Chapter 155: Chapter 155: Kuchen’s Shock
’This guy must be here to cause trouble. He just gave us a scare.’
’And here we almost thought he was someone important.’
"Isn’t that Master Ye?"
Just then, a pleasantly surprised voice came from inside the activity area. A middle-aged man who looked like an attendant came running out, his face alight with boundless enthusiasm.
"Move, move! Get out of the way! This is Master Ye." The attendant snapped at the two guards before leading Ye Xuan into the activity area. The guards watched Ye Xuan go, their hearts pounding with terror.
’Who is this guy, to make Elder Kuchun’s head attendant so enthusiastic?’ Recalling their earlier tone, a cold sweat broke out on their backs.
"I am Zhong Zhiwen. May I ask what brings Master Ye here today?" the head attendant asked with great enthusiasm.
The last time Ye Xuan had helped Elder Kuchun craft the Ten Directions Soul Guarding Array, he had been present. He had witnessed firsthand how warmly Elder Kuchun treated Ye Xuan and thus wished to be on good terms with him as well.
However, when he heard that Ye Xuan had come to borrow an Array-crafting room from Elder Kuchun, the head attendant’s brow furrowed. "Master Ye, what unfortunate timing. Ever since you left last time, Elder Kuchun went into seclusion. He hasn’t come out yet. When it comes to lending out the crafting rooms... we subordinates can’t make that call."
"Such unfortunate timing?" Ye Xuan frowned and muttered, "’Do I have to go back to the academy to craft it?’"
As the largest academy in the Liuyun Kingdom, the Profound Spirit Academy had a comprehensive curriculum. It had everything from Alchemy and Soul Refining to Array Formation, so of course, it had Array-crafting rooms as well.
It was just that the academy’s crafting rooms were generally the most basic kind, which made them very inconvenient to use.
"Oh, right!" Just then, the head attendant slapped his forehead. "Master Ye, I can’t make the call on Elder Kuchun’s main crafting room, but I remember he also has a secondary one. If you don’t mind, I *can* make the decision to lend that one to you for a bit."
"Then I’ll be troubling you."
"Not at all! It’s my honor to be of service to you, Master Ye."
Soon, the head attendant led Ye Xuan to one of the crafting rooms.
"This is Elder Kuchun’s secondary crafting room. Please, do your crafting here, Master Ye. If you need anything, just let me know." After a brief introduction, the head attendant promptly excused himself.
After carefully inspecting the room, Ye Xuan had to admit that this secondary crafting room was a far cry from Elder Kuchun’s main one. The equipment, too, was a noticeable downgrade.
Moreover, the auxiliary Array inside was broken. Not only was it missing its Profound Stones, but even the Array Patterns were scorched and ruined.
Some of the instruments were also damaged.
Fortunately, all the basic materials for Array crafting were well-stocked.
’Whatever. I’ll just fix everything up first.’
Unfazed, Ye Xuan spent a full day repairing all the instruments and equipment he would need.
Afterward, Ye Xuan spent another five full days finally crafting the Array Disc he needed.
For example, the Ten Directions Soul Guarding Array was a Third Grade ancient Array. A typical Third Grade Array Pattern Master would only need half a day to successfully craft it.
However, Ye Xuan’s Soul Power was only at Tier Two Peak. He needed to use instruments to augment it before he could begin crafting, which was why it took him a little longer.
Furthermore, in the process of crafting it, Ye Xuan had also made some improvements to the Ten Directions Soul Guarding Array, which also cost him some time.
By the time Ye Xuan returned to the academy, there were only a few days left before the time Zhao Wei had set.
Ye Xuan tidied up and spent two days meditating to regulate his energy. On the third day, Zhao Wei finally arrived at his courtyard.
"Brother Ye Xuan, we’ll meet at the stone forest outside the city in three days, bright and early. See you there."
Zhao Wei had only come to say those words before leaving again.
He had clearly set the time and place like this because he was afraid of the news leaking and wanted everyone to leave the city and gather on their own.
Ye Xuan didn’t mind and simply nodded in agreement.
Meanwhile, at the Soul Master Tower, Elder Kuchun emerged from a cultivation chamber, looking refreshed and invigorated.
’Three months of arduous cultivation, and my Soul Power has finally reached the peak of Tier Three! At this rate, it’ll only be a few more days before I can break through to Tier Four and become one of the few Fourth Grade Soul Refiners in the entire Liuyun Kingdom! Hahaha!’
Ever since he had successfully crafted the Ten Directions Soul Guarding Array, Elder Kuchun had been completely immersed in cultivating his Soul Power.
Sure enough, with the support of the ancient Array, his once-stagnant Soul Power had begun to rise again. After more than three months of secluded, arduous cultivation, his Soul Power was now just a hair’s breadth from Tier Four.
At this critical juncture, Elder Kuchun had deliberately ended his seclusion.
The breakthrough to become a Fourth Grade Soul Refiner was incredibly important to him, so he decided to make more preparations. He would rest for a few days before entering seclusion again for the final push.
