Strongest War Emperor

Shen Lang’s hand trembled, scattering the ashes he held.

"Waiter, could I bother you for a moment? I have something to ask you," he called out.

The waiter outside immediately walked in with a smile. "What can I do for you, Sir? Please, go ahead."

Shen Lang smiled faintly. "I was wondering how much you know about a man named Gu Feng."

The waiter gave a wry smile. "Ah, I don’t know how to put this... Did Elder Gu tell you a bunch of nonsense? Something about a chaotic era coming, and how you’re the savior of the world?"

"Please, don’t believe a word he says. He tells that to everyone just to scam a few free meals... Sigh, even though I knew what kind of person he was, I didn’t warn you earlier. I hope you won’t blame me, Sir."

"It’s just that I’m a waiter here, and people in business don’t undermine each other. That old man has been in Celestial Palace City for over ten years, all alone. We’ve all gotten used to him, so it doesn’t feel right to expose him."

"But one thing is true: he often hangs around the Mercenary Corps and all sorts of other people, so his information network is much better than an ordinary person’s. A lot of the time, when we want to ask about something, we go to him."

Shen Lang nodded. "I understand. Thank you, waiter. Take these Gold Coins and buy yourself a drink."

As he spoke, he tossed a small bag of Gold Coins to the waiter and rose to leave the private room.

The waiter had been afraid Shen Lang would fly into a rage after realizing he’d been swindled. He never expected to be rewarded with a bag of Gold Coins instead. Holding them, he felt a little light-headed.

...

「Unrivaled City, over two thousand li from Celestial Palace City.」

Nangong Jianqiu, her figure accentuated by a tight-fitting outfit, walked into an underground secret chamber.

Following right behind her was none other than Ye Juexin!

Nangong Jianqiu sprawled out on the stone bed and let out a long breath. "I’m exhausted! If it weren’t for your help, Juexin, I might have really messed up this time!"

"Miss, your moves aren’t clean or fast enough. And you don’t pay attention to your surroundings or potential traps before you strike. These are major taboos for an assassin," Ye Juexin said coolly from a corner of the room.

She too was dressed in a tight-fitting outfit that showed off her graceful and extremely alluring figure.

But it seemed she was accustomed to the darkness. Even back in a secret chamber controlled by the Shadow Tower, she still preferred to hide in the dark corners.

Nangong Jianqiu rolled her eyes. "There you go again. You say the same thing after every mission... I asked you to be my assistant, not my mother hen. Sometimes I wonder how someone like me, who grew up in the Shadow Tower, can’t compare to you in so many ways. No matter how I look at it, you seem more like an assassin than I do."

"Your strikes are ruthless, fatal, and show no mercy. You also like to hide in the darkness, which makes you seem so lonely..."

"I’m not lonely." Ye Juexin’s voice was as cold as ever.

Even when speaking to her young mistress, her tone didn’t change one bit.

"Fine, let’s not talk about that. Let’s talk about Shen Lang," Nangong Jianqiu said with a smile. "I have news about him."

In the corner, Ye Juexin’s figure seemed to sway for a moment, but she remained silent and didn’t speak.

Nangong Jianqiu continued on her own, "That guy is a real monster. When I first met him, he was wearing an Evil Ghost Mask. I thought he was some expert about my father’s age, but it turns out he’s a little younger than me."

"Juexin, how much do you know about him?"

After a moment of silence, Ye Juexin finally replied, "I don’t know him well."

Nangong Jianqiu shot up. "Don’t know him well? Don’t lie to me! You broke the Shadow Tower’s rules for him and slaughtered our client. And you still say you don’t know him well?"

"I’m sorry." Ye Juexin’s voice softened slightly.

Then she added, "I did it because he spared my life once. That’s all."

"Oh? I knew there was a story! Come on, tell your big sister all about it!" Nangong Jianqiu’s gossipy soul began to burn with curiosity.

But Ye Juexin poured cold water on her enthusiasm. "There’s nothing to tell. We fought on a stage. I tried to kill him, but I was no match for him in the end. It’s as simple as that."

"And then he saw how beautiful you are and spared you? That’s quite a romantic tale! What a wonderful story!" Nangong Jianqiu exclaimed, slapping her thigh.

Ye Juexin was speechless. ’How could she spin such a wonderful story from one simple sentence... Her imagination is running wild.’

The truth of that day was that Shen Lang had intended to kill Ye Juexin, and without mercy!

Just as the Celestial Silkworm Silk was about to pierce Ye Juexin’s neck, Nalan Ziyun intervened and saved her.

Strictly speaking, it was Nalan Ziyun who had saved her, not Shen Lang who had spared her.

Ye Juexin lowered her head slightly, as if afraid Nangong Jianqiu would see the complex emotions in her eyes.

