My Professions Have Too Much Personality - Chapter 342 - 204: Dispelling the Nether Fog (Part 2)
It was so overwhelming that even he found it hard to bear. Years of maintaining a cold, hard demeanor made him subconsciously look away, only to meet a pair of furtive eyes.
’This kid…’ Xia Hanshi’s brow twitched. The stinging sensation in his nose suddenly vanished.
’To think that the one who rescued Ji Rou was actually Su Chen.’
His thoughts drifted. He had gone to Southwind merely having sensed the first traces of the Holy Banquet.
He never expected to run into Su Chen. At first, he thought the boy was just a promising seedling, but Su Chen’s later performance far exceeded his expectations.
’The secrets he carries are probably immense.’
’No wonder Su Chen specifically mentioned these people.’ Qing Cang understood completely as he watched the reactions of Xia Hanshi and Chong Jingtian.
The others who had been brought out also began to awaken. They came from different cities and were still dazed, but they quickly found the people from their respective homes.
Upon learning that many years had passed in the outside world and that their friends and family were no longer alive, their expressions inevitably became dazed and shocked.
Qing Cang withdrew his gaze from Xia Hanshi and the others, his face expressionless, but he couldn’t help but feel a hint of resentment bubble up inside him.
’If they had told me about Su Chen’s situation earlier, my cooked duck wouldn’t have flown away.’
But on second thought, he sighed to himself. He only felt this way because the matter was already settled, and besides, he had already developed a good impression of Su Chen.
’But if I had learned of Su Chen’s situation the moment I arrived in Ying Feng, with no prior connection to him, it’s hard to say what I would have thought back then.’
’Such is time, such is fate.’
“Ahem…” Su Chen, who had been secretly watching for a while, saw that the three had more or less calmed down. He stepped forward, enveloped a small area with a Wind Barrier, and then spoke.
“Teacher, Chief, regarding this trouble with the Holy Banquet, there are currently two solutions.”
’Two solutions?’ Chong Jingtian was surprised. He glanced at Qing Cang outside; the man had clearly said there was no way.
“You’ve become the chosen one.” Xia Hanshi’s words were part question, part statement.
Beside him, Ji Rou curiously sized up Su Chen. ’Hanshi actually took a student?’
“Yes.” Su Chen nodded. Chong Jingtian understood now. No wonder he suddenly had a solution.
“The first method is for the Ancient King to act personally, but the cleanup wouldn’t be very thorough,” Su Chen continued. “The second method is to temporarily expel the Nether Fog from the entire planet, but we’ll have to deal with the Deceitful God’s Followers ourselves.”
“You can expel the fog?” Chong Jingtian suddenly became very excited.
“The Ancient King said it would only be a temporary expulsion. Red Thunder Star’s location is fixed, so he can’t isolate it permanently,” Su Chen explained.
Once the Nether Fog returns, after a period of time, more of the Deceitful God’s Followers will emerge. It’s unavoidable.
“That’s enough.” Chong Jingtian nodded repeatedly and said urgently, “Our biggest problem is not being able to find those Deceitful God’s Followers. If the Nether Fog is gone, cleaning them up shouldn’t be too much of an issue.”
“More importantly, once the fog is expelled, we can survey the entire planet and excavate more ruins. The benefits will be even greater.”
“I understand.” Su Chen nodded. Just as he was about to dispel the Wind Barrier, he heard Xia Hanshi say coldly, “Wait. The other three cities can’t just reap the benefits. I don’t want to finish dealing with the Holy Banquet just to go back to scheming against them.”
The frigid killing intent emanating from Xia Hanshi startled Ji Rou, who was standing beside him. Old Xia belatedly realized this and retracted his aura.
Su Chen almost laughed out loud. After getting a glare from Old Xia, he said, “Don’t you worry. They won’t be thinking about opposing Ying Feng anymore.”
Xia Hanshi raised an eyebrow. He watched as Su Chen dispelled the Wind Barrier and turned to face Qing Cang.
His whispering over here had already attracted a lot of attention, especially after the people who were supposed to be trapped inside the Red Thunder Cauldron were rescued. Everyone else was even more curious about what had happened on the cauldron.
But the first thing Su Chen said after dispelling the Wind Barrier made their faces fall in shock.
“Qing Cang… Senior Brother…” Su Chen called out, pausing in the middle, still not quite used to it.
’Senior Brother?’
Mixed in the crowd, Jiang Shu Mo and the others swallowed hard, their expressions fervent.
Ming Lin was stunned. ’As expected of… Su Chen.’
