Strongest War Emperor

"This... How can this be? There was clearly a Restriction in place!" The girl froze on the spot when she saw this.

In that brief moment, Shen Lang, who had just entered the house, had already stuffed several kinds of precious materials into his Sumeru Ring.

A Restriction set by a Xuanwu Realm expert like Bai Feifei would naturally be quite strong. However, when it came to Restrictions or Arrays, you’d be hard-pressed to find even one or two people in this world who could compare to Shen Lang.

Moreover, he possessed the Silver Eyes of Truth, unique to the entire Star Continent. A Restriction like Bai Feifei’s was completely useless against him.

"Senior Brother... this... this doesn’t seem right..." Seeing Shen Lang brazenly stuffing Master Bai’s belongings into his own pockets, the junior sister, after a moment of stunned silence, couldn’t help but offer a timid reminder.

"Don’t worry," Shen Lang said without turning back. "I’m just picking up things that were scattered on the ground. Since Master Bai tossed them aside so carelessly, it means she doesn’t value them. It’s the same for Artifact Refiners and Alchemists. If they truly valued something and treated it like a treasure, they’d naturally store it properly and hide it away securely. Who would just leave it on the floor and pay it no mind?"

"..." The junior sister was speechless.

Just then, a lazy voice called out from outside the house. "Who are you people? And where am I?"

"Ah!" The junior sister who had just entered the house cried out in alarm.

Shen Lang turned to see a woman in white, her messy hair obscuring half her face. One hand rested on the doorframe while the other vigorously kneaded her temple.

’If she cleaned herself up, she might actually be a beauty... But looking like this, I can only generously call her a woman.’ Shen Lang shook his head again and again.

The junior sister hastily replied, "Master Bai, it’s me! I’m Shu Lan. I... and this senior brother are here to be your assistants."

"Oh, Shu Lan. No wonder you looked so familiar," Bai Feifei said, her breath reeking of alcohol. "You kid, you always come so early. Honestly... Huh? That’s not right. I placed a Restriction on this room. How did you get in?"

"I... I..." Shu Lan’s face flushed crimson, and she stammered, unable to get a word out.

She fiddled with a silk ribbon from her dress, wrapping it around her left index finger again and again. Her whole body began to tremble from nervousness.

Shen Lang gently patted her shoulder and walked past her, saying casually, "Perhaps the Restriction malfunctioned and failed. I just gave the door a casual push, and it opened..."

"Or could it be that you set up the Restriction while you were drunk, Master? That would make it even more likely that it wasn’t set up properly. In any case, the sun is already high in the sky. Since we’re here to be your assistants, shouldn’t we get started?"

Bai Feifei rubbed her aching head and waved a hand dismissively. "Who knows? I don’t even remember when I set up the Restriction... Ugh, those old geezers are working me like a pack mule, sending me batches of damaged Spiritual Artifacts. Are they fucking trying to work me to death? If it weren’t for this mountain of debt, do you think I’d let these annoying bastards force me to refine and repair Spiritual Artifacts every single day?"

"Wait, let me think... what was I supposed to do today?"

’Sleeping until the sun is high in the sky... Aren’t you worried you’ll get tired from sleeping too much?’ Shen Lang muttered.

"Huh? Kid, what did you just say?" Bai Feifei paused.

Shen Lang pursed his lips. "I said we got up early and we aren’t afraid of hard work. Master, please give us our tasks so we can finish early and be on our way."

Bai Feifei stretched languidly. "Oh? Of all the people who’ve come here, you’re the first one besides Shu Lan who’s actually eager to work. But those old geezers are really acting recklessly, sending a kid your age over here... Look at you, all skinny arms and legs. This... ugh!"

Shen Lang wiped a bead of sweat from his brow. "I’ve never heard that you need to be big and brawny to do Artifact Refining. And speaking of age, isn’t Junior Sister Shu Lan a little younger than me?"

"Hmph, how can you compare to Shu Lan? She’s clever, nimble-fingered, and incredibly smart. Plus, she’s quite gifted in the Artifact Refining Dao. Without any special training, she’s already at the level of a Mortal Third Grade Refiner. How could you possibly compare to her?" Bai Feifei said, giving Shen Lang a sidelong glance.

"By the way, you look unfamiliar, kid. What’s your name? Don’t tell me you just joined the Profound Dao Sect?"

Shen Lang chuckled. "This disciple is Shen Lang. I did indeed join the Profound Dao Sect two days ago."

"Holy shit, you’re for real!" Bai Feifei exclaimed, growing angry. "Those bastards are unbelievable! What kind of work do I do here? Artifact Refining! And they just casually send some young, inexperienced Outer Sect disciple to be my assistant? Who’s going to take responsibility if he messes up? This will drastically lower my Artifact Refining success rate! This is absolutely absurd!"

Shen Lang glanced around the courtyard and couldn’t help but roll his eyes again.

The courtyard was pockmarked with craters, a truly miserable sight.

Although quite a few flowers, plants, and trees had been planted, the smaller plants had all withered, creating a scene of desolation.

But that was to be expected. Leaving poisonous Lion Scorpion bones out in the courtyard like this... after a few more days, it was guaranteed that not a single blade of grass would be left alive.

As for the trees, their fate seemed even more tragic. Not a single one was whole. Some had been ripped out by the roots and lay toppled on the ground; others had been blasted apart, leaving only short stumps. The few surviving branches held withered leaves that fluttered in the breeze.

Even a fool could see that Master Bai Feifei’s success rate in Artifact Refining was abysmally low. And she clearly blew up her forge a lot.

’The place is already this wrecked. If her success rate could drop any lower, it’d be a miracle in itself.’

