Chapter 580 - 319: True Radiance Level Traits

With the Morning Star Essence finally within reach, Su Chen, despite his calm exterior, couldn’t help but let out a silent sigh of relief.

This matter required a delicate touch. Officially, the Ancient King was the one who needed the Morning Star Essence, and he was merely tasked with acquiring it for him.

He had to show he was eager, but not *too* eager. Otherwise, who knew if the crafty Han Xingliu would sense something was amiss and try to pull a fast one.

That was why Su Chen had used Lu Huai’s departure as a small gamble, all while maintaining an air of indifference.

’If you want to wait, then fine, we’ll wait.’

This gave Han Xingliu the impression that Su Chen was expressing his dissatisfaction with the Royal Court.

After all, he had come this far. With no one in Tier Six capable of being his opponent, anyone would be upset if the Royal Court was still deliberately stalling.

It seemed to have worked. The guy hadn’t grown suspicious.

Seeing Su Chen’s composed and tactical demeanor, Han Xingliu was naturally a bit annoyed. Still, Su Chen had already made a move once, so he had at least gotten a glimpse of his capabilities.

But having been slighted, he lost any desire to make small talk with Su Chen. His expression turned serious as he gazed at the conference room door.

Su Chen, likewise, couldn’t be bothered to say more. His gaze fell upon Qin Tianlin’s corpse, his eyes losing focus as he drifted into thought.

’Morning Star Essence...’ The others, listening in, couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy. To the Five Great Sects and the Royal Court, it might merely be considered precious.

To them, however, it was a priceless treasure. The fact that the Royal Court had offered it this time was beyond many people’s expectations. There were rumors it was because of the Bronze Sect, and many had been eager to contend for it. Now, it seemed it had fallen into the hands of the Bronze Sect after all.

Seeing that the two had stopped talking, Xiao Linfeng finally spoke up. "Just now, when I saw Qin Tianlin being attacked, a purple flame suddenly erupted from his body. Afterward, the Bronze Ancient King extracted a cluster of purple flame from his corpse."

"From what the Peng King said, that flame was apparently brought back by Venerable Qin Yun from the Lost Flame. It has garnered a great deal of attention from the Ancient King and several Morning Star Venerables."

His tone was probing, and the few others present, all from various factions in the Dust Star Sea, turned their gazes toward them.

At this, Xiao Linfeng added, "It also seemed to involve some ’Chosen One’ for the Sun Tier. Does the Lost Flame contain a Sun Tier Profession?"

His tone was casual, but his gaze was intense. He came from the Long River Family, which was considered one of the more powerful factions of the Dust Star Sea, ranked just below the major Sects and the Royal Court.

His family currently had two Morning Star Tier experts, marking a period of considerable strength for them.

Yet even so, they weren’t qualified to know the details about the Lost Flame, having only heard faint rumors.

The major factions of the Dust Star Sea had long speculated about the Lost Flame, believing it might be related to the Sun Tier, but there had never been any concrete information.

Upon hearing this, Han Xingliu’s eyes flickered. The incident had happened so suddenly that neither he nor the Peng King had paid any mind to the others present. It seemed they had accidentally revealed some information.

"Well..." Han Xingliu put on a hesitant expression, feigning helplessness. "I’m not too clear on the specific details myself. To be frank with you all, although I am the Emperor’s son, I am still too young, after all."

"As for what the Peng King said just now, why don’t you wait for him to come out and ask him yourselves?"

Naturally, no one present believed him. Xiao Linfeng even chuckled. "What right would we have to question the Peng King? However, I’ve already relayed the information to my family’s elders. It’s best if we let them ask the Peng King."

’He’s fast, isn’t he?’ Han Xingliu was speechless. No wonder he’d seen Xiao Linfeng fiddling with the communication device in his hand; he’d been secretly sending a message.

’Is he afraid we’ll silence him?’ Han Xingliu gave an enigmatic smile. "Fine..."

’The Long River Family is certainly impressive, but without an Ancient King-level combatant, they ultimately lack the qualifications to get involved with the Spirit of Sun.’

’His Twin Divine Dawns have already met the minimum threshold. If Xiao Linfeng were given a chance to enter, he might actually have a shot. A pity...’

On second thought, he felt a surge of relief. Fortunately, the Royal Court had been researching a method for Postnatal individuals to advance to the Morning Star Tier.

’Otherwise, I probably wouldn’t even be able to meet the threshold.’

’I hope it’s just as the research institute said—that the Profound Celestial Instrument can serve as the final piece of the puzzle.’

As this thought crossed his mind, he glanced at Su Chen out of the corner of his eye, and his mood inexplicably improved. He could still rely on the power of the Royal Court to attempt his own transformation.

Su Chen, on the other hand, had no such opportunity. He wouldn’t even get the chance to make contact with the Spirit of Sun.

Seeing Han Xingliu’s unconcerned demeanor and his gaze sweeping casually about, Xiao Linfeng’s own expression hardened. He had actually hoped for some display of anger, or even a few threatening words.

’In the eyes of the Royal Court, there are only the Five Great Sects...’ He sighed inwardly with a sense of helplessness.

While everyone outside the door was lost in their own thoughts, inside, the numerous Morning Star Tiers weren’t particularly surprised to hear Sun admit that it was not a Professional from the Dust Star Sea.

"The Nether Fog isolates the Star Universe, but in some places, a pocket of sanctuary can exist by a stroke of luck, perhaps due to a Flame Fire or some other reason."

"However, it is difficult for even a Morning Star Tier to emerge from such places, let alone a Sun Tier."

"Your Excellency, the place you hail from... its scale must be considerable, no?" the Peng King asked, his words probing. The territory of the Dust Star Sea had been continuously shrinking; although the process was slow, it was undeniably happening.

Attempting to penetrate the Nether Fog and explore what lay beyond was an incredibly difficult task. It wasn’t for lack of trying, but everyone they had ever sent out had vanished without a trace.

"I am merely a Spirit Fragment. I have no such memories," Sun replied.

Qi Heng, skeptical, pressed further, "You don’t remember anything at all?"

"Believe it or not."

That line again. Qi Heng frowned and said nothing more.