Chapter 569 - 314: Becoming Vajra Venerable, Preliminary Ranking List Opens

He figured that must be the so-called "Vajra intent," but the feeling was still sporadic. He’d only experience it once or twice for every ten times he was struck by lightning.

’But this should be enough,’ he murmured, letting himself recover to his peak condition. He adjusted his stance, ready to use this final chance at Guiding.

At the same time, he shouted, "Copper Spirit, one more time!"

He had repeated this same phrase here countless times.

The thunderclouds overhead roiled. Before long, a flash of lightning burst downward.

At that very moment, the power of Guiding merged with a sudden impulse that surged through his body. A golden light flashed in his pupils, his heart pounded like a war drum, and he could faintly hear the sound of his own blood rushing.

Su Chen snapped his head up, the scorching lightning reflected in his eyes as a golden brilliance erupted from the surface of his skin.

A moment of sudden inspiration!

BANG!

With an explosive sound from beneath his feet, Su Chen shot straight toward the descending bolt of lightning.

BOOM!

The lightning exploded, and fine arcs of electricity bloomed across the sky like fireworks. Su Chen was sent flying backward, crashing to the ground. A faint golden glow now flowed just beneath his skin.

"Ha!" Su Chen couldn’t help but laugh, spitting out a puff of black smoke. On his panel, all three requirements for Vajra Venerable were now marked as complete.

The days of torment had finally borne fruit. Su Chen’s heart surged with an excitement he could barely contain. As soon as the stream of green light finished healing his injuries, he didn’t hesitate for a second.

’Vajra Venerable, assume the Profession!’

In an instant, his heartbeat stopped, only to resume with a violent, jarring throb. It felt as if a stone core was shattering in his chest, a suffocating and unsettling sensation.

A mysterious golden light shone from beneath his skin, as if countless stars were awakening and circulating within his flesh and blood.

At first, it was like fireflies, but it soon swelled into a vortex of molten gold, surging along his blood vessels. Wherever it passed, his skin became translucent, revealing a complex network of bright golden channels underneath.

He felt a subtle tearing sensation deep within his muscles. His limbs convulsed and tensed uncontrollably, his tendons felt like they were being yanked by invisible threads, and a dry, grating sound emanated from the gaps between his bones.

’This Profession can also improve my base physical stats...’ Su Chen noted as he carefully observed the changes. His current Physical Strength far exceeded his Tier, so assuming this Profession wasn’t too painful.

[Successfully assumed the Vajra Venerable Profession. Acquired Professional Ability - Vajra Stance: Actively unleash the Vajra Stance to significantly increase physical defense, Elemental Resistance, and gain a 30% damage reduction.]

[Received bonus reward: Damage reduction increased by 10%.]

’This ability...’ Su Chen leaped to his feet, a sharp glint in his eyes. The golden patterns on his skin’s surface gradually faded.

He raised his arm and examined it closely. The fine hairs on his pale skin were clearly visible. He pinched his skin; it was incredibly resilient.

ZAP!

An arc of lightning materialized out of thin air and struck his arm. A golden light flickered at the point of impact before disappearing.

"Same intensity, hit me again," Su Chen suddenly shouted.

BOOM!

A bolt of lightning descended from the sky, engulfing him. A few breaths later, it all faded. The same lightning that used to tear his skin apart now didn’t even leave a scratch.

’My base defense has improved quite a lot...’ Su Chen assessed. This was a fundamental enhancement, thanks to the Celestial Forged Object he had absorbed earlier and the long period of tempering by lightning.

’As for this Vajra Stance...’ Su Chen pondered. ’I’ll have to test how strong it really is...’

He tried activating Vajra Stance. A feeling of fullness instantly spread through his body. His arms bulged with knotted muscle, and it felt as if molten metal was surging beneath them. His line of sight grew higher, and a very faint, glass-like sheen appeared on his skin.

Billowing waves of air radiated outward. Su Chen looked down. His body hadn’t expanded much—he was only about two meters tall—but its density had increased significantly, making him feel as solid as a boulder.

’The increase is massive. It’s different from the focus of Soldier Master, which fuses multiple Secret Artifacts and spreads its buffs across various aspects. This one, however, specializes in defense...’ Su Chen mused, then suddenly shouted again, "Same intensity as before, hit me again..."

BOOM! Another bolt of lightning struck down.

But this time, the result was completely different. His body was like a sharp blade, cleaving the lightning bolt in two and sending it crashing to the ground on either side of him.

"More accurately, it slid off..." Su Chen muttered to himself. "Increase the intensity."

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The thunderclaps were incessant. Even when the lightning was strengthened to match the Power of the very first, most powerful bolt, it now only caused him minor injuries.

’In terms of overall combat power, it has some flaws and can’t compare to Soldier Master. But in terms of pure defense, it’s far superior. A total of 40% damage reduction... that’s just insane.’

’So what happens if I activate the Soldier Master’s buffs in this state?’

Su Chen experimented further. As he fused various Secret Artifacts into his body, his Physical Strength consumption began to skyrocket. He had to activate his Chakra Liberation state and use the Holy Hand’s blessing to raise the Secret Artifacts to Tier Seven.

Violent waves of air erupted around him, nearly forming a storm. Su Chen took a deep breath. That illusion of being able to tear anything apart resurfaced once more.

After a moment, he calmed himself slightly and carefully assessed the feeling. ’The abilities of the two Professions have some overlap in terms of defense.’

The Soldier Master’s abilities buffed his physical body, and the Vajra Venerable also provided enhancements based on his physical body. It was inevitable that they would overlap.

Furthermore, the consumption was astonishingly high. Even with Chakra Liberation, he was having trouble sustaining it. In this state, he estimated he couldn’t last more than a few minutes.

"It’s not always ’the more abilities, the better.’ They have to be compatible with you," Su Chen said to himself. His body wasn’t just a set of data, after all; it was impossible to truly stack buffs indefinitely in every aspect.

’However...’ Su Chen deactivated his various abilities. The issue of overlapping abilities had no bearing on him.

Because he was about to perform a Melting Holy Profession. When the abilities were melted and fused into one, the problem of overlap would naturally vanish. In fact, they might even be further enhanced.