Strongest War Emperor

Shen Lang finally came to a stop, panting heavily, only after pouring everything he had into killing a Fifth Level Demon Beast—a Sky City Thunder Beast.

This Sky City Thunder Beast was a Fifth Level Demon Beast. As an adult, its attack power was comparable to that of a Martial Artist at the Spirit Martial Realm Fifth Heaven.

Factoring in its scales, which were as hard as Profound Iron, and the violent Thunder Power within its body, the beast’s attack power was on par with the black-cloaked figure who had been hunting him; they were evenly matched.

However, while Untransformed Demon Beasts below the Tenth Level were born with formidable strength and Talent Abilities, they were ultimately no match for human cunning. Aside from their innate talents, they hadn’t cultivated Cultivation Techniques like the Martial Artists of the Human Race.

Take this Sky City Thunder Beast, for example. Its attacks were comparable to those of the black-cloaked figure, yet Shen Lang had easily lopped off its head with his Celestial Water Blade after using the Black and White Qi in his left hand to devour one of its forelimbs and throw it off balance.

Demon Beasts were certainly formidable, but they lacked intelligence. More importantly, unlike the black-cloaked figure, they couldn’t produce various Defensive Magical Treasures in a crisis.

Although Shen Lang could intimidate the black-cloaked figure with his Black and White Qi, actually killing him would likely prove to be extremely difficult.

Still, killing this one Demon Beast had taken a monumental effort.

The Black and White Qi was powerful, but in its current state, it no longer held the same overwhelming advantage against Fifth Level or even higher-level Demon Beasts.

When he landed a punch on the Sky City Thunder Beast, it was obvious that the Black and White Qi’s devouring speed was much slower than it had been against the Third and Fourth Level Demon Beasts he’d faced earlier.

After it devoured a mere palm-sized chunk of the beast’s flesh, the Demon Beast had furiously counterattacked.

If he hadn’t just finished condensing the first vortex of his Thunder Control Divine Technique, the Thunder Ball that the Sky City Thunder Beast had blasted him with would have skinned him alive, if not killed him outright.

In the end, it still took everything he had, using both fists and his blade, to finally slay the Demon Beast.

Even for a monstrous talent like Shen Lang, who could kill opponents far beyond his level, the chasm between the Qi Martial Realm and the Spirit Martial Realm was immense. Dealing with Spirit Martial Realm Martial Artists was far easier said than done.

’If that black-cloaked figure hadn’t been so careless, if he’d used a powerful Spiritual Artifact for protection, devouring his hand would have been truly difficult. But next time we meet... heh heh...’

Shen Lang bent down, dug out the Sky City Thunder Beast’s Demon Crystal, and stored its corpse away before walking over to a nearby rock to sit down.

’I’ve killed so many Demon Beasts in one night, and the Tai Chi Diagram has only grown by a minuscule amount, so small you wouldn’t notice if you weren’t paying close attention... This thing is terrifying. Making it grow is clearly not going to happen overnight.’ 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

With a mere thought, Shen Lang released the Tai Chi Diagram, which transformed into the Black and White Qi and began to revolve around him.

He urged it with his Divine Thought, and the Black and White Qi stopped a little over two meters from his body, unable to go any farther.

With another flick of his Divine Thought, the Black and White Qi instantly burrowed into the ground and vanished.

’If I hide it underground for a sneak attack, it’ll be impossible to defend against... I’m so wicked, hahaha...’

Shen Lang’s chilling laughter echoed through the forest, scaring away flocks of roosting birds.

A glint flashed in his eyes as he retracted the Tai Chi Diagram. He then picked up the Celestial Water Blade, held it horizontally before his chest, and placed the Sky City Thunder Beast’s Thunder Element Demon Crystal upon it.

He cast a few Spells, and the Celestial Water Blade began to flicker with electric light as arcs of the Power of Thunder and Lightning coursed over the blade.

In less than five minutes, the Thunder Element Demon Crystal had completely fused with the Celestial Water Blade.

’I know you’re a Profound Artifact, but Thunder Element Demon Crystals are incredibly hard to find. This one is from a Demon Beast equivalent to the Spirit Martial Realm Fifth Heaven, so you’ll just have to make do.’

’If my blade had been fitted with a Thunder Element Demon Crystal of this level before, would I have been forced to repeatedly use Burst Secret Techniques until I was half-dead, and then even resort to using the Netherworld Demon Tribulation?’

Sighing, Shen Lang found a small cave to sit in and took out the Nine Immortals Lingzhi...

But the moment he took out the Nine Immortals Lingzhi, a black shadow outside the cave suddenly lunged toward him with incredible speed.

"You’re courting death!"

He was shocked; his Divine Thought hadn’t detected a thing, despite the incredibly close distance.

With a flick of his wrist, he stored the Nine Immortals Lingzhi away. His Celestial Water Blade traced a graceful arc through the air as he slashed at the black shadow!

With Shen Lang’s current Cultivation, it was nearly impossible for anyone below the Spirit Martial Realm to dodge that slash.

To his astonishment, however, the figure left behind an afterimage shrouded in blood-red light, dodging his blade in the blink of an eye and circling around behind him!

"The Blood Race Phantom Technique!"

A chill shot up Shen Lang’s spine. With a quick step, he moved to the side and raised his blade to strike again.

Not even his encounter with Ye Xiao Zheng had shocked him this much.

Even an expert like Ye Xiao Zheng, a master at the Seventh or Eighth Heaven of the Spirit Martial Realm, couldn’t possibly be this fast.

More importantly, he immediately recognized the blood-red, lingering afterimage as the "Phantom Technique" of the Eastern Desolate Blood Clan!

In other words, the figure was a member of the Blood Race!

"Please, Young Master, save me!"

Just as Shen Lang turned to strike, the dark figure suddenly cried out. It was the voice of a young woman!

Although he had only cultivated the first layer of his Prison Guardian Blade Technique, Shen Lang already had complete mastery over it at his current level. A Divine Radiance flashed in his eyes, and he halted the slash, stopping the blade right at the person’s neck.

Only then did he get a clear look at the figure’s true appearance.

She appeared to be around sixteen years old, with a delicate, pretty face and flawless, silvery hair that gave her a stunning, almost fey, beauty.

Her attire was bold and revealing. A short, black, tight top barely covered her chest and torso, exposing a dazzling expanse of skin.

Her long, slender legs were clad in a black leather miniskirt, and her provocative figure swayed gracefully with every move.

Yet, what was most striking was not any of this, but the pair of blood-red wings on her back!

These were not like the Spiritual Wings formed by Xuanwu Realm Powerhouses, nor the wings of light produced by a Flying Spiritual Artifact. They were real, physical wings.

However, the wings appeared to be injured. One of them had been torn open, leaving a gash half a foot long—a ghastly sight.

"A member of the Blood Race. Why are you here?" Shen Lang asked, his expression cold.

Shen Lang had already removed his mask, and his sharp, angular face was exceptionally grave.

The silver-haired girl’s eyes grew misty. She bit her lip and said, "There... there’s someone chasing me! Young Master, you have to save me!"

Shen Lang rolled his eyes. "Your Blood Race can fly through the sky and burrow through the earth even at a low Cultivation. Why would you ask a small fry like me for help? Is this some kind of joke... Huh?!"

Before he could finish, he was startled by a formidable aura surging from the depths of the forest.