Chapter 262: Chapter 262: Each Displays Their Prowess

It wasn’t that Dongfang Yanyu didn’t believe in Ye Xuan, but he knew the Blue Star Grass martial soul all too well. As a representative of Plant Element martial souls, the Blue Star Grass had been studied by countless masters, yet none had ever managed to develop a powerful version of it.

Even if Ye Xuan truly did refine a perfect Blue Star Grass martial soul, when subjected to the soul-testing device, it would at best be rated as having medium aptitude, scoring only a hundred points.

"President, I believe in Ye Xuan. Even if he loses some points in the third round, I’m sure he can make up for it with his performance in the first two. So, it’s not yet certain who will win or lose."

Kuchen took a deep breath, his tone firm.

He was blunt, but he wasn’t oblivious to the fact that he had just acted impulsively. However, under those circumstances, he had no choice but to agree. He had to bite the bullet and accept the bet.

Dongfang Yanyu sighed and said no more. At this point, all they could do was wait and see how Ye Xuan performed.

Kuchen’s bet with Zuo Yi Alliance made the third and final round of the competition even more exciting.

Countless Soul Refiners stared intently at the stage, waiting to witness the end of this final round.

"Zuo Yi Alliance, you really hit the jackpot this time." From the judges’ panel, some masters secretly sent voice transmissions to Zuo Yi Alliance, their tone dripping with envy.

"Not at all, not at all. I put up real assets for this bet, you know. If I lose, all fifty of my mid-grade Profound Stones will be gone. To be honest, I’m still a little worried I might have been too impulsive." Zuo Yi Alliance said this, but inwardly he was blooming with delight.

A group of Soul Refiners couldn’t help but roll their eyes at him. Zuo Yi Alliance’s act was a classic case of feigning humility after getting a good deal.

On the stage, Ye Xuan was completely focused on the process of refining the martial soul.

’How could I, a former Eighth Grade Soul Emperor, not know what Zuo Yi Alliance and the others know?’ Ye Xuan’s decision to use the Blue Star Grass Soul Crystal to refine a martial soul was, in fact, the result of careful deliberation.

’Among all these Soul Crystals, in terms of quality, the Blue Star Grass’s is definitely one of the best. That’s the first reason.’

’Second, the Blue Star Grass martial soul certainly has its drawbacks, but it also has its strengths. And as for the problems those master Soul Refiners of the past couldn’t solve... well, that doesn’t mean *I* can’t solve them.’

He already had a plan in mind.

In the Profound Domain, the highest region of the continent, a master Soul Refiner had actually refined a mutated Blue Star Grass martial soul a century ago.

This type of Blue Star Grass martial soul not only inherited the original’s terrifyingly vigorous life force but also saw a huge increase in its flexibility and strength. It could be called an absurdly powerful martial soul, capable of easily crushing other martial souls of the same level, and it caused a massive sensation.

However, this refining method was only circulated within the Profound Domain. Few knew of it, and for certain reasons, it never spread to the rest of the continent. The Thirteen Nations Alliance, being in a remote location, was even less likely to have heard of this technique, so they were completely ignorant of it.

Therefore, upon seeing the Blue Star Grass Soul Crystal, Ye Xuan immediately thought of that mutated Blue Star Grass martial soul.

However, the refining process for that mutated Blue Star Grass martial soul was extremely complex, and the materials required were incredibly precious. It was simply impossible to replicate with the materials available on the stage.

Moreover, if he were to refine the mutated Blue Star Grass martial soul, it would undoubtedly cause a huge uproar throughout the entire Thirteen Nations Alliance.

So, he was quite hesitant.

After much deliberation, Ye Xuan decided to stick with refining a Blue Star Grass martial soul, but he would make some modifications to the Profound Domain’s version to make it less outrageous.

All that time he’d spent earlier was dedicated to figuring out how to refine this Blue Star Grass martial soul in a way that would let him win the third round without causing too much of a stir, and he had to do it using only the materials before him.

His considerations were truly painstaking, which was why he had taken so much time.

Channeling his Soul Power, Ye Xuan began to slowly activate the Blue Star Grass Soul Crystal, stirring the original Soul Thought within it.

Gradually, a rich green halo of light emanated from the Blue Star Grass Soul Crystal. Then, the phantom image of a soft, three-foot-long plant slowly appeared before everyone’s eyes.

The first step in Soul Refining is to form the martial soul’s framework. This framework is created using the original Soul Thought left behind in the Soul Crystal after a Profound Beast’s death.

The second step is to separate this original Soul Thought from the Soul Crystal so it can exist independently, then use various materials to refine it into a martial soul that can adapt to the Martial Artist himself.

This process is extremely complex and allows for no mistakes. If any accident occurs, not only will the martial soul fail to form, but after being implanted into a Martial Artist, it could also cause fatal damage to the martial soul’s origin.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Ye Xuan continuously tossed one material after another above the Blue Star Grass phantom. Strange and brilliant runes flowed around the phantom, grinding all the materials into nothingness and absorbing their essence.

Throughout the process, Ye Xuan also threw in many materials that weren’t actually needed. Under his Soul Power, these materials, along with their essences, were incinerated into nothing.

