Chapter 698: Zhen Yu Awakens, A Storm is Brewing

“Qin Yun? He should be in the Bronze Sect at the moment.” Peng King thought for a moment. If the Bronze Sect executed Qin Yun, he would have been notified.

“He’s actually still alive. Good, very good!” Prison King stood up abruptly, saying “good” three times in a row. Everyone could clearly hear the seething hatred through his gritted teeth.

“What? Did you have a dispute with him in the Flame Fire?” Peng King asked, his heart stirring slightly.

“It was far more than a dispute!” Prison King’s eyes turned ruthless. “That man colluded with the Residual Spirit, causing us to anger the Spirit of Sun. On the verge of death, he somehow used an unknown method to sacrifice and kill three people in succession.

“Even I was almost scammed to death by him inside, while he fled the scene! I already swore a venomous oath in the Flame Space that I will grind his bones to dust!”

Sacrificed? Scammed? This was completely different from what Qin Yun himself had claimed.

Hearing this, the expressions of the other three shifted. Even Profound Turtle King opened his cloudy eyes.

“Wasn’t that Residual Spirit left behind by the death of a Sun Tier?” Peng King asked in astonishment.

“Of course not!” Prison King sneered, then realized something. “Did he use those exact words to deceive you as well?”

Subsequently, both sides exchanged their general information.

Prison King then came to a realization. “No wonder the Emperor and those Ancient Kings kept their mouths shut about this matter. It turns out they were tricked into going in.

“And that Qin Yun actually painted himself as an innocent victim. Damn him!

“What is the Bronze Sect’s stance? Are they still going to protect him?”

Peng King shook his head. “Under the current circumstances, if you reveal the truth, the Bronze Sect definitely won’t fight to the death to protect Qin Yun.”

“Then who is at the helm of the Bronze Sect right now? Chu Lingyuan?” Prison King seemed unable to wait any longer. “Tell him to bring Qin Yun here! I want to grind his bones to dust with my own hands!”

“Wait a moment. This matter…” Peng King’s eyes flickered as he said, “Perhaps there is much to be gained here.”

“What do you mean?” Lu Feng caught the underlying implication in Peng King’s words.

Peng King considered for a moment, glanced at Profound Turtle King, and then looked at Prison King. “Zhen Yu, you have been slumbering for over two years, and quite a few things have happened in the Dust Star Sea.”

He gave a brief overview of the Bronze Sect’s current situation, including the improvement of the Flame Fire, Su Chen seizing the position of Star Chief, and so on…

“Su Chen? The Star Chief?” Prison King’s expression froze. Vaguely, he remembered the little fellow he had seen at the Hengdao Nexus. He had intended to intercept and kill him, but was startled away by the Bronze Ancient King.

He asked in shock, “How old is he, to have obtained the position of Star Chief?”

When he went in, this little guy had only caused a minor stir because he became a Star Seed despite coming from a Desolate Planet. Yet, upon coming out, he had already become the Star Chief with all eyes on him.

He himself had been the Star Chief of a past Peak Star Conference. At that time, he was nearly fifty years old and had struggled to win even after giving it his all.

For the first time, Prison King felt as if these two to three years had brought about a lifetime of change.

Peng King nodded. “This person holds many secrets. Right now, the Bronze Ancient King is not present. If we use Qin Yun’s matter as an excuse…”

“Peng King!” Profound Turtle King suddenly interrupted. Before he could finish his sentence, Peng King cut him off in return, “Old Turtle, remember whose side you are really on.”

Profound Turtle King’s chest heaved. Only after a moment did he say in a deep voice, “I am naturally a Morning Star of the Royal Court. But right now, numerous factions in the Dust Star Sea are getting restless, and the Deceitful Gods are biding their time.

“If you make a move against the Bronze Sect, it will immediately trigger chaos. Besides, the Bronze Ancient King is only trapped inside; he isn’t dead. When he comes out, how will you quell his fury?”

“Relax,” Peng King said with a calm expression. “This matter definitely won’t escalate so violently. Perhaps it can even fulfill the Emperor’s long-cherished wish to merge the fire of the Bronze Sect into our Royal Court.

“Furthermore, I will make sure the Bronze Ancient King has nothing to say about it.”

Rebellious God King pondered. “This matter… is doable.”

Having been on the outside all this time, he had naturally heard of Su Chen’s name.

Prison King naturally had no other objections. He muttered under his breath, “Kill Qin Yun, seize Su Chen.”

As three gazes simultaneously turned toward him, Profound Turtle King could only struggle to argue, “You all still have to persuade the Royal Clan.”

Peng King chuckled softly. “They will agree. The secret of Su Chen transforming into a Dual Divine Dawn Talent inside the Profound Celestial Instrument is alone enough for us to study.

“It has been over half a year since the Profound Celestial Instrument arrived at the Royal Court. The success rate is only ten percent, and it comes with fatal risks. If we get our hands on him, there is bound to be a breakthrough.”

