Devouring Soul Emperor

The five people above were utterly shocked, but the Martial Masters from the Martial Soul Hall below had not yet noticed.

"Are we done processing all the Martial Masters with Tier Two Martial Souls? Why are we bringing in the ones with Tier One Martial Souls? What good are the Level Nine Martial Artists we make this way against the Great Xia Dragon Guard?"

One man complained, sounding rather displeased.

"We’ve processed all the Martial Masters with Tier Two Martial Souls."

"The only ones left are either in the Martial Artist Realm with Tier Two Martial Souls, or in the Martial Master Realm with Tier One Martial Souls. Either way, what we create will only be at the Martial Artist Realm," another person replied with a sigh of resignation.

The strength of a newly created Martial Soul Hall member was closely tied to what the person had been before.

For instance, take that middle-aged man from before. He had the strength of a Level Two Martial Master, but his Martial Soul was only Tier One, so the resulting Martial Soul Hall member was merely a Level Nine Martial Artist.

If he’d had a Tier Two Martial Soul, the one created would have been a Level Two Martial Master just like him, and would have even had the potential to advance to a Level Nine Martial Master.

"Hmm... In that case, bring in the children who haven’t awakened their Martial Souls yet. They don’t have any strength, but if we manage to get a Tier Three Martial Soul out of one of them, we’ll have hit the jackpot. Besides, the sooner we finish this, the sooner we can send away that group of Tier Three Martial Soul ’lords,’ and that’ll be one less thing to worry about."

"Tch, there are only seven little brats left, and they were all rounded up from the countryside. You think any of them will have a Tier Three Martial Soul?"

"Heh heh, you never know. We’ve already tested them, and they all have Martial Souls. As for what tier... that’s all up to luck. Who knows, maybe we’ll even get a Tier Four or Tier Five."

"Hahahaha! Keep dreaming! Tier Four..."

Amid the raucous laughter of the Martial Soul Hall Martial Masters, two men walked out.

Before long, they returned, bringing with them a little boy who looked to be only six or seven. He was dressed in rough, homespun clothes and appeared very timid.

One of the Martial Soul Hall’s Martial Masters grabbed the Jade Bowl from before, handed it to the little boy, and commanded in a cold, hard voice, "Drink it!"

The little boy timidly shrank back a couple of steps, his big, dark eyes filled with terror.

"Dammit, this little bastard is a real pain!"

The man lost his patience. He grabbed the little boy’s chin, tilted his head back, and poured the entire contents down his throat.

The little boy immediately burst into frightened tears and began to cough violently. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

But half a minute passed, and he had no reaction. The faces of the surrounding Martial Soul Hall Martial Masters began to light up with delight.

’No reaction? Does that mean he’s not Tier One? Could he be Tier Two?’

"Wait a bit longer. Some reactions are slower..."

After another two minutes, the boy still showed no reaction, aside from his crying.

This basically confirmed it: he did not have a Tier One Martial Soul!

Instantly, the gazes of the surrounding Martial Soul Hall Martial Masters softened considerably.

If he had a Tier Two Martial Soul, he would grow up to become a Martial Master of the Martial Soul Hall, just like them.

In a way, that made them kin—or at the very least, members of the same echelon within the Martial Soul Hall.

The same man from before prepared another Jade Bowl and forced it down the boy’s throat.

The little boy let out another wail.

But even after another two minutes, there was still no reaction.

This time, the expressions on the surrounding Martial Soul Hall Martial Masters turned much more solemn. And in their gazes toward the little boy, there appeared a hint of... awe!

’Could it be that he’s not Tier Two, but actually... Tier Three!?’

"Holy shit, don’t tell me my big mouth actually called it? Is he really a Lord with a Tier Three Martial Soul?"

"It’s... it’s been three minutes! He must truly be a Lord with a Tier Three Martial Soul! Quick, fetch another bowl for His Lordship!"

The same man as before ran over and brought back another bowl.

This time, however, he didn’t dare grab the little boy’s chin and force it down his throat. Even after being turned into a person of the Martial Soul Hall, all of the original human’s memories—including what had just transpired—were fully inherited.

"My Lord, would you... care for another bowl?"

The man said with a fawning smile, holding the Jade Bowl to the little boy’s lips.

The little boy, however, was so frightened that he scrambled back several steps and burst out wailing.

The entire room of Martial Masters immediately felt a massive headache coming on.

This was exactly the kind of situation they dreaded most.

In the human Martial World, someone with a Tier One Martial Soul could, with heaven-defying talent and luck, potentially cultivate all the way to the Martial Spirit Level. It was simply much more difficult than it was for those with Tier Two or Tier Three Martial Souls.

But in the Martial Soul Hall, things were different.

The Tier of a Martial Soul was a natural shackle, an uncrossable chasm. The peak for a Tier One Martial Soul was a Level Nine Martial Artist, while the peak for a Tier Two Martial Soul was a Level Nine Martial Master!

Layer by layer, the hierarchy was absolute!

Thus, in the human Martial World, what mattered most was the level of one’s Realm.

In the Martial Soul Hall, however, the first and foremost concern was the Tier of one’s Martial Soul.

Take this little boy, for example. If he produced a Tier Three Martial Soul, his status would far surpass that of every Martial Master in the Martial Soul Hall present, even if he didn’t have the strength of a Level One Martial Artist.

Because he had the right to become a Martial Spirit!

After some coaxing, the clueless little boy finally drank the contents of the Jade Bowl.

This time, only half a minute passed before he suddenly clutched his head, collapsed to the floor foaming at the mouth, and began to convulse violently.

And this time, unlike with the middle-aged man from before, the surrounding Martial Masters of the Martial Soul Hall all stood by respectfully, continuously offering soft words of encouragement, telling him to just bear with it and it would be over soon.

「Five minutes later.」

The little boy on the ground was now motionless. Beside him stood another, identical little boy, who was naked and whose expression betrayed neither sorrow nor joy.

A Martial Master from the Martial Soul Hall hurried to fetch a piece of clothing, but when he brought it over, his hand froze in mid-air. The clothes were completely the wrong size.

"My Lord... you see... this..."

Though they were only facing a newborn little boy with no strength to speak of, all the Martial Masters were incredibly respectful and tense.

"Sigh. Just strip the clothes off him."

"And... help me give him a proper burial."

The new Martial Soul boy sighed, his gaze complex as he looked at the corpse on the ground.

"Yes, My Lord. Once you are dressed, I will take you to the eastern villa to stay for the time being. Besides you, there are eleven other Lords with Tier Three Martial Souls there, all accumulated by our Shilin Town Martial Soul Hall over the years."

"After we process the remaining six people, we will send an escort first thing tomorrow morning to take all twelve of you Lords away from Shilin Town. This place has been targeted by the Great Xia Dragon Guard; it really isn’t safe."

The Martial Soul Hall Martial Masters inside didn’t dare hide a single thing from the newborn Tier Three Martial Soul, telling him everything.

Upon hearing this, however, Chu Qingyun, who was hiding and watching from above, felt his eyes widen as a flash of ecstasy shot through him.

’Twelve Tier Three Martial Souls!’

’And Tier Three Martial Souls were exactly what he needed right now!’

’There were plenty of Tier Three Martial Souls in the Great Xia Dragon Guard, but they were his comrades-in-arms; he couldn’t kill them. The members of the Martial Soul Hall, on the other hand... they were a different story!’

In his excitement, and having neglected to use his Hidden Qi Technique, Chu Qingyun’s aura couldn’t help but fluctuate.

Inside, two of the Martial Masters instantly snapped their heads up, their gazes fixed on the ventilation window above.

"Who’s there!?"