Strongest War Emperor

Despite his injuries not having fully healed, Shen Lang used the Golden Needle Acupoint Forging Body Technique to forge his body. What’s more, he used eighteen golden needles on his very first attempt!

You probably couldn’t find a handful of people in the entire world who would dare to do something so insane.

As an inhuman agony coursed through his entire body, seeping into every last cell...

Sweat poured down Shen Lang’s face as he clenched his jaw and began to channel his Spiritual Power, driving the medicinal essence of the Profound Celestial Clear Spirit Pill into a frenzied circulation throughout his body!

The surging Spiritual Power and medicinal essence churned like a raging river, creating a tempest. Suddenly, the room lit up with a brilliant light, filled with the roar of crashing waves, flashes of lightning, and the peal of thunder.

At that moment, Shen Lang’s clothes burst apart!

His entire body glowed like jade. His organs shimmered, his bones gleamed, and his flesh was as clear as crystal—like a sacred, luminous lamp, flawless and untainted.

Despite the stimulation from the Golden Needle Acupoint Forging Body Technique, Shen Lang’s mind remained perfectly lucid. And it was precisely because of this clarity that he felt the pain with even greater intensity.

He could feel with sharp clarity the medicinal essence flowing through him, surging through every meridian he had already opened.

"Nine Revolutions of Life and Death Mysterious Technique, activate!"

Shen Lang shot to his feet, condensing all the Spiritual Power and medicinal essence in his body.

As he focused, he felt a warm current rise from his Pill Sea and surge into his right arm. His entire arm began to tingle and swell, suffused with an immense, unparalleled power.

This power far exceeded the limits of what he could normally muster!

’Power originates from the root, is raised through the spine, propelled by the shoulder, and delivered through the palm!’

Shen Lang threw a palm strike at a wooden dummy by the left wall. The very air seemed to ripple as a deceptively small Palm Seal was imprinted on the dummy’s torso.

It made a soft sound, like a palm lightly striking cotton, utterly unremarkable.

"Withdraw!"

Shen Lang took three steps forward, controlling the power as it returned from his right palm. It traveled up his Ren Meridian, connecting his Qugu, Guan Yuan, Qi Sea, and Divine Que acupoints, before flowing back into his left hand!

Then, his body became a near-incorporeal shadow, moving with unpredictable, ethereal grace!

He attacked with alternating hands and a flurry of kicks. Palm strikes, punches, and grappling holds flowed one after another, each as fast as lightning. Treating the row of eight wooden dummies by the wall as his enemies, he launched a direct assault!

’The shoulder aligns with the hip; the elbow with the knee; the hand with the foot. Seizing is static; holding is dynamic. First fists, then kicks, then grappling. Only after mastering grappling can one advance to weapons. A weapon is but an extension of the limbs—the so-called unity of man and weapon. The heart aligns with intent, intent with qi, and qi with power! Yin within, Yang without; inner and outer connected as one breath. If a single form is imperfect, it is difficult to practice any other!’

"Five Emperors Dragon Fist! Heaven-Shattering Palm, Gods and Ghosts Fear! Five Dragons Gathering in the Clouds!"

As his thunderous cry echoed in the room, Shen Lang performed an aerial backflip, landing precisely where he had started.

The instant his feet touched the ground, the eight wooden dummies standing in a row exploded with a loud BANG, turning completely to dust!

These dummies were crafted by the masters of Tayun Academy from Supreme Yang Iron Wood, a material harvested from the Phoenix Mountain Range.

This wood was incredibly heavy and as hard as stone, capable of withstanding three full-power blows from an expert at the Xuanwu Realm First Heaven!

Yet Shen Lang had, with seemingly casual palm strikes and grapples, reduced them all to dust...

Sweat continued to pour from Shen Lang’s body. The pain from the Golden Needle Acupoint Cutting hadn’t subsided in the slightest; in fact, it was steadily intensifying.

He raised his hands and looked at his palms, which appeared no different than usual. A hint of satisfaction crossed his face.

