Chapter 664 - 359: Shock

"If he is acknowledged by that wisp of Spiritual essence, he will likely be subjected to the scrutiny of the others," the Bronze Ancient King pondered. "However, I couldn’t spot any anomalies in Su Chen before, so they probably won’t be able to either. Although it will take some effort, I can still protect him."

On one side of the Ancient Kings’ seats, Qin Yun’s chest heaved like a bellows. The voice of the Sun Residual Fire roared in his ears, its greed and longing nearly impossible to suppress. "What a powerful body... How on earth did he do it!?"

Ever since learning the name Su Chen, every encounter had brought him immense surprises. The Dual Divine Dawn Talent was already at the apex in this Dust Star Sea, but what he cared about most was not this Talent, but the secrets hidden within the young man.

"Soon, very soon. Just wait... Hmm?"

Suddenly, the Sun Residual Fire realized something and asked in astonishment, "Why is there no reaction from the Spiritual essence residing in you?"

Qin Yun, whose emotions were surging, also suddenly snapped back to reality. He was puzzled. Even though he disliked Su Chen, there was no denying that the young man’s terrifying performance had far exceeded everyone’s expectations.

No matter how high the Spirit of Sun’s standards were, it couldn’t possibly have zero reaction. Not even the lowest level of acknowledgment?

"Still no reaction?" the Hanhai Emperor asked again, his brows furrowed tightly.

Qin Yun collected himself and could only shake his head. "I don’t feel anything unusual."

"A performance of Su Chen’s caliber is unprecedented in the Dust Star Sea," one of the Ancient Kings remarked. "A Dual Divine Dawn Talent, a Tier Seven at twenty-three or twenty-four years of age, and someone who head-on shattered a Tier Seven bolstered by the Power of Six Kings. Just how high are the Spirit of Sun’s standards?"

The expressions of the other Ancient Kings were also rather unsightly.

If someone like Su Chen couldn’t gain its acknowledgment, what about the remaining two? Han Xingliu went without saying, and Xiao Linfeng was already on the verge of defeat—how could they possibly be acknowledged?

While the other Ancient Kings were bewildered, the Bronze Ancient King was equally puzzled but also secretly relieved. It was for the best that Su Chen didn’t have to be deliberately scrutinized by these fellows.

"The Spirit of Sun doesn’t seem to be reacting," the Morning Stars discussed below.

Li Qingyi frowned deeply. "Can’t he even get the lowest level of acknowledgment?"

Although being acknowledged was merely the first step of a long journey toward the Sun Tier, and with six Moonlights watching, he would probably just be used as a tool anyway. But even so, with Su Chen performing like this, it was truly astonishing that the Spirit of Sun still had no reaction.

The virtual screen belonging to Su Chen was gradually disappearing. The crowd watching from afar had already burst into discussion, their faces flushed and expressions agitated, as if they had just witnessed a miracle.

"The position of Peak Star should belong to Su Chen now, right?"

"Definitely! The massive favorite to win the championship, Han Xingliu, who had terrifying odds of 1:2, is now barely holding on."

"And that Xiao Linfeng, whose odds were 1:3, is about to be eliminated. Meanwhile, Su Chen has forcefully obliterated his opponent."

"Why do I feel like something is weird? This Su Chen is too young. Is his strength really that high? Could it be that he..." Someone hesitated to speak, seemingly afraid to mention a taboo, but was met with a wave of mockery.

"Where did this know-it-all jump out from? Yes, this is the Bronze Sect’s territory, but there are five Moonlights sitting above, and Morning Star Tiers from other Sects watching below. Do you really think there’s any possibility of him receiving under-the-table help?"

"None of the defeated participants are suspicious, yet here you are doubting it."

Without being able to feel the specific might of the battle through the screen—seeing only brilliant flashes of light and shadow—coupled with Su Chen’s extreme youth, it was inevitable for people to overthink. However, such remarks were quickly drowned out by other discussions.

Standing beneath the tower, some Star Seeds who knew the inside story frequently cast their gazes toward the high seats of the Ancient Kings. But there was still no movement from up there, causing suspicions to rise in their hearts.

"Can someone of Su Chen’s caliber really not get the Spirit of Sun’s acknowledgment?"

Wei Zhenghong clicked his tongue. "Are you serious? Old Su’s level of freakishness is so absurd that you probably couldn’t find many like him throughout the entire history of the Dust Star Sea."

He spoke rather conservatively; not knowing much about the Dust Star Sea’s history, he didn’t dare say Su Chen was the only one.

