My profession is too unique.

Chapter 112 The Challenger's Arena of the Former Ruins

“Senior brother…” Sang Hanhai sat down respectfully, “Junior brother is dull-witted and can’t help you with anything.”

"You, you..." the old man chuckled, "Speak, what is it?"

“I’ve discovered a divinely gifted translator…” Sang Hanhai said.

"Oh?" The old man seemed somewhat surprised, but then looked down at the smooth holy stone in his hand, as if pondering how to leave words on it. "It's been a while since it's appeared, so this will save some effort."

The divinely appointed translator can only assist in deciphering a sacred stone; this is not something he should care about too much.

Sang Hanhai's eyes flickered, and his voice was deep: "Some time ago, the sacred word stone that he resonated with was deciphered, but today when he came, he actually resonated with another sacred word stone that I am deciphering."

"Hmm?" The old man suddenly raised his head, his previously unfocused eyes suddenly sharpening like those of a hawk, and exclaimed in surprise, "There is such a thing?"

Sang Hanhai continued, "Could the teacher's guess be correct? The essence of the divinely appointed translator is not to resonate with the profession, but to resonate with the sacred stone."

“Hmm…” The old man’s expression flickered. He pondered for a long time, but then shook his head: “It’s not a sacred word stone. This is essentially a stone made of special material. Even if it resonates, it will resonate with divine language.”

“Divine language…” Sang Hanhai said in a daze.

They kept excavating ruins, obtaining all sorts of information, and often put forward a hypothesis, which was quickly overturned by another hypothesis, and then overturned by yet another hypothesis.

The theory that divinely ordained translators may resonate with the essence of the Holy Word Stone was proposed by their teacher.

The divine language theory, as proposed by his senior brother, suggests that the symbols recorded on the sacred stone, though seemingly complex, are actually just one or two paragraphs of text.

However, the writing was done in the language of the gods.

The language of the gods contains too much information, and they can only interpret it using a lower-level language, thus wasting a lot of effort.

If one can master the divine language, then deciphering the sacred stone will be easy.

"Where is he?" the old man asked, his voice tinged with urgency.

"I sent him back."

"Go back where?" The old man frowned slightly.

Sang Hanhai also knew that his senior brother was oblivious to everything else and focused solely on studying the divine language, so he explained, "He was exceptionally selected as a core seed of the Tribunal this year, thanks to his Black Jade talent."

"Ink Jade Talent?" The old man was even more surprised, but his expression couldn't help but be excited. "Yes, I was right. The higher the talent, the stronger the resonance with the divine language."

"Quick, bring him here!"

“Senior brother…” Sang Hanhai smiled bitterly, “He is a core seed. If the Tribunal finds out that you want to recruit him to study the divine language, even Chongjingtian will come over.”

"Moreover," Sang Hanhai hesitated, "he is also Xia Hanshi's student."

"Xia Hanshi..." The old man's expression only slightly softened when he heard Chong Jingtian's name, but his face changed when he heard Xia Hanshi's name. "Does he still want to save Ji Rou?"

“Su Chen is now a core member of the court, and Chong Jingtian will probably stop him.” Sang Hanhai hesitated, “Xia Hanshi will also have to be careful.”

“He couldn’t stop him!” the old man said in a deep voice, then sighed sadly, “Forty years ago, I, Chong Jingtian, Xia Hanshi, and Ji Rou went out to gain experience.”

"...In that strange ruin, the 'Dome of Light' was discovered. Unfortunately, Ji Rou was trapped inside while trying to save Xia Hanshi, and Xia Hanshi has been obsessed with it ever since."

Sang Hanhai had known about this for a long time. The Qiongguang came from a strange ruin and took nearly twenty years to fully restore, allowing it to be gradually promoted.

The Celestial Light is just one of the rewards, and it's only a common one.

However, the ruins are extremely special, and only those with high talent can enter. They are now jointly controlled by Yingfeng and the other three cities, and over the years, they have only obtained some fragmented items.

"Since he has complicated relationships, we can only try to persuade him gently. Will he come back?" the old man asked.

“Hmm.” Sang Hanhai nodded: “He wants to find a special job. He will help me decipher the Holy Word Stone in my hand and will come again.”

