Strongest War Emperor

"No, no, no, please don’t kill me! I’m much more valuable alive than dead!" Yao Chengjie wailed.

Shen Lang slapped him across the face. "And how valuable is that?"

"Please, I’m begging you, don’t kill me! I have this... I’m the Young Sect Leader of the Holy Light Sect! I’m worth a fortune! You can name any price, and I’ll do whatever you ask..."

His mouth filled with bloody froth, Yao Chengjie took the Sumeru Ring off his finger.

Shen Lang swept his Divine Thought into the Sumeru Ring. His face immediately darkened, and he slapped Yao Chengjie again. "The great Young Sect Leader of a Profound Iron Level Sect, and you only carry fifteen hundred Spirit Stones on you? Have you no shame? No wonder you were so fucking intimidated by my one million Gold Coins that you didn’t dare say a word! Don’t tell me you bought that formula on credit, too? You’re from a Profound Iron Level Sect, for crying out loud! Does the Holy Light Sect have no face to lose?"

Yao Chengjie was so mortified he wished he were dead. ’Fifteen hundred Spirit Stones is a small amount?’

’I was just going out for a bit. Am I supposed to carry my entire fortune with me?’

’Besides, with my status as the Young Sect Leader of the Holy Light Sect, I never have to pay. Even at the Treasure Pavilion, I can buy on credit. Why would I need to carry a bunch of stuff around...’ 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

But he didn’t dare say any of this to Shen Lang.

When he heard Shen Lang mention buying the formula on credit, an idea struck him. He frantically fumbled inside his robes and pulled out a piece of parchment. "This! This is the Giant Potion Formula! You know it’s worth a fortune! Here, take it. It’s the most valuable thing I have on me..."

Shen Lang stared at the parchment, his expression growing even darker.

’He was the one who wrote this damn thing, and now it was being presented back to him. What a joke...’

’If Shen Lang wanted to, he could churn out a hundred of these a day, no problem!’

"Fuck!" Shen Lang’s face was grim as he slapped Yao Chengjie again, leaving him stunned. "You have the nerve to offer me this? This piece of trash is completely worthless to me!"

"..." Standing nearby, Zi Lan was taken aback for a moment, then couldn’t help but give a wry smile.

As for Yao Chengjie, he started wailing even more pathetically than before. "You... How can you be so unreasonable? This is the Giant Potion Formula! It’s worth hundreds of thousands of Spirit Stones..."

Shen Lang picked up the parchment, frowned, and with a casual flick, sent it spinning through the air toward Zi Lan.

"I must thank you for speaking up on my behalf at the Treasure Pavilion auction. I also have some history with your Profound Dao Sect, so consider this formula yours."

Zi Lan gracefully caught the formula. The way she looked at Shen Lang had changed once again.

’What an incredibly magnanimous gesture...’

Paying no mind to Zi Lan’s thoughts, Shen Lang grabbed the front of Yao Chengjie’s robes with both hands and tore them open with a powerful rip!

"W-What do you think you’re doing?" Yao Chengjie cried out in alarm.

"What does it look like? Taking your clothes off," Shen Lang replied.

Yao Chengjie’s face turned ashen. He clutched desperately at his robes and shrieked, "If that’s what you want, I’d rather die than submit!"

"Damn it!" Shen Lang slapped him again, so hard the man spat blood.

"I want your Inner Armor, you idiot! I’m only interested in women, not you. Now get it off, fast!" Shen Lang said, his face dark.

"Oh, is that all... You should have just said so!" Yao Chengjie sighed in relief, feeling as if he’d just been spared from death.

"..." Zi Lan couldn’t help but smile at the exchange, turning slightly away.

’This young man really is strange. He didn’t want the Giant Potion Formula, but he’s after Yao Chengjie’s Inner Armor, even causing such a farcical misunderstanding.’

"Just as I thought. Only a Profound Artifact could block an attack from my Profound Artifact. At least this will sell for a bit of money," Shen Lang muttered with a frown as he put the Inner Armor away.

As Yao Chengjie stood shivering, bare from the waist up, Shen Lang took out two sheets of paper and began scribbling on them with a SCRITCH-SCRATCH sound.

"Here, sign these two contracts. Then you can set off on your final journey."

The phrase "final journey" sent a chill down Yao Chengjie’s spine. He picked up the two sheets. One was an IOU with the words, "I owe Shen Lang three hundred thousand Low Grade Spirit Stones." The other was covered in dense, strange, and flamboyant script, written in a language he couldn’t recognize.

’Three hundred thousand Spirit Stones... that’s somewhat manageable. After all, I’m the Young Sect Leader of the Holy Light Sect. I can probably scrape it together after a bit of scheming and swindling.’

’If that doesn’t work, I can always go to my father, whine, beg, and throw a massive tantrum until he gives in.’

’But I can’t understand a single word on this other one. It’s not written in the common tongue of the continent. How can I possibly sign this?’

’What if it says I have to dedicate my soul to him for all eternity? I’d be completely screwed!’

Little did he know, this was the script of the Blood Race, a language from the War Emperor’s memories.

When it came to contracts, the Blood Race was far more adept than any other.

Since very few people in this era understood the script, Shen Lang had used it intentionally.

"C-Can I not sign it? I can’t even read this one... How about I swear a magical oath instead? I swear my loyalty to you! I swear I will never cause trouble for the Profound Dao Sect again..." Yao Chengjie pleaded, looking pitifully at Shen Lang.

