Strongest War Emperor

After defeating Ye Juexin, Shen Lang had laid low for a while. During this time, Xu Daolin, afraid of fighting him, had exposed Ye Xiao Zheng’s collusion with the Demon Dao to divert public attention.

During this period, Shen Lang kept his brilliance hidden and his aura restrained, to the point that people almost completely overlooked him.

But when he drew his longsword and stripped off his shirt, his entire presence instantly transformed, igniting the atmosphere of the entire arena!

Muscles rippled across Shen Lang’s body. Devoid of a single ounce of fat, he possessed the powerful aesthetic of a Greek statue.

A hard, metallic sheen flowed over his skin, which had smooth lines and an astonishing texture.

At a glance, it was hard for people to even believe it was a body of flesh and blood; it looked more like a physique forged and tempered from some special material...

Then, a web of shocking, crisscrossing scars on his somewhat fair skin immediately captured everyone’s attention.

"My god, isn’t Shen Lang supposed to be the trash of the Shen Family? The waste of space who does nothing but sleep? Where did he get all those terrifying scars?" someone exclaimed.

"Scars are a man’s medals, but the ones on Shen Lang are just too horrifying... He’s only sixteen, after all!"

They couldn’t imagine what kind of suffering Shen Lang’s scar-covered body had endured; it was simply unbelievable.

Below the stage, a flash of heartache crossed Nalan Ziyun’s eyes as she sighed to herself. ’Those are from his years of fighting Demon Beasts in the Phoenix Mountain Range. Many of those scars nearly cost him his life... That bastard still doesn’t know that I was the one who applied herbal medicine for him those few times he passed out. Hmph, that heartless jerk. He clearly suspected someone was helping him, but he never came looking for me!’

At this thought, an indescribable bitterness welled up in her heart.

She’d been watching Shen Lang in secret for years, only to end up constantly picking fights with him just to get his attention...

Even though she worried about him every moment... she had to pretend not to care, and in the end, they could only meet as rivals... Only this way could she make Shen Lang remember her...

This was a kind of pain she couldn’t share with anyone, something she could only bury deep in her heart.

’"The moment you walked past me, I could never again let go of the longing in my heart..."’

BANG!

A loud bang shattered Nalan Ziyun’s thoughts. Her almond-shaped eyes widened as she shot a vicious glare toward Xu Daolin.

Xu Daolin had slammed his long spear into the ground, shattering the hard stone slab into a pile of dust as cracks rapidly spread outward!

"It’s too early to be saying things like that!"

With a sharp cry, Xu Daolin swiped a finger on his left hand across the Sumeru Ring on his right.

Circles of black light emanated from the ring. Palm-sized, jet-black plates of scale armor flew out and tightly affixed themselves to his body.

Xu Daolin was already wearing a black robe. The lustrous, intricate plates of jet-black scale armor covered his arms, shoulders, abdomen, and legs. They nearly blended in with his robe, shimmering with a cold glint and giving him an austere, frigid aura.

The moment he donned the scale armor, Xu Daolin’s aura surged once more!

A sharp and domineering presence erupted from him, like a hibernating snake suddenly awakening!

"Holy crap, the armor is assembling itself! That has to be Profound Artifact-level armor! How can Xu Daolin have so many Profound Artifacts?"

"Now this is interesting. Disciples from the Major Sects really are different. His long spear is already a Profound Artifact, and now he has a full set of Profound Armor! If Shen Lang is really only at the Spirit Martial Realm Second Heaven, it’ll be incredibly difficult for him to even break through that armor. How is he supposed to fight this?"

"The armor is one thing, but that long spear in his hand is no small matter. You can just feel its presence and tell a powerful Beast Soul is sealed inside! A Profound Artifact with an Artifact Spirit... that’s a level of power an ordinary Spirit Martial Realm expert can’t hope to deal with, right?"

Originally, people thought Xu Daolin accepting Shen Lang’s challenge was suicide.