The people from the other three cities were dumbfounded. They knew perfectly well who Qing Cang was—someone who could effortlessly plow through their strongholds ten times over.
’Wasn’t Su Chen supposed to become his student? How did he become his junior brother?’
’A student and a junior brother—are those the same thing?’
Lan Hao’s eyes bulged, and his vision went black. He almost fainted.
’It… it really is Su Chen. That guy actually became the chosen one!’
’Ni Bin, Wan Chen, what the hell were those two doing?’
Wan Chen vaguely sensed Lan Hao’s hostile gaze and frowned, not understanding why.
Qing Cang’s mouth twitched. He never thought the day would come when he would actually hear someone call him “Senior Brother.”
’Really…’ He didn’t know what to think, so he just nodded.
“Please inform Master that I choose the second option,” Su Chen said.
’He calls him “Master” so smoothly… I guess “Martial Uncle” was out of the question, huh?’ Qing Cang was speechless. ’It seems Master’s power is going to be spent here, no matter what.’
’The journey back probably won’t be peaceful.’ Although he was worried, Qing Cang didn’t say more and faithfully relayed the message.
After receiving a response, Qing Cang’s expression flickered. ’So that’s how it is?’
’Master is still the most considerate. In that case, there’s no problem.’ His furrowed brow smoothed out, and he announced in a loud voice, “Everyone, back up.”
Not understanding why, the crowd followed Qing Cang and retreated further.
Soon after, with a great RUMBLE, the giant cauldron before them suddenly shuddered.
From the cauldron, a mottled, bronze-green light shot into the sky, forming a pillar of light that abruptly exploded at its peak, showering down like a rain of fiery meteors. A magnificent, ethereal figure that stretched across the horizon appeared.
“So… big…” Su Chen looked up, swallowing hard. The giant bronze face nearly took up the entire sky.
At the same time, countless motes of bronze-green light surged toward the Red Thunder Cauldron like weary birds returning to their nests. Upon touching the cracks in the cauldron’s body, they transformed into streams of liquid metal, seeping and winding along the network of fissures.
This living, bronze-colored energy rapidly solidified in the gaps, fusing with the original material to form new metal etched with bronze patterns.
The dilapidated Red Thunder Cauldron gradually returned to its complete state, but it was now a mixture of two colors, crimson and bronze, giving it a rather strange appearance.
Then, the giant metal cauldron began to rise, its surface rippling. From the rim of the cauldron’s mouth, three thick, metallic, mechanical pillars extended, their surfaces surging with a torrent of intertwined crimson and cyan energy.
BOOM!
The ground trembled and a fierce wind blasted them. Everyone stared, dumbfounded, at the pillar of intertwined crimson and cyan energy that shot up from the cauldron’s mouth. Its intense light washed out the color from everyone’s bodies, making them look pale.
The massive energy pillar plunged into the depths of the Nether Fog, like a drop of highly compressed cleaning agent shot into a pool of grease.
The Nether Fog shrouding the sky was instantly swept away. The crimson and cyan light gradually spread, squeezing the Nether Fog’s space and rapidly pushing it back.
“…You shouldn’t have let the Ancient King expend his power to solve this problem with the Holy Banquet.”
Su Chen was watching with rapt attention when Wan Chen’s voice suddenly sounded beside his ear. Keeping his eyes fixed forward, he replied via spiritual transmission, “With Ni Chuan around, the news from here can’t be kept secret. The Spiritual Stone Slabs also need to be transported back. If the Ancient King isn’t present, I’m afraid trouble will arise.”
’From his tone, it seems this Wan Chen fellow is also quite resentful.’
Su Chen wasn’t surprised by this. Resentment was normal; if he were in Wan Chen’s shoes, he’d be resentful too.
He thought for a moment, then transmitted his next question, “And are you included among those who would cause trouble?”
Wan Chen’s expression stiffened slightly. He shook his head and transmitted back, “I am a member of the Sect.”
Su Chen’s eyes narrowed, the pillar of light reflecting in his pupils. “Things have to be handled one at a time,” he transmitted faintly.
As he finished speaking, the crimson and cyan pillar of light that had erupted from the cauldron gradually faded. Su Chen felt the world before him become clear, the grayish filter finally gone.
But just then, a clap of explosive thunder echoed, shaking everyone to their core.
The fractured Red Thunder Cauldron suddenly exploded with a BOOM. A wave of wind swept out as countless crimson metal fragments flew in all directions, merging into the crimson and cyan barrier of light that enveloped the sky.
