Devouring Soul Emperor

"Ya, did you agree to this on Young Master Chu’s behalf?"

Elder Qin couldn’t help but frown as he asked.

Qin Ya nodded.

"Nonsense! This is absolute nonsense! How could you possibly win a challenge like this? Young Master Chu, you..."

"Elder Qin, this isn’t Qin Ya’s fault. I was the one who insisted she agree, and I hope you won’t try to stop it either." Chu Qingyun spoke up, cutting off Elder Qin’s attempt to dissuade him.

Chu Qingyun had already heard plenty of this sort of discouragement, from Xia He and Grand Commander Chu Yu to Qin Ya. Though he knew they all meant well, he had his own reasons.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to explain; he just couldn’t reveal that he knew how to refine elixirs just yet.

Otherwise, not only would his "Mutated Martial Soul" attract suspicion, but countless people would undoubtedly come seeking his alchemy services.

Rejecting ordinary people would be one thing, but if it were members of the Great Xia Dragon Guard, or even some of the Earth Spirit Realm and Celestial Spirit Realm experts from the Celestial Wind Army, it would become a difficult situation.

If he refused, he would certainly offend many people at once. But if he agreed just once, he would never be able to say no again. It would be an endless pile of trouble.

Therefore, Chu Qingyun decided to keep this a secret for now. He would put it off for as long as he could, and if a day came when he could no longer hide it, he would deal with it then.

Seeing the determined look on Chu Qingyun’s face, Elder Qin knew that his mind was made up.

Although he hadn’t known Chu Qingyun for long, he had some understanding of his character. He knew he was the type of person who possessed great tenacity.

Once such a person decided to do something, it wasn’t easy to change their mind.

Elder Qin sighed lightly and could only nod in agreement, consenting to cooperate with Chu Qingyun in the name of the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

At that moment, however, Dong Jingshan suddenly spoke up. "Qin, even if you do this in the name of the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower, it has nothing to do with me. That brat’s opponent is my Dong Family. I won’t get involved."

"Ahem, I’m not interested in this either."

"Qin, I don’t want to participate either. I’m planning to acquire some treasures at the upcoming circuit auction, so my funds are a bit tight."

"Well... I’ll sit this one out as well."

Following Dong Jingshan, the other three elders of the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower also declared that they would not take part in this matter.

In their eyes,

Chu Qingyun facing the Dong Family’s Small Spirit Realm experts in a gauntlet of life-and-death battles could be summed up in two words: courting death!

Chu Qingyun must be one of those who achieved a little success in the Martial Master Realm and let it go to his head, becoming arrogant and ignorant of his own limitations.

As for Qin Ya and Elder Qin, they were acting purely out of sentiment, not for profit.

Therefore, they all wanted to stay far away from something that was clearly going to lose money—a lot of money at that.

"You... Hmph. Fine, don’t participate. In that case, we will still use the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower’s name, but all expenses will be covered by my Qin Family!"

Elder Qin snorted coldly, but inwardly, his mind was already racing, trying to figure out how he could help Chu Qingyun win the life-and-death challenge.

Dong Jingshan’s eyes darted around for a moment before he spoke again. "Niece Qin Ya, since this is your first time calling the shots on a big deal, I, as your uncle, will support you. I’ll be the first to place a bet. Regardless of the odds you set, I’ll bet on my Dong Family to win. Let’s say... three thousand drops of Primordial Spirit Liquid! I’ll have someone deliver the Spirit Liquid to you shortly!"

The old fox was actually trying to make a profit from this!

The other three men all cursed him silently in their hearts before stepping forward as well.

"Count me in. I’ll also bet on the Dong Family to win—three thousand drops of Primordial Spirit Liquid!"

"Four thousand drops! I’ll bet four thousand drops on the Dong Family to win, no matter the odds!"

"Ahem, I’ll be shameless this once, too. Three thousand drops of Primordial Spirit Liquid, also on the Dong Family to win..."

Seeing these four opportunists taking advantage of the situation, Elder Qin was so angry his beard bristled. "Get out! All of you, get out!"

The four didn’t dare to linger and quickly left with their men. As they departed, they didn’t forget to mention that they would have the Primordial Spirit Liquid sent over shortly.

Once they were out of Elder Qin’s courtyard, a hint of delight appeared on all four of their faces.

This was especially true for Dong Jingshan. He had thought all hope of avenging his grandson was lost, but then the tables had turned. Not only was Chu Qingyun inexplicably seeking his own death, but he had even arranged this whole affair.

"Dong Jingshan, are you sure about your Dong Family’s Small Spirit Realm experts? Don’t you dare lose and make us lose our Primordial Spirit Liquid for nothing!"

"That’s right, I bet four thousand drops of Primordial Spirit Liquid. That’s no small sum."

To this, Dong Jingshan sneered, a savage look on his face. "That brat dared to cripple my grandson’s eyes. Did you really think I would let him off the hook? A real life-and-death challenge? If he dares to court death, I will gladly oblige! A mere Tier One Martial Spirit has the gall to be this arrogant? With a Tier Three Martial Spirit taking action, killing him will be as easy as slaughtering a chicken!"

The other three nodded in agreement. "Exactly! That brat dared to ruin our good fortune. He deserves to die! He must be killed!"

"It’s just a shame we have to give the Qin Family some face. Otherwise, I’d have really wanted to bet more."

"Hmph, that old fool Qin has really lost his mind, going crazy along with that Chu Qingyun. This time, he’s bound to lose everything he has..."

With the official business concluded, Chu Qingyun didn’t linger and soon left the Qin Family estate.

After leaving the Qin Family, however, he went to the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower.

Since he began undertaking those special missions, Chu Qingyun had accumulated around two thousand drops of Primordial Spirit Liquid.

But after leaving the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower this time, his two thousand-plus drops of Primordial Spirit Liquid were completely spent. In exchange, he received a large bag of Tier Three Spiritual Medicines.

Even among Tier Three Spiritual Medicines, the price difference between various types could be quite substantial.

The most common Tier Three Spiritual Medicines could be bought for as little as a single drop of Primordial Spirit Liquid, while rare and exotic ones could cost over ten, or even twenty drops!

The total value of Chu Qingyun’s large bag was actually more than two thousand drops of Primordial Spirit Liquid, but he received a discount for buying so much at once.

Carrying the Spiritual Medicines from his wild shopping spree, Chu Qingyun returned to the Great Xia Dragon Guard’s encampment.

After returning, however, he didn’t immediately start refining elixirs. Instead, he first went to officially upgrade his status to Guard General. Then he checked out of his Captain-level quarters and claimed a Small Spirit Realm, Army Guardian Level residence.

At the Captain Level, one only had a single private dormitory room.

At the Army Guardian Level, however, one possessed an entire standalone residence, complete with a courtyard. It was an upgrade of more than just a single tier.

Moreover, the larger space was much more convenient for Chu Qingyun, both for alchemy and for cultivation. At the very least, he no longer had to squeeze into the crowded, communal training grounds and cultivation rooms used by those at the Captain Level.