Strongest War Emperor

At that moment, the man from the Xu Family whose neck Shen Lang had previously grabbed spoke in a muffled, sullen tone. "You... what’s your name? What faction are you with? I need to register you."

"Mo Ge. I’m not affiliated with any faction."

Shen Lang said nonchalantly, borrowing the name of Mo Ge from the Profound Dao Sect.

"Since the roster is full, all of you, follow me."

The Xu Family’s steward said with a grim expression, then started walking toward the City Lord’s Mansion.

Shen Lang and the other fourteen people followed him toward the City Lord’s Mansion’s Martial Arts Arena.

The guards they saw along the way had all been replaced with Xu Family members.

Upon seeing the contestants, these Xu Family members acted with insufferable arrogance. Filled with a sense of superiority, they constantly pointed and jeered.

Shen Lang blended into the crowd, occasionally turning to survey his surroundings.

However, he had reined in his aura, so even while wearing a mask, he didn’t attract much attention.

’Just a mere City Lord’s Mansion, a Cyan Wood Level faction at that, yet it’s built so magnificently. It seems Ye Xiao Zheng thought that with his backer in the Imperial Dragon Sect, no one would dare provoke him, allowing him to rule Celestial Phoenix City securely. But he never expected the Xu Family to latch onto a powerhouse like Yuwen Huaji within the Imperial Dragon Sect. Now it’s dog-eat-dog. This splendid mansion is about to change hands in an instant. Heh.’

Shen Lang glanced coolly at the City Lord’s Mansion’s architecture and sneered inwardly.

The City Lord’s Mansion’s massive Martial Arts Arena was extremely vast, likely large enough to hold forty or fifty thousand people.

Even though more than half of the major families and factions in Celestial Phoenix City had arrived, the Martial Arts Arena still seemed quite spacious.

In the center of the Martial Arts Arena stood two large, square platforms. Each had sides roughly fifty meters long.

A stage of this size was large enough for experts of the Spirit Martial Realm’s Fifth and Sixth Heaven to fight without holding back.

Surrounding the two battle stages were massive, tiered grandstands to the south, east, north, and west, rising far higher than the stages themselves.

The Martial Arts Arena in the Celestial Phoenix City’s City Lord’s Mansion was buzzing with noise. Aside from the Shen Family, nearly every major faction was present.

On the arena grounds, the battle lines were clearly drawn.

Ye Xiao Zheng, accompanied by a few scattered subordinates and Ye Xue, sat in the western grandstand, the hatred in his eyes unconcealed.

Xu Daolin, Long Fong, and their men sat leisurely in the eastern grandstand. Behind them was a group of Martial Artists with bowed heads—they were originally from the City Lord’s Mansion and had apparently been subjugated by Xu Daolin.

The southern and northern grandstands were filled with members of Celestial Phoenix City’s various major factions. At this moment, they were all murmuring to each other in low voices, their faces filled with worry.

"The City Lord’s Mansion is like a small fortress within Celestial Phoenix City, a city within a city, yet it was breached by the Xu Family so easily... I can’t believe it. Has the Xu Family truly grown that powerful?"

"Exactly! The walls of the City Lord’s Mansion were built with Refined Steel Stone from deep within the Phoenix Mountain Range, and its gates were forged from Refined Iron. It was filled with experts, yet it fell before we even had time to react. It’s just unbelievable..."

"The truth is different from what you imagine. As far as I know, the Xu Family doesn’t possess that kind of strength on its own; they simply borrowed experts from the Imperial Dragon Sect. When masters from the Imperial Dragon Sect appeared at the City Lord’s Mansion, its internal forces were powerless to stop them. Besides, aside from the City Lord’s most trusted men, few of the mansion’s guards would dare to raise a hand against anyone from the Imperial Dragon Sect."

"Oh, so that’s what happened. No wonder... I was thinking the same thing. The Xu Family is native to Celestial Phoenix City. If they had been growing that powerful, there’s no way the other factions wouldn’t have heard some rumors. Besides, that kind of expansion doesn’t happen in just a year or two."

Compared to the leaders of these factions, the younger disciples from the various families were far more animated.

The young are always more ambitious. Many of them, in fact, hoped for as much chaos as possible. After all, heroes are born in turbulent times.

They weren’t particularly concerned with the struggle between the Xu and Ye Families, nor did they care who ultimately controlled Celestial Phoenix City.

In their eyes, the current chaotic situation was an opportunity.

Regardless of which faction ended up controlling Celestial Phoenix City, if they delivered an outstanding performance in the tournament, the stage would be theirs!

The elite disciples among them, in particular, had their sights set squarely on the Imperial Dragon Sect.

For factions in a small city like this, just getting into Evil Wind Valley in the past had required a stroke of incredible luck.

If they could enter the Imperial Dragon Sect, it wouldn’t just change their own destiny—their entire family would undergo a world-shaking transformation!

As the saying goes, "when one person attains the Dao, even their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven." It was only because Ye Xiao Zheng had a backer in the Imperial Dragon Sect that he was able to seize Celestial Phoenix City right under the nose of Evil Wind Valley.

Right now, their conversations were all about the participating disciples from the other families and factions.

Defeating those rivals gave them a high chance of entering the Imperial Dragon Sect. Nothing was more exciting or maddening than that prospect.

As the sky gradually darkened, square towers slowly rose on all four sides of the Martial Arts Arena. An oval Moonlight Stone rested atop each one.

The entire Martial Arts Arena was instantly illuminated.

However, the feeling of a storm about to break cast an oppressive weight on many hearts.

