Devouring Soul Emperor

"He crippled a Level Three Martial Artist without even batting an eye. So ruthless!"

"What a ruthless guy. He didn’t even consider Zhang Han’s background. If a kid like that is allowed to mature, he’ll be absolutely terrifying."

"Thank goodness I’m not on his bad side. He’s incredibly talented and utterly merciless. You can’t afford to offend someone like that, you just can’t..."

Chu Qingyun’s swift and decisive crippling of Zhang Han sent murmurs rippling through the crowd.

An eerie silence fell over the entire Great Xia Martial Palace in an instant.

Nearly every eye in the place focused on one area, where the Gang Leader of the Blood Wolf Gang sat with many of their Elders.

At this moment, the expression on the face of Qi Gang, the Blood Wolf Gang Leader, was dark.

Just a few days ago, one of their Elders was assassinated. Now, another had been crippled.

With the opening of the Martial King’s Tomb just around the corner, the Blood Wolf Gang’s strength had suffered one blow after another, leaving them severely weakened.

"Chu Qingyun, you dare cripple Zhang Han’s Qi Sea? Have you gone too far?!"

Qi Gang’s hands trembled with rage as he spoke.

"Too far? Gang Leader Qi, I think you’ve forgotten that this is a life-or-death battle."

As Chu Qingyun spoke, he controlled his Martial Soul to lift Zhang Han into the air.

His Dantian pierced, Zhang Han was drenched in a cold sweat from the agony, but he could only struggle feebly, his face a mask of pain.

Witnessing this, everyone’s heart skipped a beat.

From the sound of Chu Qingyun’s words, he didn’t just plan on crippling Zhang Han—he was going to take his life!

Zhang Han’s face went deathly pale with fright, and he hurriedly screamed, "Gang Leader, save me, Gang Leader!"

Qi Gang snorted coldly, leaped to his feet, and jumped down to the foot of the stage. "Chu Qingyun," he said, "do me a favor and let Zhang Han go. Consider the grudge between you settled."

"Settled? HAHA! Don’t make me laugh. Why should I settle? Look at him, like a half-dead dog. What right does he have to settle anything with me?!"

Chu Qingyun sneered.

The moment Zhang Han had threatened him with his parents and with massacring the Chu Family Village, Chu Qingyun had made up his mind.

Zhang Han had to die!

"Are you trying to make an enemy of my Blood Wolf Gang?"

Qi Gang’s expression grew colder still.

"Zhang Han has been trying to kill me from the start, every one of his moves aimed to be fatal. Can it be that your Blood Wolf Gang is allowed to kill others, but no one is allowed to kill you?"

"He who lives by the sword shall die by the sword. Today, I’ll make an example of him for all of you!"

With a cold cry, Chu Qingyun sent a vine lashing out like lightning, wrapping it around Zhang Han’s neck. With a sudden, vicious tug, Zhang Han was decapitated, as dead as he could possibly be.

"Chu Qingyun, you’re courting death!"

Qi Gang roared in fury. A powerful aura erupted from his body as he charged straight for Chu Qingyun.

He had condescended to negotiate with Chu Qingyun, only to be completely ignored. If he didn’t kill Chu Qingyun now, it would be a tremendous blow to both his own prestige and that of the Blood Wolf Gang.

However, the instant he made his move, three terrifying auras descended upon the battle stage.

A chill shot through Qi Gang’s heart. It felt as if an immense pressure was crushing him, and he landed on the stage with a pale face, looking shocked and uncertain.

Meanwhile, in the stands, Housekeeper Qin—who could no longer bear Ye Qi’s insistent urging—vanished like a whirlwind and reappeared in an instant, blocking the path between Qi Gang and Chu Qingyun.

"Qi Gang, the terms of this life-or-death battle were agreed upon under my witness. Are you now trying to defy me? Are you provoking the City Lord’s Mansion?!"

Housekeeper Qin’s expression was icy as he delivered the harsh reprimand.

The corner of Qi Gang’s mouth twitched. He hurriedly lowered his head, not daring to say another word.

