Strongest War Emperor

"Follow this mantra to cultivate. Circulate your Spiritual Power, condense it at the soles of your feet, and then step onto the lake’s surface."

"If you can’t do it in a day, take ten. If you can’t do it in ten days, take a hundred. Anyone unwilling to do as I say can get lost right now."

Leaving them with those words, Shen Lang walked over to the Qi Martial Realm group, staff in hand.

He pointed around with his staff and said, "I’ll give you a hundred-meter-diameter area. You run, I chase. If I catch you, you’ll meet my bamboo staff. I’ll beat you until you’re coughing up blood."

"You can use your Body Techniques to flee, or you can resist and defend yourselves."

"You’re not allowed in my courtyard, and you’re not to damage the plants and flowers outside. Understood?"

Xia Xiaoting and the others exchanged glances. ’What kind of cultivation method is this?’

’Beating people with a staff?’

"Every one of my attacks will target the flaws in your Cultivation Techniques and the weaknesses in your techniques. Do your best to block me while you run. Don’t hold back."

"At the same time, memorize my Staff Technique."

"I’ll count to three. Everyone scatter immediately. Then, let your journey of pain begin!"

While everyone was still stunned, Shen Lang held up a finger. "One."

"Two."

"Three!"

The moment he said "Three," the group scattered like startled birds, fleeing in all directions!

They still didn’t quite understand what was happening, but no one wanted to get hit.

Shen Lang shot forward like an arrow, his bamboo staff lashing out mercilessly at the first person he caught!

"AHH!"

The bloodcurdling scream terrified the others, and they began to flee for their lives.

The worst part was that Shen Lang had limited the area to a hundred-meter diameter, so they were severely restricted, forced to run back and forth within that circle.

"Too slow! Your Body Technique is pathetic!"

"Don’t you know how to dodge? If you can’t dodge, use the Spiritual Artifact in your hand to block!"

"Your footwork is a mess! Are you drunk? Use the Body Technique you practice every day!"

Shen Lang berated them without holding back, striking them again and again with his staff until they were all crying for their mothers and fathers.

By the end, everyone had been struck more than ten times. They lay on the ground, covered in cuts and bruises, twitching and groaning in pain.

Surprisingly, the last one standing wasn’t someone like Xia Xiaoting from the Qi Martial Realm Eighth Heaven, but Shu Lan, who was only at the Qi Martial Realm Sixth Heaven!

Shen Lang had backed Shu Lan to the edge of a cliff. With nowhere left to run, she could only draw her longsword and counter his moves as they came.

Even so, Shen Lang’s staff struck her again and again, leaving her covered in blood!

"Does it hurt?"

Seeing tears welling up in Shu Lan’s eyes, Shen Lang put away his staff and stopped his assault.

Shu Lan nodded, but she quickly wiped her tears away and said, "It hurts, but I’m not afraid. I know Senior Brother is doing this for my own good!"

"Alright, go back now." Shen Lang nodded.

On the grass in front of the courtyard, the group lay scattered about, moaning endlessly in unbearable pain.

Meanwhile, Tian Hao, who was lying on a chair nearby, was gloating at the sight.

"Senior Brother, I just feel this is too unfair," a young woman in the crowd said with a pained expression. "Your cultivation is so incredible. How could we possibly escape when you’re the one chasing us? And your cultivation is so high, your movements are impossibly fast. We get hit before we can even see what’s happening."

Shen Lang glanced at her, recognizing her as the junior sister who had been with Jie Zhengchu’s group. Her name was Ma Ling’er.

Ma Ling’er’s father was a Steward on Heaven-Reaching Peak. She had never suffered such hardship or taken such a beating in her entire life.

The look she gave Shen Lang was full of defiance.

Shen Lang was silent for a moment before lying back down on his rocking chair.

Then, he unfastened his outer robe, revealing the Inner Armor beneath.

The Inner Armor was covered in long, thin pockets that all seemed to be stuffed with something.

Shen Lang pulled out one of the Blue Cobalt Copper bars and tossed it on the ground.

Xia Xiaoting, who was nearby, looked puzzled. She picked up the bar and immediately shrieked, "Blue Cobalt Copper! This is the incredibly heavy Blue Cobalt Copper! This one bar must weigh at least eight hundred pounds..."

"Whoa!"

The people around them almost forgot their pain as they cried out in astonishment.

"These Blue Cobalt Copper bars on my body, plus the saber on my back, weigh around eighteen thousand pounds," Shen Lang said calmly.

Xia Xiaoting shrieked again. "Junior Brother, you carry this much weight all the time? When we walked up Songdu Peak from the foot of the mountain yesterday, were you sweating so much because you were carrying all this?"

Shen Lang nodded. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Ha! Look, everyone!" Yan Qi, who had just climbed ashore, shouted, pointing at Shen Lang.

Everyone paused. ’Damn it, we’re already looking at him. What else is there to look at?’

Just then, Yan Qi roared again, "I mean, Junior Brother Shen Lang is carrying so much weight, yet he can lie on that rocking chair! I cut the wood for that chair myself. It’s Red Tong Wood from the mountain. How can it possibly support that much weight?"

With that last sentence, the rascal finally pointed out what everyone else had missed.

Shen Lang said leisurely, "This... is the result of cultivating control over your power."

