What Zuo Yi Alliance hadn’t expected was that from the very start of the Floating Light Assembly, Ye Fanxing had demonstrated a cultivation level completely different from anything he had shown before.

This left Zuo Yi Alliance utterly shocked.

By this point in the competition, the Soul Refiner talent Ye Fanxing had displayed completely transcended the category of "genius."

What was a genius? A young prodigy who possessed extraordinary talent but had yet to fully mature.

But what about Ye Fanxing? His Soul Power had likely reached the mid-to-late stage of the Third Grade. Such a cultivation level was enough to serve as an elder, even in the Soul Master Tower in the Dongsheng Kingdom’s Royal City. Furthermore, even he, the chairman of the Soul Master Tower, didn’t fully understand some of the techniques and skills Ye Fanxing had previously used.

Combined with Ye Fanxing’s mysterious background, if Zuo Yi Alliance still couldn’t tell that something was off about him, he wouldn’t be qualified to be the chairman of the Soul Master Tower.

’This kid... he either has some master guiding him from the shadows, or he’s from a region outside the Thirteen Nations Alliance.’

Zuo Yi Alliance had his own theories about Ye Fanxing’s origins. The successive appearance of geniuses like Ye Xuan, Luan Hong, Zhou Liang, and Bai Qi at this year’s event had made him keenly aware that this Floating Light Assembly was anything but ordinary.

However, during the Floating Light Assembly, he still needed to rely on Ye Fanxing’s strength, so he refrained from questioning him directly.

He had already decided that he would question Ye Fanxing thoroughly after the Floating Light Assembly concluded.

While everyone was lost in their own thoughts, Ye Xuan finally decided which Martial Soul he would condense. His hands immediately moved, picking a green Soul Crystal from the nine available.

As the two-time champion of the first two rounds, Ye Xuan’s movements instantly drew the attention of countless onlookers.

"Huh? Why did Ye Xuan pick a Soul Crystal from a Plant Element Profound Beast?"

"If I’m not mistaken, isn’t that the only Plant Element Soul Crystal among the twenty-nine available?"

The crowd of Soul Refiners below cried out in surprise.

The many Soul Refining masters on the referees’ platform also felt their eyelids twitch.

’Don’t tell me Ye Xuan is planning to condense a Plant Element Martial Soul?’

Confused, the crowd stared intently, trying to understand.

It was a known fact that among the various types of Martial Souls, those of the Plant Element had always been common. The legendary Nine-Heavens Spirit Vine Martial Soul, for example, held an important position on the list of top-tier Martial Souls.

But it was undeniable that compared to Weapon and Beast Martial Souls, Plant Element Martial Souls had always been considered weaker.

This was because the combat power a Plant Element Martial Soul could provide a Martial Artist was far less than that of Weapon or Beast Martial Souls. There was even a period in the history of the Celestial Profound Continent when any ordinary Plant Element Martial Soul was considered a useless Martial Soul.

Clearly, Plant Element Martial Souls were not highly regarded.

Furthermore, when tested, the vast majority of naturally condensed Plant Element Martial Souls were classified as mid- or low-grade. High-grade ones were rare, let alone special-grade.

That was why everyone was so astonished to see Ye Xuan choose the Soul Crystal of a Plant Element Profound Beast.

Even Dongfang Yanyu and Kuchen’s hearts sank at the sight. They exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with worry.

"Hahaha, Dongfang Yanyu! Look at your Liuyun Kingdom’s Ye Xuan! He actually chose a Plant Element Soul Crystal! If I’m not mistaken, among the items we reviewed beforehand, there were only three types of Plant Element Soul Crystals. This green one must be from the plant-type Profound Beast, the Blue Star Grass, right? Don’t tell me he plans to win the third round by condensing a Blue Star Grass Martial Soul? Hahaha! That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard!"

Having been taught a lesson earlier, Xuu Xin Hua had intended to keep his mouth shut. But when he saw Ye Xuan actually pick up the Blue Star Grass Soul Crystal and begin condensing a Martial Soul, he couldn’t resist letting out a jeer.

"Heh heh, Chairman Xuu Xin Hua, don’t be so quick to judge. The boy has a discerning eye! As I recall, among the three types of Plant Element Soul Crystals, the Blue Star Grass one is of the highest quality. In fact, among all fifty pre-selected Soul Crystals, it ranks in the top three. Tsk, tsk... what a visionary. A true champion in the making," Chairman Zuo Yi Alliance added with a loud laugh.

It wasn’t that they were being overly dramatic; the Tier One Blue Star Grass was simply that weak.

Blue Star Grass was a Tier One Plant Element Profound Beast known for its rapid growth. If a Martial Artist or Demon Beast entered its territory, it could grow at a frenzied pace, covering the entire area before attempting to devour the intruder.

On the surface, Blue Star Grass sounded rather impressive.

But it also had another defining trait: it was fragile and pathetically weak.

It could envelop an intruder in an instant, but any Tier One Samurai or Demon Beast could easily tear through its overgrown leaves and escape unharmed.

Therefore, in the wild, the only creatures Blue Star Grass typically managed to capture were Martial Artists and beasts even weaker than itself.

However, its life force was extremely powerful, making it difficult for a Martial Artist of the same tier to kill. This was perhaps its only redeeming quality.

In the past, many Soul Refiners, intrigued by the Blue Star Grass’s formidable life force, had experimented with implanting Blue Star Grass Martial Souls into Martial Artists. However, the results were always deeply disappointing.

