Profound Heaven Soul Sovereign

"Hmph, how insolent."

Rongyang said angrily, "I am a Seventh Grade Soul Refiner and the vice president of the Soul Master Tower. Do I really need to prove myself to you lot? On the contrary, your Profound Light Pavilion dares to conduct Soul Refining business here without certification from the Celestial Capital Prefecture’s Soul Master Tower. You’re utterly lawless."

As he spoke, Rongyang’s gaze turned frigid. He said grimly to Elder Dong, "Hand over your Soul Refiner badge. Let me see which Soul Master Tower certified you. Today, I shall act on behalf of the Celestial Capital Prefecture’s Soul Master Tower and sanction you all."

Everyone looked over, their faces full of curiosity.

They were all extremely curious about the Profound Light Pavilion’s origins. Ye Xuan, Elder Yao, and Elder Dong’s group were clearly not locals of the Celestial Capital Prefecture. Their cultivation levels weren’t high, but their skills in Alchemy and Soul Refining were astonishingly heaven-defying.

The people of the Celestial Capital Prefecture had many theories about their identities and origins. Now, hearing Rongyang demand they show their Soul Refiner badges, they all looked on with anticipation.

On the Celestial Profound Continent, any Soul Refiner could get certified at any of the Soul Master Towers across the continent after a breakthrough to obtain a Soul Refiner badge.

With a Soul Refiner badge issued by the Soul Master Tower, a Soul Refiner could enjoy extremely high status anywhere on the continent.

And each Soul Refiner badge would also contain identifying information such as the Soul Refiner’s name, age, and certification region.

Therefore, as soon as Elder Dong showed his Soul Refiner badge, everyone would immediately be able to discern his and his group’s origins from the insignia on it.

Hearing Rongyang’s demand, Elder Dong’s expression changed slightly.

’If I show my Soul Refiner badge, they’ll know we’re from the Dream Realm Plain. If someone with ill intent investigates, they could easily find out we’re from Gale Light Academy.’

Seeing the change in Elder Dong’s expression and his hesitation to produce the Soul Refiner badge, Rongyang immediately grew suspicious. "What? Don’t you even have a Soul Refiner badge issued by the Soul Master Tower?"

Li Rucheng’s mind raced. He instantly realized Elder Dong must have a reason for not being able to show the badge. He sneered and said angrily, "Well, what do you know! You dare to conduct Soul Refining business in the Celestial Capital Prefecture without even having Soul Refiner badges issued by the Soul Master Tower. You truly are lawless."

"If we don’t kill these people who are bringing disaster to our Celestial Capital Prefecture, what will become of the interests of our citizens?" Qi Liming also roared, taking the opportunity. A cold sneer appeared in his eyes.

Ye Xuan watched all this with a scornful laugh. "Aren’t you getting a little ahead of yourself?" he sneered. "We have Soul Refiner badges, of course. We just don’t feel like showing them."

"Ridiculous," Li Rucheng sneered. "It’s Master Rongyang, the vice president of our Celestial Capital Prefecture’s Soul Master Tower, who is telling you to show your badges. How dare you refuse? Show your Soul Refiner badges obediently, and you might have a chance to live. Otherwise, you’re dead for sure."

The more reluctant Ye Xuan and his group were to show their badges, the more Li Rucheng wanted to know their origins.

"Master Rongyang? What kind of joke is he? Just a mere vice president of the Celestial Capital Prefecture’s Soul Master Tower. He’s not even worth a fart. To be honest, I’m actually a Tier Eight Soul Emperor. It’s not that I’m unwilling to show my badge, it’s that you trash aren’t worthy of seeing it."

Li Rucheng’s face darkened. "How dare you disrespect Master Rongyang!" he snarled.

Ye Xuan sneered. "Master? What a joke. Zhen Li’s martial soul was clearly damaged by his own doing. It has nothing to do with my Profound Light Pavilion. You can’t even see that, yet you claim to have a noble status? You’re obviously just a charlatan hired by the Li family, and you still dare to act so arrogantly here."

Rongyang flew into a rage. "Brat, you speak so wildly. Aren’t you afraid of death?"

He took a step forward, and a terrifying wave of Profound Power instantly enveloped Ye Xuan. The formidable energy wrapped around him like a storm, squeezing him relentlessly.

Ye Xuan repeatedly calling him a charlatan had filled him with a furious rage and a murderous intent.

Su Xiuyi at his side was about to intervene, but Ye Xuan waved a hand to stop him. Under the terrifying pressure of the Profound Power, his body remained perfectly still, a smile still playing on his lips. "Exposed as a charlatan and now you’re so embarrassed you want to silence me by killing me?"

Rongyang was stunned to see Ye Xuan’s expression remain unchanged under his pressure, but he quickly burst into laughter. "HAHAHA! Open your dog eyes and look! This is my Seventh Grade Soul Refiner badge, and this is my token as vice president of the Celestial Capital Prefecture’s Soul Master Tower! These were issued by the Divine Capital, the holy land of Soul Refiners. Do you think you can prove anything just by calling me a charlatan a few times?"

"Tsk tsk. Where did you buy that fake badge? It almost looks real," Ye Xuan sneered dismissively.

"You..."

"Since you keep insisting you’re not a charlatan, do you dare to compete with my Profound Light Pavilion?"

Just then, Ye Xuan’s voice turned sharp, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

"Compete? Compete in what?" Rongyang was taken aback for a moment.

