Devouring Soul Emperor

With a Grand Commander of the Great Xia Dragon Guard arriving in person, the City Lord of Flame City dared not show any neglect. He personally led a large contingent of men and lined them up outside the City Lord’s Mansion in welcome.

However, he was not met with a pleasant expression from the Grand Commander, who simply ordered them to arrange accommodations for his subordinates.

Upon entering the City Lord’s Mansion, Grand Commander Chu Yu wasted no time. He immediately summoned Liu Canghai and the other four. Joining him were three Guard Generals of the Great Xia Dragon Guard and two special envoys.

"Liu Canghai, report. What exactly happened?"

Grand Commander Chu Yu was seated at the head of the room, his voice betraying no emotion.

Liu Canghai had previously sent him a secret message using a Tier Two Demon Beast, a Green Worm.

But the message had been too brief, providing only a general outcome. They were still unclear on the specific details of what had transpired.

"Reporting to the Grand Commander, at the time..."

Liu Canghai recounted the entire sequence of events from his own perspective.

As he spoke, however, he deliberately glossed over his own desire for the ten thousand-plus Military Merits, as well as his own indecisiveness, downplaying them as much as possible.

Furthermore, he repeatedly emphasized that they had been set up from the very beginning and that this outcome was entirely due to faulty intelligence.

His intention was obvious: to shirk responsibility and drag others down with him to share the blame.

After listening to Liu Canghai’s statement, Grand Commander Chu Yu fell silent. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "Liu Canghai, are you suggesting this matter has nothing to do with you?"

"I wouldn’t dare, Grand Commander. This matter... I also bear a great deal of responsibility..." Liu Canghai hastily bowed his head and admitted his fault, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

"You two captains of the Great Xia Dragon Guard, you may speak as well."

After Liu Canghai bowed his head in admission of his mistake, Grand Commander Chu Yu turned to Sun Daxiong and Zhao Jing.

Sun Daxiong and Zhao Jing didn’t dare to hide anything. They gave a completely faithful account of everything, from beginning to end.

When he heard how the people in the valley had been locked in a frenzied standoff over the ten thousand-plus Military Merits, Grand Commander Chu Yu’s expression shifted. He seemed to catch the scent of a conspiracy.

In truth, Liu Canghai had sensed something was off back then as well.

However, he had been blinded by the prospect of those Military Merits and was overconfident in the Great Xia Dragon Guard, so he hadn’t given it much thought.

And when Sun Daxiong and Zhao Jing described how they were intercepted and besieged by a large group of elite Martial Artists from the Martial Soul Hall upon their escape, Grand Commander Chu Yu’s expression turned utterly grim.

Such a blatant siege was nothing less than a naked provocation against the Great Xia Dragon Guard!

A provocation against the Great Xia itself!

After Sun Daxiong and Zhao Jing finished speaking, Grand Commander Chu Yu turned his gaze to Chu Qingyun and Xia He.

This time, however, his expression was noticeably softer.

Grand Commander Chu Yu was not an unreasonable man who lost his temper for no reason. He knew that this matter had little to do with the Examiners.

One could even say the Examiners were the biggest victims!

"You two must be Chu Qingyun and Xia He?" Grand Commander Chu Yu already knew their names from the descriptions given by Sun Daxiong and the others.

"Greetings, Grand Commander," they both said, clasping their hands in salute.

Grand Commander Chu Yu nodded and said with a smile, "To snatch over ten thousand Military Merits from hundreds of elites and break through the blockade of the Martial Soul Hall’s finest... you two have done very well. Welcome to the Great Xia Dragon Guard. Welcome to the Celestial Wind Army."

After questioning everyone, Grand Commander Chu Yu had a general understanding of the whole affair. Then, he turned to look at Liu Canghai again.

"Liu Canghai, when the anomaly with the Military Merits appeared on the assessment light screen, what were you doing?"

Faced with the Grand Commander’s question, Liu Canghai quickly lowered his head. "Reporting to the Grand Commander, at the time... I thought there was a problem with the light screen or the Assessment Tokens, so I was investigating."

"Investigating?" Grand Commander Chu Yu sneered. "Then what about your Personal Guards? Why did they all end up dead in that valley!?"

"I..."

Liu Canghai was speechless, his face turning pale.

"Nothing to say?"

"I’d say you had your eyes on those ten thousand-plus Military Merits! You couldn’t bear to call off the assessment, so you sent your Personal Guards in instead!"

"As a Guard General, you were tempted by Military Merits at a critical moment. You were indecisive when a decision had to be made, and you missed the best opportunity to order a retreat! Liu Canghai, you cannot escape the blame for this!"

"Why must a Guard General accompany every major operation? Hmm? Why?! Isn’t it precisely so you can make decisions at critical moments?!"

"A dignified Guard General, and only two of your subordinates are left alive! You’ve been reduced to a commander with no troops! How does that make you look? You’ve brought shame upon the entire Celestial Wind Army!"

The more Grand Commander Chu Yu spoke, the angrier he became. In front of everyone, he pointed a finger in Liu Canghai’s face and gave him a vicious dressing-down.

The Great Xia Dragon Guard of Lianshan County is composed of Six Armies, and the Celestial Wind Army was already the weakest. As such, its Grand Commanders were often ridiculed by the Grand Commanders of the other Five Armies.

Now, with this major incident, it was safe to say that everyone in the Celestial Wind Army, from top to bottom, was under immense pressure.

Otherwise, the Celestial Wind Army Master wouldn’t have dispatched a Grand Commander the moment he received the news.

Facing the fury of an Earth Spirit Realm expert, Liu Canghai’s face was ashen. Cold sweat dripped from his forehead, and his entire body couldn’t help but tremble.

But deep in his heart, a sliver of resentment began to quietly grow. ’Grand Commander Chu Yu is going too far! Even if he won’t give me any face, he should at least show some respect to my uncle! Berating me like this in front of so many people, including my own two captains... How will I ever be able to hold my head up again?!’

"Liu Canghai, what have you been doing for the past half a month?" Having vented his anger, Grand Commander Chu Yu had calmed down considerably and continued his questioning.

Liu Canghai quickly replied, "Reporting to the Grand Commander, I believe this matter is definitely connected to the Zhao Family of Flame City. So, for the past half a month, I have been thoroughly investigating the Zhao Family, and the results..."

"And what were the results?"

"N-No results. Everything with the Zhao Family is normal. They’re preparing for the funeral of Zhao’s Three Heroes, and their Martial Spirit Level ancestor has been in Death Sealing. I can only sense a faint trace of his Qi..."

Hearing this, a vein on Grand Commander Chu Yu’s forehead twitched.

BAM!

With a sudden strike of his palm, he smashed the adjacent table to smithereens!

"*Suspect* it’s related to the Zhao Family? Even a stupid pig could see it’s related to the Zhao Family!"

"You had more than half a month and couldn’t find a single thing? What use are you as a Guard General?!"

Grand Commander Chu Yu was seething with rage. This Liu Canghai had found nothing and still dared to waste his breath.

Once again facing the Grand Commander’s wrath, Liu Canghai fell silent as a winter cicada, bowing his head meekly, not daring to utter another word.

"You two, did you find out anything?" Grand Commander Chu Yu asked, turning to Sun Daxiong and Zhao Jing.

They both shook their heads hastily, indicating they knew nothing.

"And what about you two?"