"Are the requirements really this harsh?" The crowd murmured in discussion. Before this started, they had predicted that Su Chen had no chance at the position of Peak Star, but that he would nine times out of ten gain the Spirit of Sun’s acknowledgment.

In the end, he had snatched the title of Peak Star in an eye-catching manner, yet the Spirit of Sun remained completely dormant.

The other participants, who were less privy to the inside information, noticed the bizarre looks and inexplicable atmosphere among the Star Seeds.

Pushing open the door and walking out, Su Chen felt his heart still beating wildly, thumping like muffled thunder. He let out a long breath before he gradually calmed down.

"I directly shattered that King’s Shadow in one strike. There shouldn’t be anyone who can compare, right?" he thought.

He hadn’t truly fought against Han Xingliu and the others, so he could only estimate based on Shen Yi’an’s strength.

"I reckon no one else could break that thing. It was indeed too sturdy," Su Chen thought, secretly clicking his tongue in retrospect.

After making some slight adjustments, he strolled out.

In an instant, countless pairs of eyes converged on him—shock, horror, awe, and jealousy. The myriad of emotions was enough to make even Su Chen’s heart skip a beat.

After all, among them were the gazes of Morning Star Tiers and even a few Ancient Kings, which lingered on him for a moment before retracting.

Wei Zhenghong had already come forward, grinning broadly. "Congratulations, Old Su! You’re probably the youngest Peak Star in history! I bet no one will be able to break this record for a very long time."

As Wei Zhenghong broke the silence, the participants with slightly lower rankings also gathered around to offer their continuous congratulations. From start to finish, they had never considered themselves capable of competing with Su Chen, so they had a rather peaceful mindset and simply wanted to get closer to him.

The voices of congratulation merged into one. In the end, even Star Seeds like Sheng Huaixu and Luo Yao had to swallow their pride and step forward, smiling and offering their congratulations to avoid being seen as petty.

"But... that thing..." Wei Zhenghong said vaguely, "must be completely blind. To think that even at your level, you couldn’t get its acknowledgment..."

Su Chen responded to everyone’s congratulations, but he wasn’t surprised at all! He had already received the acknowledgment of the Three Dragons Manifestation; how could he be acknowledged a second time?

That thing was merely a wisp of residing Spiritual essence, not the true Spirit of Sun. It was similar to the Ancient King Stele.

Furthermore, being acknowledged in front of everyone might not necessarily be a good thing.

While responding to the congratulations, Su Chen finally noticed the two virtual screens still up in the sky. Xiao Linfeng and Han Xingliu were still struggling bitterly within them.

He glanced at them and realized that his own performance might have been a bit excessive.

Xiao Linfeng had only lasted fifteen minutes so far. His face was deathly pale, and his clothes were completely soaked in blood. It seemed he would soon have to concede.

As for Han Xingliu, although his condition was slightly better, the horn on his head had been snapped off.

"This is truly the fastest Peak Star Conference in history. From start to finish, it took barely half an hour," Su Chen thought, muttering to himself. "But, is it that hard for Xiao Linfeng to get acknowledged too? Logically speaking, he should be qualified."

While making small talk with the people around him, Su Chen discreetly observed Qin Yun.

Right at that moment, he saw Qin Yun’s body jolt, a purple light flashing in his eyes.

Su Chen’s heart skipped a beat. "Here it comes," he thought.

The next moment, the Ancient Kings seated in the high tiers all cast their gazes over, only to see Qin Yun trembling all over, his suppressed roars gradually becoming uncontainable.

"RAAARGH!"

The roar echoed through the sky, attracting the attention of the large crowd gathered around Su Chen. They looked over in astonishment.

Above Qin Yun’s head, a purple swimming dragon—about the thickness of an adult’s forearm—suddenly darted out.

"It’s here!" The Hanhai Emperor’s eyes flashed sharply. He stared intently at the rather inconspicuous purple swimming dragon as it lazily floated toward the direction of the tower.

"The manifestation of one dragon shadow... it’s finally born." The Profound Celestial Ancient King breathed a sigh of relief, but his brows couldn’t help knitting together. "Why is it heading toward the tower?"

As soon as the small dragon moved, the various Ancient Kings present calculated its trajectory. Its target wasn’t Su Chen below.

The Zhenwu Ancient King was also bewildered. Su Chen had failed to get acknowledged, yet Han Xingliu or Xiao Linfeng could?

He couldn’t help feeling a bit disappointed. If Su Chen had been acknowledged, he could have used the momentum to peek into the kid’s secrets, and the Bronze Sect wouldn’t have been able to stop him.

What a pity... He really couldn’t tell if this kid’s luck was considered good or bad.