Chapter 977: Chapter 843: The Second Expert of the Nightmare Demon Palace, Shen Qiu

Ye Qingzi and Ye Wansheng, through their masks, fixed their eyes on Zhu Chao with intensity.

To them, Teacher Ying Rong was like a father, and the thought that the person who betrayed and entrapped their mentor, now sitting high and mighty, appearing righteous at the highest spot among the four-sided seat, basked in the admiration and respect of countless others filled them with an urge to kill him right there!

“Zhu Chao!” Ye Qingzi’s eyes turned icy, her hand resting on the stone table trembling slightly!

For years, the siblings had lived incognito, under the shadow of Soul Covenant, all due to Zhu Chao. Now, with their enemy before them, how could their emotions remain calm.

“Qingzi…” Ye Wansheng held Ye Qingzi’s hand.

Ye Qingzi was becoming more and more incapable of controlling her emotions, and Ye Wansheng was indeed worried that her hatred would affect her performance in the competition of Spirit Art.

Taking a deep breath, Ye Qingzi slowly suppressed the anger in her heart.

However, every time she saw Zhu Chao’s face, which he thought so noble, Ye Qingzi felt a surge of loathing.

“Continue. I’m just looking casually,” said Zhu Chao, his gaze sweeping over the distinguished Spirit Masters, nodding with a smile.

The main judge also nodded, releasing the topic for the second round of the event.

“Begin!”

When the main judge announced the start of the event, all the Spirit Masters bowed their heads and used their hands and Soul Sense to intricately mix and categorize the Spirit Items, starting the very important process of concocting within the art of Spirit.

The initial stage of concocting Spirit Items was relatively simple; knowing how to mix and in what proportions could complete some of the simpler concoctions, just as Chu Mu had done on Prison Island, using the knowledge he had.

But concocting more advanced Spirit Items was not so simple; it involved very intricate steps—extraction, identification, proportions, order of mixing, filtering, fusion… Only the Spirit Masters could master these well.

The first round was obviously just a basic extraction part of concocting Spirit Items, while this second round turned into the complete concoction of Spirit Items. From this, a very clear layering of strength was going to emerge, and even those whose names were called in the first round could be eliminated in this stage.

Ye Qingzi set aside the hatred in her heart and started focusing on the concoction of Spirit Items.

Perhaps her emotions were still affected, because in the process of concocting according to the completion method, she failed once; it was a relatively low-level mistake in high-level Spirit Art.

“She made a mistake,” whispered Teacher De to Chu Mu.

Ye Qingzi had always been calm and composed, but after Zhu Chao’s appearance, Chu Mu had sensed a change in her emotions, indicating that her hatred for Zhu Chao was indeed deep.

“It won’t affect her, will it?” asked Chu Mu, a bit worried.

“It depends on how she adjusts. If she fails three times, she won’t have enough materials to concoct a Spirit Item anymore,” said Teacher De.

After failing once, Ye Qingzi didn’t immediately start refining again, but closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“It seems you’re only proficient in extraction,” said Zhu Zizhan, glancing at Ye Qingzi, the only one who had failed once in the first round, while he mixed the medicinal agents together with a somewhat playful look in his eye.

Ye Qingzi knew that Yang Qian was deliberately provoking her to be reckless. If she were to act hastily after failing once, the probability of failing a second time would be very high.

“Failing once, my quality won’t be worse than yours,” Ye Qingzi calmed down and responded indifferently to Zhu Zizhan’s taunt.

“Such arrogance,” Zhu Zizhan laughed proudly.

…

For the Spirit Masters fully immersed in the concoction of Spirit Items, time flew by quickly.

Gradually, those Spirit Masters who failed three times in a row chose to leave the field themselves, as they had lost the qualification to enter the next round.

And some Spirit Masters produced Spirit Items of satisfactory quality, but it seemed that their remaining materials were no longer enough to concoct something better, so they stopped refining and stood quietly, watching the other Spirit Masters, waiting for the final results.

“The truly skilled Spirit Masters should make rational use of all their materials when refining a Spirit Item; they should be able to incorporate all materials. So, those who finish concocting early but still have leftover materials are the ones who can advance but are not considered highly skilled…” Teacher De explained some knowledge of Spirit Art to Chu Mu.

“So you’re saying, because she failed once, a third of her materials are wasted, and the quality of what she has created can’t compare with those who are truly powerful,” Chu Mu asked.

“Yeah, at least the collaborative use of materials greatly affects the quality of the Spirit Items. But it doesn’t matter, as long as we can make it to the next round,” Teacher De said.

“Elder De, is this person beside you the Chu Fangchen who offended Sir Mo Ling in Snow City?” Suddenly, Zhu Chao looked sideways and down, eyeing Chu Mu, who was wearing a mask, and slowly spoke up.

Zhu Chao, as one of the Eight Desolates, naturally knew about Xiong Mo Moling’s failed attempt to seize Snow City and was indeed surprised that the Soul Hall had produced a young Soul Pet Master who seemed even more outstanding than the Soul Hall’s Crown Prince.

“Do you have any advice, Elder Zhu?” Teacher De asked unhurriedly.

Addressing Zhu Chao as an Elder, because he was an Elder of the Spirit Sect, Teacher De naturally wasn’t being polite to this formidable enemy working for the Soul Covenant.

Here in the neutral Spirit City, neither side could easily start a battle. At the same occasion, they could at most spar with words.

