Chapter 348: Chapter 207: Painstaking Operation (2)

In other words, it was just a matter of grinding it out and gambling on the odds. He hated requirements like that, which made this guidance all the more important.

’But this way, I’ll have to use the Sly Fox Essence—the one that increases difficulty for a reward—on the first profession requirement.’

The first requirement for the Power User profession was for all of his current Physical Side professions to be Top Level. He had no idea how that would change if he increased its difficulty.

’I’ll take the gamble. Top Level is already the limit. It can’t possibly create something *above* Top Level, can it?’

Su Chen still chose to increase the difficulty of the first requirement.

[Affected by the Sly Fox Essence, the difficulty of the Power User profession’s first requirement has been increased: All Spiritual and Physical Side professions you hold must be Top-tier. Upon fulfilling this requirement and advancing, you will receive an additional reward.]

"Ha..." Su Chen couldn’t help but grin. Just as he’d expected, it didn’t create a rank above Top Level, instead extending the requirement to the Spiritual Side. Luckily, his foundation was solid enough for him to complete it immediately.

’This way, I can use the Crimson Essence on the third requirement...’

[The difficulty of the Power User profession’s third requirement cannot be reduced. Generating one-time guidance.]

’Just as I thought...’ Su Chen wasn’t surprised. After making his adjustments, he was satisfied.

’This way, as long as I complete the requirement to "break the limits of my Body Refining Technique," I can advance to Power User. I just wonder what the Talent-related bonus reward will be. Another Talent upgrade?’

Su Chen speculated for a moment, then his gaze fell on the Endurance Walker below.

He had already used a Faceless Ghost Essence on it, erasing the need to repair injuries. Now, the only thing he needed to do was collect the sap of the Immortal Ancient Tree.

’Hmm... I should use the Sly Fox Essence on the first requirement...’ Su Chen mused, his will stirring.

[Difficulty of the first requirement increased: Hold at least four Physical Side professions, and all must be Top Level. Upon fulfilling this requirement and advancing, you will receive an additional reward.]

Su Chen nodded in satisfaction. He could meet this kind of profession-level requirement no matter what.

’There’s no need to use the Crimson Essence on the third requirement, then. It’s not like it can erase it, and neither weakening it nor generating guidance would mean much to me... The sap of the Immortal Ancient Tree isn’t that rare...’

This way, he could save a Crimson Essence, and the Endurance Walker profession was left with just one requirement: collecting the sap of the Immortal Ancient Tree.

’Next up, the Nourisher...’ He immediately used a Faceless Ghost Essence.

[Corroded by the Faceless Ghost Essence, the Nourisher profession’s third requirement has been erased.]

Su Chen’s heart skipped a beat, and a thrill of excitement surged through him. ’No wonder gambling is so addictive...’

The third advancement requirement was considered relatively difficult and troublesome.

According to Lanhai, even in his family, with their years of experience in profession advancement and various methods, the probability of reviving the Eternally Withered Flower was only about forty percent.

’This way, the only thing left is collecting the hearts. So, what should I use the Sly Fox Essence on? I’ll gamble one more time. Maybe I can even save a Crimson Essence.’

Su Chen’s gaze wandered, finally landing on the first advancement requirement.

[Corroded by the Sly Fox Essence, the difficulty of the Nourisher profession’s first requirement has increased: Hold at least six Physical Side Top-tier Professions. Upon fulfilling this requirement and advancing, you will receive an additional reward.]

’I’ll need to be at least Tier Six to complete this...’ Su Chen’s face darkened. This requirement was different from the Power User’s.

It had a clear quantity requirement. Going from four to six meant he could only complete it once he reached Tier Six.

Tier Six... that was too long to wait. He decisively used a Crimson Essence to lower the difficulty back to its original level.

’All this hard work must have saved me several years,’ Su Chen thought, nodding in satisfaction. The three professions in his hands now basically had only one requirement left each.

’The people at Ying Feng can’t help much with the other two, but I can have them start preparing for the heart collection,’ Su Chen mused.

This matter wasn’t urgent. There was something else at hand that he was quite looking forward to.

’Just how difficult is the path to a Holy Profession?’ Su Chen wondered, his gaze shifting to Life Burner on his panel. Last time at Ying Feng, he had managed to get two Black Tuo Essences.

One was directly extracted, while the other was smelted.

He had already used one for Life Burner. As for the second, he hadn’t touched it, waiting until he had all the requirements.

Without hesitation, he consumed the two Black Tuo Essences from his inventory. They transformed into two wisps of black smoke that coiled around the Life Burner.

