Strongest War Emperor

Shen Lang, however, gave his opponent no time to "appreciate" the scene.

The moment the dagger plunged into the man’s chest, Shen Lang shot up and kicked out fiercely with his right foot, sending the man on the ground flying!

Even though Shen Lang had sealed his Cultivation and controlled his strength, this kick was not something an ordinary Qi Martial Realm Martial Artist could withstand.

The man didn’t even have time to scream before his body smashed into the dense cluster of wooden men in the center of the plaza.

"SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!"

The keenly perceptive wooden men detected someone approaching and immediately attacked. Sabers, spears, swords, halberds, and massive fists instantly descended upon the young man.

Although the wooden sabers and other weapons in the wooden men’s hands were designed to be far less dangerous, their strength was still astonishing.

How could a man who had already lost his ability to move possibly resist?

The poor man hadn’t been killed by his own dagger, nor had he been killed by Shen Lang’s kick. Instead, he was beaten to death by a chaotic flurry of wooden sabers and clubs from a mob of wooden men...

Above the Wooden Man Alley, the disciples of the Profound Dao Sect watched this scene in complete silence.

Even Hao Fengliu and Shang Xiaoran, who were in the middle of a fierce battle, instinctively pulled back, staring in disbelief.

’Is this the same kid who was judged as being unable to practice Martial Arts during the aptitude test?’

It was one thing for him to have cleanly dispatched several Martial Artists with Talismans along the way. But this time, he hadn’t used any weapons or Talismans at all. He had simply killed three Martial Artists who cultivated Illusion Techniques, and his movements were so casual, as if he were just swatting a few mosquitoes...

His movements weren’t particularly fast, but his timing was unbelievably precise, as if he could predict his enemy’s every move.

His strength wasn’t anything extraordinary, but it was applied as smoothly as flowing water, used to perfect effect with an incredible sense of grace.

He was audacious and reckless. Facing two Martial Artists at the Sixth and Seventh Heavens of the Qi Martial Realm, he left himself wide open to reach out and snap their necks. If he had been even a fraction of a second slower, or if his strength hadn’t been enough to break their necks, he could have been instantly annihilated! But he did it anyway, and he did it beautifully!

Everywhere else in the Wooden Man Alley, dust flew and Powerful Qi surged. The battles between most Martial Artists, or between Martial Artists and the wooden men, could only be described as brutal. But Shen Lang’s annihilation of the three Illusion Technique specialists was silent and simple...

"Looks like this kid isn’t entirely useless after all. Not only did he react so quickly within that Illusion Realm, but his physical strength is also quite a bit greater than that of an ordinary Martial Artist," a young man in a brocade robe said leisurely, his arms crossed as he stood on the wall above the Wooden Man Alley.

The person next to him nodded. "Breaking free from the Illusion Realm so quickly is truly inconceivable. As for the kid’s Physical Strength... it’s indeed good. He’s much faster than a typical Martial Artist at the Fifth and Sixth Heaven of the Qi Martial Realm. Most importantly, his combat skills are just too astonishing... To be honest, I’d rather face an opponent whose Cultivation is two or three heavens higher than mine than face a guy like him with such precise and uncanny fighting skills. It feels like he can predict your every move. It’s terrifying."

The brocade-robed young man sighed with a hint of regret. "That may be so, but skill can only be a support. If he encounters someone whose strength far surpasses his, these skills will be of little use. In this world, overwhelming power is everything. No matter how fancy the technique, it’s merely an aid."

"And with his aptitude, it’ll be difficult for him to achieve anything no matter how he trains. So what if his combat skills are amazing? With his current Cultivation, if a Spirit Martial Realm Martial Artist activated their Protective Gang Qi, Shen Lang could probably stand right in front of them and attack freely without ever breaking their defense. Skill alone isn’t enough to qualify for the Profound Dao Sect."

A few others nearby looked as if they wanted to say something, but they just nodded slightly and remained silent.

’This whole situation is really strange. A kid at the Qi Martial Realm Fifth Heaven, a boy discovered to have abysmal aptitude during the test, has surpassed so many of the observing Spirit Martial Realm Martial Artists in terms of combat skill...’

It made one feel both a little regretful and a little jealous.

Some even felt a sense of schadenfreude.

On the other side of the Wooden Man Alley, nestled inconspicuously in the branches of a massive, ancient tree, Zhang Tianyue and two Elders from Luoyan Peak were also sighing.

One of the Elders finally couldn’t help but speak. "These combat skills are as if he were born with them. If his Cultivation were to reach a sufficient level, he’d be simply unimaginable... Peak Master, don’t you think it’s a shame to let someone like this slip by?"

Zhang Tianyue gave a bitter smile. "It would be a lie to say it’s not a shame, but his aptitude is just too poor. The Demon Stone has tested countless people, but this is the first time it has encountered a situation like his. It’s as if his meridians are completely incapable of expansion, and all the Mystic Gates along them are completely blocked... Forget me; it seems no one in the entire Profound Dao Sect can solve his problem."

The other Elder nodded. "Indeed. In his case, unless we used all sorts of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures to perform a Purification of Essence and Marrow on him daily, he’s basically a lost cause... And even if we had that many Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, it might not even work. With a Physique like his, even the path of Body Forging is impossible. He can’t possibly achieve anything in the practice of Martial Arts."

The three of them watched for a while longer before turning their attention back to the brawl.

In that short time, Hao Fengliu had come to her senses and was now charging at Shen Lang in an uncontrollable rage, looking as if she wouldn’t rest until she had killed him.

