Chapter 268: Chapter 268: Ye Xuan’s Bestowal

Yun Aoxue’s performance even surpassed that of Liuyun Kingdom’s He Xuting and Fire Crow Kingdom’s Chen Jueming. Securing tenth place, she had become another dark horse in the competition.

Following that, the contestants from eleventh to fiftieth place were also announced one by one.

When the final tallies were in, Liuyun Kingdom had unexpectedly come out on top as the biggest winner of this year’s assembly.

Among the top fifty, there were a total of six contestants from Liuyun Kingdom.

This accounted for twelve spots, which were added to their original ten. On top of that, Ye Xuan’s first-place victory brought them another fifteen spots, and Yun Aoxue’s tenth-place finish added three more.

Out of the two hundred total spots for the Floating Light Secret Realm, Liuyun Kingdom alone had secured forty—a full one-fifth of the total. This was Liuyun Kingdom’s best result in all the years the Floating Light Secret Realm had existed.

And thanks to the appearance of Ye Fanxing, Dongsheng Kingdom became the second-biggest winner after Liuyun Kingdom.

Celestial Gold Kingdom, which had always taken first place in the past, only managed to rank third this year, a truly sigh-worthy outcome.

Furthermore, Wushang Kingdom, Mu Zhen Country, and Black Forest Kingdom, which rarely secured many spots in the past, also obtained a fair number, becoming the envy of the other smaller kingdoms.

Wushang Kingdom was a special case. In the past, they had only ever managed to secure three or four spots in total. This time, Luan Hong alone earned them nine spots, leaving the other kingdoms both shocked and envious.

"Alright, this concludes the Floating Light Assembly. The Floating Light Secret Realm will open in three days. Everyone, please wait here. The kingdoms that have secured spots may begin arranging their personnel for entry. We will all depart together at the designated time. Of course, during these next three days, you are all welcome to interact with one another. As is tradition, we will be hosting several small trade fairs for everyone to exchange for the items they need."

Although the Thirteen Nations Alliance was situated in the same region, the different kingdoms each had their own unique products. Moreover, the treasures required by different Soul Refiners varied greatly. Thus, every Floating Light Assembly also served as a grand event for the many Soul Refiners of the Thirteen Nations Alliance to network and trade treasures with one another.

"Hahaha, Ye Xuan, this is all thanks to you! You’ve won so many extra spots for our Liuyun Kingdom! Seeing the look on the Zuo Yi Alliance’s faces, all livid and pale—it’s just so satisfying! Hahaha."

Back at the Liuyun Kingdom’s encampment, Elder Kuchun was ecstatic, laughing uncontrollably.

The many elders and experts from the Soul Master Tower who had come along also greeted Ye Xuan with great enthusiasm. This was especially true for the elders who originally wouldn’t have had a spot; their faces were flushed with excitement.

As one of the five major powers, Liuyun Kingdom had never actually received that many spots in past Floating Light Assemblies. They were thankful to get even twenty, which meant the selection of personnel who could enter was extremely strict.

But this year, Ye Xuan alone had won an additional seventeen spots—not even counting his own—making them the biggest winners of this Floating Light Assembly.

Seventeen spots meant that Liuyun Kingdom could send seventeen more experts into the Floating Light Secret Realm. Every additional expert meant more power and more resources gathered, which was an enormous boon for Liuyun Kingdom.

Aside from these experts, the way the talented disciples like He Xuting now looked at Ye Xuan had also changed completely from the beginning.

No matter how arrogant or unconvinced they had been, Ye Xuan’s performance at the Floating Light Assembly had thoroughly won their respect.

A perfect score of 1,050 points, without losing a single point throughout the entire assembly. Such a result was a first in the hundred-plus-year history of the Floating Light Assembly, a new record.

"Ye Xuan, here are twenty-five medium-grade Profound Stones. Please, take them."

After his initial excitement subsided, Kuchen took out twenty-five medium-grade Profound Stones in full view of everyone and offered them to Ye Xuan.

"I can’t possibly accept these," Ye Xuan said, waving his hands in refusal.

"Why not?" Kuchen laughed heartily. "I won all of these medium-grade Profound Stones from that punk from the Zuo Yi Alliance. Fifty in total. We’ll split them fifty-fifty. If it weren’t for you, I never would have won so many. You deserve this."

"I really can’t."

Ye Xuan’s expression was firm. Although Kuchen had won the medium-grade Profound Stones because of him, Ye Xuan knew that Kuchen had taken an immense risk in the process.

’Kuchen won and is offering me half, but what if he had lost?’

After everything that had happened, Ye Xuan could see that Kuchen was a man worth befriending. Besides, he had just won fifty medium-grade Profound Stones from his own bet with Luan Hong, so he certainly wasn’t going to take Kuchen’s.

Kuchen insisted for a while, but seeing how resolute Ye Xuan was, he finally had no choice but to give up.

"Ye Xuan, come here for a moment." After returning to the encampment, Master Dongfang Yanyu called Ye Xuan over. Kuchen followed him inside as well.

Dongfang Yanyu closed the door before speaking. "Ye Xuan, you were reckless today. I don’t know how you managed to condense that Blue Star Grass martial soul, but you never should have revealed it at an event like this."

