Strongest War Emperor

Yan Congyun pointed at Shen Lang, who had been all but forgotten. "The one who passed the information to us, and then killed the Demon Martial Artist with a single strike with our assistance, is this young brother Shen Lang before you," he announced. "It was he who severely wounded the Demon Martial Artist during their fight. And when that person tried to use Blood Escape, he finished him off with one blow!"

BOOM!

The Martial Arts Arena erupted once more.

Everything that had happened before—Shen Lang’s sudden appearance and easy defeat of the powerful Ye Juexin—had nearly been forgotten because of the incident with the Demon Dao...

Now, with just a single sentence from Yan Congyun, Shen Lang once again became the center of everyone’s attention!

"Yan Congyun!"

Xu Daolin glared at Yan Congyun below, grinding his teeth. He gripped the stone railing in front of his seat so hard it shattered into pieces...

Xu Daolin never could have predicted that things would take such a turn!

’How could it be Shen Lang? Why would Yan Congyun say it was Shen Lang? It should have been me!’

Xu Daolin stared at Yan Congyun with a crazed look, his previously calm and steady demeanor completely gone.

The impossible was happening, one thing after another, and it was all related to Shen Lang in the end!

Even his greatest killing move against the Ye Family, the blade he had prepared for them, had suddenly become Shen Lang’s...

Xu Daolin couldn’t figure it out. No matter how he thought about it, he just couldn’t understand.

’Why is this happening? How could Shen Lang know all this? Yan Congyun and the others are my fellow disciples, so why would they suddenly help Shen Lang? Where did the plan go wrong? Why!’

At that moment, Long Fong, Yun Qing, and the others beside him were also on the verge of frenzy.

"Damn it all, those bastards are biting the hand that feeds them... How is this possible? Are they trying to get themselves killed?!" Long Fong suppressed his voice, growling like a wild beast.

Yun Qing had completely lost her composure, wringing her hands. "Senior Brother, how could this happen? It was clearly us... What are we going to do?"

’Shen Lang, it’s all Shen Lang! Why is it always Shen Lang...’

Xu Daolin’s expression was complex, filled with a raging fury and an indescribable fear...

Ever since Shen Lang had removed his mask and revealed his true face, that sense of fear had been clinging to his heart, impossible to shake off.

Before, Shen Lang had just stood on the battle stage, doing nothing, saying nothing, looking as if he were about to be eliminated. Yet he had managed to turn the situation into such a disaster!

He had destroyed everything Xu Daolin had planned and snatched away all the glory that should have been his!

Not a single shred was left...

On the stage, he was peerless and magnificent, unrivaled by all!

Off the stage, he exposed Ye Xiao Zheng’s collusion with the Demon Dao and even had people who were originally on Xu Daolin’s side testify that Shen Lang was the one who killed the Demon Martial Artist, Ji Chengwu!

Everything Xu Daolin had prepared had merely served to set the stage for Shen Lang!

A tumultuous storm raged in the heart of the usually deep and calculating Xu Daolin, and he found it difficult to control himself!

Nothing could be worse than this. Nothing could be more maddening...

’He’s terrifying, simply terrifying! I, Xu Daolin, have always considered myself a peerless talent, my schemes flawless. Yet today, I’ve been utterly crushed by this guy... How can such a frightening person exist? Why does he know everything? If he didn’t know, there’s no way he could have planned all this!’

Suddenly...

Amid the uproar in the Martial Arts Arena, Yi Hongchen’s roar rang out, "Well said! Shen Lang is the hero of our Celestial Phoenix City!"

Luo Fengling and the others immediately chimed in, shouting, "Shen Lang is a hero! Shen Lang is the hero who saved Celestial Phoenix City!"

The people in the Martial Arts Arena paused for a moment, then erupted into an unprecedented wave of cheers. "A young hero! Shen Lang is Celestial Phoenix City’s hero! He’s the one who saved the people of Celestial Phoenix City!"

