From start to finish, it took less than a minute.
Ten level-nine Martial Artists, all dead!
Watching the battle unfold, the Zhao Family Patriarch, Zhao Yongzhi, couldn't help but tremble from head to toe.
With every level-nine Martial Artist that died, he would convulse violently, as if a sword had been plunged into his own heart.
'Level-nine Martial Artists! The ones dying one after another are all level-nine Martial Artists!'
In over fifty years of building their strength, the Zhao Family had only managed to accumulate a total of thirteen level-nine Martial Artists.
Today, in less than half an hour, they had all been killed at Chu Qingyun's hands!
Zhao Yongzhi was in agony!
As for the others, they were all staring wide-eyed, their eyeballs nearly popping out of their sockets.
'Is he really killing level-nine Martial Artists?'
'It's like he's slaughtering chickens!'
For the first ti, the leaders of Fla City's major powers had a profound realization: the level-nine Martial Artists they had always revered were actually this weak, this fragile!
Of course, this was only true when they were facing Chu Qingyun.
Among the ten level-nine Martial Artists, only one possessed a Tier Three Martial Soul, but Chu Qingyun devoured all of their Martial Souls nonetheless.
After absorbing all the Martial Souls, Chu Qingyun looked toward Zhao Yongzhi, his eyes filled with thick mockery.
It was as if he were saying, 'Go on. Let's see what other tricks you have up your sleeve.'
The Zhao Family had sent people to ambush and kill him during the second stage of the examination. During the third stage, they caused another huge commotion, nearly wiping out all the Examiners.
It was utterly impossible to say that Chu Qingyun felt no hatred for the Zhao Family.
Zhao Yongzhi's face was ashen, and he looked completely devastated.
He knew that today's events were already irreversible.
But the current situation was already beyond his ability to handle.
Zhao Yongzhi sighed heavily in his heart. Under everyone's gaze, he temporarily left the area to report to the Zhao Family Ancestor.
Outside the secret chamber, Zhao Yongzhi's expression was heavy with grief. "Reporting to the Ancestor, all of the clan's level-nine Martial Artists have fallen. That Chu Qingyun... is completely unscathed."
The secret chamber fell silent.
About half a minute later, a cold, indifferent voice drifted out. "Let Zhao Xiaolong make his move."
"Yes..."
Zhao Yongzhi seed to have anticipated this. After bowing respectfully toward the secret chamber, he went to find Zhao Xiaolong.
「In the deepest part of the Zhao Mansion, in a small, forgotten courtyard.」
This courtyard looked just like a farr's yard from a village outside the city; there were even so vegetables and fruits growing inside.
But Zhao Yongzhi, the Patriarch of the Zhao Family, appeared sowhat reserved as he stood at the courtyard's entrance.
"Long, the Ancestor has given an order. You are to capture a level-eight Martial Artist nad Chu Qingyun." Zhao Yongzhi didn't dare enter, speaking from outside the courtyard.
"A level-eight Martial Artist?"
A questioning voice ca from within the small house.
"The family's thirteen level-nine Martial Artists were all slain by that person," Zhao Yongzhi explained.
Soon, the door opened, and a middle-aged man in a white robe walked out. He looked to be in his thirties and had a very scholarly and refined air.
Zhao Xiaolong wore a gentle smile, appearing warm and amiable.
But upon seeing this man, Zhao Yongzhi's hands trembled slightly, and a chill ran down his spine.
"Yongzhi, let's go. I'm rather curious to see what kind of level-eight Martial Artist could attract the Ancestor's attention and slay all thirteen of our Zhao Family's level-nine Martial Artists," Zhao Xiaolong said with a smile.
"Long, after you..."
Zhao Yongzhi led the way, walking slightly behind him with a very respectful expression.
This Zhao Xiaolong looked to be only in his thirties, even younger than Zhao Yongzhi himself. In reality, however, he was already over eighty years old!