A scornful smile hung on Ye Xuan’s lips. "Putting on an act now that it’s time to show some real substance? Among Soul Refiners, we naturally compete in Soul Refining skill. Are we supposed to compete in Martial Dao cultivation instead?"

Ye Xuan’s face was filled with ridicule.

"Me and him?" Rongyang glanced disdainfully at Elder Dong.

Ye Xuan said, word by word, "With me."

"What?"

The entire crowd was shocked.

"Did I hear that right? Did that young man say he wants to compete with Master Rongyang in Soul Refining skill?"

Lin Bo and the others were also dumbfounded, their mouths agape and their expressions frozen.

"Haha," Qi Liming clutched his stomach and roared with laughter, his face a mask of mockery. "What are you worth? What right do you have to compete with Master Rongyang?"

Ye Xuan sneered, "What? Does the great Seventh Grade Soul Refiner, the vice president of the Celestial Capital Prefecture’s Soul Master Tower, not even have the courage to compete in Soul Refining skill with a little brat like me? Oh, right. I almost forgot. He’s just a charlatan, so of course he wouldn’t dare."

"Hmph." Rongyang scoffed. "Brat, your goading won’t work on me. And just as Li Rucheng said, why should I compete with you? What are you worth?"

"In the end, you just don’t dare to accept."

"Don’t dare to accept? Haha." Rongyang couldn’t help but laugh, but his smile was icy. Ye Xuan’s completely nonchalant tone had infuriated him. "What’s in it for me if I accept?"

"If you win, this Profound Light Pavilion is yours."

Rongyang froze, stunned. "What did you say?"

"I said, if you win, everything in the Profound Light Pavilion will be yours," Ye Xuan said, dropping a bombshell.

Everyone in the crowd was even more stunned.

No one was unaware of how popular the Profound Light Pavilion had become in the Celestial Capital Prefecture recently. The value of such a massive enterprise was absolutely astonishing.

Not to mention anything else, the shop alone was worth over a million mid-grade Profound Stones.

Furthermore, the Profound Light Pavilion also had such a powerful Array, not to mention the various materials, Pills, and other items inside. A rough estimate put the total value of the Profound Light Pavilion at over two million mid-grade Profound Stones.

Two million mid-grade Profound Stones. Even for someone like Rongyang, a vice president of the Soul Master Tower and a Seventh Grade Soul Refiner, it was hard to say if his entire fortune could match that.

This was definitely the biggest gamble in the history of the Celestial Capital Prefecture for the past several decades.

For a moment, Rongyang’s heart was stirred.

But he didn’t agree immediately. Instead, he suppressed his greed and said coldly, "Are you in a position to make that decision for the Profound Light Pavilion?"

"Young Master Ye’s words are our words."

"Young Master Ye’s decision is our decision."

"This Profound Light Pavilion belonged to Young Master Ye to begin with. Do you think he can’t make the decision?"

Su Xiuyi, Elder Dong, and Elder Yao all spoke up coldly.

Previously filled with anger, panic, and anxiety, their faces were now composed and calm, as if they no longer had a single worry.

The change in Su Xiuyi’s and the others’ demeanor confused Li Rucheng and his group. They couldn’t understand how they could remain so composed under these circumstances.

Meanwhile, the surrounding crowd was secretly shocked. They had never imagined that the Profound Light Pavilion, which had caused such a stir in the Celestial Capital Prefecture, was actually controlled by this young man.

Ye Xuan sneered, "So, what do you think? Am I in a position to make the decision? I wonder if Master Rongyang dares to accept now."

Rongyang laughed in fury, his voice indifferent. "Fine. Say it. What do you want to compete in?"

Although he was puzzled by Ye Xuan’s proposal, he wasn’t the least bit worried. Instead, he was filled with disdain.

’A boy as young as Ye Xuan could never surpass my attainments in Soul Refining, even if he started cultivating in his mother’s womb.’

"Simple. We’ll have the most classic competition in Soul Refining: a martial soul battle. Both sides can choose their own materials. Each of us will refine the strongest martial soul we are capable of at our current cultivation level, and then we’ll have them battle. The one whose martial soul wins is the victor," Ye Xuan announced.

"As for the time and place, there’s no time like the present. Right here, right now, in front of my Profound Light Pavilion. Every member of the Celestial Capital Prefecture present will be a witness to this competition. What do you think, ’Master’ Rongyang?"

Ye Xuan put heavy emphasis on the word "Master," his meaning clear.

"A martial soul battle, huh."

Rongyang’s brows furrowed, and he gave Ye Xuan a deep look.

In the Soul Refining Realm, there were many types of competitions between Soul Refiners. Just like at the Soul Refiner Convention of the Thirteen Nations Alliance back then, the many talented Soul Refiners competed in various events: Soul Power intensity, activating Soul Crystals, and refining martial souls.

The competition formats were incredibly diverse.

But the martial soul battle proposed by Ye Xuan was one of the most orthodox methods of all, which paradoxically made Rongyang faintly suspicious.

It was just like competitions between Alchemists, which were also diverse, with contests in fire control, material identification, formula analysis, and so on. There were many formats, but only two were ever considered the most definitive.

One was a comparison of grade. The Spirit Alchemist who concocted a higher-grade product was the winner. In this type of competition, the higher-ranked party usually won.

The other was a comparison of efficacy. Whoever refined a Pill with a stronger effect would win.

Between the two, the latter was undoubtedly more convincing.

And the martial soul battle Ye Xuan mentioned, much like the second type of Alchemy competition, was the most definitive type of competition for Soul Refiners.