Devouring Soul Emperor

"Wonderful! Since you’ve agreed, is there anything you need? Here in the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower, I still have some authority."

Qin Ya looked overjoyed, her two captivating, large eyes crinkling into crescents as she smiled.

Chu Qingyun pondered for a moment, then decided not to be polite. "I need Ice-type Demon Cores and Primordial Stones. To be honest, I don’t even have the Primordial Stones to operate my Puppet..."

At this, Chu Qingyun couldn’t help but give a bitter smile.

"You bought all the Tier Two Ice-type Demon Cores last time, so there aren’t many left for now. We have two Tier Three Demon Cores, but they’re just ordinary ones... It looks like I can only support you with some Primordial Stones."

In the end, Chu Qingyun left the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower with his repaired Puppet and five thousand Top-Grade Primordial Stones that Qin Ya had given him.

Before he left, Qin Ya specifically warned Chu Qingyun to be careful of the Zhao Family. It seemed she sensed something was wrong with them.

By the time he returned to the Golden Lion Martial Arts Hall, it was already afternoon. Tomorrow was the day he would go to the City Lord’s Mansion for the start of the Great Xia Dragon Guard assessment.

That night, after dark, You Yun came to Chu Qingyun’s room.

He hadn’t seen You Yun for several days, so Chu Qingyun couldn’t help but be curious about her whereabouts.

"These past few days, I’ve been gathering intelligence at the Assassin Alliance. According to the information I found, there’s a big problem with the Zhao Family of Flame City. You must be extremely careful during the Great Xia Dragon Guard assessment. If it comes down to it, just give up. Survival is what’s most important."

You Yun’s expression was incredibly serious as she said this.

Hearing this, Chu Qingyun couldn’t help but feel surprised. Just a short while ago, Qin Ya had told him to be wary of the Zhao Family, and now You Yun was also saying they were trouble.

"The Zhao Family? What’s wrong with them?" Chu Qingyun asked with a frown.

You Yun hesitated for a moment, then shook her head. "It’s complicated. Just be careful, that’s all."

...

Meanwhile, in another part of Flame City, the Zhao Mansion was brightly lit and bustling with activity. Today, the Patriarch of the Zhao Family was hosting a distinguished guest.

Inside a luxurious room, a dozen or so people sat around a table, exchanging toasts. Strangely, the person in the seat of honor was not the Zhao Family Patriarch, but a cold-faced, middle-aged man.

Next to the middle-aged man in the seat of honor sat someone Chu Qingyun knew: Liu Lang.

As it turned out, that middle-aged man was the one in charge of the Great Xia Dragon Guard assessment, the Guard General of this battalion: Liu Canghai.

"Han Feng, Yun Hao, Tian Jie, come and pay your respects to Lord Liu." The Zhao Family Patriarch, Zhao Yongzhi, his face beaming, introduced the so-called Zhao’s Three Heroes of the younger generation to Liu Canghai.

After the three of them had each offered a respectful toast, Zhao Yongzhi said with a smile, "Lord Liu, these are the three from my Zhao Family participating in the Great Xia Dragon Guard assessment this time. I hope Lord Liu will look after them, haha."

The corner of Liu Canghai’s mouth twitched. In a somewhat chilling voice, he said, "Regarding the assessment, I, as Guard General, will handle things impartially and show no favoritism. However, the three young masters of the Zhao Family are indeed powerful. I’m sure they will be able to achieve good results."

Zhao Yongzhi was, of course, extremely familiar with such platitudes.

All that talk about handling things impartially and showing no favoritism was just official jargon. The real point was in the second half of the sentence.

To say they could achieve good results before the assessment had even begun—the meaning behind that didn’t need to be spelled out.

At once, the atmosphere grew even livelier. The Elders and high-ranking members of the Zhao Family took turns offering toasts, their flattery relentless, until even Liu Canghai’s cold face broke into a smile.

The banquet lasted until midnight. After seeing off Liu Canghai and Liu Lang, the Zhao Family Patriarch, Zhao Yongzhi, summoned Zhao’s Three Heroes, led by Zhao Hanfeng, to his study.

"I just learned from Liu Hujun that in this Great Xia Dragon Guard assessment, there are five spots that grant an immediate captaincy. Among the participants, two are Level Nine Martial Masters with ten-win streaks. They will definitely take two of the spots. As for the remaining three, what are your thoughts?"

Zhao Yongzhi sat upright in his chair and swept his gaze over Zhao Hanfeng and the other two. His eyes were perfectly clear, with no trace of intoxication.

The three of them glanced at each other, and it was Zhao Hanfeng who spoke up. "We will naturally do our best to fight for those three spots."

Zhao Yongzhi shook his head and said, "Not do your best to fight for them, but secure them! Of the five spots, aside from the two for the Level Nine Martial Masters, the other three must all belong to our Zhao Family!"

"This..."

Zhao Hanfeng and the other two all had troubled expressions on their faces.

The participants competing in the Great Xia Dragon Guard assessment were Great Xia warriors from all over Lianshan County.

Although the three of them were considered geniuses in Flame City, to fight for three spots among hundreds of Great Xia warriors—and to have to secure all of them—was an impossibly difficult task.

Zhao Yongzhi stood up from his chair, his face grim. "This isn’t a goal I’m setting for you," he said. "This is a direct order from the Old Ancestor!"

Hearing this, the expressions of Zhao Hanfeng and the others turned solemn. They gritted their teeth and said, "Since it is the Old Ancestor’s command, we will accomplish it even if it costs us our lives!"

Zhao Yongzhi nodded in satisfaction and said with a smile, "Very good. You are all the future hope of our Zhao Family. But you don’t need to worry. The Old Ancestor said he has already made arrangements. As long as you do your best, these three spots will all belong to our Zhao Family. When that time comes, our Zhao Family having three captains in the Great Xia Dragon Guard will be a celebrated tale in Flame City! Hahaha..."

...

Early the next morning, Chu Qingyun got out of bed and hurried to the City Lord’s Mansion to participate in the assessment.

The Great Xia Dragon Guard assessment was divided into three stages, the first of which was held within the City Lord’s Mansion.

By the time Chu Qingyun arrived at a plaza inside the City Lord’s Mansion, he discovered that no fewer than three hundred people were already waiting, with more constantly arriving.

"’Over three hundred Great Xia warriors... basically all the Martial Master Level geniuses from the entire Lianshan County are here...’"

Looking at the cold, arrogant, or indifferent faces around him, a sense of fighting spirit and boldness surged within Chu Qingyun’s heart.

’He, too, had a place in this contest of a county’s geniuses.’

’And this time, he would not be defeated!’

"Well, well, if it isn’t Chu Qingyun. How come you’re not hiding behind a woman this time?"

"Haha, there are no women for him to hide behind here. He can’t even find a place to mooch."

Suddenly, two very discordant voices came from behind him.

Chu Qingyun turned his head and a cold smile appeared on his face. As expected, it was Zhao’s Three Heroes from the Zhao Family. It seemed they were still holding a grudge about what happened at the Cao Family’s home the other day. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"’Chu Qingyun, you’d better pray you don’t run into us during the assessment. Otherwise, you’re dead!’ Zhao Hanfeng said with a sneer."

Whether it was Chu Qingyun’s refusal to give them face or his relationship with Qin Ya, everything about him rubbed Zhao Hanfeng the wrong way.