The next step was to continue replenishing his Primordial Power, then refine that Primordial Power into Primordial Liquid. Once the Primordial Liquid filled about one-fifth of his Qi Sea and could support it, he would be considered a true Level 1 Martial Spirit!
The entire path of the Martial Dao had only this one special stage: Half-Step Martial Spirit.
From the mont the first stable drop of Primordial Liquid appeared, one was considered a Half-Step Martial Spirit. And until the very last bit of Primordial Power was consud and converted, one remained a Half-Step Martial Spirit.
This was because the Half-Step Martial Spirit realm was an accumulative, yet unstable, transitional state.
In terms of Primordial Power, it was far stronger than a Level 9 Martial Master, so its combat strength greatly exceeded that of a Level 9 Martial Master. Yet, it lacked the true aura and might of the Martial Spirit Realm, making it weaker than a Level 1 Martial Spirit.
That was why, within the Great Xia Dragon Guard, one rarely saw experts at the Half-Step Martial Spirit Realm. They were all busy trying to obtain Primordial Spirit Liquid and Primordial Stones, desperate to quickly pass through this stage and reach the true Martial Spirit Realm.
'Thank goodness I have the Devouring Power, which allows to devour and plunder the Primordial Power of others. Otherwise...'
Chu Qingyun couldn't help but shake his head at the thought.
'At this stage, without the Devouring Power, the amount of resources required to continue cultivating would be terrifying!'
With a flip of his hand, a ball of Primordial Power erged in Chu Qingyun's palm.
This mass of Primordial Power was sothing Chu Qingyun had drawn out from the Primordial Liquid within his Qi Sea.
The Primordial Power glowed with a white light and emitted distinct fluctuations. Its purity was more than ten tis greater than what he had as a Level 9 Martial Master!
Using this kind of Primordial Power, whether to enhance one's Physical Strength or to improve one's Martial Soul Techniques, was far superior to anything in the Martial Master Realm!
When he first started using it, his ridians, his body, and even his Qi Sea felt a dull pain. This was because he wasn't yet accustod to it. With more use, he would gradually adapt and grow used to it through the tempering process...
While Chu Qingyun was cultivating, news that the Martial Soul Hall's Martial Masters from six small towns had been wiped out and all six monsters killed was being passed up, level by level, through the ranks of the Martial Soul Hall.
「In Lianshan County, within a small, long-abandoned city.」
If anyone were to enter, they would surely be astonished to find so many people inside a supposedly deserted city.
But if Chu Qingyun were to enter, he would be even more shocked. The small city was filled exclusively with people from the Martial Soul Hall!
Beneath the drab, abandoned houses in the city center lay a hidden, sprawling, and luxurious underground palace.
「Inside a brightly lit, magnificent hall.」
"Sir, news just ca in. The remaining six towns have all been wiped out. Everyone from the Martial Soul Hall was killed, with no survivors," a sharp-looking young man in his twenties said to the middle-aged man standing before him.
Hearing this, the middle-aged man nodded, seemingly unconcerned.
"Sir, the strength of our Lianshan County Martial Soul Hall is now in no way inferior to their Great Xia Dragon Guard. Why must we swallow this insult, hiding away in this ruined city all day?"
"Sir, the higher-ups ordered us to make a move against the Great Xia Dragon Guard!"
The young man's face was filled with indignation and unwillingness.
The middle-aged man smiled, patted his shoulder, and said, "Mu, don't be so impatient. Let ask you a question. Tell ... if the entire Northern Domain were a chessboard, who would the players be?"
The young man, Mu, pondered for a mont before replying, "The greatest powers in the Northern Domain are none other than our Martial Soul Hall and the top Three Major Sects. The players should be the Black Demon Tower and the Three Major Sects."
"Correct. The players are the Black Demon Tower and the Three Major Sects. And you and I—or rather, the Lianshan County Martial Soul Hall, even the entire Martial Soul Hall of Great Xia—are nothing more than pawns on the board."
"When the higher-ups give an order, a pawn, of course, cannot refuse. It must be carried out."
"But... even an ant struggles to survive. Even as pawns, we must have the awareness to preserve ourselves. If not for our own sakes, we must at least consider the brothers under our command."
The middle-aged man said with a touch of emotion.
"Sir, you an..."
"The higher-ups ordered our Lianshan County Martial Soul Hall in Great Xia to be the first to make a move in the Northern Domain. If we had concentrated all our forces right from the start and attacked Lianshan County City directly, what do you think the consequences would have been?" the middle-aged man asked in return.
"The consequences... We would surely have suffered devastating losses, and then we'd be wiped out by Great Xia Dragon Guard reinforcents from other counties or the Imperial City!"
Mu's eyes lit up, as if he now understood the middle-aged man's aning.
"Exactly. That's why I first exposed a few of the small towns, starting slowly with those at the Martial Master Realm. This way, I neither defied the orders from above nor failed to preserve our main forces."
"As for those who died, they were just so Level 9 Martial Masters and a few failed experints. Those six Soul Beasts were experintal failures to begin with, nothing more than toys."
"We've dragged this out for over half a month, and the situation is different now. Setting aside other regions, even within Great Xia, the Martial Soul Halls in other counties—and even headquarters—have already made their moves. Now, even if we strike, we won't draw too much of the Great Xia Dragon Guard's firepower!"
The middle-aged man said with a faint smile, the picture of confidence.
Hearing that it was ti to strike, the young man, Mu, was instantly energized. "Sir, how should we proceed? Is it ti for the final battle?"
The middle-aged man shook his head. "Not the final battle just yet. First, we'll start with the Great Xia Dragon Guard's Guard Generals in the Small Spirit Realm. We need to annihilate a large number of their Small Spirit Realm experts."
"Among Spirit Realm experts, those in the Small Spirit Realm are the most nurous, yet their strength is sufficient to suppress an entire city."
"By eliminating a large number of the Great Xia Dragon Guard's Small Spirit Realm Guard Generals, we can maximally weaken their control over the entire Lianshan County. At that point, the subordinate cities will beco our territory. We can then capture human Martial Cultivators from those areas to, in turn, bolster the strength of our Martial Soul Hall."
"As they weaken, we will grow stronger. Once we've accumulated enough strength, we will initiate the final battle and take Lianshan County City in one fell swoop!"
"You are brilliant, Sir! But there is one problem. Our numbers of Small Spirit Realm experts are not that different from the Great Xia Dragon Guard's, but... their Small Spirit Realm experts are the elite of the elite, while ours are..."
Mu didn't continue, but they both understood the implication.
In a one-on-one fight, a Martial Soul Hall mber of a given level could probably only match the most ordinary human Martial Artist. There was simply no comparison between them and the talented experts of the Great Xia Dragon Guard.
To put it bluntly, if the Small Spirit Realm experts from both sides were to clash, the Martial Soul Hall's forces would be completely wiped out. It would be giving them too much credit to think they could even take down 10% of the Great Xia Dragon Guard's mbers...
"Heh, of course, I thought of that long ago."
"Mu, look!"
As the middle-aged man spoke, he waved his hands, and the two rows of large chests behind them instantly flew open.
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