Chapter 117: Targeting And Promotion To Third Order
He still wanted to get for free from Cheng Lang, so he simply left with Du Yu.
On the way, from Du Yu’s mouth, he roughly learned about the internal situation of the Inspection Department.
“The situation is much better now. The day after the Pang Family was destroyed, that was truly a time of widespread indignation. They were itching to storm into the Court of Justice right away and capture your Chief Judge alive…” Du Yu spoke in his usual unreliable manner.
The several Judges walking in front of them turned their heads with unfriendly expressions, glaring fiercely at Du Yu, startling him. Only after glancing at Su Chen beside him did they restrain themselves.
“That’s why I didn’t dare to wear my uniform…” he muttered softly.
Su Chen was also speculating in his mind: “I don’t know what the Elder Council is really thinking. They destroyed the Pang Family without letting the Inspection Department get involved at all. Even if they suspected others, sending a Minister to oversee it would at least ease things a bit…”
With his deepening understanding of Ying Feng, after sorting out the major factions, he finally fully understood just how much hatred the Court of Justice’s actions that night had provoked.
The hidden dangers behind it, Chong Jingtian and the others couldn’t possibly fail to see clearly, yet they still did it.
Suddenly, Su Chen remembered something. “Almost forgot, how come the share from destroying the Pang Family hasn’t been delivered to me yet? The process is so slow.”
Du Yu had to return to the Inspection Department, while Su Chen headed straight to the Translation Department.
……
Under a shaded grove inside the Translation Department, Cheng Lang had already been waiting here for quite some time.
Seeing Su Chen arrive, his tightly furrowed brows eased somewhat. After throwing out the bait last time, Su Chen had shown no follow-up, which left him truly puzzled.
Su Chen came from a lower tier city, a person without any foundation. Facing the Security Department’s recruitment, even guarantees of a top tier profession, he surprisingly showed no reaction for nearly a month.
This level of composure exceeded his expectations. After much thought, Cheng Lang decided to take the initiative and make contact again.
Since Su Chen hadn’t refused, there was still a chance, but Cheng Lang didn’t mention the previous recruitment. Instead, he sighed and said, “Yesterday, another Judge died.”
“Another one…” Su Chen’s brows furrowed slightly. This was the third Judge death he’d heard of since the Pang Family’s destruction. “Cause of death still professional distortion?”
Cheng Lang nodded. “Officially, yes. Perhaps it’s the Pang Family’s revenge.”
The main personnel of the Pang Family were all rounded up, but there were inevitably some fish that slipped through the net scattered elsewhere.
“Why are they holding onto the corpse?” Su Chen couldn’t help but shake his head.
“That, you’d have to ask Chong Jingtian why he acted against the Pang Family without even saying hello.” Cheng Lang’s tone was cold yet helpless. “The friction between the Court of Justice and the three departments has a long history. It probably won’t dissipate without decades of effort.”
Cheng Lang was just short of saying outright: Wait until you become Chief Judge, and we’ll work together.
“Yeah.” Su Chen deeply agreed.
This kid… Seeing how patient this guy was, Cheng Lang could only speak first: “What I mentioned last time, how have you considered it? This past month, I heard Chu Xuan has gotten even closer to a top tier profession.”
“I can consider it.” Su Chen pondered.
Even with Cheng Lang’s composure, a surge of anger rose uncontrollably. He represented not just the Inspection Department, but the Security Department. And this kid was still saying “consider”?
“However, shouldn’t you show some sincerity first?” Su Chen probed.
Cheng Lang’s face fell. The other guys at least had the decency of core seeds, but this kid came right out demanding benefits.
Since it was stated so bluntly, Cheng Lang’s expression soured as well. He said gravely, “We only show sincerity to core seeds.”
“Heh…” Su Chen let out an ambiguous laugh. As expected, the sweet words before meant nothing when it came time to actually pay up.
Cheng Lang’s meaning was clear: if he advanced to third order and lost that status, there would be no value in investing.
“So no sincerity then.” Su Chen shook his head feigning disappointment. “I thought the Security Department wouldn’t be so stingy.”
