Devouring Soul Emperor

Unless it was absolutely necessary, Chu Qingyun didn’t want to kill Yu Chen in front of so many people.

He was, after all, the Ninth Prince of Great Xia. Many of Chu Qingyun’s family and friends also lived in Great Xia. If word of this got out and spread back home, it could bring them immense trouble.

However, just as both sides were lost in their own thoughts, the Devouring Martial Soul within Chu Qingyun’s Qi Sea trembled slightly.

A tremor in his Qi Sea meant that people from the Martial Soul Hall were nearby!

Chu Qingyun’s focus immediately sharpened. He instantly stopped and scanned his surroundings.

His Soul Power was far superior to that of an ordinary person.

Now, with his senses heightened, he did indeed detect numerous faint, almost imperceptible auras in the woods on both sides and ahead of him.

Members of the Martial Soul Hall were lying in ambush here!

After discovering this, however, Chu Qingyun didn’t say a word. Instead, he immediately returned to his previous demeanor and continued walking forward.

’There’s a Martial Soul Hall ambush this close to the reception point. It’s impossible for those three King-level experts not to have noticed. This means the so-called examination has already begun...’ Chu Qingyun thought to himself.

Chu Qingyun’s eyes shifted. He glanced at the dozen or so people slowly closing in on him, and the corner of his mouth curved into an almost imperceptible smile.

With the Martial Soul Hall already here, he wouldn’t have to go to the trouble himself. He could just let nature take its course.

As for warning the hundred-plus participants to prepare and reduce casualties, Chu Qingyun had no interest in doing so.

First of all, if he did that, he would undoubtedly draw the full attention of the Martial Soul Hall and put himself in grave danger.

The others had watched the Ninth Prince and his men surround him, yet they all pretended not to see. It was obvious that even if Chu Qingyun warned them, no one would help him when the Martial Soul Hall attacked.

Secondly, even if he could help them this one time, there would be many more dangers to face while crossing the Blood-soaked Land. Chu Qingyun couldn’t help them every time.

After walking for another two minutes, Chu Qingyun, who had been keeping a close watch on his surroundings, realized that his group of over a hundred people seemed to have walked right into the Martial Soul Hall’s encirclement.

Moreover, more hidden auras were continuously converging on their position from deep within the forest.

And at that moment, the Ninth Prince and his men finally couldn’t hold back any longer and made their move.

The dozen or so people instantly turned hostile, spinning around to surround Chu Qingyun.

"Hmph. Chu Qingyun, you dared to get so close to the Seventh Prince. You even stopped me from crippling him that day, which got me punished by Lord Lan and lectured by my Imperial Uncle. Now, it’s time for you to pay the price."

The Ninth Prince stood in front of three Fifth-level Martial Spirits, a cold sneer on his face as he stared at Chu Qingyun.

"Oh? So you finally couldn’t hold back..." Chu Qingyun said with a light chuckle.

"Still smiling? It seems you really have a death wish," the Ninth Prince said, glaring at Chu Qingyun.

At that moment, however, Princess Qingyou stepped forward and said, "Ninth Prince, we’re already in the Blood-soaked Land. Shouldn’t we let go of past grudges?"

"That’s right. Now that we’re here, it would be better for us to work together," Zheng Baoshan added from the crowd.

"Shut up!"

The Ninth Prince suddenly barked, his cold gaze sweeping over the others. "Anyone else says another word of nonsense, and they’ll die with Chu Qingyun."

Instantly, everyone fell silent.

Princess Qingyou, Zheng Baoshan, and a few others sighed helplessly and said no more.

In the end, they had only met Chu Qingyun a few times. There was no need, and no reason, for them to offend the Ninth Prince for his sake.

The Ninth Prince had gathered a dozen or so people, including an expert like Yin Feiyang. Aside from the four Sixth-level Martial Spirits present, his group was the strongest.

"Chu Qingyun, how do you want to die?"

"If you want a quick death, get on your knees and kowtow a few times. If you can satisfy me, this Prince, I might even spare your life..."

The Ninth Prince said with a sinister grin, looking at Chu Qingyun.

The dozen or so people with him also burst out laughing, their eyes on Chu Qingyun as if they were looking at a dead man.

At this, Chu Qingyun sighed silently to himself.

’A bunch of clueless fools, gloating when disaster is about to strike!’

From the moment his Devouring Martial Soul began to tremble, Chu Qingyun had focused his attention, keeping track of every stir in his surroundings.

By now, he had already sensed that his group of over one hundred people was completely surrounded by the Martial Soul Hall.

The people from the Martial Soul Hall could attack at any moment!

Before, there weren’t many Martial Soul Hall members around them, and they had all been painstakingly concealing their auras, so no one other than Chu Qingyun had noticed.

But as more and more of them gathered in the area, some among the hundred-plus participants gradually noticed that something was amiss.

The aura of a single person is easy to hide.

But the auras of a hundred, or even several hundred people, are very difficult to conceal.

Among Chu Qingyun’s group, some of the more battle-hardened individuals even faintly sensed a hidden, subtle killing intent in the surrounding woods.

"Everyone, be careful! Something seems off about our surroundings."

"I think we’ve walked into an ambush! There are a lot of hidden auras around us!"

Many people adopted defensive stances, their faces filled with vigilance.

At this moment, the members of the Martial Soul Hall could no longer hold back and swarmed out from the woods.

After leaping out, they were all silent. With ice-cold eyes, every one of them charged directly at Chu Qingyun and the other participants.

Earth Spirit Realm, Earth Spirit Realm, Earth Spirit Realm...

Chu Qingyun quickly scanned the area and found that all the charging members of the Martial Soul Hall were in the Earth Spirit Realm. There wasn’t a single one in the Small Spirit Realm, nor any in the Celestial Spirit Realm.

’Looks like the people at the reception point weren’t just sitting around doing nothing. At least there are no Celestial Spirit Realm experts here...’

Chu Qingyun sneered. While the Ninth Prince and his men were stunned, he flickered and slipped out of their encirclement.

According to Chu Qingyun’s speculation, the Martial Soul Hall forces ambushing the participants in this forest must have reached some kind of unspoken agreement with the reception point, or perhaps with the sect.

The sect would not interfere with their ambush, and in return, the Martial Soul Hall would not deploy anyone from the Celestial Spirit Realm.

After all, at this initial stage, most of the participants from the various empires lacked Celestial Spirit Realm experts. If the Martial Soul Hall sent out cultivators of that level, they would likely wipe everyone out in one fell swoop.

Once they entered the depths of the Blood-soaked Land, however, it wouldn’t matter.

In there, not only were there participants, but also powerful experts native to the Blood-soaked Land. Even if the Martial Soul Hall sent in Celestial Spirit Realm cultivators, they wouldn’t necessarily gain an advantage.