Chapter 260: Chapter 260: Each With Their Own Agenda

For this second task, Ye Xuan suddenly discovered a very serious problem.

The various methods that came to mind were all extremely advanced techniques he had mastered in his previous life. The processes themselves weren’t overly complicated, but they placed extremely high demands on the Soul Refiner. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

But the Thirteen Nations Alliance was located in a remote part of the Celestial Profound Continent, and Ye Xuan couldn’t be sure if the methods he was writing down had ever been seen here.

If he wrote down a method for condensing a martial soul, but the chief Soul Refiners of the various nations couldn’t understand it and marked it as incorrect, that would be a complete joke.

After a moment of careful thought, Ye Xuan finally wrote down the five safest methods he could think of.

As for whether the judges could understand them, Ye Xuan could only leave it to fate.

Fortunately, he had a commanding lead from the first two rounds. He was ahead of the second-place Luan Hong by a full ninety points, so even if he lost some points on this task, he could completely afford it.

Besides, was it guaranteed that the second-place Luan Hong wouldn’t lose any points? Ye Xuan didn’t think so.

With the two tasks completed, Ye Xuan took a moment to adjust before moving on to the third stage.

In this third stage, over a hundred different materials were laid out, including no fewer than thirty types of Soul Crystals in a vast array.

Normally, when a Soul Refiner condensed a martial soul, it was best to use the dissipating Profound Soul’s Soul Thought from a just-deceased Profound Beast. A martial soul created this way would have the best possible effect.

If that wasn’t possible, one could also use the Soul Crystal from a dead Profound Beast to create a martial soul. However, a martial soul created this way would certainly not be as good as one made from a Profound Soul’s Soul Thought; its power and growth potential would be diminished.

However, this third task was just an assessment for a competition, not a real procedure to implant a martial soul, so Ye Xuan naturally didn’t need to consider that much.

His gaze swept over the Soul Crystals before him, and Ye Xuan sank into thought.

’This stage doesn’t just test the ability to condense a martial soul,’ he thought. ’It also tests conceptualization, organization, and a Soul Refiner’s repository of knowledge.’

Among the nearly thirty types of Soul Crystals were those from various Profound Beasts—flying birds, land beasts, insects, and even plant-type Profound Beasts. Coupled with the materials on the side, a single glance was enough for dozens of martial soul ideas to flash through Ye Xuan’s mind.

However, he rejected them one by one.

According to the rules, only by condensing a "Special Grade" martial soul could one be awarded the maximum two hundred points. It was very difficult to achieve Special Grade quality when condensing a martial soul with just Soul Crystals, and Ye Xuan wasn’t willing to take that risk.

To condense a Special Grade martial soul, the demands on not only the Soul Refiner but also the materials were extremely high.

So, Ye Xuan decided to start with the materials.

He first sorted all the Soul Crystals and materials into three categories based on their grade and quality: good, average, and poor.

Even First Grade Soul Crystals had variations in quality. From the nearly thirty Soul Crystals, Ye Xuan selected nine of high quality.

These nine Soul Crystals came from five types of land Profound Beasts, two types of flying ones, one insect type, and one plant type.

Next, from the sixty or seventy auxiliary materials, Ye Xuan tossed aside the thirty of poorer quality. He then set out the thirteen better materials and the nearly thirty average materials separately.

To condense a Special Grade martial soul without a Profound Soul’s Soul Thought, one had to use high-quality Soul Crystals and high-quality materials as the primary components to have even a sliver of a chance.

Nine types of Soul Crystals, thirteen high-quality materials, and nearly thirty ordinary materials. As these items registered in Ye Xuan’s eyes, various combinations flowed through his mind as smoothly and naturally as running water.

In the end, after a rough tally, he had come up with eighteen different martial souls, all of which had the potential to reach Special Grade.

It was just that the processes for condensing these eighteen martial souls involved some techniques that couldn’t be demonstrated on the spot.

’Looks like I’ll have to lower my standards again.’

Ye Xuan sighed. He had no choice. To avoid drawing too much attention and causing unnecessary trouble, he could only choose to condense a martial soul that the judges, with their Thirteen Nations Alliance level of Soul Refining knowledge, would be able to understand.

If the other contestants knew what Ye Xuan was thinking right now, they would absolutely spit up a mouthful of blood in anger.

They racked their brains, working tirelessly and trying every possible method, yet might not even come up with a single way to condense a Special Grade martial soul. Meanwhile, Ye Xuan was agonizing over how to choose a method they could understand from a plethora of Special Grade combinations. The comparison was enough to make one despair.

Looking at the large quantity of materials before him, Ye Xuan wasn’t in a hurry. He carefully contemplated his options.

After all, he had completed the first and second tasks extremely quickly, taking less than a quarter of an hour in total. For this third task, he had plenty of time to think.

And Ye Xuan’s actions were all observed by the Soul Refiner masters on the judges’ platform.

When Dongfang Yanyu and Kuchen saw how quickly and easily Ye Xuan had completed the first two tasks, they were both greatly gratified.

To be honest, although they knew Ye Xuan was quite extraordinary, neither of them was truly clear on just how high his Soul Refining skill level was.

Now, seeing that Ye Xuan had taken first place in both the first and second stages, and was proceeding through the third stage’s assessment so smoothly and swiftly, their hearts swelled with an indescribable joy and excitement.