"If I can carry over ten thousand pounds and lie in a chair like this without it collapsing, then even if I use an attack with the same amount of Spiritual Power as a Spirit Martial Realm First Heaven martial artist, I can easily defeat a martial artist at the Third or Fourth Heaven of the Spirit Martial Realm."

Everyone fell silent.

Many of them already knew Shen Lang was incredibly powerful, but no one could have imagined something like this.

At this point, even those who had been dissatisfied and doubtful were completely won over by Shen Lang.

"That’s enough talk. For now, get back to your cultivation. We’ll discuss the next step when you’ve reached your goals." Shen Lang took out a dozen or so Elixir Pills, handed them to Shu Lan, and said, "Distribute these. One for each person. Take them now."

"I will teach you a Spell. After you swallow the Elixir Pill, immediately circulate your Spiritual Power for nine Circulations according to this Spell!"

The people on the ground endured their pain, swallowed the Elixir Pills, and began to circulate their Spiritual Power according to Shen Lang’s Spell.

Over by the lake, Jie Fengqing, Yan Qi, and the others began practicing their control over their power. A constant series of SPLASHES rang out as they fell into the lake, only to immediately climb back out and try again.

By now, they had complete and utter faith in Shen Lang’s words and methods.

Half a day passed quickly. On the Spirit Martial Realm side, only Nalan Ziyun, with her formidable cultivation, managed to stand on the surface of the waves. No one else succeeded.

But this was normal. If they could succeed after only half a day of cultivation, they wouldn’t have been so shocked earlier.

Meanwhile, in the Qi Martial Realm group, everyone sat with their eyes shut, diligently cultivating according to Shen Lang’s Spell.

Suddenly...

Another shriek from Xia Xiaoting drew everyone’s attention.

"Xia Xiaoting, can you stop being so jumpy all the time? I just fucking closed my eyes to get some sleep, and you scared me awake!" Tian Hao, still a mummy, yelled in frustration.

However, the moment his gaze fell upon Xia Xiaoting, he yelped in shock as well. "Holy shit, weren’t you at the Qi Martial Realm Eighth Heaven before? How did you break through to the Spirit Martial Realm?"

Xia Xiaoting stood up and looked down at her own body, her eyes filled with disbelief.

Advancing from the Qi Martial Realm Ninth Heaven to the Spirit Martial Realm was an incredibly difficult process that required a great deal of preparation, including gathering Spirit Stones and Elixir Pills.

But after taking a beating from Shen Lang and cultivating with his Spell, she had broken through to the Spirit Martial Realm with incredible ease, as if it were the most natural thing in the world!

’If cultivation is this easy, I’d be willing to get beaten ten, even a hundred times!’

With his eyes still closed, Shen Lang said, "Using the bamboo staff to beat you had another purpose, aside from attacking your weak points and stimulating your potential."

Everyone immediately held their breath, afraid of missing a single word.

They heard Shen Lang say, "It’s a type of Acupressure Method. I used it to help you break through your Mystic Gates. So when you took the Elixir Pill and circulated the Heart Method, the Mystic Gates inside your bodies were broken through naturally."

"What? You’ve been cultivating for half a day and you still haven’t realized?"

The group broke into sheepish laughter.

Ma Ling’er said embarrassedly, "I noticed, but I thought I just got lucky and broke through my Mystic Gate. My cultivation has improved a lot too. Thank you, Senior Brother!"

"Keep cultivating. Once your injuries have healed, you’ll continue to get beaten until you all break through to the Spirit Martial Realm," Shen Lang said coolly.

Xia Xiaoting paused. "So we don’t have to get beaten anymore after we break through to the Spirit Martial Realm?"

Shen Lang opened his eyes and grinned. "It’s not that simple. After you break through to the Spirit Martial Realm, you’ll go over to the lake and practice controlling your power with the others. Once you can run on the lake’s surface, I’ll start chasing and hitting you on the water. And don’t worry, I’ll definitely hit you much harder than I did when you were in the Qi Martial Realm."

This time, instead of being afraid, everyone burst out laughing.

"So... can we have more of those Elixir Pills? I feel like that pill was overflowing with Spiritual Power. It was... it was even more potent than a Spirit Level Third Grade Elixir Pill!" Xia Xiaoting’s beautiful eyes sparkled.

Shen Lang’s face immediately fell. "You know it’s a pill above Spirit Level Third Grade, so how many do you think I have? You expect me to just provide them to you for free forever? Next time you want one, you can buy it with Spirit Stones or trade something for it!"

"Oh, oh, I understand." Blushing, Xia Xiaoting stumbled over toward the lake.

The rest of them laughed awkwardly.

Seeing the immense benefits the others had gained, Tian Hao couldn’t hold back any longer. He screamed at the top of his lungs, "AH! Junior Brother, come beat me too! Ravage me! I also want to..."

BANG!

Before he could finish, Shen Lang’s bamboo staff lashed out, sending both Tian Hao and his chair flying.

While in mid-air, Tian Hao spat out the last word he meant to say: "...cultivate!"

He then crashed to the ground, howling in agony.

Shen Lang turned to Shu Lan and asked, "Junior Sister, what was that you mentioned before about the year-end competition and the Yumu Cave Blessed Land? How is the competition related to the Yumu Cave Blessed Land?"