’The medicinal power of the Profound Celestial Clear Spirit Pill is truly ferocious... And while the stimulation from Golden Needle Meridian Cutting is agonizing, it can boost my strength more than ten-fold in a short time. If I channel that power through the Heart Method of the Five Emperors Dragon Fist... with a single grasp, I could probably cripple someone like Drunken Thousand Cups, even at the Xuanwu Realm Second Heaven.’

If Drunken Thousand Cups, who was currently doing menial chores for the Shen Family, were to hear these words, he wouldn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Drunken Thousand Cups was working so diligently at the Shen Family, not only to atone for his past transgressions, but also to ensure Shen Lang wouldn’t forget him.

But it seemed Shen Lang wouldn’t be forgetting him anytime soon...

Shen Lang spread his fingers, then clenched them into a fist, muttering to himself, ’The Golden Needle Acupoint Forging Body Technique feels like self-torture, but the results are surprisingly good. It looks like I’ll have to stick with this Body Refining Technique for the foreseeable future.’

’For now, the Five Emperors Dragon Fist is the most powerful Fist Technique I can practice. But it only has three techniques, and I’ll have to comprehend the rest on my own. It’s not something I can perfect overnight.’

’That fellow, the War Emperor, was a true, peerless genius. He managed to combine the ultimate skills of the Four Directions Great Emperors to create such a world-shaking Fist Technique. This technique completely transcends the limits of Cultivation Technique tiers. Anyone can practice it, but its effects are unpredictable, deeply tied to the cultivator’s aptitude and their own strength. For the very same technique—just like with Sword Intent—the higher one’s realm of comprehension, the more its power increases exponentially.’

’The first technique of the Five Emperors Dragon Fist has nine forms. It integrates countless Palm Techniques, Fist Techniques, and Arresting Techniques. Each form contains endless variations: Wind, Thunder, Earth, and Fire; Mountain Collapse, Earth Split, Tsunami, and Celestial Might... All of these are combined, boiling with killing intent. If I can master all nine forms, I will be virtually unrivaled!’

’First Form: Majestic Mountains and Rivers, Boundless Heavens—All Laws Unite First Punch!’

’Second Form...’

’Third Form...’

’Fourth Form...’

’Fifth Form: Heaven-Shattering Palm, Gods and Ghosts Fear; Five Dragons Gathering in the Clouds! It seems my current physical strength can only support up to the Fifth Form. Anything beyond that would be forcing it.’

Enduring the excruciating pain, Shen Lang forced himself to focus, moving about the room as he practiced the first five forms of the Five Emperors Dragon Fist’s first technique again and again.

Only after the floor was completely soaked did he stop, panting heavily.

Although the Five Emperors Dragon Fist was the War Emperor’s own creation, and an unfinished Fist Technique at that, it was entirely different from ordinary fist techniques. Every single form contained the profound principles of the Great Dao.

To call it a killing art would be less accurate than to call it another medium through which the War Emperor comprehended the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth.

’Martial Arts isn’t just about cultivating strength, and fist techniques aren’t just for attacking and killing. Martial Arts isn’t merely the wisdom of combat; it’s a philosophy for mastering one’s own heart and power. By pursuing the path of Martial Arts, one grows strong and delves into the ultimate principles of the universe. I understand the War Emperor’s thinking now. He didn’t finish creating the Five Emperors Dragon Fist because he lacked the time or energy. He simply opened a door... and left it for me to walk through.’

’From the moment I merged with his memories, my path in Martial Arts was no longer a simple pursuit of power. It became about comprehending the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, about seeking the ultimate truth of the cosmos.’

’Everything he did—cultivating Artifact Refining, Alchemy, and more to their absolute peak—seemed inexplicable at first. But now I see he had only one goal: to completely transcend this world and master the very Rules of Heaven and Earth!’

’No wonder he was so arrogant in his memories. He said that while he was the War Emperor who guarded the central continent, his actual level had long since surpassed that of the Four Directions Great Emperors...’

Completely engrossed in these thoughts, Shen Lang found that the pain wracking his body seemed to diminish considerably.

