My Professions Have Too Much Personality - Chapter 177 - 121: "Heart of the Benevolent

Chapter 177: Chapter 121: “Heart of the Benevolent

“Innocent until proven guilty. Without any evidence, don’t bring up the matter of peripheral members again.” Chong Jingtian shook his head, then added, “Before he left, Xia Hanshi specifically told me that no matter what happens with Su Chen, as long as it isn’t related to the Deceitful God Sect, we are not to investigate.”

“In that case, Xia Hanshi must know something,” Jiang Shu Mo said pensively. This was his first time seeing Su Chen; he wasn’t targeting him without reason.

It was just a suspicion. Since Xia Hanshi had already given them a heads-up, as if he had anticipated this, he said no more.

“However, you have a point. We should find a way to check his Spirit Body for contamination again,” Chong Jingtian mentioned. “Over at the Translation Department, there’s a fascinating profession called Space Storer. It’s highly versatile.”

“I plan on letting all these Core Seeds give it a try, but one of the requirements is being a Tier Two Top Mental Profession. They’ll probably need some external assistance for that.”

“Judge You, that will be the perfect opportunity for you to check one more time and see if anyone in that group has ties to the Deceitful God.”

“Very well.” You Shan nodded. This would serve as a major screening. The Inner Courtyard’s reforms had likely caused a lot of dissatisfaction; it was entirely possible someone had gotten involved with the Deceitful God Sect.

Liu Chen’s death was a prime example.

“So much talent…” Jiang Shu Mo sighed, but then added with some regret, “It’s just this Zhu Xuan… I hope… he can pull himself together. Otherwise, he’ll be completely broken.”

……

“…Zhu Xuan spent far less time in the Nether Realm than Liu Chen did…”

A shadow fell over Zhu Xuan. He struggled to lift his head and look at Su Chen standing before him.

That condescending gaze, looking down at him, seemed to merge with the one from the day of the assessment.

His boasts before the fight, and even his so-called “diligence” during this period, all felt like a series of slaps across his face.

’Arch-nemesis? A battle between titans? It was all just a joke.’

’In Su Chen’s eyes, I must just be a clown, someone he quietly watched prance around before swatting me dead with a single blow.’

“Kill…” He struggled to open his mouth, blood pouring out uncontrollably.

“Huh?” Su Chen didn’t quite hear him. He glanced around. The fight was over. ’Isn’t there anyone here for first aid? If Zhu Xuan dies now, who’s going to be responsible?’

After scanning the area, he finally spotted a few figures in white coats struggling to squeeze through the crowd of spectators. They seemed to be shouting something.

“Kill… Kill me!” Zhu Xuan growled through gritted teeth, his eyes completely bloodshot.

“Huh?” Su Chen was taken aback. He looked at Zhu Xuan, who had finally struggled back to his feet. ’This guy can’t possibly think I don’t want to kill him, can he?’

’The higher-ups are watching. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have held back just now. Zhu Xuan couldn’t have resisted; I could have killed him with a single strike.’

“I volunteer for death! The Judicial Court won’t hold you responsible! Kill me!” Zhu Xuan shouted again and again, seeming to have lost his mind.

All eyes were fixed on him. The first aid personnel had already climbed onto the stage and were about to examine him, but he violently shoved them away.

’You say they won’t hold me responsible, but does that make it true? If you go and kill yourself offstage, no one’s going to care. Why are you so insistent that I be the one to do it?’

Su Chen was speechless. ’If we were out in the wilds, this guy would have died without a grave long ago.’

’I ignored him during the last assessment, and he held a grudge for this long. After a defeat this crushing, that resentment will probably escalate into a mortal feud.’

’But just one Liu Chen dying already caused such a huge stir…’

Su Chen thought for a moment, then spoke. “Why are you so hostile toward me? Like you said earlier, no one holds back during an assessment. That being the case, why do you still harbor such resentment?”

“I…” Zhu Xuan was speechless. His earlier sense of acceptance had only existed because he had assumed he would be the one to win.

And now, after another crushing defeat, how could he possibly feel at peace?

“After joining the Judicial Court, there are many people stronger than you, some of whom only have a Red Gold Talent. Why don’t you resent them?”

Su Chen asked again, “Is it because you think they’re *supposed* to be stronger than you, but I’m not? Or is it because I made you lose face?”

“That…” Zhu Xuan’s expression became dazed.

“All we need to do is train, train, train, and train some more. Those weaker than you will naturally be left in the dust, and there’s nothing you can do about those who are stronger,” Su Chen said.

“Being hostile toward others won’t increase our Talent or our strength, not even by a sliver.”

’Right… Don’t be hostile. Just find a way to kill them directly,’ Su Chen added silently.

Zhu Xuan swayed on his feet. It wasn’t because he was stunned by Su Chen’s verbal barrage, but because he had realized something.

