Devouring Soul Emperor

"He defeated a Gold Medal Captain that easily with just his Ten-star Vine Martial Soul. Chuyu, your judgment was spot-on. Chu Qingyun’s strength has indeed far surpassed that of a Gold Medal Captain," the Celestial Wind Army Master remarked with some surprise, watching the events on the battle stage from a distance.

Grand Commander Chu Yu just smiled without saying a word.

He knew that Chu Qingyun’s strength didn’t stop there.

Back at the Zhao Mansion in Flame City, when he saw Chu Qingyun fight Zhao Xiaolong, a Half-Step Martial Spirit, to a near standstill with the Thundercloud Sword in hand, he knew.

Among all the Martial Artists in the Great Xia Dragon Guard, Chu Qingyun’s actual combat prowess could probably only be matched by the handful of individuals from the elite squads in each army!

That was why, after dealing with the matter concerning Liu Canghai, he had gone to the Celestial Wind Army Master to recommend Chu Qingyun for the elite squad.

"Captain Duan Feichen, your wager with Captain Chu Qingyun was 800 Military Merits. However, you must pay double that to Captain Chu Qingyun, which comes to 1,600 Military Merits."

"Your Token contains 1,642 Military Merits. After the payment is completed, you will have 42 Military Merits remaining."

Before the battle, everyone had deposited their Tokens with the official handling the wagers.

After each battle, they would directly transfer the Military Merits between the two parties. If the loser had insufficient merits, a debt would be recorded on their Token.

Duan Feichen’s face turned ashen as he took back his Token.

This was a devastating loss. He had painstakingly saved up over 1,600 Military Merits, intending to acquire a decent Secret Technique to cultivate and raise his strength to the next level.

But now, because he’d wanted to curry favor with Liu Canghai and agreed to deal with Chu Qingyun, he’d lost it all!

’Forty-something Military Merits left... what the hell is that good for?!’

Chu Qingyun, on the other hand, had a smile on his face.

’Sixteen hundred Military Merits. That’s enough to buy two Tier Three Wood-type Spiritual Medicines. After I defeat all of them, I’ll probably have enough for the Spiritual Medicines needed for the Third Layer of the Profound Celestial Divine Pattern...’

The crushing defeat in the first battle quietly cast a shadow over the hearts of the remaining seventeen captains.

The Silver Medal and Iron Medal Captains, in particular, felt their confidence plummet. Even Duan Feichen had lost so miserably; if they went up, they would almost certainly be no match for Chu Qingyun.

For a moment, a few of them began to feel a twinge of regret.

Sensing the low morale on their side, Meng Chengde forced a laugh. "Everyone, don’t worry. That Chu Qingyun just has good control over his Martial Soul, and it happened to be the perfect counter to Duan Feichen’s."

"Fang Xin Neng, you’re up next. Your Martial Soul and Soul Techniques are the perfect counter for that Chu Qingyun."

Even as he said this, he wasn’t entirely confident himself.

’Before they came, Liu Canghai had told him that Chu Qingyun also cultivated a very powerful Sword Technique, but he had been so confident back then that he hadn’t paid it any mind.’

’But now that I think about it, for the Lord Guardian to emphasize it repeatedly, that Sword Technique must be quite powerful... Sigh. At this point, we can only take things as they come...’

"Silver Light Dagger!"

"Silver Light Power!"

After stepping onto the battle stage, Fang Xin Neng didn’t dare to be the slightest bit careless. He immediately unleashed his Martial Soul and Soul Techniques.

A long dagger shimmering with silver light appeared in each of his hands.

Once he activated his Soul Techniques, the silver light on the daggers flared brilliantly. Even from a distance, one could feel the sharp aura of that silver glow!

Evidently, having witnessed the power of Chu Qingyun’s Ten-star Vine Martial Soul, they had devised a countermeasure by deliberately sending out Fang Xin Neng.

