"What’s so hard to predict? Luan Hong’s Golden Roc Martial Soul looks like it has an over eighty percent chance of getting a special-grade evaluation. But Ye Xuan’s Blue Star Grass Martial Soul is medium-grade at best, no matter how powerful. One can get two hundred points, the other only one hundred. The final champion will be Luan Hong, nine times out of ten."

"Yeah, Ye Xuan was too full of himself. I really don’t get it. With his level of strength, why would he refine a Blue Star Grass Martial Soul? He’s just handing the championship away for free."

"Exactly. If he had just refined any superior-grade martial soul, the championship would have been his for sure. But instead..."

"I just don’t get it. I really don’t."

Many of the Soul Refiners present couldn’t help but shake their heads, completely baffled.

Amidst the crowd’s murmurs, it was finally time for Luan Hong’s Golden Roc Martial Soul to be tested.

The moment the majestic golden roc entered the Soul-Testing Instrument’s range, the entire device let out an urgent series of beeps.

"Golden Roc Martial Soul, Special-grade!"

A line of conspicuous, large characters appeared above the Soul-Testing Instrument.

"As expected, it’s special-grade."

"Ye Xuan is finished."

"The championship belongs to Luan Hong, no doubt about it."

"What a pity. A real pity."

The moment the result was revealed, the entire arena instantly erupted in an uproar.

Luan Hong’s score didn’t surprise anyone. The crowd simply felt sorry for Ye Xuan. He was the clear favorite to win the championship, but he’d thrown it away at the last second, leaving everyone to sigh with regret.

"Hahaha! Kuchen, go on and laugh! I dare you to laugh now!" From the stage, Chairman Zuo’s smug voice rang out, his laughter unrestrained and gleeful.

With Luan Hong’s martial soul receiving a special-grade evaluation, his victory and the fifty mid-grade Profound Stones were practically set in stone.

"Hmph. The competition isn’t over yet. What’s there to be so pleased about?" Kuchen snorted, but his heart felt heavy.

He knew Ye Xuan’s chances of a comeback were slim, but a small part of him still hoped that Ye Xuan could snatch victory from the jaws of defeat at the final moment.

Though he knew it was basically impossible, for some inexplicable reason, Kuchen still had a sliver of faith in Ye Xuan.

"Haha! You still haven’t given up hope, even now? I really don’t know whether to call that persistent or just plain stubborn! Hahaha!" Chairman Zuo gloated, all his earlier frustration completely gone, replaced by nothing but pure, unrestrained delight.

"Ye Xuan..." Yun Aoxue watched the scene unfold, her fists clenched tightly as she worried for him.

The testing continued. Next, the martial souls of He Xuting, Xuu Zhengqing, Ding Lan, and Yun Aoxue were tested one by one, all receiving superior-grade evaluations. To everyone’s surprise, the martial souls of Ye Fanxing and Xia Qixi, just like Luan Hong’s, were all special-grade.

This left many of the Soul Refiners in the audience deeply impressed.

The Floating Light Assembly represented the pinnacle of Soul Refiner talent in the Thirteen Nations Alliance. In previous years, refining a superior-grade martial soul was considered the highest possible achievement. They never expected this year’s contestants to be so powerful. Not only had the number of participants with superior-grade souls multiplied, but there were now three who had achieved special-grade—a feat that was almost unimaginable in the past.

A moment later, it was time for Ye Xuan’s martial soul to be tested.

"Kuchen, open your eyes and watch closely. See how you lose to me in this final event! Haha!" Chairman Zuo gloated with wild arrogance.

Kuchen snorted coldly without a word, his gaze fixed on Ye Xuan’s Blue Star Grass Martial Soul as it was placed into the Soul-Testing Instrument.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the three-foot-tall Blue Star Grass Martial Soul pulsed within the Soul-Testing Instrument. Beams of light scanned over it, but the device itself remained completely silent and unresponsive.

This caused Chairman Xuu Xin Hua of the Fire Crow Kingdom to burst out laughing. "Haha! I think we all overestimated this Ye Xuan. The Soul-Testing Instrument hasn’t even reacted. Looking at his martial soul, forget a medium-grade evaluation, I’m afraid it’ll have trouble even getting a low-grade! Haha..."

His expression was arrogant as he laughed wildly, his eyes narrowing into slits. His smugness was utterly repulsive.

Dongfang Yanyu and his allies remained silent, their expressions grim.

Just then...

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

The previously silent and unresponsive Soul-Testing Instrument suddenly burst out with a series of urgent beeps.

At the same time, lights flashed across the instrument’s surface. Before the shocked eyes of the entire audience, a line of large characters clearly materialized above the device—

"Blue Star Grass Martial Soul, Special-grade!"

That final rating, shimmering with iridescent light, seemed to burn itself into everyone’s eyes.

"Special-grade? That’s impossible!"

"What’s going on? The instrument must have malfunctioned!"

"How could a Blue Star Grass Martial Soul be rated as special-grade? Am I going blind?"

A wave of shocked cries thundered through the valley, echoing like rolling thunder that reached for the heavens.

No one had anticipated this result for Ye Xuan’s martial soul.