Cheng Lang gritted his teeth in anger, his voice growing even colder: “Being generous doesn’t mean being a fool.”
“Then… how should I believe your promises?” Su Chen shook his head and said:
“You should have investigated and found out I’m from the refugees. Years as a refugee taught me one truth: others’ promises of a bright future might sound good, but filling your stomach right now is what matters most.”
Narrow-minded… Cheng Lang naturally knew about this, his brows locked tight. After pondering for a long time, he finally said, “What do you want?”
“Five mystic energy crystals, five thunder cores of different types.” Su Chen made a bold demand.
Cheng Lang’s face turned ugly. Narrow-minded, but with a huge appetite.
These things, not counting the personal connections mobilized, had a paper value of nearly twenty million gold.
Nothing to the Security Department, but giving them would make them pure fools.
“Too much…” Cheng Lang refused outright. “One mystic energy crystal, one thunder core.”
Benefits could be given appropriately, but not to the point of being fools.
“You’re too stingy.” Su Chen frowned. “How about this, one step to the end. I just want mystic energy crystals, three of them.”
Cheng Lang’s expression shifted, hesitating for a long time before agreeing. “Fine.”
A smile immediately bloomed on Su Chen’s face. “Actually, I’ve admired the Security Department for a long time.”
“Right, send the stuff to me as soon as possible.”
Cheng Lang’s cheek twitched at the speed of the face change. By the time he reacted, the other had already turned and left.
Staring at Su Chen’s back, Cheng Lang’s expression flickered, finally settling into a hard-to-describe smile. “Not afraid of you having desires, afraid of you wanting nothing.”
When he realizes the core seed position is truly unstable, the status drop will naturally push Su Chen to seek help.
They weren’t afraid of Su Chen truly falling from the core seed position; they welcomed it. That way, they could truly grasp him.
……
Since he was at the Translation Department, he wanted to connect with Old Sang. He went to his laboratory but found him absent, so he had to return to the Court of Justice.
Just exiting the parking lot, Su Chen noticed quite a few gathered Judges, filled with righteous indignation, voices loud.
By the time he passed them, Su Chen had figured out what was going on.
It was still about the Judges’ deaths. Three Judges dead in this month alone made it a major incident.
But with the corpses held by the Inspection Department, the investigation couldn’t proceed. The Second Chief Judge staying at the Court of Justice stepped forward, but the Inspection Department didn’t give face.
Without orders from the Elder Council, the Court of Justice had no city enforcement or investigation rights either. This group was seething with pent-up anger.
“Any faction developing to a certain point naturally tends toward self-expansion. Chong Jingtian can’t solve this problem either; he can’t strike at his own foundation.”
“…Unless there’s an external crisis forcing them to unite. Perhaps when Ying Feng was first established, they were truly of one heart, but now it’s lasted over a thousand years, and the external environment can hardly be called a crisis anymore…”
Su Chen’s thoughts couldn’t stop diverging. Returning to the villa, he found Gu Bing already waiting, her expression not great, with a small hover transport vehicle parked at the door.
“Su Chen…” Gu Bing’s face barely eased upon seeing him return. “This is the metal material you wanted.”
“Good.” Su Chen opened the door, put the materials in the basement, and looking at the distracted Gu Bing, asked, “Senior Sister, do you have something on your mind?”
“Ah?” Gu Bing started, somewhat hesitant.
“If there’s something difficult, you can tell me.” Su Chen pressed further. His impression of the Gu Family was good.
Enjoying others’ benefits naturally meant standing up for them.
“It’s like this…” Gu Bing organized her words. “Didn’t you mention mystic energy crystals and thunder cores to me before? Mystic energy crystals are tricky, but thunder cores are easier.”
“We had already negotiated with the resource repository for three at four million gold each, but yesterday they suddenly notified us they couldn’t provide them.”
“Even when my grandfather offered an extra five hundred thousand per piece, it didn’t work.”
“Hmm…” Su Chen was quite surprised. He had indeed mentioned thunder cores once, just asking about the specific difficulty and price of obtaining them.
