Devouring Soul Emperor

Grand Commander Chu Yu offered Chu Qingyun no explanation as they rushed along at full speed.

After suddenly landing on the arena stage and steadying himself, Chu Qingyun’s gaze swept across the area below. He saw a large group of severely injured Great Xia Dragon Guard Captains coughing up blood. Some of them looked familiar, and one... was actually Sun Daxiong!

’Something big must have happened,’ Chu Qingyun thought. ’Otherwise, Grand Commander Chu Yu wouldn’t have brought me here in such a frantic hurry.’

When he saw his opponent on the other side of the stage, he couldn’t help but narrow his eyes as a cold sneer touched his lips.

Jintai!

The man who had ambushed him on the road after he left the Martial King’s Tomb, leaving him in such a sorry state!

Jintai was stunned for a moment to see Chu Qingyun descend from the sky. A look of wild joy then spread across his face. He licked his lips, his eyes greedily fixed on the Storage Ring on Chu Qingyun’s finger.

After that failed ambush, Jintai had returned to the County City and arranged for his trusted subordinates to go to Qingshan City and capture Chu Qingyun.

However, they came up empty. By the time they arrived, Chu Qingyun had already left Qingshan City for Flame City.

Not wanting to draw attention to the matter, Jintai didn’t make a big fuss. He merely sent men to watch the Chu Family, who had moved to Qingshan City, planning to lie in wait for his target.

He never thought he’d fail to catch Chu Qingyun in Qingshan City, only to run into him here instead!

"Heh heh, Chu Qingyun. So it is you. I never thought you’d dare to come to the County City. Are you here just to deliver that treasure to me?" Jintai cackled.

Even now, he hadn’t revealed that Chu Qingyun possessed a Storage Ring.

’I still have a chance to get it,’ he thought. ’If word gets out and everyone knows, a mere level-nine Martial Artist like me will have no hope of snatching it.’

"Why wouldn’t I dare to come? Jintai, you haven’t forgotten what I said, have you? I’ll tell you one more time: I swore that day to repay what I suffered a hundredfold!"

"And I think right now is the perfect opportunity."

As Chu Qingyun spoke, he gently rolled his neck, a ruthless aura slowly emanating from him.

’On this stage, I can beat Jintai to a pulp however I please. Even if I cripple him, the Celestial Wind Army will have my back. Where else could I find such a perfect opportunity?’

Jintai scoffed. "Haha, with your strength? Today, I’ll make you understand that trash like you is still trash, even after reaching the eighth level of Martial Artist!"

"Cliff-Breaking Golden Saber! Golden Saber Cliff!"

Jintai unleashed his Soul Technique again, and a massive golden saber, dozens of meters long, came cleaving down with menacing force!

In Jintai’s eyes, Chu Qingyun was still the same weakling from months ago in the Cold Cyan Mountain Range—someone he could render helpless with his aura alone.

"A Tier Three Soul Technique..."

Chu Qingyun smiled faintly.

The first time he’d seen a Tier Three Soul Technique, he had been shocked. But now, facing the massive, tens-of-meters-long golden saber, Chu Qingyun slowly raised his right hand.

"Profound Celestial Divine Pattern!"

Unleashing the Third-Layer Profound Celestial Divine Pattern to its absolute limit, Chu Qingyun’s body erupted in a cyan light. From a distance, it looked as though he were wreathed in cyan flames.

Seeing Chu Qingyun’s move, many in the surrounding crowd turned pale with fright.

’Is that guy trying to block a Tier Three Soul Technique with his body?’

’Does he have a death wish?’

After all, most of those gathered around the stage were relatively weak, and the vast majority of them couldn’t recognize the Secret Technique Chu Qingyun was using.

On the Observation Platform, however, many people could tell exactly what it was.

"He’s blocking it head-on? No, wait, that’s the Profound Celestial Divine Pattern!"

"A cyan Divine Pattern... That’s the Third-Layer Profound Celestial Divine Pattern! Where in the world did that kid get so many cultivation resources!"

"Damn it! How did a captain with the Third-Layer Profound Celestial Divine Pattern suddenly appear in the Celestial Wind Army?!"

Though everyone was surprised...

However, the Celestial Wind Army Master and his subordinates were pleasantly surprised, while the members of the Four Great Clans were terrified.

