Devouring Soul Emperor

"Damn it, get out of my way! Get the hell out!"

Qi Gang roared in fury. Without dodging or evading, he charged straight ahead.

But even as they were about to collide, the figure remained motionless, standing there like a pillar rooted to the ground.

’Is he scared stiff?’

A vicious glint flashed in Qi Gang’s eyes. Gathering the Primordial Power of a Fifth-level Martial Artist before him, he smashed headlong into the figure.

’I told you to get lost, and you didn’t. Now I’ll crush you into a bloody pulp!’

BANG!

With a tremendous crash, the Primordial Power dissipated.

The figure remained completely still, but Qi Gang violently spat a mouthful of blood as he was sent flying backward, smashing through three large trees before hitting the ground.

As it turned out, the figure was Chu Qingyun’s Puppet.

The moment Qi Gang had started to flee, Chu Qingyun had used the chaos to release his Puppet, controlling it to pursue and intercept him.

When the Puppet unleashed its full power, it moved with the speed of a seventh-level Martial Artist, easily overtaking Qi Gang.

"Gang Leader Qi, in such a hurry. Where are you off to?" 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

From behind, Chu Qingyun had caught up, his body radiating the grim killing intent of a man who had just slain ten others.

Blocked from the front, pursued from behind.

Qi Gang, the infamous figure of Qingshan City, was now trapped in a desperate plight.

"Chu Qingyun, the Blood Wolf Gang is finished, and so am I. But you and I have no true grudge. How about this? I’ll surrender and become a servant of your Chu Family. What do you say?"

"I’m a Fifth-level Martial Artist. Having a Fifth-level Martial Artist as your servant is a deal you can’t lose."

As Qi Gang spoke, he secretly gathered his power and furtively sized up Chu Qingyun.

’Become a servant, huh...’

Chu Qingyun put on an expression of deep thought.

"Now!"

"Blood Wolf Bite!"

"Blood Shadow Seven Swords!"

Just as Chu Qingyun appeared to be pondering, Qi Gang suddenly erupted, unleashing both his Soul Technique and his strongest Sword Technique in a ferocious assault.

It was a desperate, all-or-nothing gambit to survive.

What Qi Gang was doing was staking everything on one last, desperate struggle.

A ten-foot-long, giant, blood-red wolf’s head, reeking of a monstrous bloody aura, lunged to bite Chu Qingyun. Surrounding the wolf’s head were seven blood-colored Sword Shadows, all slashing toward him.

However, just as Qi Gang was relishing his attack, ten dark green vines suddenly shot up from the ground.

It was his Tier Three Martial Soul, the Ten-Star Vine!

Chu Qingyun hadn’t believed a word of Qi Gang’s offer to become a servant.

He had only pretended to consider it, using the conversation to buy time and secretly lay an ambush with his Ten-Star Vine.

After all, Qi Gang was a Fifth-level Martial Artist. A desperate counterattack from him was still a significant threat, so Chu Qingyun had been cautious.

Furthermore, Qi Gang’s attention had been entirely focused on watching Chu Qingyun’s face, so he hadn’t noticed any movement on the ground.

It was a close call. If Qi Gang had attacked a moment later, Chu Qingyun’s vines would have reached him and struck first.

THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!

With a series of dull thuds, the Tier Three Martial Soul vines, empowered by their Tough Soul Techniques, easily shattered Qi Gang’s Blood Wolf Bite and Blood Shadow Seven Swords.

The three remaining vines wrapped themselves tightly around Qi Gang, bundling him up like a massive cocoon and hoisting him into the air.

Qi Gang struggled with all his might, unleashing waves of Primordial Power in an attempt to sever the vines.

But it was utterly futile. With his level of strength, he had no hope of breaking free from the binds of a Tier Three Martial Soul.

"Qi Gang, now that it’s come to this, do you have any last words?"

Qi Gang was afraid. This time, he was truly afraid. "Chu Qingyun, I’m willing to be your Chu Family’s servant—no, a slave! I’ll be your slave, just please don’t kill me! Don’t kill me!"

