My Professions Have Too Much Personality

"I wonder who will take the top spot in this preliminary selection," Sheng Huaixu said pointedly, standing at the edge of the railing and looking down.

Luo Yao shook his head. "It’s hard to say. The other factions are keeping things under wraps. Even if we wanted to speculate, we’d have to wait at least a few months after the preliminary selection starts before we could even identify a few likely candidates."

"The winner of the preliminary selection might be undecided, but the top spot among the Star Seeds is likely already settled. I heard the extra reward the Royal Court is offering this year is Morning Star Essence. They might as well just give it to Su Chen. Why waste time?"

Su Chen raised an eyebrow and turned to look. The speaker was a man with an unnervingly effeminate face. Su Chen remembered him from the earlier introductions; he was Gu Feng, the Star Seed from the Holy Cauldron Sect.

’I don’t know what this guy is getting at, but I completely agree.’

Han Xingliu chuckled. "That may be so, but we still have to go through the motions. We can’t just have our few families decide everything. There are countless other powers in the Dust Star Sea, after all."

"The Holy List may be evidence, but it is, after all, the Bronze Sect’s own list. While I may believe it, the outcome must be accepted by everyone."

A glint flashed in Luo Yao’s eyes as he said, seemingly in jest, "If no Tier Sevens who have completed Melting a Holy Profession participate in the preliminaries this year, we might just see a Tier Six Professional take first place."

’How did this come back to me again?’ Su Chen wondered. ’I haven’t been drawing any attention to myself, and I haven’t said a word. How did they end up talking about me again?’

"The Dust Star Sea is full of hidden masters. I’m hardly anyone of note. You jest, Luo Yao," Su Chen said with a placid expression.

No one took it seriously. There were always Tier Seven Professionals who had Melted a Holy Profession in the preliminaries. This year would be no exception.

Su Chen... would have to bide his time.

"There are rumors that Hou Yu of the Mechanical Vanguard has already Melted a Holy Profession," Han Xingliu mentioned. "And Luo Chen of the Extreme Dao Alliance is not to be underestimated, either. They’re keeping things under such tight wraps that even the Prophet Council hasn’t managed to learn much."

They mentioned a few more names, all of them unfamiliar to Su Chen. They belonged to factions a tier below the Five Great Sects.

To be blunt, this ceremony was little more than a ribbon-cutting. After everyone toured the area, there would be a banquet.

But Su Chen had no intention of attending. He planned to return to his Floating Island.

However, just as he was about to leave, Han Xingliu called out to him. "I’m holding a small, private banquet later," he invited. "Not many people will be there. Would you be interested in joining?"

As the son of the Hanhai Emperor, Han Xingliu was one of the most prominent figures in the entire Dust Star Sea, yet he showed no arrogance. The invitation was sincere.

But Su Chen still politely declined. "I would love to attend, but the preliminary selection is about to begin, and I need to seize this time to improve myself."

"Very well."

Han Xingliu wasn’t angry at the rejection. He simply watched Su Chen depart.

The Flying Device drifted away, and Su Chen glanced back one last time at Dragon Abyss.

’This place is crawling with predators.’

It was just as Chu Ran had said. Before attending a large-scale event like this, he never had a profound sense of the danger.

But after participating just once, he realized just how many people had their eyes on him.

’There’s Han Xingliu, of course, and I had that unexpected gain from Qin Tianlin. And then there’s Luo Yao... he seems a bit strange.’

’I wouldn’t go so far as to say he’s hostile, but there’s no way he’s friendly, either.’

"Good thing I have the Ancient King watching my back. As long as I don’t leave, there shouldn’t be a major issue."

Su Chen breathed a sigh of relief, his gaze shifting to the giant Star Gate faintly visible in the distance.

After today, the major factions of the Dust Star Sea would be able to enter the Bronze Sect’s territory. He’d overheard the others saying that many factions had already arrived at the Transverse Hub and had just been waiting.

"Black Tuo will arrive in half a month."

Su Chen quickly returned to his Floating Island. This was the only place he felt truly safe. The first thing he did was open his panel and merge the newly acquired Sun Residual Fire with the Great Venerable.

In the very next moment, the panel responded. [The Great Venerable Red Flame Thunder Resonator has been stimulated by the Sun Residual Fire, accelerating the fusion process and undergoing a wondrous change.]

[The Great Venerable Red Flame Thunder Resonator has awakened from its slumber. Its body has grown stronger and more resilient, and it now seems to possess the potential to reach a higher plane.]

[It carefully inspected the changes to its body and discovered a special new ability.]

[Kindle and Solidify: The Great Venerable Red Flame Thunder Resonator can use Morning Star Fire or Spiritual Fire to take a collected Holy Profession Sequence and Melt it into a Holy Profession *before* it is assumed, which will then generate specific requirements for assuming it.]

’What the hell?’

Su Chen froze mid-step, stopping in front of the main building. He read it again, carefully this time, and couldn’t help but swallow hard.

’Does this mean I don’t have to painstakingly assume each profession one by one anymore?’

Su Chen quickly grasped the meaning of this new ability.

It was actually similar to his previous two-in-one or three-in-one professions.

This time, however, it would directly Melt a Holy Profession Sequence into a Holy Profession. The result would be a five-in-one at minimum, allowing him to assume the Holy Profession directly instead of having to Melt it via a Professional Sequence.

"You magnificent Great Venerable! You gave me a huge surprise the moment you woke up!"

A fervent light ignited in Su Chen’s eyes. Without a doubt, this method would save him an immense amount of time and energy.

If he could combine this with various Deceitful God Essences, the requirements for assuming the Melted Holy Profession probably wouldn’t be too outrageous.

The only catch was that it required Spiritual Fire or Morning Fire to work. But Su Chen wasn’t worried. A Divine Dawn Level being could ignite their own Morning Fire. ’With the two working in concert, won’t I be invincible?’

It was just... He thought about it for a moment, at a loss for words, and could only exclaim, "This is just insane! It makes all the things I fed it totally worth it."

’The only question is whether this ability was born from the stimulation of the Sun Residual Fire, or if the Great Venerable was meant to have it all along.’