My Professions Have Too Much Personality

I see. Su Chen’s eyes lit up with understanding. To even qualify for advancement to the Morning Star Tier, both of one’s professions had to be Tier Eight.

This wasn’t a requirement for the profession itself, but a fundamental prerequisite.

’That makes sense.’ If it were merely a matter of advancing beyond Tier Eight, it wouldn’t quite live up to the “Morning Star” name, despite being powerful. Plus, there was the whole matter of the profession becoming “Spiritual.”

Both professions had to reach Tier Eight, then you’d advance to the Morning Star Tier and have to ignite something called the Morning Star Fire.

’In that case, there must be a Tier Nine for single-profession advancement, but it’s probably far inferior to the Morning Star Tier.’

Even now, with his dual professions, he could defeat a single-profession user with one hand tied behind his back. The gap would only grow as he accumulated power all the way to Tier Eight.

Understanding dawned on Ming Lin’s face, followed by a bitter smile. He had thought his Ink Jade Talent was incredibly powerful, but it seemed he had just been a frog in a well.

Aside from a handful of individuals, everyone else looked lost, having no idea what Hongxuan was talking about.

“Master—” Su Chen started to say, but Xia Hanshi raised a hand to stop him. Su Chen felt a surge of helplessness.

’I’m confident I can beat Hongxuan, and I want to use this chance to learn more. It’s just one fight.’ But Old Xia seemed completely against agreeing to the duel.

’So that’s his play…’ A thoughtful look flashed in Xia Hanshi’s eyes. This was Hongxuan’s way of proving that he truly knew a great deal.

’Things have already come to this. Hongxuan has to die.’

“And if you lose, you’re truly willing to spill everything?” Shi Yunzhou suddenly asked.

“A bet is a bet,” Hongxuan replied instantly, his tension and apprehension plain to see.

Xia Hanshi frowned. Just as he was about to speak, he received a covert spiritual message from Shi Yunzhou: “Give him a chance. I want to know how Wu Chenpei has deceived us.”

“If Su Chen wins, we’ll just have him kill himself. Since he’d be the one with inferior skills, Yuan Capital won’t be able to find fault.”

But Xia Han shook his head. “The very fact that he proposed this means he’s probably quite confident he can win.”

Shi Yunzhou, however, was unconcerned. “Even if Su Chen loses, we still kill him. It’ll just be a bit of a blow to our pride. I’ll bear the infamy.”

Shi Yunzhou intended to agree—but not to all the terms. The situation was entirely in their favor. It was just one fight. No matter the outcome, it wouldn’t change Hongxuan’s inevitable death.

A win would be a bonus, and a loss wouldn’t really cost them anything.

Waiting for Wu Chenpei to return before dealing with Hongxuan would be the height of stupidity.

Upon hearing this, even Xia Hanshi glanced at Shi Yunzhou in surprise. But since that was her stance, there was no longer any need to object. All he wanted was for Hongxuan to die.

“Then shall we head to a challenge arena?” Shi Yunzhou said.

“That won’t be necessary,” Hongxuan said loudly, adding an explanation. “I advanced to Tier Four just before coming to Ying Feng. The journey here was plagued by incidents, so I haven’t had a chance to properly develop my new abilities. There’s almost no gap between Su Chen and me.”

The timing of Hongxuan’s advancement wasn’t a secret. It was just as he said: he had reached Tier Four right before coming to Ying Feng, and Su Chen had advanced shortly after his arrival. The difference between them was only a matter of a few months.

’Not using an arena is fine, too.’ If Su Chen lost, they could use the informal setting as a pretext to still act, a flimsy excuse to save some face.

Shi Yunzhou had already made up her mind. Her only concern now was how to salvage some pride from this situation. After a moment of contemplation, she looked at Su Chen. “What are your thoughts?”

Su Chen thought for a moment, then looked at Hongxuan. “You have a method for Professional Fusion?”

“That’s right. It’s a special profession, one derived from the method for advancing to the Morning Star Tier. If you win, I can tell you about that as well.” Afraid Su Chen might refuse, Hongxuan immediately sweetened the deal.

’So, it’s a special profession…’ Su Chen nodded and slowly stepped forward. “Alright. Then I’ll see what you’re made of.”

’The kid seems confident…’ Xia Hanshi thought as he looked at Su Chen. He had no idea what profession Su Chen had advanced into, or what his true strength was.

Ming Lin couldn’t help but feel nervous. Bu Siqi nudged Teng Liang beside her. “What’s the situation with Su Chen? Didn’t he just advance to a Tier Four Upper profession?”

“Are they really going to let him live? What is Elder Shi thinking?”

The Judges gathered around also began to whisper among themselves. Su Chen’s advancement to Tier Four was no secret, but due to how quickly he achieved it, many assumed his Professional Tier couldn’t be very high.

Still, most of them wouldn’t believe it was a Middle Level or Subordinate profession, either. Given Su Chen’s terrifying advancement speed, a Tier Four Upper profession was the most plausible and widely accepted theory.

“Are you sure about this?”

’They actually agreed.’ Seeing this, Lu Kai felt no joy. On the contrary, he grew even more anxious and sent a covert Spiritual Power message to Hongxuan.

Although his was a physical-type profession, at this Tier, it was still possible to use a bit of Spiritual Power for covert communication.

“He advanced too quickly. I’m guessing it’s a Tier Four Upper profession, so beating him shouldn’t be a problem.” Hongxuan stared grimly at Su Chen as he replied covertly. “But our chances of getting out of this alive are minuscule.”

“So you think so, too.” Lu Kai gritted his teeth. “Even if you win, they’ll never let us live long enough for Saint Envoy Wu to return.”

’A fair fight?’ There was never any possibility of fairness to begin with.

They held all the cards, yet they still agreed to the duel. It was obviously just a way to squeeze every last drop of value out of them before the end.

“Exactly. Which is why in a moment, I’ll need you to act when you see an opportunity.” Hongxuan’s gaze was frigid.

“An opportunity for what?” Lu Kai’s eyes narrowed.

“The opportunity to kill Su Chen,” Hongxuan quickly explained. “It’s come to this—only one of us is walking away from this. If he dies, all their hopes will be pinned on me.”

Lu Kai’s heart jolted. “Is… is that even possible?”

“Do you have a better plan?” Hongxuan retorted.

Lu Kai fell silent. After a moment of hesitation, he said, “I can hold off Xia Hanshi, but I can’t stop Shi Yunzhou.”

“I need you to stop Shi Yunzhou for a single instant, not Xia Hanshi,” Hongxuan stressed.

Lu Kai glanced at Shi Yunzhou out of the corner of his eye and couldn’t help but protest, “That’s impossible.”