Strongest War Emperor

’He... he actually knows Artifact Refining? And his skill in the Artifact Refining Dao has already reached this level? What kind of joke is this...’

Before Shangguan Feiyue could react, Shen Lang continued, "Since these two ores can’t be fully fused, it would have been better to forge this weapon entirely from Saronite. However, the Artifact Refiner who forged it was arrogant. He believed that fusing it with Obsidian Ore would not only make the Limb Order faster, but also stronger and sharper, so he stubbornly went ahead."

"What he didn’t realize is that this method not only causes the Spiritual Power a Martial Artist infuses to scatter toward the two edges, leading to frequent malfunctions and making it easy to get distracted in battle. Furthermore, once the Limb Order sustains an impact beyond a certain threshold, it will shatter completely and fail far more easily..."

Shangguan Feiyue was utterly dumbfounded. In contrast, Shark’s Kiss and Nangong Yan were beaming.

’That’s what you get for rushing ahead of us!’

’That’s what you get for trying to curry favor!’

’Feeling great now, aren’t you? He could tell your gift was defective with a single glance!’

Shen Lang’s gaze remained fixed on the Limb Order. Ignoring Shangguan Feiyue’s crestfallen expression, he said, "The saber is known as the king of all weapons, famed for its powerful, bold, and ferocious style. It is direct, with wide, sweeping movements, always pressing forward. An ancient, exotic Nightmare Beast is not suitable to be sealed within a saber-type weapon."

"Moreover, to seal this Nightmare Beast, the Artifact Refiner who forged this Limb Order superimposed an Earth Element Spirit Array Map with Thunder and Water Element Spirit Array Maps to form a complete seal. It might seem ingenious, but in reality, it severely restricts the Nightmare Beast’s power."

"Worst of all, this Artifact Refiner’s skill with Spirit Array Maps was somewhat lacking. He forcibly stacked multiple Spirit Array Maps, but the result was far from perfect. Not only was it imperfect, it was riddled with flaws!"

"The Earth and Water Element Spirit Array Maps form a cage, obstructing the Nightmare Beast’s power. At most, it can only display seventy to eighty percent of its full strength. That would be one thing, but what’s truly speechless is... every time this Limb Order is used, the Nightmare Beast Soul within is bombarded by Thunder Power! This means that when the Nightmare Beast exerts its power to assist the wielder, it not only faces external attacks but also suffers attacks from the Limb Order’s own Thunder Power. It’s attacked from two sides, and the consumption of energy is immense."

"Therefore, with every use, the Nightmare Beast’s power weakens. After each use, a vast amount of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures are needed to restore it... This is basically a weapon for a spendthrift..."

"Hahaha, a spendthrift! The little brother is absolutely right! That’s the very nickname we gave this punk Shangguan Feiyue back in the day, haha!" Shark’s Kiss couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst into wild laughter.

Beside them, however, Nangong Yan’s delicate brows furrowed slightly.

’It’s truly unimaginable. To think he’s reached such a level in the Artifact Refining Dao! He just gave it a casual wipe and knew the entire structure of this Imperial Artifact. Every point he made hit the nail right on the head, as if he was there watching that old coot forge this Limb Order for Shangguan Feiyue... In that case, the item I was planning to take out in a bit probably won’t be good enough for him. This is really troublesome...’

Shangguan Feiyue’s mouth twitched. He gave a dry cough and said, "Little brother, your talent is truly breathtaking. With just a simple inspection, you’ve identified the Limb Order’s flaws... But, how can these flaws be removed? To be honest, I also felt the Limb Order had many defects back then, but when I obtained this Imperial Artifact, there truly wasn’t a weapon around that was stronger or more suitable for me, so..."

Shen Lang realized he had gone too far and discouraged the man. He gave a wry smile and said, "Senior, please don’t mind me. I’m just an armchair strategist; it’s easy to talk but hard to do... As they say, the flaws don’t obscure its virtues. Among weapons of the same Emperor Second Grade, this is already considered excellent."