Whether it was the unfathomably powerful Housekeeper Qin or the consistently low-profile City Lord’s Mansion, neither was an existence he could afford to provoke.

’Damn it! So that kid Chu Qingyun really does have a strong connection to the City Lord’s Mansion!’

Qi Gang felt a sense of helplessness, but he knew that today, he wouldn’t be able to lay a finger on Chu Qingyun.

Just then, Gao Feng emerged from the back and ambled unhurriedly onto the stage. He looked at Qi Gang with a cold smile and said, "Qi Gang, Chu Qingyun is a Great Xia Samurai and a member of my Great Xia Martial Palace. If something like this happens again, the Blood Wolf Gang will cease to exist."

"I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare. I was just acting on impulse, on impulse..."

Qi Gang’s face was ashen, but he could only lower his head and yield.

Gao Feng’s tone may have been light, but it struck terror into Qi Gang’s heart.

Housekeeper Qin had intervened under the pretext of being the witness to the life-or-death battle.

Gao Feng, on the other hand, had openly declared, ’Chu Qingyun is my guy. If you dare touch him again, you’ll have to answer to me.’

Moreover, Qi Gang’s eyes kept darting toward the stands.

Three auras had pressed down on him earlier. Besides Housekeeper Qin and Gao Feng, there had been a third, most terrifying one that had directly crushed him onto the stage.

Qi Gang had only felt such a terrifying aura once before, many years ago, in the presence of the City Lord himself.

The other party was very likely a Martial Spirit Level expert!

At this point, Qi Gang wished he could slap himself across the face. If he had known Chu Qingyun had a Martial Spirit Level expert backing him, he never would have jumped out and humiliated himself like this.

Now, not only had he failed to kill his target, but he had been threatened in return. The Blood Wolf Gang’s reputation had hit rock bottom...

Qi Gang and the rest of the Blood Wolf Gang scurried away in disgrace.

Chu Qingyun collected Zhang Han’s Tier Two Black Tiger Martial Soul.

As he jumped off the stage, You Yun’s voice echoed in his ear, "Come find me at the Assassin Alliance after this is over."

Chu Qingyun searched all around but couldn’t find any trace of You Yun, forcing him to give up.

Chu Qingyun was endlessly curious about the mysterious and powerful You Yun, yet he also felt a strange sense of trust toward him.

With his demonstrated strength and potential, Chu Qingyun was naturally inundated with a headache-inducing flood of compliments and recruitment offers. Many people even used their own daughters and granddaughters as bargaining chips to entice him.

Fortunately, Gao Feng fended them all off in the name of the Great Xia Martial Palace.

At the exit of the Great Xia Martial Palace, Ye Lan watched the celebrated Chu Qingyun with a sour expression. "Hmph. So he beat a worthless Level Three Martial Artist. What’s the big deal? I really want to go down there and teach them a lesson."

Ye Qi paid him no mind, yet she gave Chu Qingyun her utmost attention. This made Ye Lan, a "favored son of heaven," feel extremely uncomfortable.

"Haha, Brother Ye Lan, calm down. Who does he think he is? He’s not worth your anger. The Martial King’s Tomb is what’s most important."

"The other three families are definitely watching Qingshan City right now. It’s best we keep a low profile. We should wait until Brother Ye Can arrives before doing anything."

At the mention of Ye Can, looks of admiration appeared on their faces.

This group of people hailed from Lianshan County City and looked down on the Martial Artists of Qingshan City, to say nothing of the Martial Artists from the mountain villages outside the city.

And Ye Can was an outstanding figure among the Ye Family’s younger generation, known as their second-strongest expert.

As for the strongest of the Ye Family’s younger generation, he was already a legendary figure in Lianshan County City. Before the age of thirty, he had already broken through the Martial Artist realm to become a Martial Spirit!

"Hmph. We’ll wait for Brother Ye Can first. That kid definitely won’t be able to resist the lure of the Martial King’s Tomb. When the time comes, we’ll kill him!"

Ye Lan snorted coldly and departed with his group.