Devouring Soul Emperor

"This..."

Panic and indecision crossed the man’s face. He pleaded, "Captain Chu, we’re just lowly staff members. Please, don’t make things difficult for us..."

He thought Chu Qingyun was about to force his way into the Military Guard District.

"Oh? Make things difficult for you? How am I doing that? I just want to go into the Military Guard District, that’s all."

Chu Qingyun said with a smile.

He had passed the Difficult Level trial in a single attempt, not only becoming a Gold Medal Captain and earning nine thousand Military Merits, but also acquiring that treasured Light Card.

Chu Qingyun was in high spirits and couldn’t resist teasing them a bit.

"Captain Chu, with all due respect, you’re still just a captain. Entering the Military Guard District requires Army Guardian Level clearance... Sir, it’s only a matter of time before you’re promoted to a Martial Spirit. Why not wait until you become a Guard General before going in...?"

The man following Chu Qingyun looked like he was about to cry.

Chu Qingyun shook his head and casually tossed his token to the man. "See for yourself. I already have Army Guardian Level clearance."

The man instinctively caught the token, stunned for a moment. He then ran to the nearest military merit verification station to check it.

Sure enough, the clearance level displayed on the token was Army Guardian Level!

"This... A captain at the Martial Master Realm with Army Guardian Level clearance!"

"Is it really Army Guardian Level clearance?"

In an instant, the few people standing nearby were all shocked.

To raise a captain’s clearance to the Army Guardian Level... not even a Grand Commander has that kind of authority. It must have been the Lord Military Commander!

At this thought, a shudder ran through them.

’No wonder he beat Liu Cangyi and his cronies half to death and is still living so carefreely in the Great Xia Dragon Guards. So, it turns out he’s backed by the Lord Military Commander!’

"Captain Chu, your token..."

After snapping out of his daze, the man respectfully presented the token back to Chu Qingyun with both hands.

"Now, I can enter the Military Guard District, right?"

"Of course, of course! After you, sir, after you..."

After seeing the clearance level on his token, no one else tried to stop him. Instead, they respectfully ushered him inside.

The Military Guard District was also subdivided into a Secret Technique District, a Secret Manual District, a Spirit Medicine District, and so on. The items sold here were, on the whole, a tier higher than those in the Captain District.

Here, Chu Qingyun could also see treasures that required Grand Commander-level clearance to purchase.

After a quick look around, Chu Qingyun found what he was searching for. Unlike the Captain District, the Military Guard District had a very, very small "Elixir Medicine District."

Although it was called the Elixir Medicine District, there wasn’t a single actual elixir in sight—only three simple descriptions on display.

"Rejuvenation Pill: 4,000 Military Merits. Requires Grand Commander-level clearance. A Spirit Level elixir that can instantly restore a large amount of Primordial Power."

"Tiger Power Pill: 5,000 Military Merits. Requires Grand Commander-level clearance. A Spirit Level elixir that can greatly enhance physical strength for a short period."

"Cyan Wind Pill: 5,000 Military Merits. Requires Grand Commander-level clearance. A Spirit Level elixir that can greatly enhance speed for a short period."

The entire so-called Elixir Medicine District contained only the descriptions for these three elixirs.

Looking at the prices, Chu Qingyun couldn’t help but be taken aback, even with over ten thousand Military Merits in his token.

A single pill, and four or five thousand Military Merits would vanish.

Forget a mere captain like him; even a Grand Commander probably couldn’t afford to take these pills casually.

These were the only three elixirs visible in the Military Guard District.

And even so, all three required Grand Commander-level clearance to purchase!

Among the three elixirs, the One Yang Pill he was looking for was nowhere to be found...

’Then again, it makes sense,’ he thought.

The One Yang Pill was, after all, a highly specialized elixir for treating a certain kind of cold poison; the average person would have no use for it.

The exchange would naturally stock elixirs that were in high demand and useful to everyone.

"Sigh... I’ll just have to find another way..."

Chu Qingyun sighed. Feeling a bit disappointed, he shook his head and walked toward the materials district.

After searching the materials district for a bit, Chu Qingyun easily found the Thunderlight Stones.

Thunderlight Stones were semi-transparent, light purple Spirit Stones, each about the size of an egg. Inside, you could see brilliant streaks of thunder light swimming about.

The exchange price for a Thunderlight Stone was two thousand Military Merits.

Chu Qingyun had just over 10,500 Military Merits in his token. Normally, he would only be able to buy five Thunderlight Stones.

However, he now had Army Guardian Level clearance. This not only granted him access to shop in the Military Guard District but also gave him a 20% discount at the exchange.

So for him, the price of a Thunderlight Stone was effectively 1,600 Military Merits. After buying six, he was left with just over nine hundred Military Merits in his token.

This discount was not an insignificant perk.

For example, if a captain performed a great service and a Grand Commander rewarded him with the privilege of purchasing one Army Guardian-level treasure, that captain would still only get the standard Captain Level 10% discount, not the Army Guardian Level’s 20% discount.

After exchanging his merits for the six Thunderlight Stones, Chu Qingyun returned to the Celestial Wind Army’s section, heading for the captains’ training grounds.

Although he was curious about the new Light Card, with the Thunderlight Stones now in his possession, he was eager to begin cultivating the Thunder Light Sword Qi.

After all, he had been coveting Sword Qi for a very long time.

It was the day the Celestial Wind Army was to attend the Four Races Martial Arts Competition as spectators, so many of the captains had gone to watch.

The training grounds were mostly empty, and Chu Qingyun managed to find a rare, unoccupied private room.

As a powerful King-grade sword technique, the third move of the Thunder Sword Manual was the condensation of Sword Qi.

Chu Qingyun had started studying this third move long ago and already possessed a deep understanding of how to condense Sword Qi. The only thing he had been missing was the Thunderlight Stones.

Now that he had them, the only step left was to figure out how to fuse the power within the Thunderlight Stones into his Sword Qi.

Chu Qingyun gripped a Thunderlight Stone. Using his Primordial Power, he began to refine it as he would a spiritual medicine, intending to extract the pure Thunder Light Power from within.

However, the instant his Primordial Power breached the stone, the power within it went berserk. It was as if a ball of lightning had exploded in his hand. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

CRACKLE! The entire Thunderlight Stone vaporized in an instant.

His hand, protected by Primordial Power, wasn’t injured, but it was numb.

But Chu Qingyun was dumbfounded.

’One Thunderlight Stone, gone just like that... That was sixteen hundred Military Merits...’

Taking a couple of deep breaths to steady his nerves, Chu Qingyun picked up another Thunderlight Stone.

This time, he was far more cautious. First, he enveloped his entire palm in a massive amount of Primordial Power, wrapping the Thunderlight Stone in layer after layer before carefully beginning the refining process.

When his Primordial Power breached the stone, the energy inside once again ran rampant.

But, having learned from his last attempt, Chu Qingyun immediately focused all his concentration, controlling the Primordial Power in his hand to tightly envelop and suppress everything inside, not letting a single trace escape.