Chapter 598 - 327: It Was Su Chen

’I have to go directly to Old Qing, huh...’ Su Chen had anticipated this, but he was still a little disappointed to hear it.

’Old Qing is great in every way, except he’s a little too curious. This request for the Blood of the Deceitful God involves the Deceitful God himself, which means he’s bound to ask a million questions for the Bronze Sect.’

’Then again, I can’t blame Qing Cang. If I were in his shoes, I’d want to get to the bottom of it too.’

The thought gave Su Chen a headache. ’Maybe I should try tricking it out of the Faceless Ghost instead?’

The thought surfaced for a moment before he dismissed it. ’Better not. Old Qing might be a handful, but it’s just one drop. I’d rather try to pull one over on Old Qing than on the Faceless Ghost.’

Su Chen watched Wei Fan leave, then opened his wristband and sent a message to Old Qing.

「...」

At the Copper Heart Department, a glint flashed in Qin Yun’s eyes as he watched Shen Yi’an and the others leave the Floating Islands. His gaze then shifted, landing on Wei Fan departing from Su Chen’s Floating Island.

’Su Chen didn’t go... It must be him.’

Although he still didn’t know the specifics, this series of personnel movements had all but confirmed it. ’The one with the Twin Divine Dawns... it has to be Su Chen.’

’The Profound Celestial Instrument can actually produce Twin Divine Dawns?’ Qin Yun’s brows furrowed.

He knew a thing or two about the Profound Celestial Instrument. As a divine artifact for enhancing Talents, it wasn’t considered particularly precious by the Sects or the Royal Court. Its limit was the Star Amber Level, and even reaching that was a matter of probability.

They could already find plenty of people with Star Amber Talents without needing to use the Profound Celestial Instrument.

But if that thing could raise a Star Amber Talent to the Divine Dawn Level, it would be a completely different story.

For the Postnatal Melting of a Holy Profession, Spiritual Fire was a major obstacle. It was exceedingly rare, and even if one was found, there was a waiting list. This wasn’t unique to the Bronze Sect; the other Sects and the Royal Court all faced the same problem.

A Divine Dawn Talent, however, allowed one to bypass this step, saving a great deal of time and effort.

’Is this the work of the Profound Celestial Instrument, or is there something special about Su Chen himself?’ Qin Yun’s expression was grim and unsettled. The unknown reason for it all left a bitter frustration churning in his chest.

He turned to the corpse in the center of the room. Qin Tianlin had been dead for a long time, yet Qin Yun had neither held a funeral nor buried him, leaving the body to simply lie here.

"It shouldn’t have ended like this. It shouldn’t have..." His gaze was glacial, his voice a low growl.

Even if Qin Tianlin’s death had nothing to do with Su Chen, the stark contrast between Su Chen’s rising brilliance and the sight of Qin Tianlin’s corpse made Qin Yun’s face twist into an ugly sneer.

Qin Tianlin’s death meant far more than just him losing a grandson with extraordinary potential.

Lately, he had sensed that morale was crumbling within both the Qin Family and his own faction.

Qin Tianlin wasn’t just his grandson; he was the heir to his legacy, the one who would carry on his will. If Qin Yun himself weren’t still at the Morning Star Tier, many would have likely already defected.

For example, when Chu Lingyuan grew old, Wei Zhenghong would naturally take up the banner for the Chu Family and their faction, rallying everyone around him while searching for the next person to inherit his will.

And so the cycle repeats.

But if that line was suddenly broken in a generation—as with Qin Tianlin’s violent death—the end result would be a steady decline, just like Zhou Yunyang’s branch. This was the very trouble the Qin Family now faced.

"This is not how it should be!" Qin Yun roared, once again drawing the wisp of Sun Fire from his mind. Ripples of power pulsed out from his body.

Repeating the same process, he quickly contacted Sun.

"I agree to your proposal from last time," Qin Yun said, getting straight to the point.

Sun seemed surprised. The fiery phantom flickered and fell silent for a moment before asking, "What seems to be the matter? Did something provoke you?"

They had cooperated in the past, so it had a decent understanding of Qin Yun’s character. He was an extremely cautious man.

Sun hadn’t been surprised when Qin Yun didn’t agree immediately last time. However, he hadn’t expected a reply so soon. This aroused a flicker of suspicion.

"Su Chen has evolved a Dual Divine Dawn Talent," Qin Yun said, struggling to keep his voice calm.

"Twin Divine Dawns?" Sun’s voice rose, its flames surging. "He actually managed to elevate his Talent to Twin Divine Dawns... This man..."