The Martial Artists who received the Blue Star Grass Martial Soul did indeed gain its abilities. The problem was that their Martial Souls were completely incapable of restraining experts of the same tier; they could only bind Martial Artists who were a tier weaker. This left all the Soul Refiners who conducted the experiments utterly disappointed.

Martial Artists released their Martial Souls to increase their strength, fight opponents of a higher tier, and confront powerful enemies.

But the Blue Star Grass Martial Soul did the exact opposite. It was only effective against the weak and useless against the strong. Such a Martial Soul was utterly worthless.

Gradually, no one bothered with the Blue Star Grass Martial Soul anymore.

Thus, when they saw Ye Xuan actually select the Blue Star Grass Soul Crystal and begin condensing his Martial Soul, the Soul Refining masters on the referees’ platform couldn’t help but shake their heads and sigh.

’Young people are just too impulsive. They don’t know their own limits. He thinks that with such a big lead, nothing can go wrong. He’ll only learn the meaning of caution after he’s been bloodied and bruised.’

For a moment, all the Soul Refiners in the arena burst into discussion. Some sighed, some sneered, some looked on with disdain—the expressions directed at Ye Xuan were a mix of everything.

Even the look Dongfang Yanyu and Kuchen exchanged was filled with deep concern.

But provoked by Xuu Xin Hua and his ilk, Kuchen would never back down. He sneered, "Chairman Xuu Xin Hua, how do you know Ye Xuan can’t win this third round? Don’t forget who was making empty claims earlier, only to be proven wrong again and again. If I were that shameless, I’d go find a block of tofu to smash my head against. How do you still have the nerve to be whining over here?"

Kuchen’s words made the faces of Xuu Xin Hua, Zuo Yi Alliance, and the others flush with anger and shame.

"Fine. I’ll be waiting to see just how your Liuyun Kingdom’s Ye Xuan wins this third round with a Blue Star Grass Martial Soul," Xuu Xin Hua sneered, suppressing his rage.

"Then you just wait and see. Some people are so thick-skinned, they won’t mind being proven wrong a few more times." Vice-Chairman Kuchen had a stubborn temper and would never back down in front of his rival.

"You—" Chairman Xuu Xin Hua’s face darkened. Just as he was about to speak, he was interrupted by Chairman Zuo Yi Alliance.

A humorless smile appeared on Zuo Yi Alliance’s wrinkled face. "Since you have so much confidence in that Ye Xuan, Kuchen, how about a little wager with me?"

Dongfang Yanyu’s heart sank. ’This isn’t good,’ he thought. But before he could speak, the hot-headed Kuchen had already sneered, "What’s there to be afraid of? Name your stakes."

"Excellent." Zuo Yi Alliance clapped his hands and smiled. "We’ll bet on whether Ye Xuan can win this third round, of course. How about this: I have fifty medium-grade Profound Stones here. If he wins, I, Zuo Yi Alliance, will hand them over to you personally. But if he loses, then you, my dear Kuchen, will owe me fifty medium-grade Profound Stones."

Zuo Yi Alliance’s sly expression made everyone else inwardly curse themselves for not thinking of such a brilliant idea first.

Fifty medium-grade Profound Stones wasn’t an exorbitant amount in terms of market value—only fifty million Profound Coins. For powerful figures who led the Soul Master Towers of various kingdoms, it was a trivial sum.

However, the fact that Zuo Yi Alliance was betting directly with medium-grade Profound Stones made the wager extraordinary.

The Thirteen Nations Alliance was situated in a remote region with few Profound Veins. As such, medium-grade Profound Stones were considered a top-tier resource, equivalent to a Tier Five treasure.

Although a single medium-grade Profound Stone had a market price of only one million Profound Coins, anyone who actually tried to buy one for that price would have their legs broken and be thrown out on the street.

This just went to show how rare medium-grade Profound Stones were.

Among the many Soul Refiners present, countless of them had assets worth over one hundred million Profound Coins. However, you could probably count on one hand the number of people who possessed more than one hundred medium-grade Profound Stones.

For a Fourth Grade Soul Refiner like Kuchen, who had only recently become a vice-chairman, possessing fifty was likely his absolute limit.

"Fine, I’ll take that bet," Kuchen said, his eyes bloodshot as he stubbornly stuck his neck out.

"In that case, I’ll place my fifty medium-grade Profound Stones right here. Esteemed masters from all kingdoms, please bear witness to our wager," Zuo Yi Alliance said with a wide grin, placing the fifty medium-grade Profound Stones on the referees’ table.

Kuchen gritted his teeth and took out fifty medium-grade Profound Stones of his own, placing them next to Zuo Yi Alliance’s pile.

Seeing this, Zuo Yi Alliance was laughing so hard on the inside he could barely contain it. In his mind, those one hundred medium-grade Profound Stones were as good as his.

Dongfang Yanyu sighed to himself. He had wanted to stop Kuchen, but it was too late. Once Kuchen had agreed, he couldn’t possibly take it back.

After all, Kuchen was the vice-chairman of the Liuyun Kingdom’s Soul Master Tower. His word was his bond, representing the honor of the entire Liuyun Kingdom. If he went back on it now, he would surely be ridiculed by every other Soul Refiner in attendance.

"Kuchen, that was a bit reckless of you. I’m afraid those fifty medium-grade Profound Stones are as good as gone," Dongfang Yanyu sent to Kuchen via voice transmission after forcing himself to calm down.