Strongest War Emperor

"Fighting is forbidden in the market. If you want to fight, take it outside."

A calm voice drifted over from nearby. The expressions of Senior Brother Zhao and his arrogant followers instantly changed. They began bowing and scraping fawningly toward a figure to their front right.

"No, no, we weren’t about to fight. Senior Brother Cai, please don’t misunderstand... How would we dare fight in here?"

Senior Brother Zhao spoke with a bow, then waved his hand and pulled Xiao Tong away in another direction.

After taking a few steps, Senior Brother Zhao glanced back and shot Shen Lang a venomous look, the malice in his eyes flashing for an instant before disappearing...

Meanwhile, Kou Xiaotian and the others’ chests heaved as they stared at Shen Lang as if he were some kind of monster.

’Youths will be youths. Arrogant, overbearing, and completely unaware of their own limits.’

’Don’t you know you’ll get beaten up for talking to an Inner Sect Disciple like that?’

Kou Xiaotian wiped the sweat from his brow and said with lingering fear, "That was close. We were just about to... Thankfully, Senior Brother Cai’s presence scared them off!"

"Who’s Senior Brother Cai? It couldn’t be Yan Qi’s cousin, Cai Chaoqun, could it?" Shen Lang asked, his expression a little strange.

"Shh!" Kou Xiaotian jumped in fright and quickly made a hushing gesture. "A Senior Brother named Cai who can make Zhao Qi of the Spirit Martial Realm Third Heaven back down with a single sentence? Who else could it be? Shen Lang, Shu Lan mentioned you just arrived at the Profound Dao Sect. How have you already provoked an Inner Sect Disciple? This is big trouble!"

"Hmph. You’re so young, but you’ve got some nerve. Not only did you dare provoke an Inner Sect Disciple, but you even got into a verbal spat with a Senior Brother at the Spirit Martial Realm Third Heaven. Do you actually have some skill, or is there something wrong with your head?" Xia Xiaoting said huffily.

Shu Lan repeatedly waved her hands, trying to get her to stop, but Xia Xiaoting didn’t even notice the others’ gestures. Her verbal assault was still aimed squarely at Shen Lang.

"Don’t you realize your actions will get us all targeted by them? Their status is much higher than ours, their Cultivation is much higher than ours! What are we supposed to do? They’re Inner Sect Disciples, and we’re just Outer Sect Disciples. You need to get that straight!"

The more Xia Xiaoting spoke, the angrier she got. "Senior Brother Kou, I don’t think we should take him on this training mission. We haven’t even left the Mountain Gate and he’s already stirring up this kind of trouble!"

"D-d-don’t, don’t, don’t be hasty. It’s, it’s fine. You can’t, you can’t say that, about our, our junior brother," Chen Shiyuan, who had been silent the whole time, said, his face flushing red as he waved his hands frantically.

Shen Lang hadn’t expected this honest-looking senior brother to have a stutter.

’No wonder he’s been so quiet.’

After a moment of silence, Shen Lang spoke. "I think what Senior Sister said is half right and half wrong. It’s my fault that I offended someone and dragged you all into it. I’ll take responsibility for that. However, I don’t believe that Outer Sect Disciples are inherently inferior."

"So what if Inner Sect Disciples have slightly better aptitude? There are countless experts in this world, and not every one of them was born a peerless genius. The Profound Dao Sect has its Nine-Nine Eighty-One Peaks, but the Inner Sect only occupies nine of them. In my opinion, it’s the Outer Sect that truly makes up this Profound Iron Level Sect, not the Nine Peaks Inner Sect."

"Without us Outer Sect Disciples, they’d be nothing!"

For a moment, Xia Xiaoting was speechless. She turned away in a huff.

Beside her, Chen Shiyuan kept waving his hands, constantly trying to placate her.

The crowd that had been watching all this fell silent, then dispersed thoughtfully. The bartering nearby resumed as normal.

"Well said, Junior Brother!" Cai Chaoqun’s voice rang out again from nearby. "The difference between the Inner and Outer Sects of the Profound Dao Sect isn’t that great. Whether you’re from the Outer Sect or the Inner Sect, we’re all one family!"

"I, Cai Chaoqun, am not one for grand speeches, but I want to say one thing to all the Outer Sect Disciples here: If any Inner Sect Disciple calls you trash, you beat the hell out of them!"

"If you can win, you fight! If you can’t win, you still fight!"

"We are Martial Artists! What is there to fear in a battle!"

"The reason the Profound Dao Sect can still stand firm in the Celestial Profound Mountain Range despite being pushed around by so many other sects is our unyielding Battle Intent! It’s our internal unity!"

Cai Chaoqun’s voice boomed like a great bell, his aura domineering and awe-inspiring. Everyone in the market felt their blood boil with excitement, their hearts filled with respect.

’He said he’d just say one thing, but he ended up saying so much...’

Shen Lang shook his head and turned to leave, causing Kou Xiaotian and Chen Shiyuan to sigh repeatedly.

"Hey, hey... Junior Brother, don’t go! I’m not finished yet!" Cai Chaoqun grew anxious when he saw Shen Lang about to leave.

No one noticed that his right hand was gripping tighter and tighter, revealing the corner of something that looked like Beast Hide.

Seeing Kou Xiaotian and the others staring at him, Shen Lang sighed and walked back, stopping at the edge of Cai Chaoqun’s stall.

This Cai Chaoqun was tall and heroic, with a chiseled face that looked as if it were carved from marble. His eyes were sharp, and his aura was wild and domineering.

Bathed in the sunlight, he sat cross-legged, dressed in robes as white as snow, continuously stroking a piece of what looked like Beast Hide in his hand.

However, his stall was vastly different from the others around him.