He hadn’t expected the Gu Family to take it so seriously.
“It’s fine, I don’t need them temporarily.” Su Chen reassured her.
“It’s not just because we didn’t get the items.” Gu Bing said lowly. “The resource repository’s credibility is good. My grandfather approached an old acquaintance; it shouldn’t have been a problem.”
“After the interception yesterday, my grandfather went to his old friend overnight. The friend vaguely revealed that the interceptor was from inside the Court of Justice.”
Inside the Court of Justice… Su Chen’s expression sobered. So, they weren’t targeting the Gu Family, but coming for him.
His contacts with the Gu Family couldn’t be hidden from those paying attention. The Gu Family had never dealt in thunder cores before; suddenly purchasing them was nine times out of ten because of him. Easy to deduce.
Chu Xuan? Su Chen subconsciously thought.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
A sudden knock at the door. Su Chen’s eyes flickered. “Interesting, I just got back.”
Gu Bing looked somewhat bewildered, not understanding what Su Chen meant.
“Junior Brother Su…”
Standing outside was a young man whose smile seemed friendly, but his eyes were very calm.
“Senior Brother Liu…” Su Chen recognized him. Liu Chen… Inner Court Seed, Crimson Gold Talent, third order professional.
Not long ago, it was he and Ming Lin who battled for forty minutes, hailed as one of the closest to core seed.
“Not disturbing you, I hope.” His gaze swept over Gu Bing standing behind Su Chen, and without waiting for an answer, he continued on his own: “Actually, I’m here to apologize.”
“Apologize?” Su Chen’s eyes flashed slightly, as if guessing. “What do you mean?”
Seeing Su Chen not inviting him in, Liu Chen’s expression soured a bit, but he quickly composed himself. “It’s like this. My family has a younger brother who needs to go on a mission, so I thought of getting him some defensive weapons.”
“That’s when I targeted thunder cores. I asked and found out this month’s output was already reserved. Helplessly, I had to cut in line and take three.”
At this point, Gu Bing pursed her lips.
“Helplessly cut in line”—that was something his grandfather had secured at great cost.
Liu Chen seemed helpless as he said, “Only just found out it was intercepted from the Gu Family. Really didn’t expect it, so I came specially to say sorry to Junior Brother.”
Starting with “apologize,” now it became “sorry.” Su Chen stared at him with a hard-to-read smile but said nothing.
Not rushing him? Liu Chen was quite surprised; this kid had solid composure.
He continued right away: “I’m also here to ask if Junior Brother needs them urgently. If you do, I can have them sent first, prioritizing you.”
Gu Bing’s face turned ugly. At this point, even she understood Liu Chen wasn’t here to apologize at all, but to assert dominance.
Only if he asked would they give.
This wasn’t just about “thunder cores”; it included everything Su Chen would need later. This was forcing Su Chen to pick a side.
She couldn’t help looking worriedly at Su Chen, but saw this junior brother still smiling, gently shaking his head: “No rush. Prioritize your brother first. It’d be bad if something happened.”
Liu Chen’s expression froze, then he forced a smile. “Since Junior Brother isn’t bothered, that’s good. If you need Senior Brother’s help in the future, just say the word.”
With that, without waiting for Su Chen’s response, he turned and left.
Walking far off, Liu Chen glanced back at the now-closed door, a trace of disdain in his eyes. “Caring too much about face will only bring suffering.”
Profession development, fulfilling requirements—which one doesn’t need resources?
Su Chen came from a lower tier city and wanted to stay out of it, watching others fight to the death. Ridiculous.
“Su Chen…” In the room, Gu Bing called softly, her face worried.
“What’s wrong?” Su Chen turned puzzled.
Gu Bing wanted to remind him not to act on pride, but seeing Su Chen’s normal expression, she breathed a sigh of relief. Then she heard him ask, “Is this Liu Chen’s family very powerful?”
Gu Bing explained, “Liu Chen’s family has generations in the Court of Justice. Though they’ve never produced a Chief Judge, there are now several Deputy Directors and over a dozen Senior Judges from the Liu Family.”
