Strongest War Emperor

To recap, Shen Lang had suddenly produced the Elder Token, instantly shocking everyone present. The Shen Family and the guests who had come to offer gifts were all left dumbfounded.

As for Drunken Thousand Cups, he wanted to bash his head against a wall. He never would have imagined, not in his wildest dreams, that things would turn out this way.

He had come this time to investigate a case and, while he was at it, to settle a personal grudge.

In the end, not only did he fail to catch the culprit, but he was also beaten soundly by a junior in the Spirit Martial Realm, utterly losing face.

He had even dragged Evil Wind Valley’s reputation through the mud along with his own.

When he finally seized an opportunity to counterattack and was about to annihilate the Shen Family, the Hall Master of the Punishment Hall arrived.

’Now, at last, I can wipe out the Shen Family and Shen Lang without leaving a single soul behind, right?’

But as it turned out, Shen Lang was an Elder of Evil Wind Valley!

This meant Shen Lang couldn’t possibly have killed the Young Valley Master of Evil Wind Valley. Moreover, he’d taken a beating for nothing!

Not only that, but if this bastard reported everything to the Valley Master or the Elder Council when he got back, he, Drunken Thousand Cups, would be in deep trouble...

’How can anyone be so cruel?’

’If you had the Elder Token, why didn’t you just take it out?’

’Who has an Elder Token and keeps it hidden, afraid of people knowing?’

’If you’d taken out the Token from the start, would I have lost so much damn face? Would I have given your Shen Family such a hard time?’

At this moment, all Drunken Thousand Cups wanted was to find a deserted place and have a good, long cry.

"My chest feels so tight. This feeling is just too damn awful..."

The two junior brothers beside him discreetly let go of his arms, exchanged a glance, and shook their heads repeatedly.

It was obvious they both regretted coming out on this mission with him.

They’d never seen someone so unlucky. He’d received the information and immediately rushed over without stopping, hoping to claim the top merit!

In the end, not only did he fail to claim any merit, but he’d also have to face punishment when he returned.

A light punishment would be a deduction of Spirit Stones and Elixir Pills; a heavy one could be an assignment to guard a mine in some bitter, cold land!

’If we’d known it would end up like this, who would’ve wanted to go on a mission with this jinx!’

’Even if Elder Shen hadn’t revealed his status as an Elder, you didn’t need to be so full of killing intent, threatening to wipe out his whole family at the drop of a hat, did you?’

’Look, now things are so tense with an Elder. It’ll be difficult to smooth things over.’

’An Elder this young is an absolute treasure!’

’Can you, Drunken Thousand Cups, even compare? At best, you’re a buffoon!’

’If you hadn’t been so arrogant and domineering from the start, would we have been dragged into this unlucky mess with you?’

’We should stay far away from him next time. Last time at the Treasure Pavilion, he hesitated, and the Giant Potion Formula ended up being snatched by that brat Yao Chengjie from the Holy Light Sect. Now, not only has he lost face, but he’s also offended an Elder with limitless potential. This whole mess... sigh!’ the two junior brothers thought, dejected.

The entire scene fell into a strange silence for a moment before the surrounding crowd erupted into a frenzy of discussion.

A group of sycophants, who had just been complaining that their gifts were a waste, suddenly did a complete 180. They were now celebrating their timely gift-giving, only regretting that their presents had been too modest.

One by one, they had already made up their minds to bring out their best, most treasured possessions to offer as gifts...

Ling Chen was silent for only a moment before he burst into hearty laughter. "Elder Shen, you’re truly a fascinating person. You gave us quite a scare. Now, could you tell me where Hongchen and the others have gone?"

The surrounding clamor immediately died down again, and everyone’s hearts were once more in their throats.

This was the core issue of the entire incident.

Shen Lang gave Ling Chen an approving glance, inwardly marveling at how quick-witted the man was.

Just by seeing Shen Lang’s Token and the Spiritual Artifacts on the ground, he had already concluded that Yi Hongchen and the others were safe.

