Strongest War Emperor

When Shen Lang suddenly brought up the previous matter again, everyone immediately grew awkward, looking at him with embarrassed, wry smiles.

’Fine, if you say that’s not what it was, then it wasn’t. Can’t we just accept it and move on?’

’We all tried to forget about it, but bringing it up again is just rubbing salt in the wound...’

’We were just getting along so well. Are you really going to use this to put us on the spot and then refuse to refine Profound Artifacts for us?’

”Wait! He said before that the Fiery Fire Divine Spear wasn’t refined from Deep Sea Profound Iron, and then he actually managed to refine a Profound Artifact... Could it be that everything he said was true?” Su Jin was the first to react.

Shen Lang glanced at their expressions and couldn’t help but roll his eyes. ”Let me put it this way: refining Profound Artifacts for you is no problem, since you’re my sister’s good friends. However, I am a businessman, and with a lot to do right now, I’m quite short on cash. So, I’ll sell you a piece of information.”

”A businessman? An Artifact Refining Master is short on cash?” Su Jin and the others were all stunned.

When Yin Kuang heard it wasn’t about the earlier awkwardness, he immediately brightened up. ”You gave me a scare! I knew Brother Lang wouldn’t be so petty... What’s this information?”

”It’s about the Red Flame Fierce Bear we just discussed. It’s not much, just five thousand Low Grade Spirit Stones. You should consider it.”

Shen Lang’s words were earth-shattering. The group, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, was instantly stunned once more.

”Xiaolang, stop messing around!” Seeing everyone’s jaws hanging open, Shen Moran hastily spoke up, trying to stop Shen Lang from continuing.

Five thousand Low Grade Spirit Stones was no small sum.

The main currency in this world was generally Gold and Silver, but Spirit Stones were a class above them. They were primarily used for Cultivation and were a relatively scarce resource.

It took One Thousand Gold Coins to exchange for a single Low Grade Spirit Stone. A typical Martial Artist carrying twenty or thirty Low Grade Spirit Stones was already considered wealthy.

Even for the Sons of Noble Families like Yin Kuang, five thousand Low Grade Spirit Stones was an amount they simply couldn’t produce.

And the crucial part was that this huge sum of Spirit Stones was just to buy a single piece of information?

What kind of information could possibly be worth so much money?

Could it be the location of some treasure, or a mineral vein?

”Well... little brother, you might not know this, but while the number of Spirit Stones you mentioned is large, we could have scraped it together in the past. But ever since we entered Jialan Academy, our supply of Spirit Stones has been cut off. Our families no longer provide them for us.”

”That’s because Jialan Academy requires all students to rely on their own strength to earn Spirit Stones and the academy’s Contribution Points. If it were thirty or fifty, I’d give them to you without a second thought, but you’re asking for five thousand...”

Zeng Zuimo kept calling him ”little brother,” which made Shen Lang roll his eyes repeatedly.

Yin Kuang and the others also blushed, too tongue-tied to speak.

In reality, the Spirit Stones in all five of their pockets combined only amounted to a little over one thousand.

That thousand-odd Spirit Stones, plus a Spiritual Artifact and the materials from before, was their entire fortune.

Now, the Spiritual Artifact was damaged, and Shen Lang had used up most of the materials. If someone pointed at them and called them paupers, they would have no way to argue back.

The clever Su Jin’s eyes darted about as she smiled. ”Xiaolang, although five thousand Low Grade Spirit Stones is a large sum, we can still try to figure something out. But we’re all extremely curious about your information, especially since it’s related to the Red Flame Fierce Bear. How about you give us a little hint first?”

She blushed, adding with some embarrassment, ”It’s not that I don’t trust you, it’s just that we need to judge the value of this information and then consider whether to send it back to our respective families—because just the few of us can’t possibly gather five thousand Low Grade Spirit Stones on our own in a short time.”

Shen Lang pondered for a moment before saying, ”How much do you know about the Crystal Song Forest?”