Although Shang Xiaoran was there to hold her back, the rampage of a Spirit Martial Realm Martial Artist was still terrifying.

Especially when the rampaging one was a woman at the Spirit Martial Realm.

When a woman goes berserk, men have no better option than to get out of the way.

’This woman’s really lost it...’ Left with no choice, Shen Lang could only run into the crowd of wooden men, using their power to obstruct Hao Fengliu.

Inside the Wooden Man Array, although Shen Lang took several heavy blows from the wooden men, he blocked them all with the protective light shield generated by a Talisman.

This only made Hao Fengliu even more furious.

In the ensuing battle, Hao Fengliu found herself completely at a disadvantage.

Zheng Donghong was completely unable to join the fight. He could only watch from the empty spaces in the plaza where there were no wooden men, acting as a cheerleader.

Shen Lang, however, was not idle. He hid off to the side, taking potshots.

He continuously tossed out Tiers Two and Three Fireball Talismans and Wind Blade Talismans as if they were free, throwing a couple whenever he saw an opening, keeping Hao Fengliu on her toes.

"So it’s true, being rich means you can do whatever you want. You can even smash people to death with money!" The group of Profound Dao Sect disciples above the Wooden Man Alley clicked their tongues in amazement.

Talisman attacks of Tiers Two and Three couldn’t deal a fatal blow to a Spirit Martial Realm Martial Artist due to their speed and Attack Power, but their force was not to be underestimated.

Shen Lang was also extremely insidious. He didn’t seem to be trying to kill Hao Fengliu with the Talismans at all. Instead, his goal was to disrupt her attacks and break her balance.

The direction and angle of every Talisman attack were incredibly tricky; many times, he was even aiming for her ankles.

The feet are a common weak spot. Since Hao Fengliu used a Short Sword, she could only hop and jump around to dodge Shen Lang’s attacks, which looked utterly comical.

While fighting Shang Xiaoran, if either of her feet were injured, her balance would be broken instantly, leading to a complete rout!

"This kid is just too shameless, too despicable!"

Hao Fengliu was fuming with rage, screaming wildly, all traces of her previous seductive demeanor gone.

And when a furious Hao Fengliu charged at him, Shen Lang would just turn and duck back into the crowd of wooden men.

He was protected by the Energy from a Gold Defense Talisman anyway, so taking eight or ten hits from the wooden men was no problem.

But Hao Fengliu didn’t have so many Talismans to squander... and with Shang Xiaoran pressing her with close-quarters attacks, she didn’t dare enter the crowd of wooden men to hunt Shen Lang down.

After this happened a few times, Hao Fengliu found herself completely on the defensive, trapped in a bitter struggle.

Meanwhile, Shang Xiaoran’s attacks grew fiercer and fiercer, a relentless onslaught!

"You damnable kid, I’m going to skin you alive!"

Once again, Hao Fengliu had to dodge one of Shen Lang’s fireballs, and in doing so was nearly grazed on the arm by Shang Xiaoran’s Short Sword. She let out a hysterical scream.

With a cold expression, Shen Lang took two steps forward and produced a golden Talisman. "Bitch, you’re having fun cursing, are you? Let me give you a taste of my power!"

The golden Talisman was surrounded by a halo of shimmering Spirit Light and auspicious colors. It was clearly no ordinary item.

Hao Fengliu’s heart skipped a beat. She immediately devoted most of her attention to keeping a close eye on Shen Lang. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Seizing this opportunity, Shang Xiaoran lunged with her Short Sword. A cold, immense Killing Intent swept across the arena, her Momentum completely suppressing Hao Fengliu’s.

This time, however, Shen Lang’s movements were surprisingly slow. After waving the Talisman around for a long moment, he suddenly spoke, feigning confusion. "Oops, my bad. Wrong one."

"Holy shit!"

The Profound Dao Sect disciples watching from above the Wooden Man Alley nearly fell over. This guy hadn’t just fooled Hao Fengliu; he had fooled them too!

"You despicable, shameless bastard!" Hao Fengliu gritted her teeth, wishing she could swallow him whole.

Shen Lang pulled another Talisman from his robes. He held it between his fingers, gave it a few theatrical shakes, and then suddenly thrust it rapidly toward Hao Fengliu!

’That bastard, he’s finally doing it! This Talisman is probably Tier Four. I used up a lot of energy in the last fight, I have to handle this carefully!’

Hao Fengliu focused all the Spiritual Power in her body into her right hand, fending off Shang Xiaoran while keeping her eyes locked on Shen Lang.

"WHOOSH!"

A gust of wind stirred up by the fierce battle between the other two swept past, causing the Talisman in Shen Lang’s hand to flutter twice before falling silent again.

Everyone was stunned. The Talisman was clearly of a high tier, so why wasn’t there any reaction?

’Is this guy just messing with people again?’

’This is outrageous! He’s asking for a beating!’

Sure enough, just as this thought crossed their minds, they saw Shen Lang pull his outstretched hand back, a look of reluctance on his face. "Forget it. This Talisman is very expensive, and I suddenly don’t feel like wasting it... I’ll let you off the hook for today! I’ll be back to have my way with you later. Just you wait."

Hao Fengliu’s vision went black. Distracted, she was struck on the right shoulder by a palm strike from Shang Xiaoran.

"AH! If I don’t kill you, you little bastard, I’m not fit to be human!" From within the Wooden Man Alley, Hao Fengliu’s hate-filled roar echoed like a thunderclap.

The roar, filled with such grief and indignation, made people in the stages ahead want to turn around and see if some woman was being violated...

Otherwise, why would she let out such a terrifying scream?