Strongest War Emperor

As one story unfolded, so too did another.

At almost the exact moment Shen Lang fell into the water, the man in white who had split off from him was intercepted by a group of Ye Xiao Zheng’s men.

In front of him were four experts from the City Lord’s Mansion, each with a cultivation at the Eighth and Ninth Heavens of the Qi Martial Realm. Behind him was the masked Ye Xiao Zheng.

To his left and right, dozens of archers had their bows drawn, the tips of their Demon-Breaking Arrows glinting with a sinister light.

The man in white appeared to be trapped...

"Hand over the item, kid. There’s no escape!" Ye Xiao Zheng said, his voice raspy.

The men from the City Lord’s Mansion exchanged odd looks but played along, clamoring, "Who are you people? Drop your weapons and surrender, or don’t blame us for what comes next!"

"Ah, ’no escape’..." the man in white said, as if suddenly enlightened. "Damn, I’ve been running for so long... if you hadn’t reminded me, I would’ve forgotten!"

The moment he finished speaking, a pair of white, luminous wings unfurled from his back, and he shot into the sky right before the eyes of Ye Xiao Zheng and his men!

"Fire! Fire! Don’t let him get away!"

Ye Xiao Zheng was so furious he almost choked, his previous composure utterly shattered. He threw a frantic, full-powered punch with his right hand, blasting it toward the man in white in the sky.

SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

The archers loosed their arrows simultaneously, and dozens of Demon-Breaking Arrows gave chase to the figure in white, but it was clear they could no longer catch him...

"How could this happen? That kid has a Flying Spiritual Artifact... No, that’s not a Flying Spiritual Artifact. I can feel the Spiritual Power fluctuating around him... But how is that possible? You can’t manifest Spiritual Wings unless you’re a Xuanwu Realm Powerhouse! And why didn’t he use them from the start?" Ye Xiao roared, beside himself with fury. "That bastard was toying with me! If I ever get my hands on you again, I’ll make you wish you were dead!"

The few experts from the City Lord’s Mansion were scared into silence, utterly helpless.

Not even their City Lord possessed a Flying Spiritual Artifact, let alone any of them. All they could do was watch helplessly as the white figure disappeared from view.

"Lock down Celestial Phoenix City! Find that man, even if you have to tear this place apart! This is my territory!" Ye Xiao Zheng roared, unable to stomach the defeat.

...

At Tayun Academy, on the second floor of a bamboo building, Shui Qingwu sat before a guqin. As her jade-like fingers gently plucked the strings, a faint melody drifted through the air.

TWANG!

A string suddenly snapped. Shui Qingwu sighed softly, her delicate brows furrowing as she paused.

"Oh my, milady, what happened?" Cai Ying exclaimed in alarm. "Should I take it to the Artifact Refining Institute at Tayun Academy to have someone fix it?"

"Mm," Shui Qingwu murmured in agreement.

Cai Ying gathered the guqin in her arms and hurried down the stairs.

’I don’t know why, but I feel so restless...’

Lately, she had been feeling constantly distracted, her mind in a daze. The faces of the ghost-faced man and Shen Lang kept appearing in her thoughts...

She slowly lifted her head. Outside, the downpour was growing heavier. Beyond the high walls of Tayun Academy, she could see the distant Phoenix River, its water level starting to rise.

What she didn’t know was that at this very moment, further up the Phoenix River, Shen Lang, having just landed from his fall, was hiding in a small hollow on the cliff face. He held a saber in his left hand, his right fist was clenched, and his legs were bent, poised like a cheetah waiting for its prey, ready to strike at a moment’s notice.

His eyes were as dark and profound as ever, but his clothes were shredded, and blood continuously trickled from the corner of his mouth... Despite this, he remained completely motionless, like a beast of prey observing its target, awaiting the opportune moment!

Only a moment later, the sound of an object whistling through the air as it fell reached his ears. The man in the black cloak, in a state far more wretched than his own, came into view.

However, one could hardly call him "the man in the black cloak" anymore, for his robes were also torn to shreds, revealing the sinister face of a middle-aged man.

’Now!’

Shen Lang stomped hard on the ground and instantly transformed into a black shadow. With an oppressive roar of displaced air, he shot toward the descending Ji Chengwu!

"Burst! Demon Blade Prison Break—Slash!"

The moment he shot forward, he hurled the long saber from his left hand. It instantly morphed into a Giant Blade, blazing with the ferocious Power of Thunder and Lightning as it slashed down upon Ji Chengwu!

"Burst!"

The second Burst sent his speed soaring as he charged forward.

However, this was the third time he had used Burst in a short span, pushing his body far beyond its limits.

The damage from these three "Bursts" was even more severe than the palm strike Ye Xiao Zheng had landed on his shoulder.