The thunderous roars were deafening, shaking the heavens and the earth.

The members of the Ye Family huddled together, trembling, while the Xu Family members were dumbstruck and speechless.

Xu Daolin collapsed back into his seat, his face a frightening shade of pale.

The Xuanwu Realm powerhouse on the stage remained silent for a moment. After the surrounding clamor had subsided a little, he raised both hands and gently pressed them downwards.

The uproar finally died down.

But the gazes fixed on Shen Lang were all fiery.

The shock and pleasant surprises Shen Lang had given them were simply too numerous.

"Your name is Shen Lang? From the Shen Family of Celestial Phoenix City? Did you truly kill that Demon Martial Artist?" the Xuanwu Realm powerhouse from the Imperial Dragon Sect asked calmly, his eyes fixed on Shen Lang. "Can you explain the full story? I need you to verify a few things."

"Yes, I can," Shen Lang replied faintly.

"Master, don’t believe him! Yan Congyun is a traitor spewing nonsense! The one who killed that Demon Martial Artist was me, not Shen Lang!" Xu Daolin roared, his face contorted with madness.

If he didn’t speak up now, everything would be lost.

At this point, he already understood that Shen Lang had planned everything in advance, clearly to deal with him.

When it came time for Celestial Phoenix City to change hands, Shen Lang would certainly not let the Xu Family succeed!

"Insolence!" the Xuanwu Realm powerhouse barked coldly. "Do you really take me for a fool? Daring to lie to my face? If it weren’t for your own master’s sake, I would cripple you right now!"

At this moment, Long Fong stood up with a pained expression and stammered, "Master, we were indeed the ones who exposed the collusion between the Demon Martial Artist and Ye Xiao Zheng. It had nothing to do with Shen Lang. Yan Congyun and the others must have been bewitched, or perhaps even poisoned and threatened by Shen Lang to say such things! I implore you to investigate clearly, Master!"

Long Fong was being relatively cautious. Although he insisted they were the ones who had exposed the Demon Martial Artist, he didn’t claim that Xu Daolin was the one who killed him.

He was intentionally or unintentionally leaving himself a way out.

"Hm?"

The Xuanwu Realm powerhouse raised an eyebrow and turned to look at the viewing platform he had come down from.

From the platform, one of the people who had been sitting with him immediately flew down.

This person had a cold and cruel face, and his eyes held a chilling, piercing gaze that ordinary people wouldn’t even dare to meet.

"Junior Brother Lin, I’ll have to rely on you to judge this matter. This sort of thing is your specialty," the man who had been on the stage earlier said with a light chuckle.

Junior Brother Lin nodded slightly and said, "Rest assured, Senior Brother Fan. Leave it to me."

With that, he turned to the Xu Family’s platform. "Xu Daolin and Long Fong, come down."

On the platform, Xu Daolin and Long Fong exchanged a look. They hesitated for a moment, then gave an imperceptible nod to each other before quickly descending and walking onto the battle stage.

No matter what, they could only brace themselves and face the situation.

With Yuwen Huaji backing them, even if things fell apart completely, the people from the Imperial Dragon Sect wouldn’t do anything too severe to them.

Shen Lang, who had been silent all this time, couldn’t help but chuckle when he saw the two come down. "I feel it’s necessary to remind these two that lying in front of the seniors from the Imperial Dragon Sect is useless. It would be best to be honest, lest you live to regret it."

"You!" Xu Daolin and Long Fong were driven mad with rage.

The powerhouse surnamed Lin, who had just landed on the platform, gave Xu Daolin an indifferent glance and asked casually, "Xu Daolin, since you claim you were the one who killed the Demon Martial Artist, then tell me, what weapon did you use to kill him, where was the location, and what was the time? Do you have any witnesses or physical evidence?"

"This..."

Xu Daolin’s heart skipped a beat, and a bitter taste filled his mouth.

Being asked the most crucial questions, Xu Daolin immediately began to regret his earlier impulse.