While other stalls were crowded with people, his was completely empty. Not a single person seemed interested in the items he was selling!

"Come, come, Junior Brother, take a look at this. This is the ancient creation method for the Illusory God Talisman! A one-of-a-kind creation method for the Illusory God Talisman!"

Seeing Shen Lang walk back, Cai Chaoqun immediately launched into an enthusiastic sales pitch.

As soon as he said this, the surrounding senior and junior brothers immediately began to snicker.

Even Kou Xiaotian and his companions had strange looks on their faces.

’It seems he often corners unsuspecting junior brothers and sisters to peddle this Illusory God Talisman creation method.’ 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

"The creation method for the Illusory God Talisman?" Shen Lang said, slightly puzzled.

’An Inner Sect Elite Disciple could earn Spirit Stones doing practically anything. Why would he be here selling the creation method for the Illusory God Talisman...’

’This isn’t right. Something is very wrong.’

Shen Lang couldn’t help but narrow his eyes, his gaze falling upon the stack of parchment placed on the mat.

The Illusory God Talisman was a relatively Low Tier talisman. Not only did Shen Lang know how to make them himself, but he had even used one in the Wooden Man Alley.

He had even once used an Illusory God Talisman that conjured a herd of large white pigs, leaving the onlookers not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

This item wasn’t very useful to most Martial Artists; it was practically useless.

The Illusory God Talisman could neither defend nor attack. It could only create some ordinary illusions, conjuring certain objects or scenes.

Originally, it was used as a means of transmitting information or recording events.

Later on, it evolved into the cheapest type of deceptive talisman.

Some people made Illusory God Talismans using images of beautiful women, while others managed to create them using images of powerful Demon Beasts...

All of these were just a type of Illusion Technique, meant to deceive the enemy and attract their attention.

For example, during a great battle, a naked beauty might suddenly appear on the field, or a colossal Demon Beast.

To a certain extent, this could indeed distract someone, allowing an opponent to exploit the opening.

The appearance of a High Tier Demon Beast could scare many people, possibly causing them to panic and even turn and flee.

But in reality, a simple sweep with one’s Divine Thought or a single attack would immediately reveal the illusion to be fake.

Moreover, there was a prerequisite for making an Illusory God Talisman of a powerful Demon Beast: the Talisman Maker had to take a huge risk to record the Demon Beast’s image!

Otherwise, it would be impossible to create one.

But to go and mess with a powerful Demon Beast was simply asking for death!

As for things like naked beauties, they had appeared so many times that they had basically lost their effect.

Whenever something like that suddenly appeared on the battlefield, even an idiot would know their opponent was using an Illusory God Talisman.

Finally, the materials used to make an Illusory God Talisman weren’t much cheaper than those for other talismans; in fact, some components were even more expensive.

The materials were very expensive, but the finished product couldn’t be sold for a high price and had no special use. Calling the Illusory God Talisman "useless" was already giving it too much credit.

When a Talisman Maker had materials on hand, the question was whether to create a Defense Talisman or an Attack Talisman.

But absolutely no one would choose to make an Illusory God Talisman.

Unless they were rich and capricious, or just bored out of their mind.

Shen Lang looked at the stack of parchment on the mat, then at the piece of what looked like Beast Hide that Cai Chaoqun was still clutching. An idea struck him, and he asked, "Senior Brother, how are you selling this secret method for making Illusory God Talismans?"

Cai Chaoqun had been hawking his wares for a long time with no takers. Seeing someone who was finally showing interest, his spirits instantly lifted.

His voice rose an octave. "Fifteen Low Grade Spirit Stones! For just fifteen Low Grade Spirit Stones, you can take home this ancient secret technique!"

Kou Xiaotian, Xia Xiaoting, and the others at the side almost rolled their eyes.

Come to think of it, they had almost fallen for Cai Chaoqun’s trick themselves in the past.

This fellow had formidable Cultivation and excellent talent, and he even had a great reputation among the brothers of the Profound Dao Sect.

The only thing people criticized him for was that he would try to push this piece of junk on anyone he saw!

If you didn’t buy it, he wouldn’t get angry, but he would absolutely keep you there, nagging you for ages until you were annoyed to death.

Many people simply couldn’t stand the annoyance and ended up forking over the Spirit Stones just to get away...

"Senior Brother, I’m a businessman myself, and I happen to know a little about Talisman Making. Your price... is a bit lacking in sincerity."

’No wonder everyone’s giving him such strange looks. He actually dares to ask for a price like fifteen Low Grade Spirit Stones!’

Cai Chaoqun also felt that his exorbitant price was a bit much. He gave a dry cough and said, "Junior Brother, this is a genuine ancient secret manual, guaranteed! I see you seem to be new to the Profound Dao Sect, so how about this? Since it’s our first time meeting, I’ll give you a discount. Ten Low Grade Spirit Stones, what do you think?"

Before Shen Lang could reply, he quickly added, "Just ten Spirit Stones, and I’ll give you the original copy of this Illusory God Talisman secret manual! Look, this is made from Desolate Beast Hide! This piece of Beast Hide alone has great collection value!"

As Cai Chaoqun spoke, he waved a palm-sized piece of Beast Hide.

Just as Kou Xiaotian and the others thought Shen Lang would flatly refuse, he unexpectedly took the piece of Beast Hide.

He gently rubbed the Beast Hide with his fingers, and a silver thread, imperceptible to outsiders, flashed in his eyes and vanished.

The Beast Hide was yellowed all over, but under the inspection of his Silver Eyes of Truth, a faint light, invisible to the naked eye, was slowly rippling.

And within the Beast Hide, a small orb of light pulsed with a powerful pressure, quickly transforming into the face of an old man with a white beard and hair!

The old man "met" Shen Lang’s gaze and revealed an expression of both shock and delight!