Profound Heaven Soul Sovereign

It's true that water can extinguish fire, but can a single bowl of water put out a raging forest fire?

In terms of rank and quality, the Black Shining Vine was clearly a notch below the Undying Firebird. Furthermore, the Black Shining Vine was of the Wood Attribute, while the Undying Firebird was Fire Attribute. If an ordinary Black Shining Vine could truly absorb the Soul Power of an Undying Firebird, that would be utterly unbelievable.

"The competition isn't over yet. Aren't you getting a little too arrogant, you brat?"

At this point, Rongyang couldn't be bothered to argue with Ye Xuan. After a cold snort, his gaze suddenly sharpened.

"Explode."

With a furious roar, a violent fiery pulse instantly erupted from the Undying Firebird wrapped by the Black Shining Vine. BOOM! The firebird's body exploded, scattering into a sky full of flames.

"What is Master Rongyang doing? Why did he self-destruct his martial spirit?"

Everyone was dumbfounded. Had Rongyang admitted defeat?

However, the pupils of a few Soul Refiners who knew what was happening suddenly contracted. "Master Rongyang isn't admitting defeat at all. He knows the Undying Firebird can't escape the Black Shining Vine's grasp, so he's preparing for it to be reborn from the ashes."

Reborn from the ashes?

The crowd finally understood. The martial spirit Rongyang had refined was the Undying Firebird, and the Undying Firebird's greatest trait was its ability to be reborn from the ashes.

Just as predicted, after the Undying Firebird exploded, the scattered flames did not dissipate. Instead, under Rongyang's control, they converged like iron filings to a magnet, swiftly merging. The clumps of fire fused, slowly reforming the Undying Firebird's shape. At the same time, a powerful surge of martial spirit energy emanated from the newly formed firebird.

Although everyone had heard of the Undying Firebird's ability to be reborn from the ashes, none had ever seen it before. Now, witnessing this scene, they were all completely transfixed, staring intently, unwilling to miss a single detail.

"Hmph. Trying to revive yourself? Did you ask for my permission?"

Ye Xuan snorted, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes. How could he not see Rongyang's plan? A cold smirk touched his lips. He formed a hand seal and, with a sharp jab of his finger, the Black Shining Vine instantly transformed into a streak of black light, shooting toward the Undying Firebird martial spirit.

Rongyang's heart lurched, and a vicious expression instantly appeared on his face. He knew Ye Xuan was trying to destroy the Undying Firebird martial spirit before it could fully reform.

The Undying Firebird could be reborn from the ashes, true, but this ability wasn't unconditional. Its greatest weakness was attacks that could absorb its martial spirit's power, just like the Black Shining Vine. If too much of its source power was drained, it would die for good, with no chance of resurrection.

Once the Undying Firebird martial spirit was destroyed, he would lose their bet. Not only would he fail to acquire the Profound Light Pavilion, but his reputation would plummet, and he would become a laughingstock to all.

At this thought, killing intent flared in Rongyang's heart. A murderous glint flashed in his eyes, and he suddenly raised a hand.

SWISH!

An invisible wave of Soul Power instantly formed a sharp spike and shot toward Ye Xuan's head.

Realizing he was about to lose, Rongyang had shifted his target from the Black Shining Vine to Ye Xuan himself. As long as Ye Xuan was killed or grievously injured, he would naturally lose control of the Black Shining Vine, and the victory would be his.

"Young Master Ye, look out!"

Rongyang's movement was extremely subtle. Ordinary Martial Artists couldn't see it, and even some Tier Eight Martial Emperors would have had trouble spotting it. But as a Peak of Sixth Grade Soul Refiner, Elder Dong saw it instantly and shouted out in alarm.

But his warning came too late. The words had barely left his lips when Ye Xuan let out a muffled groan and violently spat out a mouthful of blood.

"What's going on?"

The crowd was baffled. Weren't the two having a martial spirit duel? Why had Xuan Ye suddenly coughed up blood? And his complexion was so ghastly.

However, Yang Xiu and the other Soul Refiner masters understood what had happened, and peculiar expressions crossed each of their faces.

Elder Dong roared in fury from the sidelines, "Rongyang! And to think you're the Vice-Tower Master of the Soul Master Tower! How could you be so despicable? When you couldn't win the martial spirit duel, you attacked Young Master Ye himself! You're utterly shameless!"

"Haha, I'm despicable?" Rongyang, seeing his actions had been exposed, showed not a shred of embarrassment. On the contrary, he roared with laughter. "Didn't this brat want to have a Soul Refining competition with me? Martial spirits are controlled by Soul Refiners. A clash between Soul Refiners is naturally an extension of a martial spirit duel. What's so despicable about that?"

"Besides, this kid called me an impostor time and time again. Since I'm just an impostor, he naturally shouldn't be afraid of my Soul Power attack."

Rongyang spoke with smug satisfaction as he fully mobilized his Seventh Grade Soul Power. Driven by his Soul Skill, the dense Soul Power rapidly formed into countless fine needles, assailing Ye Xuan like a torrential downpour.

He had changed his strategy. Instead of a martial spirit duel with Ye Xuan, he was now engaging in a direct clash of Soul Power. As long as he killed Ye Xuan, he would naturally be the winner of the competition.

"You impostor! Even if you attack me directly, it won't change the fact that you're a fraud!"

