Chapter 132: Chapter 132: Soul Refiner Assessment
Ye Xuan rubbed his nose and could only nod.
He knew that a Five-Elements Crystal was quite rare in a small country like the Liuyun Kingdom. But it was, after all, only a Tier Five treasure. He figured he should have been able to find one at the Alchemist Association.
But to his surprise, not only did the Alchemist Association not have it, but even the largest auction house in the Royal City didn’t have one either. This was going to be difficult.
In the entire Liuyun Kingdom, the places with the most treasures were the royal palace, the auction house, and the Alchemist Association. Now that he had checked the latter two, it seemed his only hope was for Hua Luoxuan to find a way to check the royal treasury.
After chatting with Hua Luoxuan for a moment, the two went their separate ways.
As he walked down the street, Ye Xuan was pondering what to do if Hua Luoxuan couldn’t find it in the royal palace. Before he knew it, a magnificent building had quietly appeared before him.
Ye Xuan stopped in his tracks. His eyes lit up slightly when he saw the building.
This was none other than the Liuyun Kingdom’s Royal City Soul Master Tower.
’Right, the Five-Elements Crystal isn’t just a material for Alchemy, it’s also a material for Soul Refining. The Alchemist Association may not have it, but that doesn’t mean the Soul Master Tower won’t.’
A glimmer of hope arose in Ye Xuan’s heart, and he immediately turned and walked into the Soul Master Tower.
Compared to the Alchemist Association, the Soul Master Tower seemed more grand and solemn. The floor, paved with black marble, exuded a sense of dignity and weight, inspiring an involuntary feeling of reverence.
The Soul Master Tower was managed more strictly than the Alchemist Association. Although there were many people inside, it was not noisy.
"Welcome to the Soul Master Tower. How may I help you?" A professional-looking female attendant spoke calmly from behind the front desk. Though her words were polite, her tone carried an undercurrent of deep-seated arrogance.
"I’m here for the Soul Refiner grade assessment," Ye Xuan said nonchalantly.
He had no reaction to her arrogance. He knew it wasn’t personal; it was an attitude shared by everyone who worked at the Soul Master Tower.
On the Celestial Profound Continent, Soul Refiner was the noblest profession, second to none.
Every staff member in any Soul Master Tower had the exact same attitude.
The female attendant looked at Ye Xuan doubtfully. "And what grade are you testing for?"
"First Grade Soul Refiner, of course!"
The attendant’s eyes widened, and her attitude became slightly more respectful. "Have you registered at any other Soul Master Tower in the kingdom, sir? If so, please fill that in. If not, you just need to complete this form. I will immediately notify the managers to arrange your assessment."
The attendant produced a form, the overbearing arrogance on her face vanishing completely.
The attendants at the Soul Master Tower were only arrogant toward the Martial Artists who came seeking help from Soul Refiners. They couldn’t afford to be arrogant toward Soul Refiners themselves.
The female attendant had originally assumed that a young man like Ye Xuan was here because of some damage to his martial soul and needed treatment. She never expected him to be a Soul Refiner apprentice here for registration and assessment. Her previously aloof and noble expression immediately melted into a sycophantic smile.
He quickly filled in his name, age, and other information on the form she handed him. When the attendant saw that Ye Xuan had written down his age as fifteen, her posture became even more deferential, and her smile grew more charming.
Regardless of whether Ye Xuan could pass the First Grade Soul Refiner assessment, an apprentice able to take the test at fifteen years old was guaranteed a limitless future.
Watching with a smile as Ye Xuan finished filling out the form, the beautiful attendant gave a dazzling smile and said softly, "This way, sir."
Following her, Ye Xuan walked deeper into the Soul Master Tower.
In truth, the reason Ye Xuan was taking the Soul Refiner assessment was that he knew the rules of the Soul Master Tower were similar to those of the Alchemist Association.
The precious materials in the Soul Master Tower couldn’t be purchased by just anyone; you had to be a member. Therefore, Ye Xuan planned to first obtain the status of a First Grade Soul Refiner before asking about the Five-Elements Crystal.
He knew that if he walked in and immediately asked for a High Tier treasure, the attendants here would just give him the cold shoulder.
Soon, the two arrived before a room.
"Sir, this is the assessment room of our Soul Master Tower. The three masters are already inside waiting."
Ye Xuan nodded and pushed the door open.
The assessment room was enormous, filled with various instruments. At the front of the room was a table where three men in Soul Refiner robes sat, talking amongst themselves.
When they saw Ye Xuan, three pairs of sharp, piercing eyes turned to look at him simultaneously.
The three of them were taken aback by Ye Xuan’s youth, clearly not expecting the candidate to be so young.
Faced with their three sharp gazes, Ye Xuan was completely unfazed. Without a hint of awkwardness or fear, he walked straight to a chair in the middle of the room and sat down.