In past Floating Light Assemblies, while the Liuyun Kingdom had always managed to secure a decent ranking, it was usually around fourth or fifth place. In recent years, there had even been a downward trend.

Unexpectedly, this year’s Floating Light Assembly was teeming with geniuses; even some of the smaller, unknown countries had produced outstanding Soul Refiners. At this rate, based on past trends, the Liuyun Kingdom would have surely been pushed down to seventh or eighth place.

But because of Ye Xuan, the Liuyun Kingdom’s ranking in this year’s Floating Light Assembly hadn’t just avoided falling—it was now far ahead of every other kingdom, making the two of them so happy they could barely contain their grins.

Although the competition wasn’t over yet, Dongfang Yanyu and Kuchen were already certain that a top-three finish in this Floating Light Assembly was practically guaranteed. As for whether they could take first place, that would depend on the performance of Ye Xuan and the other contestants in this final stage.

Unlike the delight Dongfang Yanyu and Kuchen felt, Xuu Xin Hua from the Fire Crow Kingdom and the President of the Zuo Yi Alliance from the Dongsheng Kingdom were feeling quite sour.

This was especially true for the Fire Crow Kingdom, which had always been at odds with the Liuyun Kingdom. Their goal this year was to knock the Liuyun Kingdom out of the five great powers, making them lose face horribly at this Floating Light Assembly and become the laughingstock of the Thirteen Nations Alliance.

They just hadn’t expected a monster like Ye Xuan to suddenly appear and snatch first place in two consecutive stages. Now, in the third stage, he was also progressing rapidly. While other contestants were still wracking their brains over the second task, this kid was already preparing to start refining for the third.

This was the rhythm of a complete rout.

The two of them simply couldn’t believe that Ye Xuan had truly and thoroughly completed the first two tasks in a mere quarter of an hour.

They had to understand, these exam questions were designed by the top Soul Refiners from their respective nations. Although the final questions were chosen randomly and they didn’t know the specifics, Xuu Xin Hua and the others were confident about their difficulty.

This third stage was definitely not as simple as it looked on the surface.

Even if they were the ones taking the test, it would be difficult to say if they could complete the first two stages well in a quarter of an hour. Could a mere Soul Refiner genius like Ye Xuan really do it? The two of them were still highly skeptical.

However, having learned their lesson from the previous two stages, they didn’t dare make any definitive judgments despite their suspicions.

They had been repeatedly slapped in the face by Ye Xuan’s performance. If they made another wrong call on the third stage, even if no one else said anything, they wouldn’t know where to hide their old faces from the shame.

Of course, deep down, they were still hoping that Ye Xuan would grow arrogant and careless, and make a mistake.

But considering his performance in the first two stages, they found it hard to believe he would actually slip up.

Their hearts were truly tangled in turmoil.

’If this kid really did finish the first two tasks in a quarter of an hour, then the heavens must be blind! At this rate, the Liuyun Kingdom has simply lucked into a massive advantage. My Fire Crow Kingdom’s plans to suppress them... wouldn’t that become nearly impossible?’

A top-tier Soul Refiner was the very foundation of a kingdom. Once the Liuyun Kingdom had a genius Soul Refiner, trying to suppress them would become nearly impossible.

’No. If this Ye Xuan really manages to win the championship at this Floating Light Assembly, I, Xuu Xin Hua, absolutely cannot let him continue to grow. Otherwise, in a few years, or ten years, my Fire Crow Kingdom will be in for a disaster.’

A sharp glint shot from Xuu Xin Hua’s eyes, and a faint killing intent flashed past before being concealed again beneath his profound gaze.

Meanwhile, the President of the Zuo Yi Alliance from the Dongsheng Kingdom also had a flickering gaze.

But his attention wasn’t just on Ye Xuan; it was also on his kingdom’s current number one genius, Ye Fanxing.

At this very moment, Ye Fanxing had also reached the third task of the third stage and was preparing to begin condensing a martial soul.

Besides him, only Luan Hong of the Wushang Kingdom and Xia Qixi of the Celestial Gold Kingdom had reached this step on the entire stage.

’I’ve long felt that something was off about this Ye Fanxing,’ the Zuo Yi Alliance President thought. ’I never expected his Soul Refining level to be so terrifying. To put it bluntly, aside from myself, it would be truly difficult to find another Soul Refiner in the Dongsheng Kingdom who could overpower him.’

The Zuo Yi Alliance President’s gaze flickered.

Ye Fanxing’s origins were a complete mystery. He had suddenly appeared in the Dongsheng Kingdom’s Royal City six months ago and joined the Dongsheng Kingdom’s Soul Master Tower as a genius Soul Refiner.

The Zuo Yi Alliance President would naturally investigate any registered Soul Refiner, but he discovered that the village Ye Fanxing claimed to be from had been destroyed in a Demon Beast attack a year ago. His origins were, therefore, impossible to trace.

Because of the astonishing talent Ye Fanxing displayed, the Zuo Yi Alliance President developed an appreciation for his abilities. He didn’t press for details and directly granted him the status of a genius in the Dongsheng Kingdom’s Soul Master Tower, hoping he would contribute to this year’s Floating Light Assembly.

However, in the Zuo Yi Alliance President’s mind, the Dongsheng Kingdom’s foremost genius was still Ding Lan, a Peak of Second Grade Soul Refiner. After all, in the Dongsheng Kingdom, the strength Ye Fanxing had displayed had consistently been at the Early-Second Grade.