Strongest War Emperor

Meanwhile, the scene descended further into chaos. Jie Fengqing and the others were so anxious their palms were sweating.

How had things gotten so tense when everything had been going so well?

Shen Lang was certainly formidable, but these were the Thunder Guard!

If he really attacked the Thunder Guard, he’d be in trouble if he lost, and he’d still be in trouble even if he won!

Listening to the crowd’s murmurs, the people who had been rescued later at Wuling Creek were all rather dumbfounded.

Jie Fengqing hadn’t told them that when Shen Lang first entered the Profound Dao Sect, he was regarded as trash.

They also didn’t know that Shen Lang’s aptitude was supposedly abysmal and that he had only managed to qualify for Wooden Man Alley by relying on Zheng Donghong’s Celestial Profound Order.

The entire incident was becoming more and more baffling.

For an Outer Disciple like him to have annihilated the experts from the Beast Emperor Palace at Wuling Creek, even with the help of this Bone Demon, was indeed far from normal...

"One."

Shen Lang had begun his countdown. The Bone Blades and Profound Artifacts in the four Bone Demons’ hands started scraping against the ground, emitting a shrill, eerie sound.

"Two."

Shen Lang’s eyes were locked with the Thunder Guard as his right hand gripped the hilt of the Immortal Celestial Saber.

With his current Cultivation, even if he released the Golden Needle Acupoint Forging Body Technique, it still wouldn’t be enough to fight five powerful Thunder Guard.

To block the Thunder Guard’s attacks and break through their defenses, he could only rely on the Immortal Celestial Saber!

As for whether these people lived or died, at this moment, Shen Lang suddenly felt it no longer mattered.

A wave of Killing Intent was surging from the depths of his heart.

Under the influence of this Killing Intent, he felt as if the whole world had wronged him, and a fierce hatred bloomed in his heart!

’Slaughter them all. Annihilate these insolent fools who dare to doubt me!’

In this state of mind, the Immortal Celestial Saber was on the verge of being unsheathed!

"Senior Brother!"

Shu Lan, who was on the outskirts of the crowd, suddenly rushed over and threw her arms tightly around Shen Lang’s waist.

"Don’t be reckless, Senior Brother! They don’t mean you any harm! None of us mean you any harm! You have to believe me!"

Tears streamed down Shu Lan’s face as she began to sob loudly.

Shen Lang didn’t want to kill anyone, especially not people from the Profound Dao Sect.

At least, that’s what he had always thought before.

But at this moment, his mood was the worst it had been in a very long time.

In the unseen world, an invisible consciousness was constantly drawing out the negative emotions from the depths of his heart, then amplifying them, again and again...

This consciousness came from the Immortal Celestial Saber on his back!

This consciousness had connected with Shen Lang through the Howling Moon Celestial Wolf Soul within the Immortal Celestial Saber, which was linked to his own soul.

It was completely imperceptible.

Just as Shu Lan hugged Shen Lang, the Star Moon Bodhi Prayer Beads in his Pill Sea suddenly trembled slightly before returning to normal.

But the invisible consciousness, as if alerted, receded like a tide, silent and traceless.

Shen Lang’s expression shifted slightly. He gently patted Shu Lan’s hand and said, "It’s all right. Don’t worry."

Because of Shu Lan’s intervention, Shen Lang never uttered the word "three."

The hand gripping the Immortal Celestial Saber also relaxed and fell to his side.

Shu Lan was a girl who was pure and clear in both appearance and heart. Her mere presence was like bright sunshine and the splendor of spring.

Seeing her smile, many people would subconsciously forget all their unhappiness, their moods lifting considerably.

’No wonder she was able to persuade Bone One. This junior sister’s aura can actually resonate with the Star Moon Bodhi Prayer Beads! That must be why the Star Moon Bodhi Prayer Beads finally detected the anomaly... The Immortal Celestial Saber... what a blade!’

No one noticed that the look in Shen Lang’s eyes was gradually calming.

As he patted Shu Lan’s hand, a barely perceptible hint of a smile even appeared in his eyes.

Of course, Jie Zhengchu, Kou Xiaotian, and the others at the side didn’t understand. When they saw Shen Lang’s posture, they nearly fainted.

They had seen it with their own eyes: with a single slash, Shen Lang had cleaved an expert at the Xuanwu Realm Fifth Heaven and a Three-Clawed Snow Ape in two!

If he had drawn that saber, no matter how powerful these few Thunder Guard were, they wouldn’t have been able to withstand it!

He was supposed to be a hero who had performed a great service, but if that slash had landed...

"Are you fucking made of wood?!" Jie Fengqing suddenly charged in like a shrew and stood by Shen Lang’s side.

He jumped up and down, cursing, "If it weren’t for Junior Brother Shen Lang, none of us would have survived, and you still dare to suspect him? I saw everything Junior Brother Shen Lang did to the people from the Beast Emperor Palace with my own eyes, and so did Zhan Wuji and the others!"

"And you’re treating him like a spy?"

"You Thunder Guard have protected the Profound Dao Sect and performed countless meritorious deeds, so we all hold you in awe and respect. But you can’t be this tyrannical! Are your heads filled with rocks?"

"I, Jie Fengqing, will stake my life on it: Junior Brother Shen Lang is absolutely not some so-called spy! If you’re going to arrest him, then arrest me too!"

Everyone around was stunned.

They were all very familiar with Jie Fengqing’s temperament; he had always been the quiet, non-confrontational type.

And they had also heard of how terrifying the Thunder Guard were.

They never would have imagined that Jie Fengqing would point his finger at the Thunder Guard and curse them out just to speak up for Shen Lang!

And even stake his life on it!