After all, Shen Lang was an Honored Elder of Evil Wind Valley. If something had truly happened to Yi Hongchen, Shen Lang shouldn’t be here, safe and sound, calmly stirring up trouble, whether he was facing Drunken Thousand Cups or Ling Chen himself.

Since he was so relaxed, it was clear that Yi Hongchen and his group were out of danger.

It was even highly likely that Shen Lang himself had helped them escape the crisis.

Otherwise, there was no way Shen Lang would have the Spiritual Artifacts of Evil Wind Valley disciples in his possession.

On the other hand, with Ling Chen’s experience and means, he naturally knew that Shen Lang must have only recently become an Honored Elder; otherwise, it would be impossible for him not to have known.

Evil Wind Valley had gained such a stunningly talented individual, and Yi Hongchen and the others were safe. For these reasons, Ling Chen’s mood instantly improved.

"They’re all fine. However... I can make them *not* fine."

Shen Lang’s voice was cold as he suddenly flicked his finger toward the entrance.

WHIZ! WHIZ!

Two sounds of something cutting through the air rang out, followed by two cloaked young men crying out, "Ouch!" as they tumbled directly into the open space.

Still on the ground, the two clutched their shins, rubbing them vigorously while yelping in pain.

Several others, also with their faces hidden by cloaks, rushed out from behind and hurriedly helped them up.

"Elder, please, don’t attack! We know we were wrong!"

Luo Fengling’s clear voice rang out as she threw back her hood, revealing her lovely face.

"Hongchen? You all..." Ling Chen was dumbfounded.

Despite his profound Cultivation, he had never expected that these people were actually hiding among the crowd!

This was just great. Here, Shen Lang and the people from Evil Wind Valley were having a massive fight over them.

And these brats had been watching the show from the sidelines the whole time!

They didn’t step forward to explain, nor did they try to stop it!

Now that Shen Lang had revealed his identity as an Elder and things had escalated to this point... this matter wasn’t over!

How could it possibly be so simple to appease his anger?

Sure enough...

"Hmph, the Young Valley Master certainly has a lot of leisure time," Shen Lang said with a cold snort. "You knew full well that I and the Shen Family were being framed. When Drunken Thousand Cups was radiating Killing Intent and about to murder my entire family, you cowered on the sidelines and watched the show for so long! Let me be so bold as to ask, did you enjoy the view?"

A chill permeated Shen Lang’s words, causing Zhao Qing, Yi Hongchen, and the others to subconsciously pull their clothes tighter.

They had seen Shen Lang’s ruthless methods with their own eyes back in Halan Valley.

They had also witnessed him beating Drunken Thousand Cups into a sorry state.

Although anyone with a sharp eye could tell that Shen Lang had struggled a bit when fighting Drunken Thousand Cups and would have had difficulty dealing a fatal blow, Shen Lang was so young!

And his actual Cultivation was much lower!

Who else at his Cultivation level could fight a Xuanwu Realm powerhouse and push them into such a corner?

Besides, Yi Hongchen and the others had seen his Sword Skill before, but Shen Lang hadn’t even drawn his blade this whole time...

If he really were to draw his blade, it was debatable whether Drunken Thousand Cups would still be standing here talking.

Although Drunken Thousand Cups was a powerful Xuanwu Realm Second Heaven expert, that didn’t necessarily make him invulnerable.

At the very least, Shen Lang had already broken through his defenses with just his bare fists. If you added the long blade in Shen Lang’s hands to the equation...

Yi Hongchen looked at Shen Lang, who was several years younger than him, his expression a mixture of complex emotions.

He hemmed and hawed for a while before finally saying, "E-Elder Shen, please calm your anger. We didn’t mean to stay hidden. We saw Uncle Zui arriving with people from Evil Wind Valley, so we followed behind, just wanting to investigate the mastermind’s tracks from the shadows. If Uncle Zui had truly been about to harm the Shen Family, I would have definitely stepped forward... I just didn’t expect you to start fighting so quickly, and I didn’t get a chance to say anything, cough cough!"

