Xia Hanshi’s expression shifted slightly. The contact information they possessed had been given to them by the three people who’d first descended from the Royal Court—it was for contacting the Royal Court officially.

’If we contact them officially, the Royal Court would never send people down privately. So how did Yuan Capital find a way to contact others?’

"You said Wu Chenpei deceived us. How, exactly?" Xia Hanshi pressed.

Hongxuan’s voice was cold and desolate. "After he helped me become the chosen one of the Great Venerable Red Flame Thunder Resonator, the very first thing he was going to do was kill you, along with Chong Jingtian and all of Ying Feng’s top brass!"

"He planned for Yuan Capital to reign supreme, to rule Red Thunder Star for generations. He never intended to let any of you live."

"Hongxuan!" Lu Kai rebuked in a low voice. "Yuan Capital has treated you well."

"Hesitating, second-guessing... insisting on waiting until we were at the ruins to kill Su Chen. If we had just acted sooner, we wouldn’t be in this mess today!" Hongxuan was furious, his heart filled with grief and indignation. Death was imminent; he couldn’t care less about Yuan Capital anymore.

Lei Tieyan froze, glancing at Xia Hanshi beside him. ’Yuan Capital really wanted to kill Su Chen?’

"Wu Chenpei..." Xia Hanshi murmured under his breath.

Hongxuan wasn’t saying all this out of any goodwill. He was just lashing out in desperation; if he could stir up some trouble on his way out, all the better.

Composing himself, Hongxuan turned to Su Chen, his voice hoarse. "The method for Professional Fusion... listen closely."

"You’re still willing to give it to me..." Su Chen was quite surprised. Given Hongxuan’s situation, he would have understood even if the man had gone back on all his promises.

Hongxuan’s spiritual fluctuations emanated from him, secretly transmitted to Su Chen alone.

[Discovered Special Profession—All Things: Job can be taken upon completion of requirements.]

[Requirement 1: Maintain two parallel Professions. The gap between their Talents cannot exceed one level.]

[Requirement 2: Channel the Power of the Profession and attempt to fuse it within your body. Must succeed at least three times.]

[Requirement 3: Pierce your body with a World Tree Branch to form a bridge for the Professional Fusion.]

[All things have a source. As an expression of respect to the Great Venerable Red Flame Thunder Resonator, Requirement 2 for All Things has been weakened. Only one fusion is now required.]

Su Chen glanced over the requirements. They weren’t difficult for him. The most troublesome part was likely this so-called World Tree Branch.

"The last item... I have it in my room," Hongxuan finally said, a sliver of satisfaction blooming in his heart.

’If Su Chen actually follows the requirements I gave him, he’s dead. I only have one piece of the World Tree Branch left, and there aren’t any more on Red Thunder Star. He won’t even be able to test it on someone else first.’

"I see," Su Chen said, calmly glancing at his panel. The Profession requirements displayed on it were subtly different from what Hongxuan had told him.

Especially the last step. Hongxuan had told him to fuse it into his brain. If he had actually followed those instructions, he’d be lucky to escape with just a severe injury.

’And here I thought he was gracious enough to accept his defeat,’ Su Chen thought, shaking his head inwardly.

Xia Hanshi’s brow furrowed, his eyes filled with scrutiny and suspicion. He didn’t comment on that, instead pressing on with another question:

"Did you want to kill Su Chen because you weren’t confident you could compete with him? What did that scene of his acknowledgment signify?"

Hongxuan let out a pained laugh. The agony from his wounds intensified, and images from his past flashed before his eyes, finally settling on Su Chen.

An intense feeling of resentment washed over him. He had been defeated by this person, and now he was expected to explain just how formidable his opponent was. He refused.

"Accept my defeat..." Hongxuan snarled through gritted teeth. His eyes rolled back, and his spiritual fluctuations surged violently before rapidly fading. He collapsed, his body stiff.

Hongxuan’s perception of his surroundings began to fade as he felt himself sinking into darkness. In his final moments, a spiritual message suddenly resounded in his mind.

"If a single dog from your Hong Family survives this, then my name isn’t Su Chen."

A glint flashed in Su Chen’s eyes. He was a very vindictive person.

Hongxuan’s unfocused pupils suddenly constricted, only to immediately go slack again. His head seemed to struggle to lift before slamming back down heavily.

"His Spirit Core collapsed. Self-annihilation," Shi Yunzhou saw at a glance, shaking his head. "It’s far too easy for a Mental Professional to kill themselves."

Unless a High-level Spiritual Professional was present to forcibly control him, but unfortunately, there wasn’t one here.