"If it were possible, my idea would be to re-forge this Limb Order completely using Saronite Ore. The remaining Obsidian Ore could be used to make the hilt, and finally, the Nightmare Beast could be sealed within the hilt... Obsidian is an even better hiding place for a Nightmare Beast than many other High Tier ores."

The three, including Shangguan Feiyue, were stunned. Shark’s Kiss, ever blunt, blurted out, "But... if the Nightmare Beast is sealed in the hilt, what about the blade? If the blade doesn’t have an Artifact Spirit sealed within it, wouldn’t that be putting the cart before the horse, making the hilt the main component?"

Shen Lang shook his head. "It wouldn’t be mixed up. If I were the one refining it, given the right conditions, I would seal a Thunder Element Demon Beast’s Soul into the blade."

"How is that possible? How can one weapon have two Artifact Spirits sealed inside it?"

Although Shark’s Kiss and the other two admired Shen Lang and had already placed him on a much higher pedestal than themselves, they were still astonished to hear this.

Sealing one Artifact Spirit into a weapon was already incredibly difficult. Sealing two was simply inconceivable.

These so-called "Artifact Spirits" were, in fact, Beast Souls, or the spirits of ghosts and elves.

When a Magical Treasure Secret Artifact was being refined, the soul of a Demon Beast or a ghost would be sealed within. This allowed the wielder to drive the spirit to become one with the Magical Treasure Weapon during combat, greatly increasing its power.

A weapon with a sealed Artifact Spirit not only gained a power boost from the spirit within, but it could also undergo a Transformation into the Artifact Spirit’s original form and possess its former Talent Abilities.

The power difference between a weapon or Magical Treasure with a sealed Artifact Spirit and one without was simply immense.

Sealing an Artifact Spirit could be considered a shortcut to rapidly increasing the power of a Magical Treasure or weapon, but only weapons of Profound Artifact level or higher were capable of it.

Moreover, a weapon could only have an Artifact Spirit sealed into it once, at the time of its forging. To seal a second one, it would have to be completely re-refined, and this process could cause significant harm to the spirit already inside.

Shen Lang’s proposal to melt down and re-forge the Limb Order, sealing the Nightmare Beast Soul in the hilt while sealing a Thunder Element Demon Beast Soul in the blade, left Shark’s Kiss and the others completely baffled.

Sealing one Beast Soul was already incredibly difficult, let alone two.

Besides, how could one weapon possibly hold two Artifact Spirits?

The Ten Thousand Beasts Circle from Divine Dragon Valley was powerful, capable of absorbing and sealing many Beast Souls, but it was, in a sense, already a type of Demon Artifact. It wasn’t quite right to call it a weapon anymore.

This was because it had essentially become a container for storing Beast Souls. The container itself had little power; its offense and defense relied entirely on the power of the Beast Souls within.

Such an item contained the bloodthirsty and chaotic will of thousands of Beast Souls. Ordinary Martial Artists wouldn’t dare, nor would they be able, to even touch it.

The slightest carelessness could result in a backlash from the Beast Souls within, leading to one’s soul scattering.

...

Seeing the three, including Nangong Yan, looking at him in confusion, Shen Lang couldn’t help but chuckle. "I really do know a method to seal two Beast Souls. It’s nothing more than using a powerful Spirit Array Map to create two separate, enclosed spaces within the weapon."

"’Nothing more than...’" The three of them broke into a cold sweat again.

Shen Lang added, "But there’s an even simpler method..."

"There’s a simpler one?" The three felt as if they had lived all these years for nothing.

"The simplest method is to treat this Limb Order as two separate weapons," Shen Lang said with a laugh. "Although the blade and hilt are one piece, the hilt is, in fact, a completely independent component that serves a controlling function. If you view the hilt and the blade as separate, you can easily solve this problem..."

...

