Chapter 135: Chapter 135: Elder Kuchun
As he spoke, the middle-aged manager took a task scroll from the section for the highest-level tasks.
He unrolled it and took a look. The task was quite straightforward:
Task Details: Cooperatively refine a soul Array.
Task Requirements: Identify the errors in the Spirit Pattern layout, analyze the reason the Array failed to form, and successfully complete the Array.
Task Reward: Any single Tier Five material, with no restrictions on type, including Profound Soldiers, Pills, or Array Discs. Alternatively, the reward can be exchanged for one full-powered strike from the task issuer.
Ye Xuan didn’t pay much attention to the other details. He was only concerned with the task’s reward and its content.
His eyes immediately fell upon the reward. When he saw that it could be exchanged for a full-powered strike from the issuer, his heart was instantly put at ease.
Someone who could make such an arrogant offer was no nameless nobody. A single strike from them was equivalent in value to a Tier Five treasure. Ye Xuan roughly estimated that this person had to be at least a Third-Grade Soul Refiner. ’For someone like that,’ he thought, ’getting a Five Elements Crystal from the Soul Master Tower should be a piece of cake.’
Now that he was satisfied with the reward, Ye Xuan turned his attention to the task’s content.
And when he saw that the task involved refining some kind of soul Array, Ye Xuan’s eyes instantly lit up.
’It’s actually Array Refining. A task like this is truly perfect for me.’ A smile touched Ye Xuan’s lips.
"Manager, I’ll take this one. Please accept the task for me," Ye Xuan said calmly.
"What?" This time, it was the manager’s turn to be shocked. He stared wide-eyed and said, "Are you sure?"
Ye Xuan frowned. "Of course, I’m sure. Why? Is there a problem?"
The manager shook his head. "There’s no problem, per se, but I must warn you. The person who issued this task has an extraordinary status. He was an elder of our Soul Master Tower long ago, and even now, he ranks among the top five. So, if you’re just hoping to get a glimpse of the soul Array he’s refining, I’d advise you not to take this task. Accepting it and failing to complete it will do you no good."
The manager’s words were entirely sincere.
"This is the one," Ye Xuan said, unconcerned. He had finally found a perfectly suitable task and had no intention of letting it slip by.
Besides, the higher the issuer’s status in the Soul Master Tower, the better. It would only make it easier to obtain the Five Elements Crystal.
"Are you sure?" the manager asked again, adding a warning, "The issuer has a very strange and harsh temper. Many people have accepted this task before, including some at the elder level. They all failed and suffered greatly for it."
Ye Xuan smiled. "You just need to assign the task to me."
Just because others had failed didn’t mean he would. If the problem was truly related to Arrays, Ye Xuan was confident he could solve it.
The process of Array Refining was exceedingly complex, involving runes, Spirit Patterns, and Soul Power. Arrays had many different applications depending on the medium they were inscribed upon. Refined onto a weapon, it created a Profound Soldier. Set up outside a residence, it formed a grand protective Array. Used in an alchemy chamber, it became an alchemy Array. When inscribed onto a Pill during the alchemy process, it formed pill patterns, and so on.
The "soul Array" the task mentioned was a type of Array that a Soul Refiner created on a medium using their own Soul Power combined with certain materials.
In his past life, as an Eighth-Grade Soul Emperor, he had engraved countless such Arrays.
"Well, you’re on your own now." Seeing Ye Xuan’s insistence, the middle-aged manager shook his head and stopped trying to persuade him. He took out a task Token. "This Token is proof that you’ve accepted the task. We at the Task Pavilion will use a transmission order to inform the elder that you’ve taken his task. You must report to him within three business days. If you’re late, you will be punished. Here is the task issuer’s name and location."
Ye Xuan took the information the manager handed him. A few words were written on it.
Task Issuer: Elder Kuchen.
Task Location: Soul Master Tower, Seventh Floor.
After taking the Token, Ye Xuan left the Task Pavilion. He needed no preparation. With Shi Yan leading the way, he went straight to the Elder Area on the seventh floor.
"Halt."
On the seventh floor of the Soul Master Tower, two guards shouted sternly, blocking Ye Xuan and Shi Yan with sharp gazes.
"This is the exclusive activity area for the elders. Unauthorized personnel are not allowed to enter."
Even though Shi Yan was wearing the Soul Master Tower’s staff uniform, the two imposing guards still swept a cold glance over them.
"I’m here to complete a task for Elder Kuchen." Ye Xuan presented the Token.
"You..." The two guards looked at Ye Xuan, their faces filled with astonishment.
They both knew about the task Elder Kuchen had posted. Countless Soul Refiners had accepted it, either trying to learn something or simply to satisfy their curiosity. But Elder Kuchen had seen through their intentions, and every one of them had ended up in a miserable state.
There was even a newly promoted elder who had harbored similar thoughts. He failed to complete the task, and it was said that Elder Kuchen slammed the table during a high-level Soul Master Tower meeting, cursing certain master Soul Refiners in the tower for being ignorant, incompetent, and always looking for loopholes. The incident caused the new elder to lose all face.