Zhan Wuji and the others also stepped forward. "We also saw everything Junior Brother Shen Lang did. Without him, my body would have been devoured into an empty husk by the Beast Emperor Palace’s White Jade Insects! Even if you are the Thunder Guard, you can’t be this unreasonable!"

"We’ll stake our lives on it too! It was Junior Brother Shen Lang who saved us from the hands of the Beast Emperor Palace’s people. There is absolutely no doubt about that!"

Behind them, Kou Xiaotian and the others also started shouting and moved to stand in front of Shen Lang.

They spoke up for Shen Lang while linking hands to form a tight circle around him, preventing the Thunder Guard from getting close.

At this point, the people who had been rescued later at Wuling Creek also came out and stood with Zhan Wuji’s group. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Although they hadn’t personally witnessed the scene of Shen Lang leading the Bone Demons to kill the people from the Beast Emperor Palace, and hadn’t even seen the bodies because the Bone Demons had disposed of them, they all believed Jie Fengqing and the others.

The Thunder Guard standing directly in front of Shen Lang glanced at Jie Fengqing and the others, then at the simple, ancient long-saber on Shen Lang’s back. He said nothing more and raised his hand in a strange gesture.

Upon seeing his gesture, the other Thunder Guard immediately dropped their imposing auras and backed away!

Jie Fengqing and the others let out a huge sigh of relief, each one of them realizing they were drenched in sweat...

A potential major battle had finally been averted.

"Thank you all for your trust and help." Shen Lang cupped his fists to the crowd.

Then, he gently moved Shu Lan’s hands away, recalled his Bone Demons, and started up the ancient mountain path.

"Senior Brother." Shu Lan wiped away her tears and hurried after him. "I... I’ll go with you."

Kou Xiaotian and Xia Xiaoting’s group of three exchanged a look, then turned back and said with a smile, "We left as a team, so of course, we’ll return as a team. We’ll go up with him. We’ll see you all later."

Jie Fengqing wiped the sweat from his brow, walked up to the Thunder Guard, and said, "I saw everything from start to finish. I am the Sect Leader’s disciple. If my master is waiting, you can take me up first. I will tell him everything I am able to say."

The Thunder Guard glanced at him, nodded, and followed him toward the Seven-Colored Spirit Vulture.

Under the dim glow of the Moonlight Stones, no one saw that the ground at the feet of the Thunder Guard who had been in front of Shen Lang was soaked...

It was sweat. Cold sweat.

"Senior Brother, why did you let Shen Lang go? How are we going to explain this to the Sect Leader?" one of the Thunder Guard asked via Divine Thought as he hurried forward.

"Exactly! A mere Outer Disciple acting so arrogantly! Are you saying we’re afraid of him?"

"He accomplishes a minor feat with a few Bone Demons and acts so insolent. I’m going to report all of this to the Sect Leader later!"

"That’s right. Those four Bone Demons are only around the Xuanwu Realm Second Heaven. I could handle them by myself. Why did you compromise with him, Senior Brother?"

The Thunder Guard who had blocked Shen Lang paused his steps and also replied via Divine Thought, "Death. In all these years, this is the first time I’ve felt so close to death. So close that it drenched me in cold sweat."

"What? How is that possible!" The other Thunder Guard were shocked.

"It wasn’t his Momentum, it wasn’t Killing Intent. It was a subconscious, physical instinct. My body sensed that if that saber had been drawn, I would have died without a doubt! Jie Fengqing was cursing at me because he was afraid Shen Lang would strike. He’s seen him in action! It’s highly likely that Shen Lang himself killed those people from the Beast Emperor Palace, and the Bone Demons... they might have just been support!"

The Thunder Guard all fell silent at once.

"This... How is this possible? How can a kid that young be so terrifying?"

The Thunder Guard who had spoken first continued, "Do you remember what we investigated before? At Yunxi Valley, on the way to the Profound Dao Sect, a mysterious expert once struck from within a cloud of smoke, instantly and severely wounding a group of people who were blocking the path, including several disciples at the Spirit Martial Realm Fourth and Fifth Heaven who were stationed there."

"This... Senior Brother, are you suspecting Shen Lang?" one of them asked in astonishment.

"I have to. Shen Lang was among that group of people. And according to the information we gathered, right before the smoke appeared, Shen Lang was in a fierce battle with Feng Xiaoyao."

"And after the smoke cleared, not only were the people blocking the path severely injured, but Feng Xiaoyao, who had been fighting Shen Lang, was also grievously wounded and slammed into the ground! All right, this is just a suspicion for now. Let’s head back and report these matters to the Sect Leader first."

...

Behind the Thunder Guard, Tang Zhida felt like killing someone.

It was all because of his daughter and his disciple stirring up trouble that the situation had escalated this much.

Most importantly, because of Jie Fengqing and the others getting involved, he, Tang Zhida, hadn’t been able to say a single word to mediate between Shen Lang and the Thunder Guard!

’If Shen Lang really has that kind of Cultivation, if that guy is really so powerful, then I’ve offended someone like that... Dammit, I never wanted to offend him! But now I’ve gone and done it!’

"Father, why do you look so pale? Are you upset that the Thunder Guard let that kid go?" Tang Zhenzhen’s words nearly made Tang Zhida jump out of his skin. "Don’t worry, I’ll take some people and follow him. If he tries to run, I’ll..."

"Bullshit! Shut your mouth!" Tang Zhida’s roar attracted the attention of everyone nearby.

"Now get your ass home and face the wall! You’re not allowed out again without my permission!"

’This is killing me! She’s the kind of daughter who’ll be the death of her own father! How did I end up with a daughter like this...?’

Tang Zhida sighed at the heavens, completely oblivious to Tang Zhenzhen standing beside him, her eyes welling up with aggrieved tears.