newbobooks Chapter 388 - 227: A Smiling Welcome, Purifying the Nether Fog
Chapter 388 - 227: A Smiling Welcome, Purifying the Nether Fog
"The Bronze Sect’s ’special feature’..." Su Chen couldn’t help but stare, noticing the strange expression on Wan Chen’s face.
Perhaps because it wasn’t the right time or place, he hesitated, looking like he wanted to say more. In the end, he just nodded without a word.
’Something’s obviously not right...’ Su Chen realized the problem. None of the other Sects had this "Dark Sun time"; only the Bronze Sect did.
’What "special feature"?’ The two words "energy conservation" were the first thing that came to his mind.
’Could there be a problem with the Sect’s Flame Fire?’
In that brief moment, the light of the "sun" faded from a dazzling golden-white to a deep crimson, then to an iron gray. Finally, all that remained was a dark red halo, like the embers of a dying fire.
An unnerving chill crept in from all directions, making even Su Chen feel cold. ’The temperature drop can’t be natural,’ he thought. ’They must be using some kind of method.’
’It went out so fast. It’s definitely not a real star...’ Su Chen thought, looking up at the iron-gray sphere suspended in the firmament.
He had initially thought "Flame Fire" was just another name for a star. But now, seeing how terrifyingly fast it went out, he figured it must ignite just as quickly. It definitely wasn’t any kind of star.
’How strange...’ he muttered to himself.
The others, long accustomed to the Dark Sun time, paid it no special attention.
As the group left the plaza, Su Chen asked, "The lodging Copper Spirit arranged for me is F-107. Do any of you know where that is?"
"F-107?" Wan Chen sounded a little surprised, but he quickly composed himself and pointed. "It’s over there..."
The direction Wan Chen pointed was not deeper into the core area, but rather outside of it. Following his finger, Su Chen could faintly make out shadowy black dots in the distance.
"Those are Suspended Floating Islands," Wan Chen explained, a fleeting look of envy on his face. "They circle the core. Only the Sect’s top leadership gets to live on them."
A residence, when it came down to it, was just a place to eat and sleep.
His envy stemmed from the location. This was the heart of the Bronze Sect, where many high-ranking members resided. It was convenient for travel, and the networking opportunities were obvious.
Forget the Floating Islands; he wasn’t even qualified to live on Copper Heart itself.
"A private island," Su Chen remarked, surprised. It wasn’t a bad arrangement—it would certainly be quiet, but he’d need a Flying Device to get back and forth.
Wan Chen explained that to live on Copper Heart, one had to be at least a Steward, a Tier Seven Professional, or in the top 100 of the Holy Hall rankings, which granted a one-year residence permit.
The residents of the Floating Islands, however, were Hall Masters, department heads, and the like. The minimum requirement was Tier Eight.
The most central figures, such as the Chairmen, resided back on Copper Heart, but in its absolute center.
However, aside from the two Morning Star Tier Professionals who also served as Chairmen and were permanently stationed here, other Chairmen like Lin Langtian were posted in the outer territories. They were like regional governors and wouldn’t return without a special assignment.
"My father is calling me, probably about what just happened. I have to go."
Lin Yue, who was behind them, suddenly spoke up. She turned off her virtual screen, said a quick goodbye to the group, and left.
"Well, I’ll be going too," Lan Hao said, his eyes shifting nervously. He was clearly uncomfortable, feeling completely unable to fit in with the group. He hadn’t had a chance to say a word, and it was just awkward to stay.
Now only Ming Lin was left, trailing behind the two of them. Su Chen thought for a moment, then asked, "Is there a department here that deals with Nether Fog?"
"That’s right, you still haven’t had the Nether Fog in your body taken care of." Wan Chen finally remembered, frowning. "It should be at..."
He didn’t seem very familiar with the process either. He’d never had to undergo a Nether Fog cleansing in his entire life.
After opening his Wristband and asking a few people, he got his answer. "Come on, I’ll take you."
Wan Chen turned a corner at the upcoming intersection. The number of people on the streets had thinned out; most of them were still gathered back in the plaza.
There were almost no skyscrapers on Copper Heart. Aside from the Bronze Tower, the buildings were at most four or five stories tall, their exterior walls a mixture of matte bronze alloy and dark gray materials.
It had a rather austere look compared to the three nearby satellite cities.
After they had walked for a bit and he saw no one else was around, he finally sighed. "You’ve probably figured some things out about the Dark Sun time, haven’t you?"
"Yeah." Seeing the look on his face, Su Chen knew his own guesses were likely close to the mark. He nodded, waiting for the rest of the story.
"Actually, the Dark Sun time only started a little over a hundred years ago," Wan Chen said as they walked. "I wasn’t born yet back then. The Sect was at its zenith. According to my father, even among the Five Great Sects, our Bronze Sect was arguably the most powerful."
"We had four Morning Star Tier Professionals at the same time. It was our golden age."
Su Chen couldn’t help but be shocked. ’Four Morning Star Tier Professionals at once?’
’That’s almost on par with the current Royal Court.’
"But..." Wan Chen’s tone shifted as he sighed. "Perhaps it was a case of ’what goes up must come down.’ Something happened—I don’t know the details—but our Bronze Sect’s Flame Fire went out for a full six months."
"My father told me that during those six months, everyone was in a panic. Countless outsiders were speculating that the Bronze Sect was on the verge of collapse."
"Even after the Flame Fire was reignited six months later, it now had the ’Dark Sun time,’ going out once every twelve hours. As for the four Morning Star Tier Professionals, two of them suddenly vanished. It wasn’t until the next selection process began that the outside world realized they had perished."
’They were from the same selection. No wonder their ages and Tiers are so close...’ Su Chen realized, thinking of the two Star Seeds ranked first and second.
"So..." Wan Chen said with a helpless expression, "to this day, rumors are rampant that there’s a problem with our Bronze Sect’s Flame Fire. People say it could collapse at any moment, unleashing a tide of Nether Fog."
"And ever since then, the Ancient King has never again left the Flame Fire, which, to some extent, has only added to the credibility of those rumors."