Devouring Soul Emperor

Following behind Zou Kai, seven more people walked out.

All seven were experts of the Celestial Spirit Realm, and shockingly, they represented all of the Great Xia Dragon Guard’s Six Armies!

During a previous special mission, Chu Qingyun had single-handedly eliminated all six of those monsters from the Martial Soul Hall. As a result, he earned the recognition of the other five Military Lords—everyone except the Celestial Wind Army Master—who all promised to look after him in the future.

And this time, after hearing about the situation, the Six Great Army Commanders had all sent Celestial Spirit Realm experts to intervene.

The Great Xia Dragon Guard and the Great Xia Martial Palace were both official factions of the Great Xia. Every member of the Dragon Guard was a former Great Xia Warrior who had achieved ten consecutive victories in the Martial Palace. Because of this, they had been given a special area, for which a large section of the surroundings had even been cleared out.

Previously, everyone’s attention had been focused on the battle platform, so no one had noticed them earlier.

Seeing that the Great Xia Dragon Guard had produced eight Celestial Spirit Realm experts, the people who had stood up began to have second thoughts, each of them wanting to back down.

They had indeed wagered a great deal of Primordial Spirit Liquid, but offending eight Celestial Spirit Realm experts from the Great Xia Dragon Guard for it was clearly a foolish move.

Furthermore, all Six Armies were represented among the eight. To claim no one else was involved behind the scenes would be utterly impossible!

"Zhou Xianliang, weren’t you spouting all that righteous nonsense earlier? Come on, tell us again what you call ’fair and just.’ How about we have a little life-and-death challenge for fun?"

Zou Kai sneered, his gaze fixed on the Zhou Family Elder in the audience—the first to speak up and the most vocal of the group.

Zhou Xianliang’s expression immediately turned ugly. With a cold snort, he sullenly sat back down and said nothing more.

Another Celestial Spirit Realm expert from the Great Xia Dragon Guard fixed his gaze on one of the Ye Family’s own, also in the Celestial Spirit Realm. "Ye Beiguang, you were the first to demand Chu Qingyun’s execution. In that case, I’d like to settle a score with you. During the Four Races Martial Arts Competition, your family’s very own Ye Junhao also consumed an Elixir when there were no rules against it. Should we drag him over here and execute him too?"

"Ahem, just a joke, it was just a joke..."

Ye Beiguang gave a hollow laugh and sat down. He didn’t dare let the Great Xia Dragon Guard set their sights on Ye Junhao; if that happened, Ye Tianyao would surely never forgive him.

One by one, the Celestial Spirit Realm experts and other powerful figures from the major factions sullenly returned to their seats, not daring to utter another word.

The only one left stubbornly holding his ground was Dong Jingshan.

He was utterly conflicted.

’Given how much importance the Great Xia Dragon Guard places on Chu Qingyun, if I back down now, I’ll probably never get another chance to kill him.’

’But if I don’t give up, my family’s Small Spirit Realm members are likely no match for Chu Qingyun.’

"Dong Jingshan, what’s it going to be? Are we continuing this, or are we ending it here?" Zou Kai said, staring at him.

Dong Jingshan’s expression was torn. Finally, he gritted his teeth and said, "We continue!"

He’s going to continue!?

Immediately, many people were stunned.

But after a moment’s thought, they all instantly understood Dong Jingshan’s reasoning and couldn’t help but curse inwardly, ’That old fox.’

Although consuming an Elixir could grant a massive surge in power, it was ultimately an external aid. The boosted strength could only last for a short time.

From the moment Chu Qingyun killed Dong Yuanzhou until now, a considerable amount of time had already passed during the argument.

Having made his decision, Dong Jingshan’s gaze flickered. He scanned back and forth over his family’s Small Spirit Realm members, yet he hesitated, unable to make a choice.

As for the Small Spirit Realm members themselves, their hearts pounded with terror, each one deathly afraid of being chosen.

The Level One Martial Spirits were especially tense.

Because it was still uncertain whether Chu Qingyun’s Elixir Power had faded, Dong Jingshan wouldn’t dare risk a Level Three Martial Spirit. He would definitely send a Level One or Level Two Martial Spirit up first to test the waters.

Dong Jingshan hesitated a while longer.

Zou Kai and the others at his side, however, were losing their patience. "Dong Jingshan, have you made up your mind or not? If you keep playing these petty games to stall for time, don’t blame us for getting rough."

"I’ve decided, I’ve decided! No need to rush, gentlemen. I’ll send... Izawa Shou! You’re up!"

Dong Jingshan deliberately dragged out his words, making it obvious that he was trying to stall for every possible second. This caused the men around him to frown in annoyance.

On the battle platform, however, Chu Qingyun merely let out a disdainful sneer.

Dong Jingshan had brought a total of fourteen Small Spirit Realm members with him. Three were already dead, leaving eleven. And Chu Qingyun? He still had eleven Elixirs on hand.

Aside from one Hundred Herbs Essence Pill, the remaining ten were all power-boosting Elixirs.

’Stalling for time?’

’What a joke!’

"Patriarch, I... I..."

Called upon by Dong Jingshan, Izawa Shou was clearly terrified. He couldn’t even form a coherent sentence. With his strength as a mere Level One Martial Spirit, going up there was a death sentence.

Meanwhile, the other Level One and Two Martial Spirits quietly breathed a sigh of relief, secretly thinking how lucky they were.

"Hm? I said, Izawa..."

Dong Jingshan was about to launch into a long-winded lecture to stall for even more time, but a fierce glare from Zou Kai made him flinch, and he didn’t dare to push it any further.

"I told you to get up there, so get up there! Enough of this nonsense!"

Following Dong Jingshan’s angry roar, the Level One Martial Spirit, Izawa Shou, reluctantly climbed onto the battle platform, his limbs trembling and weak.

The protective barrier activated. The battle began.

Instantly, all eyes focused once more on the battle platform.

They all knew, of course, that Izawa Shou had no chance of defeating Chu Qingyun. The real point of focus for everyone was whether or not the Elixir Power in Chu Qingyun had faded!

If his Elixir Power had completely faded, Dong Jingshan would surely send a Level Three Martial Spirit onto the platform to finish him off!

But if it hadn’t faded, then the situation would become cruel for the Dong Family—or more specifically, for the Small Spirit Realm members Dong Jingshan had brought with him. They would have to go up, one after another, trading their lives for time...

As for Chu Qingyun, he had no intention of wasting time.

The instant the protective barrier sealed, he moved. WHOOSH! He left behind a blurry afterimage, appearing before Izawa Shou in a flash.

The Elixir Power hadn’t faded!

A collective gasp erupted from the audience surrounding the platform.

BAM!

One punch.

Before the collective gasp had even subsided, Izawa Shou’s head exploded from the force of the punch. His body was blasted back against the protective barrier, as dead as could be.

"Next."

Standing on the battle platform, Chu Qingyun looked down and swept his gaze over the ten remaining Small Spirit Realm members of the Dong Family. Every person his eyes fell upon felt a chill run down their spine.

’Going up now would just be sending cannon fodder to their deaths!’