Shui Buyu elegantly fanned himself twice with his fan and was just about to speak when Lin Yue cut him off. ”The Crystal Song Forest is located southwest of the Purple Chu Country, just over two thousand li from Jialan Academy. It’s a forest made of crystal. The ground is crystal, the great trees are crystal, and they sprout and grow from underground. It’s incomparably beautiful...”

”You’re just spouting nonsense. Do you think that’s what Brother Lang wants to hear? Allow me...” Shui Buyu interrupted, getting his revenge.

He immediately continued, ”The Crystal Song Forest is a very special place. Legend says that during the Ancient Era, the Blue Dragons and Black Dragons of the Dragon Race had a great battle here. The Black Dragon, a traitor to the Dragon Race, nearly wiped out all of the Blue Dragons.”

”Later, the Green Dragon from among the Five-Colored Divine Dragons arrived and managed to drive the Black Dragon away. But even though the Dragon Race’s internal strife ended, the cataclysmic battle left a wake of incomparably berserk Energy that swept through the entire forest, ultimately causing it to mutate.”

Su Jin asked in confusion, ”Most of this is recorded in the Classics of major Sects and powers. Is there something wrong with that story?”

Shen Lang shook his head. ”There’s nothing wrong with it. Although it’s only a legend and no one knows if it’s true, its existence lends more weight to my theory, because my theory has to do with the bloodline of the Dragon Race.”

”The bloodline of the Dragon Race?” The group was taken aback.

”According to legend, the Dragon Race are Divine Beasts created by the Creator God to protect the world. Their Dragon Blood contains an extremely potent and berserk power, giving them the innate strength to move mountains and part seas.”

”However, Dragon Blood is incompatible with the blood of any other race. Even if a dragon interbreeds with another race, their offspring will lose the inherent power of the Dragon Race... Yet, nothing is absolute. Throughout history, there have been quite a few Demon Beasts that became incredibly powerful because the blood of the Dragon Race flowed through their veins,” Shen Lang explained eloquently.

”Xiaolang, are you saying... that the Red Flame Fierce Bear we encountered has the bloodline of the Dragon Race?” Su Jin asked, finding it hard to believe.

Shen Lang neither confirmed nor denied it.

A strange light gleamed in his eyes as he said, ”Legend speaks of a Demon Beast called the Dragon Blood Demon Bear. It is the offspring of a union between the Dragon Race and the Purple Gold Fierce Bear during the Ancient Era. This Dragon Blood Demon Bear’s body is tough and Vajra Indestructible, and its strength is boundless. Its appearance is nearly identical to a Red Flame Fierce Bear, but the difference in their power is immeasurable... If I’m not mistaken, the so-called ’Red Flame Fierce Bear’ you encountered was actually a Dragon Blood Demon Bear.”

”A Dragon Blood Demon Bear?” The group exchanged glances, none of them having ever heard that name before.

Shui Buyu asked cautiously, ”Xiaolang, we’ve never heard of this name you speak of. You just said this information costs five thousand Low Grade Spirit Stones. Does that mean this type of Demon Beast is extremely valuable?”

Everyone nodded in agreement, their eyes filled with confusion.

Shen Lang said faintly, ”The Dragon Blood Demon Bear is an exceedingly rare creature. It’s unknown if you could even find one or two on the entire Star Continent. They are only recorded in the Classics of a few ancient Sects.”

”This Demon Beast has the bloodline of the Dragon Race in its body, so you could say its entire body is a treasure. Its blood is incredibly precious and can easily fetch a sky-high price at auction, as it can be used for all sorts of research and to refine many special Spirit Medicines.”

”Its hide is extraordinarily tough and indestructible, and when used to refine Inner Armor, it can easily reach a considerably high grade. One appeared several thousand years ago, and two Elder Ancestors from Spirit Copper Level Sects came to blows over it, starting a bloody conflict...”

”Huh? That’s insane! Does that mean we’re about to strike it rich?” Yin Kuang said, his voice trembling.

Shen Lang’s last statement had shocked them all.

What kind of Cultivation did an Elder Ancestor of a Spirit Copper Level Sect possess? That would be at least the Emperor Martial Realm or higher!

