Devouring Soul Emperor

Although he understood, Prince Duan had no intention of stopping him.

After all, this Lord Lan was a ninth-level Martial King. He could even take that final step and become a supreme expert of the Emperor Realm at any moment.

Even the Sovereign of Great Xia would have to treat such a figure with the utmost respect and not dare to act presumptuously, to say nothing of a mere prince like Yu Chen.

Under Lord Lan’s indifferent gaze, the Ninth Prince’s hands trembled as he slapped himself hard across the face three times.

Even Prince Duan had tacitly approved. What else could he do?

Before leaving with his men, however, the Ninth Prince shot Chu Qingyun a venomous glare.

Clearly, he was once again blaming Chu Qingyun for the humiliation he had suffered today.

Logically speaking, the incident had almost nothing to do with Chu Qingyun. It was purely because the Ninth Prince and his group had been too arrogant, attempting to cripple not only a Great Xia Dragon Guard within their own barracks but also Xia He, the Seventh Prince.

That was how they ended up running afoul of Prince Duan and Lord Lan.

But the Ninth Prince would never see it that way.

In his mind, the entire affair was Chu Qingyun’s fault. If he had just obediently let them humiliate and teach him a lesson, would any of this have even happened!?

After the Ninth Prince left, Prince Duan glanced at Xia He, let out a soft sigh, and departed with Lord Lan.

Chu Qingyun helped Xia He to his feet and escorted him back to his quarters.

"Xia He, I never imagined you were actually a prince. You really kept us in the dark," Chu Qingyun said with a smile after they sat down.

He had previously suspected that Xia He came from an extraordinary background, but he had never dared to imagine he was royalty.

Xia He gave a bitter smile. "Some prince I am. A phoenix that has lost its feathers is no better than a chicken. Captain, you saw it for yourself. The Royal Race is nothing but constant scheming and siblings turning on one another."

Chu Qingyun nodded, his thoughts drifting back to his days in Chu Family Village.

Although conditions in the small mountain village were poor, the bonds between brothers were almost always harmonious. Even among the younger generation, relationships were very close.

"By the way, Xia He, is the animosity between you and the Ninth Prince that serious?" Chu Qingyun couldn’t help but recall that during the Illusion Realm trial, Xia He had possessed a deep-seated obsession.

Now, it seemed very likely that it was related to this Ninth Prince.

At the mention of this, Xia He sighed heavily and said with some dejection, "It’s gone beyond animosity. It’s a feud to the death. I never thought that bastard Yu Chen would actually get a chance to attend the sect recruitment assessment."

"With his talent and strength, passing the assessment should be no problem for him. Once he becomes a Sect Disciple, he would only need to send a single order back, and my mother’s branch of the family and I would probably be finished..."

"Captain, you need to be careful too. Yu Chen is an incredibly petty person. He’s definitely holding a grudge against you for what happened today."

After saying this, Xia He leaned back heavily against his chair, his eyes fixed on the ceiling in a blank daze.

The Ninth Prince had not only become a Fifth-level Martial Spirit but had also obtained the chance to enter a sect. This was pushing him to a dead end...

"A feud to the death, you say..." Chu Qingyun took a soft breath, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. "Xia He, do you want me to take care of him for you?"

Chu Qingyun didn’t know the details of the conflict between Xia He and the Ninth Prince, nor did he have any interest in finding out.

All he needed to know was that Xia He was his brother, someone who had faced life and death by his side. That was enough!

Though Chu Qingyun had never said it out loud, his actions had always shown that he was an extremely protective person.

"Captain, he’s going to participate in the sect assessment. Don’t tell me you are too...?" Xia He couldn’t hide his surprise.

"That’s right. There are five spots, and I have one of them," Chu Qingyun said.

Xia He hesitated for a moment, conflicted, but still shook his head. "Never mind. Yu Chen is a Fifth-level Martial Spirit."

"What? You don’t trust my strength?" Chu Qingyun asked with a small smile.

Xia He was taken aback for a second, then he smiled as well.

Xia He had personally witnessed the speed of Chu Qingyun’s progress. As long as he was given enough time, surpassing Yu Chen was only a matter of when!

After another moment of hesitation, Xia He finally made up his mind. "Alright, then I’ll have to trouble you, Captain! Yu Chen... My only regret is that I can’t kill you with my own hands!"

After chatting with Xia He a little longer, Chu Qingyun left and returned to his own quarters.

For the next two days, aside from going out once to meet with Xiao Feng and Sun Daxiong, he spent nearly all his time in his quarters.

Before his departure, he also made some arrangements.

With the Royal Capital of Great Xia in turmoil, Chu Qingyun was naturally uneasy about letting the Chu Family members return to Qingshan City, so he had them remain in the County City.

Chu Qingyun gave the village chief a large amount of Primordial Spirit Liquid to help them establish themselves in the County City. He also entrusted them to the care of Grand Commander Chu Yu and the Celestial Wind Army Master, asking them to look out for his family.

Furthermore, during these two days, Chu Qingyun also purchased some Spiritual Medicine and refined as many Nascent Condensation Pills as possible, which he then gave to the village chief.

Although the strongest person in the entire Chu Family, the village chief, was merely a fourth-level Martial Artist, Chu Qingyun had done everything he could think of to help. He also specifically instructed the village chief to never, under any circumstances, reveal the matter of the elixirs.

After everything had been arranged.

On the morning of the third day, Chu Qingyun and the four other genius Commanders under the age of twenty-five—all at the Earth Spirit Realm—followed Lord Lan and Prince Duan aboard the Flying Ship.

They were only picking up five people from each county.

In addition, Prince Duan and the others extended some preferential treatment to the geniuses participating in the assessment.

Therefore, after Chu Qingyun and the other four boarded, each was assigned a private room.

Once everyone was aboard, the Flying Ship accelerated immediately, not pausing for even a moment.

In the blink of an eye, the entirety of Lianshan County City shrank to a tiny dot and vanished from sight.

Standing by the window, Chu Qingyun let out a long breath.

This departure wasn’t like his journey from Chu Family Village to Qingshan City, or from Qingshan City to Flame City.

Who knew when, if ever, he would have the chance to return from the sect to the Great Xia...

By now, Chu Qingyun had learned a little about the Flying Ship.

The rule set by the sects for this recruitment assessment was that anyone who could cross the Blood-soaked Land and reach Celestial Martial City within one year of the announcement would be considered to have passed.

If it took longer than a year, it would be useless even if one made it to Celestial Martial City.

Between the Great Xia and the Blood-soaked Land lay dozens of imperial dynasties, some of which had territories ten times the size of Great Xia itself!

If one were to travel by Flying Demon Beast, it would likely take more than a year just to cross the Land of Hundred Dynasties, to say nothing of also traversing the Blood-soaked Land.

That was why the Great Xia had deployed this ultimate treasure of the Royal Race: the Flying Ship.