"Still, this was a suicide, which will make it easier to explain to Yuan Capital," Shi Yunzhou added, glancing suspiciously at Su Chen. He wondered what final message had passed between Su Chen and Hongxuan.

"Yuan Capital is already planning to purge us, and you’re worried about explaining things..." Bu Siqi muttered from the side.

"It’s just a purge," Shi Yunzhou said, not at all angered. He smiled serenely. "If we succeed with Su Chen, we will purge them in turn."

"But we haven’t succeeded yet, have we? The ruins haven’t opened. We have to give them some false hope to cling to."

"Just like the one Wu Chenpei gave us in the beginning."

Shi Yunzhou maintained his beaming smile, but Bu Siqi couldn’t help but shrink back, a chill running through his heart.

"That Profession he told you about—don’t take it up rashly," Xia Hanshi warned. "The man had sinister intentions. If there’s a hidden deathtrap in the requirements, the harm will be endless."

"I understand." Su Chen glanced at his panel. Hongxuan had indeed harbored ill intentions, but the panel had already corrected the information for him, eliminating any hidden dangers.

Shi Yunzhou then turned to Lu Kai, his eyes narrowing. He had noticed Lu Kai subtly preparing to make a move earlier. "What were you trying to do just now?"

"Nothing," Lu Kai said, forcing a calm expression as he shook his head. A sense of sorrow welled up within him. ’The desperate plan Hongxuan came up with didn’t even get past the first step. I’m no match for Su Chen myself... it’s hopeless.’

"What are your thoughts on Hongxuan’s death?" Shi Yunzhou didn’t press the matter, simply asking the question.

Gazing at Hongxuan’s corpse, Lu Kai’s expression was complex. Finally, he said, "Colluding with the Faceless Divine Son is an unforgivable crime."

At this point, he could either accept the new reality or fight it. Given Hongxuan’s final betrayal, Lu Kai easily chose to accept the status quo. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"Very good." Shi Yunzhou nodded in satisfaction. He had already been prepared to break his promise and get rid of Hongxuan regardless of who won or lost, but this current outcome was better than he could have hoped for.

Meanwhile, at a nod from Xia Hanshi, Bu Siqi was already preparing to lead his men to storm the guest house.

"Senior Brother..." Su Chen called out, stopping him for a moment before following Bu Siqi inside.

Guided by a staff member, they soon arrived at Hongxuan’s room. A thorough search turned up several items.

The most important of these was the so-called World Tree Branch. It was a section of branch about the length of a forearm and the thickness of a thumb, resembling a piece of jade. It felt warm and smooth to the touch.

’The method for Professional Fusion...’ Su Chen put it away and looked around. Placed together with the branch were a few other things.

There was an iron plate engraved with special symbols and a lustrous, round bead. His panel didn’t react to them, meaning they weren’t conventional Tiered Items, but they were likely still something special.

He took all of them before going to check the other rooms.

Outside, the situation was already being wrapped up. The people from Yuan Capital, including Lu Kai, had been temporarily detained and placed under heavy guard.

Xia Hanshi said to Shi Yunzhou, "We need to notify Chong Jingtian as soon as possible. Now that the Faceless Divine Son has been destroyed, his Believers will surely sense it. I expect they’ll retreat soon."

It was a plan to kill two birds with one stone, and both birds were crucial.

Driving out the Faceless Divine Son might have seemed like a secondary objective, but it was the result of many days of planning. Its importance was no less than that of dealing with Hongxuan.

As for the Faceless Followers who were used as a distraction, they likely wouldn’t continue to make pointless sacrifices. The common Believers may be irrational, but their Sacrificial Chief was not.

"When Wu Chenpei returns, we’ll have a score to settle. Hongxuan was an outsider from beyond the stars..." Xia Hanshi’s tone was chilling. "They’re going to spit out everything they’ve been hiding."

Shi Yunzhou nodded, his expression calm. "This confrontation has certainly solved a few problems. Since he was an outsider and not someone Yuan Capital raised from childhood, things are much simpler."

Lu Kai’s attitude offered a glimpse into Yuan Capital’s own. Hongxuan’s final, self-destructive info-dump had been quite chilling for them.

"Still, you’ve certainly taken on two fine students," Shi Yunzhou remarked with a sigh as he saw Su Chen emerge.

"And then there’s Teng Liang. To be able to see through the Faceless Divine Son’s disguise... how come I’ve never heard of him before?"

Xia Hanshi didn’t bother responding. He simply turned and walked away, his mind already churning with other thoughts.

’Su Chen’s precognitive ability is remarkably accurate. If he could predict the sites of the other Deceitful God Holy Banquet blood sacrifices, perhaps...’

His heart stirred as he thought of the vast collection of items related to the Deceitful Gods stored in the forbidden vault.