Devouring Soul Emperor

Over the past half-month, the Cao Family’s twenty thousand top-grade Primordial Stones were delivered to the Golden Lion Martial Arts Hall on schedule.

Chu Qingyun accepted them without any pleasantries and sent them on their way.

He also finished devouring the two remaining Tier Three Martial Souls.

He chose to keep the Iron Wall Martial Soul. As a result, he now had an additional defensive-type Tier Three Martial Soul—Iron Wall—in his Qi Sea.

As for Tan Qiu’s Whisker Martial Soul, Chu Qingyun chose to use it to enhance his Devouring Martial Soul, strengthening it to 6%.

Chu Qingyun didn’t waste the rest of his time, either.

Instead, he dedicated himself to studying the third form of the Thunder Sword Manual and the second of the Celestial Sword Three Techniques: the Thrusting Sword Technique.

Both the Thunder Sword Manual and the Celestial Sword Three Techniques were incredibly profound sword arts. Even with Chu Qingyun’s talent, mastering their later stages was not something that could be done quickly.

Therefore, whenever he had a spare moment, Chu Qingyun would immerse himself in comprehending these two sword techniques.

Now that he had such a long stretch of free time, he naturally wouldn’t let it go to waste.

During this time, You Yun, in a break from her usual habits, frequently came to watch Chu Qingyun practice his sword. She would even occasionally join him to study and discuss it.

Chu Qingyun discovered that You Yun had an incredibly broad perspective. Discussing things with her often brought him unexpected inspiration and benefits, allowing both his own perspective and his sword technique to improve by leaps and bounds.

When one is busy, time seems to fly by.

Before Chu Qingyun knew it, more than half a month had quietly passed.

One day, Sun Daxiong and Xia He arrived at the Golden Lion Martial Arts Hall once more.

Many people at the Golden Lion Martial Arts Hall now recognized the two. Knowing they were the high-ranking Great Xia Dragon Guard, no one stopped them, and they were let right in.

"Haha, Xia He, I win again! Chu is still training, just as I expected." Sun Daxiong laughed heartily as he and Xia He walked over.

Xia He just shook his head helplessly. ’What a madman. He’s already so powerful, yet he still trains this hard. How is anyone else supposed to keep up...’

"Chu, training hard is a good thing, but you need to balance work and rest," Sun Daxiong said. "If you don’t seize the day and have some fun, what’s the point of living?"

Chu Qingyun smiled. "I’ll be heading to the County City soon. I’m sure it’s teeming with experts and geniuses. If I don’t train hard, I won’t have any confidence at all."

"If you want to go have fun, you two go on without me. I’m going to train a little longer."

Sun Daxiong and Xia He exchanged a look and smiled.

"Chu, I’m afraid you have to go out today," Sun Daxiong said.

’I have to go out?’

’Could it be...?’

"That’s right. After the Great Xia Dragon Guard in Lianshan County City received Guard General Liu’s report, they immediately dispatched people. An advance scout just arrived and said the main contingent will be in Flame City shortly."

"Chu, the one leading the group this time is a Grand Commander at the Earth Spirit Realm. He even brought three Lord Guardians with him. That just shows how seriously the County City is taking this."

As he spoke, the smile vanished from Sun Daxiong’s face.

Although the primary responsibility for this incident will certainly fall on Liu Canghai.

But they were involved, after all. If nothing else, they’ve already been marked as failures in the Grand Commander’s eyes.

With a Grand Commander from the Earth Spirit Realm leading the group personally, Chu Qingyun didn’t dare to be complacent. He quickly changed his clothes and rushed to the City Lord’s Mansion with Sun Daxiong and Xia He.

The Martial Spirit Realm is divided into three tiers. Levels one through three are known as the Small Spirit Realm, levels four through six are the Earth Spirit Realm, and levels seven through nine are the Celestial Spirit Realm.

A Grand Commander at the Earth Spirit Realm was already considered a true powerhouse within the Martial Spirit Realm.

As the three of them returned to the City Lord’s Mansion, they happened to run into Liu Canghai and Zhao Jing coming out.

There was no good will to be found when enemies met face-to-face.

Liu Canghai shot Chu Qingyun a venomous glare. Without a word, he let out a cold snort and strode quickly toward the city gate with Zhao Jing.

With the Grand Commander arriving in person, and Liu Canghai being in disgrace, he naturally didn’t dare to act high and mighty. He had to go to the city gate to greet him.

Chu Qingyun and his two companions followed as well, keeping their distance from Liu Canghai and Zhao Jing as they all headed for the city gate.

The five of them split into two groups—one of three, one of two—and stood waiting at the city gate.

After about fifteen minutes, the faint sound of horse hooves could be heard in the distance.

The sound of hooves grew clearer and closer, and soon, a formidable troop of cavalry could be seen in the distance, rapidly approaching Flame City.

Seven or eight hundred riders charged right up to the city gate before finally slowing to a halt.

The trampling hooves kicked up a man-high cloud of dust, forcing the five of them to squint and hold their breath as they were coated in dirt.

The others could endure the slight indignity.

Xia He, however, quietly clenched his fists. It took all his effort to barely suppress the rage boiling inside him.

At the very front, mounted on a tall steed, was a distinguished-looking middle-aged man who appeared to be in his thirties.

Chu Qingyun couldn’t detect any trace of Qi from him, yet he felt an overwhelming sense of reverence, as if gazing up at a towering mountain.

Chu Qingyun knew this was because the gap between their cultivation Realms was simply too vast.

If he wasn’t mistaken, this must be the Grand Commander at the Earth Spirit Realm that Sun Daxiong had told him about: Chuyu.

"Your subordinate, Liu Canghai, pays his respects to Grand Commander Yu!"

Ignoring the swirling dust, Liu Canghai gave the middle-aged man a deep bow, not daring to show the slightest impropriety.

"Liu Canghai... Hmph!"

Grand Commander Chu Yu shot him a glance and snorted coldly. He ignored him completely, leading his men on horseback straight through the city gate.

The city gate guards had long since hidden themselves off to the side, trembling in fear.

According to the laws of the Great Xia, riding horses within a city was forbidden.

But in these lesser cities, the Great Xia Dragon Guard had always ignored that rule, to say nothing of a Grand Commander leading the way.

Only in the County City itself was this rule strictly enforced, and no one dared to defy it.

The group filed in on horseback, and the dust they kicked up completely coated the five of them, leaving them looking utterly wretched.

Only after everyone had entered did the five of them begin to shake the dust from their clothes and follow the group back to the City Lord’s Mansion.

"Damn it, what was that? Trying to put us in our place? Shit, they’re trying to pull that crap on *me*!?"

Xia He was practically beside himself with rage. As a Prince of Great Xia, when had he ever been treated this way? He couldn’t help but complain furiously on the way back.

Sun Daxiong gave a wry smile. "Come on, let it go. So what if they’re trying to put us in our place? This whole affair is serious. We should be glad he didn’t chew us out in public. Among the Grand Commanders, Lord Chuyu is actually known for having a better temper..."

With heavy hearts, the five of them followed the main contingent into the City Lord’s Mansion.