There were quite a few older, unfamiliar faces—unfamiliar to him, at least. They were actually high-level members of the Sect, Vice Hall Masters and the like, all hurriedly departing on Flying Devices.

’Is it because of what happened with Qin Yun?’

Su Chen couldn’t help but wonder. There were even more high-level members on the main road, and all their expressions were grim.

When he arrived at the Spirit Hall, a Steward named Li Qing greeted him. He was a new face, and his attitude toward Su Chen was lukewarm.

He was clearly on Qin Yun’s side, but he didn’t make things difficult. He simply followed standard procedure and retrieved two professions for him.

[Special Profession discovered: Thunderfire Spirit Forger. May be undertaken after meeting profession requirements.]

[Profession Requirement 1: Must hold at least four Physical Side professions, of which at least three must be Top Level.]

[Profession Requirement 2: For six months, attempt to channel Thunder-Fire Power with your bare hands every day to forge a weapon of a Tier no lower than your own for at least three hours.]

[Profession Requirement 3: Forge one weapon of a Tier no lower than your own with your bare hands.]

The profession wasn’t that difficult, though the bare-handed forging was a bit of a hassle. As Su Chen glanced over it, he saw it enter a phase of ’receiving favor from the Great Venerable,’ which weakened the second requirement; the duration was now only three months.

[Special Profession discovered: Melted Soldier Envoy. May be undertaken after meeting profession requirements.]

[Profession Requirement 1: Must hold at least five Top-tier Professions of the Physical Side.]

[Profession Requirement 2: Eat one Tiered Weapon every day for at least one year.]

[Profession Requirement 3: Choose a weapon that has fought alongside you for at least one year, attempt to resonate with it, strip its Spirituality, and absorb it into yourself.]

This profession was quite a bit more difficult. However, unlike the Armored Bone Warrior, it allowed one to actively choose which weapon to fuse with, so the resulting enhancements were naturally different.

Su Chen waited a moment, but he didn’t see it enter the ’receiving favor from the Great Venerable’ phase. Instead, a series of new text appeared—

[The Melted Soldier Envoy has detected the presence of the Secret Artifact’s power. It is ecstatic, having never encountered such a compatible individual, and has decided to work hard to better suit its host.]

[Melted Soldier Envoy is devouring Thunderfire Spirit Forger...]

[Melted Soldier Envoy is devouring Armored Bone Warrior...]

[Melted Soldier Envoy is evolving... The Melted Soldier Envoy has eaten too much... The Great Venerable Red Flame Thunder Resonator has cast his gaze upon it, sending down the Power of Thunder Flame to aid its evolution...]

[The Melted Soldier Envoy has evolved into the Soldier Master!]

[Special Profession discovered—Soldier Master. May be undertaken after meeting profession requirements.]

[Profession Requirement 1: Must hold at least six Top-tier Professions of the Physical Side.]

[Profession Requirement 2: Attempt to forge at least ten different weapons of a Tier no lower than your own with your bare hands.]

[Profession Requirement 3: Eat at least five different weapons of a Tier no lower than your own.]

[Profession Requirement 4: Strip the Spirituality from weapons you already control, ignite the flames of the Spirit Furnace, and fuse them into one.]

Looking at the series of notifications on the panel, Su Chen couldn’t help but look astonished. ’It actually devoured them?’

It even got fucking stuffed, and it was only after the Great Venerable stepped in that it was able to evolve.

’This...’ Su Chen was quite astonished. ’Four requirements, one of which is at a Tier Six level, bare-handed forging, eating weapons of my own Tier, and even stripping Spirituality... the difficulty is immense...’

[To repay the Great Venerable’s kindness, the Soldier Master has erased Profession Requirement 1 and weakened Requirements 2 and 3. The number of weapons to be forged is now five, and the number of weapons to be eaten is now three.]

"Oh?" Su Chen’s eyes lit up. ’Not bad, not bad... It knows how to repay a favor. The Tier Six requirement was erased completely, and the other difficulties were reduced significantly.’

’Still, with these three professions combined into one, how will the bonuses from Melting Holy Profession and Purifier be calculated?’

[Devoured professions are counted by their original number.]

’That’s good, then.’ Seeing the panel’s notification, Su Chen relaxed. ’With such high difficulty, it would have been a rip-off if it only counted as one profession upon completion.’

’I wonder what abilities this profession has?’

He tested it out briefly. Even though the Armored Bone Warrior had been devoured, its abilities were still temporarily accessible; he could still fuse with Armor.

’The trigger for this devouring... it seems to be because of my ability to Control Secret Artifacts,’ Su Chen mused. Snapping out of his thoughts, he prepared to stand up and leave.

But then he noticed Steward Wang, who was sitting opposite him. The steward’s head was bowed, and his previously expressionless face had gone deathly pale as his whole body trembled.

"Sir... You’re leaving? Let me see you out..." Seeing Su Chen stand up, Steward Wang said hastily, forcing an ugly smile onto his face.

’And here I thought he knew about Qin Yun and was giving me a hard time anyway, like a man with some spine. Turns out he had no idea.’

Su Chen was inwardly speechless as the man escorted him out of the Spirit Hall.