Invincible Soul Emperor

Chapter 24: Chapter 24 Am I Qualified to Join?

”Keep a close eye on Ye Qingchen’s movements, gather the men, and follow me to kill him!” Li Zhe acted decisively.

An elder of the Li Family asked worriedly, ”Patriarch, could this be a trap laid by the Ye Family to deliberately lure us in?”

Li Zhe let out a cold snort. ”So what if it’s a conspiracy? I have long been prepared. Today, I will crush them with ease, shatter the Ye Family’s plot, kill Ye Qingchen, and avenge my Su Su!”

Soon after, Li Zhe hastily departed with more than a dozen of the Li Family’s top experts.

***

The Rising Sun Pavilion was the tallest and most luxurious building in all of Qingyun Town. It boasted an extremely broad scope of business, where one could purchase elixirs, weapons, Martial Techniques, Cultivation Techniques, and much more.

It was rumored that the power behind the Rising Sun Pavilion, the Qin Family, was so immense that even the imperial family of the Northern Desolate Country did not dare to provoke them.

At this moment, the Grand Elder had already brought Ye Qingchen to the square in front of the Rising Sun Pavilion. Hundreds of people were gathered here, fully equipped and ready to depart.

”Elder Ye, what good wind brings you here today?”

At the forefront of the group, a valiant and heroic young woman spotted the Grand Elder and greeted him with a smile. Her voice, as melodious as a nightingale’s song, was a delight to hear.

The young woman’s name was Qin Yue. Despite her youth, she was already the Pavilion Master of the Rising Sun Pavilion, a position of no small status.

”Young Qin Yue, you’ve grown even more beautiful in the few days we haven’t seen each other!” the Grand Elder said with a laugh.

His words clearly pleased Qin Yue, who giggled and replied, ”Elder Ye, I’m about to lead my team deep into the Qingyun Mountain Range. We’re old friends who have done business many times, so please, speak your mind!”

The Grand Elder chuckled. ”Then I won’t be polite! This is Ye Qingchen from our Ye Family. He wishes to accompany your Rising Sun Pavilion’s caravan into the Qingyun Mountain Range, and I was hoping you could look after him a little.”

With that, the Grand Elder gestured toward Ye Qingchen standing beside him.

”Ye Qingchen? That waste from the Ye Family!”

”I heard he possesses a Seven-Star Martial Soul, yet his cultivation has been stuck at the First Layer of the Martial Apprentice Realm!”

”He dares to enter the Qingyun Mountain Range as a mere First-Layer Martial Apprentice? Is he trying to get himself killed?”

Before Qin Yue could even speak, many people in the group behind her began to murmur amongst themselves, their mocking gazes all falling upon Ye Qingchen.

So exceptionally gifted, yet a total waste! In Qingyun Town, Ye Qingchen’s ”legend” was known to all. However, Ye Qingchen was a recluse who only traveled between the Ye and Li Family estates, so very few people actually recognized him.

Qin Yue glanced at Ye Qingchen and frowned slightly. ”Elder Ye, it’s not that I don’t want to give you face, but the minimum requirement to join my herb-gathering team is the Sixth Layer of the Martial Apprentice Realm. Venturing deep into the Qingyun Mountain Range is an extremely dangerous affair. I can’t bring along a liability who would endanger the safety of the others.

”Furthermore, if his strength is insufficient, entering the Qingyun Mountain Range would be incredibly dangerous for him as well!”

As soon as Qin Yue finished speaking, a tall, burly young man stepped out from the group behind her. He looked at Ye Qingchen and said coldly, ”I am Huang Yiwen of the Huang Family, a Sixth-Layer Martial Apprentice. Ye Qingchen, if you can defeat me, I’ll give you my spot on the team. What do you say?”

Having said his piece, Huang Yiwen stared at Ye Qingchen with a mocking expression. The Huang Family was another of Qingyun Town’s major families, besides the Ye and Li Families. They had many talented juniors, and Huang Yiwen, with his respectable strength, was one of them.

