Chapter 411: Mu Han
Ever since boarding the Flying Ship, Chu Qingyun had felt that his strength was lacking.
He was even pushed to his limits against Dai Linggang, a relatively mediocre Level 4 Martial Spirit, forcing him to use nearly every trick up his sleeve.
Later, he took a risk and mastered the Fifth-Layer Profound Celestial Divine Pattern, which significantly improved his situation.
However, even with this improvement, he still couldn’t handle the top-tier Level 5 Martial Spirits, like Yin Feiyang, who had also cultivated Sword Qi.
Let alone the Level 6 Martial Spirits.
With his current strength, if he were to face a Level 6 Martial Spirit—even one from the Martial Soul Hall—he would likely be forced into a miserable state, having to rely on the Thrusting Sword Technique to win.
The root of all this was that his Realm was too low!
Advancing from a Level 3 to a Level 4 Martial Spirit wasn’t just a simple one-level increase; it was a leap from the Small Spirit Realm to the Earth Spirit Realm.
Once Chu Qingyun broke through to the Level 4 Martial Spirit Realm, his power would increase tremendously in an instant!
’I’m already struggling to deal with just the Examiners from Great Xia. If I rashly try to break out and reach Black Blood City now, I’ll have to face geniuses from other dynasties and experts from the Blood-soaked Land. Won’t I be even more outmatched?’
’Instead of doing that, I might as well use this ambush by the Martial Soul Hall as an opportunity to break through to Level 4 Martial Spirit first!’
Chu Qingyun thought for a moment and made his decision.
He would break through to the Level 4 Martial Spirit Realm before heading to Black Blood City.
After dispatching the two Martial Soul Hall members in the Earth Spirit Realm beside him, Chu Qingyun’s figure flickered as he began to flee.
However, he didn’t flee toward Black Blood City like the others. Instead, he darted into the nearby forest.
Almost no one pursued the Examiners fleeing toward Black Blood City.
This was because the Martial Soul Hall was also hostile toward the people of the Blood-soaked Land.
If those Examiners made it into Black Blood City, they could likely ensure their safety by either hiding their identities or displaying sufficient strength.
But if members of the Martial Soul Hall dared to enter Black Blood City, they would surely suffer a gruesome death the moment they were exposed.
Seeing Chu Qingyun seemingly flee in a blind panic into the forest, several Martial Soul Hall members in the Earth Spirit Realm nearby couldn’t help but sneer before giving chase.
’Six Level 4 Martial Spirits, three Level 5 Martial Spirits, and no Level 6s...’
Seeing there were no Level 6 Martial Spirits among his pursuers, Chu Qingyun breathed a silent sigh of relief. ’My luck isn’t half bad,’ he thought.
’If a Level 6 Martial Spirit had come after me, it would have been a huge pain to deal with, even if I could win.’
’But now... this is much easier.’
Enhanced by the Fifth-Layer Profound Celestial Divine Pattern, Chu Qingyun’s speed was nearly on par with that of a Level 5 Martial Spirit from the Martial Soul Hall. However, he deliberately controlled his pace, keeping the nine pursuers from the Earth Spirit Realm trailing him at a consistent distance.
After running for a while, Chu Qingyun suddenly stopped.
The nine Earth Spirit Realm cultivators, however, rushed forward with a WHOOSH, surrounding him.
"Kid, keep running! Why’d you stop? Are you out of Primordial Power?"
"Hmph. A mere Level 3 Martial Spirit dares to enter the Blood-soaked Land? You’re courting death. Watch me take you down!" one of the Level 5 Martial Spirits suddenly yelled, lunging at Chu Qingyun. Primordial Power surged from his hand as he reached out to grab him.
’Damn that crafty bastard!’
’Dream on if you think you’re stealing the credit!’
The other eight cultivators cursed inwardly. Unwilling to be outdone, they too unleashed their Primordial Power and lunged for Chu Qingyun.
In their eyes, Chu Qingyun was just a Level 3 Martial Spirit who had fled in a panic, exhausted his Primordial Power, and had no strength to resist.
A weakling like him could be captured alive effortlessly.
After all, many of the geniuses participating in the examination possessed Tier Four Martial Souls.
If Chu Qingyun had a Tier Four Martial Soul and they captured him alive, it would be an immense contribution!
A member of the Martial Soul Hall transformed with a Tier Four Martial Soul had a chance to become a King Realm Expert!
And so, all nine of them scrambled for the credit, lunging at Chu Qingyun. Their attention was so focused on each other that they paid no mind to Chu Qingyun at all.
’Truly courting death...’
"Great Devouring Palm!"
Chu Qingyun sneered inwardly and thrust out his palm, striking the empty air before him.
An immense amount of Devouring Power erupted from his palm, instantly forming a black cylinder that enveloped him before rapidly expanding outward.
The nine Martial Soul Hall members from the Earth Spirit Realm couldn’t resist at all.
Before they could even recover from their surprise, they were already enveloped by the cylinder.
Under such an immense amount of Devouring Power, anything that came into contact with it—be it Martial Soul Power or Primordial Power—was instantly devoured without a trace!
It was as if the nine Earth Spirit Realm cultivators from the Martial Soul Hall had all jumped into a black cylinder, only to disappear inside it, inch by agonizing inch.
Nine streams of pure Primordial Power followed the flow of Devouring Power into his Devouring Martial Soul. There, they were refined into Primordial Liquid and channeled into his Qi Sea.
The Martial Soul Power from nine Tier Three Martial Souls was negligible, but their Primordial Power caused a visible increase in the Primordial Liquid within Chu Qingyun’s Qi Sea.
But that was the extent of it.
For Chu Qingyun, breaking through from Level 3 to Level 4 Martial Spirit required an enormous amount of Primordial Power. This was obviously far from sufficient.
"Thousand-Faced Illusion Body!"
After killing the nine men, Chu Qingyun activated the power of his Thousand-faced Martial Soul. The space around him rippled. In the next instant, his face, physique, clothes, and even his aura transformed completely. He now looked exactly like one of the Level 4 Martial Spirits from before.
The only flaw was that his aura remained that of a Level 3 Martial Spirit.
After changing his appearance, Chu Qingyun fired off several blasts of Primordial Power, wrecking the surroundings to cover up any traces left by the Great Devouring Palm.
If he was going to do this, he had to be cautious.
After dealing with these things, Chu Qingyun turned and walked back toward the ambush site.
"Huh? Mu Han, didn’t you go with Black Couch and the others to chase that Level 3 Martial Spirit punk? How come you’re the only one back?"
On the way back, Chu Qingyun encountered a Level 5 Martial Spirit from the Martial Soul Hall.
The man clearly recognized "Mu Han," the identity Chu Qingyun had assumed, and knew the others who had been in pursuit. He even walked over and clapped Chu Qingyun on the shoulder.
Chu Qingyun smiled and said, "They’re still after him. I couldn’t keep up."
"Ha! You couldn’t even keep up while chasing a mere Level 3 Martial Spirit? You’re really... *Sigh*..." The man didn’t seem suspicious. He just shook his head and continued on his way.
However, Chu Qingyun deliberately fell one step behind him, then suddenly struck him heavily in the back with his palm.