"The rumors are all over the place." Jiang Mufeng shook his head and explained, "Some say it’s because the Royal Court’s Flame Fire is also having problems. Others say the Royal Court has found a path of advancement beyond the Moonlight Tier, and the Flame Fire is the key."

"I see." Su Chen was lost in thought. No matter which theory was true, it seemed to indirectly confirm the Royal Court’s determination to acquire the Heart of Melting Fire.

Zhao Ming sighed. "With something like this happening, who knows what changes it will cause in the Dust Star Sea. If Venerable Qin Yun and the others really died in the Royal Court, there will definitely be a great war."

Everyone fell silent, their moods soured.

Wei Zhenghong shook his head. "This is beyond our control. Besides, Venerable Qin Yun and her group might not actually be dead. We’ll have to see how the Ancient Kings of the Five Great Sects handle it."

"True." Everyone nodded in agreement.

Jiang Mufeng then brought up another matter. "Master Qing is coming back."

"Oh?" Chu Ran’s eyes lit up. "Did he bring back the Profound Celestial Instrument?"

"They say he did."

’The Profound Celestial Instrument?’ Su Chen’s interest was piqued. So that’s why Qing Cang had been away. No wonder he hadn’t seen him for so long.

Just as he was pondering this, Su Chen noticed everyone’s gazes subtly falling on him.

Chu Ran grinned. "Little Grand-Uncle Master, we’ll be basking in your glory this time. The Profound Celestial Instrument..."

’It seems to have something to do with me?’ Su Chen was a bit baffled. He asked hesitantly, "This Profound Celestial Instrument is...?"

"You don’t know?" Chu Ran was stunned. The others exchanged glances, feeling even more emotional.

"Master Qing really treats you well," Chu Ran sighed. "The Profound Celestial Instrument comes from the Profound Celestial Sect. It’s their most precious treasure and one of the rare things in the Dust Star Sea that can directly improve one’s Talent."

’It can directly improve Talent? It’s that powerful?’ Su Chen was shocked.

Chu Ran’s eyes darted around, and he said, "In that case, you must have a Profound Purple Talent. You must have worked incredibly hard, then. No wonder you can resist the corrosion of the Deceitful God’s Power."

He sounded certain, but Su Chen, not knowing why he would guess that, remained silent.

Shen Yi’an’s voice was gentle as he explained, "The Profound Celestial Instrument can, at most, only work on a Profound Purple Talent. It has a certain chance of raising it to Star Amber."

Since Qing Cang planned on having Su Chen use the Profound Celestial Instrument, it meant Su Chen’s Talent couldn’t have reached Star Amber yet. Everyone understood this clearly.

’It only works on Profound Purple Talent? Doesn’t that mean I can’t use it?’

Su Chen couldn’t help but ask, "It can’t raise a Star Amber Talent to Divine Dawn?"

Divine Dawn... Everyone had a strange look on their faces. Even Shen Yi’an and Wei Zhenghong’s expressions flickered.

Jiang Mufeng assumed Su Chen was just curious and explained, "The gap between Divine Dawn and Star Amber is enormous. It also seems to require certain innate factors. Even the Profound Celestial Sect has never heard of anyone being raised to the Divine Dawn level."

Su Chen had a realization. ’This Divine Dawn... is no simple matter.’

But then again, the Talent Rankings were packed with geniuses; the lowest entry was a single Divine Dawn Talent.

"Is there a Talent even more powerful than Divine Dawn?" Su Chen couldn’t help but ask.

"Well..." The group hesitated, clearly not knowing much about it.

However, Jiang Mufeng said, "It is said that the Royal Court has been exploring the upper limits of Talent, but I don’t know if they’ve had any results."

Su Chen nodded and said no more. With the mention of the Profound Celestial Instrument, however, the group’s discussion grew quite heated.

The disappearance of Venerable Qin Yun and the others was a major event, but it didn’t directly affect them. The Profound Celestial Instrument, however, was a different story.

Although Qing Cang had obtained it for Su Chen, now that he was bringing it back, it naturally wouldn’t be for Su Chen’s use alone.

Chu Ran also had a Double Profound Purple Talent, so he was naturally looking forward to it.

Jiang Mufeng then mentioned, "Tang Xiuqi is here too. He’s probably planning to use the Creation Copper Heart to fulfill some kind of profession requirement."

Su Chen knew about the Creation Copper Heart. It was a special method used by the Sect to simulate the environment needed to meet a profession’s requirements.

’It seems like every Sect has its own specialty. I wonder what other cool things the other Sects have?’ Su Chen decided he would look into it thoroughly when he got back.

After talking for a while longer, the group left the room. After all, the banquet outside was not over yet.