“Very good, proceed as you originally intended. When another Holy Word Stone arrives, let him try again,” the old man instructed. “At the same time, mention divine language and the like to pique his interest.”

"Understood." Sang Hanhai nodded, but as he was about to get up, he asked again, "Should we find an opportunity to let him see that stone slab?"

It was also a strange object from that ruin, engraved with symbols similar to those on the Holy Word Stone, but its area was more than ten times that of an ordinary Holy Word Stone.

“No…” The old man glanced at him. “You only looked at half of it and one of your eyeballs was shattered. Even a high-level healer cannot restore it. If you take out a part of the symbol and carve it on the defensive spirit ring, it will prevent any mutated species from entering the area within thousands of miles of Yingfeng.”

"That thing is too powerful. What level is it?"

Seeing Sang Hanhai hold up two fingers, the old man shook his head repeatedly: "It would be lucky if he could leave with a whole body. Let's talk about it later."

.........

"Why does Old Sang's reaction seem so strange?"

Outside the translation office, Su Chen had already boarded the hovercar and muttered to himself, "But now that I've been let go, nothing should happen."

“I have already shown this characteristic. If there are any more Holy Word Stones in the future, he will definitely bring them to me to see. And the Soldier Training Master... Not bad. If we come a few more times, we should be able to get one.”

Having resolved the issue of upgrading his weapon, Su Chen was in a good mood, humming a little tune as he returned to the courtroom.

By the time they had made their round trip, it was only noon, and an old acquaintance was waiting for them at the door.

“Old Bai…” Su Chen raised an eyebrow, looking at the girl in front of him. She was dressed in a white training uniform, expressionless, and exuded an aura that kept strangers at bay.

"What a rare guest." While inviting her in, he told Zero, "This is my friend. Next time you come, don't make her wait outside."

"You're really good." Bai Fengxi looked at the empty room, then glanced at Zero in the maid outfit a few times, and said indifferently, "As expected of a core seed."

"How about we live together?" Su Chen asked casually, inviting her to sit down.

"Forget it." Bai Fengxi shook her head. "I need to train in a special environment, which you can't provide."

Su Chen shrugged and chatted for a while before learning that Lao Bai needed to train in an extremely cold environment, which was quite troublesome.

Then, the conversation turned to the hottest news in the courtroom right now.

A lot can happen in just one morning.

After a brief period of chaos, the veteran seeds united and launched an attack on the fairness of the challenger system.

Several judges and even leaders from external departments have spoken out, all with the same underlying message: challenging the system is acceptable, but how can fairness be guaranteed?

After Su Chen and Bai Fengxi finished their simple lunch, the chief judge issued another announcement—
"Through cooperation with Yingfeng Research Department, we have created the 'Challenger Arena,' which can suppress the professional ranks of both sides in a battle to the same level, serving as a challenge arena for core seeds."

"Since the lowest level that can be suppressed is the third rank, Su Chen and Chu Xuan, the two newly recruited core seeds, are not subject to the challenge system for the time being until they advance to the third rank."

One stone caused a thousand waves!

"The Challenger Arena? They actually have something like this." Su Chen carefully moved closer to Zero, looking at the projected virtual screen, which displayed the latest announcements and detailed explanations.

"...For example, in a battle between a Tier 3 and a Tier 4, the Tier 4 will be suppressed to the Tier 3 level. Even advanced classes will be temporarily suppressed, and their development levels will be roughly the same..."

"The chief judge is very secretive; he's probably been preparing for this for a long time," Bai Fengxi remarked, clicking her tongue in amazement.

"However, even if they are suppressed to the same level, those old guys still have an advantage in terms of their professional development and experience."

The same profession can have drastically different outcomes depending on who holds it in their hands—this is a consensus among everyone.

Furthermore, it also carefully explains that mental resilience cannot be suppressed very precisely, which is not friendly to mentally-oriented professionals.

Even a fifth-tier professional couldn't suppress it, but none of the current core seeds are fifth-tier professionals.

“It’s already quite impressive to have achieved this much.” Su Chen shook his head. “In other words, if the challenger doesn’t have the ability to suppress those old guys, there’s no need to change the challenger.”

