Devouring Soul Emperor

As Chu Qingyun forced himself to calm down, he suddenly remembered something. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

He recalled that back in the Martial King’s Tomb, Ning Xue had given him a treasure called the Ice Heart Leaf.

With a thought, Chu Qingyun retrieved a white brocade box from his Storage Ring. The moment he opened it, a wave of icy-cold air rushed out.

Inside the box lay a thumb-sized, snow-white leaf with fine veins running across its surface.

According to what Ning Xue had told him, the Ice Heart Leaf could help a person calm their heart and focus their spirit at critical moments in their Martial Dao cultivation.

The Ice Heart Leaf clearly wasn’t meant to be eaten.

Chu Qingyun took the Ice Heart Leaf from the box and immediately felt a bone-chillingly cold aura seep into him from his hand. Half of his arm instantly turned ice-cold.

After a moment’s thought, Chu Qingyun gently placed the Ice Heart Leaf on his forehead.

However, the head was the most vital part of the body. Chu Qingyun wasn’t foolish enough to let the Ice Heart Leaf touch him directly; he used a layer of Primordial Power to insulate his forehead from it.

Once the Ice Heart Leaf was in place, Chu Qingyun felt a cool, refreshing sensation seep from his forehead into his mind.

Under the influence of this sensation, his previously agitated mood seemed to ease considerably.

’It really works!’

Chu Qingyun was overjoyed. He adjusted the intensity of the Primordial Power on his forehead, gradually weakening the insulation to allow the Ice Heart Leaf to exert its full effect.

After a few deep breaths, Chu Qingyun’s mind became completely tranquil.

With the help of the Ice Heart Leaf, he felt he had entered a state of extreme concentration and absolute calm.

The Ice Heart Leaf was constantly being consumed, and its effects wouldn’t last forever.

Chu Qingyun dared not waste any time. He immediately controlled a stream of Thunder Light Power, slowly guiding it onto the Thundercloud Sword.

This time, his movements were very slow and deliberate. Without a trace of impatience, he meticulously imbued the Thunder Light Power, distributing it as evenly as possible throughout every part of the Sword Qi.

One-third... one-half... two-thirds...

It took him nearly ten full minutes to imbue the Thunder Light Power all the way to the tip of the sword.

And now, he had reached the most critical moment.

The Sword Qi at the sword’s tip was the most distinct and also the most powerful. Imbuing the Thunder Light Power here required absolute focus; not the slightest bit of carelessness or impatience could be tolerated.

After another five minutes, Chu Qingyun finally managed to completely and perfectly imbue one stream of Thunder Light Power into the Sword Qi!

"Phew..."

Chu Qingyun let out a long breath and wiped away the beads of cold sweat from his forehead.

Under such intense concentration, even with the Ice Heart Leaf on his forehead, he couldn’t stop the cold sweat from forming.

After the single stream of Thunder Light Power was fully imbued, the Sword Qi enveloping the Thundercloud Sword seemed to have grown sparse, faint purple patterns within it. It looked as if it had gained a bit more life and color.

However, Chu Qingyun knew from the Thunder Sword Manual that the power of Thunder Light Sword Qi was vastly different from that of ordinary Sword Qi!

Moreover, this gap would only grow larger as more Thunder Light Power was fused into the Sword Qi and as the Sword Qi itself was strengthened!

This was why Chu Qingyun had gone to such great lengths to obtain the Thunderlight Stone before attempting to condense his Sword Qi.

The Sword Qi was condensed, the Thunder Light imbued.

Next was the final step: solidifying the Sword Qi!

Gripping the Thundercloud Sword tightly, Chu Qingyun shouted lowly, "Solidify!"

The layer of Sword Qi on the Thundercloud Sword began to tremble gently. The one-centimeter-long Sword Qi at the tip also flickered, fluctuating in length.

The process of solidifying the Sword Qi made it very unstable.

Fortunately, the Ice Heart Leaf hadn’t dissipated yet. Chu Qingyun remained in a state of complete calm and concentration, and he finally succeeded in completing this final step.

After one final tremor, the Sword Qi abruptly expanded, then rapidly retracted, once again enveloping the Thundercloud Sword!

Now, the Sword Qi looked extremely stable compared to before. He no longer had to worry about it suddenly dissipating.

’I finally did it. The Sword Qi Seed is condensed...’

With his great task accomplished, Chu Qingyun’s heart relaxed considerably.

At this point, the power of the Ice Heart Leaf was completely exhausted. It had turned into an ordinary leaf, sticking to Chu Qingyun’s forehead, damp with condensation.

Chu Qingyun hesitated for a moment before taking the powerless Ice Heart Leaf, placing it back in the brocade box, and returning it to his Storage Ring.

After condensing the Sword Qi Seed, he still had one stream of Thunder Light Power left.

Although the current Sword Qi was still weak, the single stream of Thunder Light Power from before hadn’t been enough to saturate it.

So, Chu Qingyun continued to control this stream of Thunder Light Power, infusing it into the Sword Qi.

The solidified Sword Qi was much more stable and easier to control. There would be no repeat of him losing control and destroying the Thunder Light Power.

Chu Qingyun merely guided the Thunder Light Power to the Thundercloud Sword, and the newly born Thunder Light Sword Qi immediately absorbed it, quickly and evenly dispersing it throughout its form.

Having fused with another stream of Thunder Light Power, the faint purple patterns within the Sword Qi became slightly more numerous and a little clearer.

With the Sword Qi Seed successfully condensed, the strength of his Sword Qi would now increase along with Chu Qingyun’s cultivation Realm.

"Thunder Light Sword Qi!"

Chu Qingyun brandished the Thundercloud Sword twice, then unleashed the Thunder Light Sword Qi with a single thrust!

Though the Sword Qi was only a centimeter long, it possessed a sharpness and edge that seemed capable of piercing through anything!

But just as he thrust the sword, a figure suddenly burst in through the door of the cultivation chamber.

Sensing the sharpness of the Sword Qi, Primordial Power instinctively surged from the person’s body. A terrifying aura instantly descended upon the entire cultivation chamber, startling Chu Qingyun so much that he nearly lost his grip on his sword.

The one who had rushed in was none other than Grand Commander Chu Yu!

"Chu Qingyun, that’s... Sword Qi! You actually cultivated Sword Qi!"

Even for a Grand Commander at the Earth Spirit Realm, he was utterly shocked at this moment.

Chu Qingyun, at the mere Martial Master Realm, had actually cultivated Sword Qi!

Moreover, this Sword Qi seemed extraordinary; it made him, a mighty Earth Spirit Realm expert, feel a faint sense of danger!

But then, a look of wild joy appeared on Grand Commander Chu Yu’s face. He grabbed Chu Qingyun’s arm and began dragging him outside at full speed.

"Grand Commander, what’s going on?"

Chu Qingyun was completely baffled. He hadn’t seen Grand Commander Chu Yu once since arriving in the County City. He never expected their first meeting to involve being dragged off like this.

"No time to explain, just come with me!"

After bursting out of the training grounds, Grand Commander Chu Yu dragged Chu Qingyun along, unleashing the full speed of an Earth Spirit Realm expert as they rushed away from the garrison!

「The story of this matter began earlier that morning.」

A large plaza in the Lianshan County East District served as the venue for the Four Great Clans’ Four Races Martial Arts Competition. As it was also the final day, featuring all the climactic battles, the plaza was naturally packed with a sea of people.

Not only were the observation platforms crowded with members of the city’s major powers who had been invited to spectate, but the areas around the arenas below were also swarming with unaffiliated Martial Artists and even common people.