Strongest War Emperor

At that moment, Nalan Ziyun’s face was bright red. It was hard to say if it was from Shen Lang’s scolding or from his taunt about her "plump breasts and shapely rear." She shot Shen Lang a fierce glare and leaped off the battle stage, carrying Ye Juexin.

In the stands, Xu Daolin, Long Fong, and the others shot to their feet as if on springs. "Nalan Ziyun, this is impossible!"

’Nalan Ziyun is actually still alive? Then what about Shen Lang, who fell into the Abyss with her? Is he alive too?’

’Then this Ghost-faced Man...’

Xu Daolin felt a chill shoot down his spine as an uncontrollable fear welled up in his heart.

On the battle stage, Shen Lang, whose gaze had been as tranquil as an ancient well, now had a terrifying light explode from his eyes.

He was, in fact, thoroughly infuriated by Nalan Ziyun.

He had been wearing the Evil Ghost Mask because he was wary of Yuwen Huaji and didn’t want to reveal his identity too soon.

But the moment Nalan Ziyun appeared, even someone as dense as Xu Daolin could put two and two together.

Shen Lang did not like the feeling of his plans being disrupted.

Sure enough, when Shen Lang turned his head, his gaze met Xu Daolin’s.

"Sigh, how dull. I was planning to save the big reveal for the final, critical moment. Now the game is over. What a buzzkill."

Shen Lang sighed helplessly and took off the Evil Ghost Mask.

"Shen Lang! It’s Shen Lang of the Shen Family!" someone in the crowd immediately roared.

The entire arena erupted.

The legendary youth who dared to confront Drunken Thousand Cups from Evil Wind Valley in the Treasure Pavilion?

The young man who was called a waste, yet was favored by two titans of Tayun Academy and courted by the Treasure Pavilion...

"Weren’t the Shen Family surrounded by people from Evil Wind Valley? Wasn’t the whole family in grave danger? How did Shen Lang end up here?"

"It’s actually Shen Lang! Unbelievable! The guy everyone said was a waste is actually this powerful!"

"Damn it, thank god we didn’t have much to do with the Shen Family before, and we didn’t look down on Shen Lang. If we had offended someone like him, our entire family would be..." "He even unraveled the Celestial Silkworm Silk! He completely dismantled such a bizarre, unpredictable, and indefensible attack. When he was about to kill Ye Juexin, she couldn’t even fight back... If he’s a waste, then everyone in Celestial Phoenix City is a waste!"

Meanwhile, in the section for the Xuanwu Realm powerhouses of the Imperial Dragon Sect, the three of them exchanged a look, each seeing the shock in the others’ eyes.

"To counter an assassin’s ultimate move like that requires not only power far exceeding the opponent’s, but also a perfect analysis of every detail and complete control of the overall situation. That’s something I can talk about, but I’ve almost never seen it done. To think it would come from a young man of his age... It’s truly unimaginable."

"From what the crowd is saying, he’s Shen Lang of the Shen Family? We’d never even heard that name before we came to Celestial Phoenix City..."

"I sensed Ling Chen from Evil Wind Valley at the Shen Family’s estate earlier. Now there’s no news from the Shen Family, yet Shen Lang suddenly shows up here. This little Celestial Phoenix City is anything but peaceful... What do you two Senior Brothers think? If we wait until we get back to the sect to take him as a disciple, those old geezers will fight tooth and nail for him. We won’t stand a chance. Why not now...?"

"Now? The old rule? The three of us have to fight it out again? Never mind that. If you two are willing to back out, I’m prepared to offer up a fifteen-hundred-year-old Mandala Flower of Love and a three-thousand-year-old Profound Yang Demon Bone. What do you say, Senior Brother Liu? You’ve been coveting this Mandala Flower of Love for a long time. It can help you break through that bottleneck that’s been plaguing you! And as for you, Junior Brother Lin, this Profound Yang Demon Bone is a perfect match for your Cultivation Technique. Once you integrate it into your Profound Dragon Sword, its rank will soar, not to mention its power. Even our Eldest Senior Brother would have to give it a wide berth!"

While the crowd buzzed with discussion and the men from the Imperial Dragon Sect were haggling over who would take Shen Lang as a disciple...

Shen Lang turned slightly on the battle stage and looked down at Ye Jueqing.

"Isn’t it your turn?" Shen Lang said coolly.

Ye Juexin, having lost her ability to move, was now leaning against Ye Jueqing, gasping for breath. She stared blankly at Shen Lang, seemingly in disbelief that he was so young.

"Hmph!" Ye Jueqing suddenly looked up, snorted, and said coldly, "The game is over. I forfeit!"

With that, she turned to face the Ye Family’s section and declared loudly, "Ye Xiao Zheng, this is the last thing my sister and I promised to do for you! You can see it for yourself now. Neither Juexin nor I are a match for Shen Lang. To go up there would be suicide. Juexin and I will leave Celestial Phoenix City now, and from this day forward, we have nothing more to do with the Ye Family! If you dare to bother us again, we will kill you without hesitation—even if you’re Ye Xiao Zheng or Ye Xue!"

After speaking, Ye Jueqing supported Ye Juexin, and they began to hobble out of the Martial Arts Arena.

Ye Juexin struggled to look back one last time. She glanced at the indifferent young man on the stage looking down at them, then silently turned away.

’Fate is such a strange thing. It makes people who have no connection to each other meet... then they just brush past one another, never to meet again...’

’Jueqing and I are leaving Celestial Phoenix City, and we might never, ever return... I wonder, will I ever see that frighteningly powerful young man again somewhere else? I know the fledgling eagle has already spread its wings. His name will surely echo across the Star Continent in the future. I just wonder if I’ll still be alive to hear it...’

