Devouring Soul Emperor

The Swallowing Mud Worm Soul had already been strengthened to Tier Three, and both its area of effect and depth were greatly enhanced.

The mire appeared from the outer edges, then rapidly closed in toward the center. In just half a minute, everyone present was trapped inside.

Previously, the mire from the Tier One Swallowing Mud Worm Soul could barely submerge one’s ankles. But now, the mire from the Tier Three Swallowing Mud Worm Soul submerged them up to mid-calf, and the suction force within it was several times stronger.

Everyone, including those Ninth-level Martial Artists, found their movements severely restricted in the mire.

"What’s going on? Who the hell made this damn mire?"

"Bro, watch out! It’s a sneak attack!"

"Dammit, they’re trying to steal the Military Merits!"

In an instant, the situation descended into utter chaos.

Some people cautiously went on guard, while others cursed loudly, looking around to find the culprit. The more daring ones even attacked Zhao Hanfeng and Xia He directly, wanting to snatch their Assessment Tokens.

If Chu Qingyun had only ambushed a single person, it definitely wouldn’t have caused such widespread chaos. He might even have been mobbed by the crowd.

But attacking everyone at once? That was a different story entirely.

The four strongest teams, naturally, wouldn’t allow others to touch the Military Merits they already considered their own. They all moved to intervene, and thus, the chaos intensified.

Even many who didn’t want to fight were helplessly dragged into the fray.

Just then, Chu Qingyun withdrew the power of his Thousand-faced Martial Soul, reverted to his own appearance, and walked toward the crowd caught in the melee.

The Sinking into the Mire Soul Technique had been interrupted, and the mire was rapidly shrinking.

But that no longer mattered. Once a free-for-all began, it wasn’t so easy to end.

From what he had seen and heard, Chu Qingyun could guess that Zhang Yunqiu, Wen Yanlie, and the others hadn’t told anyone about his Storage Ring. Otherwise, the entire valley wouldn’t be frantically searching for Xia He, but for him, Chu Qingyun.

Soul Techniques flew wildly through the crowd; one careless move and you’d be hit.

However, any Soul Techniques that came near Chu Qingyun were easily shattered by the ten vines of his Ten-star Vine Martial Soul.

With Chu Qingyun’s perfect control over his Martial Soul Power and ten vines at his disposal, his defense was, one might say, watertight.

Chu Qingyun didn’t pause for a moment as he advanced. His gaze was icy, his target perfectly clear: the four-man group led by Zhang Yunqiu at the very center of the chaos!

Halfway there, Zhang Yunqiu and his group spotted Chu Qingyun. A look of wild joy instantly appeared in their eyes.

"Chu Qingyun, you actually dare to show your face here?" Zhang Yunqiu sneered, his eyes filled with hatred and resentment.

He had previously been severely wounded in one move by Chu Qingyun’s Puppet, allowing Chu Qingyun to escape. Because of this, he had suffered no small amount of blame and scorn from the other three members of his team.

"I’m here for Military Merits and revenge, of course," Chu Qingyun replied nonchalantly.

"Revenge? You? HAHAHA, that’s the funniest thing I’ve ever heard!" Zhang Yunqiu roared with laughter, as if he’d just heard the world’s most hilarious joke.

The remaining three—Huang Ju and the others—also broke into scornful laughter.

They had, of course, noticed that Chu Qingyun had advanced to become a Seventh-level Martial Artist.

But so what? A single Seventh-level Martial Artist trying to take on four Ninth-level Martial Artists with a complete and complementary set of Martial Souls? That was just a pipe dream!

Some of the others had also noticed Chu Qingyun’s arrival.

"Zhang Haizi, what kind of skill is ganging up on him? Xiaoyunzi, come over here! Your big bro Xiong has got your back!" Sun Daxiong shouted to Chu Qingyun after kicking away a Seventh-level Martial Artist Examiner.

"Captain Sun, I appreciate the kind offer, but I’m confident I can handle these four. They will all die today!"

Hearing Chu Qingyun’s words, the expressions of the three men next to Sun Daxiong soured.

In their view, Sun Daxiong offering to help was already giving the kid a huge amount of face. For him to actually refuse was simply ungrateful!

Sun Daxiong, however, said nothing. Instead, he gave Chu Qingyun a long, meaningful look.

"Old Zhang, let’s make our move! Grab the treasure first, and we’ll sort out the rest later!" Huang Ju whispered to Zhang Yunqiu.

"Kid, die!"

"Poisonous Palm!"

Zhang Yunqiu roared in excitement and charged at Chu Qingyun. His right palm turned a myriad of colors, giving off a foul, acrid wind as he ruthlessly struck out at Chu Qingyun.

This time, having learned his lesson from his previous careless defeat, he used a Soul Technique right from the start, determined to kill Chu Qingyun in a single blow!

However, watching the aggressive charge of Zhang Yunqiu, Chu Qingyun just snorted softly and gave a disdainful smile.

’He dares to charge at me alone?’

Only when Zhang Yunqiu was almost upon him did Chu Qingyun unhurriedly grip the hilt of his sword.

"Profound Celestial Divine Pattern!"

"Thunder Sword Manual, Second Form: Thunder Sword Momentum!"

The moment he drew his sword, wind and thunder surged. Chu Qingyun’s entire aura changed completely. Before drawing his sword, he was calm and composed. After, he was sharp, fierce, and savage.

As the second form of the Thunder Sword Manual, the power of Thunder Sword Momentum was more than ten times stronger than the first form, Thunderbolt Flash!

The rampaging Thunder Power easily blasted through all of Zhang Yunqiu’s defenses, while the Sword Momentum hidden within the thunder sliced him directly in two!

A single move. An instant kill on Zhang Yunqiu!

A dignified Guard Captain of the Great Xia Dragon Guard, an expert Ninth-level Martial Artist, hadn’t even been able to withstand a single blow from Chu Qingyun.

Instantly, everyone in the vicinity was stunned.

Huang Ju, Wen Yanlie, and the third man were all dumbstruck, practically petrified on the spot.

Although they had always looked down on Zhang Yunqiu’s intelligence, they had been confident in his strength. When it came to offense, Zhang Yunqiu’s Poisonous Palm Soul Technique was considered the strongest among them.

But they never expected that such a powerful attack, when clashing with Chu Qingyun’s, would be defeated in a single exchange!

Sun Daxiong’s eyes also went wide with astonishment, and the way he looked at Chu Qingyun quietly changed.

Before, he had just thought of Chu Qingyun as a resilient kid with a backbone who refused to admit defeat—someone he, Sun Daxiong, could appreciate.

He never thought that in just over half a month, Chu Qingyun’s strength would have skyrocketed so quickly.

Instantly killing Zhang Yunqiu in one move meant that even he, Sun Daxiong, probably wouldn’t last a single blow against Chu Qingyun now!

As for the three men on Sun Daxiong’s team, they shot him a somewhat reproachful glance. ’Holy crap, *this* is the kid you said had "a bit of strength"? You call *this* "a bit of strength"?!’

At that moment, the three of them were filled with both regret and relief.

They regretted looking down on Chu Qingyun earlier, and they were relieved that they hadn’t said anything stupid to him.

A Seventh-level Martial Artist who could instantly kill a captain of the Great Xia Dragon Guard... a person like that was someone you absolutely could not afford to offend...