After all, that strike had been partially blocked by the Profound Level Inner Armor he’d taken from Yao Chengjie, which had absorbed the majority of the force.

In that moment, Shen Lang’s clothes were shredded, his muscles were splitting open, and blood erupted from his wounds. He looked like a Demon straight out of Hell!

His feet hit the ground with a BOOM, and an explosion of Energy erupted from under his soles, launching him into the air.

"You brat, you’re courting death!"

The half-dead Ji Chengwu finally reacted. Shocked and terrified, his right fist blazed with light as he punched at the airborne blade.

As the saying goes, a centipede doesn’t stop moving even in death. Even gravely injured, an expert of his caliber could still strike like lightning.

’But he never, ever expected this ghost-faced man to be so suicidally ferocious. He was obviously heavily injured when he fell, yet instead of escaping, he had hidden here, waiting to ambush him on his way down!’

’Even for someone like Ji Chengwu, who had spent decades in the Celestial Defying Demon Realm and witnessed countless ruthless Demon Dao practitioners, the sight of Shen Lang now stirred an indescribable fear deep within him.’

’The problem was, even if the kid was one of those ruthless types, this still made no fucking sense!’

’Even Demon Martial Artists, who slaughter people like reaping weeds, know to avoid danger. They run when they have to run and hide when they have to hide!’

’This goddamn bastard clearly had a chance to escape, but he didn’t. Instead, he came back to fight to the death against an expert whose cultivation is leagues above his own... Is he fucking human?!’

’Besides, he was the one who stole my Nine Immortals Lingzhi! If there’s any deep-seated hatred here, it should be me hating him, shouldn’t it?’

’Fuck it, if I make it out of this alive, I’m taking a detour whenever I see this kid in the future!’

’I’m a priceless jade artifact; I don’t go smashing myself against cheap pottery. And if a clash becomes absolutely necessary, I’ll find some other piece of pottery to do the smashing... I’ll get Ye Xiao Zheng’s help!’

...

Shen Lang, for his part, was oblivious to the chaotic mess of thoughts storming through Ji Chengwu’s mind. If his opponent were just some random Demon Martial Artist whose Nine Immortals Lingzhi he had stolen, Shen Lang would have grabbed the Lingzhi and bolted at the first chance. He never would have waited here.

But this was the man who had hunted down his father with a Demon Corpse three years ago—a fact Shen Lang remembered with perfect clarity.

A single palm strike from this very Demon Martial Artist had condemned Shen Lang’s father to three years of inhuman suffering!

How could Shen Lang possibly let him go?

If Ye Xiao Zheng had followed him here, then it would have been hopeless. But Ye Xiao Zheng had been lured away, and this Demon Martial Artist was severely injured. Taking this opportunity to eliminate him was the only way to quell the hatred burning in Shen Lang’s heart!

Even if he couldn’t kill him, he would make him remember this day for the rest of his life!

Such were Shen Lang’s thoughts.

...

Shen Lang knew his opponent was much more heavily injured than he was, and he had precisely calculated the speed of the man’s descent. He never expected the saber attack to land a serious blow; it was merely a feint to divide his attention.

His true, ultimate attack was concentrated in his right fist.

His Thunder Control Divine Technique revolved at maximum speed, converting all his Spiritual Power into Thunder Power and focusing it into his right fist. Simultaneously, the Black and White Qi transformed from his Tai Chi Diagram Martial Soul coated his fist. This was the punch he had prepared for the cloaked man!

Although he didn’t know how much of a boost his Martial Soul would provide to his Attack Power, the Tai Chi Diagram was bizarrely unique. Since it was anything but ordinary, Shen Lang unleashed it without a second thought, no matter how much it might amplify his might.

Wrapped in the power of his Martial Soul, his ordinary-sized fist now seemed like that of a Giant. The Power of Thunder and Lightning it contained ripped through the air, creating a sharp whistling and a low sonic boom that blended together.

He had calculated everything with meticulous precision. Just as the Celestial Water Blade slashed down, his upward charge perfectly intercepted the man, and his right fist struck at almost the exact same moment.

"Eat my fist, you old dog!"

The fist, wreathed in Black and White Qi, slammed toward Ji Chengwu’s chest with terrifying momentum!

"Thunder Control Divine Technique—Five Thunders Bombardment!"

Author’s Note: My apologies! In the last Chapter, I accidentally typed the main character’s name as "Murong Tian" in one spot. I’m really sorry about that. A reader, Deng Jianchen, pointed it out to me in the group chat. "Murong Tian" is the protagonist from my previous book, and I guess I got a little too into the zone and typed out the name by mistake. So tragic. A big thanks to that brother for the heads-up, and thanks to everyone for your support! If you want, feel free to join the QQ group: 8749490. Thanks!

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