Sun’s voice held an irrepressible excitement and joy. "With this, my chances of success are even greater!"

Qin Yun frowned, his tone icy. "Can you tell me your plan now?"

However, once Sun calmed itself, it remained evasive. "I cannot reveal my plan to you just yet."

Just as Qin Yun distrusted it, it did not fully trust him either.

Qin Yun was not surprised to hear this. He simply asked coolly, "You’re sending them to the location of the Lost Flame. How do you plan to trap them?"

"It’s not as simple as you think," Sun said, shaking its fiery head and refuting Qin Yun’s assumption.

Qin Yun feigned surprise. "And what if they don’t follow your plan?"

Sun’s voice conveyed absolute confidence. "You’ve been to the Lost Flame before. Unless they wait for the tide to recede, they can only rely on me to get close."

Qin Yun remained noncommittal. "I will contact you every ten days."

"That’s too frequent. Those Morning Star Tier experts are no fools. Let’s make it once every half a month."

"Fine," Qin Yun agreed, drawing the flame back into his body.

「...」

On Dragon Abyss, inside a room in the joint encampment of the Sects and the Royal Court, both the Peng King and Li Qingyi were present.

"Qing Cang said it would be today, didn’t he?" the Peng King asked, looking at the graceful and elegant Li Qingyi.

Li Qingyi’s expression was cool. "That is correct."

"Venerable, I believe the Bronze Sect has fooled you again. We should just march on Copper Heart and force the Bronze Sect to give us an explanation! Why did they place Lord Lu Huai under house arrest for no reason?"

Han Xingliu stood to one side, visibly indignant. "If the Bronze Sect hadn’t interfered, Lord Lu Huai would be perfectly fine back at the Royal Court right now!"

"Since you two are so concerned about Senior Brother Lu, why don’t you go ask them yourselves?" Li Qingyi shot them a cold glance.

The Peng King sighed helplessly. "He is, after all, a member of the Profound Celestial Sect. The Royal Court has no grounds to make a scene..."

Li Qingyi scoffed internally, seeing right through their intentions. Her gaze drifted toward the Copper Heart Department, her voice still tinged with disbelief. "Were the Twin Divine Dawns truly created by the Profound Celestial Instrument?"

At first, the thought had never crossed her mind. But after losing contact with Lu Huai, she couldn’t help but consider the possibility.

’Impossible.’

Lately, every time the thought arose, she would instinctively reject it. ’I know the Profound Celestial Instrument better than anyone...’

Just as she was lost in thought, both her and the Peng King’s eyes twitched simultaneously as they looked toward the door.

The next moment, the door swung open without a sound, revealing two figures: Qing Cang and Lu Huai.

"Senior Brother Lu." Seeing Lu Huai unharmed, Li Qingyi couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

A glint flashed in the Peng King’s eyes before he suppressed it.

As for Han Xingliu, he stared at Lu Huai with a burning intensity, as if desperate to confirm something.

Lu Huai noticed their gazes and swept his eyes over the Peng King and Han Xingliu.

He wasn’t surprised to see them here. ’A Divine Dawn Talent emerges, and I go missing right after. If the Royal Court couldn’t piece something together from that, it wouldn’t have survived this long.’

"Lord Lu Huai."

Han Xingliu, being the junior, was the first to speak. He looked overjoyed and relieved. "We haven’t been able to contact you this whole time, my lord. We feared some accident had befallen you. It is a relief to see you are well."

Qing Cang shot Han Xingliu a sideways glance and said dryly, "What kind of accident could possibly happen in the Bronze Sect?"

Han Xingliu, as if realizing his slip of the tongue, quickly explained, "That’s not what I meant. It’s just that Lord Lu Huai’s sudden disappearance was truly concerning."

"I wonder what exactly happened to make the Bronze Sect seal off Copper Heart for so long and even forbid Lord Lu Huai from making contact with the outside?"

At this question, both the Peng King and Li Qingyi turned their attention to him.

Qing Cang chuckled. "This matter... well, it’s not so easy to explain."

He was about to say more when his wristband buzzed. He glanced down, and his brow furrowed slightly. ’This kid...’

After a moment’s thought, Qing Cang looked up and said, "Venerable Qingyi, please inform the Profound Celestial Ancient King that I have delivered the man to you, safe and sound. Whatever happens from here on out has nothing to do with the Bronze Sect."

Qing Cang deliberately stressed his words. Li Qingyi nodded slightly in acknowledgment. "I will report to the Ancient King."