After a glance at his panel, Su Chen left and returned to the Floating Island.

He now had two special professions on hand. As for the body-refining type profession of a Blood Burner, he could acquire that from the Sect at any time; there were no specific requirements.

Therefore, he was more interested in consulting with that so-called professional analysis team to pick a profession that suited him best.

Lost in thought, Su Chen arrived at the training room.

The moment he activated his Body Refining and Meditation Techniques, he immediately noticed a difference. The flames that had just appeared around him abruptly retracted, burrowing back into his body at an astonishing speed.

It wasn’t a slow seepage. Instead, it was a brutish, forceful surge, squeezing its way in through every open pore and the weakest points of his skin.

His body trembled slightly. Although there were no open flames on his skin, it emanated an unnatural, flowing, dark red halo.

’This efficiency is insane. Right, I also have the additional 100% buff from the Great Venerable. I wonder if it has reached the level of a Divine Dawn?’

Su Chen’s mood was quite cheerful. His development efficiency had dropped significantly after reaching Tier Five. Now, not only had he recovered it, but it was even more terrifying than before.

"Sigh..." Su Chen couldn’t help but muse, ’No wonder Qin Tianlin is so fixated on me. To have such astounding development efficiency without being a Chosen One... If I were him, I wouldn’t be able to resist either.’

Before he had the core essence in place, he didn’t plan to attempt completing any profession’s requirements. Otherwise, if the Faceless Ghost just erased his progress, wouldn’t it be a huge loss?

He trained until the next day. After tidying up, taking a shower, and changing his clothes, Su Chen prepared to head to Wei Zhenghong’s party.

This Star Seed also lived on a Floating Island. Strictly speaking, they weren’t far from each other; it was just a ten-minute-or-so ride in a Flying Device.

Wei Zhenghong had invited many people. The port was already nearly full of Flying Devices, and more guests were still arriving one after another.

"Su Xingzhong, you came too?"

He had just stepped out of a standard-issue Flying Device when he heard someone speak, their voice tinged with surprise. "Looks like Senior Brother Wei has a lot of clout."

Su Chen didn’t recognize the person and gave a vague greeting in return.

Upon entering the Floating Island, his eyes widened in surprise. The architectural style was rather rough and followed no discernible pattern. There were also many lightly-clad female attendants, and none of them were androids.

’Didn’t Old Wei say he couldn’t stop for a single moment? Are all these women just for show?’ Su Chen muttered to himself.

Quite a few people recognized him and tried to strike up a conversation.

An attendant led the way into the main building. The first floor had been set up as a banquet hall, with all sorts of food and drinks on display.

Wei Zhenghong held this kind of gathering periodically. Su Chen guessed it was a way for him to display his power and influence.

Shen Yi’an...

The moment Su Chen entered the hall, his gaze locked onto a figure. Dressed in a white robe with his hair tied back, his style was different from everyone else’s.

A crowd had gathered around him. This was the number one person on the Holy List, who had Melted a Holy Profession at Tier Seven—a combat type at that. His strength was formidable, and his reputation was illustrious.

Seemingly sensing that someone was watching him, Shen Yi’an’s gaze shifted over. He was momentarily startled to see Su Chen, then gave a slight nod as a greeting.

Su Chen nodded back. Just then, someone next to him looked over, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

"Well, if it isn’t the Junior Martial Grand-Uncle." The speaker appeared quite young and had a somewhat frivolous and casual demeanor, yet he addressed Su Chen by his generational title.

It had been a while since Su Chen heard that title. Most people just called him Star Seed, or Your Excellency.

This guy walked straight over. "When you first joined the Sect, I was preparing to complete a profession’s requirement, so I missed the chance to witness you being acknowledged by the Ancient King Stele. What a shame."

"It was just a stroke of luck," Su Chen replied out of habit.

The other party then took the initiative to introduce himself. "My name is Chu Ran."

Su Chen recognized the name. He seemed to be one of the top twenty, from the Chu Family—the family of Venerable Chu Lingyuan.

"Come, come, a few of us have been curious about you for a long time." He was incredibly forward, leading Su Chen over to Shen Yi’an’s circle. Everyone there was a core member, about seven or eight of them.

The group introduced themselves one by one. They were basically all in the top twenty. No one gave him the cold shoulder; their attitudes were quite friendly, and they even exchanged contact information.

"I heard you advanced to Tier Five. When are you going to knock us old guys down a peg?" Chu Ran teased.

