Devouring Soul Emperor

"Ahem... girlfriend? What are you talking about..."

Chu Qingyun rubbed his nose, feeling a little awkward.

"Hmph. Enough nonsense. Take out that fragment and let me see it."

You Yun stared intently at Chu Qingyun, waiting to see what he would do.

Ning Xue had warned Chu Qingyun not to show the fragment to anyone. Now, You Yun was testing him, wanting to see if he would hand it over.

"Here, take it. Is this the thing you said could completely change my destiny?"

Chu Qingyun handed the fragment to You Yun without the slightest hesitation.

’Smart move.’

Beneath her mask, You Yun smiled faintly. She took the fragment and began to examine it closely.

After studying it for a moment to no avail, she returned the fragment to Chu Qingyun. "You took action once and ended up with two fragments. It seems this thing is fated to be with you. It must be your destiny."

"Fated to be with me? Then what about Ning Xue? She has one of the fragments. Besides, it’s such a great treasure. Don’t you want it for yourself?"

Chu Qingyun grew puzzled.

Both Ning Xue and You Yun seemed to value this fragment immensely, yet both of them had handed it right back to him after looking at it.

"It’s useless to me. As for her... she doesn’t have the destiny for it. And Piaomiao Pavilion is nothing."

Chu Qingyun felt even more frustrated. He had assumed Ning Xue came from a powerful background, but from the sound of it, You Yun looked down on her background entirely...

"Central State... what kind of place is it, exactly?" 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

After a moment’s hesitation, Chu Qingyun voiced the question weighing on his mind.

"Chu Qingyun, do you think Lianshan County is big?" You Yun didn’t answer, instead asking him a question in return.

"It’s huge. Lianshan County governs thirty-six cities, and our Qingshan City is ranked near the bottom. I’ve heard Lianshan County City itself is enormous and incredibly prosperous," Chu Qingyun replied after a moment of thought.

"Then do you think the Great Xia Kingdom is big?" You Yun continued to ask.

The Great Xia Kingdom?

Chu Qingyun was speechless. He had never considered the question before. To him, the Great Xia Kingdom was a legendary place, despite the fact that he was living within its borders.

"Chu Qingyun, since you’ve obtained one of the fragments, and I believe you have a destiny connected to it, I’ll tell you."

"Lianshan County is a tiny place. The Great Xia Kingdom is also a tiny place."

"The world we live in is called the Martial Soul Continent. The place where we are is in the northern part of the continent, known as the Northern Domain, also called Beizhou."

"The true rulers of the Northern Domain are the Three Major Sects, also known as the Three Sects of the Northern Domain: the Celestial Sword Sect, the Talisman Puppet Sect, and the Saint Extreme Sect."

"Beneath the Three Major Sects, there are many smaller sects. Further down are hundreds of dynasties of various sizes, and the Great Xia Kingdom is merely one of them."

Hearing You Yun’s words, Chu Qingyun was stunned.

He had never imagined the world was so vast!

He remembered bragging to his childhood friends that he would gladly starve for three days just for a trip to see Qingshan City, and that a single glimpse of Lianshan County City would make his entire life worthwhile.

’It seems I was just a frog in a well.’

The Northern Domain of the continent alone was this massive, home to hundreds of dynasties like the Great Xia Kingdom, plus other sects, and then the Three Major Sects!

"This is only the Northern Domain of the Martial Soul Continent. Besides this, there are the Southern Domain, Western Domain, Eastern Domain, Northwest Domain, Northeast Domain, Southwest Domain, and Southeast Domain. Beyond these Four Directions and Eight Domains, there is the most vast and boundless region, the very center of the continent, called the Central Domain, also known as the Central State."

"Central State is the heart of this world. The greatest opportunities, the most prodigious geniuses, the strongest Martial Souls, the finest treasures, and the most beautiful women—you’ll find them all in the Central State!"

You Yun’s words left Chu Qingyun reeling.

In the darkness, Chu Qingyun leaned against a huge rock, saying nothing, but his eyes glittered with longing and curiosity.

A longing to become stronger!

Curiosity about this unknown world!

A young heart is easily stirred. As he listened to You Yun’s descriptions, Chu Qingyun wished he could set off at once for the Four Directions and Eight Domains, for the Central State, to see this world with his own eyes!

Seeing the look in his eyes, You Yun smiled to herself.

Her goal was precisely this: to stoke his desire, to fuel his ambition.

Because obtaining that ’thing’ wasn’t just an opportunity. It also meant shouldering an immense responsibility...

"You Yun, do you know what the Martial Soul Hall is? In the Martial King’s Tomb, I met a guy named Qian Sanpang..."

Chu Qingyun told You Yun everything about Qian Sanpang, except for the part about his Devouring Martial Soul consuming what the man had left behind.

At the mention of the Martial Soul Hall, an irrepressible hint of killing intent emanated from You Yun.

She said in a cold voice, "The Martial Soul Hall is the common enemy of the entire continent!"

Chu Qingyun frowned. He could clearly sense You Yun’s hostility toward the Martial Soul Hall. Back in the Martial King’s Tomb, Ning Xue had also grown cold at the mention of it.

’Do they both have a grudge against the Martial Soul Hall?’

Unless he had no other choice, Chu Qingyun had no desire to provoke or get entangled with some bizarre organization.

As if reading his mind, You Yun sneered, "Chu Qingyun, don’t think you can remain uninvolved. The Martial Soul Hall is the common enemy of every Martial Artist on the continent. It’s them or us!"

Chu Qingyun was surprised yet again. It seemed that today marked the beginning of his true understanding of the world.

"Qian Sanpang’s body... it seemed different from an ordinary person’s," Chu Qingyun said, puzzled.

"Hmph. Who ever said he was human?" You Yun scoffed.

Instantly, a chill ran down Chu Qingyun’s spine.

’Not human... He’s really not human!’

’Could he really be a demon!?’

However, no matter how much Chu Qingyun pressed her, You Yun refused to say another word about the Martial Soul Hall.

As for when Chu Qingyun asked why Qian Sanpang had asked him where the Vermilion Bird was,

You Yun couldn’t even be bothered to answer, replying dismissively, "If you don’t know, how could I?"

Many people had died in the Martial King’s Tomb, and as a direct result, countless horses at the foot of the mountain were now without owners.

Neither Chu Qingyun nor You Yun were the scrupulous type. They each caught a horse and rode through the night toward Qingshan City.

"By the way, You Yun, there’s one more thing I wanted to ask you. Do you know what Primordial Spirit Liquid is?"

The thought had suddenly occurred to him.

If the people from the great hall, or Jintai and his group, had heard him ask that, they would have probably coughed up blood from sheer rage.

’You bastard! You didn’t even know what Primordial Spirit Liquid was, and you still fought us to the death for it!’

"During the Martial Artist ranks, one uses Primordial Stones to speed up their training. Primordial Spirit Liquid, however, is what Martial Spirit Strong People use. It’s an essence condensed by a Martial Spirit Level Strong Person from their own Primordial Power. You could also consider it a universal currency among Martial Spirits. Why? Did you get some Primordial Spirit Liquid?"

"Hehe, just a lucky break. I got over forty drops," Chu Qingyun said with a grin. ’As expected of something used by Martial Spirit Level Strong People, it really is good stuff.’