“I wouldn’t dare offer advice. It’s possible he might become the next Underworld Monarch of the Soul Hall, that is if he survives… By then, I, Zhu Chao, would have to give him some respect,” Zhu Chao said with a profound smile.

Among the Four Great Soul Hall Monarchs, the position of the Underworld Monarch was the most esteemed; the Underworld Monarchs of past generations enjoyed the highest authority within the Soul Hall.

However, the Underworld Monarch of this generation seemed somewhat inferior to predecessors, unable to stand alone as Li Hong of the Soul Pet Palace did.

Clearly, Zhu Chao’s words were not to compliment Chu Mu’s potential but to tell him directly that he had been listed on the Soul Covenant’s death list—a warning for Chu Mu to be mindful of his actions!

“People who anger the Four Heroes never end well,” Zhu Chao added.

“I recall someone named Qin Wu speaking to me in the same tone, and in the end, he didn’t even have a soul left,” Chu Mu retorted mockingly, looking at Zhu Chao, who had an air of supremacy.

“Humph, I’ve seen too many young people who don’t know the difference between Heaven and Earth due to their youthfulness; has no one ever told you how wide the gap is between a High-level Emperor and a Peak Emperor? There are people of your age in Wanxiang City capable of eliminating you; don’t be too arrogant,” Zhu Chao said slowly.

Mo Ye’s mutant pardoning level was High-level Emperor, and its multiple attributes made it comparable to a Peak Emperor.

During the battle, the situation was extremely chaotic. Neither Mo Ling nor the fleeing Soul Emperors could accurately assess the strength of Chu Mu’s Seven Sins Fox; they could only judge that it was a High-level Emperor based on its aura.

Zhu Chao’s information about Chu Fangchen was obviously not comprehensive either, believing that Chu Mu was just someone who had struck great luck and whose strength soared at a certain stage. This kind of Soul Pet Master had appeared before, but without exception, all were blocked by some bottleneck and never able to break through in their lifetime.

“Zhu Chao, do you have issues with the most outstanding youth of our Three Great Palaces?” Suddenly, a man with a powerful voice spoke up.

Upon hearing this voice, Zhu Chao’s expression changed slightly, and he managed to summon a strained smile, “Not at all, I was just cautioning the young not to be impetuous, lest disaster befall them.”

Unbeknownst to him, a middle-aged man appeared at the highest seat.

The man was majestic, his eyes carrying a hint of wickedness—probably a Soul Pet Master who often dealt with Different Race and Dark Elemental Soul Pets, for only then could he exude such intimidating presence even without revealing his Soul Sense or aura.

“To be proud, one must have the capital; to be arrogant, one must have the ability. When you were his age, you were just a kid whose legs would quiver at the sight of an Emperor; what gives you the right to make judgments here?” the powerful and wicked middle-aged man taunted.

When facing Teacher De, Zhu Chao dared to warn and lash out at Chu Mu unabashedly. However, in Shen Qiu’s presence, Zhu Chao could no longer afford to maintain such an arrogant stance.

Members of the Nightmare Demon Palace were always known for their ferocity, and their Soul Pets—Nightmare Demons—were a major headache for the Soul Covenant.

And Shen Qiu, the Grand Elder of the Nightmare Demon Palace, was truly a ruthless figure in the realm of Soul Pet Masters, someone almost nobody dared to provoke unless a stronger figure appeared, someone above the Four Heroes level.

Shen Qiu was indeed the true second-in-command of the Nightmare Demon Palace, second only to the Jiang Demon Emperor.

Yang Que and the Soul Covenant did not dare take action against the Three Great Alliances in Spirit City precisely because Shen Qiu was stationed there!

“Chu Fangchen, I heard from my son Shen Mo that you also own a White Nightmare Demon?” Shen Qiu was meeting Chu Mu for the first time but quickly took interest in Chu Mu’s possession of a White Nightmare Demon.

“Yes.” Chu Mu nodded, confirming that he indeed had a White Nightmare Demon.

“Hehe, I’ve always said, those Seven Diagram Sacred Beasts of the Soul Hall are too gentle. There’s nothing like our domineering White Nightmare Demons. Choosing the White Nightmare Demon as a Soul Pet is undoubtedly the wisest decision of your life,” the Grand Elder said with openness, throwing a jab at the Soul Hall.

Beside him, Teacher De gave a wry smile and said, “Just be careful not to end up like the White Language Demon Emperor…”

“What do you know!” Shen Qiu glared at Teacher De and continued, “White Language is the strongest of the Three Great Palaces; even if he hadn’t undergone demonization, would Li Hong dare to fight him? Not to mention Li Hong, even today’s Xiong Shou owes his defeat to him from back then. Tell me, when has the Soul Hall produced such a person? Either they die young or they reach a standstill. Also, when I left you in charge of looking after His Highness Chen Venerate, she was so young and already a Soul Emperor with great hope of advancing to Dominator rank. What happened instead? She repeatedly suffered soul damage, what are Liu Xinji and Zhong two old fools doing… If it weren’t for the unsuitability of the time, I would have taken care of them long ago.”

(It’s Monday~~~~~~ Remember to cast your votes!! The pace might be slow, but don’t rush— the climax is slowly building~~~~~) (to be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian () to cast your votes and monthly tickets, your support is my biggest motivation.)

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.