Soul Emperor Awakening

"A First Grade Pattern... How is that possible?" Fang Qingyu’s face fell, utterly shocked by the result.

It wasn’t just Fang Qingyu; even Sun Zhe was dumbfounded. This completely defied common sense. Everyone knew a First Grade Pattern wasn’t as stable as a High Level Pattern, yet this far exceeded their imagination. It was as paradoxical as someone at the Spirit Refining Stage being weaker than someone at the Body Refining Stage.

At this point, it was the Fourth Grade Pattern Masters’ turn. They were quite rare, so there were only two of them, but that was more than enough to handle the contestants. Normally, it only took a moment to erase a pattern with powerful Spiritual Power, so there was no concern about the process dragging on.

They went to Lin Xuan and Sun Zhe respectively, picked up the weapons, and began to erase the patterns with their powerful Spiritual Power. The Fourth Grade Pattern Master who started on Lin Xuan’s weapon frowned, seemingly running into trouble. In contrast, things went a bit more smoothly for Sun Zhe; his pattern was erased before long, though it still took a considerable amount of time.

But Lin Xuan’s pattern had yet to be erased!

Sun Zhe’s expression turned ugly. He suspected the Pattern Master Association was deliberately holding back. ’How could a First Grade Pattern possibly be harder to erase than mine?’

’If the Pattern Master Association really did something like that, their reputation would be ruined. They wouldn’t do something so foolish. Could it be... that Lin Xuan’s pattern is really that formidable?’

"It’s no good. The Spiritual Power in this pattern is too condensed. I can erase it, but it’s going to take more time," the Fourth Grade Pattern Master said, his eyes filled with shock. He clearly hadn’t expected it to be so difficult to remove.

"Let me try!" Sun Zhe refused to believe it. He strode over to the Fourth Grade Pattern Master, wanting to test it himself.

"I’m sorry, but you can’t do that. It’s against the rules," the Fourth Grade Pattern Master said with a frown. ’Regulations are regulations; they can’t be broken.’

"Let him try," Luo Xiao interjected.

’Even I want to go down and test it myself, to see just how condensed this Spiritual Power is. Only an extremely condensed power could achieve this, but that would require an incredible level of Spiritual Control Power.’

The Fourth Grade Pattern Master had no choice but to obey Luo Xiao, handing the weapon to Sun Zhe to let him try for himself.

"It really is an acceleration pattern..." Sun Zhe’s expression changed the moment he took the weapon and felt it.

He immediately poured his formidable Spiritual Power into the weapon, trying to shatter the pattern’s imprint. But his seemingly overwhelming Spiritual Power felt as if it had crashed against a solid wall, failing to cause the slightest ripple.

"Th-this is impossible!" Sun Zhe was dumbfounded. He had been skeptical before, but now that it was his turn, he found it truly was impossible to break!

The Fourth Grade Pattern Master gave him a scornful look. ’I’ll admit Sun Zhe has a powerful background, but doubting the Spiritual Power of a genuine Fourth Grade Pattern Master like me... that’s just disrespectful.’

"I... I can’t erase it..." Sun Zhe’s face turned a deep shade of crimson. This was just self-inflicted humiliation. It had nothing to do with him, yet he had rushed up only to make a fool of himself.

His words sent a wave of shocked gasps through the entire audience. This time, no one had anything left to say. The Pattern Master Association might fake the results, but a disciple of the Divine Rune Sect would never lie—especially not an opponent. He would never say anything to help Lin Xuan.

It could only mean that Lin Xuan’s First Grade Pattern had truly reached an incredibly high level of stability. They remembered what Lin Xuan had said before. ’Isn’t this competition about stability?’

For them, it was a blatant mockery. Those who had laughed at him were now utterly ashamed. The First Grade Pattern wasn’t just stable; it was in a class of its own.

"Clan Leader Fang, what do you think? Is he a suitable helper for me to have recruited?" Liu Qing taunted, feeling immensely satisfied.

Fang Feng snorted coldly and didn’t reply, but his eyes blazed with anger. ’How could a First Grade Pattern have such an effect?’

"You’ve finally matured... truly matured. Forged in the storm, you’ve become a dragon..." Lin Feng muttered to himself.

The fact that he’d used the lowest Grade pattern to shatter everyone’s perceptions created a disparity that was simply too much for many to accept.

"The stability of this First Grade Pattern has reached the level of a Fourth Grade Pattern. That’s why I said it would take some time to erase it," the Fourth Grade Pattern Master explained as he took back the weapon and resumed his work.

A First Grade Pattern with the stability of a Fourth Grade Pattern!

The statement was incredibly impactful. ’How in the world did Lin Xuan manage it?’

"Interesting, truly interesting!" Luo Xiao boomed with laughter. "Lin Keqing, I wonder, how did you accomplish this?"

The name "Lin Keqing" stunned the members of the audience who didn’t know Lin Xuan. At the same time, the name of a famous figure echoed in their minds—Lin Yunlong!

"I admit that High-Grade Patterns are more stable than low-grade ones. However, inscribing them consumes far too much energy. So, I opted to inscribe a First Grade Pattern and simply pour more Spiritual Power into it. When the Spiritual Power contained within a pattern is high, it becomes difficult to erase. That’s just common sense, isn’t it? And since the difficulty is much lower, it’s very easy to control," Lin Xuan explained with a faint smile.

His "common sense" remark was like a slap across the face to every other contestant. It was the most fundamental of fundamentals! Regardless of the Grade, as long as the Spiritual Power was dense enough, the pattern would become incredibly stable. High-Grade Patterns could be more stable, but they consumed too much energy, leaving one with insufficient reserves to continue reinforcing them.

It was like filling a large vat with water. You could use a small bucket and slowly fill it up. It would be slow, but it would take less effort. A large bucket would be faster, but if you lacked the strength, you might only fill it halfway before needing to sit down and rest.

Clearly, these contestants hadn’t paid attention to their own limits. They had just desperately pushed for higher Grades. If they were truly powerful, it wouldn’t have mattered, but they were all rookies! No matter how talented, they were still just inexperienced rookies.

"The fundamentals are what’s most important. A word of advice for you all: if you don’t even understand the objective of the test, how can you possibly compete?" Lin Xuan said with a calm smile, his placid tone a counterattack against all who had mocked him.

If you don’t even understand the objective, how can you compete!

His words echoed what he’d said earlier: the competition was about stability, not about High-Grade Patterns.

"Well said!" Liu Qing leaped to his feet and applauded enthusiastically. The others in his party joined in, but they were a small minority. A frigid atmosphere fell over the rest of the venue.

’We’ve all been humiliated. Applauding now would be the ultimate embarrassment, wouldn’t it?’

Luo Xiao, however, didn’t care whether they lost face or not. He joined in the applause and declared, "This has always been the nature of this test. A steady and solid approach is the correct path!"

Inwardly, the powerful figures present all marveled at Lin Xuan’s audacity. ’To dare say such things... he’s practically making enemies of half the people here. But then again, no one showed him any respect, so why should he show any to them?’

If someone showed him an inch of respect, he would return it by a mile. But if someone insulted him, he would strike back with twice the force.

The name Lin Yunlong was destined to echo throughout the Empire.