Strongest War Emperor

’This old hag... She hid her secrets so deep. We’ve known her for over two thousand years, and only now do we find out that this thing is an imitation of the Vast Heaven Mirror, one of the Ten Great Celestial Artifacts!’ Shark’s Kiss thought, gulping.

’Damn it! If I had known back then this thing was an imitation of a Celestial Artifact, would I have been beaten so badly by her?’ Shangguan Feiyue thought with lingering fear.

Celestial Artifacts were the most powerful Magical Treasure Secret Artifacts that could be forged in this world.

The appearance of any single one could cause storms to gather and stir up monstrous waves throughout the world.

Every Celestial Artifact possessed supreme might. With a single swing, space itself would shatter, and countless experts would be turned to ash, demonstrating an unimaginable level of power.

To forge such a Magical Treasure Secret Artifact, it required at least five of the Human Realm’s Peak Artifact Refiners—Masters—working together.

In addition to five powerful Master Level Artifact Refiners, it also required a great deal of manpower and resources, and could take over a hundred years to successfully forge.

The Ten Great Celestial Artifacts, however, shattered the limit that weapons of any Level could only reach the Fifth Grade.

They were transcendent existences that far surpassed Fifth Grade Celestial Artifacts!

If one had to assign them a grade, they would likely be Sixth Grade, Seventh Grade, or even Eighth Grade.

They were existences that were infinitely close to becoming Immortal Artifacts.

Legend had it that the Ten Great Celestial Artifacts were forged back when the Reverse Passage between the Upper Realm and the Human Realm had not yet been closed, through the joint efforts of Great Powers from the Upper Realm and experts from the Human Realm.

So-called imitation Celestial Artifacts were, in fact, items forged using similar but lower-grade materials, mimicking the functions of a true Celestial Artifact.

Although the name wasn’t very flattering, any successfully created imitation was, without a doubt, incredibly powerful.

The Purple Copper Mirror that Nangong Yan had taken out was exactly such an imitation.

This item was called the Feather Flower Purple Copper Mirror. Its power might not have been even one-ten-thousandth of the Vast Heaven Mirror, one of the Ten Great Celestial Artifacts, but it had a distinguished history of battle for the Flower Sect.

Although Nangong Yan’s Cultivation wasn’t the highest in the Flower Sect, the Sect’s enemies had once feared her the most.

Because she wielded the Feather Flower Purple Copper Mirror.

However, many people only knew that the Feather Flower Purple Copper Mirror was astonishingly powerful; very few knew it was an imitation of the Vast Heaven Mirror.

The expert who had spent decades refining this Purple Copper Mirror had only ever told their most intimate confidants about its connection to the Vast Heaven Mirror. Everyone else remained ignorant.

Even Nangong Yan’s closest friends, Shangguan Feiyue and Shark’s Kiss—people who had known her for millennia and knew her inside and out—had no idea that the Purple Copper Mirror was an imitation of the Vast Heaven Mirror.

Shark’s Kiss and Shangguan Feiyue were utterly shocked by the origin of the Feather Flower Purple Copper Mirror.

But what shocked them even more was that Shen Lang had identified it with a single glance!

’He hasn’t even touched it. He just gave it a casual look and identified it as an imitation of the Vast Heaven Mirror, one of the Ten Great Celestial Artifacts. This is simply inconceivable... Just how powerful is that expert backing him? How much have they taught him?’

’Could it be that he’s seen the real Vast Heaven Mirror? That’s the stuff of legends. There are barely any people in this world who have ever seen it...’

Seeing the look in Nangong Yan’s eyes, both Shark’s Kiss and Shangguan Feiyue sucked in a sharp breath, and their hearts sank.

’This is... just a little too astonishing!’

The moment Shen Lang gently touched the edge of the mirror, its surface immediately erupted in a brilliant glow, releasing a dazzling divine purple light. It was like a purple sun, so blinding it made one’s eyes sting and forced them to look away.

