Devouring Soul Emperor

"Sigh, let’s just leave it at that. I suppose you just got lucky."

"But you must never tell anyone about opening such a vast Qi Sea. Otherwise, you might attract the attention of people with ill intentions. Be careful from now on, and don’t let anyone probe your Qi Sea easily."

You Yun said, looking at Chu Qingyun.

Hearing her warning, Chu Qingyun felt a warmth in his heart and nodded earnestly.

"Oh, right. There’s something I need to remind you about."

"The larger the Qi Sea you open, the more resources it will take to break through to the next level. A Qi Sea with a radius of ten thousand meters... even if you just threw Top-Grade Primordial Stones at it, I’m afraid... tsk tsk."

You Yun shook her head and walked out of the secret room, leaving a dumbfounded Chu Qingyun behind.

During the process of opening his Qi Sea, all of his Primordial Stones had shattered and been consumed. His current assets were now zero!

’And the amount of resources that could leave an expert like You Yun speechless... Top-Grade Primordial Stones... just thinking about it gives me a headache...’

After leaving the Assassin Alliance, the sky was already beginning to darken.

Walking along the street and seeing the thinning crowds, Chu Qingyun couldn’t help but think of his home, of Chu Family Village.

’Ye Qi has been grounded for a month. I probably won’t be able to see her at all during that time.’

’After my two assassinations, the Blood Wolf Gang must be as jumpy as a frightened bird. A third attempt won’t be as easy; trying to assassinate them again will probably be fraught with difficulty.’

’I’ve been away from home for a while now. Since I’ve broken through and become a Martial Artist, it’s time to go back and see how things are...’

Chu Qingyun silently made his decision.

After spending one last night at the inn, Chu Qingyun left with nothing to his name, mounted the same horse he had ridden on his way there, and departed from Qingshan City.

"When I arrived, I had at least a dozen or so Middle-Grade Primordial Stones. Now, as I leave, I don’t even have a single Lower-Grade Primordial Stone."

"Giddy-up!"

After leaving the city, Chu Qingyun couldn’t help but laugh at himself. He then cracked the whip and galloped in the direction of Chu Family Village.

Although Chu Qingyun didn’t have a single Primordial Stone now, he possessed many treasures that would have been unimaginable back in Chu Family Village.

Both the Hidden Qi Technique and the Profound Celestial Divine Pattern were a significant boost to his strength.

Even the Black Iron War Crossbow alone would probably be enough to shock the entire Chu Family Village.

Even an ordinary person, wielding a war crossbow capable of breaking through the defense of a ninth-level Martial Artist, could probably kill a seventh or even eighth-level Martial Artist!

Galloping furiously without stopping, Chu Qingyun arrived near Chu Family Village just before noon.

As he watched the blurry outline of the village gradually take shape in the distance, Chu Qingyun’s heart filled with excitement.

Just then, four figures suddenly leaped down from the trees on both sides of the road.

"Who goes there? How dare you trespass in Chu Family Village!"

"Halt! Dismount and prepare to die!"

The four shouted as they descended from the sky, pouncing on Chu Qingyun, who was still on horseback.

Chu Qingyun snorted coldly, tightened his grip on the reins slightly, and his right hand moved toward the hilt of his sword. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

However, when he got a clear look at one of their faces, he stopped his hand and a smile appeared on his face.

The aura of a Martial Artist suddenly erupted from Chu Qingyun. The four men, still in mid-air, showed expressions of utter shock.

Under the pressure of Chu Qingyun’s aura, the four of them were rendered completely immobile!

THUD, THUD, THUD, THUD

With four dull thuds, the men fell to the ground like dumplings being dropped into a pot.

Before they could get angry, Chu Qingyun beat them to it, bursting into laughter. "Haha, Gang, Lie, what are you guys doing here? I don’t remember there being any hidden sentries outside the village."

As it turned out, these four were none other than the younger generation of Martial Artists from Chu Family Village.

Chu Gang, Chu Lie, and the others—all four of them had had their lives saved by Chu Qingyun before.

Meanwhile, Chu Qingyun, who had been so excited about nearing the village, had actually failed to notice their ambush in the trees on either side.

"You are...? Qingyun! Qingyun’s back!"

"It is Qingyun! It’s only been a short while, but he’s changed so much. In my haste, I almost didn’t recognize him!"

Upon seeing Chu Qingyun, Chu Lie and the other three were overjoyed.

Having left the village, experienced a series of events, and seen more of the world—and especially after breaking through to become a Martial Artist—Chu Qingyun’s entire disposition and aura had changed so much that they hadn’t recognized him at first.

"Qingyun, that aura just now... Don’t tell me you’ve broken through and become a Martial Artist!?"

Chu Lie’s eyes went wide as he stared at Chu Qingyun and asked.

He was a dignified fourth-level Martial Artist. Even the aura of the ninth-level village chief couldn’t suppress him to the point of immobility.

But under Chu Qingyun’s aura, he was like a little rabbit targeted by a fierce tiger, completely unable to move or even muster the slightest thought of resistance.

This was absolute suppression through sheer strength!

Chu Qingyun smiled and nodded. "That’s right. I just broke through in the last couple of days. I’m now a first-level Martial Artist."

"Heavens, he really became a Martial Artist!"

"How... how long has it been? He actually broke through to become a Martial Artist..."

"A genius! Now this is a true genius!"

Chu Lie and the others couldn’t help but shake their heads and sigh with emotion.

They were all much older than Chu Qingyun, but their strength was completely incomparable.

"Oh, right, Qingyun, it’s great that you’ve become a Martial Artist. You should hurry home and take a look. Your family..."

Chu Gang, the eldest of the group, was the first to come to his senses. He started to say something to Chu Qingyun, but then trailed off.

Chu Qingyun’s brow twitched, and an uneasy feeling crept into his heart.

He immediately stopped wasting time. After a quick word to Chu Lie and the other three, he spurred his horse and galloped off.

’It’s better to go home and see for myself than to waste time here asking the four of them what’s going on. I’ll find out what happened soon enough,’ Chu Qingyun thought clearly.

"A first-level Martial Artist! Let’s see how the people from Zhao Family Castle can act so arrogantly now!"

"Hahaha, our Chu Family Village has a Martial Artist now, too! And such a young one at that! From now on, the people from Zhao Family Castle won’t dare to be so smug!"

Watching Chu Qingyun’s receding figure, Chu Lie and the other three were all beaming with joy. Forgetting their guard duty, they started running after him toward the village.

After entering the village, Chu Qingyun abandoned his horse and, with a series of flashes, dashed toward his home at top speed.

He was so fast that to onlookers, he looked like nothing more than an afterimage; they couldn’t even tell who it was.

Stepping into his own courtyard, Chu Qingyun’s expression turned grim.

The once neat and clean little courtyard had been completely trashed. Not only was everything that could be broken, broken, but even the walls of the house had several large holes smashed into them.

"Cough, cough cough... Who’s out there? There’s nothing to see here. Go away."

A series of intermittent coughs and a weak voice came from inside the house.

Hearing that voice, Chu Qingyun’s heart skipped a beat, and he rushed into the house.

Seeing his pale-faced father, Chu Xuan, lying on the bed, Chu Qingyun’s eyes instantly turned red.

"Father, what happened to our home? Who did this!?"

Chu Qingyun knelt by the bed, gripping Chu Xuan’s hand as he spoke.

His words were filled with traces of violent rage and Evil Qi.

His family had always been Chu Qingyun’s reverse scale; he hadn’t backed down even when facing a third-level Martial Artist like Zhang Han.

And now, his home had been smashed, and his father beaten so badly he was bedridden!