Ye Xuan was naturally doing this on purpose. His goal was to mislead onlookers so that the material components of his mutated Blue Star Grass wouldn’t be copied.

He knew that the Soul Refiners on the judges’ panel were definitely watching him without blinking. This was the only way to confuse them and prevent them from discerning which materials were used for the mutated Blue Star Grass martial soul.

Although adding those extra materials would more or less affect the quality of the finished martial soul, this was a competition, not a real implantation for someone. Thus, Ye Xuan felt no pressure at all.

As more and more materials were added, the phantom of the Blue Star Grass grew increasingly distinct. Faint golden dots began to appear on its thick leaves. Gradually, these golden dots began to spread, unexpectedly forming a wavy edge.

"Huh? What a peculiar Blue Star Grass martial soul. How did Ye Xuan do that?"

"The edge of the Blue Star Grass martial soul has actually become wavy. It must have undergone some kind of hardening. Could this have increased its hardness?"

A wave of discussion immediately broke out in the audience.

They could all see that the Blue Star Grass martial soul Ye Xuan was refining was somewhat different from a normal one. With just a glance, it was obvious that the hardness of the modified martial soul’s edge had increased.

"This Ye Xuan winning the first two rounds was definitely no fluke. This technique alone has been a real eye-opener for me."

"Yeah, its edge has gotten harder, but it’s only the edge. The overall hardness hasn’t changed, so it’s still not very useful, is it? It could be destroyed easily."

"That’s true. Only by fundamentally increasing the Blue Star Grass’s strength several times over and boosting its killing power can its definition as a trash martial soul truly be changed."

"It’s difficult. Plant Element martial souls are inherently fragile, making it hard to increase their overall strength, let alone for a Blue Star Grass. How many master Soul Refiners in history have failed at this? It’s simply impossible for Ye Xuan to succeed."

’Just as those Soul Refiners are saying, Blue Star Grass is Blue Star Grass. No matter how you refine it, it’s still a trash martial soul. This has been verified by countless master Soul Refiners. I refuse to believe that a mere genius like Ye Xuan can solve a problem that stumped innumerable masters,’ Zuo Yi Alliance thought, a flicker of unease quickly settling.

Regardless of the discussions in the audience, Ye Xuan remained unshaken on the stage. He couldn’t hear the outside world, completely immersed in refining the Blue Star Grass.

Bit by bit, his design was taking shape under his skilled manipulation.

Time passed, drop by drop.

「Four hours later.」

The materials by Ye Xuan’s side were finally all used up, and the martial soul before him was fully formed.

A thick, three-foot-long leaf, emerald green all over with a wavy golden edge, swayed silently in the air, brimming with vitality and a lively aura.

The total time allotted for the third round was six hours.

Ye Xuan had been far ahead of the other contestants in the first and second events. But in this third one, he had spent a full four hours on refining, on top of the one hour he took at the beginning. As a result, quite a few contestants had now finished ahead of him.

During the remaining hour, Ye Xuan didn’t sit idle. He closed his eyes to rest and recover his Soul Power.

Soon, the assessment time ended. The Soul Power barriers surrounding the contestants vanished completely, allowing everyone to see the martial souls each person had refined.

The contestants’ eyes immediately flew to Ye Xuan. After all, he was the champion of the first two rounds. But when they looked, many of them were stunned.

"What martial soul did that kid refine? A green leaf with a golden edge? Is it a Plant Element martial soul? But I don’t remember there being a Plant Element Profound Beast like that among the provided Soul Crystals."

"There was one Plant Element Soul Crystal, but it was a Blue Star Grass Soul Crystal. The quality was pretty good, but a Blue Star Grass martial soul is supposed to have a straight edge, right? Why is his wavy?"

"Not only is it wavy, the edge is also golden. How bizarre."

"Is this still a Blue Star Grass martial soul? Based on its appearance, it looks a bit like a Golden-Edged Green Poplar Leaf."

The countless contestants broke into a flurry of discussion.

Even the master Soul Refiners on the judges’ panel wore strange expressions. If they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes, they would never have imagined from its appearance that such a martial soul was refined from a Blue Star Grass Soul Crystal.

"Quick, look at the martial soul Luan Hong refined!"

Suddenly, a contestant cried out in alarm.

Everyone followed the voice and looked over. Before Luan Hong, a massive golden roc spread its wings as if to soar. Its golden eyes gleamed, flashing like lightning, and its claws were wreathed in electricity. It was so majestic that one dared not look at it directly.

"It’s actually a Golden Roc martial soul!"

"Among the Soul Crystals for this assessment, there was one from a Celestial Roc. Luan Hong must have used the Celestial Roc Soul Crystal as a base and added materials like Diamond and Electric Leaf to refine a Golden Roc martial soul."

"I had that idea too, but the difficulty was too high, so I dismissed it immediately. I can’t believe Luan Hong actually managed to refine it! In my version, I only thought of adding Diamond to increase the martial soul’s strength. I never expected he’d also add elements like the Electric Leaf, significantly boosting its attack power with a lightning attribute."