"Examiners, I am Ye Xuan, fifteen years old, here for the First Grade Soul Refiner assessment," Ye Xuan said calmly, his gaze steady.
The three Soul Refiners were stunned again.
Every Soul Refiner apprentice who had come here for assessment in the past had been trembling and timid before them; even some Earth Martial Artist-level Martial Artists were the same. They never expected this young man to show not a shred of nervousness. It was as if this was his own home; he appeared completely at ease, perfectly comfortable.
At first, the three of them thought Ye Xuan was just pretending. But as Soul Refiners, their judgment was keen. After carefully examining his expression, they immediately realized his composure wasn’t an act. It was genuine—he truly wasn’t nervous at all.
In all their years as examiners, this was the first time they had encountered such a situation, and they couldn’t help but be secretly amazed.
"Examiners, can we begin the assessment now?" Seeing the three of them just staring at him instead of starting, Ye Xuan frowned and spoke nonchalantly.
In his previous life as an Eighth Grade Soul Emperor, what grand occasion hadn’t he seen? He had even visited the headquarters of the Celestial Profound Continent’s Soul Master Tower many times.
To be nervous now, undergoing an assessment in the Royal City Soul Master Tower of a tiny kingdom? That was a joke.
"What’s the rush? We haven’t even said to begin. You’re the one being tested, why are you in such a hurry?" one of the examiners’ faces darkened as he snapped.
Ye Xuan’s nonchalant attitude upon entering, so different from the fearful deference of past candidates, had immediately rubbed him the wrong way.
"Ahem..." The chief examiner, sitting in the center, waved his hand to stop the outburst. He smiled and said, "It’s normal for young people to be a bit eager. If that’s the case, let’s begin the assessment now."
The First Grade Soul Refiner assessment required three examiners. The chief examiner had to be a Second Grade Soul Refiner, while the two vice-examiners were First Grade Soul Refiners. The final decision rested with the chief examiner.
"Perhaps you’re not very familiar with the First Grade Soul Refiner assessment, so I’ll briefly explain it. The assessment for a First Grade Soul Refiner has three steps."
"Step one, testing Soul Power strength."
"Step two, testing Soul Power communication ability."
"Step three, testing practical control over a martial soul."
"Only after passing all three steps can you truly become a First Grade Soul Refiner."
Ye Xuan nodded.
In fact, he couldn’t be more familiar with the Soul Refiner test. But there was no need to show it right now.
"Liang Bo, go and test his Soul Power strength," the chief examiner said lightly.
"Yes." The vice-examiner called Liang Bo stood up, walked over to Ye Xuan, and said coldly, "You. Go to that instrument. When I say begin, channel your Soul Power into it."
His attitude was terrible. His face was cold as ice, and he looked annoyed, as if Ye Xuan owed him money.
Ye Xuan paid him no mind. He walked to the instrument, placed his hand on the testing surface, and the moment the examiner activated it, a stream of Soul Power surged into the device.
Having done this, Ye Xuan lowered his arm.
"Who told you to lower your arm?" the vice-examiner immediately snapped. "For the Soul Power Tester, you can only stop channeling your Soul Power after the instrument has reacted. Otherwise, it won’t light up the soul stone on top. How are we supposed to test you like this..."
Before he could finish, with a BUZZ, the white soul stone atop the Soul Power Tester suddenly burst forth with a hazy white light. At the same time, the scale beneath the stone began to rise rapidly.
The white marker on the scale climbed all the way up, quickly reaching the First Grade mark. Before their eyes, it leaped past the line, climbed a little higher, and finally stopped halfway between the First Grade and Second Grade marks.
Vice-examiner Liang’s voice cut off abruptly. A flash of embarrassment crossed his face before he shot Ye Xuan an angry glare.
An amazed expression immediately appeared on the chief examiner’s face, and he shot to his feet. "It’s actually mid-First Grade Soul Power! This boy’s Soul Power is so strong!"
Most Soul Refiners taking the First Grade assessment barely reached the minimum strength requirement for First Grade. Someone like Ye Xuan, at the mid-First Grade level, was exceedingly rare.
What’s more, Ye Xuan was only a fifteen-year-old boy.
They didn’t know that this was the result of Ye Xuan deliberately holding back. He had only used half of his own Soul Power. If they knew that, their eyeballs would probably pop out in shock.
"Good. You’ve passed the first step. Now we will immediately proceed to the second step: testing Soul Power communication ability."
The chief examiner began to speak, about to order the other person beside him, but Vice-examiner Liang cut in. "Master Sui, let me do it. It’ll save Brother Wen the trouble."
Master Sui, the chief examiner, nodded. "If that’s the case, then I’ll have to trouble you, Liang Bo."
Vice-examiner Liang gave a modest reply and quickly walked into an adjacent room. A moment later, the sound of a beast’s roar echoed out. He reappeared, leading a ferocious black demon wolf by a chain and locking it into a large iron cage inside the room.
