Devouring Soul Emperor

"You court death, junior! You dare to block my Soul Technique with your bare hands!"

When Zhao Zhiyi saw Chu Qingyun use neither his Martial Soul nor a weapon, instead just extending a hand, he couldn’t help but roar in fury.

"Hmph. It’s just a Tier One Martial Soul. No matter how proficient you are, it’s still nothing more than a measly Tier One Soul Technique!"

Chu Qingyun snorted.

"Die!"

Amid Zhao Zhiyi’s furious roar, Chu Qingyun’s right hand smashed down hard on the spear’s brilliant glow.

CRACK!

A crisp sound echoed.

Under Chu Qingyun’s palm, Zhao Zhiyi’s sharp spear light shattered like glass hitting the floor, instantly disintegrating into fragments.

Meanwhile, a Divine Pattern flashed on Chu Qingyun’s hand, which was completely unharmed.

"Impossible! How can this be?!"

Zhao Zhiyi froze on the spot, letting out an involuntary cry of alarm.

"Nothing is impossible. Now, die."

Chu Qingyun’s eyes were cold. He pressed his advantage, his palm tearing through the air as he swiped viciously at Zhao Zhiyi’s head.

In that instant, Zhao Zhiyi saw a dark golden Divine Pattern flash across Chu Qingyun’s hand.

’What... is that?’

As his final thought flashed through his mind, his head exploded with a sickening CRUNCH. Chu Qingyun’s palm had smashed it to pieces, sending a spray of red and white matter flying backward.

Zhao Zhiyi, who had just become a Martial Master and hadn’t been arrogant for more than a few days, was dead.

"The... the Fortress Lord is dead! He was killed by that man in black!"

"T-Too strong... That man is too strong! He shattered the Fortress Lord’s Soul Technique, the Furious Dragon Spear, with a single casual palm strike..."

"Run! Everyone, run!"

The surrounding guards and servants who had witnessed everything were scared out of their wits, scattering in every direction like headless chickens.

The Fortress Lord they revered as a Celestial God, their invincible Martial Master, was dead. As mere low-level Martial Artists, they had no courage to even think of challenging Chu Qingyun.

The chaos around Zhao Zhiyi’s quarters spread rapidly, waking many people in its wake.

The bodies of the high-level Martial Artists he had killed were also being discovered one by one, spreading the chaos throughout Zhao Family Castle like a chain reaction.

Chu Qingyun paid this no mind.

’Things have deviated from the plan a bit, but the only target left is Zhao Yishui. I’m not worried about him getting away.’

Before, when he’d killed the other high-level Martial Artists, Chu Qingyun hadn’t looted their belongings for fear of alerting his other targets.

But now that he had killed Zhao Zhiyi, Chu Qingyun entered his room.

’Zhao Zhiyi would never trust an outsider with the wealth Zhao Family Castle has accumulated. He must have kept it under his own watch.’

After turning the entire room upside down, Chu Qingyun only found a paltry sum of about twenty Middle Grade Primordial Stones.

This amount of Primordial Stones couldn’t possibly be the entire fortune of a Martial Master, especially one who was the lord of the entire castle.

Suddenly, Chu Qingyun’s gaze fell upon a copper lion statue on the left side of Zhao Zhiyi’s headboard.

There was a fist-sized copper lion on each side of the headboard, flush against the wall.

However, the one on the left was noticeably shinier than the one on the right, as if it were frequently handled.

’This copper lion is the key!’

A cold smirk touched Chu Qingyun’s lips. He reached out and pressed down hard on the lion statue.

KLAK KLAK KLAK...

After a series of mechanical clicks, a section of the once-smooth, seamless wall slid open, revealing a square box about thirty centimeters on each side.

Chu Qingyun used his Longsword to pry open the box. After probing it to confirm there were no traps, he lifted it out of the hidden compartment.

Inside the box was a bright yellow parcel containing a pile of milky-white Primordial Stones.

"Upper Grade Primordial Stones!"

Chu Qingyun’s eyes lit up, and he was overjoyed.

He had been penniless ever since leaving Qingshan City. He never expected to strike it rich here at Zhao Zhiyi’s expense.

There were at least two hundred stones in this small pile. Converted to Middle Grade Primordial Stones, that would be twenty thousand!

The bounty for killing a Blood Wolf Gang Elder wasn’t even this high!

After stuffing the Primordial Stones into his clothes, Chu Qingyun left through the front door and waded into the chaos to find Zhao Yishui.

In the time it took Chu Qingyun to search for the treasure, chaos and panic had engulfed the entire Zhao Family Castle. Nearly everyone was running and screaming in every direction like headless chickens.

As the Young Fortress Lord, Zhao Yishui naturally stepped forward to try and stabilize the situation.

However, he was dismayed to find that the chaos was completely beyond his control.

"Young Fortress Lord! The Fortress Lord... the Fortress Lord has been killed!"

A guard stumbled and crawled before Zhao Yishui, his body trembling as he spoke.

"What?!"

"What did you say?! My father is a Martial Master! How could he possibly be killed?!"

Zhao Yishui grabbed the man by the collar, his expression savage.

Just then, another person ran over in a panic. "Young Fortress Lord, it’s terrible! Second Master... Second Master has been killed!"

"What?! Second Uncle is dead too?!"

Zhao Yishui’s mind reeled, going completely blank.

"Young Fortress Lord, Chief Steward Kang has been killed!"

"Young Fortress Lord, quick, go inform the Fortress Lord—Captain Zhao Xiu, Captain Zhao Xiu was killed in his own home!"

...

One report of death after another flooded in to Zhao Yishui.

Zhao Yishui’s face grew darker and darker, and a chill ran down his spine.

’To silently kill all the leaders of Zhao Family Castle in a single night... what kind of power is this?!’

If Zhao Yishui couldn’t figure out by now that they had been targeted by a powerful enemy, he’d be an idiot.

"You lot! You, you, and all of you! Charge toward the castle entrance! Go now!"

Zhao Yishui pointed at everyone around him, ordering them to charge toward the castle entrance.

Panicked and not thinking straight, the men swarmed toward the castle entrance.

Meanwhile, Zhao Yishui slipped back into his room, grabbed a brocade box, and, avoiding everyone’s notice, ran toward the rear of Zhao Family Castle.

Zhao Yishui’s plan was simple: have those men draw the enemy’s attention while he used the chaos to escape from a hidden exit at the back.

Unfortunately for him, Chu Qingyun was watching his every move from a rooftop.

’This Zhao Yishui is a crafty one, thinking to use others as scapegoats.’

’But that’s all the more reason I can’t let you live.’

With a flicker, Chu Qingyun tapped lightly off two rooftops and descended from the sky, landing directly in Zhao Yishui’s path.

"Who... who are you?"

The sudden appearance of the man in black scared Zhao Yishui so badly that he trembled and nearly fell over.

"Young Fortress Lord Zhao, you have such a short memory for one so important."

Chu Qingyun sneered and pulled down the black cloth covering his face.

"You... It’s you! Chu Qingyun!"

Under the dim moonlight, Zhao Yishui saw the man he gnashed his teeth at, the man he dreamed of killing.

"Chu Qingyun! You passed up the road to Heaven and instead came barging through the gates of Hell!"

"So die! Hahaha! I forgot to tell you, I’ve already advanced to a seventh-level Martial Artist!"

Zhao Yishui laughed triumphantly and threw a full-power punch straight at Chu Qingyun.

’A seventh-level Martial Artist?’

A flicker of disdain crossed Chu Qingyun’s face.