Strongest War Emperor

The figure was none other than Chu Qingcheng, who had left just moments before.

He struck a pose that just begged to be punched and spoke with a look of tough love. "It’s for the best that you can think that way."

"A person has to be low-key. No matter how powerful your cultivation is, you can’t be too ostentatious. Take me, for example. I make sure the whole world knows just how low-key I am," Chu Qingcheng said with a "sincere" expression.

"Hmph."

Shen Moran let out a small huff, quickly wiped the tears from her face, and turned away.

The melancholy atmosphere was largely dispelled by Chu Qingcheng’s appearance, and the people outside the pavilion began to snicker.

Shen Lang flared up. "Couldn’t you at least make a sound before you appear? Sneaking around without a peep, are you trying to scare someone to death?!"

"I did peep, you just didn’t notice," Chu Qingcheng laughed. "You’re a reckless kid. What could possibly scare you? Alright, alright, leave Moran to me. You can go stand on the side."

He waved his hand as he spoke, as if shooing away a fly, which made Shen Lang roll his eyes in exasperation.

The people around them roared with laughter, and the atmosphere in the courtyard instantly became much more relaxed.

All the shock and panic vanished without a trace.

...

The day after Yuwen Huaji was killed, Shen Lang’s father, Shen Haotian, held his birthday banquet in Celestial Phoenix City. The event was unprecedentedly grand.

Shark’s Kiss and Nangong Yan’s group of three gave Shen Lang a great deal of face. They stayed with the Shen Family for three days, even taking the time to offer guidance to the members of Evil Wind Valley and the Shen Family, only hurrying away on the third day.

They needed to deal with the matter of Black and White Impermanence entering the Purple Chu Country as soon as possible.

More importantly, after receiving the Emperor Level Technique from Shen Lang, the trio could barely contain their excitement. They were eager to return home at once to begin their cultivation and properly comprehend it.

Master Kong Jing and Chaos departed discreetly, drifting away and leaving the people of Celestial Phoenix City with endless speculation.

The dust settled, and seven days later, Celestial Phoenix City finally returned to its former tranquility.

...

On this particular morning, the sky was just beginning to brighten. A milky-white morning fog, like a silken veil, was slowly being lifted.

However, the entrance to Tayun Academy’s Gravity Cultivation Hall was already swarming with people.

This was not a common sight in the past.

Recently, however, the instructors in charge of the hall had grown accustomed to it.

Everyone knew the academy’s students had been spurred on by Shen Lang and were now all cultivating with desperate fervor.

It was a classic case of comparisons being odious; you either die from comparing yourself to others or throw out your goods when comparing them to better ones.

Shen Lang’s crushing defeat of Celestial God Academy had shocked everyone back then.

But compared to the rumors of him killing Yuwen Huaji with a single slash, making the students of Celestial God Academy cry for their mothers in the Zuoge Ruins seemed like mere child’s play.

Thinking of Shen Lang’s breathtaking and peerless talent, most people could only resolve to work harder in silence.

That was why the Gravity Cultivation Chamber had been unusually crowded lately.

"Look! I think that’s Shen Lang!"

Just as everyone was trying to rush ahead to get inside early, someone suddenly exclaimed.

The students, who had been mustering all their strength to charge into the Cultivation Chamber, stopped in unison.

One by one, they turned to look toward the distant sky.

In the sky, a small dot grew larger as it approached. It was a black-clad Shen Lang, a pair of black wings extended from his back. He looked like a dark specter as he flew swiftly toward the Gravity Chamber.

"Morning, everyone!" Shen Lang said with a smile, walking straight toward the Cultivation Hall.

"Morning, Shen Lang!"

"Good morning!"

The students immediately responded, and the quiet entrance once again became a little noisy.

A graceful figure stood amidst the crowd. Judging by her beautiful features, it was none other than Ye Qinghan, the ’favored daughter of heaven’ whom Shen Lang had once verbally cornered.

This talented young woman, who had once rejected a marriage proposal from Shen Lang’s father to his face and considered the matter a humiliation, now wore an extremely complicated expression.