Although the Third-Layer Profound Celestial Divine Pattern was far inferior to the Vajra Undying Secret Method, Jintai was only a level-nine Martial Artist and couldn’t possibly unleash the full power of the Vajra Indestructible technique.

THUD!

A muffled sound rang out.

Chu Qingyun leaned back slightly. The cyan Divine Pattern on his body flared brightly as he caught the massive, tens-of-meters-long golden saber with nothing but his arm!

"Holy crap! He... he really caught it! And he’s not even hurt!"

"There was no fluctuation of Primordial Power, so it wasn’t a Palm Technique. That guy must have cultivated a powerful Secret Technique too!"

The crowd gasped in amazement. They never expected to see someone other than Jintai who could withstand a Tier Three Soul Technique head-on!

The Profound Celestial Divine Pattern flared, holding back the Cliff-Breaking Golden Saber.

Chu Qingyun grinned. "Is that all you’ve got, Jintai?" With that, he clenched his left hand into a fist and, without even using Primordial Power, slammed it into the giant golden saber.

BOOM!

The golden saber shattered!

Without using Primordial Power or any Fist Technique, relying solely on the strength of his Third-Layer Profound Celestial Divine Pattern, he had shattered a Tier Three Soul Technique with a single punch.

"Chu Qingyun, you’re courting death!"

"Vajra Indestructible! Vajra Body! Vajra Power!"

Jintai roared, his body glowing as if coated in golden lacquer and enveloped in a brilliant golden light. He charged at Chu Qingyun, his fist tearing through the air with a piercing shriek as it flew toward its target.

Failing to defeat the man he considered trash in a single move was a deep humiliation for Jintai.

After Jintai unleashed his Vajra Undying Secret Method, Chu Qingyun sensed a powerful aura of danger emanating from him, warning him not to be careless.

’My strength has improved by leaps and bounds over the past few months,’ Chu Qingyun thought, ’but it looks like Jintai hasn’t been idle either.’

"Thundercloud Sword, Thunder Sword Momentum!"

Chu Qingyun drew his Thundercloud Sword and unleashed his Thunder Sword Momentum. Empowered by the Third-Layer Profound Celestial Divine Pattern, he blasted a sword strike at Jintai!

Chu Qingyun’s latest move once again drew gasps of astonishment from the Observation Platform.

"Such powerful Sword Momentum! I doubt a Spirit Level Sword Technique could produce momentum of this intensity!"

"Hmph, look closer. That’s a Spirit Level Divine Weapon! A rare Divine Weapon that even Martial Spirit Realm experts find hard to obtain!"

"Incredibly powerful Sword Momentum, the might of a Spirit Level Divine Weapon, plus the amplification from the Third-Layer Profound Celestial Divine Pattern... This kid might actually be able to stand up to the Vajra Indestructible technique!"

In that instant, the eyes of everyone from the Celestial Wind Army lit up as hope was rekindled in their hearts.

Meanwhile, the higher-ups from the Four Great Clans grew worried and apprehensive.

They were baffled.

’We investigated this thoroughly. Xiao Feng and the other three are all away on missions. So how can the Celestial Wind Army still have another Captain-Level fighter this strong!?’

Under the crowd’s intense gaze, the ferocious Thunder Sword Momentum and the formidable power of Vajra Indestructible crashed together in the center of the arena stage!

As Jintai’s fist slammed down, a terrifying Vajra Power erupted, instantly tearing through the Thunder Power!

The shattered Thunder Power exploded, wildly lashing out at Jintai’s body.

The golden light around Jintai surged, easily neutralizing the residual Thunder Power!

After the Thunder Power disintegrated, a second, more violent collision occurred as the Thundercloud Sword slashed viciously against Jintai’s fist!

At the point of impact, golden light scattered and lightning flared.

The blinding light bathed their bodies, making them flash between white and gold, impossible to look at directly!

CRACK!

After a brief stalemate, a crack more than ten meters long split the center of the stage, and the two combatants were violently thrown apart.

Jintai stumbled back two steps, but the golden light around him surged, and he quickly regained his footing.

Chu Qingyun, however, was sent stumbling back again and again, all the way to the edge of the stage, before he barely managed to steady himself. The cyan light of the Profound Celestial Divine Pattern around him had dimmed considerably.

’Sigh... So in the end... I’m still a bit outmatched...’