’When I first created the Nine Revolutions of Life and Death Mysterious Technique, I thought I was inspired solely by my experiences within the Tai Chi Diagram. Now I see that while the Tai Chi Diagram provided the spark of enlightenment, the War Emperor’s six thousand years of accumulated knowledge formed the foundation. Both were indispensable...’

The Nine Revolutions of Life and Death Mysterious Technique was a wondrous technique capable of fusing countless Cultivation Techniques and Spirit Techniques into one!

Fusing different Cultivation Techniques meant fusing different kinds of power. This was how the first technique of the Nine Revolutions of Life and Death Mysterious Technique, the Netherworld Demon Tribulation, came to be.

The Netherworld Demon Tribulation allowed Shen Lang, despite being only at the Spirit Martial Realm, to manipulate the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi. He could gather Death Qi and Primordial Qi of various dark attributes and fuse them with the Supreme Yang and Firmness of Thunder Power and Fire Power.

This first technique finally reached the stage of Great Success during his battle with Yuwen Huaji.

Thinking of this, Shen Lang extended his right hand and opened his palm.

As he activated the Nine Revolutions of Life and Death Mysterious Technique, the Spiritual Power from the Spirit Stones embedded in the surrounding walls and the various types of Primordial Qi in the air began to converge on his right palm like a tidal wave!

The Netherworld Demon Tribulation defied convention.

Once this technique was active, it seemed there was no fundamental difference between any of the world’s powers. No matter how conflicting their natures, all energies could ultimately be fused together with ease.

The conflicting elements of Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth could be fused together.

Powers like lightning, Ice, Death Qi, wind, and Demonic Qi could all be merged as one.

Once activated, the surrounding Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi would gather and fuse, and its power would increase ten-fold or a hundred-fold!

The only thing Shen Lang wasn’t satisfied with was the speed. Although the technique had reached Great Success, allowing him to fuse Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi at will, it was still a little too slow.

’Since it’s not fast enough, it must mean I haven’t reached the stage of complete mastery. Otherwise, such a powerful technique wouldn’t have such a glaring weakness.’

Lost in thought, Shen Lang’s Divine Thought flared, and he pushed the Tai Chi Diagram within him to spin even faster.

The speed at which the surrounding Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi converged immediately increased several-fold!

A small, black-and-white orb, flickering with arcs of electricity, materialized in the palm of Shen Lang’s right hand.

A terrifying aura radiated from the small orb.

At that moment, a clamor arose from outside the room as many people began to run away in a panic.

"Here we go again... Shen Lang’s at it again..."

"Quit wasting time and run! If he loses control, this whole place will collapse!"

"Damn it, the pressure in the Gravity Chamber is bad enough. Now we have to train with our hearts in our throats? This is terrifying!"

"What’s the matter, got a problem with it? If you’re so tough, why don’t you go in there and pick a fight with him?"

"Screw you! I’d rather fight the Dean one-on-one than go up against him... You think I’m a moron?"

Hearing the chatter from outside, Shen Lang couldn’t help but chuckle.

After his battle with Yuwen Huaji, Shen Lang’s control over the power of the Netherworld Demon Tribulation had already reached a new level.

He no longer needed to use two separate hands—one to absorb Yin Attribute Energy and the other to absorb Yang Attribute Energy—before fusing them.

Now, he could accomplish the entire process with a single hand, with no intermediate step required.

This made the process much faster than before.

It just wasn’t enough to satisfy him.

’The speed of this Netherworld Demon Tribulation... on a battlefield or in a place rich with Spiritual Power, I could probably increase the speed even more. Looks like I’ll need to spend more time refining it.’

With a slight movement of his right hand, he stopped absorbing the surrounding Primordial Qi. The black-and-white orb, however, began to slowly expand.

’I’ve used up so many Spirit Stones to gather this much energy. I can’t just let it go to waste.’

Shen Lang passed his left hand over the orb of light. A vortex suddenly formed and instantly devoured it whole.

Shen Lang was taken aback, seeing the orb of light devoured so easily. ’How strange... such a massive amount of energy, how did I absorb it so quickly this time? That’s at least ten times faster than before... Isn’t that a little too terrifying?’