Kuchen’s expression grew serious as well. He nodded and said, "Ye Xuan, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about, too. To be honest, your Blue Star Grass martial soul scared the daylights out of me. The Blue Star Grass has been studied by many masters on the continent, but no one has ever condensed it into a martial soul of medium grade or higher. Yet the one you created easily tore apart Luan Hong’s Golden Roc martial soul. If word of this gets out, I’m afraid it will cause massive waves across the continent."

A trace of worry flickered in the eyes of both Dongfang Yanyu and Kuchen.

Although Ye Xuan had won the championship, the condensation of the Blue Star Grass martial soul had thrust him into the spotlight, and they feared it would attract a great deal of unwanted attention and trouble.

Most critically, if word spread across the continent and attracted the attention of powerful Soul Refiners, things would become truly troublesome.

The Blue Star Grass martial soul had its weaknesses, but as a plant-type martial soul, it also had a huge advantage: it had no rejection reaction with Martial Artists.

On the continent, many Martial Artists faced compatibility issues after implanting a martial soul. Some martial souls would fail to integrate after being implanted, or even cause a severe rejection, and it was not uncommon for this to result in the Martial Artist’s body exploding, killing them.

Plant-type martial souls, however, rarely caused such a reaction.

This was why so many Soul Refining masters throughout history had dedicated themselves to researching the Blue Star Grass martial soul.

Once news spread that Ye Xuan had developed a superior-grade Blue Star Grass martial soul, it would undoubtedly attract the attention of countless powerful individuals. In the face of those true titans, even if Liuyun Kingdom wanted to protect Ye Xuan, it would be incredibly difficult.

"Ye Xuan, tell me the truth," Kuchen asked, his curiosity piqued. "Is your Blue Star Grass martial soul really that incredible? Can it be condensed so easily and be made widely available?"

’Since Ye Xuan dared to condense the Blue Star Grass martial soul, he must have his reasons.’

Knowing the two were concerned for him, he smiled faintly. "President Dongfang Yanyu, Master Kuchen, you can rest assured. I’m well aware of the Blue Star Grass martial soul’s special nature, but its appeal isn’t as great as you imagine. It just has some unique advantages compared to other superior-grade martial souls."

’In the Profound Domain, the highest region of the continent, all sorts of condensation methods for the Blue Star Grass martial soul were developed long ago,’ he thought. ’It’s only because the Thirteen Nations Alliance is so remote that they remain unaware.’

’Besides, no matter how strong it is, the Blue Star Grass is still just a foundational martial soul. The powers it would attract, even if strong, wouldn’t be the true titans who stand at the apex of the continent.’

"As for making it widespread," he continued, "the requirements for the Blue Star Grass martial soul I condense are very high. Even if it’s created, the average Martial Artist would have difficulty bearing it. However, if we were to lower its strength by a tier, to the same level as the Golden Roc martial soul Luan Hong condensed, that wouldn’t be particularly difficult."

President Dongfang Yanyu and Kuchen exchanged a look, their eyes flashing with shock and pleasant surprise.

Although they were already well aware of Ye Xuan’s monstrous talent, his capabilities still managed to shock them at this moment.

A Blue Star Grass martial soul with strength equivalent to Luan Hong’s Golden Roc—for the various kingdoms of the Thirteen Nations Alliance, this was an enormous fortune that would make them all green with envy.

How many young disciples in a kingdom possessed martial talent but lacked a martial soul? They were practically innumerable. For them, the most difficult hurdle was implanting a powerful martial soul.

The appearance of Ye Xuan’s Blue Star Grass martial soul immediately changed this situation.

Just think: if all the talented young people with martial aptitude in a kingdom were to implant this type of Blue Star Grass martial soul, what kind of benefit would that bring to the kingdom once they matured?

If they were properly nurtured, it wasn’t impossible for Liuyun Kingdom’s foundational strength to make it the most powerful kingdom in the Thirteen Nations Alliance within a few decades.

However, the Blue Star Grass martial soul was so important that they couldn’t bring themselves to simply ask Ye Xuan for it. And even if they wanted to trade for it, they had nothing of sufficient value to even begin the conversation.

Therefore, the two could only sigh with emotion and bury the thought deep in their hearts.

Although the two hadn’t spoken, seeing their shocked expressions, how could Ye Xuan not understand what they were thinking?

"President Dongfang Yanyu, Master Kuchen, since I’ve already condensed this Blue Star Grass martial soul, I have no intention of keeping it to myself. A stronger Liuyun Kingdom is also very beneficial for me. Therefore, I will tell you both the condensation method for this Blue Star Grass martial soul. Consider it my small contribution to the Soul Master Tower."

’To the Thirteen Nations Alliance, the Blue Star Grass martial soul was as important as a mountain, but to him, it was nothing. He had countless martial soul formulas like this in his mind, many of which were even stronger than the Blue Star Grass. Giving one away was no big deal at all.’

’Though he was preparing to leave the Thirteen Nations Alliance, his family was still here. If Liuyun Kingdom became stronger, his family would be safer, and he could leave with greater peace of mind.’

At Ye Xuan’s words, both men were utterly stunned.

"Ye Xuan, you..." Dongfang Yanyu was dumbfounded. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"Unacceptable, this is absolutely unacceptable," Kuchen said, waving his hands frantically.