Strongest War Emperor

In Shen Lang’s memory, this housekeeper from the Xiao Family, Wu Qu, was a caustic and petty snob—cut from the same cloth as the Shen Family housekeeper he had already killed.

Hearing the man’s arrogant, insolent words, Shen Lang laughed again. ’There’s no shortage of scum like this. You run into them everywhere.’

Wu Qu suddenly let out a bizarre laugh. ”Heh heh heh... Take a look around. Do you really think this is a place for the likes of you? Your old man is gravely ill, and you can’t even afford his medicine, yet you want to enter the VIP area of the Tingfeng Restaurant? Don’t tell me you fucking came here to beg, did you?”

”HAHAHAHA...” The two lackeys behind Wu Qu burst into laughter right on cue.

On the street outside the Tingfeng Restaurant, a large crowd quickly gathered, all pointing and whispering as they stared at Shen Lang and the others.

”That man said his name is Shen Lang. It couldn’t be that piece of trash from the Shen Family, Shen Lang, could it? I heard he rarely shows his face at Tayun Academy. What’s he doing here?”

”It has to be that Shen Lang. How many other pieces of trash named Shen Lang do you think there are in Celestial Phoenix City? If it were anyone else, even though Wu Qu is the Xiao Family’s housekeeper, he wouldn’t dare act so arrogantly in front of the Tingfeng Restaurant, would he?”

”How pitiful. That Shen Lang can’t cultivate at all, and now his father is gravely ill and bedridden. How can he possibly contend with the Xiao Family’s housekeeper?”

”Yeah, even those two lackeys with him have a cultivation at the Martial Power Realm Sixth Heaven. But Shen Lang is someone who can’t cultivate at all. This is just bullying.”

A cold glint flashed in Shen Lang’s eyes, but his expression quickly returned to its usual indifference. He said calmly, ”So, Housekeeper Wu, you’re really not going to move?”

”What? You piece of trash, you got a problem with that?” the two servants behind Housekeeper Wu sneered. ”Our housekeeper speaking to you is an honor! Now get the hell downstairs!” With arrogant smirks, they reached for Shen Lang simultaneously, one from the left and one from the right.

Just then, within the crowd on the street, a beautiful figure heard the commotion and turned around.

It was none other than Shui Qingwu, who had just been strolling near the entrance of the Treasure Pavilion.

Shui Qingwu frowned slightly and started walking toward Shen Lang. Just as she was about to speak, she witnessed the scene unfold...

Shen Lang’s hands shot out, moving as fast as the wind. In an instant, he had seized both servants by their wrists, yanked them forward, and twisted their arms across each other!

With two sharp CRACKS, a pair of squeals like slaughtered pigs echoed through the streets. The two servants’ arms were now twisted together like rope.

”So fast!”

”Vicious!”

Many in the crowd cried out in alarm.

”How dare you! You dare to strike men of the Xiao Family?” Housekeeper Wu roared, throwing a punch straight at Shen Lang’s chest.

Shen Lang didn’t even flinch. His right hand shot out, his palm circling over Housekeeper Wu’s fist. A surge of force instantly neutralized the Powerful Qi coating the punch. Then, quick as lightning, his hand clamped down on Wu Qu’s fist. With a sharp downward push and a loud CRACK, Wu Qu was left clutching his now-broken hand, howling in agony.

But he wasn’t finished. Shen Lang shifted his grip to Housekeeper Wu’s wrist and, with a sudden yank, dragged him forward!

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

Moving like a magician performing a trick, Shen Lang yanked the sash from Wu Qu’s waist. He whipped it around with blinding speed, and in the blink of an eye, had all three men trussed up together in a tight bundle!

The crowd of onlookers stood stunned. ’Is this really that good-for-nothing Shen Lang from the Shen Family?’

How could a good-for-nothing who can’t cultivate be this powerful? He disabled three men at the Fifth and Sixth Heaven of the Martial Power Realm without even moving from his spot.

”Let us go, or you’ll regret this!” Wu Qu shouted.

Shen Lang didn’t bother with a reply, simply swinging a backhand across his face.

SMACK!

The sound was incredibly crisp. A tooth flew out, tracing a graceful arc through the air before clattering onto the street.

”You dare hit me?” Wu Qu shrieked, his voice drowning out the screams of the other two servants. The cries of the three men rose and fell, as if they were in a contest to see who could scream the loudest.

SMACK!

Shen Lang responded with another slap.

”Do you have any idea what the consequences are for offending the Xiao Family!?” Wu Qu shrieked hysterically.

SMACK!

Another slap. This one was even heavier, making Wu Qu spit up a mouthful of blood.

It was only then that the old bastard finally seemed to snap out of it.

’This guy didn’t give a damn about offending the Xiao Family. More importantly, the two servants tied up with him hadn’t said a word, and they hadn’t received a beating!’

With his mouth full of blood, he whimpered a few times, then learned his lesson and fell silent.

’A wise man knows when to yield. A gentleman’s revenge can wait ten years.’

”Go on, why’d you stop talking? Keep going,” Shen Lang said coolly.

Wu Qu shook his head again and again. ’I’m not talking. You can beat me to death, but I’m not saying another word.’

SMACK! Shen Lang slapped him again.

The crowd was stunned. Wu Qu was stunned.

”Huh? How can you be like this? You hit me if I talk, and you hit me if I don’t talk?”

”Don’t look at me like that,” Shen Lang said with a wicked grin. ”My hand was just getting a little itchy. Is there a problem?”

”Y-y-you... You’re just being unreasonable! I only called you a piece of trash...” Wu Qu was on the verge of tears. He regretted his actions to his very core. ’If I had known this kid was so powerful and didn’t play by the rules, I would have stayed as far away from him as possible!’

