Strongest War Emperor

Nangong Jianqiu snorted. "Sorry, but when we take a job, we don’t do a background check on the target’s entire lineage. We don’t have the time! How was I supposed to know some informant hiding out in a brothel was one of your Blood Wing Demon Sect? And even if I did, a kill is a kill!"

"Hmph, the Blood Wing Demon Sect’s territory is in the Celestial Martial Country, not the Purple Chu Country! You have no say here!"

"Besides, you planted a spy among us long ago. You know all my routes and are intimately familiar with our stronghold in the Ghost Fire Swamp. And now you just cook up an excuse, claim we killed one of your people, and show up at our door? Isn’t that a bit ridiculous?"

Fire Qilin paused for a moment, then broke into a charming giggle. "I was only joking. Why so serious, dear?"

"Alright, now that we’re all here, let’s stop beating around the bush. Hand over the three Shadow Demon Flowers."

Nangong Jianqiu’s eyebrow rose. "The Shadow Demon Flowers? So you really were after them. It looks like you’ve been waiting for me to leave Unrivaled City from the very beginning. You knew the city is protected by Shadow Tower experts, so you followed me all the way here. Damn you!"

"Does the Blood Wing Demon Sect truly want to go to war with the Shadow Tower? You’d better think this through!"

"What’s the point of saying that now?" Fire Qilin said, flicking one of her delicate fingers. "The Shadow Tower may be more than a simple Profound Iron Level Influence, but it’s still not in the same league as our Blood Wing Demon Sect."

"If you don’t hand over the Shadow Demon Flowers, your deaths are certain."

Nangong Jianqiu took two steps back and said grimly, "And if I do hand them over? You’re not telling me you’d just let us go, are you?"

One side believed victory was assured, that they had their opponents trapped like fish in a barrel.

The other was more than happy to drag out the negotiations to stall for time—the longer, the better.

More than twenty Spirit Martial Realm experts stood on either side of the passageway behind them, completely blocking the exit.

The Shadow Tower members inside spread out, assuming a killing formation.

The corner of Fire Qilin’s mouth curled. Her red lips parted slightly as she spoke. "Letting you go is out of the question. It would only cause us unnecessary trouble. However, if you hand over the Shadow Demon Flowers, I’ll leave your corpses intact."

"If you refuse, then after I kill you, I’ll extract your souls and roast them in Earth Fire for one hundred days. You’ll be in a state where you can neither live nor die."

Fire Qilin’s tone was soft and unhurried, but her words were enough to make one’s hair stand on end and their heart pound in their chest.

"If it’s the Shadow Demon Flowers you want, then this is simple," Nangong Jianqiu said, taking two steps back.

Jifeng and Dark Night immediately stepped forward, positioning themselves in front of her.

Nangong Jianqiu smiled faintly. "The Shadow Demon Flowers are in my Sumeru Ring. Unless you can lock down my Divine Thought in an instant, I can destroy them with a single mental command."

"So, you’d best stay right where you are. Don’t move. Or else..."

Fire Qilin rubbed her forehead in mock exasperation. "Even if we stand perfectly still, you can’t escape. You’re wearing the Blood Scale Armor, and judging by your current aura, you’ve had it on for about half an hour. The Blood Scale Armor is constantly consuming your blood. Even if we do nothing, you won’t last another twenty minutes."

"Listen to your big sister and hand over the Shadow Demon Flowers. It’ll save you a lot of suffering."

Just then, a cold, clear voice suddenly echoed from the passageway behind them. "If she gives you the Shadow Demon Flowers, what am I supposed to do? Ask you for them?"

Fire Qilin’s expression changed in a flash. She spun around, and with a flick of her right hand—SWISH SWISH SWISH—several six-inch-long black needles shot toward the source of the voice!

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

The black needles all struck one of the men guarding the mouth of the passageway.

The man struck by the needles didn’t make a sound. He, along with the other twenty-plus men on both sides of the passageway, collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud.

But in the instant Fire Qilin had launched her needles, a blurry afterimage had already flashed by, and all those men had been slaughtered!

"Fall back! Everyone, fall back!" Nangong Jianqiu cried out.

The members of the Shadow Tower immediately retreated, backing into the farthest corner and clearing a large open space in front of them.

Just as they fell back, a figure blurred out of the passageway like a phantom, bringing his saber down in a horizontal slash at Jade Qilin!

That Jade Qilin was truly remarkable. Without any visible push from her feet, she moved like a bolt of lightning to the corner of the room, evading the slash!

Shen Lang’s saber cut through empty air. He spun, using the momentum to slash directly at Fire Qilin.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The sound of clashing metal rang out. Fire Qilin’s Bone Whip blocked several of Shen Lang’s lightning-fast slashes, but the force sent her flying back three meters. She slammed hard against the wall, shaking dust loose from above.

The next moment, Jade Qilin, who had just evaded the first blow, transformed into a stream of light. She circled Shen Lang at high speed, her Short Sword flashing toward him like lightning.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The sound of clashing metal was incessant.

’So fast...’

The group of people in the other corner watched, completely dumbfounded.

Meanwhile, Fire Qilin, who was propped against the wall, had shed her previous languid demeanor. Her eyes were fixed unblinkingly on the two combatants.

In the blink of an eye, Jade Qilin had already unleashed more than a dozen attacks! Shen Lang remained purely on the defensive, appearing to be in an extremely perilous situation.

But no matter how fast or unorthodox Jade Qilin’s attacks became, Shen Lang’s defense was watertight, revealing not a single gap or flaw.