"Hmph. A pack of lies!"

Chu Qingyun snorted, not believing a word he said.

The vine coiled around his neck suddenly tightened...

After Qi Gang died, a miniature Blood Wolf Martial Soul floated out from his body. After devouring it, Chu Qingyun’s Shadow Martial Soul smoothly advanced to Tier Three.

When using the Soul Skill Stealth with a Tier One or Tier Two Shadow Martial Soul, a faint, blurry shadow would remain. But with a Tier Three Shadow Martial Soul, using Stealth meant merging completely into the darkness, leaving no trace at all.

Chu Qingyun had no interest in the possessions of the other Blood Wolf Gang members. However, Qi Gang was the Gang Leader, so he was bound to have something valuable on him.

Chu Qingyun searched his body and, sure enough, found two valuable items.

One was a small jade vial, the size of a fingernail, containing a single, glistening droplet of Primordial Spirit Liquid.

Chu Qingyun guessed that this single drop of Primordial Spirit Liquid was likely the culmination of the Blood Wolf Gang’s wealth, accumulated over many years, which was why Qi Gang had kept it on his person.

The other valuable item was a Secret Manual: the Blood Shadow Thirteen Swords.

Flipping through it casually, Chu Qingyun discovered it was a Spirit Level Sword Technique, a tier higher than advanced Sword Techniques. However, since he already possessed the King-level Thunder Sword Manual, he wasn’t particularly interested.

After gathering all the corpses and setting them ablaze, Chu Qingyun returned to the main road and headed in the direction of Chu Family Village.

Halfway there, he encountered several horse-drawn carriages approaching.

"Who goes there!?"

Upon seeing Chu Qingyun, the men at the front of the convoy became extremely vigilant.

Chu Qingyun smiled and said, "Hua, it’s me, Qingyun."

Hearing the familiar voice, Chu Hua and the others breathed a sigh of relief. They rushed forward and asked, "Qingyun, how did it go? Is it all taken care of?"

Chu Qingyun nodded. "The Blood Wolf Gang’s Gang Leader, two Elders, and nine Protectors are all dead. Without their leaders, all the factions, big and small, that they used to oppress will surely strike back in revenge. The Blood Wolf Gang is finished for good."

"That’s wonderful!"

"Let’s hurry back and tell everyone the good news!"

Chu Hua and the others were overjoyed.

The ordinary villagers might not have understood the full situation, but these men had lived under a constant shadow, never knowing when the Blood Wolf Gang might come to cause trouble for Chu Family Village.

But now, the Blood Wolf Gang was finished. They would never have to worry about them again.

Furthermore, with their greatest enemy gone, they could finally expand into Qingshan City with peace of mind.

The group mounted their horses and galloped swiftly toward Chu Family Village.

As for the carriages, they were filled with nothing but scarecrows...

Two days later, several carriages bearing the Chu Family’s banner entered Qingshan City. The first thing they did upon arrival was occupy the Blood Wolf Gang’s headquarters, converting the gang’s territory into the Chu Family’s domain.

At first, many people scoffed, wondering which backwater the Chu Family had crawled out of to dare occupy the Blood Wolf Gang’s territory. They were simply courting death.

But after a few days, when no one came to challenge them, a rumor began to circulate: the Blood Wolf Gang was finished, destroyed by the hand of Chu Qingyun alone.

After that, no one dared to utter another word of criticism.

Chu Qingyun’s immediate family consisted of only three people, so the new Chu Family was formed from several families selected by the village chief.

The village chief, however, was a reasonable man. He knew this was all thanks to Chu Qingyun, so he made sure to select families who were either blood relatives or on good terms with Chu Qingyun’s own.

Chu Qingyun adamantly refused the position of Clan Leader, so in the end, it had to be given to his father, Chu Xuan. The former village chief, meanwhile, became an Elder.

Chu Qingyun stayed in Qingshan City for half a month. Once everything was running smoothly, he left his father ten thousand Top-Grade Primordial Stones and one hundred thousand Upper Grade Primordial Stones.

On a quiet morning, Chu Qingyun left Qingshan City.