My Professions Have Too Much Personality

Su Chen walked out of the Ancient King Hall, his mind heavy with thoughts. He came to the edge and carefully peeked down. Below, the Flame Fire was growing more incandescent, its surface erupting with flares like solar prominences. A wave of vigorous vitality washed over him.

’The Flame Fire seems to be in good shape...’ Su Chen watched for a moment before returning to the Ancient King Hall.

His eyes flickered. At some point, a figure had appeared before him. It was the Bronze Ancient King, still in his form as a kind-faced, middle-aged man.

This time, however, it was not a projection but his physical body.

’Looks like the Ancient King doesn’t use his Bronze Giant form when he’s out and about,’ Su Chen mused. ’Makes sense... it’s far too conspicuous.’

"Master, is everything alright with the Flame Fire?" Su Chen asked.

The Bronze Ancient King seemed to be in high spirits, a pleasant smile on his face. "It’s even better than I imagined."

"I estimate the bright phase can be extended by about five hours. In my absence, there shouldn’t be any issues for the next ten days to half a month."

"That’s wonderful," Su Chen chimed in, though he was thinking, ’A shorter Dark Sun period isn’t good for my Netherworld Stone digging, is it?’

’Luckily, it’s only been shortened and hasn’t disappeared entirely. Otherwise, that would be a real problem.’

As Su Chen pondered this, he realized he should probably expand his business of "carrying the Nether Realm."

"And this is all thanks to you." The Bronze Ancient King’s gaze fell on Su Chen, and he mused for a moment. "As a Star Seed, you shouldn’t be lacking in ordinary resources."

"Hmm... How about this: you may visit the Creation Copper Heart as you please, with no limit on the number of times. And when you are ready to advance from Tier Eight to the Morning Star Tier, I will personally guide your evolution."

Su Chen quickly replied, "This is only what I should do. I enjoy the Sect’s protection, so of course I must contribute to the Sect. You don’t need to reward me so generously, Master."

"That may be, but rewards and punishments must be clearly distinguished..." The Bronze Ancient King turned, but before he could finish, his expression suddenly changed. He stared at the statue that housed the Spirituality of the Great Venerable Red Flame Thunder Resonator, his voice filled with disbelief. "How is the Spirituality gone?"

In a flash, he appeared before the statue. After confirming it once more, the Bronze Ancient King’s face darkened. "It’s really gone."

Su Chen wore an awkward expression as the Bronze Ancient King put two and two together, his gaze landing on him.

Su Chen had been the only one in the Ancient King Hall moments ago, and what had vanished was specifically the Spirituality of the Great Venerable Red Flame Thunder Resonator. He would refuse to believe the two weren’t connected.

"That Spirituality..."

"Uh..." Su Chen responded cautiously, "Master, if I were to say I don’t know what happened... would you believe me?"

The Bronze Ancient King’s expression shifted. With a flick of his hand, streams of cyan, data-like light swirled and coalesced nearby, forming an image of Su Chen.

The replay showed that after the King’s real body had left, the image of Su Chen looked shocked for a moment before quickly composing himself. He paced around the Ancient King Hall, then approached the statue of the Great Venerable Red Flame Thunder Resonator and patted it. Nothing happened at that moment.

The Bronze Ancient King’s eyes glinted. He watched the image of Su Chen return, take out the Fog Source, and hesitate for a moment before the Fog Source disappeared into his hand.

The Bronze Ancient King frowned slightly. He had seen this part of the scene before, so he wasn’t particularly surprised.

But after the image of Su Chen absorbed the Fog Source, he seemed to sense something. Looking stunned and hesitant, he slowly shuffled toward the statue.

He reached out and placed his palm on the statue.

A moment later, his expression went blank, clearly showing he was extremely surprised as well.

’He can even replay the scene,’ Su Chen muttered to himself, quite astonished. Watching the replay of his actions, he saw that he hadn’t revealed anything, and his reaction looked perfectly normal.

"Did you devour the Spirituality of the Great Venerable Red Flame Thunder Resonator?"

The Bronze Ancient King looked at Su Chen with uncertainty. He stepped forward, his pupils glowing with a faint green light as he scanned Su Chen’s body once more. Just like last time, he found nothing out of the ordinary.

’How can this be...’ He’d lost count of how many times he had encountered such an inexplicable phenomenon with Su Chen.

Su Chen said helplessly, "Master, I don’t know what happened either. After I absorbed that Fog Source, a mysterious voice told me to go to the Great Venerable Red Flame Thunder Resonator’s Spirituality, and then I discovered it had been devoured."

The Bronze Ancient King’s brow furrowed. The disappearance of the Spirituality was one thing, but more importantly, he couldn’t be sure if this was ultimately a good or a bad thing for Su Chen.

Yet for the moment, he couldn’t find any clues.

"Forget it." After some deep thought, the Bronze Ancient King shook his head. "For now, just watch and see if any abnormalities arise. If anything happens, come find me at once."

"Alright." Su Chen looked resigned, but inwardly he breathed a sigh of relief. ’Although purifying the Fog Ashes was a great service, this was still a spiritual legacy passed down through generations.’

Then, the Bronze Ancient King looked into the distance. "Hmm... their timing is quite convenient. As a Star Seed, you should go and welcome them as well."

"However, you and I should not appear together today. We need to avoid anyone connecting this to you."

The matter of purifying the Fog Ashes was simply too unbelievable, and the Bronze Ancient King didn’t want it exposed so easily.

"Understood." Su Chen thought the same. He was still planning to deceive Black Tuo, so he certainly couldn’t let anyone connect him to the purification of the Fog Ashes.

...

At the Bronze Sect’s external Star Gate Port, all operations had been suspended earlier and the entire area cleared out to welcome the grand, joint delegation from the Four Great Sects and the Royal Court.

Many of the Sect’s upper echelons were present. At the very front stood Chu Lingyuan, Qing Cang, and Qin Yun. Behind them were several figures of the Hall Master level, including Wen Jing and Wu Feng.

Wei Zhenghong and Shen Yi’an stood in the same row as these Hall Masters.

"Is Master really coming?" Chu Lingyuan sent out a telepathic message, asking Qing Cang, who stood beside him.