Devouring Soul Emperor

"If you want me to think, you should at least give me a hint. For example... what exactly is the Vermilion Bird?"

Chu Qingyun looked at the Level 9 Martial Artists and asked.

The men hesitated for a moment, exchanged glances, and nodded. One of them replied, "It’s not exactly a secret. The Vermilion Bird is a Martial Soul, and its owner is a person—a young woman."

Hearing this, a name immediately popped into Chu Qingyun’s mind: You Yun!

’Someone who could make the Martial Soul Hall mobilize such a large force must have an impressive background. And the only young women with impressive backgrounds I’ve met are You Yun and Ning Xue.’

’It’s obviously not Ning Xue, because Qian Sanpang has seen her. If it were her, Qian Sanpang would have definitely gone to make trouble for her directly.’

Although he was very surprised, Chu Qingyun didn’t show it on his face. Instead, he put on a look of deep thought, then said, "No, I can’t recall anything at all. Maybe we just brushed past each other on the road once."

Brushed past each other?

’Yeah, right!’

The expressions of the Level 9 Martial Artists darkened.

"Since you’re worthless, you can die. Kill him!"

"Thunder Sword Momentum!"

Before the man who gave the order could even finish speaking, Chu Qingyun unleashed his strongest sword strike.

However, he didn’t aim this strike at the enemies around him, but slammed it into the ground instead.

Instantly, a terrifying and violent power erupted from the ground. Countless withered branches and dead leaves were pulverized, sent flying into the air along with dust and rubble.

Visibility in the thick fog was already poor. With Chu Qingyun stirring things up, the people around him were blinded. Many even started to crowd and shove one another.

Seizing the opportunity, Chu Qingyun quickly activated his Thousand-Faced Illusion Body, completely transforming into the likeness of a Level 7 Martial Artist from the Martial Soul Hall who had died earlier, and squeezed into the crowd.

The dust settled, and visibility returned.

But when the people around looked toward the center again, Chu Qingyun was nowhere to be seen!

"What happened? Where’d he go?"

"He couldn’t have gone far in that short time! Everyone, check your surroundings carefully! See if that brat is hiding in the crowd! Stay alert!"

The men looked left and right, completely baffled. There was no sign of Chu Qingyun.

Meanwhile, Chu Qingyun himself was also pretending to look around—left, right, front, and back. He was indistinguishable from the other members of the Martial Soul Hall.

Although these people all belonged to the Lianshan County City branch of the Martial Soul Hall, they didn’t all answer to the same boss. The subordinates of the three Martial Spirit Strong Persons were all mixed together here.

They were supposedly divided into three groups, each led by their own Level 9 Martial Artists.

But in the heat of a real battle, whether chasing or being chased, it was common for people to get separated. It wouldn’t be strange to see one or two unfamiliar faces.

"Dammit, a living person just slipped away right under our noses?"

"Search! Spread out and search! Dig three feet deep if you have to, but find him!"

The Level 9 Martial Artists were furious.

Spreading out to search was, of course, exactly what Chu Qingyun wanted. He couldn’t wait for them to split up.

Maintaining the Thousand-Faced Illusion Soul Techniques, Chu Qingyun dispersed with a large group, slowly moving toward the valley exit.

After quietly finding a deserted spot, he deactivated the Soul Technique and rushed out of the valley at top speed.

He wanted to earn more Military Merits, but it was almost noon, and the time for the examination was nearly up.

Chu Qingyun had offended Liu Canghai before, so he didn’t want to fall into Liu Canghai’s hands over a few measly Military Merits and jeopardize what was truly important.

「Outside the Mist Forest.」

It was almost noon, less than an hour before the third stage of the examination, but not a single person—neither Great Xia Dragon Guard nor Examiner—had come out from inside.

This made Liu Canghai frown, a sense of foreboding creeping into his heart.

After another half an hour, someone finally rushed out. Seeing that people were emerging, Liu Canghai felt a little more at ease, but he still walked over, intending to ask about the situation.

The first one out was Xia He.

After shaking off those Martial Artists from the Martial Soul Hall, he had immediately unleashed his cyan Martial Soul Power and sprinted all the way out of the Mist Forest.

At the last moment, so many Martial Artists from the Martial Soul Hall had appeared, and a troop of elites at that.

Xia He already had a faint suspicion that something had gone terribly wrong this time.

"Ranked second in Military Merits, Xia He. You’ve done very well. How are things inside?" Liu Canghai walked over, offering a word of praise with a smile before asking his question.

After a fierce battle with the Martial Soul Hall’s Martial Artists, Xia He had gained another eight hundred-plus Military Merits, moving him into second place.

But Xia He just shot Liu Canghai a glance, snorted coldly, and ignored him.

Second place, with a little over eight hundred Military Merits, wasn’t even a fraction of a fraction of the first-place score. To Xia He, this was no great achievement; it was a disgrace.

Besides, it would be one thing if Chu Qingyun didn’t make it out. But if he did, Xia He would have to become his underling.

Thinking about this examination, Xia He was filled with inexplicable anger. Naturally, he was in a foul mood and couldn’t be bothered to deal with Liu Canghai.

"You... Xia He! What kind of attitude is that? Believe it or not, I can make sure you fail this examination!" Liu Canghai shouted, flying into a rage out of humiliation. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Xia He scoffed and said indifferently, "You can try."

’As a dignified Prince of the Great Xia nation, why would I fear a threat from a mere Liu Canghai?’

Just then, Sun Daxiong and another man came stumbling out of the Mist Forest, supporting each other.

Seeing the two of them, Liu Canghai grunted angrily, shot a glare at Xia He, and walked over.

Liu Canghai knew how to prioritize. Now was not the time to pick a fight with Xia He.

"Sun Daxiong, Zhao Jing, how did you two end up like this? What’s the situation inside?" Liu Canghai asked, his voice laced with urgency.

"Sir, we were ambushed by the Martial Soul Hall. The brothers... suffered heavy casualties!" Sun Daxiong said, looking around with a long sigh, his face a mask of grief.

Their group was one of the last to break out.

They had made it out, but there was almost no one else here. It was easy to imagine that the others were probably... all dead inside.

Hearing this, Liu Canghai’s expression changed instantly. His heart sank, and a heavy weight seemed to settle in his chest, making it hard to breathe.

"How many are still alive in there?" Liu Canghai asked, his face grim.

Sun Daxiong shook his head. "I don’t know. Our group was three captains and a Level 8 Martial Artist. Only two of us made it out, and that was with luck. As for the others, I’m afraid..."

The implication was clear. A team consisting of three captains and a Level 8 Martial Artist had been half-wiped out, and that was only because the people from the Martial Soul Hall had retreated at the last moment.

If it had been anyone else, their chances of breaking out would have been even slimmer.

"Damn it!"

Liu Canghai cursed under his breath, his body transforming into a streak of light as he rushed into the Mist Forest at high speed.

With his Martial Spirit Level speed, he reached the valley in less than twenty minutes.

But by then, the valley was deathly quiet. There wasn’t a single Martial Artist from the Martial Soul Hall to be seen.

Searching the valley, Liu Canghai found hundreds of corpses, all of them his own Great Xia Dragon Guards and the Examiners. Most were mangled beyond recognition by various Soul Techniques, a scene of utter carnage.

"This time... I’ve poked a hole in the heavens..."

Standing in the valley, Liu Canghai, a dignified Guard General of the Great Xia Dragon Guard, couldn’t stop his body from trembling...