Devouring Soul Emperor

"That person just now... he was a human Martial Artist, right?"

The members of the Martial Soul Hall were not human. Chu Qingyun and his four men, Gold Medal Captains of the Great Xia Dragon Guard, were all aware of this.

’Strange... why’d they capture him alive? He’s only a Tier Two Martial Artist. And from the sound of it, it seems he was tricked into coming here...’

All five of them were deeply confused.

However, after a moment’s thought, Chu Qingyun’s eyes suddenly lit up.

Everything that had happened since their first encounter with the Martial Soul Hall flashed through his mind, and a suspicion began to form!

’If this suspicion is true, it would explain why Grand Commander Chu Yu was so furious when he mentioned the Martial Soul Hall...’

"Let’s follow them and see..."

With a wave of his hand, Chu Qingyun led the other four, silently dashing out to follow the group from a distance.

The four captors were focused on the man slung over their shoulders, completely oblivious to the fact that they were being followed.

「About five minutes later.」

They entered a house built of giant black stones.

The house was short, appearing no more than two meters high. Three of its walls were sealed solid, without even a window, leaving only a small door at the front.

Furthermore, two Martial Soul Hall Martial Artists stood guard at the entrance, making it impossible for Chu Qingyun and his men to slip inside.

Fortunately, after circling halfway around the building, they discovered several small ventilation windows near the roof on the back wall. Each was only slightly larger than a fist, but it would have to do.

Chu Qingyun summoned his Ten-star Vine Martial Soul, which steadily lifted all five of them, allowing them to easily reach the small windows.

Through the small windows, Chu Qingyun and his men could see everything inside the house.

From the outside, the house appeared to be a small structure, just over two meters high.

But once they looked inside, they realized the part above ground was merely an entrance; a much larger space lay hidden underground.

The entire space was brightly lit, allowing them to see everything with perfect clarity.

The middle-aged man from before now lay on a stone platform, surrounded by several Martial Artists from the Martial Soul Hall.

"Hurry the fuck up! This goddamn bastard has been a pain in the ass this whole time. He’s driving me crazy!" one of the Martial Soul Hall Martial Artists yelled in frustration.

Behind them, another Martial Soul Hall Martial Artist sauntered over, holding a small jade bowl. "What’s the rush? We’ve got him here. It’s not like he can escape now."

"Here, here, let me give you a little treat!" As he reached the middle-aged man, he pulled the ragged cloth from his mouth.

"You motherfuckers! What is all this creepy shit? Let me the hell go...!"

As soon as the gag was removed, the middle-aged man started spewing curses.

"Damn, he’s got a foul mouth!"

A nearby Martial Soul Hall Martial Artist swore, then grabbed the man’s chin and pried his mouth open.

The one holding the bowl pinched the man’s nose and forced the contents down his throat!

"COUGH! COUGH COUGH!..."

The middle-aged man choked violently twice, then his neck went rigid as he swallowed the liquid forced down his throat.

"Fuck! What did you make me drink? What was that?!"

The middle-aged man thrashed in terror, screaming.

He was a Martial Artist from a village near Shilin Town.

He had heard that the mayor of Shilin Town, in order to raise the town’s overall strength, would be distributing Primordial Stones to the Martial Artists from the surrounding villages. It was first come, first served, so he had rushed over.

He never expected that as soon as he arrived, he would be locked up by this gang. Many other Martial Artists from the nearby villages, with strength similar to his, were imprisoned with him.

For more than half a month, people had been taken from their holding cell every day. None of them ever returned.

And now, it was his turn...

The surrounding Martial Soul Hall Martial Artists merely watched the man’s struggles and curses with cold, mocking sneers, paying him no mind.

「About half a minute later.」

The man’s eyes began to roll back into his head. Foam frothed at the corners of his mouth, and his entire body started to tremble violently, as if in a seizure.

Slowly, faint streams of an earth-yellow, Qi-like substance began to emanate from his body, floating and gathering above him.

As time went on, the man’s convulsions grew more violent. His entire body shook and twisted unceasingly, as if being electrocuted. If not for his bonds, he would have surely fallen to the floor.

Meanwhile, the earth-yellow streams of Qi emerged faster and faster, gathering in ever-increasing volume.

The entire process lasted for about five minutes.

After five minutes, the man suddenly shot upright, then fell back with a THUD, becoming completely still.

A point of fluorescent white light flew out from his forehead. As if drawn by some unseen force, it slowly floated upward and bored into the dense, earth-yellow mass of Qi hovering over the man’s corpse.

After absorbing the point of light, the earth-yellow Qi instantly began to churn. It floated to the side, roiling as it gradually condensed into a humanoid form.

It was a humanoid figure identical to the middle-aged man, completely naked!

The only difference was that while the original man had been a Tier Two Martial Artist, this newly condensed being only possessed the aura of a ninth-level Martial Artist.

"Have you received all the information? Do you understand that you’re one of us now, a member of the Martial Soul Hall?"

One of the Martial Soul Hall Martial Artists asked casually, glancing at the new being with disdain.

The man’s Martial Soul was only a Tier One Martial Soul, so the member created from it couldn’t break past this limitation. Its power was forcibly reduced by two full ranks, turning it into a ninth-level Martial Artist.

"I’ve received everything. I understand, my lords..."

There was no need for an explanation. During its condensation, the being created from the middle-aged man’s Martial Soul had already learned a great deal about the Martial Soul Hall.

This information had been stored, through some mysterious method, within the liquid the man had been forced to drink.

"Strip the clothes off the body and put them on. Then take it to the back courtyard and bury it. Make sure you clean up properly."

One of the Martial Soul Hall Martial Artists waved his hand impatiently, dismissing the new being to handle the task on its own.

"Y-yes."

The newborn ninth-level Martial Artist didn’t dare say another word and dragged ’his own’ corpse out of the room.

At that moment, outside the wall above, the eyes of Chu Qingyun and his four men were wide with astonishment. They exchanged glances, each seeing the profound shock reflected in the others’ faces.

’So this is where the members of the Martial Soul Hall come from!’

’They’re Martial Souls, stripped from the bodies of human Martial Cultivators!’

’No wonder Grand Commander Chu Yu reacted that way when we talked about why the Martial Soul Hall occupies these towns.’

’The Martial Soul Hall isn’t just occupying this place... they’re clearly treating Shilin Town like a farm!’

’And the livestock... is human beings!’