Devouring Soul Emperor

"Village Chief, are you all right?" After killing Zhang Han, Chu Qingyun hurried forward and helped the village chief up.

"COUGH, COUGH!" The village chief coughed up some blood and said weakly, "Qingyun, you... you’re back. That’s wonderful. Hurry, go save your parents! The Gang Leader of the Blood Wolf Gang headed for your home."

What!

Chu Qingyun’s eyes flew open in shock.

A large part of the reason he had chosen to come here, knowing full well it was the wrong path, was because Chu Hua had previously told him his parents were still in the village.

Even though he knew deep down this was an Illusion Realm, he couldn’t just stand by and watch his parents be murdered by the Blood Wolf Gang!

"Focus on healing, Village Chief. I’m going!"

Chu Qingyun gently laid the village chief down, pushed his Profound Celestial Divine Pattern to its limit, and sprinted toward his home at full speed, moving like a cyan phantom.

Before long, he saw his home surrounded by many members of the Blood Wolf Gang. The mangled corpses of many villagers lay in pools of blood nearby.

His heart clenched painfully at the sight.

But the next moment, as he leaped onto the courtyard wall, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

His parents were still alive.

The Gang Leader of the Blood Wolf Gang, Qi Gang, stood in the Chu Family’s courtyard with two Elders and a group of Protectors. Across from them was a heavily injured, deathly pale Chu Xuan, shielding his wife, Liu Lanfang, behind him.

By all rights, Chu Xuan and Liu Lanfang were just ordinary people, not even Martial Artists. There was no way they could have lasted even a moment against Peng Gang and his numerous subordinates.

But right now, Chu Qingyun had no time to dwell on that.

The parents before him were just too much like the ones in his memory!

It wasn’t just their appearance and build; even the feeling of their blood connection was incredibly familiar!

"Qi Gang, stop! I’m the one you’re looking for. This has nothing to do with anyone else!"

Chu Qingyun shouted from his perch on the courtyard wall.

Seeing Chu Qingyun suddenly appear, the expressions of everyone in the courtyard changed.

Chu Xuan and Liu Lanfang looked anxious and shouted, "Qingyun, why did you come back? These butchers are here for you! Run! You have to run!"

Qi Gang and his men, however, just burst into laughter. They instantly ignored Chu Xuan and Liu Lanfang, their auras locking firmly onto Chu Qingyun.

"Chu Qingyun, you showed up after all. Kill him!" Qi Gang roared.

The dozens of Blood Wolf Gang members surrounding them all sneered as they swarmed toward Chu Qingyun.

These men all had the auras of seventh or eighth-level Martial Artists, but when they attacked, their momentum was powerful and their saber and Sword Auras were sharp. A few of them even unleashed a respectable Saber Momentum and Sword Momentum.

They weren’t the least bit weaker than seventh or eighth-level Martial Masters!

If Chu Qingyun were truly just an ordinary eighth-level Martial Master, he probably would have been completely overwhelmed by such a siege.

Fortunately, however, his strength could not be measured simply by his Realm.

"Ten-Star Vine!"

"Thunder Sword Momentum!"

Chu Qingyun channeled the Thunder Sword Momentum through the vines of his Ten-Star Vine.

Bathed in crackling lightning, the ten vines struck out like the Thunder God’s Whip, continuously lashing the members of the Blood Wolf Gang.

With the Thunder Sword Momentum at seventy percent power, combined with the strength of the Tier Three Martial Soul’s vines, not even an ordinary Silver Medal Captain of the Great Xia Dragon Guard could have withstood a single strike.

Amidst a series of deafening explosions, the dozens of Blood Wolf Gang members were blown to pieces—all of them killed in an instant!

The only thing those dozens of men accomplished was draining a tiny amount of Chu Qingyun’s Primordial Power. But to someone with a Qi Sea ten thousand meters wide, such a small expenditure was utterly insignificant.

Once the regular gang members were dead, the six Blood Wolf Gang Protectors in the courtyard drew their weapons and charged at Chu Qingyun with wild howls, all without needing a command from Qi Gang, as if it were part of a script.

Of the six Protectors, Chu Qingyun clearly remembered two: Ma Liang and Chen Deyi. They were the first two he had assassinated.

He also recognized the remaining four; they had likely died by his hand as well, though he couldn’t recall their names.

The Blood Wolf Gang’s Protectors all had the strength of ninth-level Martial Artists.

However, when these six attacked, their power was comparable to that of ninth-level Martial Masters!

Just then, an idea struck Chu Qingyun.

A thought suddenly flashed through his mind. ’Since this Illusion Realm has simulated so many of my Martial Souls, does that mean I can use their Soul Techniques as well?’

’In any case, I don’t have to worry about exposing my secrets here in the Illusion Realm.’

’What the staff said earlier—that they can’t see a single thing happening inside the Illusion Realm—probably wasn’t a lie.’

’Otherwise, since this Illusion Realm manifests the deepest obsessions and secrets of the Trial Takers, no one would ever take the trial if they were being watched.’

’Secrets always get out eventually.’

’The Illusion Realm trial has existed for decades. If the staff could actually watch what happens inside, they couldn’t have kept it a secret for this long.’

The thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant.

Watching the six men charge fiercely, Chu Qingyun gave a low shout, "Iron Wall!"

The black Iron Wall Martial Soul flashed, and four black walls of steel materialized out of thin air, surrounding Chu Qingyun.

CLANG!

With a clash of metal, the four iron walls slammed shut under Chu Qingyun’s control, sealing him inside without a single gap.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG...

The air filled with the sound of sabers and swords hacking against the Iron Wall.

The six men unleashed their attacks relentlessly upon the Iron Wall.

But for all their power, the most they could do was leave a series of shallow and deep gashes on the nearly thirty-centimeter-thick walls. They couldn’t possibly breach the defense of the Tier Three Soul Technique!

An attack at the level of a ninth-level Martial Master should have been enough to tear through ordinary steel with ease.

But in terms of sheer strength and defense, the iron walls summoned by the Soul Technique of a Tier Three Martial Soul far surpassed ordinary steel. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Die!"

As the six men’s assault began to wane, Chu Qingyun gave a sharp cry. The Iron Wall opened just enough for six vines to shoot out, unleashing the Thunder Sword Momentum and blasting toward the six Protectors.

Another series of explosions erupted.

The six great Protectors of the Blood Wolf Gang were all slain!

Even in this Illusion Realm, where they possessed the strength of ordinary ninth-level Martial Masters, they still couldn’t withstand the Thunder Sword Momentum at seventy percent of its power.

With the Protectors dead, the two Blood Wolf Gang Elders attacked without a word.

Chu Qingyun remembered them both: Blood Wolf Gang Elder Zhu Xilin, a first-level Martial Master, and Elder Peng Yu, a fourth-level Martial Master!

"Take this!"

"Wind-breaking Palm!"

Zhu Xilin unleashed his Martial Soul Long Saber. As he slashed, a powerful Saber Momentum gathered, reaching the intensity of a Spirit Level Saber Technique!

Meanwhile, Peng Yu’s palm strike stirred the very air. An endless gale converged in his hand, forming a colossal, howling palm of wind that shot forth, bearing down on Chu Qingyun.

The attacks from both men had reached the level of an Iron Medal Captain!