In the entire Liuyun Kingdom, you could count the number of Fourth Grade Soul Refiners on one hand. The only one was the president of the Soul Master Tower. Once he broke through, he would become the Liuyun Kingdom’s second Fourth Grade Soul Refiner in decades, an event that would shake the entire nation.
Thus, after emerging from his seclusion, one could hardly imagine the brilliance of the smile on Elder Kuchun’s face.
"’Before I go back into seclusion, I need to prepare a few things,’ Elder Kuchun mused as he walked into his secondary crafting room."
The moment he stepped inside, his eyes went wide...
「In the lounge of the elders’ activity area.」
During their downtime, the attendants of the various elders would all rest here.
"Heh heh, Steward Zhong, I just came across some excellent tea yesterday. Why don’t you join me for a taste?"
An attendant called out to Zhong Zhiwen and the others.
"Haha, sounds good." Zhong Zhiwen walked over with a smile and joined them for tea.
As attendants to the elders, their own statuses varied. An attendant’s standing directly reflected that of the elder they served.
And as Elder Kuchun’s head attendant, Zhong Zhiwen was naturally the most prominent—and the most envied—of them all.
"Steward Zhong, I saw you receiving a young man the other day. Who was he? I don’t think I’ve ever seen him before. And... it looked like you took him into Elder Kuchun’s secondary crafting room. Could he be a new disciple the elder has taken on?" an attendant asked, his eyes darting about as he fished for information.
They had little to do in the elders’ lounge, so they spent their days fishing for information and trading gossip about the Soul Master Tower.
The other attendants also pricked up their ears to listen in.
Zhong Zhiwen glanced at them and said with a faint smile, "He is one of our Soul Master Tower’s masters. He just rarely comes here, which is why you haven’t seen him. As for who he is exactly... you needn’t trouble yourselves over it. To be honest, I’m not entirely sure myself."
’Tch, what an act. As if you don’t know,’ many of the attendants cursed inwardly, but their faces remained plastered with obsequious smiles.
Just then—
SLAM!
The door to the lounge was thrown open, and Elder Kuchun strode in, his face grim.
All the attendants present scrambled to their feet, their faces filled with alarm, wondering what had happened.
It was the first time they had ever seen Elder Kuchun, one of the Soul Master Tower’s most senior elders, barge into the attendants’ lounge like this. Something major must have happened.
In the tense atmosphere, Elder Kuchun’s gaze instantly fell upon Zhong Zhiwen. "Zhong Zhiwen, I’ll ask you this: who entered my secondary crafting room these past few days?"
Elder Kuchun’s tone was grave and his gaze was like lightning, boring into Zhong Zhiwen’s face like an officer interrogating a criminal.
That sharp, severe tone made Zhong Zhiwen’s legs go weak.
"Elder Kuchun, Master Ye came by a few days ago. He said he wanted to borrow a crafting room from you. I didn’t dare lend out the main one, so I took the liberty of lending him the secondary one. D-did something happen?"
Zhong Zhiwen answered, trembling and cautious, looking as if he were about to burst into tears.
"Master Ye?" Elder Kuchun frowned.
"Master Ye Xuan."
"What? It was him?" Elder Kuchun said in shock, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.
He had been stunned the moment he entered his secondary crafting room earlier.
This so-called secondary crafting room wasn’t actually a place where he did any real crafting; it was where he stored his failed Array Discs and broken instruments.
But just now, he had discovered that the items he had failed to craft, and even the broken instruments, had all been astonishingly repaired. The discovery had left him utterly stunned.
The instruments inside were varied and complex; even with his skills as a Third Grade Soul Refiner, he wouldn’t have dared claim he could fix them all, which was why they had been stored there in the first place.
But now, they were all repaired. What did this mean? It meant that a master whose skills in Soul Refining and Array Formation surpassed his own had been in his secondary crafting room.
That was why he had been in such a hurry, desperate to find out who that person was.
He never would have thought that the person was Ye Xuan.
His first reaction was shock and disbelief. But as he recalled the way Ye Xuan had guided him through crafting the Ten Directions Soul Guarding Array, an inexplicable feeling of conviction welled up within him.
It was as if, if the person really was Ye Xuan, then repairing his failed Array Patterns and broken instruments no longer seemed so incredible.
And that feeling was even more shocking to him than the fact itself.
After all, Ye Xuan was only a fifteen-year-old boy, a newly registered First Grade Soul Refiner!
Suppressing the shock in his heart, Elder Kuchun asked in a low voice, "Right, did he say anything else?"
"No. Elder Kuchun, what on earth happened? Did he... did he break something of yours, Elder?" The panic on Zhong Zhiwen’s face intensified, his mind a total mess. Suddenly, he blurted out, "Oh, right! Elder Kuchun, I heard him mention something about an academy..."
’An academy?’
Elder Kuchun mused, and then his eyes lit up. "’Young friend Ye Xuan is so young... could he be from the Profound Spirit Academy? Yes, that’s it! Fifteen is exactly the age for students at the Profound Spirit Academy.’"