This kind of sharp, Attack-type Martial Soul was the perfect counter to a vine-based, Control-type Martial Soul like Chu Qingyun’s, as it could easily sever the vines.

"Chu Qingyun, bring it on! I’m not afraid of your Ten-star Vine Martial Soul."

Fang Xin Neng shouted coldly, but his expression was one of absolute concentration, not daring to let his guard down for even a moment.

"Trying to counter me? Then let’s not play with Martial Souls. How about we play with Sword Techniques instead?"

"Profound Celestial Divine Pattern!"

"Thunder Sword Momentum!"

With a soft cry, Chu Qingyun’s Primordial Power surged through his meridians, pushing the Second Layer of the Profound Celestial Divine Pattern to its absolute limit. Faint red light began to glow from various points on his body.

He then charged forward, using his fingers as a sword to unleash his Thunder Sword Momentum. A blast of violent Thunder Power shot toward Fang Xin Neng.

’This guy doesn’t play by the book!’

Fang Xin Neng couldn’t help but curse inwardly when he saw Chu Qingyun forgo his Martial Soul to clash with him head-on.

The terrifying energy fluctuations from the Thunder Sword Momentum made it impossible for him to be careless. He immediately countered with his strongest move.

"Blood Pattern Arm!"

"Aurora’s Thorn!"

Fang Xin Neng unleashed his Secret Technique and Spirit Level dagger art. Blood-red patterns covered his arms as he stabbed forward with both daggers simultaneously.

Two beams of silver light shot from the daggers, converging into a single point before him that lanced toward Chu Qingyun’s Thunder Sword Momentum with immense piercing power.

BZZT...

Sparks flew and Thunder Aura surged. The beam of silver light pierced through the Thunder Power and plunged into the heart of the Thunder Sword Momentum.

However, the moment it struck the core power of the Sword Momentum veiled within the lightning, it was instantly shattered!

Then, the rampaging Thunder Power instantly tore through Fang Xin Neng’s Protective Primordial Power and slammed heavily into his body.

PFFT!

Fang Xin Neng violently spat out a mouthful of blood and staggered backward, nearly falling off the battle stage!

In a clash of their strongest moves, Fang Xin Neng was left injured and spitting blood, while Chu Qingyun remained completely unscathed!

"I... I surrender!"

After a moment’s hesitation, Fang Xin Neng gritted his teeth, conceded defeat, and leaped off the battle stage.

Though they had only exchanged a single blow, Fang Xin Neng had used his Martial Soul, Soul Techniques, Secret Technique, and dagger art all at once. Even with all that, he was still injured by Chu Qingyun’s single strike.

And that was without Chu Qingyun even using his powerful Martial Soul!

’After all, the gap between a King-level Sword Technique and a Spirit-level dagger art is just too vast...’

Faced with this result, many of the people surrounding the battle stage wore expressions of utter disbelief.

"This guy... not only is his use of Martial Soul Power practically perfect, but his attacks are also ferociously powerful. And he’s doing this without even using a Spirit Level Divine Weapon!"

"Even without a Spirit Level Treasure Sword, the power of that last strike surpassed an ordinary Tier Three Soul Technique. When you add his Control-type Martial Soul on top of that... a guy like him is terrifying."

"Tsk, tsk... Second Layer of the Profound Celestial Divine Pattern. What else would you expect from the monster who earned fifteen thousand Military Merits..."

"Where did this guy even come from? A Spirit Level Divine Weapon, a terrifying Sword Technique, and the Profound Celestial Divine Pattern... not even the top scions of the Four Great Clans get that kind of backing, do they?"

By this point in the battle, their earlier disdain and mockery had transformed into admiration and envy.

If things continued like this, it didn’t seem impossible for Chu Qingyun to defeat all eighteen of them in a row.

At the thought of such a possibility, many in the crowd grew secretly excited. One man against eighteen in a gauntlet match... such a thing was unheard of!