Bai Fengxi pondered for a moment, then nodded in agreement: "What you said is also correct."

"This is a brilliant move, not only defusing public opinion but also instigating internal struggles within various small groups," Su Chen thought, adding more details.

Because his initial appointment as the "Sage" did not transform his spiritual talent from crimson gold to dark emerald, he knew that there were differences even among talents of the same color.

In the past, the core seeds were not rotated, and some people with excellent talent and good character were forced to choose sides.

But now, a hole has undoubtedly been torn open inside.

As for the forces that support them, this also reduces their willingness to directly confront the Chief Justice.

As long as someone in their small group can remain a core member, it's acceptable; it doesn't count as a complete reversal.

"A combination of elimination and attack, impressive..." The more Su Chen thought about it, the more impressive it seemed. If Chong Jingtian really wanted to force reforms, he could definitely do it, after all, he was the chief judge.

However, this gradual approach is the least destructive and most stable.

Bai Fengxi said, "One effort is enough, but the second will be weaker and the third will be exhausted. The fair offensive has been neutralized. I wonder if they have any other tricks up their sleeves. Perhaps they've already hidden away and are crying."

Su Chen chuckled, "Those core members aren't panicking yet. After all, they've been in this position for many years, so they should still be able to keep their subordinates in check to some extent."

"But as time goes on, it's inevitable that some will have second thoughts. The chief judge has already made them show their bloodstains, just waiting for someone to make the first cut."

Su Chen noticed a glint of eagerness in Bai Fengxi's eyes. "You also want to try the taste of the core seed?"

"Of course." Bai Fengxi made no attempt to hide her feelings, raising her head slightly. "What they can do, I may not be any worse than them."

“Indeed.” Su Chen agreed wholeheartedly. Lao Bai’s career advancement was quite rapid, and the path had been paved long ago, which was a unique advantage.

Bai Fengxi's "ambition" was not small, and she never slacked off in her training. After seeing her off, Su Chen checked the latest news again. Chong Jingtian's confidentiality measures were excellent; the announcement silenced the entire courtroom.

"I bet even Old Xia didn't know beforehand, that's really... really cunning..."

Su Chen muttered a few words, and after a short while, Gu Bing arrived, carrying two large metal boxes.

Su Chen led her to the storage room, and upon opening the metal box, he found tubes of well-sealed medicine. Gu Bing smoothed her hair and pointed to the pale red medicine bottles, explaining:

"These are sixty tubes of 'Phantom Essence,' and thirty tubes of 'Black Water'..."

With a daily quota of two doses, the medicines provided by the Gu family are roughly estimated to cost six or seven hundred thousand gold coins.

Even Su Chen couldn't help but gasp in amazement; this was only after a month, and he was only at the second tier.

"Who invented these drugs... Using drugs for exercise is a heinous crime." Su Chen cursed inwardly, but then suddenly realized.

The court's decision to allow the seeds to form cliques, in a sense, also bound together Ying Feng's various factions.

If they don't rely on the courts, they have to rely on the security bureau.

"Alright..." Gu Bing and Zero worked together to put the potions into the display case.

After squatting down to close the box, she looked up at Su Chen, but then inexplicably remembered her father's words. Her eyes darted away, and she hesitated before asking, "Is there anything else you need?"

"Hmm..." Su Chen thought for a moment, "Can you get your hands on some arcane energy crystals?"

"Mystic Energy Crystals?" Gu Bing frowned, then after a moment remembered what they were. "They're produced by the Engraving Department; they're a bit difficult to obtain..."

Gu Bing didn't mince words and explained it clearly: "Price is one aspect, but the more crucial factor is production volume. This product is quite useful, and before it's even produced, it's basically all pre-ordered."

"I estimate we can barely manage to get one."

“One…” Su Chen shook his head, not wanting to make things difficult for the Gu family. “Never mind, we don’t need it for now.”

There's no rush. There's still some time before we advance to the third rank, so there's no need to exploit the Gu family too much.

Three Arcane Energy Crystals and three types of Thunder Cores are needed. The combined demand for these two items is no less than ten million gold.