Qin Yue did not stop Huang Yiwen. Instead, she quietly waited for Ye Qingchen’s reaction, hoping he would back down after realizing the difficulty of the challenge.

However, contrary to her expectations, Ye Qingchen didn’t say a word. He shot forward, charging at Huang Yiwen and throwing a direct punch!

”You waste! You’re courting death!”

Huang Yiwen hadn’t expected Ye Qingchen to dare strike first. With a cold snort, he countered with a vicious punch of his own, holding nothing back.

When Qin Yue saw the Grand Elder standing nonchalantly to the side, she frowned. ”Elder Ye, Huang Yiwen is a Sixth-Layer Martial Apprentice! If you don’t stop this, your Ye Family’s Ye Qingchen might be beaten to death—”

However, before she could finish her sentence, Huang Yiwen let out a pained shriek as he was sent flying by a single punch. He crashed heavily to the ground and began to wail in agony.

Qin Yue gasped, her mouth forming a perfect ’O’ in shock. An Eighth-Layer Martial Apprentice!

The hundreds of people behind her all stared wide-eyed, their faces etched with disbelief.

Wasn’t Ye Qingchen supposed to be a waste? Wasn’t he said to be only a First-Layer Martial Apprentice? But with that one punch, he just displayed the power of an Eighth-Layer Martial Apprentice!

Seeing the stunned expressions on Qin Yue and the crowd, the Grand Elder looked incredibly smug.

Who dares look down on someone from my Ye Family now? Serves you right for getting slapped in the face!

Ye Qingchen looked at Qin Yue and asked, ”Pavilion Master Qin, am I now qualified to join your caravan?”

Only then did Qin Yue recover from her amazement, her gaze sweeping over Ye Qingchen with a newfound interest.

A Seven-Star Martial Soul, yet he couldn’t advance his Cultivation Realm? That’s almost impossible. There must be a hidden story behind it. But now, he has revealed immense strength and made a powerful comeback. Clearly, whatever problem he had has been resolved.

Qin Yue was extremely curious. What on earth had happened to Ye Qingchen?

Traveling with him might be a chance to find out!

At this thought, Qin Yue flashed a radiant smile and gestured behind her. ”Of course! Please, join the team. Huang Yiwen’s spot is now yours!”

An Eighth-Layer Martial Apprentice at seventeen years old! While he might not be the number one prodigy of Qingyun Town’s younger generation, he was definitely among the most outstanding. Naturally, Qin Yue was delighted to have such a talented young man join her team.

Seeing Huang Yiwen still wailing on the ground, the others who had mocked Ye Qingchen moments before wisely shut their mouths.

On the Heaven Desolate Continent, might is revered. Absolute strength was the best way to command respect.

Seeing that Ye Qingchen had successfully joined the caravan, the Grand Elder chuckled. ”Young Qin Yue, I’ll leave him in your hands, then!”

Qin Yue smiled and nodded. ”Don’t you worry, Elder Ye. You can leave him with my Rising Sun Pavilion. I guarantee I will bring him back safely from the Qingyun Mountain Range!”

”With your guarantee, young Qin Yue, I can rest easy!”

With that, the Grand Elder bid farewell to Qin Yue and turned to leave.

Qin Yue’s gaze swept over the entire caravan. She gave a slight nod to the white-haired elder beside her, who understood the signal. He raised his arm, waved it forward, and announced in a booming voice, ”Everyone, move out! To the Qingyun Mountain Range!”

”Yes, sir!”

”Yes, sir!”

The hundreds of people responded in unison, and the caravan began to roll forward. But just as they set off, a sharp voice cried out, ”Hold on!”

Li Zhe, accompanied by more than a dozen high-ranking members of the Li Family, appeared with menacing auras, blocking the caravan’s path.

”Ye Qingchen, you shunned the path to heaven and chose to storm the gates of hell!”

”Since you dared to leave the Ye Family estate, today will be the day you die!”

Li Zhe’s gaze instantly locked onto Ye Qingchen in the caravan. His pupils shrank, and his entire being radiated a bone-chilling killing intent.