Chapter 562 - 310: The Great Venerable Awakens, Formidable Ability

Su Chen figured this solidifying ability must have been born from a combination of multiple factors.

After digesting this information, Su Chen finally had time to carefully reread the text on the panel, his eyes ultimately locking onto the phrase "potential for further advancement."

’So, that means the Great Venerable now has the potential to truly transform into the Moonlight Tier. Everything before this was just reinforcement,’ Su Chen mused, stroking his chin.

’External Spirituality is the key. I wonder if I’ll still be able to advance to the Morning Star Tier after the Great Venerable’s promotion. Surely it won’t force me to find another Morning Star Tier at the last minute?’

[Sensing the Host’s anxiety, the Great Venerable Red Flame Thunder Resonator indicates there is no need to worry.]

"No need to worry... Alright, if you say so, I won’t." Su Chen glanced at the [Kindle] ability again, feeling exceptionally good.

’But to make full use of this profession’s abilities, I need to transform to the Divine Dawn Level first. Morning Star Essence, Heart of Spiritual Light... Soon. It’s coming soon.’

Su Chen suppressed the flicker of excitement and glanced again at the various essences he had collected.

’I’m almost there. I just need one more Faceless Ghost essence and one more Sly Fox Essence. Once they finish melting, I can retrieve the final profession for the Permanent Body.’

Ming Lin had become quite experienced. After resuming his trade in miscellaneous goods, he was acquiring Deceitful God’s Power with great efficiency.

Rubbing his stomach, where the fiery liquid still churned, Su Chen calmed his mind and returned to the training room to continue developing his professions.

Although the Bronze Sect was now open to the public, traveling through the Star Gate still took time, so things hadn’t gotten busy yet.

「Ten days later. Copper Heart, in front of the Spirit Hall.」

"Thank you for your trouble, Steward Zhong." Su Chen was being seen out by Zhong Chengyu.

"Take care, sir." Zhong Chengyu said with a broad smile, watching Su Chen depart.

Ever since Qin Tianlin had taken the initiative to shake hands and make peace at the Dragon Abyss Star opening ceremony, a consensus had formed within Qin Yun’s faction, despite Su Chen’s extremely ambiguous response.

They could now try to show goodwill toward Su Chen, which meant Zhong Chengyu finally no longer had to feign indifference.

Amid familiar greetings, Su Chen made his way directly to the Bronze Tower.

The tower door closed behind him, and a lattice of fluorescent light appeared before his eyes. Su Chen, now very familiar with the process, said, "Copper Spirit, I want to retrieve the final profession for the Permanent Body."

"Understood. Retrieving it for you now," the Copper Spirit replied promptly.

Su Chen was stunned. "No verification this time?"

Based on past experience, he’d expected to have to make small talk with the thing for a while and was even prepared to be rejected, since the final profession for the Permanent Body had a fixed requirement: one had to be Tier Seven to acquire it.

"Your permissions have been adjusted. This retrieval does not require verification," the Copper Spirit responded.

’Permissions adjusted?’ A thought stirred in Su Chen’s mind. He immediately suspected it was the Ancient King’s doing.

’This convenient master of mine has probably combed through every clearly recorded action I’ve taken within the Sect. After all, absorbing a Great Venerable’s External Spirituality is truly bizarre.’

’Even though I have the strange feeling of being spied on, it’s not necessarily a bad thing. At least I don’t have to make small talk with this artificial intelligence.’

Thinking of the [Kindle] ability he had recently acquired, an idea sparked in Su Chen’s mind, and he couldn’t help but ask, "If I wanted to retrieve more Holy Professions, what are the requirements?"

"I would advise you not to focus solely on existing Holy Professions before you advance to the Morning Star Tier."

"Why is that?" Su Chen was puzzled. "Don’t they say the more Holy Professions you melt, the stronger you become?"

"It’s a strange trend that has emerged in recent years," the Copper Spirit explained. "The Morning Star Tier itself grants the ability to melt Holy Professions. But as the number of Morning Star Tiers has grown, so has the number of Holy Professions."

"Many people seek out Holy Professions from the very beginning in order to possess dominant power at Tier Seven and Tier Eight."

"For those with no hope of reaching the Morning Star Tier, this is naturally a good thing. But for a Star Seed, that’s not necessarily the case. If all of one’s professions are geared toward acquiring existing Holy Professions, then by the time you’re ready to advance to the Morning Star Tier, you will have no professions left to melt."

