Devouring Soul Emperor

As one of only two Examiners to pass the assessment, and the one who had seized over fifteen thousand Military Merits, Chu Qingyun’s name was incredibly famous in Flame City. He was practically a household name.

But he was usually low-key, always staying at the Golden Lion Martial Arts Hall to cultivate.

So, not many people had actually seen him or knew what he looked like.

"An invitation? What’s that? The Zhao Family didn’t give me one." Chu Qingyun chuckled softly, a hint of mockery in his eyes.

’An invitation?’

’I came here to cause trouble today. What the hell do I need an invitation for?!’

"Hahahaha, you’re killing me. The Zhao Family didn’t send you an invitation..."

One of the greeters couldn’t help but burst out laughing. "Kid, why don’t you take a good long look at yourself? Don’t you get what it means when you don’t get an invitation? You think the Zhao Family residence is a place someone like you can just enter?"

For the better part of the morning, the "rabble" they despised had been noisily crowding around the entrance, and the two of them were already thoroughly annoyed.

Now that Chu Qingyun had walked right into the line of fire, the two of them certainly weren’t going to be polite. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

’We can’t make a huge scene by chasing people away, but we’ve got to find someone to take our frustration out on, right?’

The other one shoved Chu Qingyun forcefully. "Damn it, you dare cause trouble here? Get the hell out!"

But despite his forceful push, Chu Qingyun didn’t budge an inch.

Instead, the man himself was sent stumbling backward by the reactive force until he hit the doorframe and actually fell over!

Young Master Liu, who had already entered the gates, now turned back around.

He pointed at Chu Qingyun, his face livid with anger. "Who the hell do you think you are? You dare cause a scene at Brother Zhao’s funeral? You got a death wish? Believe it or not, I’ll make sure you don’t leave Flame City alive!"

He wasn’t about to miss such a good opportunity to show his loyalty and curry favor.

Faced with all this, Chu Qingyun just snorted in disdain. He casually took out a palm-sized token and said, "I don’t have an invitation, but with this, can I go in?"

The token was gold all over, and on its face was the engraved character for "dragon."

Just looking at it gave off an air of majesty and authority.

The man who had mocked Chu Qingyun took the token uncertainly. He examined it carefully but still couldn’t recognize what it was.

It was normal for a low-ranking nobody like him not to recognize it.

But even though he didn’t recognize it, he wasn’t an idiot. He could tell this thing was unusual—especially that "dragon" character, which wasn’t something one could use casually.

"What is this..." he asked, a bit cautiously.

"A Great Xia Dragon Guard!" Chu Qingyun said with a cold laugh.

The man instantly sucked in a sharp breath. He fumbled, almost dropping the token in his hand out of sheer terror.

A Great Xia Dragon Guard.

He had seen with his own eyes how his own Patriarch had bowed and scraped, how he had fawned before a Great Xia Dragon Guard.

And just now, he had mocked a Great Xia Dragon Guard!

As for the guy who had pushed Chu Qingyun and fallen over, his legs went weak with fright, and he plopped back down on the ground.

And Young Master Liu’s face went deathly pale as cold sweat beaded on his skin.

’Fuck, I was just trying to look tough and suck up to the Zhao Family, and I ended up pissing off a Great Xia Dragon Guard. How could I be so damn unlucky?!’

At this point, no one doubted whether Chu Qingyun was an imposter.

Setting the token aside, just impersonating a Great Xia Dragon Guard was a grave crime. You would be hunted down and arrested by the Great Xia Dragon Guards themselves!

Besides, the Great Xia Dragon Guards had only just left Flame City. No one would be stupid enough to impersonate one just to sneak into the funeral of Zhao’s Three Heroes!

"My Lord, you are..."

The man holding the token had lost all of his earlier arrogance. He bowed, asking cautiously.

"Chu Qingyun!"

Hearing this, the men felt another wave of dizziness wash over them.

’Not just a Great Xia Dragon Guard, but their captain!’

’The genius who stood out from over five hundred Examiners!’

’This is a nightmare!’

"Young Master Chu... oh no, Lord Chu, My Lord Dragon Guard, I... please wait a moment, I’ll go announce you..."

The man with the token was already rambling incoherently. Right now, he just wanted to get away, far, far away from here.

But someone was faster. The man who had fallen twice scrambled to his feet and ran inside without a backward glance, yelling, "I’ll announce him! I’ll announce him!..."

’That bastard!’

The man holding the token cursed inwardly, but there was nothing he could do. He forced a smile and said, "My Lord, you... why don’t you wait? As soon as the Patriarch’s order arrives, we’ll invite you in immediately."

"Wait?"

Chu Qingyun wore an amused expression as he looked at the Zhao Family man before him.

The invisible pressure made the man feel weak. "My Lord, please, try to understand our position. Without the Patriarch’s order, we really don’t dare, my Lord..."

"Move," Chu Qingyun said softly.

"My Lord..."

"I said, move!"

Chu Qingyun’s expression turned cold.

If it wasn’t necessary, he didn’t want to fight with small fry like these.

But if they insisted on being stubborn and getting in his way, Chu Qingyun wouldn’t mind casually taking care of them.

"I... Stop him!"

The man was deeply conflicted, but in the end, he steeled his heart, gritted his teeth, and ordered the surrounding guards to block Chu Qingyun.

’If I offend a Great Xia Dragon Guard, maybe the Zhao Family can still back me up. But if I disobey the Patriarch’s orders, the Great Xia Dragon Guards certainly won’t help me!’

The guards hesitated for a moment, but then they gathered and blocked Chu Qingyun’s path.

"You’re courting death!"

Chu Qingyun’s expression froze. He lifted his arm and casually swept it forward.

Terrifying Primordial Power surged from his palm and erupted from his hand.

A massive force exploded in front of him, sending all of them flying backward to crash heavily onto the ground.

Although they were all Martial Artists, the strongest among them was only a fourth-level Martial Artist, barely meeting the standard for a Middle Level Martial Artist.

Chu Qingyun had killed more ninth-level Martial Artists than he could count on both hands, let alone the likes of them!

However, Chu Qingyun didn’t kill these men who were just following orders. He only injured them severely as a punishment.

Taking back his token, Chu Qingyun started to walk inside. His gaze swept to the side and landed on the trembling Young Master Liu.

Chu Qingyun grinned. "Young Master Liu, is it? It seems you’re quite close with the Zhao Family. Good. After we’re done investigating the Zhao Family, we Great Xia Dragon Guards will pay your family a visit."

Hearing this, Young Master Liu was so scared his hair was about to stand on end.

"Not close, not close at all! Who the fuck is close with the Zhao Family? I’m their sworn enemy! These funeral wreaths and elegies... I brought them here to smash them!"

As he spoke, Young Master Liu rushed back outside and began to stomp furiously on the two funeral wreaths he had brought, crushing them to a pulp.

’Are you kidding me? At a time like this, if I don’t disassociate myself from the Zhao Family, should I just wait to die?’