"But Su Chen has a solid foundation too. I estimate he can last for more than ten minutes..."
Qing Cang made a reasonable deduction based on his own vast experience.
But a moment later, his expression froze.
On the screen, with a mere flash, a black thunderstorm surged like an ocean.
Then, Wan Chen was lying on the ground, coughing up blood.
Defeated in a single strike!
The training room instantly fell dead silent. Beside Qing Cang, Xia Jie's breathing stalled, his heart pounding wildly.
Wan Chen possessed a profound purple talent and came from a prominent background. He had advanced steadily, step by step, and was already considered one of the more dazzling figures within the sanctuary.
Yet such a figure couldn't even withstand a single exchange with Su Chen?
He couldn't help but look at Qing Cang, only to see the Ancient King's disciple's eyelids twitching. Did he look regretful?
"That Ying Feng and his lot are truly treacherous and cunning! That Chong Jingtian is simply inhuman! They made me lose out on such an excellent disciple!"
Qing Cang gnashed his teeth, his heart aching with an ever-growing sense of remorse.
But he quickly adjusted his emotions. There was a massive secret hidden within Su Chen.
A dual ink-emerald talent could absolutely never achieve such a feat.
"What a fine piece of unpolished jade, what a fine piece of unpolished jade..." Qing Cang's expression shifted continuously.
He had already made a decision. Since things had come to this, he wanted to see exactly who in the faction wanted Su Chen dead the most.
"Commander Xia..." Qing Cang spoke up abruptly.
"Present." Xia Jie responded subconsciously, before suddenly sensing a biting chill permeating the surroundings. His heart trembled as he looked at the fiercely aloof Qing Cang.
"Your Excellency, are you..."
"Come with me to sign a spiritual contract," Qing Cang said flatly.
"Understood." Xia Jie breathed a long sigh of relief. Thankfully, he wasn't asking to borrow his head. His Excellency Qing Cang truly lived up to his reputation as a famously good-natured man.
'Wan Chen, Lan Hao, and Lin Yue all know now. I wonder what kind of complications this will cause,' Su Chen thought helplessly upon returning to his room.
The various minor amplification abilities born from his body tempering and meditation techniques, combined with the combat system formed by his six or seven special classes, allowed his combat prowess to surge to staggering heights.
He knew perfectly well that this was highly abnormal. Exposing it now didn't align with his expectations.
But since things had already reached this point, he could only take it as it came.
"Time to continue absorbing the sap." Suppressing his stray thoughts, Su Chen stripped off his clothes and took out the container holding the Immortal Ancient Tree's sap. Using his telekinesis, he drew it out and meticulously applied it all over his body.
"This is truly..."
After finishing the application, Su Chen stood in front of the mirror, rendering himself somewhat speechless at his own reflection.
The sap's effects made certain parts of his body feel incredibly bizarre. He couldn't help but focus on the sensation, and the more he felt it, the weirder it became.
Giving up on the distraction, he circulated his meditation technique, allowing his mind to gradually settle down.
Time flowed on. Within the hyperspace jump lane, the entire spacecraft fell quiet.
Lin Yue wandered out a few times, only to find that Wan Chen and Lan Hao both had their doors tightly shut, nowhere to be seen. Su Chen's door also displayed a Do Not Disturb sign.
She did run into Ming Lin and chatted idly for a bit, before returning to her room in boredom.
Silently, several days passed. Inside his room, Su Chen slowly opened his eyes. The green liquid that had originally coated his body had vanished without a trace, leaving his skin looking even more luminous and flawless.
"It actually took a full six days. Toward the end, my body's cells were already showing some resistance..."
Su Chen pulled out some clothes and put them on. The stream of light in the jump lane outside the window remained exactly as before, as if their position hadn't changed at all.
"The requirements are met. I can officially take the class now."
His interface surfaced as Su Chen directed his thoughts.
Soon, fine ripples cascaded across the surface of Su Chen's skin. A prickly, numbing itch emanated from his pores, gradually seeping deep into his flesh and blood.
His skin even took on a translucent, jade-like texture, allowing him to clearly see the surging streams of energy beneath as they sank into his cells, triggering a profound metamorphosis.
This inauguration was far less intense than the last one. Su Chen merely felt a bit itchy and numb before it quickly concluded—[Inauguration as Enduring Walker successful. Acquired Class Ability—Scar Conversion: You can convert thirty percent of your sustained injuries into restorative power. Healing can be performed as long as no other abilities are actively used.]
[Additional Reward Acquired: Injury conversion ratio increased to fifty percent.]
Su Chen carefully read the description. The difficulty of obtaining this class hadn't been high, but its utility was incredibly obvious.
And with the additional reward boosting the conversion rate to fifty percent, it was downright absurd. It essentially meant half of any injury he took was nullified.
Of course, the restrictions were also severe. He couldn't use any other abilities while healing his injuries.
This was exactly why Lin Yue had said healing could only be done after a battle.