’Sigh!’

Nalan Ziyun frowned as she watched them leave, not saying a word.

As she retracted her gaze, Nalan Ziyun suddenly remembered something and subconsciously patted her rear.

’Is my butt really that big... That bastard!’

At this moment, Ye Xiao Zheng’s face was ashen. He collapsed back into his seat with a thud, muttering, "Why did it turn out like this? Why did it have to be Shen Lang?"

The one who had shattered Ye Xiao Zheng’s dream of retaking Celestial Phoenix City wasn’t the Xu Family, but Shen Lang.

The one who had seized the Nine Immortals Lingzhi and grievously wounded Ji Chengwu was also Shen Lang.

Ye Xiao Zheng couldn’t make sense of it at all.

With Ye Juexin’s strength, her ultimate move, and the Celestial Silkworm Silk, she should have had at least a seventy percent chance of killing even Long Fong on that stage.

Now, it was all over...

With the Ye Juexin sisters gone and most of Celestial Phoenix City’s power in the hands of the Xu Family, the Ye Family’s momentum was completely lost.

At the Shen Family estate, Ye Xiao Zheng had witnessed Shen Lang’s power firsthand.

Shen Lang had beaten Drunken Thousand Cups, a Xuanwu Realm Second Heaven master, so badly he didn’t know which way was up. If he, Ye Xiao Zheng, went down there himself, he would probably just be humiliating himself.

’The last time, during the fight for the Nine Immortals Lingzhi, he was heavily injured himself, even though he managed to wound Ji Chengwu... And he didn’t dodge my palm strike back then. His Cultivation should have been at least a level below mine. It’s only been a few days, how has he become this powerful?’

’He’s not just powerful, he’s also an Honored Elder of Evil Wind Valley... It’s over. Everything is over...’

Beside him, Ye Xue was completely stunned.

She knew, of course, how formidable Shen Lang was. But it was a fact that the Shen Family had been brought under the control of Evil Wind Valley, so she couldn’t understand how he could possibly be here either.

Not only was he here, but he had defeated the Ye Family’s champion and crushed the family’s hopes...

"No, no, no, our momentum isn’t lost! Dad, we still have a chance!" An idea flashed through Ye Xue’s mind like lightning, and she cried out, "Our fighter wasn’t defeated by the Xu Family! The rules are very clear about this! If Shen Lang can defeat Ye Juexin, he can certainly defeat the Xu Family’s fighter too! When that happens, we can reset everything and start over!"

Ye Xiao Zheng’s eyes were dull and lifeless. He gave a bitter laugh. "There’s no chance. Do you really think Shen Lang will let us go? He already knows you plotted against his father all those years ago. He also knows about me and Ji Chengwu..."

"What!" Ye Xue’s already pale face turned a few shades whiter, and her entire body began to tremble. "Dad, then... then what do we do...?"

Ye Xiao Zheng lowered his voice. "We sit here and watch. If we make a move, he might immediately expose us to the Imperial Dragon Sect... The man is too terrifying. I don’t even know what other cards he’s holding, or whether Ji Chengwu is already dead at his hands... For now, all we can do is wait. Wait for him to deal with the Xu Family first! From his attitude, it’s clear the Xu Family is his primary target!"

He continued, "As long as we don’t make a move, the people from the Imperial Dragon Sect won’t do anything to us. The senior from our family has probably received word by now and will hurry over. As long as we can stall for time, there’s still a sliver of hope..."

At Ye Xiao Zheng’s signal, Ye Xue and the rest of the Ye Family fell silent and began to wait.

After this brief interlude, Shen Lang slowly turned on the battle stage, his gaze falling upon the Xu Family.

All eyes immediately followed his.

With a deadpan expression, Shen Lang beckoned to Xu Daolin with his finger. "You have two choices. You can give up like a coward hiding in his shell, or you can come down here and fight me like a real man."

The entire Martial Arts Arena erupted into a frenzy.

What was supposed to be a stage for the Xu and Ye Families had been completely stolen by Shen Lang.

He’d already torn down the Ye Family’s stage, and now he was about to tear down the Xu Family’s!

Aside from the Ye Family, more than a few people in the crowd were watching with undisguised glee.

Under the crowd’s gaze, the corners of Xu Daolin’s and Long Fong’s eyes twitched uncontrollably.

Even for a deeply calculating man like Xu Daolin, his breathing grew heavy as he faced Shen Lang, the one who had single-handedly destroyed all his plans.

If this Ghost-faced Man hadn’t been Shen Lang, Xu Daolin would have been confident in his ability to defeat him with the Netherworld Wolf King, even after he’d beaten Ye Juexin.

But of all people, it just had to be Shen Lang!

Shen Lang, who had fallen into the poison-filled Abyss—a place even Xuanwu Realm powerhouses wouldn’t dare to tread lightly—and had somehow returned alive!

’If I go down there, I’ll definitely die at his hands...’

’But if I don’t, Master’s plan will fail, and it will be difficult for the Xu Family to even gain a foothold in Celestial Phoenix City. Ye Xiao Zheng is easy enough to handle, but Shen Lang clearly has other plans. He won’t let the Xu Family take over Celestial Phoenix City so easily!’

’His appearing here is obviously meant to ruin my plans!’

’But he knows my Master is holding down the fort at the City Lord’s Mansion, so why would he charge in so fearlessly?’

In just a few moments, countless thoughts flashed through Xu Daolin’s mind.

A drop of cold sweat trickled down his temple...