“He himself was carefully cultivated from childhood. First order and second order were both top tier professions. When he joined the Court of Justice two years ago, it drew a lot of attention.”
Gu Bing cautiously asked, “He’s Wei Yufan’s man. I don’t know why he’s targeting you. Is there some misunderstanding?”
“Perhaps.” Su Chen was noncommittal.
After seeing off Gu Bing and handling miscellaneous matters, Su Chen returned to his previous training rhythm for the rest of the time.
Time flowed like water.
This day, in the gravity chamber, Su Chen’s head trembled, mental power leaking out in all directions, as if the surroundings were shrouded in a hazy mist.
【Cloud Breath Meditation Method advanced to Master Level, gained ability–Cloud Spirit: Slightly enhances mental acuity】
The tingling sensation gradually receded. Su Chen clenched his fist, bones crackling.
“With Wind and Thunder Emissary activated, I should be able to take down Zhou Xian head-on now…” Su Chen assessed his current strength. The gradual accumulation from the training method made his strength far surpass same-order peers.
Even other top tier professions would struggle to match.
Exhaling, Su Chen looked intently at the panel.
【Wind and Thunder Emissary: 87%】
【Mystic Mind Master: 100%】
【E-grade Dark Iron Body Tempering Method—Proficient: 40%】
Thunder Radiance Body Tempering Method had long reached Master Level, granting the ability 【Thunder Bone】, enhancing his bone intensity, and he had switched body tempering methods.
But most crucially, Cloud Breath Meditation Method reaching Master Level meant he could advance to third order.
And on the panel, the profession 【Mystic Arts Weaver】 had become 【Mystic Arts Master】.
The mystic energy crystals Cheng Lang promised had arrived days ago.
Upon receiving them, Su Chen directly triggered the evolution of Mystic Arts Weaver.
As he expected, under the influence of Heituo power, the job appointment conditions hadn’t changed, still the original ones.
He had long speculated this, since even “Gale Hunter” could complete evolution conditions after advancing.
After evolution, no extra conditions were needed, proving that the profession essence could be changed before advancing without affecting job appointment requirements.
“Only the Whispering Trial left…”
Creating an element ability of second order intensity, Su Chen completed it effortlessly. Wind and Thunder Emissary’s professional intensity was no joke.
“Then, let’s prepare…” Su Chen’s expression grew much more serious.
Leaving the gravity chamber, he went to the bedroom. It had windows and thin walls; if something went wrong, he could quickly reach light.
And he set Zero to produce light after one hour.
Quickly setting up darkness conditions, Su Chen took a deep breath. The preparation process was now extremely familiar.
When the symbol on his chest completed, Su Chen felt an unprecedented pulling sensation, like his body was struck by great strength and then plummeting into an abyss—an experience never felt before.
Previously it was a slow immersion, but this time, it was like hands forcibly dragging him into some area.
The surrounding darkness became viscous, alive entities.
He could still breathe, but the air gradually carried a rotten taste.
Gradually, a sound arose by his ears, like something dragging over dry fallen leaves.
Coming from up, down, left, right simultaneously—no source, no pattern, weaving an endless net that bound him tightly.
“Different from last time…” Su Chen forced himself to stay calm. He had reviewed plenty of information.
Mental-type professions varied wildly, but eight out of ten had the Whispering Trial in their job appointment requirements.
The area of the Whispering Trial was called the “Nether Domain.” Ying Feng records had various speculations; the mainstream view was—the destination of all spirits’ consciousness.
His limbs felt filled with lead, or tightly bound by the viscous darkness. Su Chen couldn’t even lift a finger.
Finally, a grayish light appeared before his eyes. He saw an endless smooth ground, with massive dark patterns crisscrossing.
“This place is…” Su Chen looked around; nothing visible. He tried walking forward, then squatted and knocked on the ground, producing a dull sound.
Rumble!
Suddenly, the ground shook violently. Su Chen was flung into the air, the ground shrinking nonstop below, intense pain tearing through his body like being sliced inch by inch.
“This damn…” Su Chen’s pupils dilated in shock. The shrinking ground below turned circular; those crisscrossing black patterns coalesced into a vertical pupil.
