Devouring Soul Emperor

After handling some minor affairs, Chu Qingyun entered closed-door cultivation, focusing all his energy on refining elixirs.

There were still a little over eight days until the date set by the Dong Family. Moreover, since Dong Jingshan knew Chu Qingyun would definitely show up, he was certain to have made preparations and sent a powerful Small Spirit Realm expert.

Therefore, Chu Qingyun had to refine all the elixirs he needed before the challenge began.

The refining process was the same one he had used for the One Yang Pill and the Spiritual Longevity Pill: first, practice every step and detail to perfection within the Light Card Illusion Realm, and only then begin the actual alchemy.

Only in this way could he guarantee his success rate and ensure that these spiritual medicines, worth more than two thousand drops of Primordial Spirit Liquid, could be refined into the elixirs he needed.

While Chu Qingyun was busy refining elixirs, outside, Qin Ya and the others were far from idle.

Previously, at Dong Jingshan’s instruction, the Dong Family had already been loudly publicizing the fact that Chu Qingyun had accepted their deathmatch.

With the reputation of the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower’s Dong Family and the fame Chu Qingyun had earned at the last Four Races Martial Arts Competition, the affair became a major sensation that many people heard about.

However, after several consecutive days of the Dong Family making all the noise, the other party, Chu Qingyun, had yet to make any statement.

As a result, some people began to suspect it was all just a scheme by the Dong Family—nothing more than a deliberately spread rumor.

However, after the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower got involved, the matter became a hot topic once again.

The Ten Thousand Treasures Tower announced it was accepting bets from anyone. The odds were 1-to-1 for a Dong Family victory, but a staggering 10-to-1 for Chu Qingyun to win!

In other words, if you bet ten drops of Primordial Spirit Liquid on the Dong Family and they won, you would get twenty drops of Primordial Spirit Liquid from the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower. And if you bet on Chu Qingyun to win, you would get one hundred and ten drops of Primordial Spirit Liquid.

However, at Chu Qingyun’s suggestion, a restriction was added to the betting.

Specifically, the minimum bet was set at one thousand drops of Primordial Spirit Liquid. The Ten Thousand Treasures Tower would not accept any wagers below this amount.

This was done mainly because Chu Qingyun didn’t want to profit from low-level Martial Artists or people from ordinary backgrounds, hoping to prevent them from suffering disastrous losses out of a moment’s greed.

As for those who could afford to wager more than a thousand drops of Primordial Spirit Liquid, he didn’t mind. They were undoubtedly from powerful and wealthy families who could afford to lose that much.

Chu Qingyun had no qualms about winning their Primordial Spirit Liquid.

After this news spread, it immediately caught the attention of many wealthy and powerful people in Lianshan County City.

"Hahaha, 10-to-1 odds? Who are they kidding? Even if it were 100-to-1, a loss is a loss. I’m not that stupid. Butler, go place a bet for me. Two thousand drops of Primordial Spirit Liquid on the Dong Family to win!"

"A Level One Martial Spirit in a deathmatch gauntlet against the Dong Family’s Small Spirit Realm cultivators? As far as I know, that Chu Qingyun blinded Dong Mingfan. The Dong Family absolutely won’t hold back. Go bet one thousand drops of Primordial Spirit Liquid on the Dong Family to win!"

"According to my inside source, the Qin Family is completely behind this. Dong Jingshan even bet on his own family to win. We should follow suit. Bet two thousand drops of Primordial Spirit Liquid on the Dong Family to win!"

In the past few days, many important figures from the great families and major powers in the County City had been paying attention to this matter.

At first, some people were hesitant and conflicted, unsure if this was a deliberate setup. But when they inquired and found out that Dong Jingshan and the other three Ten Thousand Treasures Tower Elders had all bet on the Dong Family to win...

Their last shred of doubt was dispelled, and they all rushed to place their bets on a Dong Family victory.

Of course, nothing ever goes as perfectly as planned. There were some people who—perhaps being truly clever and having thought it through more deeply, or perhaps simply wanting to take a gamble on the 10-to-1 odds—bet on Chu Qingyun to win.

However, such people were a tiny minority. The vast majority of bets were still on the Dong Family to win.

Over the past few days, watching more and more Primordial Spirit Liquid arrive at her door, Qin Ya’s expression grew more bitter by the day. Meanwhile, Elder Qin had gone directly into closed-door cultivation, leaving the entire matter completely in her hands.

Everything was proceeding smoothly. The only thing missing, it seemed, was for Chu Qingyun to actually defeat the Dong Family in the deathmatch.

The day that Dong Jingshan had casually set soon arrived.

That morning, after waking up, Chu Qingyun took out all the fruits of his closed-door cultivation from his Storage Ring.

’Since I plan on using elixirs in battle, I naturally need to prepare them in advance and keep them on me to avoid any hassle later.’

Looking at the fifteen small jade boxes on the table, a confident smile appeared on Chu Qingyun’s face.

’This time, from the incredibly rich collection of pill formulas passed down to me by that senior, I’ve selected three.’

’Although all three are Spirit Level elixirs, consuming them will give my strength an absolutely explosive boost for a short time!’

After storing away all the elixirs, Chu Qingyun headed out.

Outside the courtyard, he saw several acquaintances waiting for him: Xia He, Sun Daxiong, and the trio of Xiao Feng, Chen Yu, and Huang Yinghao. As if by some unspoken agreement, they were all here for Chu Qingyun.

"Hm? Sun, you’ve reached the Half-Step Martial Spirit realm. Congratulations!"

Chu Qingyun said with a smile, noticing that Sun Daxiong had successfully broken through.

Seeing Chu Qingyun so relaxed, the others all sighed inwardly. They knew there was no point trying to dissuade him anymore. Besides, at this stage, saying anything more would be meaningless.

"Captain, don’t worry about this challenge. If you really can’t beat them, just say the word, and we’ll all attack together. To hell with the Dong Family’s bullshit rules!"

"That’s right! Others might be afraid of the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower’s Dong Family, but we aren’t! If things go south, we’ll all charge in together. Let’s see what they can do to us then!"

Xiao Feng, Chen Yu, and the others hadn’t just come to accompany Chu Qingyun and cheer him on.

They had all made up their minds: if the Dong Family really dared to pull any tricks and try to take Chu Qingyun’s life, they would fight them to the death!

For the rest of their lives, they would probably never forget the scene from that special mission where Chu Qingyun chose to fall off a cliff with that monster just so they could escape.

Moreover, with their talent, and after receiving the Nascent Condensation Pills and the huge rewards from the special mission, all of them, except for Sun Daxiong, had also become Level One Martial Spirits.

The top Gold Medal Captains of the entire Celestial Wind Army had all reached the Level One Martial Spirit realm. United, they were a force that could not be underestimated!

Looking at their determined faces, Chu Qingyun felt a little touched.

"Alright, then we’ll go together! But... don’t underestimate your captain, you guys..."