A mix of excitement, panic, confusion, and even fear made today’s tournament feel utterly different from any before.

Moreover, the head-to-head tension between the Xu and Ye Families ignited the entire crowd, making the blood of the young people present boil with excitement. They wished the tournament would start immediately.

Shen Lang sat in a spot below the stage, resting with his eyes closed. The few Martial Artists nearby kept their distance, not daring to approach him.

After a moment, an elder from the Chu Family’s section stood up and pressed his hands downward.

The boisterous Martial Arts Arena immediately fell silent.

"It’s the Chu Family’s Grand Elder, Chu Xicheng..." someone to Shen Lang’s right whispered.

’Has it begun?’ Shen Lang opened his eyes and looked over.

Up on the high grandstand, Chu Xicheng nodded in satisfaction, then announced in a clear voice, "It is my honor to preside over today’s tournament, and I thank the families for placing their trust in me. This event is to test the strength of our Celestial Phoenix City’s finest young disciples. At the same time, it serves as an assessment for the Imperial Dragon Sect to select its Outer Disciples. Its significance is extraordinary, a fact I am sure you all understand without me needing to elaborate. I hope every competitor gives it their all and displays their full capabilities! Those who are defeated may jump from the battle stage to concede. However, if one refuses to concede, the fight will continue until one combatant is completely down. Life and death will not be a factor!"

The moment Chu Xicheng finished speaking, the crowd erupted into an uproar once more.

Previous tournaments had been intense, but they had never reached such a cruel point where "life and death will not be a factor"!

The pressure on many in the crowd increased immensely, and even the sound of their breathing grew heavy.

No one knew whether this rule came from the Imperial Dragon Sect or the Xu Family.

But hearing this one rule alone told them that this tournament would be exceptionally brutal.

"In the box before me are seventy-five bamboo slips, each inscribed with a contestant’s name. Fights will occur on both stages simultaneously. Opponents will be chosen entirely at random. The winner advances, the loser is eliminated."

As he spoke, Chu Xicheng reached his hand into a small hole in the center of the box.

"I will now announce the matchups. When your name is called, please come to the stage. On battle stage one, Ye Xue of the Ye Family versus Xiao Buyuan of the Xiao Family. On battle stage two, Chu Xiuxiu of the Chu Family versus... Mo Ge."

Hidden in the crowd, Yi Hongchen was startled to hear the name. "Which Mo Ge?"

Luo Fengling chuckled. "You think it’s Mo Ge from the Profound Dao Sect? How could that be? It’s probably just someone with the same name. I’d bet... Holy crap! So it’s..."

Just as Luo Fengling was speaking, Shen Lang was already walking slowly onto the battle stage.

The group from Evil Wind Valley instantly understood. They began to snicker amongst themselves, settling in to watch a good show.

Meanwhile, in the western grandstand, the expression on Ye Xiao Zheng’s gloomy face changed drastically as he watched the stage below.

He shot to his feet. "Who is this Mo Ge? Which family is he from?!"

The people beside him jumped in fright. Ye Xiao Zheng had managed to remain composed through the great upheaval at the City Lord’s Mansion, so why was he losing his composure now, just at the sight of that Ghost-faced Person on the stage?

How could they know that it was Shen Lang, in this very disguise, who had snatched the Nine Immortals Lingzhi from the hands of Ye Xiao Zheng and the Demon Martial Artist Ji Chengwu—a treasure they had spent years scheming to finally acquire!

For some time now, a few of Ye Xiao Zheng’s trusted subordinates had led large search parties, relentlessly combing the Celestial Phoenix City area for any sign of the Ghost-faced Person, all to no avail.

He never imagined that now, just as the City Lord’s Mansion was undergoing a massive upheaval, this very same Ghost-faced Person would appear on the tournament’s battle stage!

Just then, Feng Hai leaned over from the side and said, "That Ghost-faced Person is called Mo Ge. He isn’t affiliated with any faction and was the last Martial Artist selected. According to the records, he nearly killed the two men from the Ye and Xu Families who were handling registration. In the end, someone from Evil Wind Valley appeared to vouch for him, so..." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

"Evil Wind Valley?"

Ye Xiao Zheng shot a hateful glare at Shen Lang on the stage and sat back down, grinding his teeth.

He and Ji Chengwu had schemed for years, risking collusion with the Demon Dao, just to finally find and harvest that Nine Immortals Lingzhi.

But in the end, it was this Ghost-faced Person who had reaped all the benefits.

The mere thought was enough to drive him mad!

However, Ye Xiao Zheng was a formidable figure in his own right. After shooting Shen Lang one resentful glare, his eyes shifted, and in the next instant, his hatred for him vanished without a trace.

’This person is young but exceptionally cunning, and his cultivation is extremely high. Back then, he took a palm strike from me and still managed to escape from Ji Chengwu, even severely injuring him in the process. His cultivation must be at the Spirit Martial Realm’s Fifth Heaven or higher.’

’And since the Nine Immortals Lingzhi fell into his hands, it must have boosted his cultivation immensely. If I’m not mistaken, apart from those disciples the Xu Family secretly brought from the Imperial Dragon Sect, no other contestant is a match for him! Not even the few I’ve been secretly training!’

’If I can get this person on my side, I might just be able to turn this entire situation around!’

At this thought, Ye Xiao Zheng immediately turned and whispered to Feng Hai, "Old Feng, after that Ghost-faced Person comes down from the stage, go and speak to him personally. You must recruit him, no matter the cost!"

"Ah? But..." Feng Hai was taken aback.