Instrument has existed for thousands of years, and you’re the first. It can’t have been just luck."

"Uh..." Su Chen scratched his head, still trying to come up with a lie. Suddenly, streams of light intertwined beside him, and a familiar figure materialized. Both he and Qing Cang immediately exclaimed, "Master!"

"Mm," the Bronze Ancient King nodded. His gaze fell upon Su Chen as he asked directly, "Is this related to the Morning Star Essence?"

"Morning Star Essence?" Qing Cang was taken aback for a moment, then a glimmer of understanding appeared on his face. ’So, it really wasn’t just the Profound Celestial Instrument.’

"It should be related," Su Chen said hesitantly.

"And the Great Venerable Red Flame Thunder Resonator?" the Bronze Ancient King asked, his question seemingly coming out of nowhere.

Su Chen considered it for a moment. "That’s probably related, too."

’It seems devouring the Spiritual of the Great Venerable wasn’t without its benefits. At least it makes this lie more plausible.’

Standing to the side, Qing Cang was completely lost, having no idea what the two were talking about.

"Theoretically, a Divine Dawn Talent can only be inherited from a Morning Star Tier Professional," the Bronze Ancient King said, a wistful look in his eyes. "Since you were able to transform to the Divine Dawn Level, you must have inherited my junior brother’s bloodline."

No matter how he had done it, one thing remained certain: without a Morning Star Tier bloodline, it was impossible to transform to the Divine Dawn Level. Su Chen came from Red Thunder Star, and the only Morning Star Tier Professional from that planet had been his junior brother.

"Uh..." Su Chen didn’t know how to respond. ’After all this, that long-dead, convenient master of mine is still coming in handy.’

However, since this speculation seemed to benefit him, Su Chen certainly wasn’t going to refute it.

"What’s your wrist strength in tons?" the Bronze Ancient King suddenly asked.

"Huh?" Su Chen was baffled. ’Tons? It’s been a long time since I’ve heard that term.’ "I’ve never actually measured it," he admitted.

The Bronze Ancient King looked at him dubiously. "You can’t quantify your own stats? For example, your power output, protection, defense level, speed, and so on? You don’t have even a rough sense of them?"

"Don’t worry, you’re not the only one," he added reassuringly.

"Quantify my own stats?" Su Chen repeated, confused. He didn’t know what that meant, and he shook his head honestly. "I’ve never had a feeling like that."

"You haven’t?" The Bronze Ancient King seemed a little surprised. After a moment, he asked, "Is your Holy Profession also related to the Great Venerable Red Flame Thunder Resonator?"

Qing Cang grew even more bewildered. ’How did we get onto the topic of a Morning Star Profession now?’

Su Chen naturally nodded. "My body has been changing ever since that last incident. I forged the Holy Profession inexplicably."

"The mysteries of the Spiritual are indeed unfathomable." The Bronze Ancient King nodded and patted Su Chen’s shoulder. A stream of data swept over Su Chen’s body and then returned to the king.

’Pure and flawless. Not a single trace related to a Deceitful God.’

Su Chen was changing by the day, and he had supposedly merged with the Spiritual of the Great Venerable Red Flame Thunder Resonator. It all made the king deeply uneasy, forcing him to confirm Su Chen’s state every time they met.

"Notify Shen Yi’an and the others. Have them all use the Profound Celestial Instrument once," the Bronze Ancient King ordered Qing Cang.

"Have them all use it? The root cause lies with Su Chen, so it’ll be difficult for them to have a transformation, won’t it?" Qing Cang asked, hesitating.

"Whether they transform or not, they must all make the trip," the Bronze Ancient King said, shaking his head.

Qing Cang paused in surprise before understanding dawned on him. "Master is truly farsighted," he said quickly.

It was true. They couldn’t detain Lu Huai indefinitely, nor could they force him into some kind of spiritual contract.

The news about Su Chen would inevitably leak. When that time came, if Shen Yi’an and the other Star Amber Level Professionals heard of it and realized the Sect had never let them even try, it would undoubtedly breed resentment and create unnecessary conflict.

"Mm." Only then did the Bronze Ancient King nod. His gaze shifted back to Su Chen. "Before you advance to Tier Seven, remember to come find me. We’ll see if we can purify the mid-layer Fog Ashes. If you need anything, just tell Qing Cang."

Once Su Chen advanced to Tier Seven, the intensity of the Fog Ashes would also increase, making the chance of purification even smaller.

"Yes..." Su Chen’s heart stirred. ’The Ancient King seems a bit anxious. I wonder what’s happened.’

’But on the other hand, this means I might not have to deal with the Divine Blood issue myself anymore. And the materials for the Cauldron Maker, too.’

Seeing Su Chen agree, the Ancient King’s figure dissipated.

"Master is truly thorough in his considerations," Qing Cang was still remarking with admiration.

A glint appeared in Su Chen’s eyes as he asked, "Senior Brother, what was Master talking about just now, about ’quantifying your own stats’?"

Qing Cang thought for a moment before explaining, "A Morning Star Tier can pass down the ability to ignite the Morning Fire. The descendants of a Moonlight Tier, on the other hand, have a chance to inherit certain core Traits of their Profession."

"Professional Traits?" Su Chen realized. "So that ability to quantify one’s own stats that Master mentioned... that’s one of the Bronze Ancient King’s Professional Traits?"

"I suppose so. Master possessed that Trait himself. As for how exactly it helps, I’m not entirely sure either." As he spoke, Qing Cang couldn’t help but recall what the Sun had told him, and he added with a sigh,

"That is the level above Divine Dawn. It’s called True Radiance."

’True Radiance?’ Su Chen’s heart skipped a beat as a panel materialized before him—

[The Purifier has learned the secret of True Radiance and seems rather excited. If it could obtain the blood of a True Radiance or Moonlight being, it might be able to research something.]