The question of what weapon he used to kill the Demon Martial Artist was enough to expose him.

Yan Congyun had said that Shen Lang cut down the Demon Martial Artist with a single saber strike. This Master Lin before him was in charge of punishment within the Sect and his cultivation had already reached the Sixth and Seventh Heavens of the Xuanwu Realm. How could Xu Daolin possibly deceive him on this point?

Although Xu Daolin was skilled with many weapons, the one weapon he absolutely could not use was a saber!

And as for the fragments of the Demon Martial Artist’s clothing on the ground, how could a Xuanwu Realm powerhouse not be able to tell if they were cut by Saber Qi or Sword Qi?

If Xu Daolin claimed he used a saber to kill the Demon Martial Artist, this powerhouse surnamed Lin’s next sentence would undoubtedly be to have Xu Daolin produce a saber and release his Saber Qi to verify it against the clothing fragments on the ground!

Such a verification would be nothing more than slapping himself in the face. Not only would it be useless, but it would actually end up helping Shen Lang.

As for the location and the time...

Xu Daolin knew, of course; Yan Congyun had told him earlier.

The problem was that Yan Congyun and the other two had already turned against him. Whether their words could be trusted was now a question!

Even if they were telling the truth, at the time Yan Congyun mentioned, Xu Daolin had been in the Martial Arts Arena!

Moreover, ever since taking control of the City Lord’s Mansion some time ago, he had not left the Martial Arts Arena at all!

If a powerhouse of the Xuanwu Realm hadn’t appeared, Xu Daolin could have just moved the time forward and claimed he killed the Demon Martial Artist at noon.

But this powerhouse surnamed Lin had outstanding cultivation and eyes like torches, able to perceive the smallest details. He could probably deduce the time of death just by glancing at the bloodstains on the clothes...

To lie again would undoubtedly be courting death.

As for witnesses and physical evidence, the three witnesses, Yan Congyun and his companions, had inexplicably defected. Long Fong was Xu Daolin’s senior brother and had been with him the entire time, so no one would believe his testimony.

And the physical evidence? The most powerful piece of evidence had already been placed on the ground by Yan Congyun. If he claimed he found it himself, no one would believe that either...

’Dammit...’

With one impulsive sentence, Xu Daolin had plunged himself into a whirlpool from which he could not escape. Cold sweat dripped down his face.

"Ahem!" Xu Daolin cleared his throat. "This disciple has no evidence, but it was indeed this disciple who exposed Ye Xiao Zheng’s collusion with the Demon Martial Artist. I do not know why Senior Brother Yan and the others would push such credit onto Shen Lang, but if I have no proof, then Shen Lang has no proof either!"

Shen Lang scoffed, "Idiot. I have Yan Congyun and the other two as witnesses, and I also have these clothing fragments as physical evidence. The blood on these clothes contains a sharp and tyrannical Dark Attribute Energy, and these shredded bits of flesh also prove this was the body of a Demon Martial Artist. What’s more, the toughness of this body was around the Spirit Martial Realm Seventh Heaven. Even this Black Dragon Halberd has the sharp Saber Qi from my attack fused into it. Are you a moron, or do you take everyone else for one? Can’t you use your brain before you speak?"

"You!" Xu Daolin was choked speechless, his face flushing crimson as he stammered, unable to form a word.

The powerhouse surnamed Lin snorted coldly. "Xu Daolin, your cultivation was previously only at the Spirit Martial Realm First Heaven. You swallowed an Evil Pill to forcibly raise your cultivation to the Spirit Martial Realm Third Heaven, so you simply don’t have the strength to defeat this Demon Martial Artist! Moreover, this person died no more than two hours ago, and you have not left the Martial Arts Arena during that time! Do you dare lie to my face? Do you think I won’t kill you?"

As he spoke, the powerhouse surnamed Lin unleashed a powerful aura, forcing Xu Daolin and Long Fong to stumble backward several steps!