The profession insignia trembled, and the crimson text gradually became tinged with gold.

[In its frenzy, the Life Burner has glimpsed the path of evolution. The path to a Holy Profession is now open. Please gather at least seven special body-enhancement professions, attempt to perform a preliminary fusion on them, and use the Morning Star Fire to forge and sublimate the result.]

Su Chen’s eyebrows rose. This single sentence essentially contained three requirements.

The difficulty of the first part wasn’t too bad. Seven body-enhancement-type professions. Besides Life Burner, he already had Gulping, Armored Bones, and Tyrant—that was three.

If he counted Endurance Walker and Nourisher, that was already five.

Although the latter two were requirements for the Phoenix Holy Profession, that was still just a goal. Whether he could actually obtain it was another matter. If he really needed to do the forging, he certainly wouldn’t wait.

’However, the requirement says "at least," which really means the more, the better. The more special professions I forge together, the more powerful the resulting Holy Profession will likely be.’

Su Chen pondered. The first requirement was still within the realm of normal, but the difficulty of the rest skyrocketed: attempting a preliminary fusion of seven special professions.

This was an evolution requirement, which couldn’t be influenced by Deceitful God’s Power. And then there was the final part: the Morning Star Fire.

That was a flame one could only ignite after advancing to the Morning Star Tier. Where was he supposed to get that?

’There must be a way. According to Wan Chen, a Holy Profession can only be born for the first time within the body of a Morning Star Tier. However, others can create one by following a specific sequence and using special methods. That process must require the use of Morning Star Fire, right?’

He probably wouldn’t be able to complete this Holy Profession anytime soon.

Su Chen considered his options. He still knew too little. Some of these things were probably secrets even within the Bronze Sect, not easily discovered.

’One step at a time...’ Su Chen stretched, not particularly worried. The goal was laid out before him, just waiting to be scaled.

After tidying up a bit, he went out again and returned to Xia Hanshi’s residence. The banquet hadn’t ended yet. Su Chen pulled Chong Jingtian aside.

"What’s wrong?" Seeing Su Chen approach, the slightly tipsy Chong Jingtian had scorching white flames ignite on his skin, which steamed off wisps of white vapor carrying the strong stench of alcohol.

"It’s nothing major. I was just hoping you could help me collect the hearts of different species, Chief," Su Chen said.

"How many?" Chong Jingtian asked. "Fresh or not? What about the Professional Tier?"

Strange requests like this usually involved special professions, so Chong Jingtian asked for details.

"Fresh or not doesn’t matter. They must be from beings of at least Tier Four. The more you can collect before I leave, the better." After speaking, Su Chen added, "And it’s best not to let Qing Cang and the others know about this."

This was related to the Nourisher. If Lan Hao found out, he would definitely guess that Su Chen was connected to the Deceitful God’s Followers who had attacked that day, which would only cause unnecessary trouble.

"That’s simple. I’ll just have my own people do it," Chong Jingtian said thoughtfully. "Qing Cang and his group are short-handed. Plus, with your current status, they can’t possibly monitor all of Ying Feng’s internal movements."

"I’ll have to trouble you, Chief," Su Chen said.

"It’s no trouble." Chong Jingtian shook his head and asked, "When are you planning to leave? Are you going back to Southwind?"

"Southwind?" Su Chen thought for a moment. "My journey can’t be delayed, so I probably won’t go back there first. It’s not like I’m never returning. I’ll leave a few letters with you later, if I could trouble you to deliver them, Chief."

"Mm." Chong Jingtian pondered for a moment and said, "For this trip, just take Ming Lin with you for now."

"Ming Lin?" Su Chen’s eyes shifted slightly. "You’re not having him go with the next group?"

Chong Jingtian had a deal with Qing Cang to prepare a batch of promising "seeds" for Qing Cang to take. The situation had now changed, but the deal hadn’t been canceled.

However, that group of people obviously couldn’t travel with them.

After all, there was no telling what dangers they might encounter on the road. The people from Red Thunder weren’t in a rush. They could just send someone to pick them up after Qing Cang returned.

"When you get to the Bronze Sect, you’ll be in unfamiliar territory. Having someone you trust will make things easier," Chong Jingtian said.

As the head of the Judgement Hall, while he wasn’t as powerful as the Bronze Ancient King, he understood that even with Su Chen’s high status, it was hard to say how many people or resources he could actually mobilize with a single word once he arrived at the Bronze Sect.

If someone really wanted to target him, there were plenty of ways to secretly sabotage him, leaving Su Chen unable to even find out who the perpetrator was.