It seemed Su Chen didn’t look down on him or see him as a clown. Rather, he “ignored” everyone with equal disregard.

At that moment, it dawned on him that since joining the Judicial Court, Su Chen seemed to have done almost nothing besides train.

His own hostility, on the other hand, felt entirely one-sided.

Finally, Su Chen said coolly, “If you truly want to die, you can find a place to slit your throat after you get down. You know I can’t kill you on this stage.”

“Heh…” A bitter smile appeared on Zhu Xuan’s face as he fell backward onto the stage. He was quickly caught by the first aid personnel, who began administering basic treatment.

Jiang Shu Mo looked at Chong Jingtian in astonishment. “Xia Hanshi can actually take on a student like this? Has he had a change of heart?”

Chong Jingtian also nodded in silent agreement.

“Well said!”

“What a Heart of the Benevolent! He even helped Zhu Xuan adjust his mindset. I thought he was on the verge of a breakdown; he could have been ruined.”

Someone in the crowd below shouted their approval.

Su Chen was speechless. ’If it weren’t to prevent Zhu Xuan from targeting me in the future, I couldn’t have been bothered to waste my breath.’

Gazing at the nearly unconscious Zhu Xuan on the stage, Su Chen sent a faint, imperceptible Spirit Seed into his brain.

’I need to find a way to determine whether today’s events will lead to Zhu Xuan’s enlightenment, or if his obsession will only deepen.’

’I hope he can adjust his mentality. Otherwise… I’ll have no choice but to eliminate this problem for good.’

He looked up in the direction where Ming Lin and the others had been, only to find that Wei Yufan and his group had already left, leaving Ming Lin by himself.

’They sure ran off fast…’ Su Chen thought as he jumped down from the stage. The crowd spontaneously parted to form a path, their fervent gazes fixed on him.

By the time he reached the entrance, Ming Lin was already waiting for him. He said with a wry smile, “You really know how to hide your strength.”

“What?” Su Chen feigned confusion. Ming Lin just shook his head and said nothing as they walked through the crowd together.

Ming Lin didn’t speak again until they were back at Su Chen’s villa. “If the challenge arena system were fully implemented, you’d probably already be the Chief Seed by now.”

After speaking, he added with another wry smile, “It’s only a matter of time, anyway. Once your profession’s development progress increases, your Mental Attacks will be even stronger.”

’When I get on the stage, my Tier Four Profession is sealed, and our profession development progress is mostly equalized. But my Spiritual Resilience is like that of a Tier Three who’s maxed out their development, giving me very high resistance.’

’But Su Chen has only just advanced to Tier Three. He can still get much stronger.’

“It doesn’t matter.” Su Chen had no particular desire to become the so-called Chief Seed.

As things stood, becoming the Chief Seed offered no direct benefits.

In fact, achieving it would make him the center of attention, which wasn’t necessarily a good thing for him.

“It doesn’t matter…” Ming Lin repeated, his expression unreadable. His mood seemed complicated, and he left in a hurry without another word.

Not long after the battle ended, the eyewitnesses excitedly began recounting it to their friends and family.

A few hours later, invitations began arriving at Su Chen’s home one after another.

“The Zhang Family, the Zhou Family, the Sun Family…”

Gu Bing was helping him sort through them, rattling off the names as if they were family treasures. She couldn’t help but sound envious. “These are all factions that supported Ming Lin and the others. Now they’re extending an olive branch to you too.”

These olive branches didn’t mean they were switching their full support to Su Chen, but they were willing to offer some backing. Because of the Inner Courtyard’s reforms, these factions had no choice but to hedge their bets.

This would distance them from the Core Seeds they were originally tied to, and at the same time, it would lessen the intensity of the competition.

Having invested resources in multiple parties, if a real conflict arose, they would at least make an effort to mediate.

“Take them all to your grandfather. Have him help me pick a few that are worth contacting,” Su Chen said with a wave of his hand. “Don’t pick any with a bad track record. And none that offer too much, or too little. Your grandfather should know what I mean.”

Gu Bing was overjoyed. She couldn’t help but ask, “You… you want my grandfather to help you choose your supporters?”

Even her form of address had changed.

Today’s battle with Zhu Xuan not only powerfully proved that Su Chen could defend his position, but his initiative in placating Zhu Xuan also scored him a lot of points.

Rumors were even spreading outside that it wouldn’t be long before the title of Chief Seed fell into Su Chen’s hands.

The impact of all this was far more profound than Su Chen himself had imagined.

“Mhm, I’ll leave it for you and him to handle.” Su Chen nodded, then continued, “Also… earlier, Internal Affairs informed me that the Pang Family’s assets have mostly been divided. They gave me a share, but it’s all physical assets, not cash. Have your grandfather handle it.”

Su Chen took out a few contracts and handed them to Gu Bing.