Strongest War Emperor

Shen Lang’s gaze swept around, noticing that all the surrounding tutors and students were watching. He couldn’t help but roll his eyes and say, "Do you know... Do you know... I know, Qin Hun Tutor has been waiting so long his chrysanthemum has wilted. But many things in this world can’t be answered with a simple ’I know’ or ’I don’t know’..."

"Bastard! You either know or you don’t! What kind of question can’t be answered with ’I know’ or ’I don’t know’?"

Qin Hun retorted, extremely annoyed. He hadn’t noticed at all that Shen Lang had changed the subject again, leading him right into a trap.

Shen Lang chuckled. "If that’s the case, then let me ask you a question, Qin Hun Tutor. You can only answer with ’I know’ or ’I don’t know.’ Do you dare?"

Qin Hun Tutor’s heart skipped a beat, but when he turned his head and saw everyone watching him, he immediately puffed out his chest and declared, "What’s there to be afraid of? Go ahead and ask!"

Shen Lang’s lips curled into a smirk as he asked, "Do the Dean, the other tutors, and all these students... know you’re a fucking idiot?"

"You... you... you..." Qin Hun nearly fainted from rage.

"HAHAHAHA!"

A group of tutors from Tayun Academy was the first to burst out laughing. Soon after, the students couldn’t hold it in any longer and joined the uproar.

The birds and beasts in the jungle were startled into scattering in all directions.

"Hehehe..."

Xue Dangdang was even more exaggerated, laughing so hard she was doubled over. She had to grab Shen Lang’s arm to keep from collapsing to the ground.

"I don’t have time to play with you right now. Piss off. If you keep chirping, I’ll fucking end you," Shen Lang whispered into Qin Hun’s ear while everyone was laughing.

Qin Hun shuddered, a look of fear appearing on his face. He slowed his pace, putting some distance between himself and Shen Lang.

He had only seized the opportunity to try and save some face. He didn’t dare truly offend Shen Lang to the point of no return. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Others might not know, but he had personally seen Shen Lang cripple a Swordsman from the Xu Family with the Ghost Moon Cross Sword.

What’s more, Shen Lang had just fought Nalan Ziyun to a standstill in the arena, a fact that sent a chill down his spine.

...

The Tayun Academy students participating in the Thorn Valley trial were all elites from their respective classes. With the exception of Lin Feng and Su Hen, who had gotten in through their connection to Shen Lang, every one of them was physically powerful, as swift as the wind, and could traverse mountains and rivers as if they were flat ground.

Soon, the group arrived at one of the entrances to Thorn Valley: the Zuoge Ruins.

"Ah, Young Master Lang, it’s no fun if you don’t come with us!" Su Hen said listlessly.

Lin Feng was different. He said with a mischievous grin, "You dunce, are you a masochist? Every trial we’ve done with Young Master Lang since we were kids, you were always the slowest and ended up getting beaten half to death. You still want to keep holding us back?"

"Hey, even if I am a dunce and get beaten up a lot, my ability to take a punch has improved immensely. What do you know?"

Su Hen replied leisurely, a blade of grass dangling from his mouth.

Shen Lang took out several stacks of Talismans and stuffed them into Su Hen’s and Lin Feng’s hands. "Isn’t Old Chu back now? The two of you stick with him; he’ll take care of you. As for me, I need to make a trip to the Sorrow Swamp. I’ll only be able to rush back a day or two before the trial ends. Take these Talismans. There are offensive and defensive ones. Use them wisely, and even if you run into people from Celestial God Academy, they won’t be able to do anything to you."

"Wow, with so many Talismans, I can pick up a ton of beautiful girls..." Su Hen’s eyes lit up.

"Holy crap, how much money could we get for all these Talismans!" Lin Feng cared much more about Gold Coins and Spirit Stones.

"Brother Lang..." Xue Dangdang stood obediently to the side, calling out his name twice in a slightly spoiled, coquettish tone.