Now, as she gazed at Shen Lang, her eyes no longer held their usual cold arrogance.

Not long ago, when Shen Lang injured Shen Daofeng on the back mountain, she had even tried to stop him.

After being verbally cornered by Shen Lang, an angry Ye Qinghan had declared that she would have a battle with him once he reached the Qi Martial Realm.

Not much time had passed since then. Shen Lang had not only thrown the entire Celestial God Academy into chaos, but had also bare-handedly beaten Zui Qianbei of Evil Wind Valley, a Xuanwu Realm Second Heaven expert, to the point where he couldn’t even fight back.

After that, on the Martial Arts Arena of the Heavenly Phoenix City Lord’s Mansion, he defeated Ye Juexin of the Spirit Martial Realm Fifth Heaven and utterly crushed a fully-armed Xu Daolin.

And finally, he had killed Yuwen Huaji, an expert at the Peak of Xuanwu Realm Ninth Heaven, with a single slash!

Such shocking, terrifying power had long since surpassed the level of any student from the two academies in Celestial Phoenix City.

Even in the entire Purple Chu Empire, how many other monstrous talents like him could possibly exist?

’Thinking about the contempt I once showed him, which came from the very bottom of my heart, and my own arrogant words...’

Ye Qinghan lightly covered her red lips with a slender hand. A strange light flickered in her beautiful eyes, her pretty face filled with a complex mix of emotions.

’The things I said and did back then were probably nothing more than a joke in his eyes...’

’When his father came to propose marriage, I once proclaimed that the man worthy of me must be someone with powerful cultivation, a righteous and chivalrous hero... that it could absolutely never be that good-for-nothing Shen Lang. But now, when I compare us, aren’t I the real good-for-nothing?’

’This man... not only is his cultivation heaven-defying, he was driven to madness by Nalan Ziyun’s death. For her sake, he dared to fight an expert at Xuanwu Realm Ninth Heaven, willing to be smashed to pieces just to kill his enemy...’

’In this world where the strong prey on the weak, women don’t have much status. Often, they’re just playthings for the powerful... I never imagined there could truly be a man in this world who would sacrifice his own life for a woman...’

For some reason, the more Ye Qinghan thought about it, the more miserable she felt, until she began to despise her former self.

’If... if I hadn’t rejected his father’s marriage proposal so bluntly back then... I wonder...’

’Why am I thinking this way? Does this mean I’m actually just a selfish, opportunistic woman?’ 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

’Maybe in his eyes, that’s the kind of person I am. I can’t even compare to one ten-thousandth of Xue Dangdang or Nalan Ziyun...’

Just as Ye Qinghan was lost in her complex and indescribable thoughts, Shen Lang walked past her.

Ye Qinghan’s body trembled slightly. Her expression dimmed, and she lowered her gaze.

Suddenly, Shen Lang slowed his pace slightly, turned around, and looked at Ye Qinghan in the crowd.

Ye Qinghan froze, her eyes suddenly meeting Shen Lang’s!

She saw Shen Lang break into a smile at her and say softly, "Good morning. You’re here for Cultivation, too?"

"G-Good morning!" Ye Qinghan’s eyelashes fluttered as she subconsciously replied.

Shen Lang gave a slight nod and walked inside.

Ye Qinghan was left staring blankly at his back until it disappeared from view, only then snapping back to her senses.

...

Tayun Academy had prepared a private Tenfold Gravity Chamber for Shen Lang’s Cultivation.

This Gravity Chamber was much more spacious than the ordinary ones, measuring over twenty meters in both length and width.

At least here, Shen Lang had enough room to fully extend his limbs.

As he stepped into the Gravity Chamber, Shen Lang felt his entire body grow heavy, but he was long past the awkwardness he’d experienced on his first visit to the Cultivation Hall.

"Hah..."

Shen Lang let out a soft breath and muttered to himself, "Tayun Academy has limited resources. The highest-level Gravity Chamber is only twenty-fold. With my current physical strength, it probably won’t even take a month for me to completely adapt to a twenty-fold chamber. After that, its effects will be greatly diminished."