As for the previously gloating Chairman Zuo and Xuu Xin Hua, their eyes were wide and their mouths hung open, so shocked they nearly bit their tongues off. "Impossible!" they stammered, flustered and enraged. "Something must have gone wrong! A machine error—yes, that’s it! The instrument must be broken!"

In an instant, the entire competition venue became as noisy as a marketplace.

This unexpected turn of events made it impossible for anyone to remain calm.

Only Ye Xuan remained seated quietly, not a flicker of emotion on his face, as if he had expected this result all along.

"Someone, bring a new Soul-Testing Instrument over at once!"

Chairman Zhu Tianlan of the Celestial Gold Kingdom stared blankly at the scene for a moment before ordering the staff to bring a new Soul-Testing Instrument for a second test.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, after another brief test, the new Soul-Testing Instrument once again let out a series of urgent beeps. The result it displayed was identical to the first.

This result silenced the entire crowd.

The first time, it could have been a machine error. But a second test yielding the exact same ’special-grade’ result forced everyone to reconsider.

’Could it be that the Blue Star Grass Martial Soul Ye Xuan refined really is special in some way?’ 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

This thought occurred to many, but no matter how closely they examined it, Ye Xuan’s Blue Star Grass Martial Soul—aside from a faint golden trim and a wavy shape—looked no different from any other.

This time, it was Kuchen’s turn to laugh. Overjoyed and pleasantly surprised, he looked mockingly at Chairman Zuo. "Chairman Zuo, it seems I’ve disappointed you. Ye Xuan’s result is also special-grade! In that case, regarding our bet... it seems I’ve won, haven’t I? Haha, hahaha!"

Over Kuchen’s booming laughter, Chairman Zuo’s face turned livid. He was so stunned and furious he could barely speak.

Zhu Tianlan was also stunned, but he quickly composed himself and announced with a stoic expression, "Liuyun Kingdom contestant Ye Xuan, Blue Star Grass Martial Soul, evaluation: special-grade. Score: two hundred points."

This dramatic reversal left everyone completely stupefied.

"I refuse to accept this!"

A loud shout suddenly erupted from the contestants’ seating area. Luan Hong’s face was flushed with anger as he declared indignantly, "My Golden Roc Martial Soul is far superior to Ye Xuan’s Blue Star Grass Martial Soul in both form and power! How can his be rated special-grade when mine is?"

Zhu Tianlan frowned. He understood the source of Luan Hong’s indignation but still replied, "The grade of a martial soul is not decided by us. It is determined by the Soul-Testing Instrument, which is absolutely impartial."

"Impartial?" Luan Hong sneered. "Two martial souls with a clear disparity between them receive the same evaluation and score. If that’s the case, what’s the point of this final round?"

Luan Hong’s words made many of the other contestants pause and think.

Indeed, from any angle, Luan Hong’s Golden Roc Martial Soul was far superior to Ye Xuan’s Blue Star Grass Martial Soul. Even though the Soul-Testing Instrument had given the Blue Star Grass a special-grade evaluation, everyone still felt it was a medium-grade soul at best. As a result, Ye Xuan, the one with the weaker soul, had become the champion. No one could truly accept such an outcome.

"Then what do you propose?" Zhu Tianlan said coldly. "These are the rules of the competition. Are you saying we should change them just for you? That’s ridiculous!"

Luan Hong might be incredibly talented, but his aggressive, rule-questioning attitude greatly displeased Zhu Tianlan.

"’These are the rules,’ what a joke." Luan Hong sneered, his expression full of resentment. "If a competition makes a mistake, it should be corrected. If there’s no fairness to be had, who will bother attending this so-called Floating Light Assembly in the future? It will be nothing but a laughingstock in everyone’s eyes."

"Insolence." Zhu Tianlan’s gaze turned cold.

"Ahem." Just then, Chairman Zuo spoke up. "Master Zhu Tianlan, while Luan Hong’s words may be harsh, I feel he has a point. Two martial souls of clearly different quality received the same score, and the one who was merely making up the numbers ended up winning. If word of this spreads to the Celestial Profound Continent, our Thirteen Nations Alliance will truly become a laughingstock. Moreover, this is incredibly unfair to the truly talented Soul Refiners."

"Chairman Zuo is absolutely right," Chairman Xuu Xin Hua chimed in, a cold smirk on his face.

"Hmph. You’re all just being sore losers, aren’t you?" Chairman Dongfang Yanyu said coldly. "Since the Soul-Testing Instrument gave a special-grade evaluation, it must have its reasons. How can you just change the rules whenever a contestant is unhappy?"

A mocking sneer spread across Chairman Zuo’s face. "Chairman Dongfang Yanyu, in that case, perhaps you can enlighten us? What possible reason could there be for a Blue Star Grass—a martial soul known to be trash—to receive a special-grade evaluation?"

"How would I know? Perhaps the Soul-Testing Instrument detected that Ye Xuan’s Blue Star Grass Martial Soul has excellent growth potential, or some hidden function. That’s not out of the question. And who are you to say with certainty that the Blue Star Grass Martial Soul is trash?"