Gu Bing secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but also felt somewhat helpless.

After watching Gu Bing leave, Su Chen returned to the basement. Several days had passed since the courtroom assessment.

But he's been very busy these past few days and hasn't had a chance to exercise. He's only been able to do sporadic workouts, and he feels like his bones are rusting.

However, he had one more thing to do before that.

"I wonder what abilities it has..." Su Chen looked at the [Trial Subject] on the panel, ready to take up the job.

This job is spineless; I surrendered as soon as I was hired.

The words "take office" vanished like a stream of light. Su Chen immediately noticed subtle changes in his body. They weren't drastic, but rather felt like a pair of soft little hands massaging his body, even penetrating his skin and flesh.

"Hiss—this is the first time I've felt so comfortable taking a job..." Su Chen suppressed the urge to groan, let out a long sigh, and looked at the control panel—
[The trial participant successfully secured a job and gained the professional ability - Powerful Metabolism: Increases the efficacy of drugs acting on the user by 25%]

"Oh?" Su Chen's eyes lit up. He hadn't had much hope for this job, but it gave him a pleasant surprise.

"Increased potion efficacy...is equivalent to increased training efficiency..."

As the tingling and itchy sensation in his body gradually subsided, he was still somewhat reluctant to leave.

After stretching his limbs slightly, Su Chen took out the Netherworld Essence, Black Water, and Glazed Blood from the storage room and walked into the gravity chamber.

Activate five times gravity and the Spirit Realm Device.

First, he took out the black liquid, which looked like ink. Su Chen hesitated for a long time before pouring it into his mouth. It was icy cold and tasteless, but it quickly turned into a bone-chilling cold that swept through his body.

"Hiss—" Su Chen shuddered, then opened the Enchanted Essence again and poured it into his mouth. The pale red color was a little spicy on his tongue. It was created by the Enchanted Flower that was born in a specific illusion. The blazing heat rushed to his brain, and his forehead turned crimson.

"A mix of ice and fire, damn it..."

Finally, he drank the glass blood. With the stimulation of the glass blood, the effects of the two medicines became more pronounced, his body became colder, and his head became hotter.

He got into position, and electric arcs began to crackle across his skin, entering a familiar training rhythm.

However, with the combination of various auxiliary methods and the further improvement of his talent, Su Chen was surprised to find that the rate at which the potions were consumed had also become extremely fast.

It only took seven or eight hours for the effects of the Poisonous Spirit to wear off. There was still some black water left, but it would be gone soon.

“In that case…” Su Chen emerged from the gravity chamber shirtless and went to the potion storage room to take out two more bottles of potions. “Not counting the Glazed Blood, under full-force training conditions, I need to consume three vials of each type of auxiliary potion every day, totaling ninety vials of each type of potion.”

“We still need to ask the Gu family to supplement a little…” Su Chen was a little embarrassed. “However, ninety tubes is just theoretical. I can’t train all the time. I estimate that each of us will need to supplement with about ten more tubes.”

"The Gu family can still hold on for now, but if I advance to the third tier, the price of the potions alone will increase tenfold. I really can't do it without money..." Su Chen hadn't really felt it until recently, but now that he's done the math, he can't help but gasp.

"Next, we need to find a few supporters."

I exercised until the next morning, almost completely draining myself.

"Ah, that feels great..." Su Chen dragged his tired body out of the gravity chamber, his eyelids drooping.

Just when he was hoping to get a good night's sleep, Minglin came to visit.

"What's wrong with you? You look completely drained." Minglin was startled when he saw Su Chen open the door, and his tone was quite familiar.

"I exercised all night yesterday and was just getting ready to rest," Su Chen said, his tone clearly implying that he wanted the guest to leave.

“Then I really came at the wrong time.” Minglin said helplessly, “But there is something I just found out, which concerns the core seed, so I came to tell you as soon as possible.”

"Oh?" Su Chen rubbed his temples, also a little curious, and stepped aside to let him in.

"Sigh... No wonder the Chief Judge wants to reform the core seed system. You have no idea what brilliant tricks those guys came up with to deal with the challenger arena." Ming Lin said as he walked, his tone tinged with annoyance.
"They want to control the challenge slots, so that their own people can challenge each other, and in this way, they can still maintain their position as core seeds."