In the Purple Chu Empire, such beings were as rare as a phoenix’s feather!

And experts of that caliber would come to blows over the hide of a Dragon Blood Demon Bear?

”It’s not that exaggerated,” Shen Lang said with a smile. ”The one I was talking about was an adult Dragon Blood Demon Bear, probably eight hundred if not a thousand years old. The one you encountered must have been a juvenile. Otherwise, how could you still be standing here chatting with me?”

”Xiaolang, how are you so sure the Demon Beast we encountered was a Dragon Blood Demon Bear? Even though we don’t know how powerful or rare it is, from what you’re saying, it must be a relatively high-level Demon Beast. A creature like that would normally only be found in the depths of the Crystal Song Forest, but we were only in the outer perimeter when we encountered it,” said Shen Moran, who had been silent until now.

Seeing the others’ uncertain and suspicious gazes, Shen Lang gave a slight nod. ”I’m getting to that...”

”The Dragon Blood Demon Bear has a subtle characteristic. At birth, a tuft of fur appears on the back of its head that is a different color from the rest. If this Dragon Blood Demon Bear’s ancestor was a Blue Dragon, then this tuft of fur would be blue, and that color will never change, no matter how many generations pass.”

”I just wonder if any of you noticed it.”

”Green! The tuft of fur on the back of that Dragon Blood Demon Bear’s head was green!” Shui Buyu suddenly said with a mysterious air, striking a pose as if to say, ’Only I know this.’

Yin Kuang burst out laughing. ”If Buyu says so, then it must be true! Don’t be fooled by his handsome, dashing... and deceptively respectable appearance. This scoundrel loves nothing more than sneaking up behind people for a cheap shot. When we were fighting that Demon Beast, he was the one who kept circling around to its back to get an advantage, and he’s the one who finally pissed it off so much that it chased him relentlessly!”

”HAHAHAHA!” Everyone’s face showed a look of sudden realization.

Furious, Shui Buyu punched Yin Kuang in the back, nearly making him cough up blood.

”I saw it too. It was green. I thought it was a little strange at the time, since a Red Flame Fierce Bear’s fur is usually dark red and unlikely to have other colors, but I didn’t think too much of it. Hey, don’t look at me like that! I saw it when the Demon Beast was chasing Shui Buyu! I’m not the type to sneak up behind people for a cheap shot. That’s not my style!” Lin Yue scoffed.

Just then, Shen Lang spoke again. ”After a Dragon Blood Demon Bear becomes enraged, a fine, golden substance forms on its skin. This layer isn’t thick, but it’s incredibly hard. There should still be trace amounts of it in the notches on your damaged longswords. You can check now... Not only is that substance hard, but it’s also highly corrosive. Take a look at the notches on your longswords. Are they bigger than they were before you came here?”

”Oh my god, it’s true! I noticed it yesterday but thought I’d seen it wrong. I was wondering why the notch on my Spiritual Artifact seemed to have gotten so much bigger,” Zeng Zuimo cried out in surprise.

Everyone immediately took out their Spiritual Artifacts to inspect them. Sure enough, it was exactly as Shen Lang had described, without the slightest deviation.

Su Jin frowned slightly. ”Even if we can confirm that the Demon Beast was a Dragon Blood Demon Bear, there’s a crucial problem. A hybrid with Dragon Blood in its veins probably won’t be easy to find. Since we’ve already missed our chance, finding it again will be difficult...”

”The Crystal Song Forest is massive, and going deeper into it is like entering a death trap. Even many powerful experts don’t dare to venture there.”

It was as if a basin of cold water had been poured over them. The group, which had just been getting excited, was left dumbfounded.

Shen Lang’s estimation of Su Jin rose yet again. He gave a slight nod and said, ”And that is precisely where the value of my information lies...”

”So you’re saying there’s still a chance? Then hurry up and tell us! The Spirit Stones are absolutely no problem!” Yin Kuang asked, overjoyed.

Everyone immediately perked up their ears again.