’Looks like the Profound Dao Sect’s old foundations are still solid. How else could they provide enough materials for this woman to squander so extravagantly?’

After taking all this in, Shen Lang said dejectedly, "Um... I actually learned a little bit of Artifact Refining before joining the Upper Profound Dao Sect. I should be more than capable of being an assistant. You should just get started. Once you’re finished, you’ll have time to sleep, won’t you?"

"You know Artifact Refining? How much?" Bai Feifei perked up.

Shen Lang gave a Mona Lisa-like smile. "A little."

"Saying you know ’a little’ in front of me? What arrogance! Fine. There are two crates of Sixth Level Demon Beast Lion Scorpion bones in the courtyard. Go grind them all into Bone Powder for me. And remember, it has to be ground finer than sand. Understood? I’ll give you two Contribution Points per pound of Bone Powder. That’s a bargain for you, kid."

Shen Lang followed her gaze, and his face immediately darkened.

In the corner of the spacious courtyard sat two large, open crates filled with dark brown bones. A faint phosphorescence glimmered on their surfaces.

He’d seen them when he first arrived. ’No wonder the other disciples think Master Bai Feifei is terrifying,’ he’d thought. ’Holy shit, these beast bones are highly toxic, and the poison can become airborne! Yet she just leaves them in a corner with no protective measures whatsoever. Anyone who comes to work here is just asking to die, aren’t they?’

Besides, the two large crates contained at least five or six hundred pounds of bones. And they were the bones of a Sixth Level Demon Beast, the Lion Scorpion, as hard as Profound Iron. Grinding them into powder would be anything but easy.

For a Qi Martial Realm Martial Artist, grinding this many bones into powder would take two or three months, at least.

’Two or three months...’

’In that amount of time, I could explore all of Songdu Peak while looking for Elemental Power Fragments.’

’In that amount of time, I could probably find all the ingredients needed to go with the Thousand-leaf Fruit for alchemy.’

’In that amount of time, I should be able to fully adapt to the first layer of the Ice Soul Water Jade Formation and start preparing for the second.’

’And instead, I’m supposed to come to a place like this and grind Bone Powder for someone?’

Shen Lang was absolutely furious.

’Looks like being too low-key and tolerant isn’t going to work. After I’m done here today, I’m going to have a nice, long "chat" with that bizarre pair, Tian Hao and Yan Qi. If I don’t, this nonsense will never end.’

"Senior Brother, Lion Scorpion bones are highly toxic. You need to wear these gloves while you’re grinding them..." Shu Lan said from the side, handing him a pair of soft gloves and an Elixir Pill. "Also, this is an Antitoxic Pill. Remember to take it in a little while."

Shen Lang reluctantly accepted the gloves and the pill, then turned around. "Master, to grind all these Lion Scorpion bones into powder would take at least three months, right? The mission I received was to work here for half a month..."

Bai Feifei shrugged. "Yep. With your current Cultivation, it’ll probably take you three months. Forget about half a month... Hey, kid, don’t look at me like that. You were sent to me right after joining the Profound Dao Sect, which means you obviously pissed someone off. So even after your half a month is up, you’ll just have to come back here again in a couple of days. Making you work here for three months is probably getting off light."

"So that’s how it is." Shen Lang’s eyes narrowed, and the chill in his gaze made Bai Feifei flinch slightly.

Bai Feifei pursed her lips. "Don’t dwell on it. You should know, the work Shu Lan does is far more dangerous than yours."

’So you do know it’s dangerous for Shu Lan to be your assistant...’ Shen Lang wiped away a bead of sweat.

"Just work hard. Since you’re working for me, if you do a good job, I’ll have your back! Here on Songdu Peak, not even those old geezers dare to offend me lightly," Bai Feifei said, patting her chest.

Shen Lang’s gaze fell on her chest. Though Bai Feifei’s robes were loose, he could still clearly make out the impressive topography beneath.

’She’s certainly well-endowed. The real question is whether she can actually protect me...’

Bai Feifei had been watching him the whole time. The moment she saw where his eyes landed, she glared. "Bastard! Where are you looking? Get to work! A little brat who hasn’t even hit puberty yet, and you’re already looking at people like that? What is this world coming to?"

"Let me tell you, this is a form of Cultivation too. You just work hard here for the next few months. When you’re done, I’ll go to your master and put in a good word for you. What’s with that look? My words carry some weight, you know!"

Shu Lan’s large eyes darted back and forth between Shen Lang and Bai Feifei. She looked like she wanted to say something several times but held her tongue.

"I refuse," Shen Lang said, a smile touching his lips.

Bai Feifei flung her wide sleeve. "You rotten kid! I give you one little job and you’re already getting picky? Didn’t you just say you knew a bit about Artifact Refining? If you do, then you should know that grinding Bone Powder is the simplest, most brainless task there is! And you have the nerve to refuse? I couldn’t do anything about you before you got here, but now that you’re on my turf, it’s not up to you!"

"That’s not what I meant," Shen Lang said, shaking his head.

"What I meant was, I’m skilled at repairing Spiritual Artifacts. I can help you with those, Master."

"Didn’t you just say you took on a lot of jobs because of your debts? That you have a lot of Spiritual Artifacts to repair and even more to refine? I may not know how to refine new Spiritual Artifacts, but I can repair them. Just bring out all the ones that need fixing, and I’ll take care of them all at once. Anything below Spirit Level Third Grade is no problem, no matter how many there are."

A brief silence fell over the courtyard. A gust of wind rustled past, sending a few withered leaves scattering into the air.

The next moment, Bai Feifei exploded with rage...