His feet seemed rooted to the ground. Just by twisting his waist and swinging his long saber, he neutralized all of Jade Qilin’s attacks.

Although Jade Qilin’s movements were incredibly fast, it seemed as if Shen Lang had anticipated her every move.

Every time her attack neared him, Shen Lang’s long saber was already there waiting.

Suddenly...

Shen Lang’s aura flared. He brought his Longsword horizontal to block the tip of Jade Qilin’s sword, then fiercely shoved outward!

BOOM!

Amidst a blast of Powerful Qi, Jade Qilin dropped into a crouch, drove her Short Sword into the floor, and used it to rapidly slide backward.

Her feet and her Short Sword carved a deep trench into the floor, which was paved with Profound Iron and Refined Gold!

A grave expression, one not seen for a long time, appeared on Shen Lang’s face.

He took two steps back toward Nangong Jianqiu’s group and, with a mental command, summoned four Bone Demons. They leaped out and stood shoulder-to-shoulder, forming a barrier in front of the others.

KRRRRR...

The Immortal Celestial Saber scraped along the ground, carving a deep, straight line.

Shen Lang looked at Jade Qilin and said grimly, "You’re fast, but it’s a pity you’re still not fast enough. In my current state, it would be difficult to kill you in an open space. But in this cramped stone room, I only need three moves to kill you."

Jade Qilin stood up and simply watched him in silence. Her expression hadn’t changed from start to finish.

Her stance was the same as before, her body angled slightly to the side.

Shen Lang tilted his head slightly, his gaze shifting to Fire Qilin. "Your Bone Whip is impressive, but it’s not quite enough to face me. If I were to strike again, you wouldn’t be able to dodge it, and you wouldn’t be able to block it!"

"Who... exactly are you?" Fire Qilin asked, her eyes narrowing slightly.

Shen Lang didn’t answer her. His gaze remained fixed on Jade Qilin, whose Body Technique was as swift as a phantom’s.

If either of the two women posed a threat to him, the vast majority of it came from Jade Qilin, with her incredible speed and incomparably precise control over her strength.

Shen Lang didn’t even need to use his Silver Eyes of Truth. He could tell from her Spiritual Power fluctuations alone that while Jade Qilin’s Cultivation level appeared similar to Fire Qilin’s, her true combat strength was far, far greater.

He watched Jade Qilin without blinking, holding the Immortal Celestial Saber in one hand, ready to strike at a moment’s notice.

His left hand, meanwhile, began to unfasten his clothing. He pulled out a bar of Blue Cobalt Copper and tossed it to the ground.

THUD!

The Blue Cobalt Copper hit the ground with a tremendous thud, kicking up a cloud of dust.

THUD!

A second bar.

’Heavens, what kind of monster carries so much heavy Blue Cobalt Copper around? We’ve run into a true Martial Fool!’ A strange light flashed in Fire Qilin’s eyes. ’And he could still keep up with Xiaoyu while carrying all that!’

THUD!

A third bar.

...

When Shen Lang tossed the sixth bar of Blue Cobalt Copper to the floor, Fire Qilin could no longer maintain her composure.

Shen Lang’s Body Technique before had been no match for Jade Qilin’s, but it hadn’t been much slower than her own.

To think he had been holding back so much, carrying that many bars of Blue Cobalt Copper!

For his Body Technique to be that fast while weighed down by so much Blue Cobalt Copper...

Once he took all of it off, she feared that even Jade Qilin wouldn’t hold much of an advantage in speed.

In fact, Jade Qilin might even find herself at a disadvantage against him when it came to speed!

Fire Qilin glanced at the Blue Cobalt Copper on the floor, then at the Immortal Celestial Saber in Shen Lang’s hand. She took a deep breath and snarled, "Fine. You win. We’re leaving!"

Two figures flickered. In a flash, the pair known as the Fire Jade Qilin were gone, vanishing down the passageway at incredible speed. Their retreat was clean and decisive, without a moment’s hesitation.

SHING!

Shen Lang sheathed his saber. He reached his left hand toward the ground, and the six bars of Blue Cobalt Copper flew into his grasp.

"Let’s talk outside." Without waiting for Nangong Jianqiu and the others to speak, he said those three words and led the way out of the underground stone chamber.

Upstairs in the loft, Shen Lang leaned on the railing with both hands, gazing out at the misty swamp.

Nangong Jianqiu and the other two who had worn the Blood Scale Armor were cultivating with the help of the others to heal their wounds.

The men who had taken the Giant Potion were scattered about, some lying down, some sitting up, all of their auras faint.

They groaned and whimpered, but their gazes toward Shen Lang were filled with awe. All of their earlier suspicion had vanished.

He had appeared and instantly slain more than twenty Spirit Martial Realm experts.

With a single slash, he had forced a Xuanwu Realm Sixth Heaven expert back...

And in the end, he had scared off the Fire Jade Qilin with just a few words.

And it seemed he hadn’t even revealed his true strength...

Yet his power was already on full display.

With that level of Cultivation and those methods, it was doubtful that even the Left and Right Wing Guardians of the Shadow Tower could have handled the situation more flawlessly.

But the Shadow Tower’s Left and Right Wing Guardians were legendary experts who had dominated the Assassin Realm for many years...

"With your strength, killing them wouldn’t have been difficult. Why did you let them go? Don’t tell me you go soft on women?" Nangong Jianqiu asked, her voice and face full of simmering anger.