Devouring Soul Emperor

Aside from the crowd, even Grand Commander Chu Yu was now staring wide-eyed at the battle, his heart filled with absolute shock.

To be honest, he hadn’t been particularly surprised even when Chu Qingyun had killed ten Level Nine Martial Artists in a row. As strong as such a genius was, the Great Xia Dragon Guard could still produce a few of them.

But now, it was a completely different story.

Grand Commander Chu Yu knew from personal experience that although a Half-Step Martial Spirit and a Level Nine Martial Artist were only one realm apart, the difference in their strength was as vast as the distance between heaven and earth! 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

For Chu Qingyun to fight a Half-Step Martial Spirit to a standstill as a mere Level Eight Martial Artist... even if Zhao Xiaolong was the weakest of Half-Step Martial Spirits, such a feat was enough for him to reign supreme among all the genius Martial Artists in the Great Xia Dragon Guard!

Hearing the murmurs from the crowd, Zhao Xiaolong grew flustered.

’A mighty Half-Step Martial Spirit, unable to take down a mere Level Eight Martial Artist... Forget what everyone else was thinking; he couldn’t even accept it himself!’

The more flustered he became, the more mistakes he made, and the more frequently Chu Qingyun managed to counterattack.

He was both flustered and furious.

The calm demeanor Zhao Xiaolong had spent decades cultivating rapidly faded, replaced by a violent and bloodthirsty aura.

This was his true nature!

"AHHHH!"

"You little brat, you’re dead!"

"Blood Bear Transformation!"

Forcing Chu Qingyun back with his gun, Zhao Xiaolong threw his head back and roared at the sky.

A savage, blood-red bear head tattoo materialized on his chest, and a massive amount of blood-red gas began to billow from it.

The blood-red gas quickly enveloped Zhao Xiaolong, completely shrouding him.

Then, like a great whale drinking the sea, Zhao Xiaolong’s body instantly inhaled all of the blood-red gas.

"ROAR... ROAR... ROAR!..."

Amidst a series of low roars, Zhao Xiaolong’s body began to mutate.

His muscles began to swell, and his frame grew by a full size. His shirt was torn to shreds, revealing the savage, blood-red bear head tattoo on his chest.

Zhao Xiaolong’s eyes turned blood-red. His lips curled back to reveal four lengthened canines, and patches of long, blood-red fur sprouted on his face and body.

’Blood Bear Transformation. Chu Qingyun had heard of it before. It seemed Zhao Hanfeng also cultivated this Secret Technique.’

’He never expected to witness this Secret Technique on Zhao Xiaolong before he ever got to truly face Zhao Hanfeng.’

After activating the Blood Bear Transformation, Zhao Xiaolong’s aura skyrocketed, brimming with bestial violence and rage.

Unlike the Profound Celestial Divine Pattern, while this Secret Technique granted immense power for a short time, the damage it inflicted on the user’s body was permanent and would accumulate with each use.

Furthermore, once activated, the bestial nature originating from the blood of bear-type Demon Beasts would even suppress the user’s humanity and reason.

But Zhao Xiaolong was far beyond such concerns now. He had only one thought: Chu Qingyun must die!

A frenzied, bloodthirsty aura swept through the courtyard.

Everyone instinctively took another step back, staring in terror at the half-beast that was Zhao Xiaolong.

Grand Commander Chu Yu, for his part, was on high alert, ready to intervene at any moment.

"Die... DIIIE!"

Zhao Xiaolong stared intently at Chu Qingyun, then suddenly raised his Blood Gun and swung it down like a club!

The Blood Gun tore through the air, creating a series of terrifying sonic booms.

Before the gun even landed, the compressed air alone blasted deep cracks into the ground!

Three or four meters away, Chu Qingyun’s pupils contracted, and the hair on his body stood on end.

’Danger!’

’Extreme danger!’

Without a second thought, Chu Qingyun instinctively leaped aside, putting distance between them.

BOOM!... CRASH!

The Blood Gun slammed down, the terrifying force of the impact caving in the ground in a ten-meter radius around Zhao Xiaolong. The entire courtyard shook as if hit by an earthquake.

A terrifying wave of power erupted from the ground where Chu Qingyun had been standing, tearing open a trench hundreds of meters long in an instant.

In a straight line, everything was blasted into the air!

Even the distant courtyard walls were brutally sliced in half!

Such terrifying power in a single blow!

’The power he’s gained at such a great cost... It’s even greater than that of my Profound Celestial Divine Pattern’s Second Layer!’

"Die!"

Zhao Xiaolong roared again and leaped high into the air, plunging his gun downward in a powerful thrust at Chu Qingyun.

Chu Qingyun’s lip twitched. There was no way he could block that kind of power head-on.

A vine from the Ten-Star Vine shot out, wrapping around the only tree left in the courtyard. A sharp pull sent Chu Qingyun flying out of the way once more.

RUMBLE!...

Another deafening crash.

The terrifying force laid waste to dozens of meters of ground!

The entire courtyard began to tremble even more violently!

Chu Qingyun wiped the cold sweat from his brow. ’This can’t go on,’ he thought. ’If I only defend, I’m bound to make a mistake. Sooner or later, I won’t be able to dodge... Looks like I have to risk it all!’

Having made up his mind, a ruthless expression crossed Chu Qingyun’s face. He gritted his teeth and charged straight at Zhao Xiaolong.

Gasps of shock rippled through the crowd.

He was charging toward Zhao Xiaolong instead of running for his life. Did he have a death wish?!

With barely a shred of reason left, Zhao Xiaolong’s mind was filled with nothing but rage and killing intent. He pounced at Chu Qingyun without a second thought.

Both moved with incredible speed, rapidly closing the distance between them.

All eyes were wide and glued to the two figures, everyone terrified of missing the conclusion of this shocking battle.

Just as they were about to clash, a glint flashed in Chu Qingyun’s eyes as he suddenly activated a Soul Technique from his Shadow Martial Soul: Stealth!

But an instant later, he deactivated the Soul Technique.

Now that his Shadow Martial Soul had reached Tier Three, the effects of Stealth were much improved. Even in broad daylight, it could make his figure blur.

Chu Qingyun had only activated Stealth for a split second, meaning that to everyone, including Zhao Xiaolong, his figure had blurred for just a brief moment.

The moment was so brief that no one would think anything of it, assuming their eyes were just playing tricks on them.

But that brief moment was not to be underestimated.

In a duel between masters, the smallest detail can be fatal!

The moment Chu Qingyun’s figure blurred, Zhao Xiaolong felt a flicker of disorientation.

Seizing the opportunity, a cold light flashed in Chu Qingyun’s eyes as he played his greatest trump card.

"Thrusting Sword Technique!"

It was like a flash of lightning.

The next moment, Chu Qingyun was already past Zhao Xiaolong, slowly sheathing his Thundercloud Sword.

As for Zhao Xiaolong, he stood frozen in place, his blood-red eyes wide and unmoving. Even the savage and violent expression on his face remained, perfectly preserved.

The cataclysmic battle from moments before seemed to have ended in an instant.

The entire courtyard fell into a dead silence, with only the gentle whisper of the wind remaining.

After a few breaths, the sharp-eyed observers noticed a trickle of fresh blood running down Zhao Xiaolong’s forehead. More blood was seeping from a matching exit wound on the back of his head.

Zhao Xiaolong was already dead!