My Professions Have Too Much Personality

Su Chen’s eyes narrowed. He ground his heel into the floor as his right fist shot out from his waist, scarlet flames and crimson lightning exploding forth. The ensuing heatwave distorted space itself as the punch rocketed toward the incoming ice dragon.

BOOM!

The force of the punch blasted through the dragon’s throat. The ice dragon’s Scale Armor disintegrated piece by piece, the fragments vaporizing into white mist before they could even scatter. Its frigid body burst apart from the inside, its powdery remains raining down like an avalanche.

"Challenge complete. Congratulations, you have entered the top one hundred on the Holy List." The system notification remained as cold as ever.

’That was too easy. I barely had to try.’ Su Chen relaxed his stance.

In his peak state, this ninety-ninth-ranked opponent on the Holy List—a Tier Six Professional considered incredibly powerful by ordinary Sect members—couldn’t even last a single exchange against him.

The challenge was over, but Su Chen didn’t immediately start the next one. Instead, he decided to first restore himself to peak condition.

Even without unleashing his full power, the energy consumption had been terrifying. He took a few gulps of a Nutritional Potion and was waiting for his body to absorb it.

Suddenly, the system’s voice rang out: "Sir, you have a visitor."

The entire Floating Island’s intelligent management system was integrated and would report to him at a moment’s notice.

’A visitor...’ Su Chen looked at the virtual screen that suddenly popped up.

At the port, Qing Cang’s figure was standing there.

’Old Qing?’ A thought stirred in Su Chen’s mind. ’You’re finally here.’

The Nutritional Potion was still taking effect as Su Chen walked out of the training room and went to the port. "Senior Brother Qing Cang," he welcomed him warmly, "why are you waiting here? You could have just come in. After all, we’re practically family," he added with a sly jab.

Qing Cang shot him a glare, though his face was tinged with embarrassment. He coughed dryly a couple of times. The last time, he had used his abilities as a Top-tier Professional to bypass the Floating Island’s outer defenses, and this kid had obviously not forgotten.

Then again, he had been drinking last time and acted on a whim. Under normal circumstances, he was quite rule-abiding.

"Alright, what did you need me for?" Qing Cang said, walking out from the port area.

Su Chen fell into step beside him. "It’s nothing major. Wei Zhenghong has a student who wants to use the Profound Celestial Instrument. Do you think there are any slots available?"

He had contacted Qing Cang the moment Wei Zhenghong left. Pulling strings was something best discussed face-to-face, but Old Qing was incredibly busy and was only now getting around to seeing him.

"You and Wei Zhenghong are that close?" Qing Cang asked, a bit surprised. "Alright, I get it. One spot, right? Tell him to bring the person to me."

"That’s it?" Su Chen couldn’t help his surprise.

Qing Cang glanced at the virtual screen that had appeared in his hand, typed a quick reply, and then looked toward the still-active training room. "You’ve heard about the Peak Star Conference, I assume?"

"Yes," Su Chen nodded. "Jiang Mufeng told us immediately. It seems like a rather gentle way to handle the situation."

Qing Cang let out a cold laugh. "At least the other Sects haven’t forgotten who it is they truly need to counterbalance."

Despite his words, Su Chen could clearly sense that Qing Cang was no longer so tense; he had relaxed considerably.

The Peak Star Conference gave both sides a pretext to de-escalate.

"The real key is Master. His presence makes them tread carefully and keeps them from pushing us too hard," Su Chen added. He knew his senior brother well—flattering him was nowhere near as effective as praising the Bronze Ancient King.

Upon hearing this, Qing Cang couldn’t help but smile. "Of course," he said, as if stating the obvious. "Master’s power is unfathomable."

"Still," Su Chen said, changing the subject to probe indirectly, "even with the Peak Star Conference for cover, how are they going to resolve the Qin Yun situation?"

Qing Cang, his eyes glued to his virtual screen, looked truly busy. His reply was dismissive. "It’s much easier to handle now, as long as the Four Great Sects and the Royal Court don’t apply pressure openly."

"It’s just a matter of having Master kill Qin Yun. That’ll be the end of it."

It was the simplest, most brutal solution. The other Sects and the Royal Court had each lost a Morning Star Tier expert, so if the Bronze Sect also lost one, proving its innocence with a death of its own, that should be enough.

What Qing Cang had feared most was the Four Great Sects and the Royal Court openly joining forces to pressure them. That would have put the Bronze Ancient King in an impossible position. The greater the external pressure, the safer Qin Yun would ironically be.

But now, with the Peak Star Conference creating some breathing room, the issue of being pressured was no longer a factor.

’Have her killed...’ Su Chen glanced at Qing Cang, muttering to himself. ’He makes it sound so easy...’

Qing Cang had already changed the subject. "By my calculations," he said thoughtfully, "the Peak Star Conference is still two years away. You should go and observe; it will be a great benefit to you."

"At the conference after that, you should be able to make a name for yourself. And at the one following, you should have a real shot at winning it all."

He had high hopes for Su Chen. To be able to so firmly dominate Tier Five already, he was even more formidable than Shen Yi’an had been.

Su Chen gave a noncommittal response. "Are the other Sects and the Royal Court really willing to wait two years?" he asked skeptically.

Qing Cang shook his head. "The actual conference is two years away," he explained, "but in practice, the warm-up starts now."

"For many of the powers, the travel time to reach our Bronze Sect—including setting off, making stops along the way, and finally arriving—could take the better part of a year."

"Plus, plenty of factions will want to use this as an opportunity to network. I expect the other Sects and the Royal Court will start trickling in within the next half-year or so."

"I’ve recently been put in charge of organizing the Peak Star Conference, so I’m going to be swamped. Don’t come looking for me unless it’s important."

"I see." Su Chen nodded in understanding. Seeing that Qing Cang was about to leave after his brief explanation, he quickly called out, "Senior Brother, have you ever heard of something called Morning Star Essence?"