Devouring Soul Emperor

Chapter 359: Chapter 359: Picking Up People

Hearing Chu Qingyun’s comforting words, Xiao Feng and Chen Yu looked even more ashamed.

In truth, all five of them understood perfectly well.

If it wasn’t a ploy to lure Chu Qingyun out of the city to rescue them, Mu would never have gone to the trouble of taking them alive. He would have just killed them outright!

Just then, Chu Qingyun’s expression suddenly changed. "Damn it!"

"What’s wrong?" Xiao Feng and Chen Yu asked urgently.

Chu Qingyun’s brow furrowed. He paced around the courtyard, a grim look on his face. "You just said that the Martial Soul Hall’s Sub-Palace Master was furious and is determined to kill me."

"I’m perfectly safe hiding here in the Great Xia Dragon Guard encampment, but my parents and family are all in Qingshan City. If the Martial Soul Hall goes after them, it’ll be a disaster!"

Qingshan City was just a minor city, ranked near the bottom of the thirty-six cities within Lianshan County.

There were no significant forces within its walls, and its strongest figure, City Lord Ye Qingfeng, was currently in Lianshan County City.

The moment the Martial Soul Hall realized this, they could send even their weakest Level One Martial Spirit, and it would be enough to sweep through Qingshan City and capture all of Chu Qingyun’s family.

Hearing this, Xiao Feng and Chen Yu’s brows knitted together.

They had all seen Chu Qingyun’s character for themselves. He was willing to risk his life to save them, even though they had only been friends for a short time.

If his family really fell into the hands of the Martial Soul Hall... the consequences would be unimaginable...

Just then, Chen Yu’s head snapped up. "Captain, I have an idea! You wait here. The two of us will go find Huang Yinghao and the others, get some Flying Demon Beasts, and bring all your family from Qingshan City here to the County City. That way, they’ll be completely safe!"

Hearing this plan, both Xiao Feng’s and Chu Qingyun’s eyes lit up.

"Haha, Chen Yu! I never thought that blockhead of yours would actually come in handy at a crucial moment!" Xiao Feng couldn’t help but laugh and tease him.

But Chu Qingyun said, "The Great Xia Dragon Guards don’t have many Flying Demon Beasts, and the procedure for renting them is a real hassle... We have to get my family to the County City before the Martial Soul Hall gets the same idea."

"That shouldn’t be a problem," Xiao Feng said. "Because of the Martial Soul Hall’s ambushes, hardly anyone is going out on missions lately, so the Flying Demon Beasts are all just sitting at the encampment. As for the paperwork... we’ll go to Grand Commander Chu Yu! He really has your back, so he’ll definitely help us!"

After Xiao Feng spoke, Chu Qingyun and Chen Yu both nodded in agreement.

Not daring to waste any time, the three of them immediately set off to find Grand Commander Chu Yu.

Upon hearing about the situation, Grand Commander Chu Yu didn’t hesitate. He personally took Chu Qingyun to the mission assignment office to help him rent the Flying Demon Beasts.

With a Grand Commander making the request in person, much of the paperwork was waived, and even the rental fee was temporarily set aside.

Chu Qingyun and the others selected a total of seventeen Flying Demon Beasts, all of them the fastest Tier Three Demon Beasts available.

They also needed people to control the beasts. While they were making their selection, Grand Commander Chu Yu summoned over a dozen of his own Small Spirit Realm subordinates to help.

The Demon Beasts were chosen and the men had assembled.

But just as Chu Qingyun was about to mount one, Grand Commander Chu Yu stopped him. "Chu Qingyun, the Martial Soul Hall’s Sub-Palace Master has singled you out by name. In my opinion, you should stay put here in the encampment. Leave the matter in Qingshan City to Xiao Feng and Chen Yu. Those two worked their way up from ordinary Great Xia Dragon Guards to Captains and then to Guard Generals. They can definitely handle this perfectly."

"That’s right, Captain! Leave this to us. You just wait here. We guarantee we’ll bring every single person back safely!"

Faced with their objections, Chu Qingyun shook his head firmly. "Grand Commander, everyone, don’t try to persuade me. I have to go on this trip. Every moment we delay here puts us all in greater danger!"

Seeing how insistent Chu Qingyun was, Grand Commander Chu Yu and the others didn’t try to persuade him any further.

It was just as he said: at any moment, the Martial Soul Hall could decide to target Chu Qingyun’s family and send people to Qingshan City. The more they dawdled here, the greater the chance of running into them.

Instead of wasting more time, it was better to set out immediately and get everyone to the County City before the Martial Soul Hall could make a move!

In addition to Chu Qingyun, Xiao Feng, and Chen Yu, they were joined by fourteen other Small Spirit Realm Guard Generals. Controlling seventeen Tier Three Flying Demon Beasts, they shot out of the Great Xia Dragon Guard encampment like the wind and flew at full speed toward Qingshan City.

The traitor in the Celestial Wind Army, Liu Canghai, was already dead. Furthermore, the operation was launched so suddenly—less than an hour passed between the decision and their departure—that there was no way the news could have leaked.

And just as Chu Qingyun feared, on the way back, Profound Snake gradually calmed down. He, too, came up with the idea of capturing Chu Qingyun’s friends and family to force him out of the County City.

For a mighty Martial King Realm expert to resort to such a tactic was indeed despicable and dishonorable.

However, in order to avenge Mu, he couldn’t be bothered with such niceties.

"Do any of you six know about that Chu Qingyun’s background? Is his family in the County City? Does he have any close relatives?" Profound Snake asked, looking at the other six people.

The six of them looked at each other, speechless.

They were all Martial King Realm experts, the highest echelon of the Martial Soul Hall in Lianshan County. Why would they waste their time paying attention to the background of a mere Level One Martial Spirit from the Great Xia Dragon Guards?

With no other recourse, the seven of them could only return to the abandoned town for the time being.

Fortunately, because Chu Qingyun had performed so exceptionally ever since arriving in the County City—both in the Four Races Martial Arts Competition and during that special mission—the Martial Soul Hall already had a file on him. They had him listed as a human genius on their assassination list.

After reading the file, Profound Snake didn’t hesitate for a moment. He immediately dispatched a dozen or so Level Three Martial Spirits on Tier Three Flying Demon Beasts, sending them speeding toward Qingshan City.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to send experts from the Earth Spirit Realm, or even the Celestial Spirit Realm.

It was just that Lianshan County was, after all, Great Xia Dragon Guard territory. The Dragon Guards’ various forces were deeply entrenched in Lianshan County and held a degree of control beyond what most people could imagine.

And the Martial Soul Hall was the primary target of the Great Xia Dragon Guards’ surveillance.

The Great Xia Dragon Guards might ignore the mobilization of Small Spirit Realm members from the Martial Soul Hall, but any movement from Earth Spirit Realm or Celestial Spirit Realm experts would undoubtedly provoke a reaction.

Dispatching experts to ambush and deplete an opponent’s strength was a tactic the Martial Soul Hall didn’t have a monopoly on.