Devouring Soul Emperor

At that moment, Tan Qiu and Wen Yanlie were filled with immense regret. They regretted collaborating with Zhang Yunqiu and Huang Ju, and getting involved in this mess.

However, regret was useless. Chu Qingyun had long since decided to kill them!

"You’re the ones I’m here to kill!"

Chu Qingyun charged forward and slashed down with his sword.

Although Tan Qiu tried his best to resist, with only a Control-type Martial Soul, he was not skilled in direct, head-on confrontations. He was utterly incapable of blocking Chu Qingyun’s ferocious strike!

Another slash, and Tan Qiu was instantly killed!

Three men, three slashes. One slash, one kill!

Chu Qingyun had cut down three people in a row, completely stunning everyone present. As for Wen Yanlie, he was so terrified that he shrank to the side, trembling uncontrollably.

"Chu... Chu, don’t kill me! I can cooperate with you! No, I’ll listen to you from now on! Even after we join the Great Xia Dragon Guard, I’ll do whatever you say..."

Desperate to survive, Wen Yanlie dropped to his knees and begged for his life.

But when he heard Wen Yanlie say the name "Chu," Chu Qingyun was instantly filled with utter disgust!

This kind of person acted friendly on the surface but was duplicitous and backstabbing. He wouldn’t hesitate for a second to betray his teammates for his own selfish gain!

’I must have been blind to have ever cooperated with someone like that!’

The killing intent he felt toward Wen Yanlie even surpassed what he had felt for Zhang Yunqiu and the others!

Sensing that Chu Qingyun had no intention of letting him go, Wen Yanlie’s eyes turned vicious. He suddenly straightened up from his kneeling position and shouted, "If you’re going to kill me, I’m taking you down with me! Everyone, listen up! Chu Qingyun has...!"

His voice came to an abrupt halt.

A longsword shimmering with lightning had pierced through Wen Yanlie’s neck. Half the blade protruded from the nape of his neck.

"What do I have? A Spirit Level Treasure Sword? Did you think everyone else is an idiot and needs you to explain it to them?" Chu Qingyun looked down at Wen Yanlie, his eyes filled with mockery.

’You want to expose my secrets? Do you have what it takes?’

With the formidable Life Power of a level-nine Martial Artist, he wouldn’t die immediately even with his neck pierced.

"Ghk... Ghk..."

Wen Yanlie’s eyes widened as he struggled to say the two words "Storage Ring," but his vocal cords had been destroyed, and he couldn’t make a sound.

Some of the people nearby also looked at Wen Yanlie with utter contempt.

"Fuck, I thought he was going to say something important. Turns out it was just the Spirit Level Treasure Sword. I recognized it at first glance."

"What a country bumpkin. Getting all worked up over a Spirit Level Treasure Sword. We’re the Great Xia Dragon Guard! You think we need you to point that out?"

Amidst the contemptuous gazes and words, and under Chu Qingyun’s mocking stare, the light in Wen Yanlie’s eyes gradually faded, and his life ebbed away.

Tan Qiu possessed a Tier Three, Control-type Martial Soul.

Chu Qingyun weighed his options and decided not to keep this Martial Soul. Its Soul Techniques overlapped somewhat with his Ten-Star Vine Martial Soul and his Swallowing Mud Worm Soul. Moreover, this was a critical time to strengthen his Devouring Martial Soul to Tier Four.

As for Wen Yanlie’s Tier Three Iron Wall Martial Soul, Chu Qingyun naturally decided to keep it.

Once the devouring process was complete and he obtained the Iron Wall Martial Soul, he would finally possess the four major types of Martial Souls: Offensive, Defensive, Control, and Support!

Of course, these were just decisions for the future. Right now, the Devouring Martial Soul’s progress on absorbing Zhang Yunqiu’s Martial Soul was at a pitiful 1%.

By Chu Qingyun’s estimation, a Tier Three Devouring Martial Soul absorbing another Tier Three Martial Soul would likely take about the same amount of time as before—around three days to complete.

After dealing with Zhang Yunqiu’s group of four, the once-chaotic scene had long since calmed down.

Both the members of the Great Xia Dragon Guard and the Examiners were deeply shocked by the battle that had just occurred.

Nearly everyone present was green with envy over the Thundercloud Sword in Chu Qingyun’s hand, desperately wanting it for themselves.

But at this moment, no one dared to make a move. They even carefully concealed their ambition.

Because Chu Qingyun had just demonstrated his strength and his resolve!

’Strength? I can kill a captain of the Great Xia Dragon Guard in a single blow. Which of you can stop me!?’

’Resolve? I dared to kill three Great Xia Dragon Guard captains in a row. Who among you thinks your status is so special that I wouldn’t dare to kill you!?’

Immense strength, ruthless methods, and decisive in killing!

All this combined allowed Chu Qingyun to temporarily intimidate everyone present, suppressing their greed for the Military Merits and the Spirit Level Treasure Sword.

Chu Qingyun secretly nodded at this, inwardly satisfied.

This was precisely the effect he had been aiming for when he used his strongest move right from the start and then killed three men in succession.

However, things rarely go according to plan.

Just as Chu Qingyun was preparing to take advantage of the situation and seize the Assessment Tokens from Xia He and Zhao Hanfeng, Xia He made the first move.

His body was suddenly enveloped in a faint cyan stream of Qi. He charged to Zhao Hanfeng’s side, snatched the Assessment Token from his grasp, and then leaped into the air. His body seeming to become incredibly light, he glided clean out of the crowd and fled into the distance.

For a moment, everyone, including Chu Qingyun, was stunned.

They were truly shocked by Xia He. That guy was so... audacious!

He had clearly become a public target, the prey everyone was watching, and he was completely surrounded. Yet he still dared to escape, and before escaping, he even dared to steal Zhao Hanfeng’s Assessment Token!

"That kid, he took Zhao Hanfeng’s Military Merits!" someone in the crowd suddenly exclaimed.

Chu Qingyun took out his Assessment Token and looked. Sure enough, Zhao Hanfeng’s name had plummeted down the list, while Xia He’s Military Merits had become a terrifying 11,620!

A single person had obtained over ten thousand Military Merits!

An amount of Military Merits that would make even Guard General Liu Canghai green with envy!

At this point, no more words were necessary.

SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH...

Figures shot out like sharp arrows, chasing in the direction Xia He had fled. If one looked closely, you could even see a reddish glint in the depths of their eyes.

Chu Qingyun, too, sighed in frustration and quickly gave chase.

A moment of carelessness had led to failure at the final hurdle. But Xia He’s audacity had truly been beyond everyone’s expectations.

For short bursts of speed, Chu Qingyun could use the vines of his Ten-Star Vine and perhaps not fear level-eight or level-nine Martial Artists.

But in a long-distance chase, his disadvantage as a slower level-seven Martial Artist was exposed. And as the pursuit dragged on, this weakness was only magnified.

At first, Chu Qingyun could still see the backs of the higher-level Martial Artists ahead of him.

But gradually, those figures began to blur, until they vanished into the valley’s thick fog. He could only follow the sounds of shouting and fighting up ahead.

After a while longer, even the sounds of fighting and clamor grew fainter, until finally, he couldn’t hear anything at all, with no idea where they had gone.

Along the way, the other level-seven Martial Artists who had fallen behind also began to give up and disperse one by one.