Healing took time, and being unable to use other abilities during that process essentially made him a sitting duck. Barring certain specific situations, he definitely couldn't use it casually mid-combat.
"However, I can use it beforehand when stacking buffs."
Only then did Su Chen finish dressing, deciding to test it out with a fair bit of anticipation. Unlike the Siphoner, the Enduring Walker's ability only affected himself, meaning he didn't need an external target to activate it.
An injury caused by someone else was an injury, and an injury he inflicted on himself naturally made no difference.
A thin layer of crimson flame ignited across the surface of his body. The Life Burner ability activated, and his flesh gradually withered.
He could clearly feel that as his flesh burned, another kind of power was being born, gradually accumulating within his body.
Once the burning reached a point of full-body agony, Su Chen stopped and attempted to mobilize the accumulated energy within him.
Instantly, green flames akin to Lan Hao's erupted over his skin. His withered flesh rapidly plumped back up, the stinging pain faded away, and his body was restored to a relatively healthy state.
"This is truly miraculous..." Su Chen murmured to himself. He initiated the flesh-burning process again, and the restorative power began to accumulate once more.
'I can actually do this. Half of the burned flesh can be restored, then I can burn it again, restore half again, looping endlessly...' Su Chen muttered internally.
The power boost from The Ravaged depended on how severe his injuries were, but the amplification from the Life Burner only required him to burn his flesh.
However, this restorative power didn't accumulate from thin air; it still consumed his stamina. By the time he looped it a second time, the cost-effectiveness plummeted.
"Still, if paired with healing potions, my explosive power in a limit-broken state has been elevated significantly."
Following that, Su Chen ran various other tests, discovering that different injuries required different amounts of time to heal.
If it was just a flesh wound, the restoration was extremely fast.
If it involved bones or internal organs, the healing process was far slower.
"It's just that the visual trait of these green flames is too obvious. If I want to use it openly, I'll have to figure out another method..."
"What if I amplify it with Divine Hand?" Su Chen suddenly wondered. After trying it, he found his answer.
When augmented by the Divine Hand, his injury conversion ratio could reach a staggering eighty to ninety percent.
"My Divine Hand ability is genuinely incredible. It's just a shame that it drains my mental energy dry every single time. Even counting the extra reserves stored by the Glutton, I can only cast it five times."
"And that's purely theoretical. I still need to maintain a clear head and a functional body. In reality, I only have enough leeway to squander it about three times per battle."
Su Chen's thoughts wandered. The classes and abilities he sought could almost all be integrated into his existing combat system, whether to provide baseline enhancements or explosive bursts of power.
Strictly speaking, none of them were wasted, which meant the number of slots he could strengthen with Divine Hand was severely lacking.
"There should be a sacred class out there that boosts stamina..." Su Chen added another goal to his mental checklist.
At present, the top priority on that list was acquiring the Strength Adept class.
"I've also tried to break through the limits of my body-tempering technique a few times and already have some clues on how to do it." Su Chen stretched his limbs.
He had spent the past few days absorbing the Immortal Ancient Tree's sap. To avoid any mishaps, he had remained in practically the same posture the entire time, leaving him feeling rather stiff.
He simply walked out of his room, heading to the training room for the first time in days to continue figuring out how to shatter the limits of his body-tempering technique.
It wasn't until he had pushed himself to the point of near total exhaustion that Su Chen finally stepped out of the arena.
"A little more time and I should be just about there," Su Chen surmised. He didn't need to actually achieve the breakthrough on his own; he merely needed to push himself infinitely close to that threshold and rely on the induction to give him the final push.
Just as he was preparing to leave, a thought suddenly struck him. He asked, "Copper Star, is my training projection currently accessible to others?"
"Apologies, Your Excellency Su Chen. There is no training projection of you in the system, nor am I able to collect your various data metrics."
Copper Star's response left Su Chen stunned. "What do you mean?"
The artificial idiot simply repeated exactly what it had just said.
Had someone manipulated the system in secret again? Who was it, Xia Jie or Qing Cang?
Su Chen realized that the commotion Wan Chen caused last time was already having ripple effects.
He then inquired about the combat records of Wan Chen, Lin Yue, and the others, only for the system to respond that nothing existed.
"All the records were deleted?" Su Chen left the area, deep in thought.
Two days later, Su Chen received a summons from Qing Cang and arrived at his nominal senior brother's quarters. Pushing the door open, Su Chen saw Qing Cang standing by the window with his back turned. "Senior Brother," he called out.
"Mm," Qing Cang replied coolly. "It seems there are no class fusion methods available on the Crimson Thunder Planet, are there?"
Su Chen's heart skipped a beat. Just as he suspected, Qing Cang was the one behind the deleted records.
"It's a long story," Su Chen said, already having a draft prepared in his mind. "It involves another recognized candidate who is already dead."
"Oh?" Qing Cang turned around, seemingly piqued with interest.
