Strongest War Emperor

It was noon.

Shen Lang watched the battle between the man and the flood dragon on the lake with great interest. He sent a telepathic message, "You’re overthinking it. Unless your cultivation or the Magical Treasure in your hands can completely crush this Three-headed Flood Dragon, only a fool would jump into the lake to fight the Demon Beast! This fatty is no ordinary person, so he’s even less likely to do something so stupid. He’s doing this to feint an attack and lure the Demon Beast out of the water."

"Although this Three-headed Flood Dragon is only a Fifth Level beast, equivalent to the Fourth or Fifth Heaven of the Spirit Martial Realm, the power it can unleash in the water is nothing to scoff at. Strike its head, and its tail will attack; strike its tail, and its head will come for you; strike its middle, and both head and tail will attack simultaneously. Plus, its Talent Ability is Water Control. In the water, even a Martial Artist at the Seventh or Eighth Heaven of the Spirit Martial Realm would have trouble dealing with it. This fatty is only at the Spirit Martial Realm Fifth Heaven. It’s already impressive that he’s lasted this long."

Nalan Ziyun frowned. "You think... that fatty found another treasure? Why else would he be fighting the Three-headed Flood Dragon head-on? A Three-headed Flood Dragon is valuable, but is it worth such a huge risk? Even on land, with his cultivation, the best he could hope for is a mutually destructive battle."

"A treasure? Perhaps."

Shen Lang glanced, seemingly casually, at the area beneath the Three-headed Flood Dragon.

He mulled it over for a moment before adding, "Mutual destruction isn’t a certainty. While the fatty’s actual cultivation is at the Spirit Martial Realm Fifth Heaven, he still has quite a few trump cards. Look at that Flame Sword in his hand. It’s quite powerful, and it just so happens to be a perfect counter to the Three-headed Flood Dragon."

"But he’s a cautious person, not the type to rashly reveal all his trump cards and go all out. It’s unlikely he’d actually fight the Three-headed Flood Dragon to the death... Look, the kid is fighting while constantly moving toward the lake shore."

In the Great Lake, not far from the bushes where Shen Lang and Nalan Ziyun were hiding, several tree trunks floated on the surface, apparently placed there deliberately.

Chen Tianci, the fatty from Qingfeng Stronghold, darted and leaped between the trunks. He would occasionally even skim along the water’s surface, gliding and bounding over a hundred feet at a time as he battled relentlessly with the hundred-foot-tall Three-headed Flood Dragon, kicking up massive waves.

’This fatty is on the verge of Walking on Waves. To think he can control his power to such a degree... Compared to him, I...’

Nalan Ziyun blushed slightly as she watched.

Not long ago, Shen Lang had specifically told her about controlling one’s power, about Walking on Waves and Floating in the Sky.

She never expected to see someone capable of it so soon.

It wasn’t surprising that Shen Lang could do it, but for this fatty, who was only at the Spirit Martial Realm Fifth Heaven, to be able to glide and bound across the water’s surface made Nalan Ziyun, who was at the Spirit Martial Realm Fourth Heaven, feel quite ashamed.

On the surface, their cultivation levels were only one Heaven apart, but their actual combat strength was separated by a much wider gap.

Worst of all, Nalan Ziyun had always assumed the fatty’s cultivation was only at the Qi Martial Realm, fit for nothing more than running errands...

"ROAR!"

The Three-headed Flood Dragon’s three heads snapped down repeatedly and its tail whipped up monstrous waves, yet it only managed to make Chen Tianci look a little disheveled. It became enraged.

Its central head let out a strange roar and spat out a blast of watery vapor!

With a tremendous SPLASH, a pillar of water shot up from the lake, transformed into a water dragon, and lunged toward Chen Tianci with its maw wide open, trying to swallow him whole.

At the same time, the Three-headed Flood Dragon’s other two heads opened their mouths, firing huge, crystal-clear water spheres at Chen Tianci like cannonballs.

A look of anxiety crossed Chen Tianci’s face. He leaped back several times across the tree trunks on the lake, swinging his Flame Sword to slice the two massive water spheres in half.

But even as he constantly shifted his position and changed direction, the dragon formed from the water pillar pursued him relentlessly!

"Bastard, you really think I’m afraid of you?"

Seeing the water dragon closing in, Chen Tianci roared and counterattacked with his Flame Sword, using wide, sweeping techniques!

BOOM! With a series of thunderous collisions, his small frame erupted with unimaginable power, completely shattering the water dragon!

Not only that, but under the cover of the dense mist, he swiftly rushed to the Three-headed Flood Dragon’s side and slashed at its body!

"CLANG!"

The Three-headed Flood Dragon’s aquamarine scales instantly shattered. Crimson blood flowed from the broken scales, staining a large patch of the water red.

"AWOOO!"

Driven mad by the pain, the Three-headed Flood Dragon grew even more frenzied. Its three heads intertwined and lunged down with incredible speed!

Chen Tianci broke out in a cold sweat. He hastily slid sideways across the water, dodging the attack like an agile cat.

Then, as if he’d decided he’d had enough, the fellow stopped fighting. Without looking back, he threw out two sword strikes and then charged full-speed toward the shore.

A Fifth Level Demon Beast already possessed a high degree of Spiritual Wisdom. Under normal circumstances, the Three-headed Flood Dragon would never willingly leave the lake to fight. But now, it seemed to have been completely enraged by Chen Tianci. Seeing him flee, how could it possibly let him go?

