Devouring Soul Emperor

The targets for the six elite squads were decided by the captains drawing lots.

Chu Qingyun drew Shilin Town, Tieshan City.

No one really minded the result, since they had no idea what the situation was like at any of the locations.

Traveling from the County City to the subordinate cities by horse would have taken a very long time. Therefore, the Great Xia Dragon Guard equipped each squad with two Tier Two Flying Demon Beasts: Giant-winged Geese.

The Giant-winged Goose was a rare and remarkably docile Demon Beast. Chu Qingyun and the others all quickly learned how to control and summon them.

Ten Giant-winged Geese took off one after another, flying toward the horizon.

The Army Commanders and Grand Commanders of the Six Armies returned to the main hall and took their seats.

Soon, someone brought out six gray, head-sized Crystal Balls. They were placed on the large table in the center of the room, opposite the Soul-Imbued Talismans belonging to the six elite squads.

There were some things they still hadn’t mentioned.

These six Crystal Balls, for example.

The Martial Soul Hall had given these Crystal Balls to the Great Xia Dragon Guard during their negotiations. According to the Hall’s representatives, whenever the Dragon Guard’s Martial Artists successfully conquered a town, the corresponding Crystal Ball would shatter.

The Army Commanders and Grand Commanders speculated that these were likely similar to the Soul-Imbued Talismans.

However, despite their careful study, they couldn’t make heads or tails of them. The Crystal Balls seemed to be filled with a massive, chaotic mixture of Primordial Power and Martial Soul Power.

No single individual, not even someone from the Martial Soul Hall, could possibly possess such chaotic Primordial Power or Martial Soul Power.

Even someone like Chu Qingyun, who possessed multiple Martial Souls, had distinct and separate powers for each one.

"Six elite squads, thirty of our very best Gold Medal Captains... I pray the casualties aren’t too severe. Otherwise, the loss would be immense..." the Chixue Army Master, the only woman among the Six Great Army Commanders, said with a sigh.

"Hmph! Those Martial Soul Hall Martial Artists can’t cultivate Secret Techniques, and their aptitude for Secret Manuals is mediocre at best. We’re all in the Martial Master Realm, but even if they outnumber us, there’s no way their garrison can stand against our elite squads!" the Thunder Shock Army Master, his face covered in stubble, snorted.

"That’s not a given," the Celestial Wind Army Master said, lightly tapping his fingers on the table. "The Martial Soul Hall was the one to propose this, after all. I just hope our teams don’t get careless."

"Ha! Speaking of which, Celestial Wind, you got lucky. You managed to turn that whole disaster with Liu Canghai into a blessing, scooping up two genius captains in one go. We don’t even need to talk about Chu Qingyun—he’s probably already unbeatable among all the captains in the Six Armies. But to think that Xia He also has a Tier Four Martial Soul..."

News of a Tier Four Martial Soul’s appearance had spread like wildfire among the top brass of the Great Xia Dragon Guard.

"Celestial Wind, you know the saying: one mountain can’t house two tigers. Having two such incredible talents together... that’s just asking for trouble. How about you transfer one of them to my Beishuang Army?"

"You lot..."

The Celestial Wind Army Master just shook his head and chuckled, looking exasperated.

He was, however, delighted on the inside. ’In the past, whenever the Army Commanders gathered, the Celestial Wind Army was always the least conspicuous. But this time, things are completely different.’

The Grand Commanders—those who had been there from the start and those who had arrived more recently—all sat quietly along the perimeter. In a gathering like this, it wasn’t their place to speak...

Tieshan City was not very far from Lianshan County City.

The Giant-winged Geese were fast to begin with, and by flying in a straight line directly to Shilin Town, they made incredible time. It took them only a single day to arrive in the vicinity of Shilin Town, just after nightfall.

Wary of the Martial Soul Hall, Chu Qingyun had them land a safe distance from Shilin Town rather than fly directly in. They took a short break before proceeding on foot toward the town under the cover of darkness.

As for the Giant-winged Geese, they were left to roam and forage in the area.

Though docile, the Giant-winged Geese were still Tier Two Demon Beasts. With no large forests or mountain ranges near Shilin Town, it was unlikely they would run into any danger.

For ordinary people, traveling quickly through the dark, untamed wilderness would have been nearly impossible.

But Chu Qingyun’s group of five were all top-tier Captains of the Great Xia Dragon Guard. They raced toward Shilin Town, taking turns concentrating and using their senses to detect any auras and maintain a vigilant watch.

Before long, the group of five arrived at the outskirts of Shilin Town.

A small town like Shilin Town had little in the way of defenses. It was surrounded by simple, low walls, and in some spots, nothing more than dilapidated fences.

Aside from the main road leading into the town’s entrance, it was easy to get in from virtually anywhere else.

In Great Xia, only settlements that reached the level of a "city" would have defensive walls, a City Lord, and a City Guard Army.

Chu Qingyun and his team had already worked out a preliminary plan on their way there.

According to the five previous waves of Celestial Spirit Realm experts sent to investigate, the Martial Master Level auras in all six towns were concentrated in one place: the largest compound in the center of town, the Town Mayor’s Mansion.

Of course, this "town mayor" was undoubtedly a Puppet of the Martial Soul Hall. Whether such a person even existed was another question entirely.

Therefore, their plan was simple: use the cover of night to strike directly at the enemy’s heart.

If the Martial Soul Hall’s forces proved too strong to be taken down in one fell swoop, they would retreat and find a way to pick them off piece by piece.

But if the garrison was small and weak, they would wipe them out on the spot.

The plan might have seemed reckless, but considering the strength of Chu Qingyun’s five-man team, it was their best option.

The five of them were arguably top-tier ninth-level Martial Artists. With a complete and complementary range of Soul Techniques, killing an enemy of a higher realm would be difficult even if they worked together. But when facing foes within the Martial Master Realm, each of them could likely take on a hundred opponents at once!

Furthermore, with support from Chu Qingyun’s Ten-Star Vine Martial Soul and the escape option provided by Xia He’s Flying Soul Techniques, the five of them could make a clean getaway even if they couldn’t win the fight.

The moon was dark and the wind was high; the night was deep and still.

The town was cloaked in darkness, with only a few faint spots of candlelight glowing dimly.

An eerie silence hung over everything, broken only by the RUSTLE of wind through the leaves.

After vaulting over a low wall into Shilin Town, all five of them were on high alert. Each person did their utmost to suppress their Qi, even slowing their breathing to a crawl.

They couldn’t risk being discovered before making their move.

Striking unexpectedly and catching the Martial Soul Hall off guard was their one major advantage; the garrison had no idea when they would attack.

This, however, was a source of some frustration for Chu Qingyun.

’I could just use the Hidden Qi Technique and hide my presence completely,’ he mused. ’But that would definitely attract the attention of the other four. So, I have to muddle along with them, laboriously suppressing my Qi.’