Chapter 197: Chapter 197: There’s Trouble
Flame City was quite a distance from Lianshan County City.
Back then, it had taken Grand Commander Chu Yu and his several hundred men over half a month of traveling at full speed to get from the County City to Flame City.
Chu Qingyun’s group wasn’t in such a hurry, nor did they need to rush desperately. Traveling at a leisurely pace, it took them nearly a month to get from Flame City to the County City.
During that month, the Devouring Martial Soul finished consuming all the Tier Three Martial Souls obtained from the Zhao Family.
He had obtained two from the Mountain and Sea Brothers, one from among the other ten Ninth-level Martial Artists, and the last was the Blood Spear Martial Soul from Zhao Xiaolong.
There were four Tier Three Martial Souls in total, all of them attack-types.
Therefore, Chu Qingyun held nothing back, using all their Martial Soul Power to strengthen his Devouring Martial Soul and bringing its enhancement level to 18%.
In Flame City, Tier Three Martial Souls were rare, which would have made it difficult to raise the Devouring Martial Soul to Tier Four.
But things would be different in Lianshan County City.
It was the heart of the county, a gathering place for geniuses from all over Lianshan County. The number of Tier Three Martial Souls there would surely far exceed that of Flame City!
Chu Qingyun was filled with anticipation for this.
He had a strong premonition that raising the Devouring Martial Soul to Tier Four would bring him a huge surprise!
As the center of Lianshan County, the scale and grandeur of Lianshan County City were on a completely different level from the outlying cities; it was far, far larger.
"Young Master Chu, let’s part ways here. If you visit Ten Thousand Treasures Tower in the future, don’t forget to come see me," Qin Ya said, sidling up to Chu Qingyun after they entered the city, her tone seemingly coquettish.
Sun Daxiong and Xia He watched Chu Qingyun with envy. ’So lucky with the ladies.’
But Chu Qingyun could only give a helpless, wry smile. He knew, of course, that Qin Ya didn’t really mean anything by it; she just enjoyed teasing him.
"Ahem, Miss Ya, what is it exactly that you need my help with?" Chu Qingyun asked with a light cough.
"Hee hee, that matter is still a while away, so there’s no rush. I’ll definitely come find you when the time comes. I’ll be going now."
Qin Ya giggled, covering her mouth with a sly look, but didn’t say what she needed Chu Qingyun’s help with. And before leaving, she didn’t forget to shoot him a flirtatious glance.
’How bizarre...’
Chu Qingyun shook his head helplessly.
"Haha, now that we’re in the County City, I’m your host! Come on, come on, I’ll treat you two at Songhe Tower to welcome you properly. The Snow Scale Fish there is to die for. I guarantee you’ll never forget it after just one bite!"
Sun Daxiong laughed heartily, beckoning Chu Qingyun and Xia He toward the restaurant.
Chu Qingyun, however, shook his head and said with a smile, "Let’s save Songhe Tower for another day, Sun. I’m actually more interested in the place where you can exchange Military Merits in the Great Xia Dragon Guard. Why don’t we go check that out first?"
’Now that I’m in the County City, I’m bound to face more and stronger geniuses and experts.’ Chu Qingyun felt an urgent need to improve his own strength.
Improving one’s strength required consuming cultivation resources.
His fifteen thousand-plus Military Merits, sitting in his Token, were just a meaningless string of numbers.
Only by exchanging them for cultivation resources and converting them into personal power would they have any real value.
Sun Daxiong shook his head and said with resignation, "You really are a training maniac. No wonder you’re so strong. Alright then, let’s head back to the Great Xia Dragon Guard."
Xia He had no objections to this.
He was also a little curious and wanted to see what kind of good stuff they could exchange for at the Great Xia Dragon Guard.
The Great Xia Dragon Guard’s barracks were in the Dongcheng District of the County City, occupying a massive area.
After the three of them presented their Tokens, they entered the barracks smoothly.
After entering the Great Xia Dragon Guard barracks and walking for a while, it wasn’t just Sun Daxiong who found it strange; even Chu Qingyun and Xia He, who were there for the first time, felt something was odd.
Along the way, many of the people they encountered seemed on edge, and many others walked about with long faces, looking very frustrated and angry.
"Strange, why is everyone acting like this..."
Sun Daxiong muttered, then suddenly spotted an acquaintance. "Old Peng, what’s going on? Everyone on the road looks like their father just died. Did something happen?"
The man Sun Daxiong called over, Old Peng, was also a Ninth-level Martial Artist captain.
He was quite familiar with Sun Daxiong and didn’t mind his coarse language. "I hear something big has happened," he said. "For the past ten-odd days, people have been getting chewed out every day, from the top all the way down. I just got a nasty scolding from Ma Hujun this morning, for no reason at all! Just because my belt wasn’t fastened properly..."
"He yelled at you for not fastening your belt? Did you offend Ma Hujun?"
"Bullshit!" Old Peng glanced left and right, and after confirming no one else was around, he said in a low voice, "I heard Ma Hujun got yelled at by the Grand Commander yesterday. I suspect he was just taking it out on me."
"’Even the Grand Commander is involved... Just what is going on?’" In an instant, Sun Daxiong, Chu Qingyun, and Xia He were all intrigued.
Old Peng lowered his voice and continued, "I don’t know the specifics. It seems like a gag order came down from above. Rumor is, it’s related to the Martial Soul Hall. And I heard from Zhang Mazi and the others that someone saw a certain Lord Military Commander return injured a few days ago."
A Lord Military Commander returned injured!
Chu Qingyun and the other two were stunned.
During their journey, Chu Qingyun and Xia He had learned a lot about the Great Xia Dragon Guard from Sun Daxiong, including the Six Armies under its command.
Chi Xue, Lan Yan, Beishuang, Liuyun, Thunder Shock, and Celestial Wind.
Since this assessment was organized by the Celestial Wind Army, Chu Qingyun and Xia He were directly assigned to it.
As for which Guard General they would specifically serve under, that would be decided after consultation among the Guard Generals under Grand Commander Chu Yu, followed by a report to the Grand Commander for approval.
And the six Military Lords of the Six Armies were all experts at the Seventh-level Martial Spirit rank or higher—powerhouses of the Celestial Spirit Realm!
’For even a powerhouse of the Celestial Spirit Realm to be injured... could it be that they’ve gone to war with the Martial Soul Hall!?’
"Ahem, this is all just rumor, so don’t you go spreading it around. And definitely don’t say it came from me. I’m taking off." Old Peng clapped Sun Daxiong on the shoulder and left.
"Old Sun, do you think what he said is true? Even a Military Lord was injured?" Xia He asked, looking at Sun Daxiong.
During their time in Flame City, the two of them had spent their days messing around together and had gotten quite close, to the point that Xia He had started calling him "Old Sun."
Sun Daxiong rolled his eyes. "Who are you calling ’Old Sun’? Don’t be so familiar. Would it kill you to call me Sun?"
Then, he thought for a moment and continued, "I reckon this is probably true. Based on my years of experience, the more secretive and whispered the gossip, the more credible it is!"
"But it’s none of our business anyway. Let the tall guys handle it if the sky falls. The Military Lords are already involved, so we shouldn’t worry our heads about it. I’ll take you to get your housing assignments first, and then we’ll go exchange your Military Merits."