As he spoke, he looked down and vigorously rubbed his knees.

In his anger, Shen Lang had used a bit of force. The two small pebbles had struck the knees of Yi Hongchen and Zhao Qing, which were now swollen and throbbing with unbearable pain.

Yet, they couldn’t very well hike up their pant legs to apply medicine in front of so many people, so they could only suffer in silence.

"Nonsense!" Ling Chen barked coldly. "Drunken Thousand Cups is a mess in everything he does. How could you be just as reckless as him? Don’t you know what terrible consequences this could have caused?!"

"Uncle Chen, don’t be angry. It’s not like anything actually happened, right? Elder Shen had the whole situation under control, no need to worry."

Yi Hongchen leaned close to Ling Chen’s ear and whispered everything he knew in a flurry of words.

Regarding Xu Daolin, after Shen Lang had left, Yishu Saint had specifically informed him via voice transmission.

That was why Yi Hongchen had made a special trip to Celestial Phoenix City, hoping to inquire about Xu Daolin.

He hadn’t expected that Xu Daolin had already made a move, notifying Drunken Thousand Cups and the others.

Then, Drunken Thousand Cups had easily fallen for the bait. Thinking of snatching the top merit, he had led his men to the Shen Family with great, menacing fanfare.

And that was how this misunderstanding came to be...

Shen Lang didn’t say anything either. He picked up the tea Xiaohong brought over, took a light sip, and said, "As for the matter of the mastermind, you can take your time with that. You have all the time in the world. However, today, Drunken Thousand Cups barged into the Shen Family, threatened to capture my parents, and wanted to kill my entire family... Meanwhile, Yi Hongchen knew the mastermind had nothing to do with me but refused to show himself, which ultimately led to my identity being exposed so easily here... If it weren’t for my two sisters and three brothers being at the Shen Family, if it weren’t for me rushing back in time, I’m afraid the Shen Family would be a river of blood by now, wouldn’t it? To be honest, today... I—am—ex-treme-ly—pissed!"

Shen Lang spoke the last few words through gritted teeth, one by one.

The bone-chilling coldness in his voice made Ling Chen, Yi Hongchen, and the others curse their luck inwardly.

Sure enough, just as they began to worry, Shen Lang put away the Elder Token and threw it directly at Yi Hongchen. "If being an Elder of Evil Wind Valley means being this aggrieved, to the point of having people from my own Sect barge into my home and prepare to slaughter my entire family, then to hell with this bullshit Elder! I quit!"

Yi Hongchen, his face a mask of misery, was just about to speak when Shen Lang turned to the stunned Drunken Thousand Cups. "However, even if I’m not an Elder of Evil Wind Valley, I still have plenty of ways to deal with you."

His sinister voice echoed across the square. "I, Shen Lang, am a man who repays kindness and settles scores. You can also just call me vengeful. You may be strong at the Xuanwu Realm Second Heaven, but if I want to kill you without relying on any external items, it won’t take me more than a year at most. You can believe it or not. I will not allow anyone who threatens the safety of my family to live in this world!"

The entire square fell silent...

Drunken Thousand Cups was also completely stupefied...

Yi Hongchen looked at Ling Chen with a miserable expression, seeking his help.

Shen Lang’s words were simply too arrogant. Quitting his position as an Evil Wind Valley Elder was shocking enough, but to then threaten Drunken Thousand Cups right in front of a Punishment Hall Elder!

If he were still an Elder, the issue with Drunken Thousand Cups could be considered an internal struggle within the Sect. A squabble between their own people, a bit of a scuffle—it wouldn’t be a major incident.

Under the constraints of the Sect’s rules, at least they wouldn’t fight to the death.

But if he wasn’t an Elder, targeting Drunken Thousand Cups like this was tantamount to targeting the entire Evil Wind Valley...

The surrounding crowd and the members of the Shen Family began to worry for Shen Lang.

The people from Evil Wind Valley, however, began to worry for themselves.

Having dealt with Shen Lang once before, Yi Hongchen understood very well...

This time, Shen Lang was truly enraged!