The Three-headed Flood Dragon opened its mouth, and two massive water spheres extinguished Chen Tianci’s flame-like Sword Qi. Then, it parted the lake water to forge a path, chasing relentlessly after him!

The surface of the water was completely pushed aside, forming a massive channel. The logs that had been floating on the lake were blasted into the air by the tremendous force!

Just like that, the man and the flood dragon sped off into the jungle.

"Brother Fatty is having a tough time. The Three-headed Flood Dragon is in a full-blown rage right now. It won’t be easy for him to shake it off; it’ll probably take him a while." Shen Lang stood up, casting a somewhat pitiful glance into the distance.

As the distant roars continued, Shen Lang grinned and said, "Wait here for a bit. I’m going down to the lake to catch a fish."

With that, he burst forward at full speed, leaning into his sprint like a cheetah!

He was far faster than the fatty!

Upon reaching the lake, Shen Lang didn’t slow down at all. He ran across the water’s surface, his steps making a "THUD THUD THUD" sound.

As he neared the center of the lake, Shen Lang leaped into the air and began to spin rapidly, kicking up a whirlwind!

Then he plummeted downward, plunging straight into the lake like an awl!

Nalan Ziyun also stood up from the bushes, her face full of displeasure. "That bastard. He obviously knew there was something good in there, and he still said he was going to ’catch a fish.’ Who does he think he’s fooling?"

She rested her chin in her hand and glanced twice in the direction of the continuing roars, then muttered to herself, "I wonder if that fatty owed this little bastard a lot of money in a past life. Something like this happens every time..."

"If last time was because Shen Lang sensed something was off with that guy and deduced there was a problem, then this time is truly a coincidence of coincidences... Who told you to make such a huge commotion and attract our attention?"

While Nalan Ziyun was running to the lake’s edge and craning her neck to look, Shen Lang had already sunk to the bottom.

Carrying over ten thousand catties of Blue Cobalt Copper, he actually had an advantage this time. He barely needed to use any strength to stay anchored to the lakebed.

He stood there quietly, the Star Moon Bodhi Prayer Beads releasing a golden barrier of light that enveloped him, completely isolating him from the lake water.

Before him, a cyan lotus bloomed, as perfect as Cyan Jade and crystal clear.

This cyan lotus had nine petals, all semi-transparent, resembling jade but not quite jade.

A sky-blue, baseball-sized pearl floated silently above the lotus. The surrounding Water Spirit Qi was converging on the pearl at a visible rate, forming a strange vortex before being completely absorbed into it.

Water Spirit Qi suffused the area around the pearl. It was profound and mysterious, crystal clear, and emanated waves of cold air.

If one looked closely, one could almost see auspicious clouds and a stellar ocean within the pearl, circulating with an indescribable charm that gave off an endlessly ancient and vast aura.

A look of astonishment appeared in Shen Lang’s eyes as he muttered, ’It really is the Water Spirit Pearl... To think that in a place like the Chuyun Mountain Range, where the Spiritual Qi isn’t particularly abundant, an Exotic Treasure like the Water Spirit Pearl would exist in such an inconspicuous little lake! Perhaps in the Ancient Era, there was a Spirit Meridian at the bottom of this lake.’

’Brother Fatty, I’m truly sorry about this. This thing is just too tempting for me, so I’ll have to help myself. No hard feelings, no hard feelings, Amitabha...’

Shen Lang stretched out his hands and unleashed his world-cleaving Sword Intent. He carved a square shape into the ground around the lotus, preparing to dig out the entire block of earth, roughly eight meters wide!

Then, he aimed a single palm at the lotus, and the phantom image of the Heaven-Sealing Cauldron flashed on his forehead.

"Absorb!"

The unfathomable power of the Heaven-Sealing Cauldron instantly enveloped the lotus and the Water Spirit Pearl, sucking them directly inside!

The moment the Water Spirit Pearl and the lotus vanished, the once-calm lake water suddenly erupted as if struck by a tsunami, with surging tides and monstrous waves!

Nalan Ziyun, who had been waiting quietly outside, jumped in fright. "That bastard! What kind of fish did he catch? How could it cause such a commotion!"

Her eyes were filled with urgency as she stared intently at the water’s surface, terrified that something might have happened to Shen Lang.

Just then, a figure shot out from the bottom of the lake and into the sky!

A pair of pitch-black wings unfurled from Shen Lang’s back. He swooped down, wrapped an arm around Nalan Ziyun’s waist, and shouted, "Let’s go!"

"What happened? Was there a Demon Beast down there? Why are you in such a hurry? You even summoned the Ghost King?" Nalan Ziyun thought Shen Lang had run into trouble.

Shen Lang grinned. "Nope. What other Demon Beast would be in a place occupied by a Three-headed Flood Dragon? I just got something good and would be embarrassed if that fatty saw me."

"Huh?" Nalan Ziyun was taken aback. "I’ve never seen you act embarrassed when you’re extorting other people. From the looks of it, whatever you got must be incredibly valuable... Uh, just so we’re clear, I get a share!"

"Er, you get a share, you get a share. Let’s just get out of here first. I bet the fatty is going to go ballistic this time... I didn’t even do anything particularly good today and still got such a huge prize. I almost feel bad for him!"

A little over ten minutes after Shen Lang and Nalan Ziyun left, Chen Tianci finally returned to the lakeshore. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

’For some reason, something feels off...’ Chen Tianci wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and surveyed the lake.

His Divine Thought spread out, covering a radius of several dozen meters. Suddenly, he realized something. ’The Spiritual Qi! It’s like the lake has lost its soul, lost all its Spiritual Qi! Could it be...’