But now, seeing Xu Daolin armed to the teeth with Profound Artifacts for both offense and defense—items rarely seen in Celestial Phoenix City—everyone gasped.

Given the circumstances, Shen Lang was facing an incredibly difficult battle.

The outcome was now uncertain.

In fact, the scales of victory in most people’s minds were already tipping toward Xu Daolin. Fighting a Martial Artist armed like this was, frankly, too unfair. But then again, how much fairness could one expect on the battlefield?

"Hmph, that guy Xu Daolin was scared out of his mind by Shen Lang. He’s forcing himself to unseal his Profound Artifact. With his Cultivation at the Spirit Martial Realm Third Heaven, if he loses control, he’ll probably suffer a backlash from the Beast Soul inside it!"

While shocked, some were still indignant.

"That may be true, but if I were facing Shen Lang, I’d have no choice but to do the same, or else..."

"To be honest, I wasn’t really looking forward to the fight between Xu Daolin and Shen Lang. Shen Lang’s a monster, and whoever faces him is just unlucky. But now it seems Xu Daolin has some tricks up his sleeve... With the Xu Family’s resources, how could they possibly have such a powerful Profound Artifact? Disciples from Major Sects like the Imperial Dragon Sect are just built different. Now I’m really looking forward to this..."

What was supposed to be a battle without suspense suddenly changed the moment Xu Daolin revealed his powerful Profound Artifacts.

In the crowd’s eyes, Shen Lang was certainly powerful, with incredible speed and astonishing destructive power...

However, the power of a Profound Artifact far surpassed that of a Spiritual Artifact.

Moreover, Profound Artifacts could seal Artifact Spirits within them, while Spiritual Artifacts could not.

A Profound Artifact with a sealed Artifact Spirit was not only sharp and powerful on its own, but it was also equivalent to having a powerful ally!

The Artifact Spirit could even control the Profound Artifact to attack without its wielder’s input!

And one could get a sense of the power of the Profound Armor Xu Daolin was wearing just from the aura it released.

The Elders from the various families in the stands, with their Cultivation at the Third and Fourth Heavens of the Spirit Martial Realm, knew they couldn’t possibly break through such a powerful defense.

With this Scale Armor and the Flame Demon Spear on display, Xu Daolin seemed to be in an invincible position.

"Heh heh heh..."

On the stage, Xu Daolin, now clad in his Profound Armor, let out a cold laugh.

He gripped the Profound Artifact Flame Demon Spear, a powerful confidence erupting from him. Gone was the fearful, timid look he’d had when he first saw Shen Lang.

Hearing the crowd’s murmurs, Xu Daolin snorted and said, "I told you you wouldn’t get a chance to regret this, and you probably didn’t believe me. No matter how calculating you are, how could you have possibly calculated the hidden power I possess? What you see now is only a fraction of it. Next, I’ll bring out an old friend to meet you!"

As he spoke, Xu Daolin slowly raised his left hand and lightly touched the wolf-shaped pendant hanging from his neck.

The pendant flashed with Spirit Light, and a massive Netherworld Wolf appeared beside Xu Daolin!

The Netherworld Wolf was silver all over, with a pointed snout and sharp fangs. It was more than twice the size of a typical Netherworld Wolf and stood majestically on the stage!

"A Sixth Level Netherworld Wolf King!" Yi Hongchen cried out from the crowd. "Xu Daolin is cheating! This is unfair!"

BOOM!

The Martial Arts Arena erupted once again.

"How shameless! In a duel between Martial Artists at the Third and Fourth Heavens of the Spirit Martial Realm, not only does he bring out powerful Profound Artifacts, but he even summons a Demon Beast equivalent to the Ninth Heaven of the Spirit Martial Realm!"

"How the hell is he supposed to fight this? No matter how strong Shen Lang is, can he beat a Netherworld Wolf King? And that’s not even mentioning the treacherous, fully-armed Xu Daolin!"

No one could have imagined that someone like Xu Daolin would have a Fierce Beast like the Netherworld Wolf King with him!

