Strongest War Emperor

”Shen Lang, it’s you... How did you recognize me?”

Shui Qingwu was a little surprised, her face flushing slightly. But because she wore a veil, no one else could see.

She had noticed Shen Lang was absent from class that morning. Although she was still angry about his previous attitude, looking at his empty desk and chair made her feel an unexplainable emptiness inside. She asked Lin Feng’s group about it and learned that Shen Lang had left Tayun Academy in the evening.

On a whim, she returned directly to Celestial Phoenix City, then went to find Cai Ying and Lang Buqun to go shopping.

As they wandered, they inexplicably ended up in the northwest part of Celestial Phoenix City. And the northwest was the Shen Family’s territory...

She hadn’t expected to actually run into Shen Lang, much less for the scoundrel to recognize her in a single glance.

”Hey, who are you? How dare you touch my lady’s shoulder? Are you looking to die? Get lost!” Cai Ying slapped Shen Lang’s chest, pushing him back two steps.

Lang Buqun was even more ferocious. His love rival, Deng Jianchen, had finally been taken out of the picture—bedridden and half-crippled after taking a Giant Potion to deal with a Demon Corpse. Now, he was the only one by Qingwu’s side...

’Where did this brat come from, acting so familiar with Qingwu?’

’Damn it! I’ve been trying for so long and haven’t even touched Qingwu’s finger, and you just walk up and pat her shoulder?’

’What’s next, you gonna start hugging her?’

’This is absolutely intolerable!’

He poked Shen Lang’s chest twice with his index finger and said viciously, ”Kid, who the hell are you with? You’ve got some nerve, trying to take advantage of Qingwu! Are you tired of living? Hold out your hand. I’m going to chop off two of your fingers as punishment!”

”Alright, he’s my classmate from Tayun Academy, Shen Lang. You two, stop scaring him.” Shui Qingwu came to Shen Lang’s rescue, then asked curiously, ”You just said you had something to ask me? What is it?”

Shen Lang rubbed the spot where Lang Buqun had poked him and said timidly, ”It’s something important, but I’m a bit embarrassed to bring it up. I’m afraid if I say it, we won’t even be friends anymore.”

”If you have something to say, just say it. Stop being so mysterious,” Shui Qingwu was taken aback for a moment, then chided him softly.

Even through the layer of light gauze, her stunning beauty still left Shen Lang momentarily dazed.

At their side, Cai Ying and Lang Buqun sized Shen Lang up from head to toe, their expressions hostile.

”Actually, it’s nothing major. I was just wondering... could I borrow some Spirit Stones?” Shen Lang said with a smile.

Shui Qingwu froze. In her entire life, this was the first time a man had ever tried to borrow Spirit Stones from her.

She didn’t say anything, but Cai Ying and Lang Buqun were a different story. The two of them shot up as if their backsides had been set on fire.

’My god, there really are shameless, low-life men in this world who would ask a woman for money right on the street!’

’And one’s right in front of us!’

’The outside world really is vast and full of wonders. You can meet all sorts of freaks!’

”What the— You, a grown man, borrowing Spirit Stones from a woman? Have you no shame? I can’t believe you had the nerve to say that! Who do you think you are? Do you have any idea who my lady is? I, Cai Ying, have never in my life met a man as brazen and shameless as you! How could you say something like that? Are you even a man?”

Cai Ying’s words came out like a machine gun, a rapid-fire tirade that left Shen Lang staring wide-eyed, unable to react for a long moment.

”That’s right! Damn it, I, Lang Buqun, have never seen such a shameless piece of trash in my life! If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I’d never have known there was someone in this world more shameless than Deng Jianchen! Qingwu, don’t worry about this. Leave it to me. I’ll make him regret being born!”

Lang Buqun drew his longsword and began gesturing with it around Shen Lang’s chest, as if considering where to stab him.

Deng Jianchen really caught a stray bullet there. If he knew Lang Buqun was badmouthing him like this in front of Shui Qingwu, he might just climb out of bed and fight Lang Buqun to the death.

”Alright, stop it.” Shui Qingwu stretched out a delicate hand, stopping the two who were on the verge of going berserk.

’After all, these two are both at the Qi Martial Realm Third Heaven. It’s a bit much for them to team up and bully one person.’

Her expression unchanging, she asked softly, ”How much do you need?”

”The more, the better,” Shen Lang answered bluntly.

This time, even Shui Qingwu was dumbfounded...

”The more, the better? Why don’t you just go rob someone?! Milady, where did this shameless bastard crawl out from? I feel like tearing him limb from limb right now... It’s been so long since anyone’s made me this angry! I can’t take it!”

”Tearing him limb from limb isn’t good enough... He should be drawn and quartered!” Lang Buqun added.

”I only have six hundred Spirit Stones on me. I need to keep some for myself, so I can give you three hundred...” Shui Qingwu actually took out the Spirit Stones, looking a little embarrassed as she did.

”Milady, no! You can’t let this swindler trick you! Look at him! If you give him three hundred Spirit Stones, he might never be able to pay you back in his entire life...” Cai Ying said anxiously.

Shen Lang chimed in, ”Yeah, that’s right! You’re giving Spirit Stones away so easily; you’re too easy to scam! You’re just too soft-hearted.”