Shen Lang shook his head helplessly. "Dingdang, I know this kind of trial is no longer suitable for you. I assume your Flying Spiritual Artifact was confiscated by the higher-ups, right? Celestial God Academy wouldn’t allow a ’bug’ like you to exist... Don’t just stand around, though. The depths of Thorn Valley are full of dangers. Go on in and temper yourself a bit."

"Okay."

Seeing Xue Dangdang act so obediently, the onlookers in the distance all wore expressions of disbelief.

After Xue Dangdang, Su Hen, and the others had walked over to the entrance in the distance, Shen Lang glanced strangely at Chu Qingcheng beside him and asked in a low voice, "I thought you were dead. How come you seem even more energetic than before? How did you escape from that bastard Ye Xiao Zheng? His cultivation is much higher than yours..."

Chu Qingcheng smiled wryly. "If you don’t ask and I don’t say, that’s distance. If you ask and I don’t say, that’s a rift. If you ask and I say, that’s trust. If you don’t ask and I don’t say, that’s a tacit understanding. If you don’t ask and I say, that’s dependence. Hey... don’t go! I’m not finished yet! That old guy’s cultivation wasn’t weak. He stuck to me like glue, chasing me for half a day. And then..."

"And then what?" Shen Lang asked.

"And then I suddenly remembered I got a Flying Spiritual Artifact at Jialan Academy. Why was I running on foot? So... you know," Chu Qingcheng said with a chuckle.

"..." Shen Lang was speechless.

Chu Qingcheng looked around furtively and said in a conspiratorial tone, "We’ve got a deal, right? We’re brothers, after all. You have to give me a piece of that thing. Good stuff like that is hard to come by..."

"We’ll talk after I refine the Elixir Pills. It’s still too early for that," Shen Lang said with a wave of his hand.

Chu Qingcheng suddenly sneezed. "Xiaolang, are you cursing me? You can’t be. I just asked you to share a little, I didn’t say I wanted the whole thing. Look at me, I just got back after trekking over mountains and rivers, and the first thing I do is help you by getting chased all over the place. Even if there’s no merit, there’s hard work... I heard you struck it rich, and I haven’t even asked to borrow money yet, so why are you secretly cursing me? Come on, lend me a hundred thousand Spirit Stones to spend."

"Damn it, if I were going to curse you, would I do it secretly in my head? Look over there at the droves of infatuated women and resentful men. How many women are waiting in empty rooms for you? How many men are mad with jealousy over you? You’re so hateable, it’s obvious someone else is cursing you!" Shen Lang said irritably.

"Hmm, your analysis is very reasonable..." Chu Qingcheng turned around and said, "But it’s not my fault I’m so handsome. Lately, when I look in the mirror, I often sigh... I’m not finished yet! Where are you going? How rude! Hey, such loneliness!"

"Even if you’re not finished, don’t say any more. Dammit, I’m scared of you... Can’t you see all those fangirls are keeping their distance, just watching you adoringly from afar?" Shen Lang said without turning his head.

Chu Qingcheng hurried to catch up. "That thing you said when you jumped into the arena was pretty impressive. What does ’Demacia’ mean? Is it a slogan? What imposing phrase should I say as my signature entrance line?"

"Oh, that’s easy. Just say this: ’For the best excavator school, go to Ah Xiang in Shandong Jinan!’" Shen Lang said, rolling his eyes.

Chu Qingcheng was taken aback. "Hmm, that does sound imposing. But, uh... Xiaolang, what the heck is an ’excavator’? And where is Shandong Jinan?"

Shen Lang didn’t answer, asking instead, "You already went to the Imperial Capital Jialan Academy. Why did you come back for a trial like this?"

"For a man, no matter how prosperous or bustling a city is, it’s lonely without the woman he loves. No matter how wonderful or pure a campus is, it’s desolate without the girl he likes!"