The reason he looked so young was that, aside from the Ancestor, he was the only person in the Zhao Family who had broken through the realm of a level-nine Martial Artist!
The Zhao Family's hidden trump card: the Half-Step Martial Spirit, Zhao Xiaolong!
The transition from Martial Artist to Martial Spirit was a major hurdle on the path of the Martial Dao.
But the benefits after breaking through were nurous. For one thing, one's lifespan could increase by two or three hundred years, far surpassing that of a Martial Artist.
Although Zhao Xiaolong had not yet truly beco a Martial Spirit, he had one foot in the door, and his lifespan had increased considerably as well.
Before long, Zhao Xiaolong and Zhao Yongzhi arrived at the site of the previous battle.
Seeing Zhao Yongzhi following so respectfully behind a middle-aged man, everyone present couldn't help but start guessing.
'Who in the Zhao Family could make the Patriarch, Zhao Yongzhi, act so respectfully?'
'Could this man be the legendary Zhao Family Ancestor?'
Zhao Xiaolong hadn't made a public appearance in so long that almost no one recognized him anymore.
Only a few white-haired old-tirs stared at him with thoughtful expressions.
"So you are Chu Qingyun? The one who killed thirteen of my Zhao Family's level-nine Martial Artists."
Zhao Xiaolong smiled as he sized Chu Qingyun up and down. His tone was exceptionally mild; you couldn't detect the slightest trace of anger.
Zhao Xiaolong's aura and Qi seed even weaker than Zhao Chaofeng's, but Chu Qingyun felt a faint sense of danger from him.
'This person's strength definitely isn't less than Zhao Chaofeng's. His aura is just very restrained!'
"And who are you?" Chu Qingyun asked softly.
Zhao Xiaolong gave a slight smile and answered nonchalantly, "From the Zhao Family. Zhao Xiaolong."
Zhao Xiaolong.
Hearing this na, the people in the crowd all looked confused. They had never heard this na before.
However, two or three of the much older ones had a sudden realization as a mory struck them.
"Zhao Xiaolong! It's actually him!"
"No wonder he looked a little familiar. I saw him when I was young. It's been over fifty years, yet he hasn't changed at all. This ans... he broke through..."
"Old man, stop keeping us in suspense! Who is he?"
"Over fifty years ago, when the Zhao Family was rising to power in Fla City, there was an extrely powerful level-nine Martial Artist in their clan nad Zhao Xiaolong. Zhao Xiaolong had a violent temperant and used ruthless thods. You could say that half of the Zhao Family's empire was carved out through his bloody slaughter. It's just that after the Zhao Family beca the number one power in Fla City, Zhao Xiaolong vanished. So said he died a violent death from killing too many people, while others said he had left Fla City. To think he was staying with the Zhao Family this whole ti, and that he even broke through the level-nine Martial Artist realm!"
Hearing this, everyone in the surrounding crowd began to tremble slightly with excitent.
None of them had ever imagined that this man was an existence who had surpassed the realm of a level-nine Martial Artist!
For a mont, their gazes toward Chu Qingyun were filled with pity and regret.
In their eyes, even if Chu Qingyun was invincible among level-nine Martial Artists, there was no way he could defeat a Half-Step Martial Spirit. The difference between the two was purely qualitative!
And Zhao Xiaolong seized this opportunity to silently release his Half-Step Martial Spirit aura, pressing down on Chu Qingyun without a sound.
Zhao Xiaolong's combat experience was incredibly vast.
He naturally knew that after the old man's speech, Chu Qingyun would be at his most surprised, his ntal defenses at their weakest.
At a mont like this, he stealthily applied the pressure of his Half-Step Martial Spirit aura, while also leveraging the overwhelming montum from everyone's belief that Chu Qingyun's defeat was inevitable.
If Chu Qingyun's ntal fortitude wasn't strong, he could be crushed in a single blow!
Victory without a fight!
"Chu Qingyun, surrender. Your defeat is certain!"
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