”If I’m a piece of trash, then what does that make you?” Shen Lang said coldly, punctuating his words with another slap that sent Wu Qu into a fresh bout of screaming.

”We’re less than nothing! We’re less than nothing! Waaah, please stop hitting me! You’re going to knock all my teeth out! I’m begging you...” Wu Qu wailed, pleading for mercy. He couldn’t understand how this legendary good-for-nothing could be so strong. With every slap, it felt as if his own face no longer belonged to him.

”You trash! Let go of the Xiao Family’s men! Or else don’t blame me for what happens next!” a sharp voice cried out from the crowd, and a young man in magnificent robes stepped forward.

He carried himself with an imposing and dignified air. His eyes gleamed like cold stars, and his arched brows were as dark as if painted with ink.

He had a powerful build, and his thick, dark eyebrows slanted upward like swords. His resolute face held a natural authority, radiating a sharp and domineering aura.

As he strode forward, everyone in his path wisely moved aside.

”Now this is getting interesting! It’s the Xiao Family’s number one genius, Xiao Bufan!”

”Xiao Bufan’s cultivation is at the Qi Martial Realm Fifth Heaven! He’s in a completely different league than those three who are tied up!”

”Shen Lang’s in for it now. No matter how strong he is, how can he possibly fight Xiao Bufan, a cultivator at the Qi Martial Realm Fifth Heaven?”

Shen Lang slowly turned, glanced indifferently at Xiao Bufan, and said, ”You’re pointing your Cyan Gang Sword at me. Do you intend to kill me? All because I slapped your Xiao Family’s housekeeper a couple of times?”

”Let them go and sever one of your own arms. Do that, and I will consider this matter settled,” Xiao Bufan said, his gaze cold and distant.

The corner of Shen Lang’s mouth curled into a smirk. ”Just one arm? Sounds like I’m getting off easy. Maybe I should beat some gongs and drums to celebrate... But you know, I don’t really feel like cutting off my own arm at the moment. What do you suggest we do about that?”

”Then... die!” In Xiao Bufan’s icy gaze, Shen Lang was already a dead man.

”Die?” Shen Lang mused quietly. ”I had no idea the Xiao Family, one of the so-called Four Great Families, had become so domineering and powerful.” He suddenly turned to the crowd, making a sweeping gesture with his finger. ”Allow me to ask you all, are these the rules of this place? That the strong can trample upon the dignity of the weak as they please, and if the weak dare to fight back, their only reward is death?”

His dark, profound eyes swept over the crowd. Anyone who met his gaze instinctively looked away, not daring to hold his stare.

Shui Qingwu’s veil trembled slightly before she fell still once more, remaining silent.

Shen Lang’s words hung heavy in the air. While things weren’t quite so black and white, in this world where the strong preyed on the weak, who could truly say he was wrong?

Even the City Lord’s Mansion of Celestial Phoenix City only stood because City Lord Ye Xiao Zheng had connections to the Imperial Dragon Sect. Without the sect’s protection, Celestial Phoenix City could have been razed to the ground long ago.

This land was originally the territory of the Evil Wind Valley, and the City Lord’s Mansion was merely one of its vassals. If not for Ye Xiao Zheng’s connections, how would he ever have been given the right to govern it?

Why would the Evil Wind Valley ever allow a mere cultivator at the Seventh or Eighth of Heaven of the Spirit Martial Realm to become a City Lord?

...

In this world, the strong could do as they pleased, as long as they had the right and the power—either their own power, or the power of someone backing them!

The so-called ’respect for the strong’ was just a noble-sounding platitude. The law of the jungle—that was the true Law of the Star Continent!

Seeing that no one was speaking up, and with the Killing Intent in Xiao Bufan’s eyes growing stronger, the corner of Shen Lang’s mouth curled into a slight smile. ”I see,” he said. ”I understand what I must do now.”

”Very good. Since you know what to do, it’s not too late to sever your arm now.” Xiao Bufan’s expression relaxed slightly, though his aura remained chillingly hostile.

”Alright, I understand,” Shen Lang said with a faint smile. Suddenly, he spun rapidly in place. Holding two fingers together like a sword, he made three sharp, slashing motions at the three men bundled up behind him!

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

An incredibly sharp Sword Qi shot from his fingertips, and in an instant, it sliced clean through one arm of Housekeeper Wu and each of the two servants!

THUD! THUD! THUD!

Three severed arms fell to the ground, their fingers still twitching violently!

”AAAAH!”

Housekeeper Wu and the other two shrieked hysterically, and the crowd erupted in chaos. No one had expected that the infamous good-for-nothing, Shen Lang, would be so utterly ruthless as to lop off their arms!

”Shen Lang, you’re courting death!” Xiao Bufan’s face twisted in fury. The aura of the Xiao Family’s number one genius surged violently. He swung his Cyan Gang Sword, and a beam of sword light, like a roaming dragon, slashed toward Shen Lang.

Shui Qingwu gasped, her slender hand shooting out as she prepared to launch a palm strike to rescue Shen Lang...

Just then, a black-clad figure shot out from the Treasure Pavilion and leaped into the air. The longsword in their hand traced a graceful arc, and five plum blossoms materialized from the movement.

”Another expert from the Xiao Family! Shen Lang has really kicked the hornet’s nest this time! That’s Plum Blossom Sword Intent! The Xiao Family has sent two masters at once!” someone in the crowd exclaimed.

However, to everyone’s astonishment, the five plum blossoms didn’t fly toward Shen Lang. Instead, they shot directly at Xiao Bufan!

”Xiao Qiuyu, are you insane!?” Xiao Bufan cried out in shock. He spun around, thrusting his longsword to intercept the five plum blossoms.