"The difference between Tier Six and Tier Five is like heaven and earth. How could I be confident enough for that?" Su Chen said with a wry smile. This wasn’t just false modesty.

"Now you’re just being modest." Chu Ran grinned. "Beating a few of the Tier Six laggards should be no problem for you."

"What if I can’t beat them? That would be embarrassing," Su Chen said with a shrug.

Everyone chuckled, their impression of the new Star Seed a positive one.

"A Tier Five fighting a Tier Six? How is it embarrassing to lose?" Chu Ran said with an exaggerated expression.

Indeed, many people were curious about what a Tier Five Su Chen could accomplish.

After all, becoming the top dog of Tier Five while still at Tier Four was truly astonishing. Now that he was Tier Five, people couldn’t help but subconsciously project him as a future leader of Tier Six.

But everyone also knew in their hearts that it was unlikely for Su Chen to become the leader of Tier Six. However, just as Chu Ran said, beating a few laggards would definitely not be a problem.

Su Chen gave a wry laugh and clinked glasses with the group.

Chu Ran winked and asked in a low voice, "Junior Martial Grand-Uncle, your Talent isn’t Mo Cui, is it?"

"Uhm..." Su Chen hesitated, having just set down his wine glass.

Although Chu Ran had lowered his voice, everyone was standing so close that it was practically a public question. Many perked up their ears, and even Shen Yi’an looked over.

Normally, the Talents of people like them weren’t much of a secret.

But Su Chen had kept his well-hidden. Especially after his promotion to Tier Five, it had sparked a wave of speculation and discussion.

"It’s not Double Ink Jade, is it? The absolute minimum would be Double Scarlet, but it’s most likely Profound Purple. Am I wrong?" Chu Ran couldn’t help but say.

"That’s enough."

A deep, resonant voice suddenly cut in. It was Wei Zhenghong. He strode in from the entrance with a commanding presence, his brow deeply furrowed. He seemed to be in a very bad mood as he said in a low voice:

"So many questions. Since Master Qing said he is Double Ink Jade, then he is Double Ink Jade!"

Chu Ran pouted. "Don’t take your anger out on me."

"Hmph." Wei Zhenghong snorted coldly, grabbing a glass of wine from the side and downing it in one gulp.

Chu Ran then asked, "What did Qin Yuezheng say?"

"What else could he say?" Wei Zhenghong’s tone was hostile. "It has nothing to do with me. I didn’t even enter the Nether Realm two days ago. They’re just looking for trouble."

Su Chen’s eyes shifted slightly. He took a sip of his wine and listened quietly.

"I think that Fan Zhao is just a useless piece of trash. He lost his own Spiritual Fire and is trying to pin it on you," Chu Ran said without any restraint.

"This matter is indeed very strange," Shen Yi’an said leisurely. "Not only was the Spiritual Fire lost, but Meng Shiyu also died in the Nether Realm."

Everyone started talking at once. Su Chen listened quietly from the side and gradually pieced things together.

The turmoil in the Nether Realm was far from over. Fan Zhao had realized that someone had used the Spiritual Fire before he could, and he suspected it was a member from within the Sect who needed it for Melting a Holy Profession.

The investigation started with Wei Zhenghong, but the fact that Wei Zhenghong hadn’t successfully Melted his Holy Profession was the best proof of his innocence.

Not only that, but he had also cussed Fan Zhao out to his face. The two had a fierce argument.

As for Meng Shiyu’s death, the commotion was bigger than Su Chen had imagined. The Punishment Hall’s Hall Master and several Vice Hall Masters were all investigating.

Chu Ran brought up some information from the ongoing investigation. "Lan Hao is sticking to his story that Meng Shiyu died saving him. His Spirit Body is restricted by a contract, so no one can search his memories."

"This is going to be quite a show."

This gathering wasn’t just for eating, drinking, and chatting; it was an information exchange. Standing to the side, Su Chen overheard many secret pieces of information.

Midway through the party, another person hurried in, his brow furrowed. He also seemed to be one of the core members of the inner circle.

Chu Ran was very familiar with him and called out loudly, "Old Jiang, what took you so long? We were waiting for you, our Master of All Things."

Old Jiang walked straight over. His gaze swept past Su Chen with a hint of surprise. He picked up a glass of Crimson liquid, chugged it down, and then said in a low voice, "Something’s happened."

"The Morning Star Tiers sent by the Five Great Sects to attend Hanhai Emperor’s birthday celebration have all disappeared."

As his words fell, the room went silent.