"Damn it, what are you trying to say?"

"I’m saying, your sister is back, so of course I had to come back. If she didn’t come back, why would I? If she came back, how could I not? The fact that I’m back must be because she’s back... Why are you running off again? So rude!"

"Hey, such loneliness!" Chu Qingcheng sighed with great melancholy.

Wooden Zither Tutor came over. "You can’t blame Shen Lang for that. Look around you, is there anyone left... Huh? Why are you putting on such a heartbroken expression? Was I mistaken about you?"

Chu Qingcheng gave Wooden Zither Tutor a sorrowful look, gazed at the sky, and sighed dramatically. "The sky... The azure sky is cloudless for ten thousand miles. The stars hide behind the clouds, refusing to come out. The clouds are blown by the wind, racing by like a pack of wild dogs fighting over scraps... Alas, I’ve lived for over twenty years and have done nothing for my country or its people. Every time I think of it, I’m heartbroken... Huh? Wooden Zither Tutor, where are you going?"

"Anywhere your voice isn’t, is Heaven."

Wooden Zither Tutor and the surrounding students had already, quite consciously, moved far away from Chu Qingcheng.

The man was simply too much. Once he started spouting nonsense, it was nearly impossible for him to stop. He could talk a dead man back to life, and vice versa.

Most people gave him a wide berth when they saw him. His verbal Attack Power was just too immense.

A saying circulated around Tayun Academy: Cherish life, stay away from Qingcheng!

...

An hour later, everyone from Tayun Academy had passed through the Zuoge Ruins and entered Thorn Valley.

Shen Lang, however, broke away from the group and headed alone into the depths of Thorn Valley.

The trial for the two academies was held in the outer regions of Thorn Valley, before the Tala Prairie, with a very clear boundary.

Although the Tala Prairie didn’t have many aggressive Demon Beasts, quite a few Fourth Level Demon Beasts had appeared there, and Third Level Demon Beasts ran rampant. All students were forbidden from entering.

In truth, no one would dare to enter even if it wasn’t forbidden.

A Fourth Level Demon Beast was equivalent to a Qi Martial Realm Late Stage Martial Artist. Aside from a few people like Chu Qingcheng and Nalan Ziyun, the vast majority of the students from both academies had a cultivation at or below the Qi Martial Realm Fifth Heaven. If they encountered such a Demon Beast, their chances of survival were next to none.

The sun climbed higher in the sky. At the edge of the White Bone Wilderness, by a mountain pass leading into the Tala Prairie, a group of people was gathered around a campfire. Some were roasting meat, some were polishing their weapons, and others were meditating with their eyes closed, seemingly all preparing to enter the prairie.

This group of young men and women numbered eight in total—five men and three women—and each of them exuded a powerful aura.

The wilderness was silent. Time slipped by quietly in the tranquility.

Only a few Vultures flew through the sky, their strange cries making for a desolate scene.

At a certain moment, the faint sound of footsteps suddenly echoed from the base of a distant mountain. The rhythmic sound slowly drew closer, causing several people by the campfire to lift their heads and turn in that direction.

Their gazes locked onto a bend at the foot of the mountain, from where the steady footsteps were originating.

This was the only path into the Tala Prairie. Those who came here were usually teams from various factions or Mercenary Corps.

But the footsteps sounded as if they belonged to only one person...

The steady footsteps grew closer and louder, to the point that even the two who had been meditating with their eyes closed opened them, their gazes shifting to the same spot.

Above the mist-shrouded White Bone Wilderness, a sunbeam suddenly pierced through the clouds, penetrating the fog that permeated the wasteland and landing precisely on a green rock at the bend in the mountain path.

There, a tall, slender figure finally, slowly, appeared in their line of sight.

It was a young man in a black robe, carrying a Single Saber on his back.

A young man by the campfire stood up, pointed his Longsword at the newcomer, and barked coldly, "Kid, stop right there!"