After burning the three bodies, Chu Qingyun returned to Chu Family Village under the cover of night.
At the village entrance, he ran into Chu Gang and Chu Yun, who were waiting anxiously.
"Qingyun! Qingyun is back!"
"Haha, that's great! Qingyun, you're alive! That's wonderful!"
Seeing that Chu Qingyun was safe, they were both incredibly emotional.
They had spent the better part of the night waiting, nearly driven mad with worry. They had wanted to go back and check but feared they would just be a burden and get in Chu Qingyun's way. Yet, the thought of returning to the village to sleep filled them with guilt.
Now, everything was finally alright.
Chu Qingyun sighed softly, his expression heavy. "Gang, Yun, let's go back and rest for now. After sunrise, we'll go see the Village Head. This matter… has gotten a little out of hand."
Back home, Chu Qingyun lay on his bed, but sleep wouldn't come.
The image of Young Master Ning's crazed expression kept replaying in his mind, sending a chill down his spine.
'To raise a child like that, his parents must either be just as crazy as he is, or they spoil him rotten, letting him do whatever he wants.'
'Either way, it's a disaster for my family and for Chu Family Village!'
With a heavy heart, Chu Qingyun climbed back onto the roof.
In the darkness, the entire Chu Family Village was silent. The peaceful and serene atmosphere slowly calmed Chu Qingyun's heart.
An idea began to take shape in his mind.
'No matter what, I have to protect Chu Family Village. I have to protect the place where I was born and raised.'
「The next morning」, Chu Qingyun, Chu Gang, and Chu Yun went to the Village Head's home.
Due to the gravity of the situation, the Village Head also summoned several captains of the village guard, including Chu Hua, to discuss the matter.
Leaving out only the part about his Devouring Martial Soul, Chu Qingyun recounted everything from beginning to end. Afterward, he took out the blood-red Jade Pendant and handed it to the Village Head.
"The Cyan Wolf Blood Jade... *Sigh*... this is indeed a token of the Blood Wolf Gang. Moreover, it's a token that only high-ranking members at the Guardian Level or above can possess."
The Village Head had adventured in Qingshan City in his youth and was worldly and knowledgeable. He recognized the origin of the Blood Jade at a glance, and it was more or less what Chu Qingyun had guessed.
"But Village Head, that Young Master Ning was clearly only a Tier Two Martial Artist!"
Chu Gang said hastily.
The Village Head shook his head, his expression growing even graver. "Then there is only one possibility. That Young Master Ning is the beloved son of a Blood Wolf Gang Elder, or perhaps even the Gang Leader himself. Only then would he be granted this Cyan Wolf Blood Jade."
'An Elder... the Gang Leader…'
In an instant, a heavy mood fell over everyone.
Anyone who could become the leader of the Blood Wolf Gang had to be a Martial Master Level expert at the very least!
Martial Master. Just those two words were enough to place infinite pressure upon them.
Although the Village Head was said to be only one step away from becoming a Martial Master, that single step had been an impassable chasm that had held him back for over twenty years...
Taking a deep breath, Chu Qingyun said, "Village Head, I'll take full responsibility for my actions. Leave this matter to me."
"Nonsense! What do you mean you'll take full responsibility!"
"Qingyun, don't be ridiculous. You did nothing wrong."
"That's right. If it weren't for you, Gang and Yun wouldn't have made it back. We'll figure this out together."
The Village Head, Chu Hua, and the others all tried to talk him out of it.
Hearing their words, Chu Qingyun was touched.
"Village Head, Hua, I've actually thought it all through."
"I'm already a Level Seven Martial Artist. Staying in the village will only limit my development. I'm planning to go to Qingshan City to make a name for myself."
"That way, I can also gather information and keep an eye on the Blood Wolf Gang."
Chu Qingyun said with a smile.
There was one more thing he didn't say.
He planned to draw the Blood Wolf Gang's attention, to keep them from focusing their energy on this matter.
Hearing Chu Qingyun's explanation, the Village Head and the others all nodded in agreement.
"Qingyun, with your talent, going to Qingshan City is the right choice. Once you get there, you'll understand just how small Chu Family Village truly is."
Since the Village Head had spoken, the others naturally had no objections. They all encouraged Chu Qingyun to train hard and become Chu Family Village's first Martial Master Level expert as soon as possible.
After returning home, another Martial Soul had just finished being devoured.
From his trip to the Yuan Stone Ore Vein, Chu Qingyun had harvested over two hundred Tier One Martial Souls. No matter what, it would definitely be enough to upgrade all of his Martial Souls to Tier Two.
Unfortunately, all two hundred-plus of these Martial Souls were very ordinary, with no special characteristics.
He had no interest in them and didn't plan on keeping them.
After strengthening the Devouring Martial Soul to 70%, its devouring efficiency increased again.
By the next evening, the Devouring Martial Soul had been strengthened to 90%, and the devouring progress for the next Martial Soul had reached 99%.
Chu Qingyun waited quietly. In just a little while, he would be able to raise his Devouring Martial Soul to Tier Two.
At this moment, he felt just as he had over a month ago when he devoured his first Three-Star Vine Martial Soul.
A faint CRACK seemed to sound from within his body.
The devouring progress reached 100%. Without hesitation, Chu Qingyun chose to strengthen his Devouring Martial Soul.
The Devouring Martial Soul emerged and began to absorb the power it had just generated.
After devouring all the power, the nebulous Devouring Martial Soul began to churn violently.
About a minute later, the Devouring Martial Soul returned to a state of calm, seemingly unchanged from before.
"That's it?"
Chu Qingyun was a little surprised.
'A Martial Soul advancement is an incredible event. Even if there's no earth-shattering spectacle, there should at least be *some* kind of change, right?'
But by communicating with the Martial Soul, he confirmed that the Devouring Martial Soul was indeed now a Tier Two Martial Soul.
He checked several times, but Chu Qingyun still found nothing new.
'The only change to the Devouring Martial Soul is probably that it can now devour Tier Two Martial Souls.'
"*Sigh*. Well, so be it. Time to devour the next Martial Soul."
Chu Qingyun sighed in resignation and decided to give up trying to find a difference.
But the instant he gave the command, a Tier One Orchid-Grass Martial Soul was devoured completely.
Having advanced to Tier Two, the Devouring Martial Soul's speed at devouring Tier One Martial Souls had become instantaneous!
"Finally, a little surprise."
"Strengthen the Three-Star Vine Martial Soul."
The Three-Star Vine Martial Soul was already strengthened to 23%. This time, after using four more Tier One Martial Souls, the Three-Star Vine Martial Soul was also successfully strengthened to Tier Two.
The advancement of the Three-Star Vine Martial Soul was much more dramatic than that of the Devouring Martial Soul.
A somewhat illusory, miniature Three-Star Vine writhed wildly in Chu Qingyun's palm.
From its base, two more vines gradually sprouted. The new vines grew rapidly, and within two or three minutes, they had grown to be identical to the original three.
"A Tier Two Martial Soul... the Five-Star Vine!"
It had transformed from a Three-Star Vine into a Five-Star Vine. While it seemed to have only gained two vines, this was a massive enhancement to Chu Qingyun's power.
For an ordinary Martial Artist, having two extra vines might even be meaningless, as controlling just three vines was already an extremely difficult task.
But for Chu Qingyun, it was a different story.
He could perfectly control his Martial Soul. Two more vines meant he had more, and more flexible, tactics at his disposal.
"Strengthen the Shadow Martial Soul!"