Shen Lang spoke casually, yet his words were clear and logical. He effortlessly reeled off various Artifact Refining techniques, including many refining materials that ordinary Martial Artists would never know about.

Every sentence showcased his prowess in Artifact Refining.

This wasn’t Shen Lang deliberately showing off in front of the Three Sect Ancestors. Rather, he hoped to use this knowledge to make them more convinced of his connection to the War God Hall.

The power of an Emperor Martial Realm expert might be nothing in the eyes of the War Emperor, but for the current Shen Lang, they were still far too powerful to face.

As the saying goes, it’s impossible to know what lies in a person’s heart. Shen Lang wasn’t about to blindly trust people he had just met.

Things were a bit better now with Master Kong Jing and Chaos by his side.

But what if they weren’t there?

Master Kong Jing couldn’t possibly stay by his side forever, acting as his bodyguard, could he?

Without those two, on what grounds could he expect them to treat him well just because he revealed a secret about the Blood Ancestor and casually mentioned a connection to the War God Hall?

What if one of the three harbored ill intentions, had a malicious thought, and decided to capture him? How could Shen Lang possibly resist?

Whether it was the Netherworld King’s Three Extremes Sword, the Demon Blade Technique, or even the Star Moon Bodhi Prayer Beads currently inside his body, they were all treasures that would drive countless experts and major powers into a frenzy.

That was why Shen Lang had put on an act, revealing information about the Blood Ancestor Tomb, then dragging the War God Hall into it, and finally displaying his astonishing prowess in the Artifact Refining Dao. It was all to further convince these people that his relationship with the War God Hall was profound and that a reclusive expert stood behind him...

This was especially true for Artifact Refining. Without the guidance of an Artifact Refining Master, it would be impossible to reach such a level.

Artifact Refining wasn’t something you could master just by obtaining some classic texts and practicing on your own.

In truth, Shen Lang might have been worrying a bit too much, but there was no harm in being cautious.

...

Having used the Limb Order to display his formidable skill in the Artifact Refining Dao, Shen Lang immediately won over Nangong Yan and the other two ancestors. The expressions on their faces showed they no longer had any doubt about his connection to the War God Hall.

Only then did Shen Lang breathe a sigh of relief inwardly.

At that moment, Nangong Yan seized the opportunity. She placed a Flower Sect Ancestor Token and a small Purple Copper Mirror on the wooden table in front of him.

"Since the item Shangguan took out is a bit of a dud—though it was the thought that counts—there’s no need for you to decline, little brother. I also have something here, and it’s definitely much better than that Limb Order. Take a look at this Feather Flower Purple Copper Mirror..."

"..." Hearing her call his item a dud, Shangguan Feiyue was furious enough to die.

But when he saw the Purple Copper Mirror Nangong Yan had produced, all he could do was roll his eyes and hold his tongue.

After all, her item was indeed much more powerful than his Limb Order. He had suffered quite a few losses to that Purple Copper Mirror back in the day.

The Feather Flower Purple Copper Mirror that Nangong Yan offered was made of a substance that was neither gold nor jade. Its back was adorned with strange, ancient seal script and the shapes of cloud dragons and exotic birds. The patterns seemed raised, yet were smooth to the touch, neither carved nor painted, but sunk deep into its very core.

It exuded an indescribable charm, giving off an air of endless, primordial vicissitude.

At first glance, its front was shrouded in a purple mist, making it difficult to discern any details.

But upon closer inspection, one’s gaze seemed to travel deeper and deeper into it. Inside, a vibrant rain of flowers fell amidst flecks of golden light. Wind, clouds, water, and fire took shape within the golden glow, constantly shifting in endless transformations.

"A replica of the Vast Heaven Mirror, one of the Ten Great Celestial Artifacts?"

Shen Lang was slightly taken aback.

He had spoken casually, but that casual sentence gave Nangong Yan a huge shock.

Beside them, Shark’s Kiss and Shangguan Feiyue, their expressions strange, both gasped in unison!