Devouring Soul Emperor

"You bastard! I’ll fight you to the death!"

Tie Mingyuan’s eyes were practically splitting with rage. He roared and charged recklessly at Ma Zhiyong. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

However, with his strength as a Third-level Martial Artist, he was no match at all. Ma Zhiyong easily kicked him to the ground.

Ma Zhiyong planted his foot on Tie Mingyuan’s face and said contemptuously, "Look at you, like a dead dog. What can you do? Huh? What can you do?"

Just then, the opposite wall suddenly collapsed with a BOOM. A tall figure shot into the room like a cannonball and wrapped Ma Zhiyong in a bear hug.

Ma Zhiyong struggled with all his might, unleashing powerful Primordial Power from his entire body.

But to his horror, he found it was completely useless. The arms holding him didn’t loosen in the slightest—they didn’t even budge!

The dust settled.

Only then did they see clearly that the one holding Ma Zhiyong wasn’t a person, but a tall puppet!

After being repaired, the puppet could now unleash the power of a Ninth-level Martial Artist. Having fallen into the puppet’s hands, Ma Zhiyong had absolutely no chance of escape!

"Chu Qingyun! It’s you! You’re not dead!"

Recognizing the person outside, Ma Zhiyong, Mr. Zhu, and Mr. Hou’s expressions all changed as they couldn’t help but exclaim in shock.

The short, fat Mr. Zhu sneered, "Kid, you refuse the path to heaven and barge right through the gates of hell. Did you really think that just because you couldn’t beat us before, you can turn the tables now?"

The puppet had only restrained Ma Zhiyong and hadn’t displayed the combat power of a Ninth-level Martial Artist, so they had no idea of its true depth. Otherwise, they certainly wouldn’t have been so arrogant.

However, even without the puppet, Chu Qingyun was confident he could deal with the two of them, because he had already taken out the Thundercloud Sword from his Storage Ring.

"Oh, that’s right. I forgot I can’t beat you. Oh my, what should I do?" Chu Qingyun shook his head, feigning regret.

"Hahaha! Scared now, are you? If you’re scared, then hurry up and kneel to your Grandpa Zhu, then obediently come back with us. If Patriarch Zhao is in a good mood, he might just spare your life," Mr. Zhu couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

Patriarch Zhao!

Chu Qingyun’s expression turned serious, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

A Patriarch Zhao who could command two Eighth-level Martial Artists... Without a doubt, there could only be one such person in Flame City.

’I never thought the Zhao Family would be colluding with the Martial Soul Hall.’

Regarding the Martial Soul Hall, Chu Qingyun remembered Ning Xue telling him that they were the public enemy of the continent, a common foe to all Martial Artists. It seemed they were also hostile toward the Great Xia nation.

"Fatso, shut your stinking mouth!"

Beside them, Mr. Hou suddenly snapped, his expression ugly.

Realizing his slip of the tongue, Mr. Zhu’s expression changed. He glanced around guiltily. "It’s fine, it’s fine. There’s no one else. We’ll just silence them all later."

"Enough. Let’s do it. Kill this treacherous little brat first!"

Mr. Hou barked coldly and took the lead, striking from a distance. A massive claw mark materialized, radiating a sharp aura as it lunged fiercely toward Chu Qingyun.

’Having fought with people from the Martial Soul Hall several times now, I’ve noticed they use their Soul Techniques with incredible fluidity, without the slightest obstruction. Even I can’t do that.’

’Same old cheap tricks. Today, I’ll show you the power of a Spirit Level Divine Weapon!’

Chu Qingyun sneered inwardly and suddenly drew the Thundercloud Sword. As the Divine Weapon left its sheath, a brilliant, thick bolt of thunder erupted from the scabbard along with the Treasure Sword.

The thunderous light was blinding. Everyone was forced to squint and turn their heads away.

Amidst the blinding thunder, a sword aura flashed. Mr. Hou’s Soul Technique, the Splitting Claw, was neatly sliced in two down the middle, then obliterated by the thunder that followed.

After the Thunder Power stored in the scabbard dissipated, the courtyard, which had been momentarily illuminated, plunged back into darkness. Everyone’s gaze was fixed on the Treasure Sword in Chu Qingyun’s hand.

In the pitch-black night, the sword shimmered with a brilliant, thunderous light. Just a single glance was enough to feel the sharp and savage aura emanating from the Treasure Sword, enough to feel the power of that blade!

"Old Hou, that sword... it’s no ordinary item, is it?" Mr. Zhu said hoarsely, but no one answered.

"Old Hou? Old Hou... HISS!"

Mr. Zhu nudged Mr. Hou beside him. Then, Mr. Hou’s upper body suddenly toppled over. At his waist was a perfectly clean cut, charred black by electricity!

That last strike had not only shattered the Soul Technique Splitting Claw, but it had also sliced Mr. Hou, who was standing behind it, in two!

An Eighth-level Martial Artist, utterly unable to resist!

This was the true might of a Spirit Level Divine Weapon!

A breath or two after Mr. Hou’s upper body hit the ground, both halves of his corpse suddenly disintegrated, turning into a large cloud of brown gas.

Meanwhile, Chu Qingyun’s Devouring Martial Soul released a wave of Devouring Power, effortlessly absorbing the cloud of brown gas.

At almost the same instant, Chu Qingyun received a message from his Devouring Martial Soul: ’Tier Two Iron Monkey Martial Soul. Choose to keep or use to strengthen another Martial Soul.’

’It’s this situation again. It was the same when I killed Qian Sanpang. Are the people from the Martial Soul Hall really not human? I’ll test it on that fat guy.’

Chu Qingyun frowned slightly, casually chose to strengthen his Devouring Martial Soul, and then fixed his gaze on Mr. Zhu.

Finding himself targeted by Chu Qingyun, Mr. Zhu’s legs instantly went soft, and he began to tremble uncontrollably. "Kid, i-if you’ve got the guts, throw away that Treasure Sword and... and fight me fairly!"

"Fairly? What do you call fair?" Chu Qingyun sneered, approaching him step by step.

"Fair, of course, means relying on your own abilities! Relying on external power, on the power of a Divine Weapon—what kind of skill is that?"

Seeing that this seemed to be working, a flicker of hope sparked in Mr. Zhu’s heart.

However, he clearly didn’t understand Chu Qingyun.

’Relying on the power of a Treasure Sword is unfair? Is an Eighth-level Martial Artist versus a Fifth-level Martial Artist fair? Was two against one fair before?’

’So-called fairness is just an idealistic, non-existent concept.’

"Heh heh. Fair? Mr. Zhu, I didn’t expect someone of your age to still be so adorably naive. Should I praise you, or should I call you a fool?" Chu Qingyun sneered, completely unmoved.

"You... Go to hell! Demon-Slaying Staff!"

Mr. Zhu extended his hands, and a nearly two-meter-long, dark gold staff appeared in his grasp with complete fluidity, without the slightest pause.

The power of his Martial Soul combined with the surging Primordial Power of an Eighth-level Martial Artist, his staff came crashing down with overwhelming momentum.

However, with a casual swing of his sword, Chu Qingyun easily sliced the Demon-Slaying Staff into pieces. Against the sharpness of the Thundercloud Sword, it was severed without so much as a sound.

"Fatso, die! Let me confirm my suspicions!"

Chu Qingyun let out a cold cry and slashed out with his sword. Accompanied by the SIZZLE of thunder, he cut Mr. Zhu in two.