Su Chen recounted some of the events involving Hong Xuan. Given his current status, there was no harm in telling the truth. In fact, keeping it a secret and having it discovered later would only cause unnecessary trouble.
"The special class, Myriad, came exactly from this person," Su Chen concluded.
"I see..." Qing Cang nodded, not particularly caring. Hong Xuan was dead, and dead men didn't matter.
"In that case..." Qing Cang suddenly asked, "Just how many special classes have you inaugurated into?"
"Well..." Su Chen stalled. Wasn't it a bit impolite to ask such a blunt question?
He felt a strong inner resistance and was unwilling to answer. Although Qing Cang was a decent person, this bordered on his most core secret.
If he revealed the number, would he then be asked how he completed the requirements for all of them?
"If you don't want to say, forget it." Seeing his hesitation, Qing Cang didn't press the issue. Ultimately, he was only a senior brother, not a master.
Su Chen couldn't shake the feeling that Qing Cang was acting a bit strange today.
"Your strength is enough to keep some people's mouths shut," Qing Cang said in a low voice. "But by that same token, it will make others even more desperate to figure out exactly what's going on with you."
Su Chen remained silent. This was exactly what he had been worried about. The Crimson Thunder Planet was simply too small; logically, it should have been impossible for it to produce a freak like him.
He had far too many anomalies about him. Exposing them carried both advantages and severe risks.
He was even starting to suspect that Qing Cang might have malicious intentions toward him.
Qing Cang continued, "It's best if we find the person who harbors the most hostility toward you before you enter the faction."
Su Chen furrowed his brow. The current situation was indeed one where the enemy was in the dark while he stood in the light.
The Qing Cang faction was highly complex. Even if the majority of people looked down on him for popping out of some remote corner of the universe...
...there were absolutely very few who had the true audacity and power to make a move against him.
If he could draw out the one who wanted to strike at him the most, the benefits were self-evident. At the very least, he would have a target to guard against, and eventually retaliate upon.
But that was easier said than done.
"Therefore, I have an idea," Qing Cang said, seemingly seeing through his thoughts. "However, I need your cooperation."
As Su Chen met Qing Cang's gaze, his heart skipped a beat. 'Are you using me as bait again?'
"This..." Su Chen hesitated inwardly. This time was completely different from the last. They weren't fishing for minnows, but a great white shark.
A massive shark lurking right by the riverbank. One wrong move, and he might get swallowed whole.
No matter how he looked at it, this senior brother of his didn't seem like a very experienced angler.
"Therefore..." Qing Cang reached out his hand. A stream of green data light gathered, and a phantom, bronze miniature figure appeared in his palm.
Su Chen's gaze was instantly captivated by it.
"You must hold onto this power from our Master carefully," Qing Cang said solemnly.
Was he actually giving him his ultimate trump card?
Su Chen immediately updated his impression of Qing Cang. The man might not be a good angler, but he was definitely the best senior brother in the world.
...Well, one of the best. He suddenly thought of Teng Liang. If Qing Cang's curiosity was just a little weaker, it would be perfect.
Su Chen solemnly extended both hands. Qing Cang gave his wrist a shake, and the bronze miniature flowed into Su Chen's hands, transforming into a stream of light that vanished into his body.
"Then, what else do you need me to do?" Su Chen asked proactively, his mindset completely shifted.
He wanted to see exactly who it was that wanted him dead!
"Hmm..." Qing Cang pondered. Just as he was about to speak, his expression abruptly shifted. "They've come a bit earlier than I anticipated," he murmured.
Su Chen was utterly bewildered by this, completely unsure of what riddle this senior brother was speaking in.
Boom!
But at that very moment, a violent tremor wracked the spacecraft. The ambient lighting instantly flared crimson red as an ear-piercing siren blared: "Warning. Tractor beam detected. The hyperspace jump lane is being disrupted. Attempted capture of the spacecraft is in progress."
"Capture?" Su Chen exclaimed in astonishment.
Xia Jie had already rushed in, his face looking awful, his voice urgent. "Your Excellency Qing Cang..."
"Mm," Qing Cang raised a hand, interrupting Xia Jie. "I am already aware."
Su Chen's eyelids twitched as he watched Qing Cang's figure suddenly dissipate right before his eyes. A scorching tempest surged toward his face, sweeping him up as if dragging him into a vortex. His body drifted up uncontrollably.
The storm that Qing Cang transformed into spread out from the command bridge, sweeping up everyone along its path—the grave-looking Wan Chen, the shocked and uncertain Lin Yue, Lan Hao, Ming Lin, and the rest.
'What exactly is going on?'
Caught in the tempest, Su Chen could only struggle to adapt. His vision shifted continuously, the world spinning wildly around him, until things finally stabilized.
Only then did he realize that they had actually appeared outside the spacecraft, right in the middle of the jump lane. All around them flowed a bizarre and dazzling river of light.
Beside him stood Wan Chen and the others, their expressions filled with lingering fear. The azure wind currents wrapping around them twisted constantly, seemingly fighting against the immense external pressure.