’Does the appearance of one dragon shadow really mean he barely qualifies? That he can’t become the chosen one?’

’If that’s the case, then what’s the point?’

Ming Lin was completely bewildered. ’Recognition? Chosen? It seems this is just the preliminary screening, and Su Chen’s single dragon shadow isn’t even enough to qualify for the next stage.’

The atmosphere immediately grew heavy.

But just then, Ming Lin’s eyes shot wide open, and he shouted, "Look!"

Everyone, lost in their own thoughts, subconsciously looked toward the crimson cloud and mist. A look of astonishment appeared on their faces in unison, as if they were witnessing something utterly unbelievable.

The crimson cloud, which had previously been circled by only a single small dragon, suddenly began to fluctuate violently. Several dazzling, crimson cracks of light split across its surface.

Then, a second small, crimson dragon abruptly coalesced.

And that wasn’t all. A third one immediately followed!

"Three Dragon Shadows!!" Jiang Shu Mo cried out in shock. A strained smile spread across Xia Hanshi’s old face.

’This...’ Wu Chenpei was dumbfounded. Hongxuan’s cheek twitched faintly.

However, the changes were not over yet!

Before everyone’s stunned eyes, the three small, crimson dragons seemed to devour the surrounding crimson mist, growing thicker and more distinct by the second.

The surrounding crimson mist grew thinner and thinner, to the point where they could vaguely make out Su Chen’s back.

At a certain moment, the three small dragons suddenly stopped mid-air. Their bodies simultaneously erupted in a blinding, Red Gold flame. They abruptly changed direction and slammed into the churning sea of mist.

The instant they touched the mist, their bodies flaked away inch by inch, turning into a flowing current of molten gold light. The streams of light tangled wildly within the mist before fusing into a single, even more massive crimson dragon.

And at that moment, Su Chen was standing before the hazy Stone Slab.

The lifelike, great crimson dragon was coiled around his body, and the onlookers could even faintly perceive a sense of awe emanating from it.

Pu Zhenghong looked dazed. ’This... What in the world... what is this...’

Chong Jingtian’s heart pounded. He didn’t know what this scene represented, nor did it seem to match what Wu Chenpei had described about one dragon or two dragons.

But such a huge commotion was clearly anything but ordinary.

He suddenly looked at Wu Chenpei, hoping to read something on the old fox’s face.

But he found the man completely dumbstruck. ’This... What is this scene? Why didn’t anyone from the Royal Court ever mention this?’

’But even a fool could tell this is definitely not a mere ’barely qualified’ recognition.’

’It might... it might even surpass the Three Dragon Shadows.’

A thought that made even him tremble emerged in his mind: if the Spirituality on this Stone Slab were complete, Su Chen might have instantly become the chosen one of the Great Venerable Red Flame Thunder Resonator!

"Three dragons become one, the Spiritual Dragon Cauldron Appearance!"

Hongxuan’s face paled in horror as he screamed in his mind, ’How is this possible!’

’This is the Spiritual Dragon Cauldron Appearance! It’s clearly a precursor to becoming the chosen one! But this is just fragmented Spirituality; a scene like this shouldn’t be happening.’

He couldn’t understand it. All sorts of emotions churned in his mind, but they were soon followed by an overwhelming killing intent.

’With Su Chen around, it’s impossible for me to become the chosen one of the Great Venerable Red Flame Thunder Resonator.’

This was an irreconcilable conflict!

Among those present, more than a few were of a higher Professional Tier than him. Sensing the killing intent emanating from Hongxuan, their gazes turned cold.

Xia Hanshi stood behind Jiang Chumo and the others, slowly retracting his gaze from Su Chen’s back within the crimson mist.

A faint flush crept onto his iron-cold cheeks.

Then, his will-o’-the-wisp-like eyes immediately fixed on Hongxuan.

"Hongxuan!"

Wu Chenpei, having barely regained his composure, snapped sharply.

Only then did Hongxuan realize his mistake. He hastily reined in his killing intent and lowered his head.

Seeing the two of them lose their composure, Chong Jingtian understood everything.

"Saint Envoy, this scene seems to have surpassed the Three Dragon Shadows. I wonder what its significance is?" Chong Jingtian asked, feigning simple curiosity.

Wu Chenpei’s cheek twitched uncontrollably. After a moment, he said flatly, "Anything more than that, I do not know."

At this moment, the great dragon coiled around Su Chen suddenly dispersed. The thin mist thickened once more, obscuring everything from view again.

"Su Chen, he..." Ming Lin stood at the back, watching Wu Chenpei and Hongxuan lose their composure. His heart pounded, his blood surged, and yet he felt a sense of loss.