Su Chen found Wei Zhenghong and brought up Ming Lin.

"Planting someone in the patrol team?" Wei Zhenghong thought for a moment. "For that, you’ll have to find Chu Ran. His father is one of the heads of the patrol team."

’Is that so?’ Su Chen really hadn’t expected that. He turned and found Chu Ran, who was in the middle of a lively chat.

He gave an apologetic look to the person Chu Ran was talking to. The person clinked glasses with him and tactfully took their leave.

"You want to plant someone in the patrol team?"

Hearing his request, Chu Ran was completely unconcerned. "Just give me the name, and I’ll arrange it."

After hearing this, Su Chen paused to think, then added, "For now, it’s just one person, but there might be more later."

"No problem. If you were talking about planting someone in a core department like the enforcement team, that might be a little difficult. But the patrol team? A small matter." Chu Ran still seemed unfazed, casually picking up a translucent pastry and popping it into his mouth.

’It’s good to have connections in high places...’ Su Chen thought to himself as he sent Ming Lin’s name to him.

Then, he went on to chat with others.

Those who were here were all members of factions relatively close to Venerable Chu Lingyuan.

Su Chen quickly exchanged contact information with a large number of people from various departments within the Sect. They might come in handy someday.

......

「Elsewhere」

Deep within the Punishment Hall, white metal walls gave off an extremely cold feeling. Guards in white-gold armor stood at regular intervals, their presence utterly grim.

"Fan Zhao, you lost the Spiritual Fire this time. Even if another one is found, it won’t be your turn, will it?"

The heavy door to the interrogation room was pushed open. A man with red hair and thick eyebrows came out, shot Fan Zhao a cold look, and left after dropping the blunt remark without any courtesy.

Immediately after, Wen Jing, the Hall Master of the Spirit Hall, emerged and shook his head at Fan Zhao.

Steward Feng followed cautiously from behind. He was from the Nether Hall, sent to assist in the work. He whispered, "We’ve tested him. It’s not this one either..."

Fan Zhao’s cheek twitched. At this stage in the Sect, there really weren’t many people who needed the Melting Holy Profession—only four or five in total.

As a result, they had all been investigated, and none had succeeded in the Melting Holy Profession. This meant the one who stole the Spiritual Fire was not among them.

"Could someone have secretly met the requirements for the Melting Holy Profession but didn’t report it?" Fan Zhao couldn’t help but wonder.

"That’s unlikely," Steward Feng said helplessly. "No one can fulfill the requirements for a Holy Profession without any prior signs. There would definitely be traces."

The core of the Sect was only so big. Some things could be hidden for a short while, but it was impossible to keep them hidden for long. There were bound to be clues to follow.

Fan Zhao understood this as well, but they had hit a dead end.

He said fiercely, "Could it be that an outsider stole it?"

Steward Feng looked as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself. The Nether Realm was immeasurably vast; one could wander through it for decades and never encounter a member from another Sect.

Fan Zhao’s anger had nowhere to go. ’Is the theft of this Spiritual Fire going to become a cold case?’

And just as the man who had just left said, he had lost this Spiritual Fire. Next time, it wouldn’t be his.

"I refuse to believe it..." he growled, his expression wavering. It seemed there was only one method left now: find those Deceitful God’s Followers and use the Deceitful God’s special methods. Perhaps they could find a clue.

But... just as he was hesitating, Qin Tianlin came rushing in from outside, panicked. "Martial Uncle... Grand-Aunt..."

He kept shouting, his face deathly pale.

"What is it?" Fan Zhao’s face darkened. "Slow down and tell me."

Wen Jing frowned, looking over.

"Grandfather... Grandfather... Grandfather, he’s..." Qin Tianlin’s body was trembling, his words coming out in fits and starts. "He’s missing..."

"What?" Fan Zhao’s expression changed drastically. Wen Jing’s eyes sharpened.

......

"Commander Lan, you and I both know the truth. Meng Shiyu died to save Lan Hao. This matter..."

Wu Feng didn’t finish his sentence, just looked at Lanhai before him and shook his head.

A butler served him a cup of tea, but Wu Feng only glanced at it, making no move to take it.

Lanhai frowned. "What do you mean? Meng Shiyu was Fan Zhao’s student, and Venerable Qin Yun has always been an excellent tutor... Why would it be impossible?"

"That’s not what I mean," Wu Feng said, annoyed that the other man was feigning ignorance.

Right now, they only had Lan Hao’s side of the story, and he naturally wouldn’t believe it so easily.

But based on the clues he had investigated so far, it was Meng Shiyu who had taken the initiative to lead Lan Hao away.

It was unlikely that Lan Hao had premeditated it. The whole thing was very strange.