"This is utterly disgraceful." Su Chen shook his head and plopped down on the sofa. "He's really lost his mind. To become the chief judge, you have to subdue everyone. How can this method win people over?"

“Yes,” Minglin wholeheartedly agreed. “Does he really think his cleverness is so smug that the Chief Judge didn’t anticipate this?”

"How so?" Su Chen asked, intrigued.

"This announcement won't be released until this afternoon. My teacher told me, so don't tell anyone else." Minglin lowered his voice, using secrecy to draw the two closer.

"The judge wants to implement a ranking system. There are six core seeds, and currently four can participate in the challenge. Through cross-challenge, if one can defeat the other three, they will be number one and be called the 'chief seed'."

Su Chen's eyelids twitched; the true intentions were revealed, and this was the killer move of a combination punch.

Although there were only four core seeds before, the path to becoming the chief judge is long and complicated, and there are core seeds that have failed halfway through.

On the surface, everyone's probability is the same, but once the rankings are revealed, they are completely different.

Chief Seed, Chief Judge, both are "Chief," and after being called that for so long, who can tell them apart anymore?

This is inherently a form of gathering momentum.

"Ha..." Su Chen couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Now, those core seeds' subordinates won't be able to keep things under control. The forces behind them will also force them to raise 'Gu' (a type of insect) to determine the strongest and compete for the 'Chief' title."

“Not bad…” Minglin nodded. It’s so easy to talk to smart people. “This is an open strategy. Everyone’s attention will be focused on the ‘Chief’ position. They will have no choice but to compete for it.”

"To be honest, even before the ranking system has been announced, some people around me are already getting restless. When the announcement comes out this afternoon, it will probably get even more serious."

He sounded like he was making fun of himself, but Su Chen could sense his confidence.

Minglin brought up another matter, "That guy named Chu Xuan has lost 30% of the power he gathered around him. He's like oil on a hot fire, his foundation is unstable. He seems powerful, but he's actually very vulnerable."

The challenge system inherently increases the uncertainty of core seeds. Once the chief seed is determined, the weight of other core seeds decreases, and it is inevitable that the momentum of the group will dissipate like quicksand.

Su Chen didn't care; after all, only the Gu family was investing in him now. He speculated:
"I estimate that after a while, the challenge system will be widely implemented, and not only will the core seeds no longer be fixed, but the ordinary members and ordinary seeds of the inner court will also be variable..."

Minglin was taken aback and gave Su Chen a deep look. He had been focusing on the core seedlings and hadn't looked that far ahead. "In this way, the Tribunal's training system will become a living spring, and no one can slack off."

"It's a pity you're not at the third rank yet, otherwise I'd really like to spar with you." Minglin couldn't help but feel regretful. "The four of us are quite well-established, but there are quite a few people eyeing the two of you."

"You will all be able to advance to the third tier in as little as six months or as long as a year. At that time, there will probably be a fierce battle. You should be able to maintain your position as a core seed."

"As for Chu Xuan," Ming Lin shook his head, "he might fall from grace for a while."

No matter how talented someone is, it's hard to affect their actual combat skills. They've just been promoted and aren't yet familiar with their class, so it's normal for some veteran players to take the opportunity to challenge them.

As for Su Chen, his combat prowess during the review process was so exaggerated that people are still inquiring about his profession.

The probability of holding onto their position is not small.

Su Chen glanced at Ming Lin and chuckled, "I think you've already got the chief position in your hands."

"We'll give it our all," Minglin said with a smile.

After "leaking" the news to Su Chen, which brought the two closer together, Ming Lin left to let him get some rest.

"This chief judge is certainly dedicated..." Su Chen couldn't help but think as he walked upstairs.
"Perhaps it is because the power gathered by the four core seeds has already threatened him, and it is also easy for them to get entangled with Ying Feng's various forces, so he tried to find a way to break them up."

Su Chen lay on the bed and fell into a deep sleep, thinking, "We shouldn't think of people as too dark..."

(End of this chapter)