Devouring Soul Emperor

Chu Qingyun had previously set a condition: only those who bet over a thousand drops of Primordial Spirit Liquid could participate in this wager.

Therefore, most of the people who came to watch had no financial stake in the outcome; they were purely here to see a fight.

They didn’t care who won or lost, whether someone took an elixir or anything else. All they wanted was to see an intense battle.

Besides, they had seen too many drawn-out, messy fights.

They even felt that battles like Chu Qingyun’s—where he always obliterated his opponents in just a few moves—were the truly spectacular ones!

’Damn it...’

Elder Qin before him, the roaring crowd around him, and the unyielding refusal of Xia He, Xiao Feng, and the others to back down all placed immense pressure on Dong Jingshan.

He naturally didn’t want to let Chu Qingyun, who stood on the dueling platform, get away with this. But even if he stubbornly persisted and sent more men up, they would be no match for Chu Qingyun!

Dong Yuanzhou had been killed in three moves; anyone else who went up would likely not even survive a single one!

But if he didn’t send anyone, he couldn’t just stall forever. If this dragged on, it wouldn’t be long before Chu Qingyun was declared the winner by default.

His only hope was to produce convincing evidence that Chu Qingyun taking an elixir violated the rules.

’Wait, I don’t have any convincing evidence, but... if I can just suppress them with overwhelming influence, that might work...’

Dong Jingshan’s eyes darted about. Under immense pressure, he suddenly had a flash of inspiration and came up with an excellent idea.

He strode forward a few steps, positioning himself before the spectators, and cupped his fist in a salute toward a certain direction. "Everyone, please hear me out!"

"This matter concerns the very outcome of this life-and-death challenge! Therefore, I ask you all to speak up for what is right and judge for yourselves: did Chu Qingyun’s use of an elixir violate the rules or not?"

As he spoke, he shot a meaningful look at someone in the audience.

Dong Jingshan recognized the man. He was a Celestial Spirit Realm Elder from the Zhou Family, one of the Four Great Clans. Moreover, he had also placed a bet at the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower—on the Dong Family to win.

Upon hearing Dong Jingshan’s words, a large number of the ordinary spectators naturally began to shout that Chu Qingyun had not broken any rules and that the life-and-death challenge should continue.

However, the Zhou Family Elder understood Dong Jingshan’s intent.

He rose unhurriedly, motioning for quiet with both hands as he boomed, "Silence! Silence!"

"Everyone! Please listen to me. In any martial contest, regardless of the reason or the method, there must be an element of fairness. Using an elixir to rely on external power violates the very principle of fairness. It goes against all reason!"

After speaking, he swept his gaze across the crowd, giving meaningful looks to several other people he knew.

Soon, another person stood up. "The Zhou Family Elder is right! What kind of skill is power gained from an elixir? This is clearly cheating!"

"I agree! For cheating by taking an elixir, he should be declared the loser and executed on the spot!"

"That’s right! Taking an elixir is cheating. If such behavior isn’t severely punished, what’s the point of future competitions? We might as well just compete to see who has more elixirs."

When the Zhou Family Elder first spoke, there were still some boos and dissenting voices from the crowd.

But as one influential figure after another—all from major powers who had bet on the Dong Family to win—stood up to speak, the crowd gradually fell silent. No one dared to say anything more.

A dozen or so prominent figures in Lianshan County City had stood up one after another, completely suppressing the ordinary spectators.

After all, they were only here to watch a fight. Even though they knew what was being said was completely unreasonable, no one dared to stand up and object.

At this moment, even Elder Qin was frowning deeply, finding it difficult to intervene.

"Heh heh, you little bastard, just you wait to die. I’d like to see who can help you now! Go on, make your stupid bets. Now you’ll get a taste of what it feels like to be hoist by your own petard!"

Dong Jingshan stared at Chu Qingyun with a triumphant, sinister smirk, his eyes filled with a barely suppressed killing intent.

He had long wanted to kill Chu Qingyun with his own hands but had always been constrained by various parties.

But now, if he could use this momentum to declare that Chu Qingyun had cheated—and had used that illicit power to kill Dong Yuanzhou—then he would finally have a reason to make his move.

"Dong Jingshan, kill him! The Dong Family should be the winner of this life-and-death challenge!"

"Yes, Dong, hurry up and do it! What are you hesitating for?"

"Cheating with an elixir deserves severe punishment! Dong Jingshan, make your move!"

One after another, the people on the Observation Platform urged Dong Jingshan to attack and kill Chu Qingyun. This was a life-and-death challenge, and under the current circumstances, the Dong Family’s Small Spirit Realm cultivators certainly couldn’t win. Sending them up would be suicide.

Therefore, if the Dong Family was to win, Dong Jingshan had to act personally!

For the sake of the Primordial Spirit Liquid they had wagered, for their own vested interests, they couldn’t care less whether someone else lived or died.

Listening to these insistent calls, a sinister smile spread across Dong Jingshan’s face.

He suddenly turned to Elder Qin and said with a cupped-fist salute, "Qin, you see... should I make a move, or not? If I do nothing, I’m afraid I’ll provoke the wrath of the crowd, which would be detrimental to my Ten Thousand Treasures Tower as well..."

Elder Qin snorted coldly and was just about to speak.

But just then, a figure descended from a corner of the spectator stands.

"Hey, Dong Jingshan. You want to lay a hand on one of my Great Xia Dragon Guard? Seems you’re asking the wrong person. Why don’t you come and ask me?"

The newcomer wore a mocking expression, as if he didn’t take Dong Jingshan or any of the clamoring figures before him seriously at all.

"It’s Zou Kai! The former genius Grand Commander of the Gale Flame Army! It’s said he broke through to the Celestial Spirit Realm long ago!" someone in the audience recognized him and couldn’t help but exclaim.

’Zou Kai... an eighth-grade Martial Spirit...’

Seeing this man appear, Dong Jingshan’s expression changed drastically.

Aside from the Six Great Army Commanders, the Celestial Spirit Realm experts within the Great Xia Dragon Guard were not well-known to the public. In fact, fewer people recognized them than the Celestial Spirit Realm experts from the major powers.

However, being Celestial Spirit Realm experts themselves, those present all knew one another.

After all, while the County City’s population was large, the number of Celestial Spirit Realm experts was small. In such a tight-knit circle, everyone at least knew of each other, even if they weren’t well-acquainted.

"Ahem, Lord Zou," Dong Jingshan said, gritting his teeth and offering Zou Kai a cupped-fist salute. "While Chu Qingyun may be a member of your Great Xia Dragon Guard, he has, after all, incurred public outrage. Surely you can’t just shield him."

’I refuse to believe that all these Celestial Spirit Realm experts and all these influential figures from so many powers can’t overwhelm a single Zou Kai!’ Dong Jingshan thought viciously.

"Public outrage? Heh, let’s just see how ’public’ this outrage really is."