The others were stunned again. ’Something’s wrong with this guy. Why is he stealing our lines?’

And as he spoke, he beamed and took the Spirit Stones from Shui Qingwu’s hand.

”That bastard... Those were supposed to be my lines!” Lang Buqun was speechless.

”’To be shameless is to be invincible. What a perfect union of man and scumbag!’” Cai Ying was in utter awe.

Shen Lang took the Spirit Stones, waved cheerfully, and started walking away. As he went, he said, ”You can’t possibly be your father’s biological daughter. If I had a daughter this beautiful, this kind-hearted, and this easy to trick, I’d make every male creature stay a hundred feet away from her, or they’d face my sword and saber. How could he let you run around outside alone! Remember, don’t be like this in the future!”

”Besides you, who else would even do something like this...” Cai Ying and Lang Buqun almost passed out from anger.

At that moment, Shen Lang, who had only taken a few steps, began to sing smugly, ”You’re always too soft-hearted, too soft-hearted, taking all the problems on yourself. Borrowing money is always simple, paying it back is too hard. Remember in the future, don’t get tricked again...”

He left the three of them standing there, utterly bewildered.

After a long moment, Cai Ying tilted her head and said, ”Milady, what that scoundrel said sounds strange and infuriating, but... it also sounds like the bastard was indirectly complimenting your beauty, wasn’t he?”

Shui Qingwu stared blankly at Shen Lang’s retreating figure, speechless for a long time.

After a while, she finally said, ”Let’s get going, too...”

With that, Shui Qingwu started walking in the same direction as Shen Lang.

Cai Ying was stunned. ”Milady, we weren’t going this way before. Why are we following that scumbag? The sight of him makes me want to kill someone...”

”Who... Who’s following him? It’s not like he owns the street!” Shui Qingwu flinched and said in a fluster. She then suddenly turned back, her tone a little sharper. ”Cai Ying, don’t keep calling him ’scumbag.’ You can’t truly judge a person’s character based on one or two incidents.”

”Oh...” Cai Ying agreed reluctantly. She called out to the still-dazed Lang Buqun, and they followed.

...

The Treasure Pavilion was located on Wind Wing Street, a very low-key, neutral power.

They never participated in the various struggles of Celestial Phoenix City and maintained good relationships with all the major powers within it.

No power would dare provoke the Treasure Pavilion, because everyone knew it was a unique entity among the various forces on the Star Continent.

Although it didn’t seem to be of a particularly high rank, its influence extended across more than half of the Star Continent, and it even maintained cooperative relationships with many Legendary Level top-tier powers.

This was a power that had opened shops and auction houses across half the continent, building the largest business empire.

Therefore, in many places, it was considered a transcendent existence.

Meanwhile, Shen Lang rushed to Wind Wing Street without stopping and made a beeline for the Treasure Pavilion instead of browsing around.

This long street, aside from a few restaurants, was lined with all sorts of shops.

There were shops specializing in weapons and Magical Treasures, others selling Elixir Pills and Spirit Grass, and even some that sold Spirit Beasts. The street was bustling with people coming and going.

Outside these shops, a few attendants stood, loudly hawking their wares to passersby.

”Come take a look! Absolutely authentic Tier One Ice Talismans, an essential talisman for home and travel! Special promotion today only!”

”Second Grade Qi Recovery Pills! Only three left! A clearance sale at a low price! Don’t miss out!”

”Maps of the Phoenix Mountain Range for sale! Goes as far as Luoyang Mountain! Reputation guaranteed, absolutely detailed.”

”Three drops of Bone Marrow Cleansing Liquid for sale! For Yijing Marrow Cleansing, outstanding effects! No amateurs, please!”

Shen Lang crossed the bustling street and entered the Treasure Pavilion. Immediately, a woman in a light cyan dress emerged from behind a counter and walked slowly toward him.

”I need to sell a bottle of potion. Take me to your steward,” Shen Lang said, getting straight to the point.

”Young Master, this must be your first time at our Treasure Pavilion, correct?” Standing before Shen Lang, the woman in cyan robes scanned him with her beautiful eyes, then asked with a smile.

Sizing up the woman before him—with her bright eyes and pearly teeth, she was quite charming—Shen Lang smiled and said, ”Indeed, it is my first time. If our business goes well, I hope to have a long-term partnership with the Treasure Pavilion. I am an Alchemist. Please lead the way, miss.”

”If I may be so bold as to ask, what grade of Alchemist are you, Young Master? I’m very sorry, this is just a routine procedure. If you’re willing, we can register this information. But if you’d rather not, that’s fine too...”

”No grade,” Shen Lang’s answer was as direct as could be.

He was telling the truth. Even if the War Emperor was another part of his soul, another lifetime of his, the current him had never been assessed by the Alchemist Guild and had no qualifications to speak of.

This was something you either didn’t mention or didn’t lie about. You needed to provide proof from the Alchemist Guild; otherwise, you’d just be treated as a fraud.

”...”

The woman in cyan was speechless. It was one thing for this young man to be so arrogant, but for him to then say ”no grade” with a proud smile?

’If you have no grade, what are you so proud of?’

’And with no grade, you’re still arrogant enough to talk about a long-term partnership with the Treasure Pavilion?’