Ye Xuan roared, his hands rapidly forming seals to create a net-like Soul Power defense in front of him.

PFFT! PFFT! PFFT!

The invisible Soul Power attacks struck the net-like barrier. Ye Xuan's defense didn't last long before it shattered, and the dense barrage of Soul Power attacks instantly pierced into his body.

Ye Xuan coughed up another mouthful of blood, his body swaying precariously. His face was deathly pale.

"Young Master Ye!"

Su Xiuyi and the others looked furious, preparing to rush forward and intervene.

"Pavilion Master Su, the competition is still ongoing. It wouldn't be right for you to interfere, now would it?"

Qi Liming, Li Rucheng, and the other elders moved to block Su Xiuyi and his party, speaking with sly smiles.

"Li Rucheng, get the hell out of our way!" Lin Bo roared. "It was clearly agreed that this would be a duel of martial spirits, yet Master Rongyang attacked Xuan Ye himself! What is this, bullying the weak? This is completely unfair!"

The atmosphere on the street instantly grew tense enough to cut with a knife.

"All of you, shut up! No one is to move. Since this is a competition between Master Rongyang and this young man, we will simply watch quietly. If anyone dares to make a move, don't blame me for being ruthless."

Just then, Yu Chi Bugong let out a cold snort. A powerful pressure descended upon Su Xiuyi, Qi Liming, Li Rucheng, Lin Bo, and the others. They felt as if a great mountain was pressing down on them, making it difficult even to breathe.

Yu Chi Bugong's voice was icy. "Anyone who says another word, I don't care who it is, I will cut them down on the spot."

"Heh, my thanks to Patriarch Yuchi for upholding justice," Li Rucheng said with a slight, mocking smile before immediately retreating.

Lin Bo clenched his fists, his heart filled with bitter resentment. But he was helpless and could only turn his gaze to Xiao Wuji of the Xiao family.

If anyone present was qualified to challenge Yu Chi Bugong, it was only Patriarch Xiao Wuji.

Xiao Wuji said calmly, "Since this is a competition, it must be conducted fairly. A clash of Soul Power can be considered a type of martial spirit duel. Moreover, I hear there was no explicit rule stated beforehand that one could not attack the controller of the martial spirit. Therefore, until a victor is decided, it would be best if no one made any rash moves."

Seeing that even Xiao Wuji had spoken, Lin Bo and his allies could only sigh in helpless resignation.

After that commotion, everyone's attention returned to the competition in the center of the street.

Ye Xuan now looked incredibly weak, with blood trickling from the corner of his mouth as his body swayed.

"Haha, in the end, I am the one who wins this competition!" Rongyang laughed with glee, continuing to unleash wave after wave of Soul Power attacks.

By completely overwhelming Ye Xuan with Soul Power, he had seized total control of the match.

Ye Xuan remained silent, his expression utterly cold. After coughing up another mouthful of blood, he immediately leaped away, retreating back into the Profound Light Pavilion's territory.

"Haha, brat! Are you admitting defeat?" Rongyang roared with laughter.

To him, Ye Xuan's retreat clearly signified that he had given up on the competition. The victory naturally belonged to him, Rongyang.

"Is that so? I suggest you take a look at your Undying Firebird martial spirit first," Ye Xuan said suddenly, his voice cold.

"What?"

Rongyang froze. He turned his head and finally saw that, at some point, his Undying Firebird martial spirit had been reduced to ash and smoke. On the street, only the battered Black Shining Vine martial spirit that Ye Xuan had refined remained, swaying as it exuded a rich martial spirit aura.

This…

Rongyang's expression went slack, and his heart plummeted into an abyss.

The rest of the crowd was equally stunned.

Their attention had been entirely focused on the confrontation involving Su Xiuyi and on Rongyang's attack on Ye Xuan. They had completely forgotten about the two martial spirits that had been dueling moments before.

Only a handful of people had noticed that while being attacked by Rongyang, Ye Xuan had continued to command his Black Shining Vine. It had swiftly drained every last wisp of the Undying Firebird's residual martial spirit power, causing it to dissipate into nothingness before it could be reborn.

The goal of the competition was to see whose skill in Soul Refining was superior and whose refined martial spirit was stronger. Therefore, the moment Rongyang's Undying Firebird martial spirit collapsed, Ye Xuan left the dueling area, because he had already won.

"He lost… Master Rongyang actually lost."

"That Xuan Ye's Black Shining Vine martial spirit actually managed to completely destroy Master Rongyang's Undying Firebird?"

"Good heavens, what in the world just happened? Why wasn't that Black Shining Vine refined by Xuan Ye the least bit afraid of the Undying Firebird's Fire Element Soul Power attacks? And how was it able to so freely absorb its Soul Power?"

"That's terrifying! If this Black Shining Vine martial spirit can even absorb the Soul Power of an Undying Firebird, doesn't that mean it can absorb the power of other martial spirits too? If so, who could possibly be its opponent?"

No one could remain calm. Every face was flushed with excitement. The shocking twists and turns of the match had happened too fast for them to process.

"I…"

But the person hit hardest was Rongyang. His face was a mask of disbelief, his eyes were bloodshot, and he began to mutter to himself.

But a loss was a loss. According to the rules of the competition, the match was over the moment his martial spirit was destroyed. He had no grounds to argue.