Profound Turtle King sighed deeply. After a long time, he finally said, “If that’s the case, do as you wish.”

The general direction had been set, but the specific details still required further discussion.

Lu Feng’s voice was muffled and deep. “Once Chu Lingyuan leaves, the Bronze Sect will only have a few Chairmen left. If the three of us strike personally and employ some tactics, it should be worth a try.”

Profound Turtle King warned, “Don’t forget, that is where the Bronze Sect’s accumulated foundation lies. Breaking in won’t be that simple.”

“I have my ways…”

……

Early that morning, Su Chen waited at the port.

Before long, he saw a spaceship wobbling its way over. The person who stepped off was none other than Qing Cang.

“Senior Brother,” Su Chen hurried over and greeted him warmly. “You could have just sent anyone to deliver this. Why did you come in person?”

“Send just anyone to deliver it?” Qing Cang cast a sideways glance at him. “If it got lost, wouldn’t you fight me to the death over it?”

“What are you saying? Even if it got lost, I wouldn’t fight you to the death,” Su Chen said, shaking his head repeatedly.

“HEH,” Qing Cang chuckled drily. He casually pulled out a metal box. “Here, the Flame Fire Golden Sand.”

Su Chen breathed a sigh of relief inwardly. Although this item nominally belonged to him already, it had been in transit. As long as it wasn’t in his hands, he felt somewhat uneasy. Fortunately, no accidents had occurred.

He reached out and took it. Without opening it, he simply peered inside through the small glass window on top. It looked somewhat similar to the Fire-igniting Ash.

Suddenly, a flash of insight struck his mind. He wondered if the Fire-igniting Ash was refined from the Flame Fire Golden Sand.

Flame Fire Golden Sand was only born after the Flame Fire burned for a long period of time. Perhaps these two were fundamentally the exact same thing.

Su Chen muttered inwardly but tucked it away. He made an inviting gesture. “Senior Brother, come inside and have a seat. It’s been a long time since we last met.”

“No need, I still have matters to attend to,” Qing Cang shook his head, sighing with emotion. “To think that the Prison King actually woke up.”

“The Prison King woke up?” Su Chen feigned surprise, asking, “When did this happen?”

“Just two days ago.”

“Two days ago?” Su Chen’s eyes flickered slightly. It had taken about a month for the Prison King’s Spirit Body to fully return.

Qing Cang continued, “It is said that his Spirit Body was trapped inside the Flame Space. After the Hanhai Emperor and a few Ancient Kings went in, they actually saved him and sent him out, instructing him on a few matters.

“They asked the helmsmen of the Five Great Sects to bring some Divine Blood and the Power of Faith over. It seems they want to hold some kind of ritual to communicate with the Ancient Kings.”

“Is that so?” Su Chen feigned astonishment and asked suspiciously, “Are his words trustworthy?”

Qing Cang frowned deeply. “He did mention some things that, while not exactly secrets, are indeed only known to the Ancient Kings. It must have been Master who told him to relay the message. The other sects should have similar communication methods.

“Chu Lingyuan has brought Chairmen Lin and Shen and is already preparing to set off. To avoid any accidents, the meeting place isn’t the Royal Court, but rather a location chosen not too far from any of the parties involved.”

Under the current circumstances, it was definitely impossible to head to the Royal Court. If they got surrounded and wiped out, it would be extremely troublesome.

“Isn’t it a good thing that we can contact Master?” Su Chen looked at the frowning Qing Cang.

“Sigh.” Qing Cang let out a sigh. “Now that the Morning Stars of the Five Great Sects have withered away, the Royal Court instead has four Morning Star Tiers coexisting in this world… If they harbor malicious intentions…”

Su Chen was slightly taken aback. The Five Great Sects had each lost one Morning Star because of Qin Yun’s scam, and they hadn’t even had time to select their Star Seeds yet.

Qin Yun was pretty much as good as dead right now, leaving the Bronze Sect with only one usable Morning Star Tier. Similar to them were Holy Cauldron, Xingquong, Xuan Tian, and Zhenwu, which each still had two Morning Stars.

Counting by the number of Morning Stars alone, the Royal Court definitely possessed crushing superiority. In fact, it wasn’t just Morning Stars; the Royal Court also had no shortage of Double Ninth Tier Chairman-level figures.

“In the current situation, one wrong move could trigger a chain reaction. Perhaps I’m just overthinking it,” Qing Cang said, shaking his head as his voice turned cold. “Chu Lingyuan is too soft-hearted. To think he merely placed Qin Yun under house arrest. He should have been completely imprisoned! Now that I am in charge, I’m afraid his good days are coming to an end.”

Qin Yun? Su Chen’s heart stirred as he suddenly asked, “Has Venerable Qin Yun ever forged a Physical Strength Holy Profession?”

Qing Cang paused in his steps. A hint of contemplation flashed in his eyes. “He has forged the Permanent Body.”