He couldn’t help but wonder, ’We both have the Ink Jade Talent, so why is Su Chen so powerful?’

Wei Yufan’s expression was ugly. He glanced at Hongxuan and cursed inwardly, ’Useless trash.’ 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Soon, Su Chen walked out of the mist. Pairs of eyes converged on him—some filled with shock, some with relief, some with excitement, and some... with ill intent?

’Hmm?’ Su Chen vaguely sensed that something was wrong. He looked toward Hongxuan, but the other man just kept his head down, his expression hidden.

As for the Saint Envoy, his face was expressionless, devoid of his earlier excitement.

"Good, good!" Chong Jingtian laughed, walking forward and patting Su Chen repeatedly on the back.

Jiang Shu Mo and the others also looked at him with a gentleness he had never seen before.

Seeing their attitudes, Su Chen breathed a small sigh of relief. ’It seems the effect displayed outside was even better than I imagined.’

This time, Su Chen hadn’t tried to hide his abilities. On the contrary, he was afraid that some misunderstanding might prevent him from accessing the other Stone Slab later.

’My Professional Tier has been advancing too quickly, which is hard to explain.’

’But a phenomenon like this depends on the degree of recognition from the Spirituality. Naturally, the more impressive the display, the better. There shouldn’t be any negative consequences.’

’I wonder what the scene looked like from the outside?’ Though he was curious, he couldn’t ask directly, so he just said, "I was fortunate not to fail the mission."

"You did more than that, so much more..." Chong Jingtian said repeatedly, sweeping away the gloom in his heart. Although he didn’t know why Su Chen, whose Talent was clearly inferior to Hongxuan’s, had caused such a huge commotion.

Perhaps it could only be said that the Spirituality’s perspective was different from their own.

"Everyone, this matter is concluded. Let’s go." Chong Jingtian waved his hand, and the heavy metal giant doors closed once again.

Although everyone had different feelings about what had happened, they sealed their senses just as they had upon arrival and departed.

...

「Meanwhile, at the very moment Hongxuan received his recognition.」

Outside Red Thunder Star, a boundless grey-white mist stretched on endlessly.

In a vast, unknown region, a supremely magnificent metal hall stood in the void. Its foundation was composed of interlocking gears, through which flowed a network of dark gold Energy veins.

The body of the hall was covered in a strange material made of various fused metals. Twelve metal pillars supported its dome, and chains extending from beneath its base glowed with a crimson light, a dim star tethered to their ends.

Inside the hall sat a figure that looked like a humanoid body cast from bronze. Its seated posture seemed to fill the entire hall, yet at the same time, it looked like an embryo curled within a womb.

The characteristic dark luster of bronze flowed across its surface, and every muscle fiber was inscribed with overlapping and impossibly complex Energy circuits.

At a certain moment, it suddenly opened its eyes. Intricate mechanical structures could be faintly seen within its pupils. Its head turned to look at a crimson statue on one side of the hall, which was now trembling slightly.

’The Great Venerable Red Flame Thunder Resonator... someone has actually gained its recognition?’

Using this disturbance, a light shone in its pupils, projecting a massive stream of data that flowed into the crimson statue. By harnessing the newly reawakened Spiritual connection from the great beyond, it quickly pinpointed the location.

’Judging by the coordinates, it seems to be one of my junior brother’s home planets. We sent people to investigate back then, but it seems they found nothing.’

Immediately, he sent out a mental wave. "Qing Cang!"

Soon, a streak of light shot in from the void outside. The newcomer’s skin was a pale cyan, and a diamond-shaped scale grew between his brows. He knelt on one knee and said respectfully,

"Master."

"The Great Venerable Red Flame Thunder Resonator, the position your uncle once held, has now granted recognition to someone new. You are to go there," the Bronze Giant said flatly. "Retrieve the Professional Spirituality, and bring the recognized person back."

"The Great Venerable Red Flame Thunder Resonator?" Qing Cang looked up, stunned, and couldn’t help but ask, "If I may ask, Master, where is this place?"

"His home planet, Red Thunder."

Hearing this, Qing Cang was even more surprised. He asked in confusion, "There? Didn’t we send people to investigate that place years ago?"

"That is at the edge of the Dust Star Sea, shrouded year-round by the Nether Fog. It’s possible something was missed."

"I understand." Qing Cang nodded. After a moment’s hesitation, he asked cautiously, "May your disciple be permitted to bring a few people along?"

"You also wish to seek the position of the Great Venerable Red Flame Thunder Resonator," the Bronze Giant stated bluntly.