"The Feather Flower Purple Copper Mirror may be an imitation, but its flaws are minuscule. Although its grade is Emperor Level Third Grade, its true power is in no way inferior to an Emperor Level Fourth Grade artifact. Even among Spirit Copper Level Sects, it would absolutely rank among the foremost Treasures of the Sect. Senior, this gift is... too valuable. How could this junior possibly accept it?"

Shen Lang withdrew his hand, not taking the Feather Flower Purple Copper Mirror.

He wasn’t just being polite; he truly felt the weight of her sincerity.

There’s no such thing as a free lunch.

A treasure of this caliber would have been nothing to the former War Emperor, but to the current Shen Lang, it was an immense favor.

The Feather Flower Purple Copper Mirror was essentially the Treasure of the Sect for the Spirit Copper Level Sect, the Flower Sect. Accepting something like this would mean owing a massive debt.

Although the incident with Yuwen Huaji had made Shen Lang truly want to acquire a few powerful Magical Treasures for protection as soon as possible, if he really accepted this, he would have no choice but to give them something in return.

Even if Nangong Yan and the others weren’t expecting anything from him right now, the key was that Shen Lang himself felt that, despite being thick-skinned, he couldn’t just take advantage of them without offering something in return!

Although Shangguan Feiyue’s Limb Order was Emperor Second Grade, it was a far cry from the Feather Flower Purple Copper Mirror.

It was similar to the differences in Cultivation Levels. Between the Martial Power Realm First Heaven and Second Heaven, although there was a clear gap, the difference could generally be measured in a few hundred pounds of force.

But when it came to the Qi Martial Realm First Heaven and Second Heaven, even a thousand pounds of force was hardly enough to distinguish them.

And higher still, between the Spirit Martial Realm First Heaven and the Spirit Martial Realm Second Heaven, the gap grew even larger.

It was the same for Magical Treasure Secret Artifacts.

The difference between Emperor Second Grade and Emperor Level Third Grade was practically incalculable.

If two Martial Artists of equal Cultivation were to fight, the one holding an Emperor Level Third Grade Magical Treasure could almost certainly crush the one with an Emperor Second Grade item!

Back in the day, when Shangguan Feiyue fought against Nangong Yan, he had suffered countless defeats because of this Feather Flower Purple Copper Mirror.

The two of them could fight until the sky went dark, unable to determine a winner even after three days and three nights. But if Nangong Yan got annoyed, she would take out the Feather Flower Purple Copper Mirror and shine it on Shangguan Feiyue. The Purple Copper Mirror would release a beam of light and instantly Seal Shangguan Feiyue, whose Cultivation was her equal!

Although it could only Seal him for a few minutes, in a battle between experts, victory and defeat could be decided in one or two seconds, let alone a few minutes.

Even though he was clearly no weaker than Nangong Yan, he would end up bruised and battered every time because of the Feather Flower Purple Copper Mirror, earning him the ridicule of Shark’s Kiss.

In this regard, Shark’s Kiss was much smarter than him.

Every time he saw that mirror appear, Shark’s Kiss would turn tail and run, disappearing in a flash...

He called it by the fine-sounding name: "A true man knows when to yield and when to stand firm, when to fight and when to run."

But then again, even so, the Limb Order was still a rare and precious treasure.

At the very least, a creature like a Nightmare Beast was something you could only chance upon, not actively seek out. Even for a figure like the War Emperor, catching two Nightmare Beasts would be no small feat.

...

Seeing Shen Lang’s hesitation, his refusal, and his claim that the item was too valuable, Nangong Yan’s face lit up with delight.

She had been afraid that Shen Lang would belittle her gift until it seemed worthless, just as he had with the Limb Order.

"Little Brother, you’re being too formal. Although this is the first time we’ve met, we feel a strong connection to you... Besides, we’re quite ashamed that we just stood by and watched while you were being hunted earlier. Think of this as a greeting gift and compensation. If you refuse again, we’ll actually feel terrible. Please, you must accept it."