The place he had been wasn’t some vast land—it was a skull, Heituo’s skull!
“Fuck!”
Su Chen truly cursed this time. With only himself as reference in the high-speed motion, he couldn’t fully gauge the skull’s size,
but undoubtedly, it was terrifyingly enormous.
This Strange God was already watching him; wasn’t he walking right into the trap?
Under the oppression of imminent devouring, Su Chen quickly transformed into “Heituo Priest.”
“*?”
A voice filled with surprise, like a massive bell, rang by his ear. Su Chen couldn’t comprehend its meaning.
But the tearing sensation did fade gradually. Yet from being flung, he was rapidly pulled closer, the skull before him enlarging swiftly!
Heituo had discovered him!
And at that moment, a point of light suddenly bloomed before Su Chen’s eyes.
To prevent getting trapped too deep and unable to control his body, the timed Zero in the corner had its eyes suddenly emit intensely blazing light.
Like a drowning man suddenly pulled up, Su Chen gasped sharply, instinctively standing. His heart raced wildly, taking a long time to calm.
Opening the window, natural light streamed in, and Su Chen finally relaxed, still shaken. “Truly eerie as hell, actually running into Heituo.”
Calming down, Su Chen looked at the panel. After Mystic Arts Master, the word “job appointment” finally appeared, then dissipated.
In an instant, Su Chen felt his brain explode with a boom. Mental power surged out wildly, expanding rapidly, instantly sweeping Zero flying into the wall.
【Mystic Mind Master successfully advanced to Mystic Arts Master!】
【Mystic Tool mastery strengthened—can control mystic tools +1】
【Crimson Thunder evolved—Crimson Thunder Prison: Consumes mental power to expand a thunder domain around the body.】
【Telekinesis strengthened!】
【Mental Control evolved—Mental Implantation: Splits off a mental seed, implantable in lifeforms with insufficient mental resilience for monitoring.】
【Gained professional ability—Heituo’s Gaze: Steals power from Heituo, briefly pulls target’s spirit body into the Nether Domain.】
The explosively growing mental power gradually settled. Su Chen worked to rein in the scattered mental power around him, adapting to the 360-degree vision that even discerned dust in the air.
He was experienced with this sensation now, quickly retracting the expanded mental power.
Scanning the panel info, evolutions evolved, strengthenings strengthened.
Crimson Thunder became an area attack. With a thought, crimson electric arcs lit up around the bedroom.
Crackle!
Zero in the corner, heavy with metal, swiftly drew a immature crimson thunderbolt.
Boom! Parts scattered everywhere. Su Chen’s eyelid twitched; he hurriedly dispersed it.
“Such power, and it was just starting to charge…”
Zero was a mechanical puppet with quality materials; ordinary second order couldn’t dismantle her.
“Not bad…” Su Chen nodded repeatedly. This was top tier profession intensity. Facing Zhou Xian again, probably one look would strike him dead.
And for 【Mental Implantation】, he was quite curious.
Carefully trying to activate it, his spirit body stung like a needle prick, splitting off a tiny mental seed, invisible to the naked eye.
“This is a great tool for intelligence surveillance… And with my mental intensity, perhaps even same-order can be implanted.” Su Chen pondered.
Finally, 【Heituo’s Gaze】, the harvest from this Whispering Trial.
“Nether Domain… that place isn’t for humans.” Su Chen still felt afraid recalling it.
Layered top tier professions and multiple meditation methods had pushed his mental intensity far beyond a fresh third order professional.
This 【Eye of Heituo】—non-third order top tier mental-type profession would struggle to resist.
He was quite satisfied with this advancement. Panel ability strengthenings, evolutions, even fusions didn’t mean old abilities vanished.
The panel consolidated information; these abilities were still inherently his, flexibly usable.
“Third order… Liu Chen…” Su Chen rummaged a thumb-sized glowing blue bead from Zero’s wreckage. With this, Zero was still somewhat alive.
Glancing outside, daylight had dimmed. Cold light gleamed in his eyes.