"There are always subtle differences between a Holy Profession you melt yourself and one that was created by someone else."

’That does seem to be true,’ Su Chen thought. If all his special professions were geared toward acquiring existing Holy Professions, he naturally wouldn’t have any left over for melting one from scratch.

"In recent years, several individuals advancing to the Morning Star Tier found they didn’t have enough compatible professions to melt into a Holy Profession," the Copper Spirit said, providing an example. "They even had to attempt to acquire new special professions while already at the Morning Star Tier, which is extremely difficult."

Su Chen understood, of course. The vast majority of special professions were strongly correlated with one’s Main Profession. At Low Tiers, fulfilling the requirements was relatively easy.

But at the Morning Star Tier, with all sorts of requirements mandating challenges at or above one’s own Tier, how could you possibly complete them?

"I understand," Su Chen nodded. It wasn’t that the Copper Spirit had truly persuaded him. He was different from other people; for him, the subtle difference between a Holy Profession he melted himself and one created by others was real.

However, he could compensate with sheer quantity. The real obstacle was the Copper Spirit’s attitude. ’It most likely won’t let me retrieve a second Holy Profession unless I have the Ancient King adjust my permissions again.’

But after careful consideration, he decided there was no need to fixate on existing Holy Professions. The process was tedious, and it might even force him to expose more of his secrets.

’I only need three portions of Black Tuo Essence to start my profession’s transformation. I can try melting one from scratch before I advance to Morning Star Tier.’

’The only problem is the strength of the Morning Fire. I wonder what level of intensity the Morning Fire ignited by a Divine Dawn Level practitioner has, and if it’s possible to enhance it.’

Su Chen’s eyes gleamed. ’If the Morning Fire isn’t an issue, I could even tailor a Holy Profession to my own needs. That would be perfect.’

After running through his thoughts, Su Chen simply confirmed his request for the Copper Spirit to retrieve the final profession for his Permanent Body.

A screen materialized before him, text appearing as his status panel updated—

[Special Profession Discovered—Dragon Vein Contract Master. Can be acquired after completing the requirements.]

[Requirement 1: Acquire at least seven Physical Side professions, six of which must be Top-tier Professions.]

[Requirement 2: Temper yourself for three years in at least ten different extreme environments.]

[Requirement 3: Independently hunt a sub-dragon species of a tier no lower than your own and, before its heart stops beating, extract at least one liter of its still-active heart’s blood.]

[Requirement 4: Obtain the essences of at least three creatures one tier higher than yourself, refine them into a mixed essence, and perform the Dragon’s Slumber Ritual, sleeping for seven days to completely absorb it.]

The four detailed requirements were not easy. It had them all: collection, tempering, and ritual-based tasks.

But Su Chen wasn’t surprised. The two professions he had just retrieved in the Spirit Hall were of a similar difficulty.

This profession used various creature essences to strengthen the user, and its main ability was also a massive boost to Physical Strength.

’Hmm... the Permanent Body is quite balanced. It has components for reducing consumption, increasing recovery rate, and increasing the total amount. It’s got everything,’ Su Chen thought as his mind stirred—

[The Great Venerable Red Flame Thunder Resonator perceives your will and unleashes its Hellfire Thunder Fury. The Dragon Vein Contract Master, Kunyu Power Master, and Unceasing Source are terrified, attempting to resist, but to no avail. They are forcibly merged into the surging crimson fire, along with the essences of Faceless Ghost, Crimson, and Sly Fox...]

[Fusion Profession Discovered—Cauldron Maker. Can be acquired after completing the requirements.]

[Requirement 1: Acquire at least six Physical Side Top-tier Professions.]

[Requirement 2: Find an Earth Core, Starfall Meteoric Iron, and the Heart of a Desolate Dragon. Using the "Forging Ritual," fuse them into your body to cast your Cauldron Foundation.]

[Requirement 3: Survive for at least one year in the "Ceaseless Abyss" without the aid of any external items or abilities. (Completing this requirement and acquiring the profession will grant an additional reward.)]

"Cauldron Maker..." Su Chen stared at the two brilliantly shining words. This profession was a fusion of extremely powerful special professions, and its difficulty surpassed that of the Vajra Venerable.

He had never even heard of the three items he needed to collect, let alone this "Forging Ritual."

He also had no idea what the "Ceaseless Abyss" was. Even if he could simulate it with the Creation Copper Heart, the "without the aid of any external items or abilities" part alone made him apprehensive.