Stretching his arms and legs, Shen Lang sat down cross-legged in the middle of the room.

His battle against Yuwen Huaji had been a brush with death, and in the end, he had even recklessly unleashed the first form of the Demon Blade Technique, the Water Demon Saber.

Although all of this had taken a heavy toll on Shen Lang’s body, the benefits were also immense.

For one, he had completely absorbed the Sword Intent unleashed by the Demon Blade Technique, achieving a minor mastery of it.

For another, Shen Lang had discovered that by desperately pushing his body’s potential, he had a chance of awakening the power of the Ten Divine Beasts within his cells, thereby increasing the number of cells containing their phantoms.

For these two benefits alone, nearly dying had been worth it.

Shen Lang flattened his right palm. A wisp of blade light slowly condensed, and then he casually swung his hand to the right!

"SHIING!"

A wooden dummy standing against the wall to his right split in two with a sharp crack.

’Minor mastery of Sword Intent... the power really does increase exponentially!’

’This single attack is far more powerful than a full-strength slash with the Celestial Water Blade!’

’If I can raise my cultivation to the Xuanwu Realm and fuse my Spiritual Power with this Sword Intent, I’ll be able to shatter Yuwen Huaji’s defenses with a mere flick of my wrist!’

’But I doubt I’ll be able to raise my Sword Intent to the Middle Stage Realm in a short time...’

Shen Lang clasped his hands together, then pulled them apart. A small knife materialized between them, crackling with lightning and formed from Spiritual Power.

The moment the small knife appeared, Thunder Power surged around its blade and Sword Intent filled the air. Shen Lang’s entire aura instantly became sharp and unstoppable, overwhelmingly domineering!

"Willow Dance, Prison Guardian!"

With a soft cry from Shen Lang, the small knife flared with brilliant light, swelling to several times its original size. It then instantly split into nine identical long blades that began to spin rapidly around him!

The light from the nine long blades flickered, seemingly forming a Cage that trapped Shen Lang inside.

"POP!"

With a sound like a soap bubble popping, the nine long blades shattered almost simultaneously the moment they began to spin, dissolving into motes of starlight.

Shen Lang frowned and muttered to himself, "My Sword Intent isn’t deeply integrated yet, and my Divine Thought is still too weak. I can’t even use the defensive stance of the Prison Guardian Blade Technique. It looks like I need to focus on strengthening my Divine Thought as soon as possible."

With a thought, Shen Lang dispersed the Sword Intent enveloping his body.

’Since pushing my body’s potential can increase the number of cells containing the phantoms of the Ten Divine Beasts, then if I take this opportunity to use the pressure in the Gravity Chamber to keep developing that potential, there’s a high probability I can awaken a few more.’

With a flip of his left wrist, two Elixir Pills appeared in Shen Lang’s palm. They were of completely different colors, yet both shimmered with Spirit Light.

One was a Withered Wood Revives Spring Pill, the other a Profound Celestial Clear Spirit Pill.

Both were Profound Level Elixirs he had refined from the Nine Immortals Lingzhi inside the Heaven-Sealing Cauldron.

Shen Lang swept his right hand lightly over the ground, and a small box appeared on the floor.

Opening the small box revealed rows of golden needles, all of identical length.

Without hesitation, Shen Lang swallowed both Elixir Pills at once.

The moment he swallowed the two Elixir Pills, Shen Lang’s hands shot out like lightning, picking up several golden needles and piercing them into his own vital acupoints!

"Ngh!"

A heart-rending, agonizing pain that made him wish for death coursed through Shen Lang’s entire body.

But his speed didn’t falter in the slightest as he continued to drive golden needles into his body!

With each new golden needle, his body would tremble violently, and the intense pain within him would amplify manifold!

In the blink of an eye, eighteen golden needles were embedded in him, with only their very ends left exposed!

This was the very same Golden Needle Acupoint Forging Body Technique that had been used to test Xiu Ban back in Halan Valley!

Back then, Xiu Ban had been pierced with only six golden needles and had nearly passed out from the pain!