Chapter 669 - 669: Stolen

By now, Chu Qingyun was basically certain.

The Level Three Martial King outside had likely only heard of the "blood-colored sphere," but had never seen it, nor did he know what it looked like or what it represented.

Having confirmed this, Chu Qingyun breathed a secret sigh of relief.

He was genuinely afraid of word getting out about the Ten Thousand Spirits Saint Body Inner Chapter.

Chu Qingyun put on a very serious expression. Leaning back in his chair, he picked up the Red Crystal Ball and feigned a close inspection, deliberately putting on a show for the man outside.

Soon, the sky outside grew completely dark.

Chu Qingyun stood up, shaking his head and sighing. A look of confusion and helplessness crossed his face, as if he had found nothing.

Then, he casually placed the Red Crystal Ball on the table, turned into the inner room, and lay down on the bed without even taking off his clothes.

But even though Chu Qingyun was in bed with his eyes closed, he wasn't asleep. Instead, his mind was on high alert, paying close attention to his surroundings.

Furthermore, his hand never left the hilt of his sword, ready for anything.

Half an hour… an hour…

Time trickled by.

Four hours later, the entire Saint Extreme Sect seemed to have fallen silent. Only the occasional howl of a Demon Beast broke the stillness of the night.

At this moment, the Level Three Martial King outside finally couldn't restrain himself any longer.

A wisp of Primordial Power flowed from his fingertip, effortlessly opening the window to Chu Qingyun's room. He then carefully and lightly hopped inside.

After confirming that Chu Qingyun hadn't stirred, his gaze burned with excitement as he walked toward the table.

'Heh heh, this kid is so careless. Did he really think he'd be safe just because this is a Core Disciple's room?'

'This treasure is mine...'

The Level Three Martial King picked up the Red Crystal Ball from the table and placed it in his Storage Ring, an expression of unrestrained glee spreading across his face.

Breaking into another disciple's room to steal was a major crime in the Inner Sect of the Saint Extreme Sect.

And to steal from a Core Disciple? That made the crime even more severe.

If he were discovered and reported to an Inner Sect Elder, the punishment would likely be having his Primordial Power crippled and being expelled from the sect.

The risk was enormous, but when the Level Three Martial King thought of the price he'd been offered, his heart burned with greed. He couldn't be bothered to care about the consequences.

Once he had the prize, he didn't linger. He carefully leaped back out the window and left the courtyard.

The moment the man was out, Chu Qingyun shot up from the bed. In a flash, he was at the window.

The Level Three Martial King thought he had gone completely undetected, but in reality, his every move had been perfectly within Chu Qingyun's grasp.

As for the Red Crystal Ball, it had been deliberately left there as bait, just waiting for him to steal it.

"Shadow Martial Soul!"

Chu Qingyun whispered the name, and a mass of shadow emerged from behind, enveloping his entire body.

With that, Chu Qingyun also leaped out the window, following the man from a distance.

The Hidden Qi Technique from the Martial Spirit Chapter wasn't enough to conceal the aura of someone in the Martial King Realm.

So, to avoid the technique backfiring and getting himself discovered, Chu Qingyun didn't use the Hidden Qi Technique at all. Instead, he relied solely on his Shadow Martial Soul to follow the man.

This meant he couldn't get too close and couldn't see exactly what the man was doing.

However, it was late, and almost no one was out and about within the Saint Extreme Sect. Even from a great distance, Chu Qingyun wasn't worried about losing his target.

After leaving Chu Qingyun's courtyard, the Level Three Martial King sprinted away, heading for the exit of the Saint Extreme Sect.

Along the way, he had the persistent, nagging feeling that he was being followed.

But every time he looked back, he saw nothing. He eventually dismissed the feeling, chalking it up to a thief's guilty conscience.

King Realm Experts were extremely fast.

One chasing the other, it didn't take long for them to pass through the Sect Protection Array and leave the Saint Extreme Sect.

Once outside the sect, the Level Three Martial King accelerated instantly, blurring into the distance like an afterimage.

Chu Qingyun sped up to follow.

Logically, a Level Three Martial King at full speed should have easily been able to shake off a Level One Martial King.

But it was nighttime. The Level Three Martial King, plagued by his guilty conscience and fear of being discovered, didn't dare use too much Primordial Power, even as he ran at top speed.

Chu Qingyun, on the other hand, was cloaked by his Shadow Martial Soul and could use his Primordial Power without restraint.

Within the Shadow Martial Soul, dazzling Primordial Power surged around Chu Qingyun. His speed was now even slightly faster than the Level Three Martial King's!

However, this came with a drawback.

Without the aid of the Hidden Qi Technique, the fluctuations of Chu Qingyun's Primordial Power became much more pronounced the moment he activated it.

And since Chu Qingyun's speed was slightly faster than the Level Three Martial King's, the distance between them was steadily shrinking.

Chu Qingyun had set this trap for a reason: to find out who had ordered this Level Three Martial King to come after the blood-colored sphere, and why.

For most people, achieving this goal would mean not alerting the target. They would have to follow the Level Three Martial King stealthily.

But for Chu Qingyun, things weren't nearly that complicated.

Because in addition to his Shadow Martial Soul, he also had the Thousand-faced Martial Soul!

With the Thousand-faced Martial Soul, Chu Qingyun didn't need to be so cautious. Even if he spooked his quarry and was discovered by the Level Three Martial King, it wouldn't matter in the slightest.

He could simply transform into the Level Three Martial King himself.

In fact, that would make things even simpler!

The distance between them grew shorter and shorter.

As he sprinted frantically, the Level Three Martial King finally began to realize there truly was an aura following him from behind!

"Who is it!?"

The Level Three Martial King stopped dead in his tracks, whirling around and shouting.

Chu Qingyun took a few more steps before stopping as well. He retracted his Shadow Martial Soul. "Taking my things and leaving just like that? That doesn't seem very polite."

Aided by his Primordial Power, the man recognized Chu Qingyun in an instant.

Though surprised, he also breathed a secret sigh of relief.

"Hmph, I was wondering who it was. So it was you... But for you to dare chase me all the way out here, you're just asking to die..."

Primordial Power surged from the Level Three Martial King's body, and a vicious sneer spread across his face.

He just saw Chu Qingyun as a Level One Martial King who had only entered the Inner Sect and broken through a few days ago. He didn't take his strength seriously at all.

"Oh? You'd actually dare to kill me?" Chu Qingyun said.

"Hahaha, dare to kill you? Why wouldn't I dare!?"

"Who do you think you are? A fellow disciple? A noble Core Disciple of the Inner Sect?"

"Pah! Look where you are! Once you're outside the sect, you're nothing! Even if I kill you, no one will do a thing about it!"

The man laughed uproariously, as if he had just heard the funniest joke in the world.