"So after that, you only saw each other once in the Chuyun Mountain Range?" Nangong Jianqiu pressed, not ready to give up.

"Yes." Ye Juexin’s tone returned to its usual coldness.

Nangong Jianqiu exhaled sharply. "In that case, you’ve spoken to him even less than I have, and you’ve spent less time with him than I have. I remember the first time I met that rascal, he was staring right at my chest..."

"Impossible," Ye Juexin cut her off flatly.

"Alright, it seems you trust him quite a bit. He really did look, but he was looking at the hidden Shadow Tower symbol on my chest. I have no idea how that bastard knew, but he seemed to know our Shadow Tower like the back of his hand!"

"Forget it. I was hoping to ask you about him, but it seems you know even less than I do... Get a good night’s sleep today. Tomorrow, I’m heading to Celestial Palace City. It makes me so mad just thinking about it! To be blackmailed out of three Shadow Demon Flowers by a kid like him! This is only the second time I’ve ever even touched one, and he just waltzes away with three!"

"I... I’ll go with you." Ye Juexin’s voice was much quieter, almost timid.

Nangong Jianqiu paused, then said with a strange look, "You’re already my guard. Of course you’re going with me!"

"..." Ye Juexin’s body stirred.

The stone chamber fell silent, but for one person, the heart was anything but calm.

「At the same time, five strangers arrived at the foot of the Profound Dao Sect’s mountain.」

The setting sun shone upon them, making their presence all the more striking and drawing the eyes of everyone nearby.

Shen Moran, as serene as an orchid in a secluded valley, stood quietly by the pavilion. The nearby male disciples of the Profound Dao Sect found it nearly impossible to tear their eyes away from her.

Meanwhile, the handsome and elegant Chu Qingcheng, dashing as a jade tree in the wind, simply stood beside Shen Moran, and it was enough to make all the nearby female disciples of the Profound Dao Sect fall head over heels.

Next to Chu Qingcheng, Shen Jianfeng stared at the distant sky with a tragic expression...

No matter what pose he struck, he couldn’t attract a single woman’s gaze.

There was nothing more crushing, more despairing than this.

Shen Jianfeng was starting to admire Chu Qingcheng.

Not for his transcendent, otherworldly aura, of course, but for his ability to stand still for so long.

Shen Jianfeng felt his own legs going numb, and the Profound Dao Sect disciple who had gone up to deliver their message still hadn’t returned with a response.

’Forget it. There’s no competing with this guy. I’ll let him off the hook for now.’

Shen Jianfeng glanced back at his two younger brothers, one fat and one thin, who were busy wolfing down food. His own stomach started to growl.

He felt the mango in his pants pocket, turned back to the pavilion, and plopped down sullenly on a chair.

"PFFFT!"

A sound familiar to everyone erupted from his backside. Then, a large glob of yellow mango pulp squeezed out from under his butt...

"Holy hell!" Shen Jianfeng’s face changed color instantly.

He looked up and, just as he expected, saw the crowd of onlookers outside the pavilion all pinching their noses!

"Uh... everyone, don’t get the wrong idea! It’s not what you think!"

To make his point clear, Shen Jianfeng reached down, grabbed a handful of the mango pulp, and stuffed it into his mouth.

"BLEGH!"

Every single person who had been stubbornly hanging around started to vomit...

Then, in the blink of an eye, they all scattered and were gone.

"Bro, you’re the best. I told those guys to leave, but they wouldn’t listen. You got rid of all of them in one move," a boy of about fifteen said, giving Shen Jianfeng a thumbs-up.

He was Shen Jianfeng’s cousin, Shen Ying.

Beside Shen Ying was Shen Jianfeng’s younger brother, the chubby Shen Daofeng.

At that moment, Shen Daofeng was staring at the mess under Shen Jianfeng’s butt, turning away from the pavilion to dry-heave repeatedly.

Outside the pavilion, Chu Qingcheng gave Shen Jianfeng a thumbs-up. "You always manage to pull off such earth-shattering, heaven-shaking feats. I’m impressed!"

Shen Jianfeng was on the verge of tears...

"Moran, Qingcheng!"

A soft cry came from the distance, and Nalan Ziyun arrived like the wind.

...

Accompanied by peals of thunder, a heavy rain poured down under the thick cover of night.

In the mountains less than ten li outside Celestial Palace City, Qian Luo stood beneath a slanted giant rock. With his hair tied back and a sword on his back, he stared fixedly in the direction of the city.

"Two days! I’ve waited for you for two whole days, through wind, sun, and rain... Shen Lang, you little bastard, when are you going to come out!"

"There’s still no sign of Qian Wenchong and that other brat. I’m afraid they’re most likely dead. Shen Lang, oh, Shen Lang, this isn’t over until one of us is dead!"