She then changed the subject, quickly adding, "And there’s this Token. It’s something your Big Sister here keeps on her person. When this Token appears, any Flower Sect disciple within a five-hundred-mile radius will sense it. Seeing the Token is like seeing me in person. Little Brother, if you ever run into any trouble, you can find anyone from our Flower Sect, and they will go through fire and water for you without hesitation!"

Shark’s Kiss and Shangguan Feiyue immediately broke out in a cold sweat from secondhand embarrassment.

’When it comes to verbal gymnastics, the two of them were no match for a woman. At least, they could never make currying favor sound so pleasant.’

’A woman over twenty-five hundred years old, calling herself "Big Sister" to a sixteen-year-old kid. The nerve...’

"Yes, yes, this is a token of our sincerity. You already accepted Master Kong Jing’s Star Moon Bodhi Prayer Beads, so what’s a few more items from us?"

"Just take them, take them! If you don’t, you’re looking down on us..."

Shark’s Kiss and Shangguan Feiyue urged from the side.

Master Kong Jing smacked his lips as if to speak, but not a single word came out.

Chaos, standing to the side, was amused. ’This is the first time I’ve ever seen someone have such a hard time giving a gift away... The Star Moon Bodhi Prayer Beads weren’t a gift, they were straight-up stolen, okay? I wanted them and couldn’t even get them. Poor Senior Brother Kong Jing didn’t even have time to warm them up after getting them... Amitabha, what am I even thinking?’

"Since you seniors insist, it would be ungrateful of this junior to refuse. In that case, I will humbly accept." Shen Lang accepted the gifts readily, without any pretense.

Although Nangong Yan and the others were giving away Magical Treasures that had been with them for many years, and it pained them to do so, they were also overjoyed.

You have to give up the child to catch the wolf, as they say. If they weren’t willing to give up a Magical Treasure, they’d never catch Shen Lang.

"Little Brother, how about you take a look at this saber of mine?"

Seeing that Shen Lang had accepted the gifts from Nangong Yan and Shangguan Feiyue, Shark’s Kiss immediately took out what he had prepared.

A Li Hen Sect Token shaped like a small dagger, and an ancient long saber.

The scabbard was grayish-blue, simple and unadorned, yet it held a hint of an eerie aura. One look was enough to tell it had weathered countless eons.

Even with the long saber still sheathed, a sharp and tyrannical aura washed over them, chilling them to the bone! 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Shen Lang’s eyes narrowed as he took the long saber. His arms immediately sank under its weight!

The unremarkable-looking long saber actually weighed over eight hundred pounds!

Shen Lang couldn’t help but give a wry smile.

With his current Cultivation and physical strength, his body’s weight limit was probably around ten thousand pounds. He could handle eight thousand pounds, let alone eight hundred. The problem was concentrating eight hundred pounds into a single saber; swinging it with ease was another matter entirely.

The material of this long saber was far from ordinary...

Shen Lang’s eyes lit up. He gripped the hilt with his right hand and drew. An ordinary-looking long saber was revealed.

"Ashen Abyss Evil Iron. Just as I thought!"

The long saber was of a plain design, ancient and weathered. It was covered with several horrifying cracks, which would make anyone mistake it for a piece of scrap metal at first glance.

What was even more shocking was that in the very center of the blade was the imprint of a slender palm, and the cracks all radiated outwards from it!

This long saber had been cracked by a single palm strike!

"A long saber forged from a material as hard and indestructible as Ashen Abyss Evil Iron was actually cracked—and shattered by a palm imprint. The physical power of that person is simply inconceivable."

Shen Lang said with a hint of surprise, his finger lightly tracing the body of the blade.

The blade’s surface was smooth as water, engraved with images of the sun, moon, mountains, and rivers, as well as flowers, insects, birds, and beasts. It was also etched with clustered patterns of lightning, making it both brilliant and marvelous.

An invisible Sword Intent coursed through the blade, and as Shen Lang sensed it, his eyes shone even brighter.

On the spine of the saber, three small, inconspicuous words were crookedly carved: "Immortal Celestial Saber"!