Thinking of this, the two guards secretly glanced at Ye Xuan with pity. In their minds, this kid was definitely an opportunist trying to get lucky.
Unfortunately, he had chosen the wrong person to trifle with.
"You may enter. As for you, stay outside," the two guards said, nodding to Ye Xuan.
"Master Ye, I’ll be heading back now." As a mere service attendant, Shi Yan felt immense pressure just standing there. After offering a few polite apologies, he returned to his post.
Ye Xuan nodded and walked straight inside.
The seventh floor of the Soul Master Tower truly lived up to its reputation as the elders’ exclusive area. The interior was magnificent, grand, and impeccably orderly.
Every elder had their own office and research laboratory.
There were also some attendants on the seventh floor. After hearing Ye Xuan’s purpose, one of them immediately led him to Elder Kuchen’s reception room.
"So someone else accepted the task?" Upon hearing the news, Elder Kuchen walked over from his workshop.
He was an old man with grizzled hair and a beard. The moment he appeared, both he and Ye Xuan were taken aback.
Ye Xuan was surprised because the old man looked nothing like a Soul Master Tower elder. His hair was as messy as dried grass, even more chaotic than a bird’s nest, and looked like it hadn’t been washed in days, clumped together in tangled strands.
His clothes were also filthy and sloppy, with patches on the left and right and covered in stains. Who knew how many days it had been since they were last washed.
Elder Kuchen, on the other hand, was surprised by Ye Xuan’s age. Since he had posted the task, countless Soul Refiners had come to accept it. Some claimed to have a certain level of skill in soul Arrays, while others were simply trying their luck. But he had never seen one as young as Ye Xuan.
The first thought that entered Elder Kuchen’s mind was, ’This must be another swindling Soul Refiner trying to steal some knowledge from me.’
He was in no mood for pleasantries. With a cold smile, he got straight to the point, "What is your current level?"
Ye Xuan was slightly taken aback. Though he didn’t understand the man’s intention, he still replied, "First-Grade Soul Refiner."
Kuchen sneered. "Guards! Drag this person out, give him a harsh beating, and then announce to the entire Soul Master Tower that he is a charlatan. Suspend his Soul Refiner stipend for one year."
’A First-Grade Soul Refiner wants to solve my problem? Does this boy really think I, Kuchen, am an idiot?’
’In the past, even the Soul Refiners who accepted the task hoping to get lucky were at least Second Grade. A First-Grade Soul Refiner probably can’t even understand the patterns of my Array, so how could he possibly solve my problem?’
And so, without even getting to the main point, Kuchen had already condemned Ye Xuan.
"Wait," Ye Xuan said coldly. "Elder Kuchen, what is the meaning of this? The task hasn’t even begun and you’re already throwing me out. Are you so certain that I cannot complete your task?"
Kuchen snorted. "Empty flattery. I, Kuchen, broke through to Third Grade thirty years ago and became an elder of the Soul Master Tower. Thirty years have passed, and while I haven’t reached Fourth Grade, I am only a step away from becoming a Fourth-Grade Celestial Level Soul Refiner. A mere First-Grade Soul Refiner like you dares to accept my task? You think you can solve my problems? You probably can’t even comprehend the patterns of the Array I’ve refined. It’s laughable! Say no more, or my punishment will be far more severe than this."
With that, he flicked his sleeve and turned to leave.
Ye Xuan gave a wry, humorless smile. "Elder Kuchen, is it? I will not accept this. Your task had no prerequisites, so why can’t I accept it? Besides, how do you know I can’t understand the patterns of the Array you’ve refined? So this is an elder... nothing more than a frog in a well."
Elder Kuchen’s footsteps came to an abrupt halt.
"Let him go," he snapped at the attendants who were about to drag Ye Xuan away. A cold sneer played on his lips. "Quite a kid, aren’t you? Breaking through to a First-Grade Soul Refiner at such a young age, you must think you’re exceptionally talented and can do anything, is that it?"
"I, Kuchen, may have a bad temper, but I am not an unreasonable man. Since you’ve said as much, I’ll give you a chance. I don’t even need you to solve my problem anymore. Here is an Array Disc. If you can point out a single problem with this Array Disc, I won’t punish you. But if you can’t, your original punishment will be doubled."
After speaking, Kuchen tossed an Array Disc into Ye Xuan’s hands, a cold sneer still on his face.
He felt nothing but contempt for such opportunists.
Ye Xuan caught the Array Disc. He made no grand display, instead feigning a careful examination for several minutes. Just as Elder Kuchen was about to sneer and speak, Ye Xuan spoke with utter confidence, "Elder Kuchen, the Array Disc you’ve given me should be part of the Second-Level Spirit Transformation and Condensing Profound Array. If I’m not mistaken, it’s the third of the six Array Discs for that Array, corresponding to the Kan sector. Its function is to bridge the preceding and succeeding components, connecting the entire greater Array. As for its problems? This Array Disc has at least three..."
"First, this nodal array-vein is missing, breaking the connection."
"Second, the routing of these two Spirit Patterns relative to each other is flawed..."