A Sixth Level Netherworld Wolf King... that’s at least equivalent to a master at the Ninth Heaven of the Spirit Martial Realm!

Against the Netherworld Wolf King alone, wasn’t Shen Lang, at the Spirit Martial Realm Second Heaven, doomed to die?

Many people were already worried for Shen Lang before the Netherworld Wolf King appeared. They never expected Xu Daolin to have such a powerful ally!

More importantly, the battle was about to begin. It was truly too late for regrets!

"Silence!" the Lin-surnamed expert standing suspended in the air on both sides of the stage announced loudly. "The rule of this battle is that there are no rules. Powerful Magical Treasures, Talismans, and Spirit Beasts are all permitted. This is a fight to the death!"

"Heh," Shen Lang said coolly, not even giving the Netherworld Wolf King a direct glance. He simply ran a finger lightly along the blade of his sword. "Adding one Netherworld Wolf King changes nothing. A man who deserves to die will die."

A powerful pressure instantly enveloped the entire arena, making it hard to breathe.

"This aura... it’s so powerful! Shen Lang isn’t even wearing Inner Armor, yet he’s about to fight Xu Daolin, who’s wearing Profound Armor and has a Netherworld Wolf King... This is just too exciting!!!" 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"He’s unbelievably arrogant, but it’s the kind of arrogance you can’t help but admire!"

"Yeah, even if he loses, it’ll be a passionate and glorious defeat!"

The people in the surrounding stands grew excited once more.

On the Chu Family’s platform, Chu Xiuxiu’s breathing grew ragged, her gaze frantic.

’Based on how he taught me swordsmanship in that environment, even the Netherworld Wolf King should be no match for him. But he said it himself that he can’t use that swordsmanship right now; he could only demonstrate it for me in the Consciousness Space. And this Netherworld Wolf King is at least equivalent to a master at the Ninth Heaven of the Spirit Martial Realm, while he, no matter how strong, is only at the Spirit Martial Realm Second Heaven...’

’And that scoundrel Xu Daolin has more than one Profound Artifact—he has a full set for both offense and defense! You probably couldn’t find another person in all of Celestial Phoenix City with that kind of equipment. Even the City Lord, Ye Xiao Zheng, might not own a Profound Artifact...’

In an unnoticed corner, the Young Master of Evil Wind Valley said worriedly, "This Xu Daolin is terrifying. To have so many hidden cards and yet act like a coward this whole time... Dammit, was his terrified act in front of Elder Shen all fake?"

Luo Fengling shook her head. "Impossible. Everything Elder Shen did was completely beyond his expectations; every step was under Elder Shen’s control. But don’t be intimidated by Xu Daolin’s display. The few of us have all witnessed Elder Shen’s power. Besides, did you see his expression change when the Netherworld Wolf King came out? It’s like he doesn’t even see it as a threat!"

"That’s true... Not only did it not change, but I get the feeling he was even expecting the Netherworld Wolf King’s appearance. Sigh. I used to think I was exceptionally talented and I was always proud of myself. But ever since I met him, I feel like I’ve just been wasting my time all these years... It’s really demoralizing!" Yi Hongchen said with a bitter smile.

Luo Fengling wanted to offer a few words of comfort, but after glancing at the unmoving figure of Shen Lang on the stage, she could only give a bitter smile as well.

On the stage, Shen Lang looked at the imposing Xu Daolin and smiled faintly. Sword Intent surged in his dark eyes as a powerful Battle Intent began to radiate from his entire body.

He might not have considered Xu Daolin himself a threat; even with Xu Daolin hiding in his ’turtle shell’ of Profound Armor, Shen Lang was confident he could break through his defenses.

What truly made him wary and solemn was the Netherworld Wolf King.

Because the one truly standing opposite him was no longer the Netherworld Wolf King from before... but the Howling Moon Celestial Wolf, a beast capable of grievously wounding even Yuwen Huaji, an expert at the Half-Step King Martial Realm!