Shen Lang snorted. "Do you think you have a choice? Life or death, it all depends on my whim. And don’t think too highly of yourself. Plenty of people want to swear their loyalty to me; you don’t even qualify! At best, you’d be a lowly follower, and that’s only if I’m in a good mood. If I wasn’t trying to avoid trouble, I wouldn’t even bother with a contract. I’d just take your Soul Blood directly. Wouldn’t that be easier?"

A contract could only place restrictions and establish agreements, but Soul Blood was different. If Shen Lang took Yao Chengjie’s Soul Blood, he could kill him with a single thought from a thousand miles away.

Martial Artists at the Qi Martial Realm Fifth Heaven and above were all capable of condensing their own Soul Blood.

Some Martial Artists of the demonic and unorthodox paths used Soul Blood to control powerful subordinates, making them their loyal servants.

"You have a point... Fine, I’ll sign!" Yao Chengjie gritted his teeth, snatched the contract, signed his name, and let a drop of his blood fall onto it.

’Compared to being forced to give up my Soul Blood and having my life in his hands at all times, this contract is obviously much more lenient.’

The contract immediately ignited, erupting in a flash of sacred light. A moment later, a sliver of that brilliance shot into both Shen Lang’s and Yao Chengjie’s bodies, and they both suddenly felt a mysterious connection form between them.

This world possessed mysterious powers that even the gods feared—for instance, the Rules.

And contracts were imbued with such Rules. It was said that once signed, not even a god could defy them, as a mysterious power in the cosmos governed all.

The terms of the contract finally appeared, crystal clear, in Yao Chengjie’s mind. The still-shivering Yao Chengjie froze for a moment, then immediately burst into tears again.

"You... you tricked me! After signing this contract, I’ve become your slave!" Yao Chengjie wailed.

As Yao Chengjie’s crying grew more intense, Shen Lang said with an exasperated expression, "Can you shut up for one second? Who told you to be born with such a damn prestigious identity and high status? Besides, back at the Treasure Pavilion, I had no beef with you, but you still tried to fleece me. How could I not take precautions? Of all the things to be, you had to be a Young Sect Leader. Look at what a mess this has become."

The Young Sect Leader only cried harder. ’Did I choose to become the Young Sect Leader? I didn’t have a choice in the matter, okay?’

’If my status wasn’t so high, if I weren’t a Young Sect Leader, you would have slit my throat a moment ago...’

"This contract is perfectly fair. As long as you behave and don’t come looking for trouble with me, nothing bad will happen to you, yet here you are, crying like the world is ending. However, it’s not impossible to dissolve this contract..."

"How can I dissolve it? Tell me! As long as it’s something I can do, I swear I won’t refuse!" Yao Chengjie perked up instantly.

A smirk touched Shen Lang’s lips. "One: be obedient for a hundred years, and I’ll release you then. Two: I cut off your head right now, and the contract will dissolve automatically. Pick one."

"I understand! I choose the first option! From now on, you’re my little... no, my big brother! I’ll go through fire and water for you!" Yao Chengjie declared with a solemn expression, patting his chest.

’In truth, he was scared to death by the second option. Shen Lang hadn’t looked like he was joking in the slightest. His eyes were filled with murderous intent, as if he might raise his hand and strike him down at any moment...’

’It’s better to be proactive about this. After all, I’ve already signed it.’

"You’re not a complete idiot. In that case, once you’re back at the Holy Light Sect, you know what to do, right?"

Yao Chengjie’s spirits lifted immediately. After hoping against hope, he had finally managed to stay alive. He quickly said, "I’ll say I ran into a mysterious expert in the mountains who stole the Giant Potion Formula. The martial brothers traveling with me were all killed. It was only thanks to them providing cover that I managed to escape with my life."

"Mm, very imaginative. Very sincere," Shen Lang nodded.

Yao Chengjie almost started crying again. ’This "sincerity" was beaten out of me by you! It’s easy for you to say...’

His eye twitched, and he hurriedly turned to say, "Zi Lan, I will never oppose your Profound Dao Sect again. I swear I won’t dare to offend you anymore. Please, believe me. I’m one of Young Master Lang’s men now..."

"..." Shen Lang smacked his lips. He felt there was something off about Yao Chengjie’s phrasing. ’What’s with this "I’m one of his men now"?’

’If a beautiful woman said it, it would have a completely different feel. But coming from Yao Chengjie, why did it sound so damn awkward?’

Zi Lan couldn’t hold back her amusement. After a moment, she said, "It is for the best that you think that way."

"Thank you, thank you!" Yao Chengjie nodded his head repeatedly, like a chicken pecking at rice.

"Alright, scram. When I’m free, I’ll drop by the Holy Light Sect to have some ’fun’ with you..." Shen Lang said, waving his hand as if shooing a fly. He then shook his head and started walking toward Celestial Phoenix City.

Yao Chengjie, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, nearly collapsed again.

’Once I’m back at the Holy Light Sect, I’m never coming down the mountain again! Can’t you find someone else to ’play’ with? I don’t want to play with you! One session with you nearly cost me my life, and my poor heart can’t take this kind of stress...’

He snatched his outer robe and scrambled away into the distance.

Zi Lan gave Shen Lang a long, deep look, marveling inwardly at the youth’s cunning.

’Shen Lang’s methods for dealing with his enemies... it was truly killing without spilling blood.’